I can't help but freeze at Kieran's words.

Did he really just tell me he loved me?

But he said it during sex, in the heat of the moment.

Does that mean he didn't mean it?

I pull the makeshift blindfold off him so I can look him in the eye.

"What did you just say?" I ask.

He blinks with a drowsy expression as he comes out of his post-orgasm stupor. Then his lids shoot open and his eyes widen.

"I, uh..." he says, swallowing hard. His eyes bounce from side to side like he wants to look anywhere but directly at me. "I was... I- I said I love fucking you."

I feel my heartbeat stutter and my stomach sinks.

"Oh... sure, yeah," I mutter.

Of course that's what he said. Did I really think the King of Lust had just confessed his love for me? Kieran told me himself—he's not a "love" kind of guy. Sure, he said we'd do the exclusive thing, but it's a huge leap from that to actually being in love with me. I'm the one expecting him to be someone he's not.

I feel foolish. I knew I'd end up fawning over a guy who could never feel the same way about me. And it fucking hurts.

I start to pull myself up and off of him, but he grabs my elbows and tugs me back down.

"You're so fucking important to me, Red," he says, holding eye contact. His eyes burn with emotion and I can't help but let it soothe me. "What you did—having my back with Victor—you have no idea how much that means to me. How much you mean."

Maybe he doesn't love me, but what he's saying is heartfelt and still meaningful. Maybe I don't need a specific word for what he feels, as long as he feels it.

I stare at him, trying desperately to use that empath gift I'm supposed to have.

What is he really feeling?

My instinct tells me he cares about me but he's holding back. Is it... fear I'm picking up on? But none of it makes sense and this feels nothing like any magical emotion-reading power. Maybe I'm just convincing myself of what I really want him to feel.

"Do you understand?" he asks, his voice soft and uncharacteristically serious. "You're... You're the most important person in the world to me. You're everything. I need you to know that."

It's not the exact words I wanted to hear, but the sentiment still has my stomach fluttering. If I'm everything to this man, then maybe that's enough for me.

*****

I stretch out on the mattress; my arms extend upward onto the pillows and my legs tangle in the top sheet.

Fuck I'm tired.

Not that it's all that unusual for a narcoleptic to be tired—if anything, it's kind of my brand. But last night really knocked the wind out of me. Between my confrontational phone call with Vic, the seriously intense sex with Kieran, and my mishearing his actually-not-really declaration of love, I'm exhausted. My eyes are dry and my veins feel like they're full of lead.

I hear the shower turn off and a moment later, Kieran steps out with a towel wrapped around his waist and another draped over his shoulders.

"Morning," he says with a soft smile. His eyes meet mine, but his gaze nearly passes through me; like his mind is a million miles away.

If I weren't such a lousy excuse for an empath, this is where I could probably use my supposed superhuman powers to tell what he's feeling, but I have no idea how. It probably doesn't help that I don't even know what I'm feeling. If I can't even get my own emotions straight, there's no chance I can figure out his.

I try to tap into that instinct, but my heart is all a jumbled mess. Happiness. Love. Fear. Vulnerability. Regret.

If I had a mood ring on right now, I'm pretty sure it would be every color of the rainbow. Either that or the color and clarity of mud.

Pumpkin bounces over to Kieran with a friendly grunt and nudges his wet leg with his snout in greeting.

"Hey Pumpinator," he says, reaching down to scratch his chin before turning to me. "I fed him this morning by the way. Bro was getting hangry and I didn't want to disturb you."

A smile tugs at my lips. The Demon King got up early to feed my pet pig.

Kieran sits down beside me and shakes his wet hair side-to-side like a golden retriever shaking off after coming in from the rain. A few droplets hit me and I yelp.

"Heyyy!!" I scold, sitting up and drying my forehead with a wipe of my palm. "Watch it with the shaking!"

His hair is flipped over so that most of it is lying atop his head in a damp mess that manages to be far more charming and attractive than I expected. He looks up at me through a few wayward strands across his face and smiles wide.

My insides shiver in response. I can't help but be completely smitten with this man.

"My bad," he says. He reaches out and uses his thumb to sweep a droplet from my cheek.

Now would usually be the time when he slips in an innuendo, but instead he turns away and runs a towel over his hair.

Is he okay?

I decide to push him a little with a line I know he won't be able to resist.

"You got me really wet."

He sweeps his hair back and his eyes flick my way for a moment.

"Sorry, Doll." He stares ahead but his gaze seems fathoms deep.

Yep. Something is definitely up.

"Okay, no. We're not doing this," I say with a frustrated huff. "What's going on with you and why are you being weird?"

"Me? I... How am I being weird?"

He seems genuinely confused by my question, which surprises me because it seems obvious to me.

"It's like you're in another world or something. Like, are you distracted or pissed off at me or what?"

His brows raise and he continues to look ahead.

"Shit... I'm sorry Red." He falls back onto the bed and lets out a frustrated sigh. "I think I am being weird. I don't mean to be, though. I'm just a little... caught off guard, I guess. My mind is just a lot of places right now and I'm... shit, I don't even fucking know what I am."

"Caught off guard by what?"

He swallows and continues to stare ahead.

"You," he says. It's so soft that I almost miss it.

"In a good way?" I ask.

"Yeah, in a good way. Just... you're really fucking amazing, Sam. I've never... liked anyone this much I guess."

I exhale and my shoulders relax with relief.

Of all the things he could've said, that was probably the best-case scenario.

"You just like me too much?" I ask with a giggle, mindlessly skimming my fingertips across his abdomen. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

He smirks, but his eyes stay fixed on the ceiling. I can practically feel the thoughts churning inside his mind.

"You know what I thought when I first met you?"

"Let me guess... something like 'I really want to bang her'," I tease.

"Close. I thought, 'Fuck. I think I want to be her boyfriend.'"

My eyes go wide at his confession. It's pretty much the last thing in the world I thought he'd say.

"You're kidding..."

"Nope." He combs a hand through his wet hair.

"What if I already had a boyfriend?"

"Then fuck him." He stops and chuckles to himself. "Well, I didn't mean that the way it sounded. I dunno, maybe I did. As long as you were part of the deal."

"I'm sure."

"I'm serious, Red. When I heard you talk about Victor hurting you I thought—she deserves better, I fucking needed you to have better. Yeah, I barely knew you, so I pushed that down. I was intimidated and when it comes to the relationship thing I have no fucking ideas what I'm doing, but there was a little part of me that wanted to step up and be that guy. Show you how you deserve to be treated."

The butterflies in my stomach feel like they've expanded to fill my entire chest.

I had no idea he was genuinely interested in me from the beginning. I assumed he was just a big flirt.

"Oh," I mumble. He has me caught off guard and I can't even think of anything else to say.

"Am I?" His usually suave and confident voice is suddenly soft and unsure. It makes me feel compelled to comfort him, even if I don't understand it. I move to lie down beside him and rest my head against his chest. His skin is warm and smells like soap.

"Are you what?" I ask.

"Am I that guy? Is that what I am—your boyfriend?"

I can't help but smile. This is one of the most powerful demons, a literal king of them, and we're sitting here cuddling on my bed and having the define-the-relationship talk.

"Yeah... I mean, if you still want to be."

"I do," he says, twirling the ends of my hair in his fingers. He sighs and rests his hand on my upper arm. "I just feel so out of my depth with all of this. It's like I'm trying to take an algebra test when I haven't even taken... whatever math comes before that. Shit, I dunno, this was a bad analogy. I never even fucking finished high school. Actually, maybe that does work. I'm a fucking high school dropout trying to take an algebra test and I have no goddamn clue what I'm doing."

"Well then you don't have to worry, 'cause I'm not grading," I say, patting his shoulder.

His chest shakes with soft laughter. I look up at him and a smirk stretches across his face.

"To be honest," he says, licking his lips, "I'm much better at the oral exams."

Clearly he's back to his usual self.

Kieran's phone buzzes on the nightstand, so we sit up and he grabs it.

He stares for a moment before his eyes snap back to me.

"So, good news and bad news. TJ says Vic was spotted in town over the past two days."

"Shit," I say, covering my mouth with my palm.

"But as of this morning, he's confirmed back in San Francisco. Got in this morning, probably left right after your call."

His brows furrow and his mouth pinches into a tight line.

"After... You think something I said changed his mind?"

"We could hope," he says, but he's clearly concerned.

"You don't think he's giving up, do you?"

"Victor is obsessed, dangerous, and an expert tactician. He doesn't seem like the type to throw in the towel. I'm worried that he's moving to plan b."

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