"'Is that what you think of me'," Laurent repeated. His brow furrowed, studying Damen's face as he tried to make sense of that fact. "Like you think I'm bound to hate you. Can you really not comprehend that I can criticize you and also like you?"

Shaking his head, Laurent sighed, turning away and deflating as his temper cooled into unhappiness. "This is exhausting. It's exhausting being honest with you, because you do something unacceptable, I snap at you, you say something harsh enough to make me not want to be in the same room as you, and then later you cool down enough that you're willing to listen, and you realize that my anger was justified. You still hold all the power in this relationship, Damianos. All of it. And every single time I'm honest with you, instead of telling you some soothing lie, I wonder whether this is the time that you call my words treasonous and have me locked away for it. The only thing in the world that protects me from you is your sense of honor and your desire to please me, and you must see how tenuous that is."

Laurent shivered once, realizing as he said it just how true it was, and just how much of a fool he was for letting his pride and his temper lead him into this situation time and again. Dropping his eyes away, he sat down on the edge of the bed. "Never mind. Forget it. Forget everything I said."