Free Provoking the Spirit by Crista McHugh Page A

put the camera in the master bedroom.”
    She followed him up to Remy’s room. A massive mahogany bed filed the center of the room. She wondered how many women had been seduced by Remy’s charms and ended up there over the years. Her throat tightened when she realized she’d never be one of them.
    “I have it pointed so we have a good shot of the bed and door. What do you think?”
    She stood behind the tripod and stared in the same direction as the camera lens. “Looks good to me. We’ll go downstairs and see how it shows up on the screen.”
    Eric caught her eye. “Ainsley, when I asked what the story was, I meant between you two.”
    “What do you mean? Between me and Remy?” She chuckled. “Absolutely nothing. Never has been, never will be.”
    “Are you so sure? I saw the way he was watching you while you set up downstairs.”
    “And how was he watching me?”
    He grinned. “Like a wolf getting ready to pounce on a lamb.”
    She laughed harder now. “Remy is like a big brother to me. Are you sure you know what you saw?”
    “Well, if I was reading him right—”
    “I’m not his type, Eric. Trust me.”
    Tyrone peeked his head through the door. “Sounds like a party in here. I’m done on my end. And let me tell you how grateful I am this place has A/C. It’s still hotter than hell outside.”
    “Alright, it looks like we’re set up.” Ainsley left the room as quickly as she could without running. She was glad Tyrone had interrupted her conversation with Eric. She didn’t want to think of Remy being interested in her; those hopes had vanished years ago. “When it gets dark, we’ll go lights out and see if this house is really haunted.”
     
     
     

 
     
     
    Chapter Two
     
     
     
    Remy sat on the couch and watched Ainsley as she wandered around the front parlor with a small hand-held device. Her thin cami-style tank top hugged the curves of her body the same way her jeans did, and the small nubs in the center of her breasts made it very clear she wasn’t wearing a bra. When did she get boobs? He was used to seeing her in the baggy pants and frumpy t-shirts she always wore in high school.
    But he hadn’t seen her in over three years, and a lot had changed. When she showed up on his front porch wearing that outfit, he almost didn’t recognize her. Her hair was shorter than he remembered, just falling past her shoulders now, and she wore some kind of gloss that made her lips look deliciously kissable.
    “What are you doing?” he asked, hoping to get his mind off her body before the bulge in his pants grew large enough to be noticeable. Hell, this was Nan’s best friend, after all. They would probably giggle behind closed doors later if she saw how turned on he was.
    “I’m checking EMF readings in this room.”
    “EMF?”
    “Electromagnetic fields. If I get a spike, it may indicate paranormal activity.”
    “In English?”
    She rolled her eyes. “If the number goes up on my meter, it may mean you have a ghost.”
    “Anything so far?”
    “Nope.”
    “So you’re thinking I’m full of shit, aren’t you?”
    “No, not yet.” She placed the device on an end table and pulled her hair up into a ponytail, revealing the back of her neck.
    He always had a weakness for that part of a woman’s anatomy. He liked the way they responded when he kissed it. “Well, there’s something about the activity that I neglected to tell you about earlier.”
    She crossed her arms as she approached him. “What?”
    “The activity seems to pick up when I have women over.”
    “What do you mean?”
    He ran his fingers through his hair. Why did he feel embarrassed telling her this? “Well, the first time I brought a date over, that’s when the lamp broke over here.”
    “What were you doing at the time?”
    He grinned. As if she didn’t know. “We were on the couch—”
    “Never mind—I get the idea. Did the room feel cold when this happened?”
    “What does that have to do with