A demon and angel (who, in this world, aren't really different from each other) find in each other an outlet to deal with the ways that mortals' expections twist them:
I hold my breath, waiting. It feels as though every nerve ending in my body is protruding an inch from the skin and waving around like a little sea anemone. But the cry that explodes from me at the first strike is more due to astonishment than pain. I was expecting a whip, the whip, the one that cuts through skin and flesh. The whip which scourges away my shame and self-loathing, healing my essence while it flays this beautiful, ephemeral frame. Instead, the stripes being laid across my skin are from a strap. Painful, yes--but only a strap. Devious Othello is playing with me, teasing me with my own fears.
This story is well-titled--it clearly portrays how both parties in a bdsm encounter are giving to each other, and how both are receiving from each other. The emotion between the two main characters was palpable.
Last week, I blogged about "Switch," another story in this anthology, and I'll post about my favorite from the book next week.
For full disclosure, I've published with Circlet before, but I bought and read this book entirely on my own.
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