Robert was late getting to the club. He hated being late anytime, but particularly this time, because he'd agreed to be part of the show. He hoped he hadn't missed his chance.
The week before, the club's owner and dungeon master had announced that a pair of well-known, experienced Dommes would be visiting from out of town to give demonstrations. They needed volunteers to take some heavy punishment. The owner had been very clear that the visitors would administer intense pain and lots of it.
"These women are strong. They play hard. Don't sign up unless you're very serious," he had warned. "They're also friends of mine, so I don't want you to embarrass me by wimping out," he added.
Robert had signed up.
The prospect of being publicly tortured by strong Dommes had been intriguing by itself, but Robert had another, much deeper motive. He had only recently moved to town, and, while he'd been welcomed to the club and found some Dommes to top him there, he had become obsessed with one Domme with whom he hadn't yet played. She was popular, highly-accomplished, and always attracted admiring crowds when she played. She also, he knew, only played with subs who had "proven themselves."
Her name was Mona. Tall and lithe, she wore either leather or latex outfits that showcased what Robert thought was the sexiest body he'd ever seen. He had fallen under her spell the first time he saw her play.
She was truly masterful in her scenes, an expert in a wide range of dominant skills. She played with enthusiasm, good humor, and the style of a practiced performer. She wielded whips, floggers, and other implements with the finesse expected of a practiced musician with a fine instrument. Her movements were fluid and dance-like.
Under her control, the naked body of her sub became a canvas for her impressive artistry. She worked her subs long and hard, giving pain with skilled precision, as if it were precious medicine, carefully administered to produce exactly her intended effect. At the end of her scenes, her subs always glowed with pride at their achievements of endurance and floated on a sea of endorphins.
Whenever she played, Robert was transfixed by the spectacle, wishing he could take the place of whomever she was tormenting. He'd spoken with her briefly a couple times. She had been polite and friendly, but he was clearly not yet on her radar. He hoped to remedy that by volunteering for the night's show.
As he entered the club, he heard the unmistakable sounds of leather striking flesh. Sharp reports echoed throughout the large room. The crowd was larger than usual, but, he immediately noticed, quieter than usual. Everyone was watching the ongoing show.
He worked his way through the crowd to a spot from which he could see the action. A slim, fit young woman in her mid-20s was bent naked over the club's spanking horse, wrists and ankles secured with cuffs. A tall, strong blonde woman clad in leather shorts, halter top, and knee-high boots wielded a heavy flogger. She was delivering forceful blows to the victim's buttocks in a studied, deliberate manner. As each blow landed with a loud report, the young woman's head jerked, her breasts bounced, and she involuntarily exhaled.
Robert soon noticed that the pace of the blows was increasing steadily. The girl's nicely-rounded butt cheeks were bright red, and the flogger was falling on skin already well-tenderized. Even halfway across the room, Robert could hear the labored breathing and low moans of the young woman on the horse. Her muscles were tense, straining against the unyielding leather of the cuffs. Her back and arms glistened with sweat. After each blow of the heavy leather, the naked woman's legs quivered uncontrollably. This scene, he realized, had been in progress for some time and, from the looks of things, had to be coming to an end.
The end came with a sudden burst of rapid, hard blows that left the recipient with no time to catch her breath between them. As the sharp sounds turned into a rapid-fire staccato, the victim jerked her head up and down, and every muscle in her body began to quiver. Her moans became steady and louder.
With a flourish, the blonde Domme stopped, turned and made a slight bow toward the crowd. The victim took a few seconds to realize that the punishment was over, then dropped her head and gulped huge breaths of air. The Domme was joined by a muscular brunette in an identical leather outfit, and both went to the horse. One leaned down and spoke softly to the victim, placing a hand on her shoulder. Soon the two unhooked the cuffs from the horse, helped the young woman up, took her arms and helped her walk toward the crowd where several friends embraced her and led her to a quiet corner.
A round of applause rippled through the crowd. The club's owner emerged from the crowd and announced, "Break time. Next scene starts in a few minutes."
Robert wondered what he'd gotten himself in for. He realized the earlier warning about serious pain had been for real -- more real than he'd guessed at the time.
Any thought of escape, however, was quickly eliminated when the owner spotted him.
"Glad to see you made it. You're next. Wait here and when the ladies are ready, I'll bring you to them."
"OK," Robert answered, now feeling a tinge of fear. He looked around and saw several people he knew. He realized he was committed. He knew, however, that no matter how severe the scene, he would have to "take it well." Neither Mona nor the other Dommes liked whiners or wimps. He remembered her disdain at one sub who had lost his composure under the lash.
In a few minutes, the two women strode back into the club's extensive play area, heading toward the spanking horse. Robert noted, with some trepidation, that they were both very strong. Their black leather outfits revealed rippled abdomens, strong thighs, and heavily-muscled, powerful arms. It was obvious they were no strangers to the gym. It struck him that they were much stronger than any Dommes he'd played with before. He began to wonder if he could take the kind of pain they obviously could inflict.
The dungeon master came through the crowd and gestured to Robert, "Come on, it's time." Robert followed him.
"Here's your next volunteer," the owner told the two women, then turned back toward the crowd.
The women reached out and grasped Robert's hands.
"Thanks for volunteering," said the blonde who had been flogging the young woman.
She stood directly in front of Robert, reached out, gripped each of his shoulders, and looked straight into his face. She was slightly taller than him. Her firm grip on his shoulders and her penetrating gaze instantly conveyed that she was in control.
"You realize this is going to be severe?"
