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“Only just,” Sinead said.

“Sinead speaks sense,” Booby said. “You should listen. I’ve said the same thing to Talyn many times.”

Sinead gently thumped his chest. “You see, the two women in your life think you need help.”

Talyn shook his head. He couldn’t involve Sinead in this mess of a mind. She deserved better than to deal with his issues. She was a good person, a beautiful person who had her own share of darkness. He couldn’t inflict any of his turmoil on her. It wasn’t fair.

“You can give me the silent treatment,” Sinead said, “but I’ll keep pushing. You need to figure out a way to handle this. There must be other things you can do.”

Talyn closed his eyes and rubbed his fingers across the lids. “My barriers usually work.”

“They haven’t worked six hundred and forty-seven times,” Sinead said.

“They’re not a failsafe, but they do the job. It’s kept me alive this long.”

“You want to do more than just stay alive. Booby confirmed that you isolate yourself. You go into deep space, so you don’t have to deal with other people.”

Talyn gritted his teeth. “Booby talks too much.”

“I speak the truth.”

Talyn frowned. “What’s that Earth saying I’ve heard? Hell is other people?”

“Funny guy. I get it. People can be full on.” Sinead tilted her head. “I’ve even had that said about me a few times.”

Talyn shrugged. “I thought that about you when we first met.”

She rested her chin on his bare chest. “I knew you didn’t like me.”

“You almost knocked me off my feet. Your emotions were all over the place. I couldn’t decide if you wanted to burst into song or were about to start sobbing.”

Sinead bit her bottom lip and looked away. “Sometimes, neither do I.”

Talyn realized he’d touched a sore spot. “I heard something in your head that worries me.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You keep out of my head. It’s done just fine without you messing with it.”

“Which is sort of my point,” Talyn said. “I’m dealing with my issues in my own way.”

Sinead lifted herself off his chest and pulled her arm out from behind him. “You can do better. Maybe we both can. Maybe we can help each other with this.”

His shoulders tensed. It was selfish to ask her to stay, no matter how much he wanted her to. “No, I don’t want you involved.”

“What if I want to be involved? I can help you. You shouldn’t shut me out. It’s not what a mate does.”

“You’re using the mate card now?” Anger bristled through Talyn. “You can’t say you don’t want to be my mate and then issue orders and use our bond to emotionally blackmail me.”

“Nobody said anything about emotional blackmail.” Sinead fluttered her lashes.

“And no using your looks to get me to change my mind.” Stars! She was a tricky one. Talyn wouldn’t give in. He wouldn’t let Sinead see his damage. She’d said she didn’t want to settle and wanted out of this mess. He had to let her go while he still had a mind that wasn’t a scrambled mess of uncertainty and chaos.

Sinead stared at his stomach for a moment. “Booby said skin on skin contact was the best thing for you.”

Talyn let out a slow breath. “And for that, I love Booby.”

“I love you too,” Booby said.

Talyn stroked his fingers through Sinead’s hair. “It was more than you needed to do.”