Punishment is the most exciting yet misunderstood aspect of erotic power in relationships. And sexual discipline can be a fun way to help correct behaviors that need adjustment. It's not about having control over someone or being cruel to them; it's about trust and being worthy of their trust.

With trust comes power and happiness—Aria's happiness.

After getting to know Aria and seeing how she portrays herself, I've noticed she allows her fears to control her life, painting herself as someone she truly isn't while hiding her true self behind her irresistible skin.

Aria is a beautiful person inside and out, but she lacks one thing: self-assurance. So my goal with her is to teach her self-restraint and how to grow as a person.

It's all there; she just hasn't figured it out yet.

I have a strong desire to help Aria find herself. With high hopes, she'll discover what she likes and doesn't like, figure out her strengths and weaknesses, how not to be afraid of herself, listen to her instincts, and reflect on the woman she truly is.

"Let's get out of here," I told her as I lifted her into my arms.

"I can walk, you know," she protested, trying to get out of my arms. Of course, I know she can walk, but this is my way of starting with her punishment.

As we entered the club area and neared Neron, her friend, and brother, she tried wiggling out of my arms again. "Gunner, please. Put me down; you're embarrassing me."

I looked down, and with a smile, I shook my head. "Not yet, beautiful. After fainting and yelling the safe word for the entire crowd to hear, after I warned that was a private word between us, this is the start of your punishment," I informed, as Justin stepped in front of us, looking at Aria worried.

"How's she doing?"

"I'm fine," she hissed. "Someone's just acting like a worrywart, refusing to let me walk out of here on my own."

"I'm not refusing; you earned this," I winked after she looked at me with a scowled look.

Justin laughed. "Well, I'm glad she's okay. I guess we can say she tried."

I looked at her, then at him, and smirked. "She tried, yes." Not hard enough, though. "But I knew it would happen," I said, looking at Aria.

Justin rested his hand on my shoulder and grinned. "You did good tonight."

"The fight went better than I thought."

Justin chuckled, then his brows drew together. "The tiger looked like he gained some weight from the last time I saw him fight. He wasn't as quick as he used to be, either."

"I noticed that too," I agreed. "But that's okay; it just made tonight's fight easier for me."

My arms tightened when Aria thought she could get out of my grip. I looked down, cocking a brow. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I want to stand. I'm not hurt, and I'm not a little child."

A giggle escaped Nikki, and as Aria looked her way, Nikki tightened her lips, then giggled again. "You're fine, Aria. I wish Justin would carry me like that."

"It's embarrassing," Aria scoffed.

"If anything, you should be embarrassed about fainting in front of everyone," Nikki mentioned with a grin. She looked at Justin, then at Aria. "Well, I think we're going to get going. I have to work in the morning."

"We'll talk later," I told her.

"Thanks for inviting us," Nikki smiled. "It was fun!"

I nodded. "You're welcome," I said, turning, refusing to set Aria down after she begged that I do.

I opened the back door to the Escalade, and as I slid into the backseat, with her on my lap, she looked at me, scowling, "Are you not going to let me sit by myself either?"

I loosened my arms and smiled. "Sit wherever you would like," I said, waving my arm to the open seating, adding, "But close enough so we can talk. You're still in trouble."

"Where will Neron be sitting? Because I don't want to be anywhere near that asshole."

I laughed. "Neron will leave us alone for the rest of the night. And to answer your question, he'll be sitting in the front." I cocked my head to the side, smirking. "What's the matter? Do you not like him?"

She moved to the seat across from me, huffing while folding her arms against her chest. She looked out the window, hissing, "He's always giving me a dirty look and acts like I'm a nobody. I also didn't appreciate him snapping at me earlier tonight, either. I know he was trying to do his job, but so was I."

Really...

I leaned closer to her, drawing my brows together, curious about what she meant. "And what is your job, exactly?"

She slowly looked away from the window, then over at me. "To make sure you're okay. If you haven't figured it out by now, I like you. And I don't want to see you hurt. So when I saw that blood gushing from your side, I freaked out and knew I had to help care for that wound. If you've forgotten, I'm a nurse; he isn't."

My lips twitched in amusement.

I slid over beside her, wrapped my arm around her shoulder, and pulled her to me. Then I lowered my forehead to hers and smiled while looking into her eyes.

"You like me, huh? Well, I have news for you too, babe. I like you too. But you have to remember, Neron's been doing this for over thirty years. He knows what he's doing, and for safety reasons, we can't have you coming into the ring like that. I like that you don't want to see me hurt. It shows me how much you care. But now we need to talk about the safe word again."

"I know..." she sighed, "I'm sorry. But when I saw what BK was about to do and you were lying there, not looking or getting up, I wanted to get your attention. I was only trying to help so you wouldn't get hurt. That's all."

I pulled her onto my lap. Then slid her hair over to the other side of her shoulder and cupped the side of her face. "The safe word isn't supposed to be used for that. That word is for you only to say when alone with me. That's why I specifically said not to say it during the fight. And by you yelling it repeatedly, it nearly cost me the win. So because you didn't listen, I need to punish you for using that word."

Her lips twisted, and then she let out a heavy sigh.

"I said I was sorry... it's something I'm not used to; this safe word thing is new to me."

"I understand that, so that's why I need to teach you a lesson," I smirked. "You need to learn when and when not to use that word." Her facial expression quickly changed, looking as if she was thinking hard. "What are you thinking so hard about?"

"I'm trying to figure out what my punishment is." Her eyes turned serious. "You're not going to beat me, are you?"

I chuckled, shaking my head.

I removed her from my lap and onto the seat. "No. I'm not going to beat you. I told you before; I don't hit women. I would never lay a hand on you. Not in an angrily way, that is..." I said, stealing her lips while lowering my hand to her pussy, rubbing it softly. "My hands will only be doing things to please you."

"Pleasure me, then," she whispered, closing her eyes the more I rubbed her pussy.

My hand slid inside her panties, down between her warm folds, and then I slid a finger into her. Her lips broke from mine, whimpering while tilting her head back.

I slowly slid my finger in and out, wetting her clit. And when I noticed her rosebud had swollen, I teased it more before sliding my finger back inside her. Every thrust, her back arched high, giving me the reaction I hoped to see. "Gunner," she happily purred.

I leaned to the side of her face. "You like that?" I whispered, nibbling her ear.

She nodded.

I thrust my finger deeper into her hot canal, and the longer I massaged her insides, the more she clawed and dug her nails into my back.

I silenced her whimpering with my lips while sliding another finger into her warm, wet pussy. I deepened the kiss, adding a third finger inside her wetness. "Gunner," she moaned. "I need air," she moaned again, trying to break free from my mouth.

I allowed her to get the air she needed by breaking from her mouth, then gently trailed my lips down to her neck—licking, sucking, and nibbling her neck and collarbone, working her up before the actual punishment started.

"Where are we going, Gunner?" my driver interrupted us over the intercom. "Damn it..." I whispered.

Nothing like ruining the moment.

I groaned, found her mouth, and kissed her soft, plump lips. "Excuse me a moment."

I sat, then leaned over and pressed the intercom button, growling, "Just drive around for a while until I figure out where we're going... in the meantime, turn on the music. Metallica, please..."

"Any specific album or song?"

"I don't care. Just turn on Metallica..." I ordered, looking at Aria.

Wait...

"Play Nothing Else Matters, thanks."

Once the song started, I lowered on top of her, crushing my lips to hers. Then I slid my hand back inside her panties and began teasing her.

"Listen to the lyrics, Aria. Everything I've been telling you is right in this song. Plus, what I'm about to do to you? Nothing else will matter. From this moment on, it's just you and me, babe..." I informed, parting from her lips.

I removed her bottoms then dropped them to the floor. "Keep listening," I instructed when James Hetfield started singing. I grabbed hold of her legs and then placed them over my shoulders. When I looked at what was in front of me staring me in the face, I licked my lips, then smirked. It had been a while since I satisfied a woman this way, and I couldn't wait to use my tongue to see her squirm and my ears to hear the sounds exiting her mouth.

Beautiful.

Absolutely beautiful.

And I'll bet she tastes just as good as it looks.

I looked at the warm pie, licking my lips. It felt like Thanksgiving, where I was about to feast on a sixteen-course meal. Curious to see her reaction the moment my mouth dug into the pie, I kept my eyes on her. Her back arched high, and a moan escaped her lips when the tip of my tongue hit her clit. And when I began lapping her up like a dog drinking his water, she grabbed a fistful of my hair and moaned louder.

Aria raised her hips higher. So I held her hips where I wanted to arouse her more with my tongue. I held her hips firmer when she started to squirm, and to get her to stop moving, I used my teeth to latch on her swollen bud, bit, then tugged until she repeatedly panted, "Oh God, oh God, oh God!"

If she thinks that's exciting, I'd like to see her reaction when I do something else...

While teasing her clit, I fucked her with a couple of fingers, my eyes on her the entire time, to enjoy the beautiful moment before the fun began. Now that I had her as wet as possible, I wanted to taste her. So I removed my fingers, and my tongue entered her warm, damp opening in one thrust.

The second my taste buds got a taste of her sweetness and wanted more, I thrust my tongue in deeper, drinking her while massaging her walls. She squealed, panted, and squirmed while kneading her fingers along my scalp before entwining her fingers around my hair and tugging hard.

"Lord have mercy!" she screamed, "Gunner, stop! I can't handle this anymore!"

I chuckled under my breath.

This gave me more ammo to tease her even more.

I twirled my tongue inside her while teasing and pinching her clit with my fingers. "Gunner!" she panted, slithering her body like a snake trying to get away.

My tongue left her canal to suck on her erected clit. I licked, nibbled, and sucked, repeating the torture to her clit as I did to her tits the other night.

Speaking of tits...

With my mouth still feasting on her quivering, excited pussy, I slid my hands underneath her shirt and up to her breasts, caressing them before pinching and pulling her erected nipples and biting and tugging her clit—doubling the punishment.

"I ca-can't do th-i-is any-mo-ore," she stammered.

I bit and tugged, pinched, and pulled harder, waiting for her to say the word.

"Gunner!" she screamed.

"Say the word," I spoke with her clit still latched between my teeth.

"Fuck, Gunner, fuck!"

"That's not the word," I warned, grinning.

As I waited for her to say the safe word, I continued punishing her. At first, I planned to excite her and stop before she was about to orgasm, but the more I tasted her and relished her sweet tasting juices, I changed my mind and decided to punish her this way.

I removed one of my hands from her breasts, lowering it to her pussy and thrusting three fingers into her, fucking her like it was my cock. Her hips violently rocked, and then in a high-pitched voice, she squealed, "Beetlejuice!"

There it is...

I slid my tongue between her folds with one long slow stride, then ended the punishment.

"Good girl," I whispered before greeting her lips with mine, kissing her lovingly and passionately, sharing what I savored, then broke the kiss and breathed, "Now do you know when to say the word?"

Nodding, she breathed, "Yes." She paused, took a deep breath, then said, "Is my punishment done? Because I don't think I can handle you doing this to me anymore."

"Did you not like it?"

"No, I didn't," she hissed, pushing herself out from beneath me. But, if I knew any better, I noticed a hint of a smile behind that scowled look she tried giving me.

I moved next to her, then slid my fingers through her hair after she turned her head away from me. Then I slid my hand over to her cheek, turning her to face me. "Not at all?"

"No."

The expression on her face and the tone in her voice said otherwise. Knowing she was lying, I arched a brow. "Are you sure about that?"

"Well... I was enjoying everything until you started torturing me."

My hand slid down to her chin. "I wasn't torturing; I was punishing—teaching you when to say the safe word. And as you saw, I stopped the second you said the word. So, Aria. Are you still going to lie and tell me you didn't like it?"

Her eyes lowered away from mine. "I don't know," she whispered. "I feel very confused."

I lowered my mouth to hers, kissing her slowly. Then pulled her into my arms and held her, showing her the affection needed after the punishment.

I softly kissed her neck, saying, "Aria, don't be confused. You need to allow your mind to go free and let it explore unrestrictedly. It needs to find what it likes and wants without roadblocks. Your body and mind could be wanting something more than what you're allowing it to experience, but you don't know what it wants because you're not allowing it to know what it likes. How will you know what you like and don't like if you refuse to let your body tell you? This may all be new to you, and you're telling yourself you hate it, but in reality, you do like it. You're just too afraid to admit it. Do you see what I'm saying?"

"That's what scares me. But, on the other hand, I think I do like it. It hurts at first, but when the torturing is over, I feel sexual excitements roaming through my body, turning me on. It almost feels like I'm on a strange drug that causes me to feel like I'm high as a kite."

I devilishly grinned. Without Aria actually saying it, she's admitting she loves it and has been too afraid to admit it to herself and me. "It's called a sexual high. You just told me everything I needed to hear... you enjoyed it."

***

"It's been a week since BK the Tiger ended in the hospital, and The Tormentor still hasn't come out of hiding? So what the fuck, Neron? It's his brother, for crying out loud!"

"I'm sorry, Gunner. I don't know what to tell you," Neron responded, shrugging his shoulders. "Other than I've been to the hospital three times this week. And each time they've claimed, the only visitors he's had been me."

I frustratedly dragged my fingers through my hair, then gripped and pulled. And the grin on Neron's face tells me my hair must look like I stuck my finger into a light socket. "They're lying, Neron," I groaned. "They're fucking lying, and you know it," I snapped. "He's paying the fucking hospital workers to tell you that," I yelled, punching my fist through the wall.

"Hey... don't be breaking your damn knuckles! You have a big fight in a couple of weeks, and you don't need any broken bones in your hand."

I turned to face him, pointed my finger at him, and scoffed, "I can still fight with broken knuckles. It wouldn't be the first time."

"He'll come out... he's most likely waiting for the right time. It could take weeks or months for him to show his face; you know how he is. We all know he got the message. He knows you're looking for him after what you did to his brother. He's pissed..." he groaned, then paused. His brows then formed together. "Not to change the subject, but your next fight. Are you bringing Aria?"

I leaned the back of my head against the wall, sighing as I looked at the ceiling. "I don't know. I haven't decided. I have good reasons for leaving her behind, but I also have good reasons to bring her along. If I left her behind and something terrible happened, I would feel like shit. She exposed herself by entering the ring that night."

"You've been working all week with her; she must have learned something by now."

I pushed myself away from the wall, shaking my head. "It's not enough." I looked at Neron, lowering my eyebrows. "Have you seen how small-framed she is? She has zero muscle on her body, not to mention she's this big around," I reminded, showing him using my fingers, making it look like she's the size of fucking pencil.

Neron's shoulders bounced up and down fast, laughing at my description of Aria.

"Exaggerate much?" Neron teased.

"Well, you know what I mean—Aria's fucking tiny. And every time I pick her up, I feel like I'm going to break those tiny little bones of hers. So if I feel I can do that to her, imagine what someone else could do! One who's intentionally trying to hurt her?"

Neron gripped his hips, then lowered his head and shook it, mumbling, "I can't believe I'm about to offer this." He looked up at me. "But would you like me to help you out by teaching her some self-defense moves?"

I walked over to my gloves, picked them up, and then stared at them. "I don't know; Aria's doing well with learning the moves I've taught her, and I've taught her every move I can think of that'll keep her from getting hurt." I sat on the bench, looking at Neron, sighing, "Including everything my father taught me growing up—teaching her everything I wish I had taught Shelby."

Neron walked over and sat next to me. "I can help you, Gunner. I'd hate to see another one of your girls..." he paused, and I'm glad he did because he was about to say what I've been thinking since allowing Aria into my life. "I just feel you're teaching her things way too fast. It's a lot of information and skills to learn that may confuse or overwhelm her. When will she be at the gym next?"

"Monday. Why?"

His lips curved slightly upward. It wasn't a smile but a smirk that showed he was about to regret what he'll be saying next. "I'd like to observe you with Aria and see everything you taught her. And then, when you're done with her, I thought I could be your dummy and let her attack me. She hates me anyway, so this might be a little fun for her," he admitted, showing a bit of regret in his eyes.

I laughed.

He's got that right. After the way he's treated her, I don't blame her for disliking Neron. But she also earned him yelling at her the night of the fight after she got in his way. However, I feel that if Aria and I continue hanging out, eventually, they'll like each other. But I know Neron, and because he knows I like her, he already does, too. All he wants is for Aria to let him do his job.

And I agree with him, there.

"I'm sure she would like that."

"So, it's settled?"

A massive smile formed on my face. Now I cannot wait to tell Aria what Neron offered and see what she does to him.

I'll bet anybody anything it'll be fucking epic.

"Yeah, I'll give her the good news when I pick her up tonight."

Hope the chapter was okay!❤🤞❤🤞

https://youtu.be/tAGnKpE4NCI

Nothing Else Matters- Metallica

So close, no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
And nothing else matters

Never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words, I don't just say
And nothing else matters

Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us something new
Open mind for a different view
And nothing else matters

Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
But I know

So close, no matter how far
It couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
And nothing else matters

Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
But I know

I never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words, I don't just say
And nothing else matters

Trust I seek and I find in you...