You touched upon one thing that's often misunderstood, and may be the reason this lifestyle has retained it's little 'taboo' feel. It's always consensual. It's so much deeper than just "Yeah, I get to beat you/restrain you/whatever, and you take it, okay?". It's a trust and bond that can be exceedingly hard to achieve in most normal relationships, even. What kind of trust would you need to feel for somebody, before you'd let them restrain you beyond the point of ever getting out yourself, then have their way with you without you having any way to stop them?
No Dom/Domme I know of could even consider the concept of abusing that trust without starting to dryheave in disgust. Myself included.
As for the 'Dominant personality, sub in the bedroom' and vice versa bit... yes, that happens. Personally, I'm a Switch, but depending on my normal life situation, it decides whether I'm D or s at the time, privately. It's... enormously liberating to simply give up all control. To just resign yourself to the fact that now you are not in control of yourself, your fate and what will happen to you. You just concentrate on doing the best you can to the Dominant in question, leaving the responsibility, the stress, the decisions and being in charge behind.
When I'm not in that kind of real life situation, it can be delightful to do the vice-versa thing. That I take charge of another person's life or sex-life (depending on the relationship). That I take the responsibility to care for, order, provide for and train/discipline another person to the point that it is the main part of my life. And I do it while knowing that the person appreciates, and even loves me for it. And that he or she trusts me to do it, without reservation. Either way you go, it creates a bond, understanding and fondness for the other person, which I am afraid to say... I've never experienced in a vanilla relationship.
Anyway, thank you Eva for speaking up like that. From the defensiveness about it, it sounds like it took courage and determination. It impresses me, when people do that, and show a part of themselves that can easily be misunderstood or judged by those who don't know better or doesn't understand.
I'd hug you and smile widely if I could.