THE PERFECT TEN (Boxed Set)

possible only between vampires.”
    “I don’t know.” Eli’s eyes narrowed. “When you think about it, maybe the two of you aren’t really all that different. Maybe it’s a two-sides-of-the-same-coin sorta thing.”
    Ainsley’s gaze collided with Delano’s and her fingers stilled on the buttons of her shirt. “Or two sides of the same mutation.”
    “Exactly.” Eli massaged his neck. “Now, can someone tell me what this means?”
    Ainsley returned her attention to fastening the last two buttons, but her mind strained toward Delano, waiting for his answer.
    “It is purported to be a rare union between vampires, a union involving a bonding of the two on a physical, mental and spiritual planes.”
    “Hence the triangle?”
    “Supposedly.”
    “The triumvirate.” Eli grimaced. “Sounds a lot like marriage to me.”
    “Except I would challenge you to show me a marriage where one partner can’t let the other walk out the door,” Delano rasped.
    Ainsley glanced at Delano again to see that his expression matched the tone of his voice — grim. Her heart squeezed painfully in her chest. He resented being bonded to her. He didn’t want this link. Oh, Ainsley, what have you done?
    You didn’t trap me, little one. I’m just angry with myself that I lack the strength to put you away from me, even for your own protection.
    I need no protection but yours. I want nothing but to guard your back as you guard mine.
    “Can it be undone?”
    Delano blinked at Eli. “Sorry?”
    “Can the blood-bond be undone?” Eli repeated.
    Ainsley caught the slight lift of an eyebrow, which for Del bespoke profound surprise.
    “I really don’t know. In all my years, I’ve encountered only one couple who were purported to be blood-bonded, and I lost track of them long ago.”
    Ainsley wet her lips. “What does legend say on the subject?”
    Something flashed deep in his eyes, but he quickly lowered his lids. She reached out to his mind to try to catch the thought, but he’d veiled it as thoroughly as he’d veiled his eyes. When he lifted his lids again a second later, his expression was matter-of-fact, his thoughts unreadable.
    “According to the legends, it’s forever. The blood-bonded stay together as long as they live, which as you will appreciate can be a very long time. And when one of the partners dies, the other is said to follow.”
    “Like old married folk, you mean?” Eli coughed again, a reminder of the recent trauma to his throat. “You see it all the time. One goes and the other declines rapidly over the next months or years.”
    “This is more like the next day. Specifically, the next morning.”
    “Omigod!” Ainsley clapped a hand over her mouth.
    Eli looked from one to the other of them. “Omigod what?”
    “The sun,” she said from behind her fingers.
    “It’s only legend,” Delano said softly.
    Stifling a cry, she spun and raced from the room.
     
     

 
    Chapter 19
     
    “WHAT WAS that about?”
    Delano shot Eli an exasperated look. “For a man of above-average intelligence, you can certainly ask some asinine questions.”
    “Oh, shit. Of course. She has the life expectancy of a fruit fly, compared to yours, which makes her a bad bet for this blood-bond thingy.”
    “Eloquently put.”
    “Okay, how ’bout this for eloquent: if legend proves true, then we can hypothesize that your own life expectancy will be severely truncated.”
    “Much better.”
    “Thank you. Now what the hell are we gonna do about this?”
    “We’re not going to do anything about it. Ainsley will obviously stay here. I will continue to work on a vaccine. You will continue to keep us safe.”
    Eli snapped his fingers as though remembering something important. “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”
    Before he could protest, Eli was gone, returning a moment later with a small paper bag bearing a local drug store’s logo. “Here.”
    Delano took the proffered bag and peered into it, though he hardly needed to. The odor of latex was clearly discernable to his sensitive olfactory system. “Condoms?”
    “Hey, you said it yourself — my responsibility is to keep both of you safe. I’m just trying to do my job. Now, if we’re through here, I have a team to transport to Cuernavaca.”
    “That’s a very thoughtful gesture, Eli, but I won’t be needing them.” He held the bag out for Eli to take back, but the other man ignored it.
    “You know, for a man of above-average intelligence, you sure can say