Dead Over Heels

Table of Contents

 

 

 

 

“Delightful, wicked fun . . . Erotically passionate!”

—Christine Feehan

“Entertaining, wicked, and delightful.”

“A must-read for fans who appreciate a humorous out-of-this-world tale . . . fast-paced and filled with zingers.”

“One of the funniest books I have ever read! MaryJanice Davidson has once again brought to life an independent, wisecracking heroine . . . The story is fast-paced, the sex is hot, and the humor outrageous! I highly recommend this story to everyone.”

“Classic MaryJanice Davidson, in that it had me laughing throughout the book. It is one of the most original story ideas I have read in a long time also . . . [and] has the steamy love scenes that Ms. Davidson is known for . . . awesome.”

“[A] wickedly clever and amusing romp. Davidson’s witty dialogue, fast pacing, smart plotting, laugh-out-loud humor, and sexy relationships make this a joy to read.”

“A hilarious romp full of goofy twists and turns, great fun for fans of humorous vampire romance.”

“A bawdy, laugh-out-loud treat!”

“Smart, sarcastic, frequently profane, and maniacally inventive.”

“[A] hilarious, outrageous romp that . . . has more than one unexpected twist.”

UNDEAD AND UNWED
UNDEAD AND UNEMPLOYED
UNDEAD AND UNAPPRECIATED
UNDEAD AND UNRETURNABLE
UNDEAD AND UNPOPULAR
UNDEAD AND UNEASY

 

DERIK’S BANE
DEAD AND LOVING IT
SLEEPING WITH THE fiSHES
SWIMMING WITHOUT A NET
DEAD OVER HEELS

 

CRAVINGS
(with Laurell K. Hamilton, Rebecca York, Eileen Wilks)

 

BITE
(with Laurell K. Hamilton, Charlaine Harris,
Angela Knight, Vickie Taylor)

 

MYSTERIA
(with P. C. Cast, Gena Showalter, Susan Grant)

 

DEMON’S DELIGHT
(with Emma Holly, Vickie Taylor, Catherine Spangler)

Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)

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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

 

This book is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.

 

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

Copyright © 2008 by MaryJanice Alongi

Excerpt from
Undead and Unworthy
copyright © 2008 by MaryJanice Alongi

 

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions. BERKLEY SENSATION is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

The “B” design is a trademark belonging to Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

 

 

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

 

Davidson, MaryJanice.

p. cm.

eISBN : 978-1-440-63092-7

1. Werewolves—Fiction. I. Title.

PS3604.A949D436 2008

813’.6—dc22 2007046407

 

 

This anthology is dedicated to the victims of the I-35 bridge collapse in Minneapolis. My cousin missed it by an hour, for which I give thanks every day. And my heart breaks for those who did not.

This will be the third time I’ve had to rewrite a novella /novel due to current events. One of my heroines was stabbed by a manta ray (as was the late Steve Irwin), and originally Betsy and Sinclair were going to spend their honeymoon stopping a nasty-bad vampire from blowing up the Brooklyn Bridge (the third is too embarrassing to get into, so I’ll save that for another time).

I’m either getting psychic in my old age, or there’s nothing new under the sun. Either way, my editor has to pay the price (“Hi, yeah, I have to completely rewrite the last hundred pages of the novella you’re waiting for so it’s going to be late—don’t hang up!”) and has never said so much as a bad word to me, no matter how often I must rewrite history, or how late the manuscript is as a result.

During one of our P.R. meetings, my rep asked after the Brooklyn Bridge story. “Well, I can’t do it now,” was my reply. “And it’s a real shame I have to rewrite . . . and not just from a personal standpoint.”

“Creepy,” was my friend Jessica’s comment, and I couldn’t demur.

So this book is for her, too. Many thanks, Cindy Hwang. And many thanks to those employees at Berkley whose lives were made more difficult because I’m apparently seeing the future in my old age.

The events of this novella take place a week after the events in
Undead and Uneasy.

T
he king and queen are coming to New York.”

The vampire, an ancient creature even by the standards of the undead, smiled. “Don’t tease, Robert. It’s so unkind.”

“I’m not teasing, my dear one. They’re coming.

They’ll be here the day after tomorrow.”

“What fun!”

Although he had made this vampire, as he had made many others, he was a little afraid of it. “Or, we could leave town.”

“Leave? This is our territory!”

“Yes, and since they took power, no one has been able to stand against The One and Sinclair.”

“The One,” the vampire scoffed. “Barely—what? Two years old? I don’t believe she even exists.”

“She killed Nostro,” he said quietly. “And Marjorie.”

“They were sloppy and complacent.”

And we aren’t?
he thought but did not say.

“Someone killed them, but I’ll believe in this The One nonsense when I actually see her. No, it’s too too good. If I believed in such things I would say it’s meant to be. The king! Coming here! Of all the places he could have chosen, he’s coming
here
. Oh, I can’t wait!” The creature frowned. “Robert, you don’t seem terribly enthused.”

Terribly terrified was more like it, but he had no intention of admitting that. Instead, he sighed soundlessly, without breath. “So I take it we aren’t leaving town?”