Dates from a re-read ( )

As often in a Kim Dare’s story, this is a funny and light intake on the D/s world. Due to the gothic cover, that is a common cover for these vampire novellas by Total-e-Bound, at first I didn’t understand if it was an historical or contemporary setting: Leland has cornered his best friend Keats and collared him; in few words we understand first, that Keats is a brat and second, that Leland is a vampire. Other than being a brat, Keats is also a magnet for trouble, and he managed to volunteer for being a blood donor for a vampire secret society without knowing what he was really signing into. Of course when Leland, one of the vampires, recognizes Keats among the blood donor, his only choice is to claim him as blood slave, some sort of submissive for a vampire Master, but also the only way to avoid for Keats to be common property of all the vampires in the place.

Now you would expect that Leland’s choice was dangerous, maybe that he had to face a fight with another powerful vampire to claim the exclusive property of Keats… and instead he has to sign some “bloody” and above all boring paperwork. All of that for the pleasure to have Keats as his blood slave, at least he will have all the power upon the little brat… or so he thinks, pity he has not asked before Keats’s opinion on the matter.

Keats has no problem to be Leland’s blood slave, the discovery of Leland being gay is way more important than the one of him being a vampire; but Keats knows that if being a submissive means he has some rules to respect, also being a Master means that Leland has to properly take care of him, and if Leland doesn’t know that, well, Keats is more than happy to explain those rules.

In the end I don’t know if it’s Leland who gained a blood slave, or if instead, it’s Keats who reached his original purpose. In a way or the other, Keats for sure ends in a more than comfortable situation, one that well fit him. On the other hand, I think Leland will discover that being Keats’s Master is not an easy task, and he will have to have handful of patience, not to teach Keats how to behave, that is an impossible task, but to please him in everything… I’m not exactly sure who the Master is and who is the slave between them.

Again Kim Dare has a fresh and funny way to look into the D/s relationship, probably helped by the young age of her characters; and even when she adds the vampire factor, nevertheless the story is light, both in weight than in atmosphere, this is everything other than a dark gothic story.

http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/1016381.html