“Life-threatening.” Savage all but growled it.
“Let’s go back to singing,” Seychelle said. “And forget the other. What were you saying about that, Lissa?”
“You have a real gift,” Savage said. “I’m in awe of your talent.” He was.
Lissa nodded in agreement. “I was there the other night. Believe me, I know you do. That’s why it’s so important to always have security in your home and around you when you go out. I was terrified of dogs until we got Baron. Gavriil talked me into taking one of the puppies his pair had, and he’s come every day to help me train him. Lucia babysits him and helps out to reinforce Baron’s training. I have to admit, I love him and don’t know what I’d do without him.”
“Is he fully grown?” Seychelle asked.
“Yes, he’s grown now; they get their full growth at two years. He’s a big boy,” Lissa answered.
Casimir put his arm around his wife. “Lucia has a special affinity with dogs, and Lissa uses every excuse to have her come over and help out with the dog or the cooking or learning something new.”
Lissa laughed and shrugged, not bothering to deny it. “It’s true. I like the girl. A lot. I can’t help myself. I don’t like that she takes the world on her shoulders. She lost her little sister on that ship, and she looks after her siblings as if she’s their mother. Now I feel as if she’s taken on Airiana as well. I don’t want her to turn out like me.” She gave a little chin lift to her husband.
He caught her chin in his hand easily and brushed a kiss over her lips. “If she turns out like you, she will be brilliant and wonderful, a miracle for her partner.”
Lissa smiled at him, the smile lighting her face. “Is that how you see me? A miracle?”
“That’s exactly how I see you.”
Lissa swallowed and shook her head, blinking rapidly. “You always say things that make me want to cry.” She turned back to Savage and Seychelle. “I think I can do something with what is left of the sculpture, Seychelle, but it won’t be the same. It will have your parents’ ashes in it, but they’ll be mingled together rather than apart in two separate roses. There is no way for me to figure out which pieces of glass have who embedded in them.”
Seychelle took a deep breath and tightened her fingers around Savage’s hand. “I think Casimir is right, Lissa. You are a miracle. Thank you for even trying to save the sculpture any way you can. It doesn’t have to be roses, or flowers for that matter, just anything with my parents’ ashes in it. This means a lot to me.”
Seychelle sat with her back to the headboard, wearing nothing but a nearly transparent crop top that clung to her generous breasts. She wasn’t wearing panties, because, really, what was the use? Savage lay with his arm around her hips and his head on her belly while she massaged his scalp. It was his favorite place. He found peace right there. Utter contentment.
He’d tried to re-create that same feeling of peace for Seychelle that she had in her little cottage, but the bed was enormous. The sea was closer, the waves louder as they crashed against the bluff and sea stacks. Still, she was getting so she seemed to find peace there as well.
“Are we going to ask questions tonight, baby?” he asked, keeping his voice gentle. He didn’t care one way or the other. He didn’t mind lying there with her, listening to the ocean and drifting off with the scent of her in his lungs.
“Not tonight, Savage. But I do have a few questions.” She looked up at him with her sea-blue eyes. “Do you know who destroyed my home, Savage? Does the entire club know? Has the destruction of my home become a Torpedo Ink thing that we can’t talk about?”
He nuzzled her bare belly with his chin, all the while meeting her eyes. “Baby, I’ve given this a lot of thought. How we should be. What kind of relationship we need to have. I have to protect you. You have to have certain things in order for me to meet your emotional needs. When we had a meeting with Blythe and Czar, Blythe said something that really resonated with me.”
Her fingers continued to massage his scalp. “What was that?”
“She said she only asked questions when she really wanted to know the answer and knew she could handle it. She also said if she got the answer, she wouldn’t judge. I’m asking you to let this one go. If you ask, anytime you ask me, I’m going to give you the absolute truth, just like Czar does Blythe, and hold you to the no-judging rule. But, baby, I’m asking you, for me, to let this one go, if you can.” He held her gaze steady. “I know you love that house. I know those things destroyed were personal and yours. You have every right to know who did that to you, but I’m asking you to let this one pass.”