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Her eyes narrowed. “Are you sorry because you frightened me? Or are you sorry because you don’t like how it made you feel?”
I blinked. “Does it matter?”
“Yes. In the first scenario, you actually care how I’m feeling. In the second, you only care about yourself.”
I cocked my head at her, mulling it over. “Would you prefer that I lied and gave you the pretty answer?”
“No.”
“All right. I’m sorry because I don’t like how I feel right now. I regret my actions, because the results are unpleasant. But the outcome is the same. I’ve apologized, and you’re not frightened anymore. The issue is resolved.”
She pressed her lips together and studied my face for a long moment. “You really don’t feel emotions like a normal person, do you?”
I shrugged, looking away from her incisive gaze. “You’ve said it yourself plenty of times already: I’m a sociopath. An inability to experience empathy is how I got where I am today. I’m not ashamed of who I am.”
She remained silent for a few seconds, and I found myself fascinated by the red lace on the neckline of the silk nightgown I’d bought for her.
“In that case, I accept your apology.”
My gaze snapped back to hers. “Why?” I asked, again without thinking. Her reasoning shouldn’t concern me, but it did.
She gave me a half-smile, and I wasn’t certain if she was being patronizing. “Because you’re trying, at least.”
“I will always try with you, Carmen,” I vowed. “I will never hurt you.”
She nodded, but she didn’t say anything. Her skin had flushed with its usual warmth, but she was still disconcertingly quiet.
The solution suddenly clicked in my mind, and I shifted off the bed to get what I needed. Carmen didn’t respond to empty words; we lived in a world of deceit, and she had no reason to trust me, especially after I’d terrified her twice in one day.
She needed to see actions. Evidence that I would honor my promise.
“What are you doing?” she asked when I set the first aid kit down on the mattress beside her.
Dr. Holloway had left it in my bedroom in case Carmen needed something urgently. The situation now wasn’t particularly urgent, but I was grateful that I had the tools to handle this without calling for his assistance.
“Your bandages need to be changed,” I explained as I started my task.
She tried to pull her foot away, but I grasped her ankle and put her back where I wanted her.
“Shouldn’t the doctor do that?” she protested.
I glanced up to find that her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were wide with disbelief. Her shocked expression drew a chuckle from my chest. “I know what I’m doing. I got in plenty of fights before I had enough resources to keep a private physician on retainer. Some of these cuts are deep, but the stitches won’t come out for a few days. Until then, it’s just a matter of keeping them clean and keeping weight off your feet as much as possible.”
She blushed, giving herself away. Although Carmen was infamous for her icy, controlled demeanor, I knew that she could be quite expressive, once her guard was down.
“I think you walked around more than you were supposed to today. Didn’t you, kitten?”
She shifted, and I firmed my grip on her ankle to hold her in place while I sterilized her wounds.
“You didn’t stipulate a time limitation,” she asserted. “If you want to enforce an order after the fact, you have to be more specific with the parameters of the command.”
I shot her a wicked grin. She thought she was lecturing me, a subtle insult to my leadership skills.
“I’ll remember that next time I issue you a command.”
Her thick lashes narrowed, drawing another laugh from me. She really was adorable when she was fuming.
I finished bandaging one foot and moved to the other, content to let her glare at me while I focused on my task. When I finished, I picked her up and carried her to the half bath.
“Get ready for bed, and then come back to me without any sharp objects in your hands.” I set her down on her feet, stroking her hair when she winced. “If you do try to stab me, I will turn you over my knee and spank you so that you can’t sit comfortably tomorrow. I imagine that would be unpleasant, since you can’t walk comfortably right now, either.” I grinned down at her. “There. Am I getting better at issuing commands?”
Her lips twisted as though she’d bitten something sour, and she shot me the middle finger, shoving it straight in my face.
“A witty retort,” I said with mock approval. “I’m devastated. Now, be a good girl and don’t try to stab me.”
The sound of her indignant huff followed me out of the bathroom, and she slammed the door behind me.
