THE PERFECT TEN (Boxed Set)

allergic reaction. She’d even seen a few cases in the emergency department over the years.
    “How profound are we talking?”
    “Acute solar uticaria.”
    Hives… “How acute?”
    “Very. If it were a hand or a forearm that got exposed, and if the exposure were brief, it would probably be manageable. Anything more is deadly. Full-on anaphylactic reaction.”
    Her stomach clenched. What a way to go. Lips swelling, airway closing… She shook the mind-picture away. “Why don’t they just carry an EpiPen?”
    His face had gone flat, expressionless. “Usually the poor bastards are caught out in the open, without shelter. A single-dose injection of epinephrine isn’t going to save them in that instance, even supposing it operates the same on a vampire, given their genetic mutations. Which we don’t know for sure. Understandably, no one wants to volunteer for that particular trial.”
    She let her breath escape. “That really sucks.”
    “Yes, it does.”
    “I’m not much of typist or a filing clerk.”
    He laughed. “That’s okay. I’m not very good with dogs.”
    She laughed, too. A dizzy, giddy, flirting-with-hysteria kind of laugh. Man, she must be tired. “You know what I mean. For the job. The clerical component. I’m a great charter, but I’ve never had much to do with that other stuff.”
    “Ah, of course. I think it’s safe to say you’ll be better than me. You certainly couldn’t be any slower.”
    “Okay, then.”
    “Okay you’ll take the job?”
    She ordered her twanging nerves to settle down. “Yes, I’d like the job.”
    “Excellent. I think we’ll deal very well together.”
    Deal very well together? Sometimes he used the strangest turn of phrase. “When do I start?”
    “I think we’d better put you on the payroll immediately,” came his wry reply. “After all, you wouldn’t be lying there if you hadn’t come for the interview.”
    Immediately. Thank goodness. An infusion for her desperately dwindling bank balance. “It could be a day or two before I’m up to scratch,” she cautioned.
    “There’s no hurry,” he said. “You need to recuperate. And remember, we’ll have to do frequent blood work to monitor your situation. In fact, I’d like you to stay here for the immediate future so we can keep a close eye on things. Would that be agreeable?”
    A shiver went through her at the reminder of her exposure, which she’d almost managed to forget for a few minutes. And once again, he was right. It made sense to stay here while she needed close monitoring.
    Whoa, Ainsley! Ten minutes ago, she’d been ready to fight her way out of here. What had changed?
    Well, number one, despite his slayer routine, he seemed genuinely devoted to helping the vampire community co-exist peaceably with the broader community.
    God, had she just framed the thought vampire community ?
    She forced her thoughts back to why she felt better disposed to staying here.
    Well, he’d actually asked this time, more of an invitation than a decree. She didn’t feel so much like a prisoner.
    Plus her future didn’t look quite as gloomy as she’d assumed. Worst case scenario, if she were infected and Delano … er, Dr. Bowen were unable to halt the progression, it didn’t mean she’d automatically turn into a ravening predator like her attacker. Clearly, there were kinder, gentler vampires.
    “Ms. Crawford?”
    “Ainsley,” she said. “If we’re going to work together, I guess you’d better call me Ainsley.”
    “And you can call me Delano.”
    “Delano.” She said his name experimentally, surprised at how easily it rolled off her tongue. “Okay, Delano, if I’m going to stay here, I’m going to need some things from my apartment. Can we make a trip over there tomorrow?”
    “I’ll have Eli do it. Just make a list of what you’d like to have and he’ll see to it.”
    “Thank you.”
    “And now, I really must snatch some sleep. Vampire hours and all that.” With that, he left as quietly as he’d come.
    Vampire hours.
    Suddenly, the fundamental, frightening paradigm shifts she’d been forced to make in the last hours caught up with her. Finding the lever, she lowered the head of the bed so she could lie prone again, adjusted her pillow and closed her eyes. She’d think about it all tomorrow.
    No, not tomorrow. Tonight.
    Vampire hours…
     
     

 
    Chapter 5
     
    CRAZY. FOUR DAYS, and he was going quietly crazy.
    Currently, she was in a completely different room, and still