It was scorching, raw, and undulating across his brain much like an acid might burn across flesh. He stumbled backwards, blindsided by the white heat from Aaron’s grip on his hand. The rhythmic, shooting pangs of lust were disorienting.

He pulled back from him, his eyes wide, taking a breath, and his heart pounding through his throat. The man hadn’t said more than ‘hello’ but his touch of pure adrenaline felt wrong and terrifying. Was this psychosomatic? Should he even trust this intuition? After all, it was what he was here for.

“Riley? Are you alright? Please, sit. I’m Dr. Aaron Smith,” He gestured to the chair next to him, “What just happened there?”

Riley sat, numbly, his conscience aching for the door.

“Uh, I sometimes feel like—” He swallowed…hard. “Like I can feel what people are thinking.”

A bead of sweat trickled down Riley’s back as his breath caught in his throat, staring the man down. A furrow arched in the doctor’s brow and he cleared his throat, leaning closer after a moment,
“How so?”