On the other, it was humiliating and demeaning to be punished like this just because she was a little sarcastic. And if he didn’t like her attitude, did that mean he didn’t like her? Was he trying to mold her into some weird, Stepford wife version of herself?
“Red,” she whispered, so quietly she barely heard it herself.
But he must have, because he damn near dropped the plate on the floor in his haste to get to her. “What’s wrong, baby? Here, let me get them off and we can talk. It’s going to hurt, so brace yourself.”
Surprisingly gentle hands cupped her breast as he carefully unclamped the first nipple. Pain stabbed at her again, even more intense than when he’d originally clamped her, and tears sprung to her eyes.
“I know, Ace. I’m sorry. If I could take them off without it hurting, I swear I would. Next one.”
The concern in his voice soothed some of the worry, though it did little for the pain in her nipples. When she was free of the clamps, he pulled her into his lap, gently rocking her.
“Can you tell me what happened, baby? Were they too tight?”
Gods, now she felt like a complete asshole for making him worry. “No. It wasn’t the nipple things.”
“Clamps,” he provided, a hint of amusement in his tone. “If it wasn’t those, then what was it?”
Now that the pain had mostly faded, embarrassment washed over her. “Nothing. I just overreacted.”
“Mina. What did I say about lying to me?”
“I’m not lying.” Maybe a little. “I really do feel like I overreacted.”
“About what?”
Sighing, she sat up to face him. “Look, I really like you. But the thing is, I like me, too.”
“We’re on the same page, then, because I’m rather fond of you myself.”
“Are you? Because if you are, then why do you keep punishing me for just being myself?”
He opened his mouth, then snapped it shut again, his brows furrowing. “I can see why that might be confusing.”
“It’s confusing and upsetting and all kinds of things. I don’t want to change everything about myself to be with you, Cyrus. I’ve watched too many women do that and I refuse to be one of them.”
“And I don’t want you to change, Ace.”
“Then what’s the deal?” Frustration built in her chest. She could hear it coloring her tone, no matter how calm she was trying to be. “If you don’t want me to change, then why do you keep punishing me for it?”
The corner of his mouth twisted up in a wry smile. “Look, Mina, if I truly had an issue with the way you talk to me or your attitude, I can promise these punishments would be very different.”
“Oh. How so?”
“For starters, I wouldn’t let you come when I fuck you. And you would be sitting very, very gingerly.”
Frowning, she plucked at the collar of his sweater as she considered his words. “So even though you’re punishing me, you don’t really want me to change?”
“No, baby. I wouldn’t change a thing about you. The punishments, well, those are partially to keep the attitude from crossing the line between playful and outright disrespect. I don’t believe you would ever mean to cross that line, but it’s my job to reel you in when you get a little too close to it. Does that make sense?”
“I guess so. What’s the other part?”
“Punishing you is really fucking hot.”
That perked her up and had her grinning despite her lingering reservations. “Yeah?”
“Yes. Seeing you in those clamps, watching your face as you struggled to take the pain for me? I have never seen anything more erotic.”
“It was pretty damn hot for me, too. At least until I got into my head.”