THE PERFECT TEN (Boxed Set)

lacerations Eli had inflicted, and the tenderness in her fingertips was almost enough to make him weep.
    Afterward, he helped her blow her hair dry, and she reciprocated. Then they turned out the lights and climbed into his bed. Both of them could feel the approaching dawn.
    He pulled her close and felt her sadness. “What’s wrong, little one?”
    She blinked rapidly. I know you could push your way in to find out what’s troubling me. Thank you for not doing that.
    He smiled. “There’s such a thing as etiquette, even among the psychically linked.”
    “Yikes! I hope you’ll tell me if I overstep the bounds.”
    “Not to worry. You’ll know when an unwelcome psychic foray has been repulsed, I promise you. Now tell me why you’re sad.”
    She drew a deep breath, let it out, then drew another. “I’m afraid I’ll wake up tomorrow morning — or rather, tomorrow evening — and this will have been a dream. I’ll be in my bed, alone. Or worse, I’ll be here and you’ll be angry at me again.”
    “Sweetheart.” He kissed her as sweetly as he could. “It’s not just real. It’s forever.”
    “Promise?”
    “Promise. Now I need a promise from you.”
    “Name it.”
    “Don’t let me get carried away in the dream sleep.”
    “We can’t fool around when we wake up?”
    He grinned. God bless her. “We can definitely fool around, but just make sure I’m properly awake, for safety’s sake. Lord knows what I might do — or not do — if I think I’m dreaming again.”
    “Of course.”
    He kissed her one last time, and found that incredible well of tender emotion right there beneath the surface, as deep and endless as before. He brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and looked deep into her eyes, memorizing their exact shade of violet. “Sleep now, love. I can feel your exhaustion from exercising those psychic muscles.”
    “Mmmm.”
    She moved away, just far enough to break contact, but close enough that he could still feel her body heat, hear the beat of her heart, the whoosh of her blood, the soft in-and-out of her respirations. Obviously she’d sensed his need to be untouched in the day sleep. He sent her a psychic thank you, followed by a powerful sleep suggestion. Within the minute, she was slumbering. It took considerably longer for sleep to claim him.
     
     

 
    Chapter 21
     
    DELANO DREAMED of the Sahara. Even as he struggled up one dune and stumbled and slid down the next, he kept thinking, “But I’ve never been to Africa”. But somehow he knew it was the Sahara. On and on he slogged, the desert stretching endlessly in front of him, with nothing on the shimmering horizon to promise relief. He was dreaming. He knew he was dreaming, but Christ on the cross , it felt so real. The merciless sun searing his skin, the heat sapping his strength and fuelling a terrible bone-deep thirst…
    Wait a minute — sun searing his skin? Definitely a dream. He’d never make it fifty feet in the Saharan sun before collapsing from anaphylactic shock, let alone trekking for miles in the burning sand.
    But the thirst! It was so real, so urgent and all-consuming.
    “Delano?”
    Confused, he turned full circle, scanning the barren landscape. “Eli?”
    “Delano, wake up!”
    He cocked his head at the female voice. Ainsley was here, too? This was too strange. Why couldn’t he see them? Had he gone blind from the sun?
    “Delano.” This time, Eli’s voice held a note of command. “You have to wake up. We have a problem.”
    Someone laid a hand on him, jerking him out of the dream state. He jackknifed up, causing both Eli and Ainsley to spring back.
    “What is it?” His heart banged against his ribs. “Are we under attack?”
    “No, but I have some grim news from the team we sent to Mexico.”
    “What’s happened?”
    “They’re gone.”
    Delano swallowed. Christ, his mouth felt like the desert of his dreams. Clearly, it had been a very long time since he’d last fasted. He didn’t remember the physical symptoms being so … well, physical . Even his pulse felt skittery. Skittery and feeble at the same time. Concentrate, Bowen. What had Eli said? They’re gone. Who were they ?
    Holy Christ!
    “Mrs. Michaels and her daughter?”
    “Yes, and the local operatives were slain. All four of them.”
    Janecek!
    Delano shot a glance at Ainsley, who looked like someone had unplugged her power supply. She sat there with the bedspread wrapped around her naked body, her eyes vacant, her mouth