The caning trestle was made of sturdy wood and was like two door frames leaning together to form a triangular prism. One frame had a padded bar across the middle, over which the man to be caned would bend. Rudi and Freek set about adjusting this upwards, as Barry was several inches taller than Shane, and the bar needed to be raised accordingly.

"Are you sure about this?" Dylan asked Barry in a whisper as they both watched from the side. "I still think it would be best to check with your master."

"Stop fretting," whispered Barry in reply. "He wants me to get this job, and this will surely help to land it."

"But..."

"But enough, Dylan. You're supposed to be helping me, not holding me back... Now tell me: Were you ever caned in this when you worked here?"

"Not caned, no," answered Dylan, pushing his concerns aside as Barry seemed adamant, and he did have a point about this helping his cause. "But Paddy put me in it when he was giving me my induction course before I started at the club. Of course he had me buck-naked and I found it very erotic."

Barry gave his new friend a nudge with his elbow and threw him a filthy grin. "Naked, eh. I assume that was because he intended to fuck you in it. That must have been fun."

"No! He didn't!" blurted Dylan, then he sensibly kept his voice down so as not to be overheard. "It was hideously frustrating as well. We were in here alone, and he'd put me in the trestle to check that I was okay with being restrained. I was bending over with my bare ass sticking out, not able to see what was going on behind me. The obvious thing to do next was cane me, but he wasn't allowed to do it properly as Mr MacLeod wanted a clean canvass for my debut performance a few nights later - no marks on my ass in other words. But he did sort of caned me, using his hard cock."

"Paddy had his cock out while you were helpless and naked, and he still didn't fuck you. I find that hard to believe."

"I know. Can you imagine? I was devastated. Unbeknownst to me, there was a game going on to cure me of a silly phobia I had. Anyway, he's more than made up for it. Thank God! Since I was bought as his toy at the end of November, he's screwed me at least once every day."

"Same with my master," whispered Barry, happy about that particular imbalance in his sexual diet. "And I hope he maintains his perfect record. I'm sure this will put me in the mood for a good fucking."

Dylan returned the friendly nudge. "I'll do you, if you want. I know I'm nowhere near as good as your master at topping, but any port in a storm. Or perhaps you would prefer Freek to sort you out after the caning. He's seriously hot, isn't he? And he's got a lovely big cock that feels great up the ass. I know this because he fucked me several times when I worked here."

"Stop it! You know I'm under orders not to let anyone shag me. Not that I'd want Freek to screw me anyway. I'm sure he'd be good, but I'd much sooner have it the other way round with him. He'd certainly get a few pumps with my cock if he were to return the favour and test out my arrangement for me."

"Make sure I'm there as well!" enthused Dylan. "Paddy's given me the same permission, so we both could test the sexy Dutchman out. Maybe test his mouth as well and do a spot of spit-roasting, as I assume your first fantasy will allow for that."

"Now there's an idea! It's certainly something Ass Row can't offer, so I suppose I should take advantage," said Barry with a massive grin. Then he screwed up his face as a realisation struck. "Oh bugger it! I've got a hard-on now with all this filthy talk. Thank God I'm keeping my jeans on, otherwise it would be hideously embarrassing when they put me in the trestle."

Dylan looked at him puzzled, and concern struck again. "Erm... I think you might have misunderstood. They can't possibly test it properly if you're wearing jeans. It has to be on the bare ass, like it will be with Shane. Now are you sure you don't want to check with your master?"

Barry was shocked, rendered speechless for a moment before he managed to reply. "Erm... Well... No. No. I'm sure it's fine," he answered, although he had a horrible feeling that this might not be the case. But it was too late now to change his mind. He'd lose face if he backed out - lose the respect of Mr Charles, who could perhaps block his appointment; and lose the support of the Dutch lads whose help he would need in creating the first Fantasy Zone set.

"Okay," said Dylan, accepting his friend's position. "Then I suppose it's time to get naked and show them what you've got."