He struck her at least a hundred more times, the blows a blur of pain that she could no longer differentiate. Her consciousness faded in and out, the lines between reality and nightmare blurring into a twisted miasma of sensation. The needles in her nipples felt like distant stars, the cold steel of the clamps a constant reminder of her bondage.

When she finally awoke, the world was silent. Her eyes fluttered open to be greeted by darkness. She was in a room that was the very essence of midnight, the air thick with the scent of leather and sex. Her body felt heavy, as if weighed down by invisible chains. It took a moment for the fog to clear, for her to realize she was lying on a master bed that seemed to swallow her whole.