Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
"Pain mingles with pleasure, doesn't it?" This is the question that the immortal god Traven asks his newly Chosen slave Alayna as she begins to succumb to her unconscious bondage fantasies in Eternal Slave. In Terri Pray's BDSM-filled/Fantastical erotica, the reader follows the virginal protagonist Alayna as her sexual desires come to be fully realized. Eternal Slave is part one of the newly released Enslaved by Blood.
At the insistence of her mother, Alayna prepares for a ceremony - unsure of what will come of it - where she meets the god who will change her life, Traven. Alayna displays an initial unwillingness to accept Traven's supernatural powers and she shies from the sexual prowess that he exudes, but these qualities make her more appealing to the immortal Traven. Alayna goes through the ceremonious preparations of being bathed and oiled by beautiful women, she has her identity taken away from her and most importantly, she's introduced to the Bondage & Domination, Discipline & Submission, Sadism and Masochism lifestyle. She becomes the Chosen sexual 'beast' to Traven and an enemy to a Traven loyalist with a Ratchet-like demeanor, Isabella. Not only is Isabella an adversary to our hero, but so is Alayna's own mind. Constantly debating whether she should enjoy the torment she receives, Alayna tries to set that inner voice aside and accept her enjoyment in being whipped, pinched and living a life of sexual servitude. She realizes that all she thought forbidden is what she lusts for most.
Alayna experiences her submissive desire before she meets Traven, in the first few pages of Slave. She is punished by one of her mother's servants and finds her spanking somewhat sensual. However, Alayna must come to terms with her inner struggle: that between the sanctity of her own identity and submitting to Travern.
After Alayna loses her innocence, both sexually and psychologically, she sees Traven not only as a god, but as the vampire he is. She begins to yearn for his bite. By submitting to his will, Alayna is treated as a 'beast;" she resides in a cage where she eats, sleeps and defecates. She is only to be acknowledged at the beck and call of her master. As Alayna loses herself bit by bit, the reader wonders throughout Eternal Slave what side Alayna will ultimately choose.
The arousal created in the sex scenes titillate the reader into rooting for Alayna to completely immerse herself in this dark world and grant herself (and her masters) more pleasure. "Pleasing Isabella was her only option, so why, if this was nothing more than a way to save herself from pain, did her body now quiver with a growing heat of her own." Salacious scenes such as this are engrossing, including the thoughts of the physical and emotional pain Alayna feels, along with the continuous arousal that permeates her bonded and pain-induced state.
Not only does Eternal Slave center around sexual desire, but it also includes the eternal lifestyle of vampires and their servants. While the horror element comes more into play towards the end, it does not overshadow the BDsM that is an essential part of the god and slave world Alayna has been admitted into. The reader becomes engrossed in the fantastical world Pray has created. The sexual development is alluring for readers of Eternal Slave in that it inspires the question - If what seems wrong feels so good, how bad could it be?
Terri Pray includes great detail of the bondage scenes and how satisfying masochism is, not just for those in a dominant position, but also for the submissive. Pray is also masterful with presenting a dark world and more importantly the inner torment within Alayna. Pray is not only a masterful and sensual storyteller of the BDsM scene (which she has been active in with her husband for several years) but is also an accomplished author in the genres of romance, science fiction, mystery and other erotica.
Title: Eternal Slave
Author: Terri Pray
Publisher: http://www.mojocastle.com/home/homex.html
Genre: BDSM/Erotica
Price: $4.99
Other books by Terri Pray:
Whispered Secrets: An Erotic Romance
Sweet Deceptions
The Dragon Prince (Erien Tales, Volume 1)
Fae Born (Erien Tales, Volume 2)
Not So Noble Tales
Focused On Love
Astaria
Originally published November 2006 - "Simply Sexy"