Ironically, as I was talking to my boy the other day about pain being a turn-on, I casually mentioned whips, and said something like "delicious," to which he replied sardonically, "tell that to the slaves."

Theretofore, I had never, ever even thought about such a connection... I guess for me the sex has so much to do with love that the pain seems to be an expression of passion and not an intention to hurt... but then again, I'm a yankee.

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As far as pets go, I'm not in such a relationship but that's always been the sort of D/s relationship I've found most endearing from an onlooker's perspective... there seems to be a lot more affection in this type of relationship than in other types. It's about as sweet as kinky sex can be!