THE PERFECT TEN (Boxed Set)

no reason not to do it. I would remind you that when penicillin was first introduced, it languished for over a decade before it found acceptance.”
    “But vampirism? They actually advanced money to investigate it as a … what? A phenomenon? A disease state?”
    “It is a disease state. And I would say it’s a very fortunate thing for you that I persevered in this line of inquiry.”
     
    Ainsley blinked rapidly. Dammit, he was right. The hospital was not an option. Not unless she was prepared to forfeit what was left of her professional reputation, or her freedom, or oh God, her very life. Suddenly, she wanted to cry, badly. But no way was she going to do that in front of this man with the disturbing eyes that seemed to see deeper than they should.
    The man who a few moments ago, in her dream, had lifted his head from between her thighs to lock that intense gaze with hers.
    She pushed the image away hastily. Good God, what was wrong with her? How could she be thinking about sex when she needed to be thinking about her very dire situation?
    She took a deep, calming breath, then released it. Then took another and another. Better.
    “Okay, you’re right,” she said. “The hospital is out. They’d lock me up in the psych ward and sedate the hell out of me. If I’m not infected, they’d eventually let me go when I stopped babbling about vampires and the mad scientists” — she shot him a pointed look — “who study them. On the other hand, if I am infected—”
    “If you are infected, the only way you’d get out of that hospital is in a pine box.”
    No! She couldn’t die. She wouldn’t die. She cleared her throat to ease the ache of unshed tears. “And what will you do, Dr. Bowen, if I start to turn? Will you sedate me, too? Will you confine me? Will you let me starve to death?”
    He leaned closer to the bed, fixing her with the full force and intensity of that burning gaze. “No harm will come to you so long as you are in my care. That’s a promise, Ms. Crawford.”
    He spoke the truth. The calm certainty he projected was no bedside routine to boost the patient’s morale. This was rock-solid confidence. She’d seen enough to know the difference. For the first time since she’d awakened to a radically changed world, her anxiety level dropped a notch.
    “I think I believe you.”
    “You should. On this score, you absolutely should.”
    She drew a deep, calming breath and exhaled slowly. “So, I guess this means I’m committing myself into your hands.”
    He nodded once, leaning back in his chair again. “A wise decision.”
    “I’m sorry about that stuff earlier.”
    “Don’t worry about it. You’ve had a lot to absorb.”
    The understatement wrung a choked laugh out of her. “Dr. Bowen, I left my apartment tonight for a simple job interview. Now I’m lying here in a hospital bed — in your house , no less — thinking about the possibility that I might turn into a ravening monster like the one that attacked me. So, yeah, I guess you could say it’s been a lot to absorb.”
    He inclined his head. “I can only reiterate that you are in the best possible hands.”
    “The irony is a little hard to ignore, though, isn’t it?” She lifted a hand to brush her hair back from her face and wondered belatedly how bad she looked. She wished she had that mirror back. “I mean, I was attacked by a vampire on my way to meet a man who apparently specializes in studying them?”
    Something flickered in his impassive face. “Ironic, yes. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I do have to go out briefly.”
    As disconcerting as it was to have him near, the prospect of his leaving was even more disturbing. Like it or not, she now relied on him, possibly for her life.
    “You’re going out?”
    “Only briefly. And you won’t be alone, I assure you. My friend Eli Grayson will be here. He’s an RN. In fact, he should be in any minute to check on you again.”
    Omigod, he was going after the vampire who’d attacked her!
    It wasn’t a hunch, not some leap of intuition. She just looked into that intense, still face and knew it as clearly as though he’d just announced his intention. She knew it so bone deep, she didn’t even stop to question where her certainty sprang from. She was too busy fighting off a new wash of fear.
    What if something happened to him? She shuddered as she remembered how easily the creature had overpowered her. Back in that alley, Delano had somehow driven off the vampire, but