Friday the 13th Part 1 Steve: Friday the 13th is, according to the old superstition, an unlucky day. Despite this, Friday, Jan 13, 1995, was, for me, a most fortunate day starting a wonderful weekend. However, if there are fates which seek to make the day unpleasant, their failure this time was not for lack of effort. The day was selected without reference to superstition. As that weekend preceded a federal holiday, it seemed a good time for me to visit Wood Nymph in Norfolk. I gave some thought to leaving on Friday night (and later, after obtaining leave for Friday, to departing on Thursday night) to maximize our time together, but I prefer not to drive unfamiliar roads at night (almost as much as I dislike driving unfamiliar cars), so I stuck to the plan to depart Friday morning. It perhaps should be mentioned that if there is a worse navigator anywhere in the world, he never found his way to anyplace from which he could announce it. Typically, my attempts to reach someplace in Philadelphia that I haven't previously observed someone drive to have resulted in my ending up either at the Philadelphia Zoo (the Schuylkill Expressway and I have a special antipathy for each other) or in New Jersey (bridges across the Delaware River seem to magically relocate themselves for the sole purpose of entrapping me). However, the route seemed simple enough, and Delaware's signs are much better than those in Philadelphia (where it is generally assumed that anyone who needs to know how to get someplace will just remember how sie went there with hir father, or call hir cousin for directions). Nymph: i knew you would make it eventually, norfolk does have a zoo, not too far from where i was staying ..... Steve: I was just thinking to myself that it would be quite hard to get lost on such well marked roads when I noticed that I wasn't seeing many signs identifying Route 13 anymore. Nymph: funny how those 13's kept showing up on friday.... Steve: I followed my basic navigational principle and kept driving in hopes of seeing something I recognized. Fortunately, the road I was on came to a "T" that, according to the map, should not have been there, forcing me to ask for directions before I managed to get too far off track, and I was shortly back on Route 13. Temporarily, of course. But after a couple more unplanned detours, I was on a nice straight road with a lot of closely spaced signs saying what road I was on and others saying where I was going, and I relaxed and concentrated on making up lost time. An effort with which the Delaware State Police proved oddly unsympathetic. But after a short delay I was back on the road and soon happily violating Maryland's traffic laws. Until my car began vibrating disagreeably and releasing what did not appear to be environmentally friendly emissions. Pulling it over to the side, I opened the hood, observed that the engine was still present (somewhere under that steam), and having exhausted my store of automotive knowledge, considered my standard options when an automobile ceases to function: 1) let it cool down and try it again, 2) call my brother, and 3) call the auto club. The second and third options requiring phones, I tried option number one first. Parts of the car moved, but this did not include the wheels. So I went to option three (two seemed a bit inconsiderate under the circumstances), and walked off in search of a house containing a person who would make or permit a phone call. I eventually found one, made my call from a wireless phone passed through a door, and returned to my car to wait for a tow truck, which was supposed to arrive in an hour (I knew better than to believe that). It was about 12:30. As the hours passed, it was hard to be too upset at the auto club, since reports of disabled vehicles from a person who can only say with certainty what road he's on and what state he's in are probably very frustrating to whomever must dispatch the assistance. One can't go off in search of a phone to call again, however, because the truck might arrive at any moment and would almost certainly leave promptly if the driver were not within sight. This became a bit of a problem after a few hours, as the trees along Route 13 south of Salisbury are very slender, and getting far enough into the woods so that no angle from the road was at risk of a surprise meant not being able to spot the tow truck if it came. However, upon consideration that if someone did file a public indecency complaint, it would at least bring the Maryland State Police, who might possibly know where a towtruck could be found, that particular dilemma was resolved in favor of being able to look back over my shoulder and see the car. Finally, at about 3:30 a gentleman who had seen my car there earlier stopped to offer assistance, and being unable to do anything with the car, offered the use of his carphone and his knowledge of just where exactly we were, and a more successful call to the auto club was made, such that at about 4:30 a towtruck arrived, enabling the car to reach a service center just before it closed for the weekend. As nothing could be done about that, I headed for the nearest bar - the best place from which to call a cab. The cab promptly arrived to take me to the nearest car rental agency, and by 6:00 (about a half-hour after the original ETA Norfolk), I was back on the road. Driving, of course, an unfamiliar car on unfamiliar roads, at night. And, before long, in a heavy fog. Nymph: one of the side benefits of all this unplanned waiting, i think, was to give you time to adjust to the reality of just what you were doing. you had been quite edgy in your last few emails to me... Steve: True, but by that Friday I was somewhat settled, my private demon's best efforts to derail the plans having failed. I'm quite familiar with his gambits, but even when I know where the sudden irrational anger and suspicion is coming from, and am resolved to ignore him, being under demonic assault does tend to adversely affect my disposition. Nymph: i know, and the only person who can turn loose of your demons is you... but i was sure that you would be there, however late that might be. Steve: I had made a promise to you to be there, so however much I might have wanted to chicken out, I couldn't do so. You've doubtless noticed, my Lady, how often I evade making promises, but I keep the ones I can't avoid making. If I had not shown up eventually, it would have meant that I was in a hospital, jail, or morgue. Nymph: *fond grin* given the type A personality you exhibit behind the wheel it would probably have been the second of the three possibilities. Steve, resuming narrative: I managed to reach Norfolk without additional difficulty (as the road leads directly to the bridge, there wasn't much I could screw up at that point; I would say that even I couldn't manage to get lost on the Chesapeake Bridge-Tunnel, but as I'll being driving it again, I should perhaps try to minimize potential embarrassment). I even stopped in Norfolk to confirm where I was going _before_ becoming lost, which perhaps indicates that my discovery of my submissive side has brought out some humility. Or maybe I'm just getting too old for excessive-testosterone bovine excretion. So I reached the general vicinity of Volt's place by 8:30, and walking and driving around the area for a bit gave me a pretty good idea which place was the right one (aided by the guy who called down from a nearby window asking who I was looking for; at times it's useful being able to appear obviously lost at a distance), and I found my destination. Volt and Nymph had just gotten back, having earlier heard my message that I would be a bit delayed, and after hugs and pleasant introductions, Nymph and I were off again (with her doing the navigating). Nymph: with all of the intervening delays, you were more tired than nervous and looked positively done in! Steve: With Nymph giving directions, the trip was pleasantly uneventful. It didn't take long to reach Virgina Beach and find a place with an ocean view. After checking in with those we each needed to contact, we settled in to enjoy each other's company, and then each other. Nymph: i am inclined to have a full relationship with those i play with. i know that for some it is easy to play with someone unknown to them and others have no difficulty with a relationship that does not extend outside of the dungeon. but *shrug* i guess i'm wired a bit differently. given that this was the first time we would be in close physical proximity and steve's struggle with issues surrounding submission, i felt it best that our first night together be as free from the trappings of d/s as possible. Steve: Submission would wait a bit longer. Although I'd been Nymph's vassal for a long time and her de facto sub for a couple months, I'd not yet formally submitted to her. The idea wasn't as amazing to me as it had been when I first started to think of it. I'd been a sadist for as long as I can remember, with a small (very small) interest in masochism but, so far as I was aware, no inclinations towards submission (a secretive, reclusive, undemonstrative, emotionally closed paranoid with serious difficulty in extending any real trust - reliance as necessary, but never trust - I never saw myself as a likely candidate for submission), the emergence of my submissive side had been something of a surprise to me. Nymph tells me that it was clear in our correspondence long ago, even when we were fencing about who would bottom to whom. Perhaps my lack of aversion to losing that duel should have told me something. Nymph: for all of your semantic maneuvering even you could not escape: submission is an attitude of the heart. and you had indicated your heart's desires quite clearly. submissive behavior has at its core, not an intellectual basis, but one that is emotional. trust is not logical and submission is not rational, although it can be diagrammed as such.... Part 2 Steve: After a pleasant evening, we started the next day by my attending to Nymph in her bath, the occasional need to search for the soap after it escaped my grip adding, perhaps, yet another meaning to the phrase "Freudian slip". My attendance was interrupted a few times by phone calls, as I learned that the service contract on my car wouldn't cover work done where the car presently was, and arrangements were made to have it picked up and towed back to Pennsylvania, so at least that wouldn't be an issue any longer. Nymph: a nice hot bath, my hair washed and brushed by such a dear devoted soul and it was time to do SOMETHING. playing is fun, but i can only stay cooped up for so long and besides, i was hungry and room service was not available due to some off-season remodeling of the hotel restaurant. i was as much of a tourist in virginia beach as was steve, so we went out to see what was there to see. Steve: We went out for breakfast and a long walk. Well, for a sedentary soul (with sedentary soles) like me it was a long brisk walk, thankfully broken by some stops for shopping; for my more energetic Liege it was a short stroll. Nymph: you did good keeping up with me, dear. i know i have way too much energy for my own good! Steve: By the time we got back I was in need of another shower. Just as well, as it's seemly to purify oneself before submitting to one's Liege. One of the things Nymph had acquired was a crystal for my collar, a nicely unobtrusive one that I can wear in any company, and she then graced me by placing it about my neck, and I knelt and kissed her feet. Nymph: the gift of submission is a particularly precious one to me. it is not something i take lightly, for (YMMV, of course) with the granting of power comes a responsibility. steve came to me as a certain person and it was this person that i found attractive, therefore i would do nothing to damage his self-concept. sure i could've picked an obvious slave collar. there are many good shops in california that carry these. for some submissives, an obvious collar is the appropriate choice. for steve, one that he could wear anywhere (and at anytime he needed to feel near me) without attracting comment was the best. we spoke about the symbolic nature of the collar. what it meant to me, the conditions for wearing it, when it was okay to remove it, and when it should only be removed by me. were steve my submissive in a local relationship the collar would have been mine to put on or take off of him as i willed, but separated as we are by distance........... Steve: Then we prepared to play. Nymph: steve and i had discussed a great many things in the months leading up to this moment. he felt that bondage was something that he wished to try along with some pain play. Steve: She put leather cuffs on my wrists, after a few modifications to the cuffs for fit, and tested them to assure that they were neither too tight nor would they ride up to press the thumbs. Then chains were put in place on the bed, and I was ordered to lay face down on the bed. I was still studying the whole situation when Nymph repeated the command, a bit sharply, and I realized, "Oh, she meant *now*" (this submissive business is still a little new to me), and laid face down on the bed, restrained in a spreadeagle position (my ankles loosely held by some very soft rope). Nymph: dear heart, if i had waited for you to finish "studying the whole situation" we'd still be in virginia beach with a hotel bill in the thousands! and while your heart is in the right place, you are not used to direct orders. this was not the first time i had to repeat myself that weekend. OTOH, mere suggestions you picked up on quickly. it takes time. Steve: I'd previously been introduced to the instruments with which I'd now be getting intimate. She started with a soft deerhide flogger, nicely thuddy, very pleasant (I'm a bit of a thud slut), moving through several others on a progression from thud to sting, ending with a cat (I didn't count the tails, but it sure seemed like there were a lot more than nine) with knotted leather tails. At this point things were starting to hurt. After stinging my back for a time, she brought out Danger High Voltage, a foam rubber cover designed to protect tank antennae intransit, and possessed of a most impressive thud. It felt quite good with the half speed strokes Nymph was using. That would be the last thing that felt good for awhile. Among the topics Nymph and I had discussed were my difficulty with asking for help, and my problem with control. I'm getting a little better, but I've long had problems with asking for help, especially when I actually need it. I had proposed the slowword "Mercy, Mistress" and the safeword "Help me, Mistress" in part because they would force me to address this problem. I'd included "Mistress" in each at a time when I was having almost as much trouble saying "Mistress" as I was having getting the words "love" and "you" to juxtapose themselves; this was OBE'd (overtaken by events) by the time I formally submitted. By this point I was saying "Mistress" easily and had worked my way up from juxtaposing *those* other two words in ASCII to finally letting them slip out of my lips without a massive "dramatic pause." I'd had some concern that I might be hesitant to safeword, though by the time of this scene I was more confident I wouldn't hesitate to safeword to Nymph. I've also a bit of a problem with releasing control (or as I usually see it, I've no problem with releasing control, as I never permit it to happen). Nymph had decided that we were going to work on these problems, appropriately, as working on these weaknesses was one of my reasons for submitting. I'd also hoped very much that it would make Nymph happy (and, of course, make me happy in her happiness; I don't much trust altruism in anyone, including myself). Nymph moved to my right side (the pleasant portion of the flogging having been done from my left), and told me "I'm going to beat you to safeword". The safeword criteria that we'd accepted had been that safeword would be used when damage was perceived, which had suited me as it served both to deepen my submission and to give my sadistic Lady's crueler impulses plenty of room. But I was reasonably certain she didn't want to use that criteria for a scene such as this, so I asked her what criteria to use for safeword, and she said "when you can't bear it anymore". After inquiring, partly in jest, "how about slowword ?", and being told slowword would slow but not stop the beating (the response to slowword had been left at the Dom's discretion in our negotiations), I said, "As my Lady wishes", and she replied, "I think a certain sub wants this too". Which was true. Sort of. She started with a riding crop, unpleasant but within my tolerance, then switched to the knotted cat. The blows were a little harder and a lot faster than they had been, and this was beginning to get to me. To this point I'd been pretty stoic and stationary, but that cat was a bit much and I was starting to tense and jerk. Nymph told me to relax my muscles and fight the restraints, not the pain. Well, I managed to unclench my fists, but I didn't do such a good job with my back, nor was I having any success converting pain into sensation. Nymph: i doubted that you would have much success in converting this level of pain into sensation.... however, i did not wish to have to stop short of the point where you needed to go. fixating on the pain and, worse yet, anticipating the blows would have shortened this session a great deal and left you feeling less than adequate. as it was i had given you a knotty koan to solve. was what you could bear equal to what you could stand? only you would be able to resolve this question. Steve: Oh, dear. Am I really so predictable that you knew I would get ensnared on that point ? :-) Steve, resuming narrative: Fighting the restraints was coming naturally enough, however, and Nymph remarked rather archly (sounding like she was having a good time; glad someone was :-> ) about how much I was squirming. At some point Nymph switched to a lucite rod, and I think it was about that time that my exclamations shifted from a slightly stressed to "OW !", and Nymph commented with some apparent satisfaction about how "that's real". Yes, my Lady, it was. At this point I was spending a fair amount of time with my face pressed into the pillow Nymph had kindly provided, hoping to smother any screams that might escape. Nymph: i know it was real. it was the first time you had truly dropped the formal mental and physical armor with which you attempt to keep the outside world at bay. the reaction i got from you that time *was* involuntary and you were no longer the one in control: of yourself or this scene. Steve: I was also doing my best to get out of the way of that damned rod, without any success. When she saw me trying to move my left shoulder out of range (she delights in whacking that thing across the shoulder blade), she called me for trying to "hide that shoulder" and proceeded to hit it repeatedly. Nymph: it was a struggle at first to keep the control that you had relinquished, but when i didn't let you get away with your tricks you were finally in a position where you had no choice but to begin working through the issues we had discussed. Steve: I can't quite remember when, but somewhere about here I started to get scared. Not because I was approaching what I could bear, but because I was realizing that what I could bear was beyond what I could stand. When that rod came down on the same spot several times in quick succession, as it kept doing, I felt I wouldn't be able to stand it if she simply kept hitting the same spot long enough, even though I was inside what I could bear. Fortunately - and by no means accidentally - she'd always move to a new spot, to my immense physical and emotional relief, before that point was reached. She switched to a bamboo cane at some point, which hurt almost as much as the rod, and then begin switching between the cat, rod, and cane pretty freely, or so it seems, but my memory's not particularly clear about this part of the beating. Nymph: i was also using those stingy narrow leather floggers.... sometimes separately and sometimes in tandom with the braided cat. Steve: The blows were coming pretty hard and fast at this point, and I was becoming quite stressed because I was getting close to where I might let safeword slip, and I wasn't yet near the limit of what I could bear, and there wasn't anything going wrong that I could safeword for (sometimes a numb limb would be _so_ convenient, but none were present), and I was getting really scared I'd safeword prematurely. Thinking that if I could just catch up a little I could push the safeword further away, I said "Mercy, Mistress", to slow the beating, and Nymph mercifully stopped beating me and begun rubbing me with rabbit fur, which felt wonderful. Nymph: phase one completed. no, i was not going to let you slow the beating down in order to ramp it up. one reason was because of the marks on your back. the other was that there were several places prior where you should have slowworded, but i had done it for you by moving to another spot with the cane or the rod. Steve: "Do you need a cuddle ?", Nymph asked, and I definitely did. Sometime about there she terminated that part of the scene, but I can't remember what she said or when she did it, whether it was before, after, or while I lay cuddling in her lap. After a period, when I was a back to a somewhat more coherent state, Nymph re-restrained me, this time spreadeagle on my back (after allowing me to kiss her feet again during the transition). Nymph: *gentle smile* you looked like you needed reassurance that you had not failed me by slowwording. a reaffirmation of my acceptance of your submission seemed to help some. Steve: At that point the reassurance was quite welcome, though I had intended the repetition of my act of submission to assure you that I wanted what was happening. Steve (resuming narrative): Then she started into some light "BT" and some quite wonderful "C" stimulation. The feeling was quite marvelous. She then tried a variety of clamps on my arms and thighs and a series of clamps on my nipples, which was quite painful, but she kept employing a bit of magic, and as each set of clamps seemed to burn a little more on my nipples, she'd orally pleasure me and I'd completely forget there were any clamps. Until she took them off. And then replaced them with another set which hurt worse than the one before. Nymph: combinations of sensations: soft and stingy, sexual and burning can evoke interesting reactions. Steve: Somewhere in this period I started involuntarily audibilizing; nothing coherent that I can recall, but I don't think the meaning was ever in doubt. I was also displaying all the signs of being very cold, though I wasn't cold. Once or twice during the beating I'd had a brief shivering sensation, though I don't think I actually shivered. But now I was shivering quite severely. Whether that had anything to do with Nymph's decision to switch to ice, I don't know, but she did, alternately taking ice cubes and rubbing them over me, and further orally pleasuring me (have I mentioned yet that she's *very* good at that ?). Nymph: mmmmmmmmmmmmm...., thank you dear heart. actually you started shivering about the same time as the bunny-fur, clamps on the inner thighs, and finger nails to the balls... which was *long* before the ice. i only commented on it when i was checking you to make sure you _weren't_ cold before moving to the ice. Steve: Pretty soon my audibilizations and what must have been interesting facial expressions, judging from the look on Nymph's face when her head was up, were being interrupted by bouts of laughter. These bouts became longer until the laughter was nearly continuous. I'm not sure how long after Nymph stopped the external stimueation that this continued. Unlike most pleasurable experiences, it seemed to last a long time. Nymph: you were pretty blissed out... and for quite a long time ! but there was still the matter of taking you to safeword. Steve: And since we'd had the ice, it was only appropriate that we have fire. Nymph lighted a candle and dripped some wax on her arm to test its heat, then started dripping it on my stomach. That felt pretty good. As it moved up my abdomen, it didn't feel quite so good, and when the wax struck my nipple, that was definitely painful. Nymph: painful, but the guard was still up. a sharp intake of breath but no whimper. well, i still have most of a lighted candle..... Steve: She then started moving back down my abdomen, which again felt pretty good, though I'm too much of a sadist not to have known where things were going. When the wax started dripping around my crotch it wasn't so pleasant anymore, and when a drop hit it's target I let out just a little bit of an audibilization. Well, some might have called it a shriek. Nymph said "That's a safeword." Nymph: a little bit of an audibilization? you rose as far off the bed as the restraints would permit... and for one split second you were totally unconcerned about who might have heard you or whether you had disappointed me or any other nonsense. that _was_ a limit. i have been both a bottom and a sub... in that headspace the english language is often impossibly complicated!!! safewords and even my own name can become totally misplaced. i could have made a point and continued. but your eyes, your body, your expression contained the message you needed to send. that shriek _was_ safeword. Steve: I was still capable of speaking, but I'm glad you didn't keep dripping until I was forced to say the words. Nymph: i will do no harm, dear heart. Steve (resuming narrative): Nymph put up the candle, and we wound down, discussing the scene and cleaning the wax off me while Nymph tried laying various chemical handwarmers on my C&B, a quite pleasant sensation. Then she released me and we hugged and cuddled for a time before going to dinner. When I went to dress Nymph warned me not to be too surprised by the state of my back. Marks weren't something I was seeking, secretive creature that I am, but they did look pretty interesting. I seem to mark fairly well. To the disadvantage of my aesthetic aspect and the advantage of my secretive side, they faded pretty quickly. When we returned from dinner, piggy sub that I am, I was doing all I could to suggest that "we could play some more couldn't we huh please ?" (as I was for much of the weekend). But Nymph was very clear on who was in charge and how we were going to do some real people stuff in addition to playing, so we spent the early evening talking, listening to music, and watching the ocean, which, with a storm to the south, was quite impressive. And then, as the night drew on, she ordered me to make her come. There's always a way to accomplish any reasonable order (sometimes several) and a dutiful sub will find them. FWIW, one way that's not particularly bright, when stimulating someone who tends towards forceful orgasms, is to try to keep her from twisting out of one's grasp by placing one's leg across her's when one has recently spent several hours straining against ropes. The timing of the resultant cramp could hardly have been worse. Perhaps my Lady would accept that as a bit of orgasm deprival/deferral ? :-) Nymph: i would say that you did more than please me that evening... you are remarkably gifted with a wonderful sense of touch and of timing. leg cramps are not something which is within your power to control, at any rate. it was pleasant to drift off to sleep listening to the sound of the surf outside our balcony, wrapped up in your arms. Part 3 Steve: The next day started the same way, with me undressing Nymph and attending her bath (without the interruptions this time). One creates some vulnerabilities when one has spent many months sending to a sadistic switch, who happens to be one's Liege, every cruel image one's imagination can generate, as it meant she knew exactly how the captive women in my fantasies are positioned, and delighted in placing her hands behind her head when being undressed, or on the shower rail while being dried off, in ways she knew would get me even more excited than I already was. Nymph: *grin* yes dear, there was a method to my madness this past year... Steve: Then she went for her morning walk. I had to skip this one, as the rather large blood blister that had popped the night before didn't look too bad when I smoothed the large patch of hanging skin over the rather large raw patch, but walking on it kept messing it up (though the skin would dry up shortly and have to be cut away). Being diabetic with poor circulation and reduced feeling in my feet, these things are easily overlooked as they're occuring. Fortunately, they're also easy to walk on if necessary, as I don't feel much anyway. But we were going to minimize the time I spent on my feet. That suited me. When Nymph came back, we talked a bit more, then I gave her a long back (make that body) rub, with some freelance use of alternate means of creating pleasant sensations, as it had finally sunk in that one of the nice things about being a collared sub is that one can take some liberties with the assurance that one will be promptly advised of anything that doesn't please. So after a long period of stroking, massaging, carressing, and kissing Nymph, and rubbing her with rabbit fur, we had some vanilla fun, and she granted me the favor of giving me another flogging with the deerhide flogger, a most relaxing device. Nymph: your back was still rather marked up and the doeskin flogger is an exceptionally mellow tool. at a later date, perhaps i shall teach you the finer points of enjoying pain-play... but at that point your body was in no condition for any but the mildest of play. Steve: We talked some more, and spent the evening in watching movies. Then she removed my collar so we could spend the last night of our visit without powerplay. Nymph: it is important that there is balance in all things. a delimited space for powerplay allows for growth in other parts of a relationship. those other aspects are also important to me, not only in terms of learning more about the other person but also in terms of keeping communication lines open and clear. Steve: We departed early the next morning, and after I requested and received one additional cane stroke to add a fresh mark, I took Nymph back to Volt's place. Nymph: all too quickly our wonderful weekend was over. june is not an eternity away nor is 3000 miles an insurmountable distance but real life and the demands it places on me and on steve meant that we would not be seeing one another for a long time. Steve: The return trip wasn't quite as troublesome as the trip to Norfolk had been, and I found my way back to Salisbury without much trouble. Finding the rental agency was a little more of a problem, but I located it without too much delay. They didn't rent cars that could be dropped off in other locales, but they were helpful in finding me a rental I could leave in Pennsylvania. I avoided mechanical, legal, and navigational problems till I got to Wilmington, De, where I managed to miss an exit (actually, I saw it, but thought there would be another just a little further north) and drove through most of the city instead of around it before I found the next ramp to I-95, but only getting lost once is pretty good for me. Once on I-95 reaching the airport and dropping the car off was easy, and I was able to call for a ride home. I promptly came down with a quite unpleasant case of the flu, but the timing was kind of lucky since my doctor had me off my feet and taking antibiotics until the raw patch on my foot healed, so I couldn't have made it to work anyway. And my car, which is getting it's differential replaced under warranty (except for the towing costs) should be done tomorrow, just in time for me to get back to work. So, on balance, considering all that happened, how do I consider the visit ? It was wonderful. Nymph: *hug* _you_ were wonderful, dearest! Steve: Thank you, my Liege. And when we get a chance to do it again, I'd like to try another flogging to goal, if it please my Liege. Nymph: 'twould be my pleasure. Steve: Fascinating how an experience that's neither erotic nor pleasant, can yet be so compelling (after a certain amount of time has passed; should my Lady grant my request, I'm sure I'll spend much of the time during the event wondering "I *asked* for this !" :-) ) Nymph: and another 2 months wondering how something that was so unpleasant could hold such an allure for you! perhaps, if you're *very* good, i'll bring my copy of the kama sutra, as well ;). until june, m'dear!!