A bell was rung and everyone began leaving the waiting area. Blinds were brought down over the windows all around and lights were dimmed. Men dressed in leather uniforms lit dozens of candelabra that streamed throughout the whole building. Everywhere was then tinged by flickering low-lighting. A deep, almost hibiscus, scent was present wherever you went and it was apparent the floors were regularly polished. There was little decoration in that house save for the ornate ceiling carvings, large beams and luxurious wood-panelled walls with forest creatures acting as fixtures for the gloomy lighting.
Dreamy, seductive chimes that were barely noticeable drifted through the halls and acted as an almost silent background to the quietly chatting, nodding guests. It really did seem to be some sort of reverent gathering place for the sexually uninhibited. I felt an outsider, truly. I sought eyes that were assessing me but there were none. Everyone else seemed poised and unreserved. I had expected to be treated as an interloper perhaps but I was just as any other ‒ a body there for pleasure. I did not get myself noticed in my underwear, even. I mingled in. We were all sparingly dressed, even most men. Maybe that was why Mark wore the gown, as a sign of his prestigious ranking in the hierarchy of that place.
Excerpt from A Fine Profession. eBook release, July 12th
Sarah Michelle Lynch 