affectionate arguing, before my mom came on the line.
“Gingey?”
“Hi, Mom,” I said, my voice shaking.
• 335 •
reBekah WeatherspOOn
“Hi. Sorry we’re late calling. We were supposed to meet
that Dalhem man last night, but I got the time mixed up. Anyway,
everything’s all straightened out. Did you go by the post office yet?”
“No. Wait. Mom, what do you mean you were supposed to
meet Dalhem last night? Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. We were going to call you earlier, but we went
into the city to meet the people we’re supposed to feed. We had to
pick up Todd on the way, and then your father got lost on the way
back and then there was traffic. It was a big mess. Anyway”—she
sighed dramatically—“I don’t know when you’re coming home, but
I’ll call the chancellor’s office this afternoon and we’ll withdraw
you from your classes…Ginger, honey, what’s wrong?”
I seriously had to stop crying. “Nothing, Mom. I—”
Camila was nice enough to take the phone. She pulled me
closer, wrapping her arm around my waist. I buried my face in her
shoulder, sobbing like a baby.
“Hi, Mrs. Carmichael…Hi, Linda…No, she’s just a little
overwhelmed at the moment.” Camila paused. She held the phone
away from her ear as she playfully rolled her eyes. Then she said to
me, “Your parents want to know what we’re doing for New Year’s.”
“Tell them we’ll be there,” I nearly shouted. And we would. I
wanted my amazing, demon-wife to meet her new family.
• 336 •
About the Author
After years of meddling in her friends’ love lives, Rebekah turned to
writing romance as a means to surviving a stressful professional life.
She has worked in various positions from library assistant, meter
maid, middle school teacher, B-movie production assistant, reality
show crew chauffeur, D-movie producer, and her most fulfilling job
to date, lube and harness specialist at an erotic boutique in West
Hollywood.
Her interests include Wonder Woman collectibles, cookies, James
Taylor, quality hip-hop, football, American muscle cars, large breed
dogs, and the ocean. When she’s not writing, reading, or sleeping,
she is watching Ken Burns documentaries and cartoons or taking
dance classes. If given the chance, she will cheat at UNO. She
was raised in Southern New Hampshire and now lives in Southern
California with an individual who is much more tech savvy than she
will ever be. Better Off Red is her first novel.
Books Available From Bold Strokes Books
Sheltering Dunes by Radclyffe. The seventh in the award winning
Provincetown Tales. The pasts, presents, and futures of three women
collide in a single moment that will alter all their lives forever. (978-
1-60282-573-4)
Better Off Red: Vampire Sorority Sisters Book 1 by Rebekah
Weatherspoon. Every sorority has its secrets…and college freshman
Ginger Carmichael soon discovers that her pledge is more than a
bond of sisterhood, it’s a lifelong pact to serve six bloodthirsty
demons with a lot more than nutritional needs. (978-1-60282-574-1)
Lucky Loser by Yolanda Wallace. Top tennis pros Sinjin Smythe
and Laure Fortescue reach Wimbledon desperate to claim tennis’s
crown jewel, but will their feelings for each other get in the way?
(978-1-60282-575-8)
History’s Passion: Stories of Sex Before Stonewall edited by
Richard Labonté. Four acclaimed erotic authors re-imagine the
past…welcome to the hidden queer history of men loving men not
so very long—and centuries—ago. (978-1-60282-576-5)
Detours by Jeffrey Ricker. Joel Patterson is heading to Maine for
his mother’s funeral, and his high school friend Lincoln has invited
himself along on the ride—and into Joel’s bed—but when the ghost
of Joel’s mother joins the trip, the route is likely to be anything but
straight. (978-1-60282-577-2)
Holy Rollers by Rob Byrnes. Partners in life and crime Grant
Lambert and Chase LaMarca assemble a team of gay and lesbian
criminals to steal millions from a rightwing mega-church, but the
gang’s plans are complicated by an “ex-gay” conference, the FBI,
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60282-578-9)
Mystery of the Tempest: A Fisher Key Adventure by Sam
Cameron. Twin brothers Denny and Steven Anderson love helping
people and fighting crime alongside their sheriff dad on sun-
drenched Fisher Key, Florida, but Denny doesn’t dare tell anyone
he’s gay, and Steven has secrets of his own to keep. (978-1-60282-
579-6)
Three Days by L.T. Marie. In a town like Vegas where anything can
happen, Shawn and Dakota find that the stakes are love at all costs,
and it’s a gamble neither can afford to lose. (978-1-60282-569-7)
Swimming to Chicago by David-Matthew Barnes. As the lives of
the adults around them unravel, high school students Alex and Robby
form an unbreakable bond, vowing to do anything to stay together—
even if it means leaving everything behind.(978-1-60282-572-7)
Hostage Moon by AJ Quinn. Hunter Roswell thought she had left
her past behind, until a serial killer begins stalking her. Can FBI
profiler Sara Wilder help her find her connection to the killer before
he strikes on blood moon? (978-1-60282-568-0)
Erotica Exotica: Tales of Magic, Sex, and the Supernatural,
edited by Richard Labonté. Today’s top gay erotica authors offer
sexual thrills and perverse arousal, spooky chills, and magical
orgasms in these stories exploring arcane mystery, supernatural
seduction, and sex that haunts in a manner both weird and wondrous.
(978-1-60282-570-3)
Blue by Russ Gregory. Matt and Thatcher find themselves in the
crosshairs of a psychotic killer stalking gay men in the streets of
Austin, and only a 103-year-old nursing home resident holds the key
to solving the murders—but can she give up her secrets in time to
save them? (978-1-60282-571-0)
Balance of Forces: Toujours Ici by Ali Vali. Immortal Kendal
Richoux’s life began during the reign of Egypt’s only female pharaoh,
and history has taught her the dangers of getting too close to anyone
who hasn’t harnessed the power of time, but as she prepares for the
most important battle of her long life, can she resist her attraction to
Piper Marmande? (978-1-60282-567-3)
Contemporary Gay Romances by Felice Picano. This collection
of short fiction from legendary novelist and memoirist Felice Picano
are as different from any standard “romances” as you can get, but
they will linger in the mind and memory. (978-1-60282-639-7)
Nightrise by Nell Stark and Trinity Tam. In the third book in the
everafter series, when Valentine Darrow loses her soul, Alexa must
cross continents to find a way to save her. (978-1-60282-238-2)
Men of the Mean Streets, edited by Greg Herren and J.M. Redmann.
Dark tales of amorality and criminality by som
e of the top authors of
gay mysteries. (978-1-60282-240-5)
Women of the Mean Streets, edited by J.M. Redmann and Greg
Herren. Murder, mayhem, sex, and danger—these are the stories
of the women who dare to tackle the mean streets. (978-1-60282-
241-2)
Firestorm by Radclyffe. Firefighter paramedic Mallory “Ice” James
isn’t happy when the undisciplined Jac Russo joins her command,
but lust isn’t something either can control—and they soon discover
ice burns as fiercely as flame. (978-1-60282-232-0)
The Best Defense by Carsen Taite. When socialite Aimee Howard
hires former homicide detective Skye Keaton to find her missing
niece, she vows not to mix business with pleasure, but she soon
finds Skye hard to resist. (978-1-60282-233-7)
After the Fall by Robin Summers. When the plague destroys most
of humanity, Taylor Stone thinks there’s nothing left to live for, until
she meets Kate, a woman who makes her realize love is still alive
and makes her dream of a future she thought was no longer possible.
(978-1-60282-234-4)
Accidents Never Happen by David-Matthew Barnes. From the
moment Albert and Joey meet by chance beneath a train track on
a street in Chicago, a domino effect is triggered, setting off a chain
reaction of murder and tragedy. (978-1-60282-235-1)
In Plain View, edited by Shane Allison. Best-selling gay erotica
authors create the stories of sex and desire modern readers crave.
(978-1-60282-236-8)
Table of Contents
Book 1
book 1
Chapter One
Chapter tWO
Chapter three
Chapter fOur
Chapter five
Chapter six
Chapter seven
Chapter eight
Chapter nine
Chapter ten
Chapter eleven
Chapter tWelve
Chapter thirteen
Chapter fOurteen
Chapter fifteen
Chapter sixteen
Chapter seventeen
Chapter eighteen
Chapter nineteen
Chapter tWenty
Better Off Red Page 41