‘Isn’t she beautiful?’ said Alex.

There was further applause, followed by Alex laughing. ‘If you could see her without the mask, you’d be amazed.’

Nat shot him a look, but Alex just grinned and shrugged.

‘Come here, Angel.’ Nat turned to me. ‘Bend forward and put your hands on the cross.'

I turned away from the audience and followed his instructions, placing my hands on the cold metal of the cross.

Nat ran his hands across my buttocks before hooking his fingers into the sides of my thong and dragging it down across my boots. ‘Spread your legs,’ he said, pulling my cheeks apart and exposing my asshole to the spectators.

I shuffled my feet further apart, maintaining the posture he’d told me to adopt. I could practically feel the eyes burning into me and, knowing they were all looking at my naked rear end, I was relieved to be facing away from them.

‘There’s a good girl, Angel,’ he said, bending down to whisper in my ear. ‘Unfortunately, even good girls get their bottoms spanked when they’re on stage.’

I was aware of him pulling his hand back and, for a moment, it reminded me of Leo, earlier that evening. But, even as I thought it, I realised how different they were. Leo didn’t care how he made me feel. He’d hit me and not give a shit how much he hurt me. Nat, on the other hand, was all about pleasing me. This spanking was all about my pleasure and, as he brought his hand down across my ass, I felt it right through to my clit, as my walls clenched of their own accord.

As he raised his hand again, I couldn’t help but push my ass out further.

‘Gorgeous,’ he remarked, as he spanked it harder. ‘So tight and yet so yielding. Stay still now, Angel.’

He walked over to a bench at the back of the stage, behind the cross, so I was able to watch him sorting through the various implements and tools laid out across it.

‘This,’ he said finally, coming back across to me. ‘A paddle and, look, across it in studs, it says SLUT. Let’s see if we can’t brand you with what you are.’

As he brought it down across my ass, my back arched. I remembered the girl, Christo, tied to the wall in the dungeon last time I’d been here. She’d been punished with a paddle and I hadn’t, at the time, understood the attraction. Now, I got it. As the harsh, yet pliant, leather cracked down across my buttocks, I didn’t cry out. I moaned with pleasure. The thought that my ass might be branded with the word SLUT made me moan even more, and I felt the juices flowing between my legs.

‘Getting excited, Angel?’ Nat took hold of my hair and pulled me up until I was standing, my naked ass still facing the crowd. ‘Turn around now, there’s a good girl. Let’s get you into position.’

I did as I was told and turned around until I was facing the audience. I couldn’t hide my eyes now, and had to look out across them, knowing they were all looking at my semi-naked body.

Nat pushed me backwards gently, onto the cross, and took one of my hands. ‘Cuffing you now, Angel,’ he said, shackling my wrist to the frame. He pulled away and stared into my eyes. ‘You look divine,’ he said, taking my other hand and doing the same. ‘But are you absolutely certain about this?’

I looked out again across the sea of expectant faces, then back to Nat. Despite my embarrassment, I’d never been so turned on. I nodded. ‘Quite certain.’

‘Open your legs, then,’ he said. ‘Those ankles need tying out as well.’

    Forty Seven

Him

She looked breathtaking, standing there under the spotlights.

‘Spread them, Angel,’ I said. ‘I want that pretty little cunt on show for everyone’s pleasure.’

She gave a tiny gasp and shuffled her feet apart.

‘Wider, gorgeous. They need to be as far apart as the bottom of the cross. The time for modesty is over.’

She wriggled her legs further apart and I strapped them to the cross. By now, she was spread-eagled, her arms and legs stretched open and her naked crotch on show. When I’d made sure she was safe, I stood up and looked at her thoughtfully. Was I doing the right thing? If she hadn’t been wearing a mask, I wouldn’t have dreamed of it. She’d looked slightly small and lost, up there on the stage, and, for a moment, I’d seriously considered calling the whole thing off. But then, I’d felt between her legs. She was so wet and, as I touched her, she let out a groan of pleasure and I changed my mind. She was loving it, in her own mixed up way. What harm could it do?

Her tits looked beautiful, encased in their strands of leather, her creamy skin peeping out from between them. I took the tops of the cups in my fingers and pulled them down, exposing first the nipples, then the whole breasts. The cups shrank down to nothing under them, and my cock, which had been at half-mast ever since I’d seen her, stiffened until it was almost painful.

‘This isn’t punishment, Angel,’ I told her, taking a pair of nipples clamps from my shirt pocket. ‘This is playtime.’

They were linked by a heavy steel chain and, as I tweaked her nipples, they bunched up into hard little points, perfect for my purposes. As I snapped on the first clamp, she drew her breath in sharply.

‘Does that hurt, gorgeous?’

They were alligator-style clamps and I knew damn well they had a firm bite. She nodded, her breath coming short and shallow.

‘Excellent,’ I said. ‘Get ready – here comes number two.’

As I clipped the second clamp onto her tight little nipple, she let out a sigh and tipped her head back.

‘Good girl,’ I said, stroking her between the legs with my fingers. ‘Do you like that?’

‘Yes, Sir,’ she breathed. ‘I love it.’

I took hold of the chain and pulled it upwards. As her nipples stretched with it, she looked down at herself.

‘That’s it, Angel,’ I said. ‘You’re going to take this in between your teeth and hold it there. Understood?’

She nodded, opening her mouth for me to place the chain inside it. Once it was in there, she bit down on it, the ends pulling the sides of her mouth down. Her eyes sparkled up at me through the mask.

‘Perfect.’ I took hold of the back of her hair. ‘Now, tip your head back.’

As I said it, I pulled her hair. Her head tipped backwards, the chain stretching her nipples further upwards, until the underside of her breasts were on show. I went over to the table to get the tool I’d had my eye on since I got there. Once it was firmly in my grasp, I walked back over to her and held it up, level with her eyeline, to make sure she could see it.

‘A cane,’ I said, to really ram the point home. ‘Perfect for the tender flesh under…here.’

I ran it under her tits and she shivered slightly, keeping her head where I’d told her to, but looking downwards as best she could.

‘Nervous, gorgeous?’ I asked her.

She didn’t reply – the chain made it impossible – but her eyes widened briefly.

‘Don’t be,’ I said. ‘Enjoy it – you’re the centre of attention.’

I pulled the cane back and smacked it across her tits. She flinched briefly, then looked at me in surprise. I could tell she’d been expecting it to hurt a lot more than it had.

‘I’m not going to do it too hard,’ I said. ‘I want you to love every moment.’

She shot me a smile.

‘Get ready, Angel,’ I said. ‘This is just the beginning.’

At that moment, Ronnie came across the dance floor. ‘My love, I’m sorry but there’s a disturbance outside. Some guy, saying he knows something about the tape.’

I looked at Grace, shackled there, so trusting and vulnerable. I couldn’t leave her. ‘It’ll have to wait,’ I said.

‘It can’t.’ Ronnie sounded agitated. ‘He says he’s got a copy. Of the tape. He wants to talk to you now.’

I looked around me again, not knowing what to do. Then, I saw Alex, still standing by the side of the stage. ‘Alex,’ I said. ‘Deal with this, please.’ I threw him Grace’s thong. ‘I’m sorry, Angel,’ I murmured into her ear. ‘This is urgent. I’ll be right back.’