Page 3 of The Dom with a Safeword

“I know. I’ve never had this much activity before.” Ever. And it scared the hell out of her. Almost as much as it thrilled her. Maybe if she had proof she could detect something otherworldly, she could actually charge people money to do this.

A few more feet to the garbage cans. Closer. Closer…

A dark figure leapt toward them from behind the cans and growled.

Sabrina’s heart jumped to her throat and she screamed. Q’s fingernails dug into her arm and she screamed too.

A human male chuckle rose up over their screams. She stopped. Human? She looked toward the tall figure but couldn’t make out any details. Where was her flashlight? She must’ve dropped it in the chaos. She reached down, her fingers scrabbling frantically until she found it. Cold dancing up her spine, hands shaking, she clicked on the light then swung it in the direction of the laugh.

“Whoa!” a deep voice rumbled. “Get that out of my eyes.”

A man. Young. Handsome – trim blond hair and high cheek bones. But now was not the time to remark on such things. The shit had scared the hell out of them. Her heart was still thudding like a stampede in her throat.

“Calm down,” he said, gentler, shielding his eyes with his hands. “Put the light down.”

Calm down? In a fit of anger she chucked the flashlight at his head. “What the hell is wrong with you?” she yelled. A second later she was aghast at her move. She’d just assaulted a stranger?

He’d caught the flashlight – thank god – then he turned toward the shed and picked his way through the debris on the ground toward the door.

“Hey!” Sabrina called after him. “That’s my flashlight!” He ignored her and she spun on Q. “What is he doing?”

“You shouldn’t have thrown it at him. And we’re the ones trespassing. Just apologize and let’s get out of here.”

A light above the shed flickered then turned on, illuminating the area where they stood. Heavy steps came from the side of the shed. The man who came out of the darkness wore a wife beater, a frown, and a set of biceps she could sink her teeth into.

He held out her flashlight.

She grabbed it rudely.

“Thank you,” he said, ignoring her glare. “That was very helpful. Now, what are you doing sneaking around on my property?”

“We’re very sorry,” Q said. “We had no idea –”

“Your property?” Sabrina eyed him up and down. He didn’t seem the type to own a run-down mansion. “How could anybody live here? There aren’t even any lights on.”

“I’m renting it for the summer and a fuse blew.” He returned her stare. “Not that I need to explain anything to you. Just because it appears that nobody lives somewhere doesn’t mean you can do what you want to the place.”

“We weren’t going to do anything to it –”

“We’re sorry,” Q jumped in. “We didn’t mean any harm. Sabrina, apologize to the nice man so we can be on our way.”

“Sabrina,” he said evenly. “A pretty name. For a criminal.”

“So sweet.” She rolled her eyes. “And you are…”

“Still wondering what you’re doing in my yard.”

Maybe if she explained, he’d let her continue the investigation. She did have a way of convincing people to do what she wanted.

“I detected signs of paranormal activity. It happens frequently with these old houses. I just know there’s something here. All I need is a few hours. This house is probably rich with history –”

“Oh, I know all about the history of this house,” he said.

Her chest tightened with excitement and she took an involuntary step closer. “You do?”

He nodded.

“Then you’ll let me come back and do a full invest –”