Sedition by Alicia Cameron

pain, given my attitude and all, and she saw what she described as ‘potential’ in the way I reacted to pain. She helped me to use it for sex, like an enhancement, rather than just feel the hurt of it.”
    “And now you can’t come without it,” my master muses. “Hell of a gift.”
    “She didn’t expect her training to work so well.” No, actually, she had been horrified when she realized I basically couldn’t come without some sort of pain. More horrified than I was, to be honest. I had learned quickly enough that sex and pain were closely correlated for a slave, and I accepted it. “It made life less unpleasant.”
    “I suppose.” My master is quiet for a moment. We lie together for a while. He strokes his hands across my skin, feeling the scars that decorate my body like bad graffiti. He stops at the bruises again.
    “Do they still hurt?”
    I shake my head. He must know that they don’t, given the amount of expertise he has, but I suspect he just likes hearing it from my lips. “No, sir. You’re remarkably capable of hurting me without causing any lasting damage.”
    “You’re not the only one who’s been trained,” he says softly. “It was ingrained into me from the time I was old enough to understand. Slave training. Torture. Punishments. My mother ran our home as strictly and efficiently as she did her re-education centers. I only hope I’m not so dependent on it.”
    “Do you enjoy hurting me?” I ask. It’s an odd question, but I want to know. I want to know if he gets off on my pain like Torenze did.
    “No,” he answers, confirming what I’ve thought all along. “And if I thought something else would get through to you, I would do that instead.”
    “Others have done worse,” I point out. I think I’m trying to make him feel better, but from the way he stiffens up, I think I accomplished the opposite.
    “I’m sorry,” he says, his face actually showing regret for once. “You don’t deserve this kind of treatment.”
    “Thank you.” I can’t excuse him, because it’s not excusable, and I can’t forgive him, because how is it my place to forgive my master for doing something that he is well within his rights to do? So I say thank you, because I want to acknowledge it somehow, and this is all I’ve got.
    “Whether it happens again or not is up to you, Sascha,” he reminds me. “I have to keep up appearances, and if you slip up in public again, I will beat you or humiliate you or both. But I’ll do my best to make sure you aren’t put in a situation like that again. Please, be careful. You know the situation now, know what’s at stake, and I know you’re smart enough to keep your mouth shut. If you need a break, or if you want out all together, tell me. I’ll do what I can.”
    I nod, because I believe him. I might not be completely invested in this project, but I’m willing to give it a try. “I’ll be more careful.”
    “I hope so,” he says, looking sad. “I don’t want it to happen again.”
    I nod, resting my head against his shoulder. For once, he doesn’t seem to mind, and for a moment, I wonder if this is really what human interaction can feel like. It feels good.

Chapter 8
Merger
    It’s amazing how quickly things go back to the way they had been.
    Except it’s different; we’re both on the same page. The incident with Torenze and the confessions from Cash have thoroughly disillusioned me in a number of ways, but I think it’s better. I know what I’m facing, so there’s less to fear. I can evaluate things logically instead of doing whatever scares me the least.
    I’m still not sure if I want to be Cash’s partner in this venture, but I appreciate that he’s letting me try, and I enjoy the sex we’re having again, as regularly as before.
    That first night was a little underhanded on Cash’s part. I was vulnerable, and he was demanding, but I did want to have sex with him, The underhanded nature of it didn’t even start to hit me until I