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“Comfy?” he asked

She laughed Comfy was such a dumb word

“You’re laughing,” he said “Life is good, yes?”

“Mmmmmm,” she responded

“It’s about to get better,” he said, tugging at the waistband of her panties and sliding theers teased as they walked slowly up her leg and cah His thu the scythe that was clutched in its bony claw

“Hello, death,” he said, re his hand

Crack! The cat-o’-nine-tails lashed across her bare botto, each individual knotted-leather strap leaving its mark She bit down hard and buried a scream into the blanket

Pain was the appetizer Pleasure was the main course Her body tensed as she waited for his next move

In a single, practiced s at the knees, tipped therabbed the tether that was around her neck, and tied the other end to her ankles

“Hand,” he ordered

Aubrey, her right arm beneath her stomach, reached all the way down until her hand was between her legs

“Life is good,” he repeated “Make it better”

Her fingers groped, parting the pleats, entering the canal, tantalizing the nerve endings The effect was dizzying: theruins, and the inescapable presence of thirteen thousand dead souls

He said so, but she couldn’t hear over the sound of her own labored breathing And then—the point of no return She felt the swell of gratification surging through her body, and with near surgical precision she gently lowered her feet toward the ground

The silk rope around her neck tightened, coen along with the buildup of carbon dioxide as for air, but the euphoria was so powerful, so addictive, that she intensified the pressure around her neck, knowing she could go just a few more seconds