"Just a wee reminder of what happens to anyone that crosses me," he replied, fastening her left wrist in one of the manacles and right in the other. "Besides, I left the front alone on the whipping. I don't think it should be neglected, do you."

He fastened her legs to two manacles, separating them until her legs were widely spread, her feet scarce touching the floor, most of her weight hanging on her arms. I should have declined, she thought. I should have walked out the door. How was I to know he was such a sadistic bastard.

He picked up the crop where he'd dropped it on the...