Page 281 of Ashes of Sin and Stardust

What is this fear really about?The crux of her terror was that I loved the power over her more than I loved her. I could show her that wasn’t the case by simply loving her and giving her back her power.

Would she be hurt by me telling her I wanted to put our dynamic on hold and go back to just conversation and discussion? Should I shift my punishments or my reactions to her bratting? How would I handle this?

What had worked before?

Augustus Quinn. He loved her even when she pushed him away, no matter how obnoxious she’d been.

Maybe I needed to take a page out of Alice’s book. Maybe, no matter how hard she resisted me, no matter how hard she tried to push me away, or run away... I was going to love the absolute fuck out of her.

I smiled as the resolve settled over me. I refilled her water glass and set it by her bedside table, and then headed down the hall to my bedroom, pulling up the most recent post from Simon and re-reading it.

Reuben: What do you mean you called it?

Simon: I tried to set you two up, remember?

Reuben: WTF are you talking about?

Simon: You told me you were looking for a masochist with black hair. I told you I knew someone.

Reuben: I remember that, but you said she wasn’t my normal type.

Simon: Yeah, you usually fall for blondes.

Fucking hell. I laughed, typing out a quick message:Call me tomorrow. P.s. fuck you. Climbing into bed, I couldn’t help but smile.

Was today one of the most stressful, most emotionally trying days of my life? Yes.

Was I over the moon right now? Absolutely.

Because Alice Benson was in love with me.

Part Four

One of the most importantparts of a healthy dynamic is knowing when to leave it. Exiting gracefully and without causing undue hurt or stress on either party is something that should be talked about and planned in advance. It should involve multiple aspects, including but not limited to renegotiation, one or more parties asking for release, or death.

Areas of after-dynamic planning can involve outside parties checking in on both the Dom and the sub, regularly scheduled public meetings to discuss emotional ramifications, and agreements on how long both parties will wait before reattempting to find new play partners. Finding new partners shortly after the release or ending of a previous dynamic can lead to frenzy, which can lead to abuse.

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