Finding Mr. Wright

"To feel aroused is to feel alive. Having great sex is like taking in huge lungfuls of fresh air, essential to your body, essential to your health, and essential to your life."

--Fiona Thrust

CHAPTER 05

As Aaron led me through the foyer, we went the opposite way from the small sitting room. He opened the door and led me through into a formal elevator, though it was unlike the typical metal box you see in hotels and office buildings. This one was a more of a small plush, decorated room. There was a cushioned, seated bench along two walls, but Aaron didn't make the effort to sit, and I followed his lead. He turned to me and started telling me more about the place.

"The first-floor ballroom is the formal meeting place for everyone. Though it isn't required, we all tend to stop there first and greet everyone. There is also a formal dining room in another section of the first floor. We have chefs that come from all over the country, and even other countries too when there is a special occasion. That alone is an experience all to itself as the food there you won't find anywhere else. Dinner is set for 6:30, but I wasn't able to arrive until late, so we missed that. Often, many of us will just come for the dinner and dining experience, if they aren't up for anything else. We don't require anyone to do anything more than that if they don't wish to.

"The first floor is also the only place you will see any staff, like Marcus who you met. All of the waiters, drivers, and everyone else are restricted to the first floor alone. For that reason, all of our 'activities' are on the higher floors, and nothing of those activities are allowed or discussed on the first floor, so the staff are all oblivious as to what transpires. In between events, we have a select cleaning crew, one owned by a member here, who takes care of the manor when we aren't here.

"Everyone you see above the first floor is either a formal member of the Society, or is escorted by one. It is safe to do whatever you like or discuss whatever you like with anyone above the first floor. You can be assured of absolute privacy about what you say and do, but again, only above the first floor.

"There are a lot of different types of activities in this lifestyle, and everyone has their own specialized interests. Therefore, we have set up different areas and rooms depending on what strikes your fancy at any given time. If you are here with an escort, your escort will usually decide with you beforehand what activities you will indulge in for that evening, or you come up here to the first room on the second floor and discuss it then. If you are a member and happen to come without an escort, then there is a way to let others know what you are interested in doing that evening. I'll show you how that works in a minute when we get there."

As Aaron spoke, we went up to the second floor, as near as I could tell, and the doors opened, leading to a wide hall that turned away. Just then I realized there were no buttons or panel in the elevator. It made me wonder how Aaron activated it. Before I could figure it out, Aaron led me out and around the corner. As we walked, he said to me, "We call this room we are about to enter the 'Gathering Room.' For obvious reasons, as you'll see."

As we approached, I heard the sound of talking and people up ahead. We turned another corner and the hall opened up into a room almost as large as the ballroom downstairs, but it was very dimly lit. There were doors leading out of this room, but there was no door entering it as the room just opened up as we turned the corner. The light carpet of the hallway ended, and the room was almost entirely made of wood, a medium cherry wood, or something very similar. There was a raised wooden stage at the far end and what appeared to be a dais of sorts on the stage. There was even a lectern against the wall on the stage, and I spied what appeared to be a gavel on the lectern.

The walls were all paneled in the same wood, and there were some areas near where we walked in that had recessed shelves. I couldn't make out what they contained exactly, but it looked like folded fabric of different colors. There were long cushioned benches, similar to ornate church pews, arranged on the left and right, with a wide aisle up the middle. The benches stopped quite a distance before the stage. There were several doors leading out of the Gathering Room, to both the left and right, and one even at the back of the stage.

There were many people already gathered here, perhaps twenty or so. Some of these I had met downstairs, though their names or 'letters' I had already forgotten. The men were all dressed in the same style tuxedo that everyone downstairs wore, but a few had taken off the bowtie and unbuttoned the collars to their shirts. They left the undone bowtie draped around their necks.

The women, however, were strikingly different. Instead of the formal gowns and dresses, most had all changed and now wore only long, satin robes with mid length sleeves. The robes were of that same dark red color and were gathered at the waist by a single red belt. When they moved, I could tell they still wore their shoes and stockings, but I couldn't tell if they wore anything else under those robes. Most of the women stood by their escorts, but there were four women who sat in the front bench facing back toward the rest. They wore robes just like the others, but they had what looked like silk scarves tied around their left wrists. Two of them had black scarves, one had a yellow scarf, while the third one had a black scarf and red scarf.

As Aaron let me to one of the benches on the side, several people turned to look at us. However, unlike downstairs, no one came up and greeted us. Many of the men stared at me, so I looked away, not wanting to meet their gaze. Several of the women met my glance as I looked at them, and they all gave me a welcome smile.

As I looked around at everyone, there was one person I hadn't noticed at first. There was a woman on the ground kneeling. She was in a robe like the others, but she was kneeling behind the man she was with. However, it wasn't the fact that she was kneeling that struck me. It was that she wore a wide black leather collar around her neck. Attached to that collar was a leather leash, and the leash was held by her escort. She was completely still as she kneeled behind her escort, with her head down and her arms behind her back. She didn't look up or move at all.

Aaron gave me a few minutes to look around and take everything in. "As you can see, the Gathering Room is where we come before moving on to other activities in other areas of the manor. Some people might come up to you to greet you and say hello, but that isn't what this area is really for. This is where people meet and discuss the activities planned for the evening.

"See the women on the end? The ones with the scarves on their wrists? Those are the submissive members who have come without escorts. They make themselves available for other members and will join in with those people and their activities. The color of the scarf tells others the kind of activities in which they wish to participate. The scarves are held in the recessed shelves where we walked in. There's even a color reference chart there in case you forget what color means what. The two with black scarves are here looking for light bondage and some discipline. The one with the yellow scarf is seeking Asian rope bondage. The other woman with the black scarf and red scarf means she is open for both light bondage and discipline, as well as harder discipline like being whipped or caned."

Aaron stopped and let that sink in. That sounded harsh, but it was something I definitely wanted to understand. Seeing those women, though, with the scarves of those colors, it made me wonder what other colors were available and what those colors represented. As I waited to see what would happen next, V and Brooke walked in. Brooke was still dressed in her formal dark red gown. V continued walking and went over to some of the other men who were talking together. It was the one small group that included the man holding the woman's leash. Brooke looked at me and smiled, then walked towards the door on the right, opened it, and exited, closing it behind her.

"She's going to change," Aaron told me. I nodded and continued watching. A minute or two later, one of the men and the woman he escorted walked over to the four women seated by themselves. The escorted woman walked over to the woman wearing the black and red scarf, bent down and whispered in her ear. The woman with the scarves was smiling as she sat listening and the escorted woman spoke to her. As the escorted woman finished talking, there was a big smile and a nod on the seated woman's face. She rose, and the two of them left the room with the escort woman leading the other by the hand, with the man following closely behind.

"You probably guessed this, but that was X and his escort, Melinda, asking the single woman, Renee, to join them. I don't know what they said exactly, but Melinda probably described to Renee what they wanted to do, and invited Renee to join. Renee accepted, and they left to go enjoy the evening together.

"One thing I forgot to mention about the scarves, too. If you wear a scarf on your right wrist, it means you are only interested in a heterosexual encounter. If you wear it on your left wrist, it means you are open to both men and women."

I nodded, acting like I was understanding and accepting, but I was a little surprised. It wasn't the thought of two women together, or two men for that matter, that shocked me. It was the possibility that if I continued down this path, that *I* might be in that position and that *I* might be propositioned by another woman. I had never thought of that. Sure, it's more common and accepted in these more modern times, and I've read about it and seen it in movies, but it never entered my mind that I would ever be in a situation where I might do anything like that. Now it had me thinking. Would I be expected to do that here, if I came back another time? Would I have a choice? What would they think of me if I didn't, or even if I did? I made a mental note to make sure that if I am ever in a position to choose a scarf, I would be sure to put it on my right wrist so that I would never be confronted by that situation.

Not wanting to field any questions about this topic though, I asked Aaron, "Why the stage and lectern?"

"Those are for some special events that we have from time to time. Every once in a while, we have an auction. Ladies will volunteer to be auctioned off and members will bid on them. Whoever wins gets their company for the evening. It's a way for some of the ladies to explore things with other dominants, and to experience the lack of control associated with being auctioned to someone unknown."

As I was listening I tried to comprehend what that might be like, and why someone would want to do that. Aaron must have seen the look of concern on my face. He added, "Don't worry, it's completely voluntary. Even then, there's a lot you should learn about and experience long before you ever consider that." He paused for a moment, before finally saying, "So, shall we move on?"

I took his arm again as he extended it. "Where to?" I asked. He gave me a look, telling me to wait, but he didn't answer. He led me out of one of the doors to the back.

Once we were out of the hearing of everyone, he spoke. "Elizabeth. From here, things begin to get a bit more real, more graphic. So far, all you've seen was the more social activities. Once we proceed further, it gets much more visual. I'll tell you what to expect rather than just show it to you and surprise you, but I wanted to prepare you in advance that we are about to leave the PG part of the tour and proceed into the X-rated section."

"Thank you, I appreciate the advanced notice," I responded sincerely. I was already anticipating what I might see tonight, or what I was hoping to see, but the warning was well received. At least this way, maybe my jaw won't drop open in shock if I see something too unexpected.

As we turned past hallways and doorways, I quickly became turned around and lost. All I can remember is that we were about to enter a new room, and this room had a black scarf tied to sign on the door. What did black mean again? I tried to remember, then heard the very faint sound of muffled slaps and gasps behind the door.

"Like I said before," Aaron began, "there are colors that have meanings. Just like the silk scarves have meaning, those same colors are on the doors. If a door has a scarf on it, it is open for anyone to enter. That's what almost all the doors on this floor contain ... open rooms. People are free to enter and leave, and the people inside doing things want it to be that way. They *want* to be seen. On the third and fourth floor are the private rooms. I'll show you those later. Those rooms are generally locked and are for the occupants only.

"If you remember, black is for bondage and light discipline. What you can expect to see in here are ladies restrained in different positions using different pieces of specialized furniture. The most common is called a 'rack' but isn't like the medieval torture device. It isn't designed to stretch someone and cause them pain. It's just to hold them immobile. Along the wall you'll see many different implements. There's too many different types to describe each, so just ask me if you see something you don't recognize and want to know more about it." With that, Aaron opened the door and led me into the room.

I thought I had prepared myself for what I was about to see, but truly, nothing really could have. The room was large, about the size of a nice hotel suite. Multiple couples could all be in here at the same time and not interfere with each other. However, only one couple was in here right now. I looked over and saw a blonde-haired woman with short cropped hair standing at the far end of the room. She was young, in her late twenties I assumed. Her hands were tied over her head and she was holding onto a rope dangling from what looked like a hangman's arch. Of course, it wasn't, as this apparatus wasn't designed for that, but the design was the same. This thing was made solely to hold the rope firmly in place and pull the subject's arms over their head and secure them in that position.

She was naked. Well, that's not entirely true. She had on a garter belt, stockings and high-heeled shoes, all black in color. I saw her and immediately pictured myself in the same garter, stockings and heels. They were almost identical to the ones that I had on now. That certainly made the visual more electrifying and personal. It again made me keenly aware of my own nudity under my dress, and how easy it would be for me to take her place. We sat down near where we had walked in, on a cushioned bench near the wall.

Across from her was man holding something in his hand that he was swinging around in a figure eight pattern. He was wearing leather pants and dress shoes, but no shirt. He was lean and muscular and very attractive. He glanced back our way to see who had come in before he returned to what he was doing. She seemed to take no notice of us, as her eyes were closed, and her face was in a tight grimace.

When he paused, I could see the device he held was a flogger, with a wooden handle out of which came myriad thin, dark purple leather straps. As he swung it in its pattern, he alternated striking the woman in different places, first on one of her breasts then the other. They were already red from what he had done before we entered. She gasped as he hit her breasts, not overly hard or forceful, but repeatedly. The way he did use the flogger, it appeared that one strike with the flogger would only be a mild sensation, but repeated, over and over, in rapid sequence like that ... I could only imagine how that must have felt. The dull pain growing more and more with each strike.

He stopped, and she let out the breath of air that she had been holding in. She took a few more quick breaths, before telling the man, "Thank you, Sir." Her chest was heaving with her breathing as the pain she had just endured started to subside. Her nipples were hard and swollen, and the redness on her breasts had gone from pale to more obvious red.

The man raised his hand again she took in a quick breath and held it. At that point, he started swinging the flogger in the same pattern again, raking it back and forth across her breasts. She closed her eyes again, but he caught that and said, "Open your eyes and look at me." She did, looking right into his eyes. He continued to swing the flogger alternating over her breasts and you could tell the pain was becoming more intense for her. Her legs buckled a bit and she couldn't hold her breath, gasping almost each time the flogger struck her. He kept it up longer than before, her gasps rising in volume until they were almost cries. When it looked like she was almost ready to break down and cry out, he stopped.

She continued to breathe hard and continued to look straight into his eyes. She again said, "Thank you, Sir," but this time, it was more feeble, less strong and assured, and you could tell she was almost at her breaking point. He tossed the flogger to the chair at his side and spun her around. Her back was to us now, and you could see more of her supple naked rear. It was near perfect. He moved up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into him. He held her tightly against him, her breathing starting to slow and return to normal. He held her like that for a minute, softly kissing the back of her shoulders and neck. As he did so, he began moving his hands up and down her sides, lightly touching her skin. Her head leaned back onto him, resting back on his shoulder, as he continued to kiss her shoulder and neck, being very gentle and sensual.

He turned her again, so that she was facing toward us, and he moved behind her. He had turned her to intentionally face us, so that we could see her and her reaction to what he was about to do. He pushed her forward, the rope giving way, so she was bent forward slightly. From that position, with him behind her, his hands moved over her breasts. She gasped as her breasts were obviously still very tender. With one hand, he held on to one nipple and squeezed, causing her to draw another breath and gasp again. With his other hand, he reached down in front of his pants. Since the woman was in between him and us, I couldn't see exactly what he did, but it was obvious from his movements and the position he was in. He took himself out of the front of his pants and was moving it across her rear. He bent his knees, lowering his body slightly, moving himself up and down against her, seeking her opening. When he found it, he pushed inside her and grabbed her hips, all in one motion, pulling her back into him. She thrust herself backward into him at the same instant, and they held themselves there like that, unmoving from the waist down, while his other hand moved back to her breast, playing with it and her swollen nipple. He then began a slow, rhythmic thrusting into and out of her as she hung from the rope holding her overhead.

I was as still as I could be, and I realized I was holding my own breath as I watched them. I swallowed as I took in what was happening before me. Nothing could have prepared me for this. It's one thing to watch a movie or an adult film of people engaged in sex, but it is something entirely different to see it happening right in front of you. When he was hitting her breasts before, I could feel my own breasts tingling under my dress, my own nipples getting hard, so hard they felt like they were going to burst through my dress. I could feel the pain she felt in her chest echoed in my own, like a form of empathy for what she was going through. I imagined the sensation of his hand on my breast and nipple as he touched hers, then feeling him pushing against my opening seeking me out just as he did her.