'You were so brave!' Alex was helping Jane back to her seat at the table. 'I never thought you'd say yes!'

'Neither did I!' Jane shook her head. 'It's my fault, if it's anybody's, as Lizzie gave me every opportunity to say no! I'll never be able to appear in front of Alistair without him giving me a silly look!'

'Blame the machine! I've ridden it and it does funny things to your mind and body!'

'You can say that again.' Jane had her composure back. She lowered her voice for the question. 'Did you have an orgasm?'

'Yes!' Alex blushed. 'Did you?'

***

'I think that now I have the correct victim!' Anita came forward and kissed Pete. 'She is after all my wife!' She smiled at him! 'And an interesting wife as well!'

Anita turned slowly and curtsied to the audience. 'He's an interesting husband too! He keeps me in chastity all the time. I've not seen or touched myself for nearly three years now. It's totally his to control and enjoy my body!'

She turned back towards Pete, reached up, undid the clasp at his neck and removed his long cloak. Pete's well-built and fit body was now naked except for the mask and a pair of tight leather shorts. 'Do you submit to be enjoyed?'

'Yes!' Anita kneeled in front of him with great difficulty and bowed her head or rather her body slightly. It was all she could do, what with the high heels, the thigh-bands, the all-enveloping steel chastity corset and the restrictions at her neck. 'Please! Please enjoy me! I have a great need to be enjoyed!'

Pete walked to the triplets who were lined up by the windows and took a pair of what looked like leather mitts from one. These he fitted over Anita's hands, finally securing them with a strong belted strap at each wrist. Then he raised and extended the leg supports of the chariot, so that they were at the height of Anita's head, before he attached the mitts to hooks under the two supports. Again he extended the supports until Anita was twenty or so centimetres above the floor.

'Would anybody like to see her properly?' He got a large degree of approval and slowly walked the chariot around the tables. Alex was surprised at the smile on Anita's face and at the wink she gave her as she passed.

'Anita seemed to be enjoying this!' Pete turned her so that she was by the windows facing the audience. 'Perhaps I should make her more uncomfortable. But as she said she must not be able to see or touch, that which belongs to me!' He beckoned a triplet to bring forward a pair of cuffs with attached chains, which he buckled tightly to her ankles, before clicking the chains to the base of the chariot. He raised the leg supports to fully tension her body.

Anita still smiled bravely.

***

Pete reached up and with a key unlocked and removed the steel collar around Anita's neck. It only gave her a certain degree of flexibility as she still was wearing the tight leather neck corset, but it was a little relief and she showed the audience her delight, by slightly turning and rolling her head. 'You had better take these!' He showed three small red pills to the audience. Alex smiled at the Smarties. 'These will put her into a trance, so that she can withstand the ordeal better.' A loud gasp was heard, as Anita screamed, appeared to convulse and go limp and very silent.

But the relief from the collar was only temporary as Pete quickly strapped what looked like a hard black plastic ring into her mouth, securing it with a series of elaborate leather straps at the back of her head. Not content with this he took a padded leather helmet and placed it over her head, covering her eyes, nose and ears. A single hole in the front was aligned with that of the gag and her mouth. 'Anita now can't hear, see or smell anything!' He held up a thick tube about as long as his hand. 'This is a breathing tube, which has baffles in it, so that she can breathe safely but only with great difficulty! It also stops any sound getting out!' He screwed it into the gag. 'Now she is effectively mute!' He completed the operation by lacing the helmet up the back and around her neck, before buckling a wide strap tightly over everything at her neck.

'I'm going to show her to you all again!' The chariot turned and moved to and along Alex's table. 'Check her out! See if she can hear! Try and talk to her! Test her bonds! See how tight and secure she is!'

Alex as was everyone else was intrigued and perhaps horrified in equal measure. She waited until the chariot with the lifeless Anita approached the end of the table and came forward and stood to halt its progress. 'Anita! Can you hear me?' She got no response. She pinched Anita's unstretched arm which felt cold to the touch. She got no movement or any other response. She called out and almost ran to Pete. Did she believe what Anita had told her or what she saw with her own eyes. 'It's so cruel! Please let her go!'

'No!' He pointed at Anita. 'She wants it! She's my wife and I have a contract that says I can do what I like!' The only thing that said to Alex that this was not what it seemed was that Pete gave her a wink no-one else could see!

Alex decided that perhap now was the time to show she was fighting back for Anita. She raised her hand and attempted to strike Pete, but it was all in vain as he caught her hand and within half a minute, both arms had been strapped together behind her. She could do nothing more but spit and that brought Pete's wrath and he immediately forced a rubber ball gag into her mouth and strapped it securely behind her head. He raised his hand to strike her and she cowered theatrically. A wink from Pete asked if she was OK. She winked back despite the uncomfortable gag in her mouth and the angle of her arms behind her back.

'It doesn't pay to defy me! Does it?' Pete was menacing behind the mask. 'Sit on that chair!'

She meekly complied and was immediately secured using a three long leather straps for her body and arms and two shorter ones for her legs.

'Now this is going to hurt, but you need to learn not to interfere!' He produced a chain with two vicious clips at each end. He carefully placed each clip on those nipples that Anita had admired so much! Alex winced with the sharp pain and the audience drew a very deep collective breath in sympathy.

***

'If Anita is going to ride, then she needs to be more comfortable!' He approached her from in front of the chariot with a key and started to dismantle and remove the thigh bands and their numerous connecting chains, links and padlocks. 'I am now going to show you the part of Anita that is only mine to see, to touch and to enter!' He unlocked the steel thong, but held it in place. 'Does everyone want to see what's mine?'

He got a sporadic yes and a few boos, but he was mostly greeted with silence.

'Don't worry about Anita's modesty!' Pete removed the metal thong, but immediately replaced it with his hand. 'There!' He removed his hand to show that Anita was now covered with a tiny triangle of leather, which he clipped to rings at the bottom of the corset. 'Do you think I want to show you what is all mine yet? All of the men here might want a share of it for themselves. Or even one of the ladies!' Someone tittered.

He paraded Anita again, but this time she was coming to life. She tried to swing her legs to get some stimulation after the steel had been removed, but the stretched nature of her body prevented all but the tiniest movement. Pete raised the arms of the machine slightly to stretch her further and make this even more impossible.

'To ride properly, we'll have to get the steel corset off!' Pete was using the key on the padlocks that secured the latches. After the latches were all released, the steel corset split neatly into two halves and Pete carefully removed each from her body. Anita's leather under-corset was now revealed and the straight stem section at her waist was very obvious to everyone in the room. She looked like she might break in half at any moment, stretched as she was by the chariot. It was also apparent that the leather corset was in two separate pieces with a short corset and a matching strapless bra. 'Just one more thing to come off!' He unlaced the back of the bra and slowly removed it. 'Now she is ready!'

***

Pete turned Anita to face Alex. 'Do you like her nipples, Alex?'

Alex couldn't say anything, but her eyes showed fear, as she looked at the heavy looped gold chain that connected the rings in Anita's nipples. Such would not be for her. She did nod towards Pete though, as she felt he wanted that answer.

'So you'd like your's pierced!' He smirked menacingly. 'Perhaps a tattoo as well!'

Alex shook her head vigorously.

'But do you have the ability to say no?' Pete approached her closely and removed the clip from her right nipple. Alex winced with pain as the blood rushed back in. 'They're nice and ready now!' He removed the other clip. She winced again.

He gripped her hair and pulled it back on her head. 'You'd look superb with all of your hair permanently removed.' He grinned again, but Alex didn't. 'If you came to live with us, then you'd have to have it off and you would be in permanent chastity. Would you like that?'

Alex shook her head vigorously again.

Pete smiled at her through the mask and backed off. 'I mean it though! When you have your nipples done, your head shaved and your chastity enforced, I'll do it all properly for you! And I'll keep a lovely girl like you absolutely safe!'

***

Very relieved, Alex watched as Pete released the almost limp Anita from the arms of the chariot and placed her head down into the machine. The pillory was locked on, her legs were strapped in and she was then brought to the same head-down vertical position with her legs spread that had been used for Jane.

'Will you behave now?' Pete was asking Alex. 'I'll remove the gag if you say thank you!'

Alex nodded and Pete unstrapped it from her head, before massaging her jaw back into life from the constriction. Alex for her part, thought she had better play the game. 'Thank you! Master!' She had remembered Susan's command.

'Anita needs to be woken properly!' Pete waved at his exposed wife. 'I'll release you fully, if you'll give her a good thrashing with this.' He picked up the riding crop Alex had tried to use on the triplets. 'Will you do that?'

Alex remembered all too well the episode with the triplets, that crop and her ineffectiveness. Could she hit Anita hard enough to satisfy Pete? Would she hurt Anita if she did? Perhaps it would be better if she stayed where she was! But then she knew she was just a pawn in an act. Or was she? She just didn't know! But at least she'd have to be released to whip Anita! 'I'll do it!'

'But how do I know you won't run away when I release you?' Pete had obviously worked out all of Alex's questions and doubts. 'I think I'll put you on a lead!' He took a stainless steel collar from one of the triplets and locked it around Alex's neck, before attaching it to a stout lead more suitable for a Rottweiler. 'I can release you now!'

***

Pete lowered Anita, so that her bottom was about waist height, with her legs tucked underneath. 'There! Is that height OK for you, Alex?' He handed her the crop. 'You should be able to get a nice swing. Is the weight of the crop fine? I have something heavier if you'd like it!'

Alex diffidently took the crop and swished it to feel it's weight. 'No! The weight seems fine!' It was more than she felt.

'I think you need a better target!' Pete undid the thong. 'Start with ten!'

The audience started to count and Alex hit a rather feeble blow.

'You can do much better than that!'

Copyright 2004 by Ewart Higgins