The two girls sat on the terrace of Fouquet's, watching the phalanx of traffic that moved at an alarming speed up and down the Champs Elysees, and the crowd of sauntering Parisians, pseudo-Parisians and foreigners that moved backwards and forwards in front of them.
"I like Paris," said Erika.
"Have you been here before?" asked Marlene.
"No, this is my first sight of it."
"Do you like it for itself, or because Hugh Lyveson is here, waiting for us to go and whip him?"
Erika laughed. "He makes Paris even more pleasant, I must admit. But I like it for itself. It's so alive."
A very pretty, and extremely well-dressed, prostitute passed in front of them for the third time.
Erika said: "Do you think she goes in for whipping, too?"
"I should think so," said Marlene. "She must, if she's good at her job."
"Not with Frenchmen, though?"
"I should doubt it. With foreigners, mainly. I should think the English are her best customers for that sort of thing."
"It's a pity that they don't know they could come to us."
Marlene smiled. "It is. I mean, it's a pity for them. They pay quite a lot of money, and they take a chance on whether the girl is really a sadist or not. If she's an honest businesswoman-and a good actress as well-she probably makes them think that she is, but they can never be sure."
"As they could be with us," said Erika forcefully.
Marlene looked at her with amusement. "What's happened to you so suddenly? Up to last night, you didn't even know that you had any sadism in you."
"Oh, I did! I told you how I've always wanted to whip men who've made love to me."
"But you never did anything about it."
Erika nodded her head seriously. "That's true. I needed you, Marlene-to show me the way."
"It's a pity I didn't show it to you before," said Marlene. "However, we can make up for lost time. Kiel, tomorrow night. Did you telephone the air-company?"
"Oh yes," said Erika, reverting suddenly to her capacity as the efficient secretary. "We're booked on the flight number 220. We leave Paris at 4.30, take off at 5.30, and we're in Kiel a little before 7 o'clock."
"We must telephone Per Petersen then, before we leave. We'll tell him to expect us about seven-thirty."
"He is your victim in Kiel?"
"Yes."
"Is he one of the three-per-cent?"
"No, he's rather like Hugh Lyveson."
"Is he as good-looking?"
"Oh yes. He's a tall, blond Swede."
"Married?"
"Was. His wife died last year."
Erika gave a sigh of contentment. "I like tall blond men. And I love the idea of thrashing them."
Marlene held up her hand to the waiter and called for a bill. "It's time for us to go and thrash one of them now."
Erika picked up the light zip-bag which she had bought at the Munich airport that morning. It contained the two lengths of rubber tubing, several pieces of rope, and two rubberised raincoats, her own and a beautiful red one of Marlene's which had been put in at her request. She put the bag on her lap and hugged it against her stomach sensually. She felt her vagina-lips open and close, open and close… "Yes," she said breathlessly. "Let's go and give him the thrashing of his life."
Hugh opened the door of his flat and stood aside for them to enter. He politely took the zip-bag from Erika's hand. He put it down on a chair in the hall.
"Oh, no," said Erika. "We want that." She put out her hand to take it again. "It's got the instruments in it."
"Yes, of course," he said, and picked it up again. He followed them into his living-room, measuring its weight as he carried it. "It's quite heavy. Whatever have you got in it?"
Marlene said: "You'll see. Get your clothes off."
"So soon?" he said. "Can't I offer you a drink first?"
"You can certainly offer us a drink, but I want you naked first. Come on, strip. Quickly!" Her voice had the crack of authority.
He put the zip-bag on the floor and began to take off his clothes.
Erika stooped, unzipped the bag, and took out its contents. She put the flimsy raincoats over the back of a chair.
"What are those for?" he asked, as he slipped off his socks. "Is it going to rain?"
Erika laughed, a little shyly. "Haven't you heard of a rubber fetish before?"
He let his trousers and pants fall to the ground. "A rubber fetish? No, I don't think so. What do you mean?"
"We like the feeling of rubber against our skin."
He looked at Marlene. "I didn't know that. You've never said anything about it before."
Marlene smiled. "You don't know everything about me, my dear Hugh."
"No, of course not. Rubber, eh? I've heard of people getting quite excited about leather. But this is a new one." He went to the chair and picked up one of the raincoats. He ran his hand over its material.
"No," said Erika. "Inside. The rubber part. That's the exciting part of it."
He put his hand inside the garment. "Yes, I think I see. It's very soft and smooth."
"And cool."
"Yes, it is." He stood, feeling the material and trying to understand how a sexual fetish could be connected with it.
Erika went up to him and took the raincoat in her hands. She opened it and put its rubber surface to his bright-red genitals. She caressed them lightly through the flimsy rubber. "Does that do anything to you?"
"It hurts," he said. Her touch on his scalded skin was indeed very painful.
"Don't you find it cool and pleasant?"
"Oh yes, it's cool-and very pleasant because it's so cool. Everything is still on fire down there."
Erika sighed and took the raincoat away. She put it over the chair again. "No, you're no fetishist." Marlene said: "He is. Not for rubber perhaps, but he's a terrific fetishist for high heels."
"So that's why you trod on him this morning?"
"Yes. He loves it-in spite of its agony." Erika looked down at her shoes. They were not the same ones as she had worn earlier in the day, but they had very high stiletto heels too. "May I tread on him again?"
"By all means," said Marlene. "Do whatever you want. This is your party as well as mine."
Erika looked at him. He was now completely naked. "Lie down on the floor," she ordered. "Lie down on your stomach."
"Be careful," he said. "I may be a high-heel fetishist as Marlene says, but I don't want to be permanently injured."
"I didn't ask what you want or don't want. Lie down."
He lay down on the carpet. His bright-red bottom was just beside her feet. She lifted one foot and put it squarely on one of his buttocks. She stepped quickly up on him and put her other foot on his other buttock. She stood unsteadily, trying to find her balance.
Marlene came beside her and put out a hand.
Erika took it and steadied herself. "Thank you. That's better." She put her weight now upon her heels and felt them press deeply into the flesh of his bottom.
"Careful!" he said quickly, turning his head sideways and trying to look up. "You will injure me terribly if you don't look out."
"You mean," said Erika, pressing harder with her heels, "that I may puncture you?"
"Yes," he said desperately. "Do be careful!"
"Do you think it would be less dangerous if I step on your back?"
"No! For Christ's sake, don't do that!"
"I want to." She lifted a foot and put it down between his shoulder-blades. She changed her balance and put her other foot beside the first. "Is that nice?"
"No! No! No! Please get oil!"
"I think you'd better," said Marlene, quietly. "It is rather dangerous."
Erika stepped down to the floor at once. "All right. In any case, I'd much rather whip him."
"Let him give us a drink first."
He stood upright, a worried frown on his face. "You're not safe, you know," he said to Erika. He looked at Marlene. "She's worse than you are."
Marlene laughed. "Yes, I'm beginning to think so too. Come on, give us a drink."
"What would you like? Whisky?"
"Yes, please. With a little water."
He looked at Erika. "And you?"
"The same, please."
He picked up a box of cigarettes and offered them. Erika gave his penis a slap as she took one.
He winced.
She noticed the wince. "It's very sore, is it?"
He lit her cigarette and nodded. "Very." She slapped it again, harder.
"Good. I like to know that. I like to know that I caused it."
He lit Marlene's cigarette and went to a cupboard to get the drinks.
"Aren't you going to get undressed?" said Marlene. "And wear your nice raincoat next to your skin?"
"Yes," said Erika. "Now! Will you, too?"
"Why not?"
The two girls quickly took off all their clothes. When they were quite naked they slipped into the shimmery raincoats with a little shiver-a shiver of coldness from Marlene, a shiver of wanton lust from Erika. They tied their belts tightly.
Hugh came up to them with the glasses. "You look very nice, I must say," he remarked admiringly. "And it's nice to know that you're nude underneath." He raised his own glass. "Cheers."
"You'd better drink that down," said Marlene. "We're wasting time." She picked up the two lengths of rubber tubing and gave one to Erika. "Come on, put your glass down."
He drained the glass and put it down on a small table.
"Now bend over," she ordered. "Touch your toes."
"Don't be too sadistic, for God's sake," he said, as he obeyed her.
"Shut up." She raised her rubber tube and lashed hard at his inflamed buttocks. She delivered lash after lash, fast. When she had given about twenty lashes she stood aside and signalled to Erika.
Erika took her place and raised her own tube. She tried to hit harder than Marlene had done, and began to think that she was doing so as he began to utter small strangled cries. He remained in his bent-over position, however, until she let her hand fall to her side.
"All right," said Marlene. "You're warmed up now. Come into your bedroom." She led the way out of the sitting-room and into his bedroom. She switched on the lights. "You can make a little love to me now. And Erika can go on with the warming-up."
He was breathing hard as he followed her. "Give me a moment to catch my breath, please."
"No."
"At least to have another drink."
"No." She lay down on her back on the bed and opened the front of her raincoat. "Come along and make me excited."
He looked round at Erika. "Please don't hit my back with that thing."
"Why not?" said Erika sweetly.
"It's too heavy."
"So much the better. What do you say, Marlene?"
Marlene said. "Perhaps not, dear. It may make him impotent. Let him make love to me first and then we'll tie him up and really go to work on him. But hit his bottom as hard as you want." She opened her legs. "Come on, Hugh."
He put his knees on the bed and lay down carefully over her. She took hold of his penis. He winced again at her touch.
"It's going to hurt you very much, isn't it?" she murmured. "Your poor burnt little thing. It's not so little, though. It likes my hand, doesn't it-in spite of its soreness?" She guided its head towards her vagina. "But I'm so wet with the excitement of that beating that it'll be easier for you. Come along. Get in me."
Very gingerly he pushed his penis into her. The pain was excruciating-and yet exhilarating.
Erika raised her rubber tube. She swung on the balls of her feet as, with all her force, the tube descended and struck heavily into the quivering bottom.
He gasped. His penis moved forward with an involuntary movement. He felt himself being engulfed by Marlene's vagina, warm and wet. He forgot the pain of his soreness under the far greater pain that was now racking his bottom as lash after lash struck him.
"Don't be too quick," said Marlene in his ear. "You're going to get a really terrible thrashing immediately after this, in any case. But I'll double it and treble it if you're too quick. Ooo- oooh! This is heaven!" She put her hands to his back and began to scratch along its whole length with her fingernails.