From a drawer Marcus took two leather wrist cuffs and buckled them on her, then, with her wrists in front, he fastened the cuffs together with a metal clip. He tied a length of rope to the cuffs and, standing on a chair, pulled it through one of the rings that hung from the ceiling, knotting it so that Lucy’s wrists were suspended above her head, drawing her body upwards with just enough slack for her bare feet to rest on the floor. From another drawer he took a spreader-bar, a steel rod some two and half feet long, with leather straps at each end, which he buckled onto her ankles, forcing her legs apart. Now she was immobilised.
He took her face in his hand, gripping it tightly, forcing her head back and looking into her eyes.
‘I’m going to hurt you,’ he said quietly. ‘I’m going to hurt
