Title:

The original version of Safeword: Rainbow was published back in 2010. At the end of 2013, however, author, Candace Blevins, released a revised and updated version of the book. Michael read the first iteration and gave it four stars on Goodreads; has this new, extended edition answered some of his original questions (Tyler always worried him a little) or simply made him more curious about his relationship with Viv?

MICHAEL

Let me tell you a quick fairy tale to start things off.

Once upon a time, in the Magical Land of New Hampshire, a dark and secretive Master named James finds the slave girl he’s been searching for. James and Katrina spend a weekend exploring the limits of passion and desire and pain. And in the end, James vanishes into the night. And they never see each other again.

Well, not exactly. Let’s skip ahead a few years.

Viv’s father is home in Miami, rehabilitating following a heart attack. Her brother has been looking after him but she wants to be involved, too. And then her brother’s old friend, Tyler, arrives. And things take an interesting turn.

You see, Tyler sometimes uses the name James. And Viv has been known to use another name in certain … situations. And now they are together. For Tyler, this is everything he could have ever dreamed of. He has been reunited with the submissive he’s been searching for – the one he can finally make his own. And mould into his perfect slave.

There’s just one teeny tiny problem.

You see, Katrina wasn’t real. She looked real and felt real. She did as she was told and obeyed pretty much without question. But she wasn’t real.

Viv isn’t just a slave. She’s an academic and a researcher. She’s an expert on the world’s oceans. She is out to save the planet. And she can’t really do these things kneeling at her Master’s feet, serving his every whim and desire.

So our question comes: Can Tyler learn to scale back his fantasies to a reasonable level? Can Viv figure out a way to balance the person she wants to be with the possession she desires to be? And just as important: is there a place they can figure these things out together?

This version of Safeword: Rainbow is a revised version of the original. More material, more copy editing, and a more cohesive story. But … I still don’t feel quite like the story is over. Especially based on the new last chapter. While Tyler doesn’t necessarily cross the boundaries between real life and fantasy, he edges dangerously close in my opinion. And it likely wouldn’t take very much to send him right over.

Tickle your fancy? Click on the following links to purchase a copy.

Amazon.co.uk 

• Safeword: Rainbow (2013 Extended Edition) – Kindle

Amazon.com

• Safeword: Rainbow (2013 Extended Edition) – Kindle

* Please note that a copy of Safeword: Rainbow (2013 Extended Edition) was provided free of charge by the author in exchange for a fair review.

The post Safeword: Rainbow (2013 Extended Edition) – Candace Blevins appeared first on Behind the Chintz Curtain.

At one point, Chris, a character in Make Me Yours Evermore, mentions brain bleach. By the end of the book, I was surreptitiously checking supermarket shelves for a bottle of the stuff.

Redemption? Remorse? Morality?

Phtt.

Love?

Wash your mouth out.

This book is about lust, desire, control and corruption. But, above all else, it’s about power. Held absolutely and resolutely over another human being. Consensual? No. But compelling and intoxicating, nonetheless.

I can’t recall a single time I’ve ‘enjoyed’ (not to be confused with ‘been impressed by’) a book featuring a core protagonist I was unable to like, empathise with, or warm to. But in this particular case, I did.

Chris is a sadist who’s been waiting for the perfect opportunity to cross the line. And he’s no paragon of virtue in other areas of his life, either. Andreas is a man with some naughty little fantasies who gets a taste of the forbidden and all too quickly strays from the path of righteousness. To my shame, I found myself coming to terms with these two men – one of whom was devoid of any redeeming qualities whatsoever and the other who, despite starting on slightly higher moral ground, very quickly succumbed to the allure of a body available to his every sexual whim. Why, you may ask, did I find these two men … acceptable (if that’s really the word) given my distaste for their actions? It’s simple, really. They were contrasted against a silo of darker, more infinitely abhorrent human beings. Well, that and they tapped into a Pandora’s Box of dark fantasies.

Being forced to submit.

Being humiliated.

Being made to crawl.

Surrendering yourself absolutely – whether you want to or not.

I should make very clear at this point there is a definite S/m thread running through Make Me Yours Evermore. However – and this is really important – I’d in no way class it as a BDSM book. It is not safe or sane. Nor is it risk aware or consensual. The best way I can describe it is as a darkly kinky head-screw that’s not afraid to dig around in the murkier parts of the human psyche and throw a bit of dirt. As with Take Me, Break Me and Bind and Keep Me, Make Me Yours Evermore takes the reader on an unapologetic journey to the dark side. What’s more, it coerces them into enjoying it. If you’re at all uncomfortable with letting your mind wander along darker paths in the name of erotic fantasy then this is – cue flashing warning lights, sirens, etc. – most definitely not the book for you. With each Pierced Hearts instalment, the stakes just seem to get higher and higher, the situations more edgy. And that’s saying something considering Take Me, Break Me kicked off with non-consensual play. Yep. Say ‘hello’ to organised crime, forced slavery, and human trafficking. David Cameron would no doubt – and please excuse the crudity – sh*t a brick if he read this.

Just in case it’s not clear from the rest of this review, the thought of any of the events in the Pierced Hearts series happening in real life flat out appals me. Kink without consent, murder, kidnapping; I am not for one nanosecond condoning any of these things outside of fiction. No way. But I’d be lying if I said the scenarios Cari Silverwood has dreamed up didn’t push my buttons in an erotic fantasy context. Despite my guilty feelings, I’ve been well and truly seduced by her dark little tales. Make Me Yours Evermore is no exception.  

Next time, though? I’d like the characters’ emotional connections to be more … pronounced. Extreme. Because while the plotting, scene-setting and sex were excellent – I’m still recovering from the encounter in the forest between Kat, Andreas and Chris – I found myself yearning for a cataclysmic, no-holds-barred, sexual and emotional kick in the guts to really hammer this story home and cement the characters. Truthfully, I’m still not entirely sure where they stand with one another.

Tickle your fancy? Click on the following links to purchase a copy:

Amazon.co.uk

• Make Me Yours Evermore – Kindle

Amazon.com

• Make Me Yours Evermore – Kindle

*Please note that a copy of Make Me Yours Evermore was provided free of charge by the author in exchange for a fair review.

The post Make Me Yours Evermore – Cari Silverwood appeared first on Behind the Chintz Curtain.

“Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage.”

– International Association for the Study of Pain

As a sensation in general, pain (understandably) gets a bad wrap. If we accept the above definition, it’s the body’s way of letting us know that we’re doing something to it that it would rather we didn’t.

But, for some, feeling and/or inflicting pain isn’t always a negative experience. What about those of us who have a positive, healthy relationship with it? Who consider it to be an intrinsic part of our sexual selves and a consensual, loving relationship?

I have been trying to write this post for a while but it has proven to be rather difficult. Mainly because I’m not confident that I can fully articulate the nuances of erotic pain, it subtleties – its beauty – in any sort of way that will do it justice. Not to mention that I am fighting against the ridiculously outdated perceptions of sexual/erotic pain put forward in the late 1800s and early Twentieth Century by two well-known psychiatrists. (Yep, we’re still defining sadism and masochism according to theories that are now over 100 years old. How’s that for progress?)

So I’ve called in help – big time – in the form of four very awesome people, all of whom, like me, have a close relationship with sexual pain and view it rather differently to Richard von Krafft-Ebing and Sigmund Freud …

THE RECEIVING END

Molly

That first touch of his hand or the flogger or the paddle is always a shock that makes me gasp for breath and often, for a split second, a little glimmer of hate for this moment will niggle at my brain. ‘Ow that hurts’ my knee jerk reaction but only for a moment. The smallest of moments, because then it is replaced with a heat, a strong powerful surge of chemicals that flood my nervous system but all too soon they begin to wane, disappearing alone my nerve endings and fluttering away to almost nothing until the next strike and then the next and onwards. My body greedily lapping up the sensation, riding on an ever building wave of heat and pressure making my muscles twitch and my skin throb. Nothing else exists in this moment, the pain (for want of a better word) is a consuming focusing point that dances through my body, emptying my mind of everything and making me feel. Everything is more when there is pain and yet everything is me. I am the centre of myself or should I say my body is. Alight with heat, hot electric pulsing heat that fills me up and consumes me, washing everything else away. I am raw, exposed, vulnerable and yet invincible. In that moment I feel so truly alive.

Words can’t really explain it, there is a risk of sounding like a complete lunatic, someone not quite balanced or else so full of woo woo type lovey dovey nonsense that you just can’t relate and my pain experience within kink won’t necessarily be yours. Like all physical reactions, they are unique to the person experiencing them. My orgasm isn’t like your orgasm and my ride on the adrenalin rush of pain is just that, mine. I have written about it so many times and yet it’s true strength and power eludes me here with words. Part of that is because our association with pain or what that word so often means in life is negative, trying to twist that with words into a positive moment always has to overcome that deep rooted association we all have that pain is a bad thing. Painful emotions, painful memories, painful experiences all register in our brain as a hard difficult moments and yet pain applied in such a way as to stimulate can bring about such amazing reactions and release.

So how did I discover pain as a positive erotic stimulus? The answer is someone showed me. He guided me to that moment and despite my protests and inexperience took control and spanked me and I mean really spanked me, leaving bright red handprints on my arse and a red hot throb between my thighs. I am so glad he did it, because in that moment I learned something completely new about myself and he opened a whole new world of sensation play to me. Pain in that moment isn’t really pain, it is something far more compelling and addictive than that. It is a strange and dark dance between pleasure and pain, that mingle together edging back and forth from one another but slowly coming closer together until the two are so blurred that you no longer know where one stops and the other starts. It is that moment, that pure physical experience, a loss of yourself into sensory overload, that I crave. For me pain, applied with a loving firm skilled hand is my drug of choice.

Jane

I understand that not everyone feels and experiences pain in the same way that I do and that the following will, to some, make about as much sense as a chocolate teapot.

As well as being a rather messy combination of bottom and submissive, I am a masochist. In the grand scheme of things, I believe myself to be a pretty lightweight one but, mild or not, erotic pain (amongst other things) defines a significant portion of my sexual self. Note the emphasis on the word ‘erotic’ here. To clarify, I do not find banging my shin against a table a turn-on. That just plain f*cking hurts and there’s nothing remotely sensual or enjoyable about that sort of experience. But tangle pain up with submission or bottoming, place it within a sexual context, and we’re suddenly talking about something entirely different.

Can I define exactly how it makes me feel to receive pain delivered with erotic intent? I can try. The best way I can think of to describe it is as an equation, the adding of certain things together to create a desirable sum:

sexual context + aroused brain + erotic pain = catharsis

Yep, for me, even though it is undoubtedly a sexual kink, receiving pain does not necessarily need to lead to a climax. Can pain cause me to have an orgasm? Not on its own. But it can certainly push me towards one or send me over the edge if it’s combined with more ‘standard’ forms of stimulation.

The type of pain is important, too. To get to that cathartic sum it must be of a sort that I enjoy and be delivered in a certain way. For example, I don’t like sharp sensations, but I love sting if I’m properly warmed up and experience it in bursts.

My perception of erotic pain itself is harder to describe. My brain registers that it hurts but then somehow transforms it into something else. You know when you lower yourself into bathwater that is way too hot but you gradually acclimatise until suddenly you’re sitting chest-deep and it feels wonderful and unbearable all at the same time? Well, that’s the closest analogy I can draw.

It would be pretty accurate to say that I crave erotic pain, in much the same way that other people might crave a bar of chocolate. It gives me both pleasure and satisfaction. Could I survive without it? Of course. But do I want to? No.

THOSE WHO GIVE

DomSigns

This is, I think a much more difficult subject for most of those who give pain as opposed to those that receive it. In my mind it is easier for most to understand how closely pain and pleasure are linked in the brain and therefore easier to understand how pain can be erotic. But what about those who find it erotic to give pain, how can hurting someone else give you pleasure? More importantly how can you not see that as a sickness?

After a great deal of thought on this matter I have decided that the problem with those questions is how they are phrased. The way that it make sense is that I am not “hurting” her. Hurt implies damage and I never injure her, what I do is give her pleasure through the controlled application of pain. That turns her on, and it turns me on too.

It is not just the moments of delivery that make it erotic, but all the moments afterward as well. When she rushes off to see the marks that I have left on her body, when she sits down and winces, when I grab her bottom and she groans, all of that turns me on.

Now to the part that is a bit darker. How it can work for me with the right person and consent. I have the opportunity to let a bit of the primeval part of me loose just a little. I get to express the strength of being a man to hold her down and use her as I desire, to bite and hit and mark. This doesn’t mean that I lose control, quite the opposite. I have to keep a tighter rein on what I am doing because there is a greater chance of things going wrong. It is the dichotomy of being Dom. I can  express that aggressive imperative that still lives within us all… But I need to keep it from spiralling into darkness. That is why it is never done in anger, not even when she is being punished. All that we do together is done with love, complete consent and explicit communication. We all have that dark side within us and together she and I get to explore and learn that part of ourselves together with smiles and tears and passion. That makes it a journey worth taking.

M

My introduction to erotic pain was through Jane and her interest in it. Personally speaking, I don’t find being on the receiving end of it a turn-on, nor do I consider myself to be a sadist. But I do find dominating Jane very erotic and arousing – and because it is a hot button for her, pain plays a big part in that process. I guess what I’m trying to say is that while I don’t find actual pleasure in giving pain for pain’s sake, as a sadist would, I love her reaction to it. It turns her on, and her being turned on turns me on.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of doing things that were fundamentally going to ‘hurt’ Jane when we first started exploring her masochistic side, despite the fact that she wanted me to and had given her consent. But as time has gone on, that’s definitely changed – mainly because I better understand her reactions to erotic pain and love the way she responds to it. I’m also far more confident in my ability to ‘read’ her, because experience and communication have taught me what she wants, what she needs, and what I need to do to get her there. I have absolutely been in charge of the pace of exploration, though. That’s partly a the control thing, but has also been driven by my need to be confident in my judgement and that everything we do is safe.

It’s fair to say that Jane and my experiences with her, have turned the way I would normally think about pain on its head; in an erotic, consensual context, I think it is about power exchange, the brain, and a certain level of release more than anything else. Yes, finding pleasure through pain will be outside of ‘the norm’ for a lot of people but for us, it is something that’s a fundamental part of what I consider to be a healthy, loving relationship.

Trent

As a Dom with a sadistic streak a mile wide, my take on pain is rather … complicated.

First, I think some clarification is in order. I am not a ‘sexual sadist’ as described clumsily in modern psychology in reference to serial killers or the like. I’m nothing of the sort. These persons are truly dangerous in that they are incapable of deriving pleasure without inflicting terrible pain (and often death) on others. They have no empathy for their victims, and seek to inflict this pain on others solely to fulfill their own selfish desires. I’ve simplified things greatly here, but I needed to make sure that that was clear, as some people are frightened by the very word ‘sadist’.

I am a ‘sadist’ when you define the word as someone who enjoys, takes pleasure in, giving pain to a woman who wants said pain. The woman must consent, must enjoy that pain – otherwise, it’s not going to ever happen. That consent is paramount and non-negotiable, and is the key to everything regarding sadism/masochism — at least as I define it.

Pain, to me, can all be boiled down to two ingredients: sensation and control. The attraction to pain for a sane sadist – a label I would apply to myself – is that it can be used to overwhelm the sub/masochist with sensation. Many masochists report that the pain transforms itself into something else. Perhaps it’s the work of endorphins, or perhaps it’s something deeper, more conscious on the sub’s part? I suppose nobody will ever know, but I find it fascinating nonetheless.

For me, the pain must be given in a sexual context; Jane’s example of a shin bash being utterly non-sexual was a wonderful example. As in so much else, context is everything. There is a world of difference between scalding your hand on hot water, and having your ass roasted by a hard spanking. Yes, both involve serious pain, but the context renders them two sensations that couldn’t be more different as experienced by the recipient.

The control aspect comes into play in the context of Dominance and submission. Part of the control a Dominant may choose to exert concerns whether or not he will give his sub pain, be it as a punishment for some infraction of their “rules”, or simply pain given both for his pleasure, and for her pleasure at being compelled to undergo said pain. Deciding when, where, and in what form his sub feels this pain is one of the aspects of D/s that is rarely spoken of in frank terms, but one I suspect is an undercurrent in many, if not most, D/s relationships.

When a Dom decides his sub shall have a spanking, it is not merely the physical pain of the punishment that she may crave and fear in equal measure, but the control he’s exerting upon her in making her endure the pain of the spanking holds its own separate, yet intertwined, attraction for her.

He’s compelling her to expose her naked flesh to his gaze, surrendering her body for both his pleasure and hers. She’s submitting to his will, and accepting his right to give her both pain and (if she’s a good girl) pleasure. In a sense, pain itself is actually subordinate to the real appeal of the entire D/s dynamic: the unequal power relationship and its implied and explicit exercise of control. Pain in the D/s relationship is really a tool, a way to make her experience overwhelming sensation, a means to compel, to punish, or even, to reward.

For the subs/masochists brave enough to embrace those sensations, those adventurous souls who are ready to take that journey, it can be a magical trip indeed!

*An enormous and heartfelt ‘thank you’ to Molly Moore (Molly’s Daily Kiss, @Mollysdailykiss), DomSigns (@DomSigns), Trent Evans (Trent Evans Letters, @TrentEvansTales), and my husband, M, for taking the time to help me out with this post; I couldn’t have written it without them. Please, please do take the time to go and check their very excellent online selves out – in short, they rock!

The post Pain Positive appeared first on Behind the Chintz Curtain.

Title:

Two words: still recovering. Bind and Keep Me is non-con BDSM erotica at its absolute best. If you like your tales dark, you’re not going to want to miss this one.

*You can click on any of the stick figure drawings below to make them bigger. Which many of you will likely need to do if your eyesight is as bad as mine and you can’t read the writing!

JANE’S TAKE

This book should come with a health warning:

Caution! Jaw may drop to floor and disconnect from face. The author assumes no responsibility for readers who spontaneously combust with arousal and/or spend days wondering whether their moral compass needs resetting as a result of reading (and enjoying) this book.

Leave your sanity at the door because there is absolutely no way that Bind and Keep Me can be put into either the Safe, Sane and Consensual (SSC) or Risk Aware Consensual Kink (RACK) buckets. There is unsafe play in spades. There is insane play by the truckload. There is non-consent to the power of a hundred overlaid with the veneer of incredibly dubious consent. There is risk with a capital ‘R’. And there is kink. Oh, man is there kink.

But the scary thing is that it works. Almost too well. So well that you come out the other end of this book and think ‘I’m one twisted individual for enjoying that. And wanting more.’

A sadist who’s completely off the chain? Check.

Thoroughly illegal activity (murder-slash-manslaughter and abduction)? Check.

A ‘victim’ who has absolutely no say, no outs, no choice in what is done to her? Check, check, check.

Why is it that this book is so deliciously frightening? Because it feels so believable. You could actually imagine the scenario it describes happening. Cari Silverwood has taken everyday characters and situations and completely run them through the twisted kinky wringer to create something that is, pardon my language, a thoroughly arousing mind f*ck. (Let me assure you, you will never look at accountant in quite the same way.)

I was expecting a continuation of Klaus and Jodie’s story, which began in Take Me, Break Me. What I got was a tale that took me on a totally unexpected right-angle and went far deeper and darker than it’s predecessor. And as I read, I could not get out of my mind the following passage from that first book, the one in which Klaus truly begins to understand just how far his sadistic desires go:

‘My new epiphany turned creepy cold. Sharing hadn’t been last on the list, killing her and burying her on the beach had been it. Christ. Thank God, I wasn’t that man, but it made me wonder who I had become. I doubted I could change back.’

So just how far will his desires push him to take things in Bind and Keep Me?

To the limit, people. To the limit.

And what can I say about the ending? I’d have thought that Klaus would be a pretty hard act to follow but reading the Bind and Keep Me epilogue, it seems Ms Silverwood is going to crank things up even further with the next Pierced Hearts entry; Chris frightens the cr*p out of me – but oh, hell, do I want to read about him …

MICHAEL’S TAKE

I’ve decided to keep this review as spoiler-free as possible.

So after Jane and I read Take Me, Break Me a few months ago I learned that there was a second book in the Pierced Hearts series. At first I was confused but then I remembered that there were several possible supporting characters who could be featured in the next story.

So when Jane sent me the Bind and Keep Me review copy, I just picked it up and started reading. And found that it featured Jodie and Klaus. I was surprised, obviously, but decided to just go with it and see where we ended up.

And then … Boom! I didn’t see that coming.

What Cari had to do was tricky. Add a third character to the mix. Create someone who was likeable enough that we did care what happened to her. And yet at the same time make her unlikable enough that we didn’t get too upset at what she went through. I think she pretty much succeeded.

I am still trying to process the ending. Did I see it coming? I definitely saw it as a possibility earlier but had kind of eliminated that from the list by the time it happened. How do I feel about it? Honestly, I am still kind of unsure.

I gave Klaus a lot of leeway and the benefit of the doubt the first time around. Truth? He scares me more than a bit now. I am not sure where he is going to draw the line anymore.

Is there room for a third book? Actually, there is. I am not going to make any assumptions next time around, though.

*Please note that advance copies of Bind and Keep Me were supplied free of charge by the author in exchange for a fair review.

Tickle your fancy? Click on the following links to purchase a copy.

Amazon.co.uk

• Bind and Keep Me – Kindle

Amazon.com

• Bind and Keep Me – Kindle

The post Bind and Keep Me – Cari Silverwood appeared first on Behind the Chintz Curtain.

If you’ve been rummaging around in the Chintz Toy Box, you may remember that last year, Thomas and Lizzie reviewed a set of Squeezer Teaser nipple clamps.  Low and behold, that post has gone on to become one the most popular and visited on Behind the Chintz Curtain and, even weeks and months after its publication, it continues to draw readers on a regular basis. It seems there’s a definite appetite to know more about the practice of nipple clamping – the various clamp styles, how they’re used, the pros and cons of the different designs out there, and the sensations they create.

How intense are they? Are they easy to get on? What happens, exactly, when you take them off?

To that end, I’ve asked the pair of them to put together a quick ‘n’ dirty overview of their clamping experiences, discussing their perceptions of the sensations clamps generate, and a breakdown of the benefits and hindrances of the various styles on offer.

IMPORTANT: This isn’t a ‘how to’ guide. If you think clamping is something you’d like to try, please make sure you do your homework and are aware of the risks involved/understand how to apply clamps safely. Please also take the time to read the Behind the Chintz Curtain disclaimer.

Sensation

Lizzie
First off, let me say this: clamping won’t be for everyone. To use the old flavouring analogy (although I’ll avoid the term ‘vanilla’) it’s all a matter of taste. For me, personally? I find that having my nipples clamped incredibly erotic and the sensation of compression a huge turn on. Bluntly, I get aroused by the pain they generate – the hit when they go on, the ache they generate once applied, and the devilish throb that kicks in when they come off. Some of the more intense styles also leave me feeling incredibly sensitive after removal and there is nothing nicer, I think, than experiencing the brush of clothing, or lips, or fingers a day or two later and being reminded of what Thomas and I did together to make them that way.

So what do clamps feel like, exactly? Well, the sensation depends on the style (whether they’re adjustable or not, the surface area they cover, their weight) but, broadly speaking, nipple clamps are all about pressure. They’re a step up from having your nipple pulled or squeezed between a thumb and forefinger; the pain isn’t sharp, more of an intense ache that blunts slightly during wear as the blood stops flowing into the nipple and intensifies (dramatically!) when they’re removed and the blood rushes back in. In fact, the latter sensation is probably the one that stands out most from my point-of-view and immediately afterwards the flesh of the nipple is incredibly, incredibly sensitive to touch. Nothing beats a mouth applied to one and gentle sucking in the immediate aftermath of removal, although the sensation is a push-me-pull-you one – almost too intense to stand.

Safety

Clamping does carry a degree of risk. Therefore, if you are going to engage in it, you need to make sure you know what you’re doing. We’re not medical professionals so cannot provide formal advice, only relate the precautions we take ourselves.

The main and most important point to be aware of: don’t leave clamps on, whatever style you use, for too long. We all know what happens when the blood supply is cut off to a body part (it can be permanently damaged and fall off) so keep that in mind at all times when using them. Personally, we don’t apply clamps for longer than fifteen minutes at any one time.

Nipple clamp styles

Tweezer clamps

Tweezer nipple clamps are carried by most mainstream sex toy retailers and we suspect are the style most people try in the first instance because they look the least intimidating and are adjustable. As the name suggests, each clamp looks like a pair of tweezers. The ends are bought together and thus produce pressure when the sliding toggle is slid along the arms – the closer to the ends the toggle sits, the more severe the clamp’s grip. Generally, the two tweezer clamps are connected together by a thin chain, although some feature small decorative charms.

The advantages:

• The toggle means that the clamps are very adjustable. You can dial the pressure up or down to suit the wearer.
• They’re slim and thus look quite elegant – and, if you like to accessorise, this style really lends itself to adornment.

The disadvantages:

• We’ve always found it difficult to adjust the toggles – they tend to stick and catch and it’s often quite difficult to get the pressure just right.
• They pull off easily. Although they often come with a tug-able chain, the grip most tweezer clamps have on a nipple isn’t particularly good/secure.
• The surface area of the clamp end on a tweezer isn’t very wide, so those with larger nipples may still get blood-flow through once applied and thus find the effects aren’t intense enough.

Verdict: our least favourite style of clamp. We have some, but they never get used.

Screw clamps

Image: Sex and Mischief feathered screw clamps courtesy of ohtique

There are loads of different screw clamp designs on the market. Like their tweezer clamp siblings, they offer the ability to adjust the level of pressure applied and, accordingly, give some flexibility to the clamping experience. However, the clamp intensity is adjusted via a small screw at the side of the clamp rather than by a sliding toggle.

The advantages:

• Compared to tweezer clamps, you have much better control over the level of grip (the screws allow for a far greater degree of fine-tuning than a sliding toggle).
• They’re relatively small in size and often come with decorations or a connecting chain.

The disadvantages:

• Like tweezer clamps, they can pull off under strain.
• Although more ‘accurate’ in terms of pressure application, they can be fiddly to use. Not great if dexterity isn’t your strong suit.

Verdict: their adjustability is definitely a plus for beginners – and the loading is more accurate than with tweezers – but if you’re after intensity, you’d be better off with a clover, Mawa or Thai stick.

Japanese clover clamps

This is the style of clamp that we reviewed for our Squeeze, tease: the agony and ecstasy of nipple clamps post. As you may have gathered from that write up, we like them. A lot. They’re easy to apply, have a great intensity (they’re spring loaded) and the design means that they tighten (rather than slide off) if pulled upon – and that also means you can add weights to them and still expect them to remain in place. That said, clovers do tend to be quite large (they’re far bigger than screw and tweezer clamps) so aren’t really the most delicate looks-wise, although you can soften their appearance somewhat and pretty them up a little by adding ribbons and other threadable adornments.

The advantages:

• Once they’re on, they’re on! Japanese clovers have some serious grip and are extremely secure once placed.
• Easy to apply – we’re talking seconds.
• Clover clamps give an excellent (excellent) level of intensity.
• The after-effect factor. Because of the strength of these clamps, your nipples often remain sensitive, even after they’re removed.
• Their size means they sway around nicely if left on during sex, which tends to ‘freshen’ the feeling of the clamps in the same way that pulling and twisting does.

The disadvantages:

• You can’t adjust the pressure – there’s only one intensity choice and that’s ‘on’!
• They’re quite large and not the most delicate looking.

Verdict: the pressure these generate is outstanding and they don’t slip when toyed/played with during use. A really good clamp for those who are comfortable with discomfort and want to experiment with more significant pain levels.

Mawas

These guys look a little scary – they have a strong resemblance to stationary bulldog clips – and, like clovers, are not adjustable. Unsurprisingly, they exert some high-end pressure, however, their broad clamping edge means that the load is spread over a decent area. We definitely prefer this style of nipple clamp to the tweezer and screw varieties but, having said that, if picking between these and Japanese clover clamps, would go for the latter from a sensation and looks point of view.

The advantages:

• Really easy to apply – like clover clamps, you simply squeeze them open and place them on the nipples.
• Brilliant if you want something with serious wellie.
• Mawas often come with weight hooks, which means there’s room for more ‘ouch’.

The disadvantages:

• No room for adjustment. Significant pressure from the word ‘go’.
• Mawa clamps have a very ‘industrial’ look. If you’re after ‘pretty’, these may not be for you.
• Very similar to a clothes peg and/or stationary clip in design and you could potentially substitute either of those for a set of these for less cost.

Verdict: robust, simple and should be in every sadist’s toy box. Definitely not a style that we would recommend to beginners or those who aren’t into more marked pain.

*You can read our full review of this style of clamp here.

Thai nipple sticks

Look like chopsticks with a rubber band and, really, that’s kind of what they are, only somewhat more refined for purpose. You separate the sticks slightly, slide them over the nipple to get them in place, and then adjust the position of the bands at either end to ramp up the intensity of the clamping. This style is like a hybrid of the clover and the tweezer clamp, although it has to be said that the pressure starting point is much more intense than the latter – even before the bands are adjusted, there’s some intensity to the grip of these.

We’ve only recently started using Thai nipple sticks but have to say it’s a toss up between these and clovers with regard to pride of place in our toy box. They’re really easy to place and adjust, are aesthetically pleasing once in position, and provide interesting opportunities for pulling and twisting the nipple.

The advantages:

• Can be placed in a flash.
• Exert strong pressure immediately – and this can be increased very simply.
• The bands are really easy to move up and down the sticks, unlike the toggles you find on tweezer clamps.
• Look pretty on.
• The bamboo variety (which we have) is relatively inexpensive.

The disadvantages:

• They’re adjustable, but the entry point is one of reasonably intense pressure.
• Because they’re long and thin, the ends can poke you in the torso if you’re bent forwards whilst wearing them.

Verdict: the pressure of a Japanese clover clamp with the added bonus of adjustability. A really brilliant all-round nipple clamp.

Our picks

• Best nipple clamp style for beginners – screw clamps
• Best nipple clamp style for masochists – Mawas or Japanese clover clamps
• Best all-round design – Thai nipple sticks

Where to find them

Tweezer clamps

• Tweezer nipple clamp with chain – Bondara 
• Spartacus adjustable tweezer nipple clamps – Lovehoney 
• Fifty Shades of Grey, The Pinch (adjustable nipple clamps) – Lovehoney 

Screw clamps

• Sex & Mischief feathered nipple clamps – ohtique 
• Spartacus adjustable screw clamps with chain – Lovehoney 
• Erotic crystal nipple clamps – Bondara 
• Fresh Alligator nipple clips (blue and pink) – Lovehoney 

Japanese clover clamps

• Monarch Noir nipple clamps – Passion8
  
• Japanese clover nipple clamps, Squeezer Teaser – Bondara 
• Squeezer Teaser nipple clamps – Lovehoney 

Mawa clamps

• Mawa nipple clamps – UberKinky 

Thai nipple sticks

• House of Eros Thai nipple sticks (bamboo) – SexShop365
• Ultimate nipple sticks – Bondara
• Deluxe stainless steel nipple sticks – Lovehoney 

The post From tweezers to clovers: a rough guide to nipple clamps appeared first on Behind the Chintz Curtain.

Anyway the other day, Michael and I received a fantastic surprise: Take Me, Break Me will soon be released in paperback and guess whose words will be appearing on the cover? Yup. Mr M’s.

Cari, we cannot be anything other than utterly thrilled and flattered – especially since we’re in the fine quotation company of Club Shadowlands goddess Cherise Sinclair. It’s a huge honour to be featured on your book in this way and we can’t thank you enough for acknowledging us.

Now [taps foot impatiently] – when can we expect the next instalment in the Pierced Hearts series? Because, you know, those stick figures want an encore …

The post Take us and Break us: we’re on Cari’s cover! appeared first on Behind the Chintz Curtain.

Title:

This joint review was a no-brainer for us. Michael and I are both big fans of Cherise Sinclair and it’s fair to say that we were both gagging to read this latest instalment in her Shadowlands series. When I suggested to him that This Is Who I Am should be our next project?

@Jane: I have been looking forward to that book for over a year:

‘”I won’t scar you. I won’t go past when you can take. If you can trust me that far, this will be much easier for you.” He met her eyes straight on, letting her read his body, hear the truth, and see it in his face. “But, Linda, I’m going to hurt you. You’ll hate me when I make you take it, and you’ll hate even more that you need it. That it fills that hole inside you and cleans away the clutter.”‘

(To Command and Collar (Shadowlands Book 6))

@Michael: CANNOT WAIT for Sam. And DeVries from Dark Haven. They both scare and tempt at the same time … *sigh*

Yep, we were pushing the download button on release day.

Did it live up to our expectations?

MICHAEL’S TAKE 

I tend to think of the Shadowlands series as one of the crown jewels of romantic BDSM fiction. Each book in it tends to be better than the last.

Last year we were treated to the most fantasy-oriented of the series. When Kim is rescued from the evil Harvest Association by Raoul, a series of improbable events causes her to assume the place of the slave he has always wanted. During the course of the story we see a moment occur between Linda, another woman kidnapped by the Harvesters, and Sam, a friend of Raoul’s, who tries to keep her safe in a rather unique way. A way that ends badly.

‘He rubbed his hand over his mouth, wanting to swear up a storm. He’d sliced into her defenses with less finesse than a baby dom with a new whip. After a glance at the attendant who still hovered nearby, Sam knew he couldn’t explain to her, to apologize–not here–but when this was over, they’d talk. Damn straight, they would.’

But they wouldn’t. At least not until now.

Linda is home. Back from her kidnapping. Recovered physically and largely emotionally. But she faces a new menace, in some ways just as destructive and self-serving as her kidnappers: The Court of Public Opinion. She wasn’t a child kidnapped from her bedroom. She wasn’t a teen walking home from her fast food restaurant job. She was a woman who had just stepped out of an S&M dungeon. That meant she deserved what happened to her, right? In fact, she probably enjoyed all of it.

Fortunately, not everyone feels that way. And foremost among them is Sam.

Linda is a masochist and a submissive. This isn’t a story about a woman who thinks that she’s become either of these things through a bad experience. What Sam provides is a way for her to work through her feelings and figure out where she wants to go with them. And she actually helps Sam do the same thing in the process. Because he’s got some experiences in his past that he’s never quite dealt with, too.

Just one minor thing: The stories are set in Tampa, a place I know pretty well. In fact, I used to live right where one of the key events in the story takes place (when Sam meets Linda’s children at the café). But I never got the feeling that they were really there, as much as the geographical references are sprinkled in, from looking at a map. Next time, I would at least like to know if we are on Fowler, Fletcher, or 30th Street.

This one is timely, both advancing the genre and the story of the series. And I can’t wait to see what happens next.

JANE’S TAKE 

Responsible.

That’s the word that springs to mind whenever I read a book from Cherise Sinclair’s Shadowlands series. Basically, I know that whatever happens, the Doms won’t behave like complete tools and the submissives, whatever their issues, will end up grinning from ear-to-ear because they’ve been done six kinky ways ‘til Sunday. And then some. Given that This Is Who I Am’s male protagonist is a Dominant sadist and the plotline revolves around sexual enjoyment through pain, both giving and receiving? Well, let’s just say that knowing the story was written by Ms Sinclair was a huge (huge) weight off my mind going in. This sort of subject matter can be pretty frickin’ scary to read about when tackled with the wrong pen but, as predicted, this book goes to all those lovely dark places you want it to without ever feeling negatively risky or dangerous.

As Michael said to me while we were reading:

‘Cherise just has a way of creating Doms that I trust implicitly to do the right thing. Not every author does that for me.’

So, the pain factor; how hardcore is the hurting? Well, personally, I thought all the scenes between Linda and Sam were handled beautifully and, while there are some things that may make certain readers’ eyes open a little wider, their interactions are written in such a way that everything that passes between them feels incredibly natural and erotic. The descriptions of masochistic pleasure and the way Linda processes it are excellent and the way Sam conducts himself and his need to hurt refreshingly unapologetic. The play never feels out-of-control or violent – just measured, sensual, exciting and very, very hot. It’s accessible S/M, in other words; I wasn’t reading and going ‘I can’t believe they did that!’ or ‘WTF?’.

Which leads me on nicely to my next point.

I really (really) loved the ‘normalisation’ of masochism and sadism in this book – and would even go so far as to say this was the aspect of This Is Who I Am that resonated with me the most. People being to able to talk openly and honestly, to accept themselves for what they are without fear and/or shame? Bring it on.

Finally, Sam.

Dear, God, but I love that man. (He’s not real, Jane. He’s not real …)

@Michael:

I love Sam.

I love Sam.

I love Sam.

Did I mention how much I love Sam?

I think if I could assemble my perfect Sadist, LEGO-style, he’d be pretty close to what I’d end up with.

I know that This Is Who I Am is an idealised, romantic version of BDSM but the core sentiments are beautiful and, ultimately, what many of us would want to find or experience in a D/s S/M exchange. The suspense plot is a little woolly but with such erotic scenes between the protagonists, who really cares?

Tickle your fancy? Click on the following links to purchase a copy:

Amazon.co.uk

• This Is Who I Am – Kindle

Amazon.com

• This Is Who I Am – Kindle

The post This Is Who I Am – Cherise Sinclair appeared first on Behind the Chintz Curtain.

Title:

Yep. As requested, Michael and I are back once again as a book-reviewing double act. Are we less ranty than last time? I think so. But I still ended up drawing stick figures. Couldn’t seem to stop myself. He, meanwhile, took the high road and included intelligent and insightful quotes. (I think it’s clear which of us is Batman and which of us is Robin in this instance …)

JANE’S TAKE …

Before I say anything else, I just want to make it clear that I liked this book. The story was interesting, the characters likeable, and the sex hot. (Very, very hot in fact.) But it disturbed me. And I felt bad for enjoying it at times.

I’m a bit of a fan of both the non-con and D/s genres when it comes to erotica. But I see them as very separate things and when they start getting tangled together in a work of fiction, sirens, alarm bells and all manner of other emergency service warning systems start going off in my head. Consent is fundamental to BDSM. Always. And if it’s not? Well, that’s abuse. Plain and simple. As a rule, I will immediately stop reading books that portray non-consensual interactions between characters as D/s or S/M. Take Me, Break Me, however, managed to twist all the traditional rules of engagement.

The premise is intriguing. Jodie wants to make a documentary about living through the experience of a capture fantasy and asks her ex-boyfriend, Klaus, to imprison her in the basement of her house for the period of one month. He is – initially – shocked by her proposition but eventually agrees because he’s concerned that if he doesn’t, Jodie might engage the services of someone who would take advantage of the situation and truly hurt her. A very arbitrary and vague set of guidelines (The Rules), consisting of five sketchy bullet points is drawn up, a detailed ‘in case it all goes horribly wrong’ protection contract signed, and off they go. You can see where this is heading, can’t you?

Needless to say, things don’t go to plan (there’d be no story if they did) and after little more than a day or so Jodie and Klaus find themselves in a bit of a situation. Klaus discovers his sadistic side. Jodie discovers she likes to be hurt. Klaus decides to throw away The Rules (such as they are) and make new ones. Without any discussion. Oh, boy.

My Take Me, Break Me experience went something like this …

@Michael (just after starting the book):

‘RED PEN ALERT!

I had to read the first chapter twice because all the tense switching confused me. (Maybe I am just A Bear of Very Little Brain?!) Present tense, then past written in the past tense, then past written in the present tense, then back to present in the present tense. Huh? What exactly are you signing, man [Klaus]?! End-of-year finance reports or a down-and-dirty sex slave agreement? Because, you know, that distinction is kind of important!

I now have the awful urge to sing Brittany Spears’ ‘Slave for You’, btw. :-/’

I get frightened by the lack of discussion and awful bullet-pointed rules:

I get confused about what genre I am actually reading:

[Brief interlude, during which Michael and I disagree over the outfit Klaus makes Jodie wear (he thinks it’s ridiculous, I think it’s fabulously degrading) and we both start Googling Magnetic Island, the setting for Take Me, Break Me, real estate prices.]

I get distracted by the idea of green bamboo canes:

Then Jodie and Klaus go to a play party and I want to get one of these out:

All in all, I felt like this the entire time I was reading:

As I said right at the very beginning, I liked Take Me, Break Me. But it scared me. Ergo the above picture. This is a case of the reader being ‘head f*cked’ as much as the characters because you’re enjoying all the things they’re doing together but feel horrible for it because the proposition is so dangerously and badly flawed …

This is a great story, albeit an uncomfortable one.

Safe, Sane and Consensual. Take Me, Break Me certainly proves how important this mantra is.

MICHAEL’S TAKE …

“I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse.”

– Don Corleone

Jodie is a comedienne. Not the worst, but not the greatest either. Her career is just going so-so. So she gets an idea. Make a documentary. But not about the life of a so-so comedienne. No, her idea is to make one about psychological enslavement. You see, Jodie has a secret love for that particular type of erotica we call the Capture Fantasy. So her idea is to film a woman throughout the process and through to the end result. And not just any woman. Herself (with some preset automatic cameras). But who can she get to be her captor?

Klaus. Good old Klaus. Her accountant. Oh, and her once-upon-a-time boyfriend. He’s the perfect guy for this sort of thing. Except maybe a little too cautious. When she approaches him with the idea, he reluctantly accepts. But only after drawing up a Contract and set of Rules so strict he pretty much takes all the fun out of it for both of them.

After all, this is supposed to be fun. Safe, Sane and Totally Consensual but fun as well. So what happens after 36 hours or so when Klaus dispenses with The Rules and makes it up as he goes along?

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

– Lord Acton

When I read the description for this one, I actually bought it immediately. Because even though I didn’t plan on reading it as soon as soon as I did, I knew it was one I was definitely going to read. I thought this could be a fun and sexy story. Instead I found it to be a brutally realistic portrayal of two people playing around with things they didn’t understand and getting in absolutely and completely over their heads.

Especially Klaus. I am often pretty hard on male lead characters for doing the wrong thing. But in this case, I didn’t really blame him. Things were so off from the very beginning that you just had to hope they both got out without any permanent damage.

“When you stare into the abyss the abyss stares back at you.”

– Friedrich Nietzsche

Do I think you should read this book? If you like capture fantasy and BDSM fiction, I would say absolutely, positively, unequivocally ‘yes’.

But just keep in mind this is more what not to do.

Tickle your fancy? Click on the following links to purchase a copy:

Amazon.co.uk

• Take Me, Break Me – Kindle

Amazon.com

• Take Me, Break Me – Kindle

Smashwords

• Take Me, Break Me – ePub

The post Take Me, Break Me (Pierced Hearts) – Cari Silverwood appeared first on Behind the Chintz Curtain.

Spank Ÿ v. slap with one’s open hand or a flat object, especially on the buttocks as a punishment. Ÿ n. a slap or series of slaps of this type.

How can something that’s painful be enjoyable? Create sexual satisfaction?

Erotic pain is a very hard thing to describe and quantify. In the words of Jay Wiseman:

‘One of the great fallacies is that people vary in their pain threshold. Medical research has proven that all persons begin to feel pain at almost exactly the same degree of stimulation. What is true is that people vary a great deal in how they react to painful stimuli …’

Whenever I read about spanking in the mainstream (outside of an erotic book or BDSM instructional text, basically) it’s invariably portrayed as something that’s met out as a unenjoyable punishment. Indeed, the idea that someone would willing submit to a spanking for the purposes of pleasure alone is confusing to a lot of people. Equally, the notion that there are those who like to inflict pain (responsibly) can be a difficult concept for some to get their heads around.

So, I’m going to show you a video. For those of you with a confirmed love of spanking, I’m willing to put money on the fact that you’ll be hot and bothered by the end of this. For those who can’t see the appeal of a pinkened bottom? This may just sway you …

Watch the face of the lady wielding the crop. Watch the movements of the woman receiving it.

In my opinion, this clip is breathtakingly beautiful.

*Please note that The Fashion Body – Buttocks is not overly explicit but does contain nudity and is therefore NSFW (not suitable for work).

The post Spanking is beautiful (NSFW) appeared first on Behind the Chintz Curtain.

What we used: Rattan cane
From: Bondara
Price: £16.99
Material(s): Rattan (cane), leather (handle)

*Important: Canes can hurt in bad ways as well as good ways! If you haven’t already, please do take the time to read the Behind the Chintz Curtain Disclaimer before delving further into this post.

First thoughts …

Lizzie
Excitement and dread.

It’s fair to say that Thomas and I have been on a bit of a journey these past few years with impact instruments; first hands, then paddles, then floggers, then straps, then crops, and now, finally, a cane. We’d been discussing the idea of trying one for a while but had been gradually building up as we knew from all the research we’d done on them (and from playing with our other impact toys) that the pain level would likely be quite a jump. Additionally, because of their greater length, there was the worry that a cane would be trickier to control.

In the end, it was Thomas who took the bull by the horns and ordered  it – I was too chicken!

What it looks like …

Lizzie
Like a looong stick. This is a very simple implement and there’s not much to it. It’s basically a length of flexible rattan (81.5 cm of rattan, to be precise) with a strip of soft suede wrapped around one end to create a handle.

While the exterior barrel of the cane is smooth, the two ends (where the rattan has been sliced through) are actually quite rough. Not really a big deal from a use perspective as these parts don’t – or shouldn’t – touch the skin, but not wildly attractive.

I already knew from reading and questioning others that thinner canes are generally more ‘stingy’ and fatter ones more ‘thuddy’, so the newbie in me was pleased to see that this Bondara cane clocked in with a diameter of approximately 1.0 cm. Reasonably chunky! 

Another plus? It’s not made of bamboo, which we’d been warned off due to its tendency to split and crack.

Thomas
It’s a bit hard to pick what a cane will be like from descriptions online. I knew I didn’t want a thin ‘whippy’ one to start with so, was quite pleased to find that the Bondara cane was relatively robust.

Lizzie’s right, it is a very simple thing; a thick bit of rattan (about as thick as your finger) with some leather wrapped around the end. It’s also nice and smooth, with no splits or cracks (very important). 

Using it …

Lizzie
When this arrived and Thomas let me see what he’d ordered, I got into a bit of a dither. On the one hand, I was really looking forward to having it used on me. On the other, I was worried about having it applied and not being able to cope. (Mind you, I was the same way the first time we used a crop!)

Then Thomas put it away in a cupboard, and that just ramped up the anticipation ten-fold. It’s fair to say, I drove him pretty nuts with questions about when he would be getting it out, whether he’d been practising with it in private, and whether he’d re-read all of the educational texts we have on the subject.

Yeah, I was a pain.

The inevitable response was. ‘I’m not telling you. Relax. You know I’ll be careful.’ (And I do know. He always is.)

The cane finally made an appearance about two weeks after it was delivered, and I knew it was coming because Thomas really took his time to build things up. He didn’t go straight in with it but spent a good forty minutes to an hour getting my head in the right place and warming the skin of my buttocks – first with his hands and then with a wooden paddle. Eventually, he leaned me over a piece of furniture and secured my legs with a spreader bar so that I couldn’t wriggle around. (A good idea because you don’t want to be able to shift position unexpectedly when it’s coming towards you and cause an incorrect placement.)

The first strike was a shock – and the sting very sharp – but, oddly, put my mind at ease because once I knew what the sensation was like, it immediately made it much easier to deal with. (Sometimes my imagination is my own worst enemy.)

Interestingly, the pain a cane strike generates is two-fold. There’s a sting when it first hits, followed by a second bloom of pain a moment or two later.

Thomas’s first blow was relatively restrained and he stopped and checked in with me immediately afterwards to make sure I handled it okay. From there, he incrementally increased the pressure, placing strokes in straight, parallel lines across my bottom. On the third one, he checked in verbally again and I requested that he switch sides so that the tip of the cane landed on a different cheek.  (The end was generating a fair amount of sting in a relatively localised area and given my newness to the instrument, I didn’t want to push things too far too soon.)

We did six strokes in total – three on each side – and my backside was on absolute glorious fire by the end. While it was still smarting, Thomas tipped wax from a wax-play candle over the welts and just about had me leaping through the ceiling. I believe the words ‘sadistic bastard’ were used but quickly forgotten as the session morphed into something else entirely :-).

A final note. I should just mention that canes have ‘after effects’. The welts and bruising this particular Bondara offering created were pretty spectacular and lasted roughly a week on me. While I personally loved seeing the evidence of our session in the days that followed, I’m aware that others might not find the slow-fading markings quite such a turn-on. Just something to be aware of – particularly if you are planning on revealing your butt and thighs in the swimming pool, the changing room at the gym, etc. 

Thomas
As Lizzie was being a right pain in the arse about when, where and how it would be used, I made her wait a while. (A reminder of who’s on top – in the bedroom, at least!)

When it did use it, it was after an extended warm up to ensure Lizzie was well and truly ready for it. I can’t say enough how important it is to build up to something more severe like a cane – especially if it’s the first time you have used one. Going in cold won’t hit the right balance of pain/pleasure unless you know your partner very, very well and you both agree that the severe approach is something you want.

Lizzie was clearly nervous, so I started really conservatively with lots of checking to make sure she was handling it okay. (She was – and was getting rather heated as well ;-). I limited the caning to three-a-side, which was plenty for an initial session, and I must say the red welts on Lizzie’s bottom, especially where the end of the cane was hitting, were very impressive. (This is why you need to spread the love over both cheeks). Any more, even at the relatively restrained intensity we were playing at, and I think sitting down may have been a real issue.

I didn’t want to let Lizzie off lightly after all the stressing and fussing beforehand, so had some hot wax to hand to finish her off.

A nice set-up to a particularly squirty orgasm.

The verdict?

Lizzie
One thing hasn’t changed. I’m still both excited and frightened by this implement. The cane has some serious, serious power and, if applied incorrectly and/or without thought, could result in a horrible experience. On the flip side, in the hands of someone who is measured, careful, and in tune with the person on the receiving end, I think it has the potential to open up an absolute kaleidoscope of possibilities for those, like me, who enjoy erotic pain.

If you choose to buy this – or any other cane – doing your safety homework is essential before putting it through its paces. (The aptly named Jay Wiseman’s book, SM 101: A Realistic Introduction is an excellent text with solid, practical information about caning and other aspects of S/M. Peter Masters’s BDSM website, too, has a very good overview of caning for beginners.) And if you’re the wielder, make sure you practise your aim and pressure on an inanimate object before going anywhere near real flesh. 

Thomas
I liked it, Lizzie liked it, and it’s an implement that can be used to great effect. Just go easy to start with, practice hitting pillows, etc., first to get your aim right, move the strokes around on the cheeks, and swap sides to help keep the intensity and the welts at a manageable level (unless your partner likes a more extreme workup, of course). And remember to keep a close eye on your other half to make sure that all is well and they’re not getting too stressed.

In summary …

Things we liked:

• The price. Sub-£20.00.
• The diameter. This is a thicker cane and, as such, a great choice for beginners.
• The feel. (Well, actually, it hurts. A lot. But that’s kind of the point!)
• The marks it leaves.

Things we weren’t so keen on:

• The cane ends could be finished better – they’re a bit rough ‘n’ ready.

Tickle your fancy? Click here to buy the Rattan Cane from Bondara.

The post The cane; not just for Victorian schoolmasters appeared first on Behind the Chintz Curtain.