She took a deep breath. Sparkle knew exactly what buttons to push. Cinn would accept the devil himself if he got her into that damn greenhouse. Jumping up, she grabbed the clothes she‘d peeled off a few hours ago and headed for the bathroom. “I‘ll be out in a minute. I need to see my plants.”

Cinn didn‘t glance back for his reaction. Once inside the bathroom, she leaned her forehead against the closed door and shut her eyes. The cool smoothness of the wood grounded her. This was really happening, so she‘d better accept it. All that mattered now was making sure her plants were happy and comfortable. She‘d come to terms with her vampire protector later.

Straightening, she quickly dressed. The longer she put this off the harder it would be. A few minutes later, she emerged from the bathroom and looked around. Maybe he‘d left. Maybe he‘d never existed. Maybe she was just crazy. Right now, crazy would be a good thing.

She found him by the window, looking into the night. He turned when he heard her.

“You seem pretty anxious to go out into the dark with an insane bloodsucking abomination.” He said the words with no inflection.

Cinn raised one brow. “Insane bloodsucking abomination?”

“One of my kinder titles.”

“Do you want me to be afraid of you?”

He seemed to think about her question as he moved back into the room. “It makes things easier. No false expectations.”

She sighed. “I‘m too tired for this garbage. Okay, consider yourself feared. Now, let‘s go see my plants.”

Without comment, he led her from the room. He didn‘t take the elevator. As she followed him down the winding stone staircase, she allowed herself to really see him for the first time without her sight being clouded by terror.

She already knew he was tall and muscular. Even in the midst of her panic down in the dungeon, she‘d noticed that body. Her gaze slid across his firm and nicely rounded butt showcased in worn jeans.

He‘d washed and trimmed his hair, because it fell shiny and clean almost to his shoulders. But he must not have bothered with a brush. Looked like a finger comb to her. But the mussed look suited him.

Okay, reality check. Unless she woke up in a mental health facility pretty soon, she was actually following a vampire down the steps. Why was she even noticing his body and hairstyle? Probably the human mind trying to explain the unexplainable by searching for familiar points of reference.

She shifted her gaze to the steps in front of her. Wouldn‘t do to trip and go splat after surviving what she had so far since coming to the Castle of Dark Dreams.