He let out a shuddering breath.

"Good boy. One more."

Their teeth closed around some miraculously yet-untouched spot on his upper torso. Lips vacuum-locked to his skin and sucked, hard. Subdermal capillaries burst by the hundreds; their contents staining the surrounding tissue. He arched his back and gripped the sheets so hard that for one moment, his one coherent thought was I hope I don't tear anything.

And then it was over, and the acute pain became just another voice in a chorus of dull aches. He fell back onto the mattress and let his eyes close, enjoying the haze of endorphins. Dozens of hickeys shone through the skin of his chest, his shoulders, his neck. His partner shifted position, moving over to...

"Mine," they purred from up close - startlingly close. He reflexively opened his eyes.

Dark hair hung down, curtaining a smiling face. Their eyes were perhaps ten centimeters away, boring into his. He opened his mouth, then immediately shut it when one of their hands caressed a tender spot and he had to suppress a yelp. They seized on the moment of weakness.

"How's that feel, dear?" cooed that oh-so-familiar tone. "Nice, right? A little reminder of who you belong to. And so nice to focus on, too, like you can just feel that sense of ownership radiate out from each spot..."

Well, he did feel like he was theirs...

"And if you're mine then your body is mine, and when I want you to sink it can prepare you for that so well, and relax, and simply wind down..."

His breathing was slowing. His muscles were relaxing. He wasn't doing any of that. It just happened.

"And your attention must be mine too, so when I tell you to draw your focus to my words, my eyes, all those pretty marks, you find that it just happens..."

It did. It was easier than easy. Just them, just those pleasantly humming marks...

"And your mind must be mine too, right? So when I just tell it to simply drop..."

---------

"Eight... nine... and ten. Good morning."

He groggily opened his eyes, vague memories of trance still tumbling through his skull. Enough time had passed for his body to hurt a bit less, or perhaps that was just a side effect of the relaxation. Whatever it was, it came in handy.

"...thankyou," he mumbled. "Was fun."

His eyes hadn't quite focused yet, but he'd swear he saw a smile split their face ear to ear.

"Was? Dear, the past two hours were setup."

...setup?

"See, the key to triggers is association, and the key to association is repetition, and between the suggestions I just gave you, and all those connections I was already encouraging you to make..."

Anticipation built like electricity. He could run, protest, try and resist - but frankly, he was just too curious what would be happening next.

"Well, just tell me: how does it feel to be reminded that you're mine?"

A dozen different points on his body sparked back into awareness, some impossibly complex sensation suffusing each. Pressing into his skin, dragging him down, were... Hooks? Kisses? Teeth? Hands? Mystic sigils? Whatever they were, they proved he was theirs. They proved he was owned. It was overwhelming, and it made him feel so loved, and c-

"Oh, up-up-up-up, I'm only demonstrating here."

The part of him that'd started falling down jerked back awake. They chuckled at his disorientation.

"See? I'm going to have so much fun with this."