nued apologetically.
"I'm afraid I don't know how, though. One of our strongest customs
forbids any same-sex physical intimacy. Since it seems yours doesn't,
that no longer applies to me, of course--but the fact remains that I
have no such experience."

Cortin chuckled. "That can be remedied easily enough, if you decide
you want to, but for your present purposes you don't need experience.
All you have to do is take hold of him, snugly enough to provide a
friction surface but not tight. The eroticine will make him take care
of the rest."

"That sounds simple enough." Keith reached for the prisoner.

He grasped slippery flesh, pleased when the man winced and tried to
pull away. That should be a good sign. He followed the flinch,
keeping the snug hold his thakur had recommended--and she was right,
the prisoner began pumping, almost immediately accompanied by cursing
and moans. For a bit, Keith remained still, getting used to the feel
and rhythm. This was all he had to do, she'd said, and Keith was sure
it would have the desired effect--but she wanted the man to suffer as
much as a human could. Sure that there had to be a way to elicit more
pain on the way to its peak, he tried modifying his grip, going with
the prisoner's movements, kneading gently at the end of each thrust.

He was rewarded when moans grew louder and curses became incoherent
cries. He wanted to turn, see if his thakur was pleased, but he didn't
allow himself the distraction, contenting himself instead with a brief
smile. He was surprised at the ease with which he'd been able to make
even this sort of sexual contact with another man, but his primary
emotion on that subject was gratitude; since his thakur clearly had no
objection to man-loving, even seemed to actively approve, he had to do
so as well, and it was kind of the gods to make such a drastic change
so easy for him.

He was less surprised, though still a bit so, by his unexpected
enjoyment of a painmaster's role, since Sandeman did have some
circumstances where such was appropriate, though it had no
professionals. That was a fortunate turn, since it saved him another
adaptation--though if he were to serve his thakur properly in this
capacity, he really ought to get some training; a true painmaster
should be getting at least some screams by this time.

The prisoner's movements became faster, more urgent, and Keith smiled
again. A few more seconds . . . yes, good! The prisoner c