Libby glanced at the others in the room. “I would like to speak with Savage alone.”
Tyson frowned at her, clearly wanting to protest. Czar did the same. Blythe stood up immediately, prompting the two men to do so as well. Reluctantly, they followed Blythe out. She was the one to close the door.
There was silence as the two of them looked at each other. Savage didn’t flinch under her steady gaze.
“If I can see you, she can,” Libby said. Her voice was still that same soft, accepting tone. Clearly, she wasn’t probing too deep. “I doubt if she’s adept enough yet to see more than flashes, but it would be enough to see what you’ve done for the others. You shoulder their emotional pain, Savage, and it’s tremendous. Not just when you were children, but even now. There’s rage. Sheer rage. Hurt. Terror. So many emotions all blended together. You take those burdens on so they’re bearable for the others. She sees that in you, and that’s why she’s so drawn to you. Not just the healer in her—and she can’t take that on—but the woman in her.”
He was aware of what Libby was telling him on some level. The monster in him was counting on it.
“You’re worried about your lifestyle impacting her health,” Libby said, getting straight to the point. “She doesn’t have to heal you. Physical pain isn’t the same thing as sickness, Savage. What she chooses to suffer on your behalf, or if she chooses to find pleasure in the sexual practices with you, is up to her. Those things will not in any way affect her health.”
“You’re positive? My lifestyle can be . . . rough.”
“You know better than I do that what she will need is rest and care. Lots of it. You will have to see to those things, no matter what lifestyle you have with her.”
Savage knew that already. His intention was to give Seychelle more care than she’d ever had in her life. So much she’d probably feel smothered.
Libby leaned in close. “I can see that you love this woman and you intend to care for her. If that’s the case, you have to build such trust between you that she will accept your word instantly. I was lucky to have my sisters to guide me. If I screwed up, I knew I endangered them as well as myself. Your woman doesn’t have those guidelines. She’s doing all of this blind. She has instincts and a tremendous compulsion just like you have. Think about trying to stop what you do. You’re a force of nature. You don’t want her to think you’re a dictator. I can’t emphasize this to you enough. If you don’t get her to understand and willingly follow your guidance, she’s going to die. That’s the bottom line. If you can’t convince her that you have to step in to save her life, then you’ll lose her. I’m willing to speak to her if you need me to. I’ll give you my cell phone number.”
“Thanks. She loves to sing. She wants to sing with bands some of the time, but when she does, there are people who are sick. I had a headache the other night and she took it away. The next thing I knew, she had it. When I realized what she’d done, I was so fucking pissed I could barely see straight. She loves singing. Loves it. But when she’s up there, she can’t help herself . . .” He trailed off, shaking his head. “If I take that away, if I take everything she loves from her, what does she have?”
“You can’t take that away. You have to communicate. She has to trust you implicitly. You have to do exactly what Tyson said. Have signs, code words, and if that doesn’t work, then you become the caveman. Her band can be clued in, be part of her protection. They can help. As for taking away a headache, Savage, she has to be a healer. That’s her gift, and you have to let her do the small things that won’t kill her. Especially for you. For the people she cares about. Little things aren’t going to harm her, and she’ll grow in control.”
“So, eventually, she’ll be able to control her impulse to heal people?”
Libby shook her head. “No, she’ll have a little more control in that she’ll be able to reach out to you and tell you she’s in trouble. Can you stop yourself from taking on the emotional pain or the anger and rage of the others in your club?”
“No, I can’t stop,” he admitted. “I know to gain Seychelle’s trust, I have to be completely honest with her. I don’t want her to blame the others for the buildup of violence and rage that happens in me.” He rubbed both his hands over his head in agitation, wanting to pound his fists into the wall. For a moment the walls actually breathed in and out with him. “I can’t change what’s in me, Libby.”