Last year, I was discussing Domination with a friend of mine who's a Dom, and confessed to him how much he seems like a therapist when he's in Dom mode. I don't know if there's actually a field out there called Domination therapy, but if there's not, there should be. If you're wondering what I mean, you might want to take a look at this Ellora's Cave Quickie, Edge of Sweetness by Anya Bast. Some of the elements of the psychology of domination are illustrated in Edge of Sweetness

As for the story? Anya Bast's hero Ben is an unattached Dom who does not believe in fate, destiny or love, and her heroine Savannah is a disillusioned widow, a survivor of a sexually unfulfilling marriage, a non-practicing submissive with plenty of issues. They have a moment of attraction--a When Harry Met Sally moment. Long before they become a couple, their story begins with an accidental meeting on a street corner, and despite the fleeting transience of that incident, they are deeply affected. Flash forward to six months later when Ben is hanging out in a hotel and he runs into Savannah again, only this time they have opportunity to act on their attraction. Ben's date for the night doesn't show up, and there's a chance meeting with Savannah at a hotel bar, followed by a not-so chance meeting in a hotel room.

Ben is a Dom without a partner, and Savannah is a widowed sub who never had an opportunity to "be all that she could be." In the course of acting out their impulses, Ben does the Domination therapy thing I was talking about, all related to personal epiphanies, trust and important shrink-stuff like that. (It's the very reason why a real-life D/s relationship can be either destructive or constructive.)

This is an Ellora's Cave Quickie, so there aren't any complications that occur in the course of the very straightforward story. It is mentioned that Ben does not have a tendency toward commitment, but then, he also remembers our heroine from a chance meeting on the street six months before. The question is, is it a one-night stand or destiny?

Reviewed by Maîtresse
© January 2007