A cane.

A wooden spoon.

A hairbrush.

A meat tenderizer.

A tawse.

Kurt lays them over Blaine’s naked back as he lies on his stomach on their bed, wrists bound, ankles bound, ass already delightfully red from a spanking. That was a warmup, done with Kurt’s hand, and in layers, Kurt stripping Blaine of his clothes after each series of swats, the removal of layers intensifying the pain from dull, relaxing thud to harsh sting.

If asked, Blaine would say that that last layer before Kurt’s hand meets bare skin is the worst

Because his Dom’s hand is so close, and yet still so far.

If Kurt is going to spank Blaine, Blaine would prefer it be done with the flat of his Dom’s hand than anything else.

That spanking lasted close to half an hour from start to finish, but it was far from the main event.

For this exercise in testing Blaine’s limits – in this case, the amount to which he can maintain his calm while being left in the dark as Kurt raises his anxiety level inch by carefully monitored but excruciating inch - Kurt chooses implements that Blaine can identify by touch.

But that doesn’t mean those are the ones that he’s going to use.

The anticipation is the true agony of this exercise. Today’s session is solely impact play, and Kurt has isolated the playing field to Blaine’s ass and thighs. That Kurt’s not going to change. He wants Blaine to be prepared for what he’s in for in general. This is supposed to be a fun exercise, not a triggering one, but it’s also about negotiation.

Kurt wants to see how far he can go before he makes Blaine say yellow. He’ll analyze what made Blaine say it and why. That way he can gauge Blaine’s progress.

Kurt sits in a plain, wooden chair at the foot of the bed. He props his bare feet on the mattress beside Blaine’s - near, but not touching. In absolutely no hurry, he contemplates starting with one of the items on Blaine’s back. Of course, he could start with something he left on the bed where Blaine can’t see – a paddle, a crop, or his vampire gloves. Maybe he’ll pick something off the wall that they haven’t used in a while, like his rose flogger. He could use a rolled up magazine, a spatula, a shoe, a piece of tubing, a belt. He could leave Blaine there for a while – walk out of the loft and stroll down to the park to cut a switch from one of the trees.

His choices are limited only by his imagination. But, for now, he’ll appreciate the buildup. It’s hell for Blaine … and heaven for Kurt. It makes him hard watching Blaine try to relax under scrutiny, anticipating what Kurt will do and when for a little while longer before he gives over entirely. And in that moment in between, Kurt decides to indulge. He sticks his hand down his pants and strokes himself, using lube so that Blaine knows what he’s doing. Even if he can’t see, Blaine can hear the flip top on the bottle, the squelch of the lube being squeezed out. He hears Kurt pleasuring himself with his own hands while Blaine’s body lies bound and unused. Kurt might let himself cum, moaning loudly, bucking in his chair so the feet of it clatter against the floor. Then he’ll let it go to waste on the floor for Blaine to clean up later instead of letting Blaine feel Kurt cum on his body.

Then, after that, who knows? Kurt can make himself a sandwich, take a shower, maybe even masturbate again where Blaine can watch, so Blaine knows exactly what he’s missing while he’s cooling off, waiting for Kurt to return to his spanking. And Blaine wants that spanking so badly.

In this game, the pain is the relief.

It’s the waiting that’s torture.