The Curious Kinky Person’s Guide to Fifty Shades Darker, Chapter 16, part 2

Ana has actually said she wants to try bondage with a spreader bar. Christian says okay, but not in the playroom.

“Ana, you may be ready to go back in there, but I’m not. Last time we were in there, you left me. I keep telling you—when will you understand?” He frowns, releasing me so that he can gesticulate with his free hand.
“My whole attitude has changed as a result. My whole outlook on life has radically shifted. I’ve told you this. What I haven’t told you is—” He stops and runs his hand through his hair, searching for the correct words. “I’m like a recovering alcoholic, okay? That’s the only comparison I can draw. The compulsion has gone, but I don’t want to put temptation in my way. I don’t want to hurt you.”

That was also the room in which he beat her into a sobbing wreck.

Christian’s comments suggests that he has been feeling the urge to hurt women who look like his mother for a long time. This raises a lot of questions about his BDSM career and what happened to the other 14 submissives besides Leila. Anger and BDSM don’t mix, or at least not well. EL James seems to think that BDSM is a framework for containing aggressive desires, so that without it to vent his rage, Christian would be a serial killer or something. It doesn’t necessarily follow that every dominant or top is a tortured soul who lives an eternal struggle to contain his bloodlust (a la Edward Cullen in Twlight).

In Christian’s bed, they treat the undressing like Ana is topping Christian.

I reach for the second button on his shirt and hear him catch his breath.
“I won’t touch you if you don’t want me to,” I whisper.
“No,” he responds quickly. “Do. It’s fine. I’m good,” he mutters.

They use the spreader bar:

He gives me a wicked grin and reaches for the spreader bar. Grabbing my left ankle, he quickly cuffs it, strapping the buckle tightly, but not too tight. He tests how much room I have by sliding his little finger between the cuff and my ankle. He doesn’t take his eyes off mine; he doesn’t need to see what he’s doing. Hmm . . . he’s done this before.

Whereas the first book was primarily about Christian’s desire for a dom-sub relationship, there’s a greater emphasis on the physical in these scenes. Also, Christian keeps reminding Ana that she can speak up if she doesn’t like something, which is good when playing with a rookie bottom who doesn’t necessarily grasp the whole consent thing. He also brings up the much-discussed anal, but that’s postponed for later. Ana seems aroused by the anal idea.

So, this is perhaps the first BDSM scene in 1.75 books in which I had no objections to anything they did. Plus Obama won the election. Maybe it’s a time for optimism.