I watch the storm clouds ahead grow closer as trees and buildings pass by my window, wondering if it's some kind of bad omen. Maybe I'm just paranoid knowing that Vic is out there somewhere doing god knows what. Or because I'm on my way to meet—or, rather, re-meet, Zane and Ava—after our disastrous last attempt.

Kieran wanted to try again, but this time it's supposed to be more casual. Less pressure.

Fingers crossed.

"You sure it'll all be okay this time?" I ask Kieran as he drives. He knows I'm referring to our disastrous aborted dinner date with Zane and Ava.

"It'll be fine. You've already met everyone before and Zane came prepared this time. He shouldn't affect you like before, and if he does, we can walk right back out."

"You sure?"

"I promise. You're not feeling it, we bail. No problem."

"I'm still not sure why it bothered me so much last time."

"Siren emotions are just... next-level, you know? The other Empath I know—your uncle, great-uncle, whatever he is—he said Sirens have the volume cranked up on their feelings. For them it's normal, but for an Empath it's like someone's trying to talk to you by shouting through a megaphone held up to your ear."

"So he found a way to turn down the volume?"

"Apparently. Finn helped him out, I guess. They seem pretty confident it'll work, but if it doesn't, then we leave. I don't want you trying to suffer through anything, okay?"

"Okay," I say with a bit of a chuckle. It's cute that he's being so protective.

After a few minutes, we reach Pike's and head inside through the front doors. I'm used to coming alone when I'm visiting Kieran, so it's odd to have him tagging along with me for once.

It's only 3:30 in the afternoon, so it's mostly empty. I spot Ava's purple hair in a booth toward the back and we make our way over. She's sitting next to Zane and across from a red-headed man that I can't quite see from this angle but who I assume is Finn.

Kieran loops an arm around my waist as we walk up and watches me with nervous hesitance. But I certainly don't notice the same effect of Zane's presence as we approach. Whatever magical stuff he did, it seems to be working.

"Hey!!" Ava calls when she sees us, standing up to greet us when she reaches the table. "Great to see you!"

She gives me a welcoming hug and Zane stands behind her with his hands in his pockets. He gives me a smile and a friendly nod.

"Have a seat, love," Finn says with his friendly Irish lilt, scooting in further to make room for us. He gives Kieran a playful look. "You too, I suppose."

"Oh you know you love me, baby," he says to Finn with a smirk. I slide down next to Finn and Kieran sits beside me. Ava and Zane return to their seats across from us.

"So no difficulty this time?" Finn asks me, gesturing to Zane.

"Oh uh... I guess not," I say. I feel awkward that everyone is going to such lengths to accommodate me after my freak-out last time.

"Don't worry, Sam. It's no trouble really. You should've seen the last time Zane met an Empath. They almost killed each other in a university library."

Zane grumbles under his breath and Ava shakes her head.

"Don't start him on that one," she says.

"Well, thank you for dealing with that," I say to Zane. "What did you do to fix it?"

Zane pulls a necklace out from beneath his dark grey t-shirt. It's a smooth black donut-shaped rock tied to a braided cord. Vic wore one that looked almost identical to it when we first started dating.

"Finn here hooked me up with this," he says, nodding in Finn's direction. "It's an amulet that blocks you from being able to read me. We tested it on him first and it worked, so we figured it was the real deal."

"Wait, tested it on Finn how? With another empath?"

Ava's eyebrows raise and Zane's glance dodges to Finn for a fraction of a second.

Is Finn an Empath too?

"I'm not an Empath," Finn says with an awkward half-smile. "But I am telepathic."

"Oh."

Telepath.

What is that again?

"I read minds," he clarifies.

"Oh. Yeah, okay. That makes sense."

I mean, if I'm supposed to be able to read emotions then why couldn't someone read thoughts?

Wait... he's not reading my mind right now, is he?

Oh god.

Don't think anything. Don't think anything. Don't think anything. La la la la la la...

Finn laughs, looks down at his beer, and shakes his head.

"You don't have to do that. I promise I won't tell anyone anything I hear and I guarantee—whatever you're thinking, I've heard worse."

"It's true," Ava says. "Trust me." She cringes and shakes her head.

Well...okay then. Fuck. This is going to be awkward, but I guess I'll get over it.

I smile awkwardly and nod slightly.

"It's cool, Babe," Kieran says, wrapping an arm around my waist and shooting me a wink. "I already know you're thinking about getting in my pants."

"Please, like it's hard?" I tease.

"It's always hard for you." He gives me a crooked smile and Zane groans. I roll my eyes, giggling slightly.

It's good to see Kieran is back to being his usual self.

"I'm gonna grab us some drinks," Kieran says, standing up. He points to each of us and recites our orders. "Another for you, Finn? Beer, cider, ginger ale?"

Everyone confirms with a nod and Kieran gives me a kiss on the cheek before heading over to the bar.

Ava and Zane both look at me slackjawed like I'm on fire.

"What?" I ask. "Did I do something?"

"No, no... I just..." Ava says. "I haven't had much of a chance to see you two together. It's cute!"

"Kieran hasn't really acted this way with anyone before," Finn says. "It's a bit of an anomaly."

"Anomaly?" Zane says with a laugh. "I'm still not convinced he hasn't been replaced by a bloody body-snatcher or something."

"You ain't seen nothing yet mate. The boy's well and truly smitten. He turns into a drooling mess. He's in deep."

I don't know about that.

I'm not sure exactly what they're referring to, but between the two of us, I'm definitely the one in deeper. Kieran likes me, sure, but I'm the idiot who went and fell in love here. And Kieran just... 'loves fucking me'.

Finn turns to me with a furrowed brow and parted lips. He seems like he wants to say something, but instead takes a sip of his beer.

Oh shit, that's right. He can read my mind.

Well that's embarrassing.

Don't tell him I love him or I'll kick your ass, okay bro?

He smirks and nods just enough to confirm he has heard me.

"I think you're good for him," Ava says. "He seems really happy with you."

Zane nods, with just a hint of a smile shifting his otherwise serious expression. He's a bit of a stern, silent type—beautiful with rough edges. He could easily model in one of those surreal black-and-white perfume commercials.

"It's true," Zane says. "Kieran has always been rather chipper, but with you he seems... proper happy."

I smile and look toward Kieran, who's chatting to the bartender filling our drinks. A woman in a black tank top and jeans sidles up to him and says something to him. I can't understand what she says, but from her body language she seems to know him. She leans in to whisper in his ear and my stomach clenches.

"He's turning her down, just so you know," Finn says. "Like Zane said, Kieran is all about you these days."

"Oh," I say, blushing at the realization that he's probably reading my thoughts again. Then again, I guess it's comforting that he knows what's going on in Kieran's head too. "Right, yeah. I guess you of all people would know exactly what he's thinking."

"Er... actually..." Finn says. "I can't actually read Kieran. He's a special case since he's not human or immortal."

I watch out of the corner of my eye as the woman walks over to a nearby table and sits down with a friend.

"Don't tell me he shot you down," her friend says.

"This time," she says. "He's a fucking beast in bed, Hannah. I can be patient."

It irks me to hear her say those words. It's not like he's cheating on me, but I'm still pissed that she's talking about sleeping with my Kieran.

I guess it's one of the drawbacks of dating a sex demon.

"So how's work?" Ava blurts out her question with the unmistakable awkwardness of someone desperate to redirect the conversation. She gives me an uncomfortable smile.

"Work is good. Been a bit of a slow week, but good."

"What is it that you do?" Zane asks.

"I'm an exotic dancer."

"Mmm." It's always interesting to see how people react to my job, since some people see it as scandalous. But Zane here acts like I've just told him I'm an accountant or a waitress. Clearly it doesn't faze him at all—it seems like not much does.

"I'm trying to convince Sam to give me a few lessons," Ava says.

At that, his eyes pop open and his spine straightens.

"What?" he asks, looking at her with renewed interest. "Bloody hell."

I chuckle at his reaction as Kieran returns to our table with a platter of drinks.

"For Aves," he says, handing Ava a brown bottle. "Another beer for my handsome lil' Dolphin."

Finn groans as Kieran hands him a tall glass of beer.

"I blame you for that one," Finn says to me with a teasing smile.

"A beer for Z," Kieran continues, sliding him a dark green bottle.

I see the woman from earlier eyeing Kieran from behind and I narrow my eyes in frustration. I grab my soda off the tray and take a hefty couple of gulps before it hits me—this isn't soda, this is pure vodka on ice.

I start to cough and sputter, setting the drink back on the table with a thunk.

"Shit, I'm sorry babe!" he curses. "That was mine. Yours is here."

He hands me an identical glass with more bubbles in the liquid.

"You're drinking pure vodka??" I take a few sips of my soda to chase the vodka and get the flavor off my tongue.

He slides into the booth beside me and chuckles.

"You know I drink vodka."

"I assumed you mixed it with something. I didn't realize you were just drinking it straight. That can't possibly be good for your liver."

"My metabolism works a bit differently than yours," he says with a smirk. "It used to be I had to drink this to get a good buzz. Now that I've upgraded my powers, I get maybe fifteen minutes before it burns off."

I can't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation, and soon everyone at the table joins in.

"Oi, you gotta be careful with that stuff," Finn says to Kieran. "If you poison Sam, who else will tolerate your arse?"

"Ohh, so that's how it is? See if I buy you another drink," he teases back.

I catch the girl from earlier watching us with curious eyes, so I loop an arm around his waist. He smiles at me, then follows my line of sight to the woman and back.

"Are you trying to stake a claim on me, Red?" he whispers into my ear.

My cheeks heat with embarrassment.

"I dunno..." I mumble. "Maybe."

"Then let's make sure she knows who I belong to." He scoops me up and into his lap, wraps his arms around my waist, and buries his face into my neck. I don't bother looking to see her reaction, because I'm satisfied with Kieran wanting people to know he's mine.

*****

"So, wait... Sam is related to Morgan??" Ava asks Finn, shock plastered on her face.

"Yep," he says, setting his beer down on the coaster. "Her granda was Morgan's brother. He was actually in Port Charlotte visiting me when, uh..."

"When he banged my grandma," I fill in. "Yeah... I'm still wrapping my head around it too."

"So if you're a..." Ava pauses and lowers her voice slightly. "Did you know you could feel other people's emotions or did you find out recently?"

"Oh I uh... I'm not sure I can do that actually."

She and Zane both shoot me a skeptical look.

"But being around Zane bothered you, so you must be picking up on something."

"Maybe... I don't know. Maybe it was just a fluke. I have no idea how to use it."

"Empathy is just another sense, like my telepathy," Finn says. "You wouldn't notice you're using it because it's always been there. You just need to flex those muscles. Try it out on me. What am I feeling?"

"Um... I... I don't know. How do I do it?"

"Just say whatever comes to mind. I won't be offended, I promise."

I take a deep breath in and close my eyes for a moment. I'm not sure why exactly, it just seems like the thing to do.

Fear. Overwhelm. Panic.

I don't know where it came from, or if it's even real... but I might as well say it.

"Okay you're.... scared? That doesn't make any sense. Why would you be scared right now?"

Finn's eyes narrow and he smirks slightly.

"No, go on," he says. "Explain what you're picking up on."

"Like maybe... something big is happening and you're not really ready for it and you're freaking out internally." Finn lets out a hearty laugh and I huff, resting my head in my hands. "I told you I'm no good at this!"

"No, no, Sam—you're dead on," he says. "My wife is pregnant. I've pretty much been terrified since we discovered the news. Your instincts are right on."

I lift my head up to look at him.

"Wait... really?"

"It's true," he says.

"Try me!" Ava chimes in.

Suddenly I feel like I have a cool new party trick.

"Okay..." I let myself sink into the floaty, relaxed feeling brought on by the alcohol and decide to just go for it. "I dunno... is nauseous an emotion?"

She bursts into laughter.

"Oh yeah, you're definitely an empath," she says.

"What about me?" Kieran asks. I turn to him and he waggles his brow.

I'm pretty sure it doesn't require empath powers to know what Kieran's feeling.

"We all know what you're feeling, mate," Zane chimes in, shaking his head.

My vision softens slightly and I feel slightly wobbly.

Shit, that vodka is hitting me a lot harder than I thought it would.

They continue to talk and laugh, but my mind feels fuzzy and I can't quite follow the conversation.

"You okay, Red?" Kieran asks, leaning into my side.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I think I'm a little tipsy, actually. I'm not really supposed to drink on days I take my medication. It can make me process liquor extra fast." I feel my cheeks heat with embarrassment. "Sorry if I'm being a little loopy."

"Oh no worries at all," Ava says. "I've definitely been there."

"Actually, this could be a good thing. My powers have always been stronger when I'm sloshed. I think it takes the thinking out of it, you just follow your gut," Finn says. "It's good practice if you want to try it out. And you've got me here to tell you if you're right."

"Oh..." I look around at the handful of patrons. I have been wanting to try this, and it seems as good a time as any. "Okay. Who first?"

"How about the lad tending bar?" Finn gestures to a bartender with dark brown shaggy hair and a beard in a red plaid shirt. He's pouring a drink for a patron and making small talk.

I try not to overthink it and instead just say the first thing that comes to my mind.

"Annoyed. Maybe he doesn't like the guy he's talking to?"

"Right again. He's just playing nice for tips."

"Damn," Kieran says. "I can't tell if I should be scared or turned on right now."

"I told ya it would come naturally," Finn says. "And the fella he's serving?"

I look back at the man; he's older with a loose white t-shirt with a logo and a matching baseball cap.

Anger. Disgust.

"He's angry about something. I'm getting these vibes that he feels like he's entitled to something but didn't get it."

"From what I gather, he got passed over for a promotion," Finn gives me a quick nod and looks back at the man. "Online dating isn't going too well for him either. Angry and entitled seems to be his whole personality."

Ava laughs and Finn shakes his head.

"How about the bro-y guy with the tattoo sleeve?" Ava asks, tilting her head toward a man sitting at a nearby table with gelled-up hair. He sips his amber-colored drink and his eyes dart up to look at me for just a moment before looking away.

"This guy is... mmm okay. Um..." I feel a little awkward saying what I'm actually picking up on. What's a better way of saying horny? "It's kind of like... aroused, I guess?"

"You sure you're not reading me, babe?" Kieran teases.

Finn clears his throat and rubs his brow.

"No, she's correct," he says. "Unfortunately, that bloke's thoughts are very x-rated."

The man's eyes stay on me and he gives me a smile and tips his head back in an inviting nod. The smirk on Kieran's face straightens and his eyes narrow slightly.

"The balls on this motherfucker," he says under his breath with a scoff.

"What're you picking up from Kieran now, Sam?" Finn asks, the corner of his lips curling upward. "Jealousy, perhaps?"

"Oh this is bloody perfect," Zane says, a pleased smile stretching across his face. "Do you know how much hell this wanker gives me about getting possessive?"

Kieran swirls the liquor in his glass and pinches his lips to the side.

"I'm just saying," he says, his shoulders tense and raised, "hitting on her right in front of her boyfriend? Pretty fuckin' bold."

Ava's eyes go wide to an almost comical degree and Zane sputters and coughs, choking on his beer. Finn leans back in his seat and shock flickers across his face.

"Boyfriend, eh?" Finn asks.

"Yep." Kieran grins and gives my knee a playful squeeze.

"Hold on," Zanes chimes in with a smirk. "You care about hitting on taken women now? When did this happen?"

"Right after I fucked your mom," he shoots back.

Zane chuckles and tilts his head to the bar.

"I could use some food, you lot want anything?"

"I'll get it," Kieran says, standing up. "They're short-staffed without me right now anyway. What do you want?"

Zane rattles off an order and Kieran heads to the bar.

"So..." Ava says, turning to me. "You and Kieran are a thing, huh? Like, a thing thing."

"Yeah," I say, feeling heat rise in my cheeks.

"Our boy is obsessed with you," Finn says. "Never thought I'd see Kieran Khatri in love."

"I don't know about that."

Sure, he likes me... but love? Nope. I'm the only one in love here. Kieran "loves fucking me".

Finn's eyes soften and his expression shifts to one of pity.

Oh crap. He can read my mind.

"Trust me, Sam. He's in deep."

"How do you know? I thought you said you couldn't read his mind."

He shakes his head and smiles softly.

"No, I can't. But I don't need to be a mind reader to know what that man feels about you." He gestures over to the bar where Kieran is chatting with a handsome blond guy.

The man is clearly flirting with him but Kieran is leaning away, his posture friendly but not inviting him in. He catches me looking and smiles back at me, brushing the man off and grabbing our tray of food.

"He's in love," Finn says. "Even if he hasn't figured it out yet."

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