"If I happen to come," he says. "By chance. Unrelated to all of the fucking that's going to be -- going on..." And he finds himself staring at Ba'al's skin, now. He hadn't registered consciously anything about Ba'al covering himself up, but the act of uncovering is so deliberate it makes Sinjir tingle, along the line of his spine.

He lays himself back, pliant to Ba'al's maneuvering.

"I remember the safeword," he confirms. Also his way of saying that protest does not necessarily mean withdrawal of consent. Sinjir would like to protest. He might even like to fight a little.

He yelps as Ba'al nails exactly the right spot on the first try.

"You like watching, don't you," he says, a little breathlessly. "Thought you might call someone in to touch me while you look on, but I think that's not what you like, is it? You get jealous. No: possessive. Not about wanting to be the one touching your toys -- it's just about wanting no one else to."