Page 224 of Ashes of Sin and Stardust

“What.”

She looked down at my feet. Sure enough, when I looked down, I was wearing two different socks. They were subtly different; both dark, but one was black, and one was dark blue.

Slowly, I looked back up at her. She was trying so hard not to giggle. “Oops,” she whispered.

I nodded slowly, the annoyance turning into excitement. “Okay. Clearly you want me to be mean to you today, so that’s what you’re going to fucking get.”

Once I managed to gether into the belt (which was a feat in and of itself) I cuffed her wrists behind her back and locked them in place. Attaching a thin chain clipped to her two nipple rings and clipping a second chain to the first, I dragged her by the make-shift leash into the dining room, securing the end of the leash to the foot of the table. A spreader bar cuffed to her ankles, and her wrists cuffed to the bar behind her, she had no choice but to kneel on the floor awkwardly and wait for me, waiting there like a useless little baby.

I made dinner quickly and in silence, which felt strange after so many nights of her yammering at me. I plated mine and put hers in a bowl. I set hers on the floor by my feet and took my place at the table.

She glared up at me, fury in her eyes. She squirmed and looked like a tiny kitten whose claws were stuck in the carpet, struggling to move.

“You’re joking.”

“You’d better eat. You’ll need your energy for what I have planned for you tonight.”

“Reuben!”

I set my fork down and turned to look at her. “I will push your face in that bowl and force you to eat that food and lick the bowl clean if you don’t do it yourself. Now eat your fucking dinner, and don’t leave a damn piece behind.”

“Fuckingmake me.”

I smirked. “Okay.” Turning to finish my meal. “But I’d rather not let my own food get cold. The more you eat on your own, the less I have tomakeyou eat.”

She sat there and stared at me, belligerent, until I’d finished, not eating a single bite. “Fine, be a giant brat. It just means I get to be mean to you.”

“You’re notthatmean.”

I smiled down at my plate. That was brat code forshow me just how mean you can be.

Challenge accepted.

“Do you want to explain what brought on this huge tirade of pranks and brattiness?” She had been so good earlier this week. At what point had she started acting bratty? And what had changed? Had the emotional high of my domination simply worn off? Was she breaking rules and being a smartass to make sure I deserved her submission as Becca had warned? Or was there more to it?

“I was bored,” she said, still glaring at me.

“Ah. And... are you less bored now?”

She glared harder, pursing her lips and squinting her eyes up.

I couldn’t help but laugh at the expression. “You’re so cute when you’re mad.”

“I am not cute! I amsuper evil!”

“Oh, you’re right about that last part. But yes, you’re a very cute little racoon.” I wiped my face and set my fork down, having finished my meal.

“Racoon!?”

“And playful, bored racoons who get themselves into trouble don’t have a very nice time, do they, you bad little girl?”

She smirked at that and looked away.

I crouched down in front of her, grabbed her by the hair, and forced her face into the bowl.

She coughed and sputtered and shouted at me, squirming and fighting against me. But after a few moments, she took a bite of the food and began to chew. I released her head and let her come up, and she took a deep breath of air and finished chewing.

“Swallow.”

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