Mike visibly calms, though just for a second. He hadn't messed up. Liam is encouraging him, Liam is pleased by him, and it's those little compliments that Liam rarely dishes out that Mike has learned to love; learned to latch onto.

Liam stands back up and lets go of Mike's hair but Mike cranes his neck anyway, following him with his eyes listening to his every word as his ass still is in the air. His left arm is almost completely numb instead of just tingling, but he doesn't dare bring it up. Not now. Not when he's doing so good.

He counts. He counts and adds sir and after the fourth one he finds something peculiar happening, something that normally only happens when Liam is more brutal than his usual self--the warehouse comes to mind. He yells and actually screams when Liam hits a particularily sensitive spot on his left thigh, physically collapsing himself onto the bed but quickly pulling himself up. His legs are shaking, his face contorted in pain, but there's a glassy look in his eyes. It's not tears, but endorphines to deal with the pain--and, despite all of this, he still manages to count.

Liam's taught him well, for the most part.