He led her to the saltire he’d made last year, with the hinge on the back that made the padded X versatile. It was easy to secure her upright, lay her flat or turn her upside down. Today he cuffed her facing inward. He caught a flash of apprehension in her eyes and he chuckled quietly, which earned him a glare to smile back at.

“Are you nervous, Winter? Do you think you can trust me? You’re awfully stuck right now, and I’m not a very nice man.”

“Your wacko head games won’t work on me, Mack.”

Brave words. Under her bravado, he knew there was still a vulnerable girl who sometimes wondered whether this would be the time he would ignore her safeword. There had been times it’d been tempting to pretend he hadn’t heard it, when he hadn’t been done yet, but he loved her enough to stop when she said stop. Even when he was gorging himself on her screams and stopping was nearly impossible. They’d discussed it at length. She knew where he was weak, and knew how to snap him out of his zone when he started going too far. Sometimes the cruelty in his soul terrified him.

He went to the tool bench and loaded a tray with implements that struck his fancy. This time there was no hiding sharp things and avoiding needles. If Ramsay wanted to see what they did, choosing innocuous things defeated the purpose. Their guests had gone quiet on the mattress. A glance showed Saya sitting in Ramsay’s lap. He watched Mack while he stroked Saya in places that made her squirm.

For a moment, Mack’s gaze met Ramsay’s, and the latter nodded encouragement.

He walked back to Winter, perusing the implements he’d selected. Starting their guests out slow seemed like a good idea. A small flogger did the trick of warming her up, her skin twitching a little now and then when falls wrapped around to her ribs or a hip. There was a time when using the flogger on her had been a rush – he’d been so careful then. She’d proven, though, that she could take so much more.

Next he grabbed a tawse. It flicked out like the tongue of a giant lizard, leaving licks of pain in its wake. Her breathing got heavy and even, almost as if she slept, but he knew better. She was waiting for things to get more interesting.

He went to the wall and let his hand caress the assortment of canes that hung there. Winter had an obsession with canes and they’d gone from buying them online to making them out of anything that she could dream up. Mack could feel her eyes boring into his back, willing his hand one way or the other. She knew better than to ask for the one she was in the mood for, because he’d pick something else.

Today he picked one for each hand. Being ambidextrous left her guessing – which implement when, from what direction. One cane was thin and whippy, slicing the air with a chilling whizzing sound. The other was short and thick, more of a fish bat than a cane, really, but thuddy would make a good counterpoint to his first selection. Winter’s back and ass were mottled pink and red now, and the room had warmed up, either from the heater or his activity.

Tap.

“Ungh!” She fought the cuffs, a lovely red welt rising on the back of her thigh.

Tap, tap, tap. Three more over the curve of her luscious ass, the last reddening on either side and leaving a blue line in the middle. Nice.

The last blow made her squeal. Blood throbbed through his body and rushed to his cock. He changed the angle and left another line to bisect the most painful one, so that there was a blue X on her ass.

“Fucker! I fucking hate you!” she screamed.

A laugh rose from deep inside, adrenaline shooting through him. He got on his knees and bit her ass directly on the mark he’d made.

“Stop!” Her voice was plaintive now, less demanding.

He rose, swished the cane back and forth through the air, letting her hear it but not touching her. A minute passed and eventually she leaned back toward him, looking for more.

The fish bat to the ass twice made her suck in her breath and press against the cross in an attempt to get away. Thuddy wasn’t her favorite.

Mack tossed the bat aside, bored of it already, since it didn’t make her sing. He swung the cane, feeling it become an extension of his arm. Four strokes to the back of her thighs then he pulled the bolt that kept the cross upright and flipped the contraption so that she was upside down but on a slight angle so not all of her weight was on her ankles. She shrieked.

“Fuck! I hate that, Mack! Warn me next time!”

“No.”

He re-engaged the bolt so that she’d stay in that position then beat the insides of her thighs.

Each blow brought a scream that made his jeans more uncomfortable. Heunzipped, stripped, walked to the side her head was turned to and jammed his cock into her mouth, choking her. As she gagged on him, he traced her wet slit with his finger. She mewled, the vibration on his dick driving him crazy.

When he withdrew, she gasped for air, drool bubbling from her mouth and probably leaking onto her face. He spread her labia with gentle fingers then flicked his tongue over her clit, which was hard to reach. She cried out in pleasure, so he bit down on the inside of her thigh, right over a bruising welt. Her scream was a thing of beauty. Thigh muscles strained, but she couldn’t protect herself from the onslaught of nips and bites that he inflicted on her thighs, ass and back.

When Winter started to sob and babble, he flipped the cross again so that it lay horizontal.

He slid on a pair of surgical gloves and covered her back, ass and thighs with antiseptic. A pack of sterile pins called to him, and he opened it, jabbing a few into the flesh of her ass. She squealed.

“No, no!” She tried to crawl away, but was caught fast.

“No? You don’t like this?” He threaded one through the skin of her back, then another, a third, four.

Moans filled the air, punctuated by unsteady breath.