{"id":393,"date":"2014-12-17T02:13:58","date_gmt":"2014-12-17T07:13:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/?page_id=393"},"modified":"2014-12-17T02:13:58","modified_gmt":"2014-12-17T07:13:58","slug":"edge-plays-by-cecilia-tan","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/?page_id=393","title":{"rendered":"Edge Plays by Cecilia Tan"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/circlet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/edge-plays-cover-iconsize.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-429\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-429 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/circlet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/edge-plays-cover-iconsize.jpg\" alt=\"edge-plays-cover-iconsize\" width=\"100\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>Ebook $3.99<br \/>\nISBN<b>:<\/b> 9781885865748<br \/>\n32,020 words<\/p>\n<p>[wp_eStore_add_to_cart id=20]<\/p>\n<p>The ebook edition is also available at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smashwords.com\/books\/view\/6683\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Smashwords<\/a>, with Amazon coming soon. <\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ve read <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20140802202416\/https:\/\/circlet.com\/?page_id=12&amp;category=4&amp;product_id=97\">Telepaths Don\u2019t Need Safewords<\/a>. Now read the story of how Arshan and Mriah met, as well as other stories taking place in the same universe as their tale.<\/p>\n<p>Five erotic fantasies of female submission on faraway worlds from BDSM science fiction maven Cecilia Tan. Collecting five pieces of fiction that all take place in the same universe as Tan\u2019s classic story \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20140802202416\/https:\/\/circlet.com\/?page_id=12&amp;category=4&amp;product_id=97\">Telepaths Don\u2019t Need Safewords<\/a>,\u201d EDGE PLAYS explores the boundaries between pain and pleasure, love and loyalty, and dominance and submission. Includes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Master Mind, originally published in the <i>Master\/slave<\/i> anthology<\/li>\n<li>The Game, originally published in <i>No Other Tribute<\/i><\/li>\n<li>Passage, original to <i>Edge Plays<\/i><\/li>\n<li>The Velderet, Chapter Four from <a href=\"https:\/\/circlet.com\/?page_id=395\">the novel<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Royal Treatment, an enticing excerpt from the <a href=\"https:\/\/circlet.com\/?page_id=227\">novella<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Appendix and Glossary<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Cecilia Tan is the author of many books and ebooks of erotic fiction including <i>Mind Games, White Flames, <a href=\"https:\/\/circlet.com\/?page_id=285\">Telepaths Don\u2019t Need Safewords, <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/circlet.com\/?page_id=407\">Black Feathers<\/a>, The Hot Streak, The Siren &amp; the Sword,<\/i> and many other books and stories. Keep up with her on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ceciliatan\">Twitter<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cecilia.tan?fref=ts\">Facebook<\/a>, Livejournal, or at <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20140802202416\/https:\/\/blog.ceciliatan.com\/\">blog.ceciliatan.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Read an Excerpt:<span id=\"more-627\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p><!--more-->Excerpt from Master Mind, by Cecilia Tan<\/p>\n<p>I arrived on the island as summer faded and the days shrank, with scars on my back and my mind still reeling from what I had just been through. But this is not the story of the Emperor and his daughter and all the things that happened to me before. This is the story of what happened to me on the island of Lhysa.<\/p>\n<p>Two of us took the government-sponsored ride from the mainland, me and a woman in her mid-forties, her shoulder-length hair still richly black but shot through with strands of silver. The transport left us at the near-deserted landing point on the island\u2019s rocky north side. The white craft lifted off in near silence behind us as we walked from the platform to the intake center. The woman, who had not spoken to me the entire trip from the mainland, asked me as we approached the door, \u201cSo, headed for the spas?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It was a funny question. The reasons for me to go to the island were myriad. I suppose was there to recuperate but the healing waters had not been explicit in my plans. I was being kept out of danger, I was curious about my mother\u2019s people, and I was very curious about the woman asking me my destination. I wondered if she had The Sight and raised an eyebrow at her. She raised an eyebrow in return. She was wearing a shirt too large for her, the sleeves rolled up, showing sunbrowned arms and empty hands. On her back she had a small pack.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, you don\u2019t look like a researcher,\u201d she said then. \u201cHow long are you going to be staying?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot sure,\u201d I told her. I was carrying a small satchel of clothes, some of my father\u2019s money, and nothing else. \u201cMy plans are kind of open ended. What do you mean, researcher?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot a scientist?\u201d She pointed to her head and I realized what she meant. There were only three types of people allowed on the island, those who came to study the unique psionic powers of the inhabitants, those who were approved to come for healing treatments, to stay at the spas for short periods of time, and those who were descendants of island dwellers. I belonged to this last category, as the pass I showed to the intake clerk read. I was processed in mere minutes and let through. On the other side of the small building, there was nothing but a road leading south and inland.<\/p>\n<p>The woman followed me out. \u201cWelcome back, unduma,\u201d she said, using the island word for \u201chomecomer.\u201d \u201cI never would have guessed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause you look like one of them.\u201d She meant I looked like a Kylar. Tall, rangy, I looked more Kylaran than my own father, who had once been the second in command in the empire. \u201cHalf blood?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I wondered if everyone on the island was so direct and nosy. I suppose in a community of mind-readers there is no need of secrecy. \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you have The Sight?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d We were both walking down the road now, though I did not know where it went. \u201cNot so far as I\u2019ve noticed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She nodded. \u201cNot everyone here has it either, you know. Only a few. The gene pool\u2019s been watered down over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I murmured in agreement as if I knew what she was talking about. My mother, at least according to Audan, had various psionic talents. I had been separated from her too young to have known she was different from other humans. \u201cHow about you? Can you read my thoughts?\u201d I asked, throwing some of her directness back at her, very curious if her interest in me was genuine or if it was my imagination.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo,\u201d she answered. \u201cNot me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We walked in silence then for a while and I studied her out off the corner of my eye. She was older but still had a kind of beauty, a fine-shaped face and sharp chin\u2013if I had to guess I would have said she was part-Kylar, too. Though the way she had said \u201cthem\u201d made me wonder. \u201cWhat\u2019s your name?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVika,\u201d she answered. \u201cAnd yours?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cArshan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked at me when I said that. \u201cLike the emperor?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy father has high hopes for me.\u201d I tried to make a joke out of it. After all, there must be a Kylaran male born every day who was named for the emperor. But she took it seriously.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen what the hell are you doing down here?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStaying out of trouble,\u201d I replied. Lhysa was perfect for that, on a world that was barely in Kylaran control, plus the island itself was a protected state.<\/p>\n<p>Vika walked in front of me then, stepping backwards so she could face me as we went. The land on either side of the road was barren and dry, just a few strange plants twisting up through the reddish soil. \u201cYou\u2019ll need a place to stay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I also had a pass to the spas in my satchel, just in case, but her tone of voice intrigued me. \u201cYes, I suppose I will.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have a spare cot you can use for a while,\u201d she said, her eyes suddenly shying from mine. \u201cI know it won\u2019t be what you\u2019re used to, but\u2026\u201d She took a deep breath. \u201cBut many things here won\u2019t be as you\u2019re used to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So much for directness. \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI mean, you know. The lifestyle here is different.\u201d She had gone from brazen to shy and I could guess why, but something in me wanted to prolong her discomfort.<\/p>\n<p>I suppressed a smile. \u201cHow different?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She stumbled then and fell backward, landing hard on her rump in the middle of the dusty road. I loomed over her as I reached down to help her up. She took hold of my hand with both of hers and ran her cheek along the back of it, speaking fast. \u201cThere are few of us here who enjoy\u2026. I mean, who can satisfy your tastes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As I suspected. My\u2013or rather the Kylaran\u2013reputation for dominance preceded me. I pulled her to her feet and spoke to her softly. \u201cI am not a lord.\u201d Not here, anyway.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo, but\u2026.\u201d she swallowed whatever words she was going to say. Trembling next to me, her hand still in mine\u2026.<\/p>\n<p>It was almost a reflex, to reach out and stroke her hair. If it was what she wanted, then she knew the desires of the average Kylaran dominant well. We are groomed for it. She shivered under my touch, and suddenly the fact that she was worldly wise and I was barely an adult did not matter. I kept my voice low and quiet. \u201cHave you served before?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot\u2026 formally.\u201d Her head was bowed and I almost felt like I could cup her soul in one of my hands. I raised her chin with one finger and her face was scarlet with shame or desire or both. Then her natural forthrightness came through. \u201cBut I thought you might need\u2026 I mean, if you\u2019re going to stay here for a while\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou thought my knob might need polishing?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She turned even redder at that. I moved her hand to the loose fabric of my pants where my erection was hardening. I am my father\u2019s son, of that there is no doubt, and my body responded to her gesture of submission. She nodded, her breath catching in her throat. \u201cBut, but the people here don\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d The Kylar had conquered many places and our customs had come to rule dozens of worlds. But on this island, the old ways remained. Honestly, it was a relief to know that I was not in for months of celibacy. Half-blood or no, I was all Kylar in that sense. We are bred with sharp passions and they need to find release. I looked into her eyes to reassure her. \u201cSo let it be our secret.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSecret,\u201d she repeated, her fingers quaking against the stone stillness of my flesh.<\/p>\n<p>She was still on the ground and I pulled her up onto her knees, even as my other hand was freeing my cock. There were questions and protests in her eyes, even as I filled her mouth with me. \u201cThere is no one here on the road,\u201d I said in answer to her unspoken worries. \u201cWe are not even in sight of the town yet. And I need to know if you are worthy of having me sleep on your cot.\u201d I tried to make it a joke but the seriousness with which she began tonguing and sucking me proved she did not take it that way.<\/p>\n<p>She may have lacked formal service, but she had years of practice, or so it seemed, with the Kylaran anatomy. As she licked and drove her head down over me, she kept one hand wrapped around my balls, restricting me somewhat. I could have grown larger, large enough to choke her, if I had wanted. But with her hand there\u2013and my desire was for pleasure not for punishment\u2013I stayed hard and mid-sized in her mouth. If I had wanted, I also could have held back my ejaculation. But I let hot liquid jet into her mouth and relished the feeling of her licking me clean. I licked the edges of her mouth then, pulling her up to me and returning her to some semblance of respectability. We shared a laugh, and as we made our way into town she told me some about the island and what I could expect.<\/p>\n<p>It took another hour to cross to the greener side of the island, where the ground was still stony but plants grew and the shore sloped to sandy beaches and calm waves. She led me to a settlement near the ocean, in and around an area of hills and stone outcroppings. Her home was built into the side of a rocky cliff, the front room built of mudbaked bricks, the back disappearing into the island\u2019s body. It was five rooms, clean and warm, rustic and very private in its innermost chambers. I had just put my bag down in the deepest room and was removing my boots when her home system alerted us to someone at the door. She went to answer it while I nosed about trying to discover where in the rustic architecture the system\u2019s speakers were hidden.<\/p>\n<p>Vika came back a few minutes later, worry lining her face.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat\u2019s happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She sat down on the bed pallet next to me. \u201cOur priestess was very sick. She had something even Kylaran medicine wouldn\u2019t heal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou said was\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe died yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHer funeral will be soon\u2013probably tomorrow or the day after.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs that a problem? You look troubled.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She shook her head. \u201cIt\u2019s a big ritual, supposed to heal her bereft partner. If you\u2019re here, they\u2019ll expect you to participate. Everyone is expected to be a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s fine with me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her mouth relaxed in relief then. \u201cYou might find it sort of silly\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I quieted her with a finger to her lips and her eyes widened, as if she suddenly remembered my power over her\u2013such as it was, undeclared, undefined. \u201cMy father was a priest once,\u201d I told her. \u201cAnd remember, my mother was from here. I\u2019d be honored to take part in a ritual.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She smiled then and I could tell she was thinking I wasn\u2019t like the other Kylar she had known. I didn\u2019t really want her thinking about that too much, though, comparing me to the men who had held her enthralled before me, so I distracted her with a kiss. Her response was polite, schooled, until I dug my fingers into the hair at the back of her scalp and bent her backwards. Her lips went soft and the flutter in her chest began again. So soft, so vulnerable. I wanted to make her forget, then, that any other man had ever given her pleasure or pain. My other hand slid under the waistband of her pants, cupped her mound, and then my fingers spread as I pushed deeper between her legs. My longest finger sank into the wetness there\u2013no doubt it had been pooling ever since she had admitted her desire to me on the road. Through her lips were locked in mine she let out a small whimper.<\/p>\n<p>The Kylar have colonized, annexed, or conquered something like eighty five other worlds. You can see how hard it is to resist the impulse. How could I hold back from such a treasure as her softest places? I pressed her back into the rumpled blankets on the bed, her legs falling open, eager for me. I withdrew my finger and instead circled her engorged clit with it. When I was sure I had found the right speed and angle, I stiffened my finger against her and she threw her head back. I kept at her, one hand still behind her head but with a loose grip, letting her thrash in the palm of my hand, while the other had but one goal, which was to make her come. As she came close I whispered into her ear, \u201cI want you to come. Be mine. Come for me, come on, let go, give yourself to me.\u201d That seemed enough to push her over the edge, as she clamped her legs around my hand and cried out.<\/p>\n<p>When her orgasm subsided, I pushed her pants down her body. She stripped off her shirt and spread herself for me again, but I kept my own clothes on. I gave a small shake of my head as I lay down next to her, hugging her naked body to mine. \u201cI am not finished making you come yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She seemed unsure what to say.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was only one of my ten fingers. The other nine are waiting to see how you respond.\u201d And although I did not have The Sight, I can say with certainty that she responded very well to all of them, though I made her sore and made her beg for a rest before all ten orgasms were done.<\/p>\n<p>We slept the rest of the afternoon like that, atop the blankets, me clothed and her curled naked against me. The island was already being quite restorative to me, it seemed. It was energizing to have a woman give her strength to me that way, a woman who was not part of court politics or maneuvering me for my father\u2019s favor. I felt relaxed enough to sleep with her by my side and the empire seemed very far away.<\/p>\n<p>When I woke she was still in an exhausted sleep and I took the liberty of poking around her kitchen. For all the island\u2019s isolation, she still had fruits I recognized, suitable for squeezing into boiling water with sugar. I took a steaming mug out to her front room, and into the small courtyard that faced the cobbled street of the village. The sun sank somewhere behind the cliffside and I could smell the sea. In the fading light, I could see only one other person, walking slowly up the street, head down.<\/p>\n<p>A small woman came toward me, her hair hanging in her eyes, and she walked as if she did not see where she was going. She shuffled, and moved her head from side to side, and hugged herself. She put a hand out on the low wall that separated us, steadied herself, and seemed about to move on when she looked up at me.<\/p>\n<p>Her gaze shocked me, like the sudden opening of a too hot oven, and I wanted to look away but I couldn\u2019t. A feeling of grief slapped me, sudden and hard, and I felt my breath catch as my throat closed like a fist. She blinked then, as if seeing me there for the first time. Her hand went over her mouth, and she ran back down the hill. And I could swallow and breathe again.<\/p>\n<p>I was staring into the bottom of the dark and empty mug when Vika came to the doorway. \u201cIt\u2019s going to get chilly soon,\u201d she said to me, beckoning me back inside. \u201cShall I introduce you to some of the neighbors in the morning?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I nodded. \u201cI think I just met one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh? Who?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMriah. The priestess\u2019s partner.\u201d Even as I said it, I knew I had never heard the name before.<\/p>\n<p>Vika pulled me inside and sealed the door behind us. \u201cShe told you her name?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I shook my head. \u201cShe didn\u2019t say anything. But I think she is\u2026 sending out signals or something.\u201d The ghost of the grief agony still tickled my chest like a cough.<\/p>\n<p>Vika frowned. \u201cMriah is a seer, too. The two of them had a very deep bond.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I tried not to sound as ignorant as I was. \u201cI\u2019ve heard that when two telepaths bond, the death of one can drive the other one insane.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vika shrugged. \u201cIt hasn\u2019t happened in our lifetime. Not until those two. The bonding, I mean.\u201d She pulled the blanket tighter around herself. \u201cAs to whether Mriah is insane, or stays that way, may depend on the ritual.\u201d And that was all she would say about it that night.<\/p>\n<p><em>(To read the rest of the story, download the book today!)<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"eStore-product\">\u00a0[wp_eStore_fancy2 id=20]<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ebook $3.99 ISBN: 9781885865748 32,020 words [wp_eStore_add_to_cart id=20] The ebook edition is also available at Smashwords, with Amazon coming soon. You\u2019ve read Telepaths Don\u2019t Need Safewords. Now read the story of how Arshan and Mriah met, as well as other stories taking place in the same universe as their tale. Five erotic fantasies of female &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/circlet.com\/?page_id=393\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Edge Plays by Cecilia Tan<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":867,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-393","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=393"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/393\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}