THE PERFECT TEN (Boxed Set)

terribly careless of me.”
    Eli held the pistol Delano had left on the workbench, letting it dangle harmlessly in his hand. “In more ways than one.”
    Delano met Eli’s steely gray gaze. “I repeat, point made.”
    “God, Eli, you scared the hell out of me.” Ainsley’s voice was high and thin. Her lips were red and swollen from their kisses, the delicate skin of her face and neck pink from the abrasion of his stubble-roughened face. She smoothed her hair, her clothing, as though she could smooth her composure back into place with her hands. “Maybe next time you could just call out ‘I’m back’ or something like that.”
    “Sorry.” With a smooth motion, Eli uncocked the Walther again and laid it back on the workbench. “As our boss so quickly surmised, I was making a point.”
    Ainsley blushed, though whether from the not-so-subtle reminder that the man she’d been making out with was her boss, or just the fact that she’d been caught making out, was anyone’s guess. Then her chin came up.
    “This was my fault, Eli. Really. Del wanted to head up to bed. I mean, his bed. Oh, you know what I mean.” Her flush deepened. “Our respective beds. Alone. But I detained him.” 
    Before she could stammer out any more, Delano interrupted with a question for Eli. “How was St. Cloud?”
    “Busy.”
    “The blood supply?”
    “Back up and flowing. Though we’re not taking blood. I figured you had that covered here.”
    Delano nodded his approval. “And the house?”
    “Repairs’ll be done within the month, complete with refurbished lab.” He glanced at Ainsley, then back to Delano. “We really should talk.”
    Ainsley leapt on Eli’s words, evidently grateful for the chance to bolt. “I’m sure you two have lots to discuss. I’ll just make my way back upstairs.” She turned to Delano. “Thank you for the tour.”
    He inclined his head. “No trouble.”
    When the door closed behind her, Eli snorted. “Thanks for the tour?”
    Delano scowled. “She was bored. She just came down here looking for a little diversion.”
    “And you provided it, I see.”
    “Eli,” he said warningly.
    “Oh, go to hell with that tone, Delano.”
    “Excuse me?”
    “My job, or a pretty sizeable part of it, is to protect you. But dammit, I can’t do that if you’re going to put yourself in front of a freakin’ freight train every time I look away.”
    Delano stiffened. “For pity’s sake, I was just kissing her. Since when did you, of all people, decide kissing an attractive woman was a crime?”
    “ Kissing her? Delano, I was here. You were about to devour the woman. And this is not some morality judgment thing. You know me better than that. This is about you not dying before we can find a tool to fight these bastards.”
    Delano scrubbed a hand across his face. “You’re right.”
    “Damn right I am.”
    Delano looked at his thumb. It still bore the slight but unmistakable indentation of her teeth. Jesus. He wouldn’t have taken her blood. Given the stakes, he had enough self-control to stop before that happened, no matter what Eli thought.
    And no matter what else happened…
    But she’d bitten him. Twice. If she’d broken the skin… Though thankfully saliva wasn’t the best vehicle for transmission for most viruses. Witness the rarity of HIV transmission from oral contact, or even from biting, for that matter.
    Eli just stood there, as though expecting something more. Delano raked his hair back off his face. Dammit. In his own defense, he wanted to point out that Ainsley had been the aggressor. She’d literally grabbed him by the lapels and laid a lip-lock on him. The only problem with using that defense was his natural instinct to shield a lady.
    Besides, it would be a cop-out. He could have fended her off easily, had he really wanted to. He just hadn’t been able to deny himself the interlude.
    “It won’t happen again.”
    Eli snorted. “Come on, man, I’ve seen the way you look at her. Hell, I’ve seen the way she looks at you. This isn’t gonna go away. You have to tell her. You have to explain why it could be disastrous for the two of you to hook up.”
    His mouth hardened. “No.”
    “Delano—”
    “Don’t you think I’ve done the equation a hundred times? It still comes out the same. One way or another, her blood killed Edward Webber, even though it was not her choice. It may yet kill more predators before we have a workable vaccine to protect the vulnerable. But if