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I shifted on my feet as Maya sobbed deeply. I was honestly surprised that she hadn’t used her safe-word yet.

Nico shifted beside me, running a hand through his blond mane. He genuinely hated the punishment aspect of our dynamic. As much as he got off on the power plays, when it came to discipline, Nico preferred not having to administer it period. It was why he chose the cane. Something that would stick with her and she’d hopefully remember down the line, and not fuck up again.

I was somewhere in the middle between Marcos and Nico. While tonight I’d gone easy on her with the paddle, I’d known vaguely what Marcos had been planning for her.

“Dude.” Nico grumbled under his breath.

Maya’s sobs got louder as the branch whipped across her breasts. Bound between woven lengths of rope, her glorious tits were firmly squeezed and extra plump from being confined. They had to be painful enough, before Marcos’s cruel torture.

Marcos waited until Maya finally spoke, voice broken between gasping sobs. “Ei-ei-eight. Thank you f-f-for my pun-punishment, s-s-sir.” She was shivering uncontrollably at this point.

I shifted on my feet; my body blissfully warm near the raging bonfire.

Marcos finally took pity on our girl and gave her the final two blows in a quick succession that left her screaming in pain.

I was glad for the woods and the lack of homes near us. The last thing we needed was someone calling the cops and them stumbling on the scene.

Marcos dropped the switch and pick up Maya so they were chest to chest, with her head cradled in the crook of his neck.

Her whole body was shaking and I worried about hypothermia. I wasn’t sure if it was cold enough for it, her body had suffered a trauma and it was a chilly September evening.

“Need you to say the words, Mia Vida.” Marcos’s voice was low and sensual as he held her body upright, as much as the ropes would allow.

Dagger pulled and buck knife from his belt and walked over to them, while I picked up one of the blankets.

Maya continued to sob against Marcos’s neck. Dagger hovered just steps away from her. We couldn’t be finished with the scene, until she said the words.

“Nine. Ten,” she choked out.

Dagger walked another step closer.

Marcos smoothed a hand over her back, at least the couple inches of bare skin he could reach between the two rope harnesses he had created to suspend her from the tree. “Come on, Mia Vida,” he murmured softly.

“Thank you-you for my punishment, s-sir.”

The moment she finished speaking the words, Dagger cut away the length of rope hold Maya’s feet up. Marcos scooped her into his arms, while Dagger worked on the length holding her upper torso airborne.

I spread open the blanket as Marcos turned to me, passing Maya. Marcos helped to get her wrapped in the blanket and I wrapped her tightly in my arms, before I turned toward the fire and walked over. I sat down on another blanket and arranged Maya on my lap as I held her tightly against me, near the fire.

“You did so good tonight,” I murmured softly to her. I pressed a kiss to her temple and pulled her closer, her body trembling in my arms. “So good, darlin’.”

Her sobs wracked her body, almost uncontrollably. It made me nervous that she might hyperventilate. “Easy now.” I forced my voice to stay calm. I’d never seen her like this before.

We still needed to unravel the ropes still tied around her, but I needed a moment to hold her. I glanced over my shoulder at Dagger arguing with Marcos. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but I knew Dagger didn’t like how far Marcos took things tonight. Neither of us did.

When she started coughing—deep gut-wrenching coughs—my heart dropped. She didn’t have asthma, but she was clearly struggling to breath. I felt her body tense up, before I heard it—her gagging as her stomach clenched and her body doubled over in my lap.

“Shit,” I swore. I struggled to turn her, while still tied up, as she dry-heaved several times. Nothing but bile escaped her, though.Had she not eaten all day?

“A little help over here,” I snapped at Marcos and Dagger.

Dagger finally stalked away from Marcos, storming toward Maya and I. He took a deep breath before he kneeled beside us. “Can I cut you free, little Dreamer?” His voice was soft as he slid a finger along her cheekbone.

She nodded, as tears silently streamed downed her face. She still hadn’t said a word since being cut down, but she finally stopped gagging.

Maya slowly stopped shivering as I kept up a string of encouraging words. “Such a good girl. Always so good for us. I love you.”

Her eyes were closed, her breathing still erratic.