“I heard that.” Dacian’s growl trailed her out of the greenhouse.

“You wouldn’t have heard it if you weren’t in my mind. Where I definitely haven’t given you permission to be.” Cinn didn’t know if it was possible, but she had to find a way to keep everyone from rooting through her thoughts. Especially Dacian, since so many of her thoughts centered around him.

“I try to stay out, but I saw the way you looked at the demon.” He sounded outraged.

Cinn couldn’t help it; she smiled. “What way? The same way I look at you? You’re not a perceptive vampire. If you were, you’d notice that no matter how I looked at Bain, I didn’t get the same feelings I get when I look at you.” There. That was as much as she was willing to admit.

He blessed her with that slow sexy smile that tied her toes into big goofy bows.

She was still feeling the glow when they met Sparkle in the lobby of the hotel. Sparkle wore black silk pants, a bright red silk top, and stilettos with four-inch heels.

Sparkle laughed at her expression. “I know. Not appropriate for a trip to a resale shop. But it feels so good to look like me again that I couldn’t help overdressing.”

That was an understatement. “So what’s the plan?” Cinn hoped this foray out into the real world ended better than the last one.

“It’s dark. The plan is to get there before the place closes.”

Sparkle waited until they all piled into her car before saying anything else. “This should be pretty straightforward. I simply go in and take my clothes back.”

Cinn hesitated to bring this up. “What if they don’t want to give them back?”

Sparkle looked unconcerned as she pulled into the parking lot of the store in question. “Of course they’ll give them back. They’re mine.”

A few minutes later, Sparkle was leaning over the counter, glaring at a woman who refused to look intimidated. “You will tell me where my clothes are and return them to me right now.” She emphasized the “right now” by punching a hole in the top of the counter with her fist.

The woman gasped as she reached for her cell phone.

Uh-oh. Cinn saw a 911 call in their immediate future. She touched Sparkle’s arm.

“What?” Sparkle snarled the word as she turned on Cinn. Her amber eyes were glowing. Not a good sign.

Dacian just stood there grinning. Jerk.

“A person who wasn’t shallow and had lots of character would understand that being charitable is a positive trait, definitely something that would impress, say, a Big Boss.”

“Charitable?” Sparkle looked as though she needed to flip through a dictionary.

“Right. I’m sure the nice lady here”—who had just crossed herself—“would be perfectly happy to sell your clothes back to you.”