Bitten (Once Bitten, Twice Shy #1)(45)

Punishment.

Katherine realized quickly that it wasn't going to be as easy as she had first assumed.

In fact, it only took about five seconds after being roused at the crack of dawn by a sleepy Caleb for her to understand that cooking wasn't Bastian's real punishment for her.

No.

The true torture was being woken up so early to do the said cooking that it was still dark outside, only the faintest beams of pinks and oranges peeking through the windows' blinds.

And Caleb's real punishment, apparently, was having to put up with her.

She'd been jostled awake by the man shaking her shoulder and startled, Katherine managed to nail him in the nose with a sharp elbow.

The force of the blow caused Caleb to stumble backward and mortified, Katherine tore the sheets off her legs and shot out of bed. "Crap! Are you okay, Caleb?"

"I'm fine," he immediately assured her. He was holding one hand to his injured appendage, however, and the words were somewhat muffled as they traveled between the cracks of his fingers. "I'm sorry for startling you. I called your name, but you wouldn't wake up so I grabbed your shoulder."

She had just smacked Caleb in the face with her elbow and he was sorry?

"Don't apologize. I'm the one who should be sorry. I shouldn't ha-"

"It's alright," Caleb interrupted. He removed his hand from his nose. While she was glad to see it wasn't bleeding, she couldn't help but notice how red and tender it looked.

Katherine bit her lower lip, gnawing at the sensitive flesh there, before hesitantly approaching the man and laying a hand on his bicep. "I actually meant that I'm sorry for the stunt I pulled at the motel in Linburg. Not that I'm not sorry for hitting you," she assured when she saw his brow furrow in confusion, "but back at the motel, I shouldn't have tricked you."

She hoped Caleb would be able to hear the sincerity in her voice.

He must have because he graced her with a smile. "It's okay," he assured.

Katherine had hoped that apologizing to Caleb would have made her feel better and ease the guilt she still felt about the incident, but his easy forgiveness only served to make her feel worse.

It was maddening.

"No, it's not," she insisted, the words thoughtlessly spilling from her lips. "I made you go against Bastian's orders and now you're being punished. It's completely my fault. I tried to tell Bastian that it was all my doing and you didn't do anything wrong, but he wouldn't listen to me. He never listens to me!"

Caleb's eyes widened as the words continued to pour out of her mouth, her verbal filter apparently experiencing a glitch of some sort. "Katherine, it's okay. Really. I don't blame you for what you did. I've been in a position similar to yours and I can't begrudge you your actions. And as for Bastian, well, I mean, he's right. I knew better than to disobey his orders, but I did anyway."

The man's brown eyes were earnest and Katherine didn't know whether to be relieved that the only person in her pack she considered a friend had forgiven her or angry that he was insisting Bastian was right and letting the other man dictate his life.

"But Caleb-"

"Besides I like to cook," he interrupted her protests once more. “I’m usually responsible for the meals anyway.”

Katherine frowned, not knowing if Caleb really did usually do all of the cooking or if he was just trying to pacify her.

If he was, it was working.

"Okay," she sighed in defeat before running a hand through her hair. And was abruptly reminded of the horrendous state it was in. She groaned. "Do you mind if I shower quickly before meeting you in the kitchen?"

The man laughed, but she wasn't sure if it was due to the question or the twisted grimace her face had undoubtedly transformed into as she attempted to untangle her knotted mess of hair with her fingers.

Katherine eyed him. Probably the grimace.

She glared until his laughter subsided.

"Sure," he agreed, a smile stretching across his face, "but, no offense, you look like you might need to upgrade that quick shower into a long bath."

"Ha ha," Katherine muttered, rolling her eyes. She perked up, however, when she remembered the whirl pool bath tub she'd discovered when she was exploring the bedroom the night before. "Actually, I might take you up on that offer. If it's okay with you, I'll meet you in the kitchen in twenty. It's connected to the dining room, right?"

Caleb nodded, though he looked confused as to how she could have known that. Apparently Bastian had informed him that she was awake, but not about the conversation – and she used the term conversation lightly – she'd had with Bastian a few hours earlier. Good. She'd like to keep it that way.

"Alright, I'll see you in a few minutes then."

Caleb agreed and swiftly exited. Katherine took the time to stretch before making her way towards the door she knew led to the bathroom.

The tiled room looked even more exceptional than it had the previous night. The tub especially. She twisted its glass knobs and shucked off her clothes without a second thought. She avoided gazing into the mirror as the porcelain bathtub filled with water, weary of the disheveled girl that had greeted her the last time she had looked into its reflective surface.

She filled the tub as high as she dared before turning on the jets and allowing her tense body to sink into the pool of warm water. Her muscles relaxed immediately and she couldn't stop an appreciative groan from escaping. She only allowed herself a few minutes of relaxation, however, before reaching for the hair products she'd snatched from a cabinet before getting into the bathtub.