The Perfect Ten Boxed Set

by Dianna Love

  She chewed her lip. “Then what? I mean, I know you’d use the knowledge of how the agent actually operates to create your vaccine, but what about the predators we test it on? If I knowingly lend myself to this experiment of yours and someone dies…”

  To his credit, Delano didn’t try to minimize the risk. “It’s a distinct possibility.”

  “Couldn’t you … I don’t know … extract some blood and inject it into the subject’s veins with a syringe?”

  His face went carefully blank. “That would work just as effectively, and with the tactical squad Eli has assembled, they could no doubt locate a predator during the daylight hours and Eli could inject him while he was immobilized by the day sleep.”

  That sounded easy enough. Why hadn’t he suggested it before? She held his gaze, probing for his thoughts, but came up empty. No, not empty. He was shielding. Then it clicked. He couldn’t do it himself, since he couldn’t move about in daylight, and he couldn’t bring himself to require Eli to do it for him.

  “Of course!” she said. “In that scenario, if the subject were to die, that would make you — through Eli — his active judge, jury and executioner. You’d pretty much be killing him in his sleep.”

  “Don’t worry about me. If that’s the way it has to be, that’s what I’ll do. Same goes for Eli.” He looked away.

  “No! I’d feel worse. At least with Edward Webber, he attacked me with intent to kill. He got what was coming to him. Sort of.”

  His lips turned up in an uncommonly gentle smile, at least for him. “Come on, Ainsley. Do you think you’re going to sell me on the idea that you’re a fan of an-eye-for-an-eye justice? A proponent of the death penalty?”

  “No, I couldn’t sell anyone on that idea, because I detest the concept of capital punishment. But in this case, he effectively killed himself, in the process of trying to kill me. Not to mention the second bite victim. I guess I can live with… Omigod!”

  “What?”

  “I can’t believe it didn’t occur to me to ask — what happened to the second victim?”

  “She escaped. Webber was too weak by that point to restrain her long enough to exsanguinate her.”

  Thank God. “Well, there’s a break. Of course, the poor woman probably now thinks she’s nuts. To be attacked like that, and then presto, there’s no evidence left, and no one to explain it to her…”

  “Oh, there was evidence,” he said, his face grim. “Because the feeding was interrupted, there was no coagulant infusion and no sealing of the arterial puncture.”

  Ainsley blanched. “So, what? She staggered away, squirting arterial blood from her neck?”

  “Not a pretty picture, I know. But she flagged down a motorist, who called 911 and applied pressure to the wound until the paramedics arrived.”

  “Did they believe her? That she’d been attacked by a vampire?”

  “They believed that she was attacked, all right. By a nutcase who fancied himself a—”

  “Holy shit.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Webber’s attack on me was interrupted. I distinctly remember lots of blood, on my hands, on my coat. It was all kind of pink, diluted by the hard rain, but I remember blood. He wouldn’t have had time to—”

  She stopped mid-sentence, as the truth struck her. Of course. Delano. She felt a flush creep up her neck.

  “You did it, didn’t you? You stopped the bleeding.”

  “Yes.”

  She watched his gaze drop to her neck. Drawn there by her rising blush, or by the memory of that night? Suddenly, another memory jarred loose. The dark stranger bending over her, pressing his mouth to her throat…

  Oh, yikes! She closed her eyes. “I don’t suppose you used conventional medicine to staunch the bleeding?”

  A pause. “Would you like me to say I did?”

  She sighed and opened her eyes. “I might if I thought I could believe it. Of course, I’d then have to inquire how the puncture marks miraculously disappeared.”

  “I think you know what happened.”

  “I think I do, too.”

  He’d saved her life. Of course, he was also the man who jeopardized it in the first place. The thought lent her voice a harder edge than usual.

  “I hope you’re not expecting a thank you?”

  “Obviously not. In the circumstances, I’d settle for you not staking me in my sleep tomorrow.”

  She blinked. “That really works?”

  “Staking?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I should think so. Just not like on TV.” Again the smile, this time slightly self-mocking. “We’re fast healers, but perhaps not fast enough to heal that kind of catastrophic cardiac penetration wound. Without quick access to a cardiothoracic surgeon, I’d die just like you would.”

  “Dammit.”

  “What?”

  “I’m never going to run out of questions, am I? Every time you tell me something new, I think of a dozen more questions.”

  He met and held her gaze. “Probably. But I’ll answer them all. Frankly, fully and honestly. That’s my motto from now on, at least as far as you’re concerned.”

  She felt another little sliver of her anger slip away. Damn him, how did he do it? For heaven’s sake, he’d practically kidnapped her out of her life so he could use her blood in his highly speculative, highly controversial research, without her knowledge or consent.

  “Why didn’t you just tell me from the start? I’m a very reasonable person.”

  “Agreed. In fact, you have one of the most open, resilient, nimble minds I’ve ever encountered. It’s been a pleasure to work with you.”

  Hmmph, empty flattery. Except she couldn’t quite stop the flush of pleasure his words caused. She lifted her chin. “So why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Remember your state of mind at the time.” He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “You were terrorized, your psyche stretched to the limit with what you’d had to absorb. Having just been so brutally savaged by one vampire, somehow I couldn’t see you agreeing to hang around with another one. Nor could I see you freely offering your blood to my cause.”

  Her mouth firmed. “So you made up the fiction of a possible infection.”

  He replaced his glasses. “Yes.”

  “Would you do it again, if you had a chance to do it over?”

  “Yes.”

  Just like that. Not even a pause.

  Well, no one could fault him on his commitment.

  “At least you’re keeping up your end of the deal, the being honest thing.”

  “I told you I’d answer any of your questions, honestly and completely.”

  He finally lifted his mug, which he’d thus far ignored, and took a sip of the cooling tea. It was, she realized, the first time she’d seen him drink anything.

  “Okay, here’s a question.” She fixed him with a fierce stare. “Why did you go prying into my past, digging up that stuff about Lucy and Devon? You said you couldn’t care less what my secret was.”

  “That was before Janecek got wind of you, before he figured out who you were. Now that he knows, he’ll be looking for a chink in your armor, something that makes you vulnerable. We — Eli and I — thought it was prudent to get to the bottom of it, purely from a defensive point of view. Clearly, you love this woman and her daughter like family, and Janecek will exploit that if he can.”

  Her breath stalled in her lungs. “Do you think he’s found them?”

  “No.” He shook his head. “From all appearances, he’s a few weeks behind us in terms of intelligence gathering, and we haven’t managed to find them yet.” His brows drew together. “You couldn’t help us with that, could you?”

  “You want me to lead you to them?”

  “If you can. I mean, we can find them, sooner or later, but I’m thinking sooner would be better in this situation.”

  Her stomach flipped as she thought about Janecek getting his hands on what amounted to her only family. She picked up the pen
and note pad lying in the center of the table, wrote a number down and handed it to Delano. “This phone number is all I have, but I know it’s in Cuernavaca.”

  “Mexico?”

  “Yes, about an hour and a half south of Mexico City, according to the map I looked at.” She tossed the pen back down on the note pad. “So how does this work? You send a posse of security people to hang around 24–7 and make sure nothing happens to them?”

  “That’s precisely what we’ll do.”

  “Does Lucy have to know?”

  His eyebrows shot up. “You’re proposing not to tell her?”

  “Not really. Maybe. Oh, hell, I don’t know.” God, she was so tired and stressed. She felt like her gray matter was leaking out.

  “As Eli once pointed out to me, it’s easier to protect someone if they appreciate fully what the dangers are.”

  She rubbed her temple to sooth a ticking muscle that leapt to life there. “You’re right. She deserves to know. And if I don’t tell her, I’d be doing pretty much the same thing I’ve faulted you for. But God help me, Delano, how am I going to explain this? Where will I find the words to make this situation sound halfway believable? I mean, it’s like something out of a Hollywood B-movie.”

  His expression softened. “She trusts you, Ainsley. She’s already trusting you with her life and that of her daughter. You’ll find the words.”

  She chewed her lower lip. “I suppose.”

  “But it will wait until tomorrow afternoon or evening, when you get up. You’ll be more coherent after you’ve slept. In the meantime, I’ll have Eli get a team on them as quickly as possible. They’ll be safe.”

  “Thank you.”

  He took her hand in his and squeezed it. “You’re doing the right thing.”

  It felt good, his warm, strong hand enveloping hers. Too good, dammit. She was still mad at him. She might never stop being mad at him in this lifetime. So why did he tug at her like this?

  Because your emotions have been through the wringer.

  Because your body is still trying to cope with the cascade of physiological responses triggered by the shitload of adrenaline that hit the fan when Radak Janecek took off his fireman’s helmet and announced himself.

  Because you’ve tasted a tiny fraction of the mind-blowing pleasure you know he can give you.

  She pulled her hand away. “Does your offer to answer all my questions have the same shelf life as Cinderella’s carriage, or can I take a rain check? Because I really don’t think I’m up to any more of this tonight. I need to crash.” To her mortification, her voice cracked. She laughed. “What am I saying? I’m already crashing.”

  His eyes darkened. “By all means, get some rest. There’s no expiry date on my offer. I’ll answer your questions whenever you like.”

  Two hours later, Ainsley lay in bed looking at the ceiling as the sky lightened outside, etching a thin line of light above and below her floor-to-ceiling blackout drapes.

  She was numb from exhaustion, but every time she started to slide down that slope to sleep, an image of Janecek — beautiful and deadly — leapt into her mind, sending another jolt of adrenaline ripping through her system. At this rate, she’d never sleep, and she’d be even more of a wreck when the time came to pick up the telephone and call Lucy. Her friend would think she’d come unhinged.

  Dammit, enough was enough. Why should she cope with this fear alone? There were two men in this apartment, both of whom played a role in putting her in this predicament. One of them could damn well watch her back while she slept.

  She rolled out of bed, tugged on the t-shirt and boxers she’d earlier discarded in a fit of fury when they’d become twisted in the sheets with all her tossing and turning, and marched out of her bedroom.

  She glanced down the hall toward Delano’s suite. The temptation to point her bare feet in that direction was almost too strong to fight off.

  Stupid. He wouldn’t welcome her.

  Besides, what kind of guardian would a sleeping vampire make? Somehow she imagined the healing, age-erasing day sleep he’d told her about to be … well, deep and coma-like. Logically, then, Eli should be the better protector during daylight hours.

  Not to mention that Delano was the one who’d manipulated her so callously. Eli, on the other hand, was just doing his job, and under protest, at that. According to Delano, Eli had voted to tell her everything. Granted, he may only have wanted to make the job of protecting her easier, but it still put him on the side of the angels as far as she was concerned.

  Also, Eli was a much safer choice, emotionally and every other way she cared to contemplate it. She liked him. A lot. And she admired him. But her pulse didn’t leap jaggedly at the thought of marching into his bedroom and demanding that he move over so she could get some sleep. And her virtue, such as it was, would be safe with him. Provided, of course, that she wanted it to be safe. She had no doubt he’d rise to the occasion, so to speak, if she needed him to. But despite his obvious and earthy charms, she didn’t really want him.

  Yes, her virtue would be safe with Eli.

  With Delano, however…

  Okay, Eli it is.

  Except when she reached his room and pushed the door open, he wasn’t there. Judging from the undisturbed state of the bed, he hadn’t yet retired. She pushed her hair back out of her eyes. No problem. She would find him and persuade him to go to bed, at least long enough for her to get to sleep.

  Four minutes later, she conceded he was nowhere to be found in the penthouse, and she knew he wouldn’t be in the lab. Not without Delano. Reluctantly, she concluded he was still out taking care of the details that would keep them safe.

  Well, so much for that great idea.

  She headed back to her own quarters, but once outside her bedroom door, she stopped. Dammit, she just couldn’t go back in there to wrestle with the blankets and her own thoughts.

  She glanced down the hallway and felt that yearning again.

  Screw it. She’d just go look in on him. Just to satisfy her curiosity about the day sleep thing.

  Chapter 15

  AINSLEY HELD her breath as she pushed Delano’s bedroom door inward. It swung open soundlessly on well-oiled hinges.

  Well, that answered one question. He obviously felt good enough about the penthouse’s security that he didn’t have a backup alarm system to alert him to intrusions into his inner sanctum.

  And, damn, it was dark. Apart from the wedge of pale light stretching out on the carpet — she’d turned on a lamp in the adjoining sitting room — the bedroom was in complete blackness. Man, she’d thought her own bedroom was plenty dark. The one window in her room was heavily shaded to facilitate day sleeping, but it was nothing compared to this. Of course, this room was windowless, as she’d discovered that night she’d ventured in here to see what she could learn about her mysterious boss.

  She stood in the doorway a moment, waiting for her eyes to acclimatize. Eventually, she made out the edge of bed, and there was the tall dresser, the one that held the framed photo of his long-dead wife.

  Treading carefully, she moved into the room, gliding up to the bed. She paused another moment until she could make out his form. He lay on his side, on the far side of the bed, facing the wall, like any man might in his sleep. Somehow, she’d expected something different.

  Well, okay, she’d half expected him to sleep on his back, with his hands folded on his breast like vampires in the movies.

  She held her breath a moment, listening. There! She could hear his breathing. Deep and even. The sound was impossibly soothing, hypnotic. Oh Lord, if she could just lie there beside him and listen to his soft, regular respirations, she knew she could sleep.

  She swayed on her feet, weary beyond belief.

  Why shouldn’t she sleep here? What could it hurt? She’d wake up before Delano did anyway. She always rose well before him.

  She glanced around the room. Maybe she could drag that chair over, the one she’d fallen asleep in that night
she’d come snooping. That way, she’d be close enough to hear the soothing rhythm of his breathing, yet she wouldn’t be invading his space so brazenly.

  Except she didn’t want to sleep in a damned chair and wake up with a headache even worse than the one that pounded in her temples already.

  “Delano?” No response.

  She called his name again, this time a little louder. Again, he didn’t stir, nor did his respirations change.

  Well, that settled it. She could sleep here and he’d be none the wiser come evening. She’d rise while he slept, smooth the blankets back into place and be on her way.

  Still, her heart pounded like crazy as she drew the lightweight covers back and perched gingerly on the edge of the bed, but he made no reaction to the depression of the mattress.

  “Del?” murmured. Again, no response.

  Carefully, she lay down on the bed, pulling the covers up to her shoulders. When he failed to stir, she let her breath escape on a sigh, rolled onto her side to face the door and drew her knees up. Finally, finally, she could sleep. She let her eyes drift shut and was gone in moments.

  The dream had him again.

  He loved this time, the interval between the deep, restoring sleep that claimed him each morning and the full wakefulness that came with sundown. He loved it, and he loathed it, too. For in that short space of time, he slept almost like he used to sleep. Like other men slept. That’s when the dreams came. Yes, and the nightmares, too, sometimes. And as often as not, the dreams tortured him worse than the nightmares ever could.

  This was one of those dreams, the kind he would pay for with a deep, persistent ache that would be with him for days. But God help him, he didn’t care. He just wanted to hang onto it as long as he could.