THE PERFECT TEN (Boxed Set)

down on them…
    “Argh!”
    Rinsing quickly, she shut the shower off, toweled herself dry. Completing the rest of her toilette quickly, she dressed and prepared to go in search of coffee. A glance in the mirror assured her she looked normal. Well, almost normal. She reached for her cosmetic bag and applied some foundation to smooth out a few reddened blotches where his stubble had rasped her smooth skin. There. Much better.
    Okay, coffee, breakfast — or what passed for breakfast at supper time — and more coffee. Then she’d call Lucy.
    She started out the door, then stopped. Retracing her steps to the bathroom, she retrieved her t-shirt from the hamper. Pressing the soft cotton to her face, she inhaled. Yes, there it was. His scent. Before she could think too much about it, she folded the t-shirt, walked to her bed and slid it under her pillow.
    There. Now breakfast.
     
    The conversation with Lucy was every bit as hard as she knew it would be. After the initial pleasantries, she said, “Remember I told you that my new boss was old?”
    “But hot, too, right?”
    “Good looking, I think I said. And yes, he’s very handsome. But getting back to the age thing, I don’t believe I mentioned just how old he was.”
    “What? Did you seduce him into your bed and give him a heart attack or something?”
    “Good Lord, no.” Except she had crawled into his bed, and it might yet be the death of him. She crushed the thought. “But he is considerably older than I led you to believe.”
    “Okay, so how old are we talking?”
    She drew a deep breath. “I don’t know for sure, but based on what I’ve learned this past month, I’m thinking he’s probably about 200.”
    Lucy laughed. “Okay, okay, I get the picture. He’s too old to be fooling around with. Now can we get to the point of this discussion?”
    “No, Luce, you don’t understand. He really is 200 years old.”
    A pause. “Ainsley, that’s impossible.”
    She closed her eyes and just said it. “He’s a vampire.”
    “Oh, God, I knew it. When you quit the hospital and took this job, I knew something was up, but I had no idea…”
    “Lucy—”
    “This is all my fault … the pressure of supporting me and Devon. I knew you were working too hard.”
    “Lucy, I’m not crazy. I mean, I know this sounds crazy, and I don’t blame you for thinking I’ve cracked up — or maybe that I’m hopped-up on crack — but I swear it’s true.”
    “A vampire ? A 200-year-old one? I’m supposed to just accept that?”
    Ainsley gripped the receiver harder. “Hey, I was just as skeptical as you, until I found myself on the business end of a pair of fangs in an alley back in St. Cloud.”
    “You were attacked by a vampire? Omigod, are you all right?”
    “I’m fine. That was almost a month ago.”
    “This vampire boss of yours … is he the one who attacked you?”
    “Oh, no! He saved me.” She opted to skip the bit about his facilitating the attack. “He drove off my attacker, then provided the medical attention I needed. Otherwise, I’d have died from the blood loss.”
    “Ainsley, you almost died ? And you never told me?”
    She hadn’t intended to tell her friend about any of this, until she’d learned about this whole Merzetti blood thing. Or rather, until Janecek learned about it, putting her friends in danger. “I’m sorry.”
    “I should hope so. Omigod, you almost died!”
    “But I didn’t, and I’m fine now. A hundred percent.”
    “Honestly?”
    “Honestly.”
    “Okay. Now, explain to me what it is you do for this … um … vampire boss of yours.”
    “He really is a legitimate clinical researcher. His aim is to develop a vaccine to drive these predators off the streets.”
    “But you said he was a vampire himself…”
    “The overwhelming majority of them are peaceable citizens, no more of a threat to the public than you or I. The rogues are a minority.”
    “God, Ainsley, you’re talking as though they’re all around us.”
    “They are. Remember I told you I was drawing blood samples for Delano’s research? All the subjects who roll up their sleeves in our clinic are vampires. They let me take a vial of blood, and in exchange, I hand them a unit of whole blood as their reward.”
    “You’re taking vampire blood samples?”
    “Yup.”
    Another pause. Ainsley could practically hear her friend’s thoughts.
    “This isn’t payback, is it? Retaliation for that April Fools joke I played on you when we were