I realize this is only a story but some of the women's behavior is just fucked up as is the men's attitude of "domination." I have to question their mental stability based on that lifestyle choice. It seems the lines are  blurred between "play" and "nonplay" --the Doms appear to be able to assert their power at any time. How could the girlfriend/sub take the stress of constantly monitoring for an unexpected switch from girlfriend/boyfriend or wife/husband to Dom/sub? At times during this chapter and others, Edward punishes Bella for disobedience that is not obvious to the reader so it seems he is being cruel and capricious.  I really don't get the spanking for punishment crap--I think these guys just get off on beating women--and make up infractions to justify their behavior. Spanking for fun is just that,  spanking/beating etc  for teaching a "lesson" is veiled cruelty.

I like these two 90% of the time. This chapter was well written and covered a lot of territory. Edward's behavior reminds me of a petulant, whiny, over-indulged child. His behavior, together with the scene, gave me a sick feeling. I detest Garret and mealy mouthed, uber-brain-washed Kate. She is perhaps salvageable; he deserves to be drowned like the rat he is in a rain barrel.

I would love to see Bella kick the crap out of Edward, literally and figuratively. He richly deserves it. A little "humility" would improve his personality and make him a better Dom in the long run. He is somehow missing a key component in his psyche which allows him to really care about anyone beside himself. This certainly gets a rise out of me.

See the Perv Packs recommendation from a couple weeks ago regarding Mistress Christine (? name), a Seattle area dominatrix who blogs and writes for an alternative newspaper. She has an excellent essay on her blog on the character traits of some of the male members in the lifestyle. Her point is that being a dominant, male or female, in no way entitles one to be an arrogant asshole.  I couldn't agree more.

Excellent--this has a human touch in it.

Too sappy? Not for me. It was sweet and lovely with just the right amount of sexual tension. These two are so good together. It's a rather unusual twist on the their relationship. The next chapter should be very interesting.