Mating Rituals Ch. 14

Author's notes:

1. This is a work of fiction. The activities and practices described in this story are not necessarily either condoned or recommended. If you choose to do anything described in real life with real people you do so at your own risk.

2. All characters are fictional and any likeness to any living person is purely coincidental. The story is purely imaginary and, to the author's knowledge, bears no relationship to any factual occurrence.

3. This is the fourteenth chapter of the 'Mating Rituals' series – it is a standalone story but will make more sense if you read chapters 1 to 13 first (and why would you not want to do that?).

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Sophie looked around the living area where everyone in the community had gathered. She realized how important this meeting was to everyone; if the project under discussion was carried out incorrectly or if there was any leak in confidentiality, there could be severe repercussions. As she awaited the arrival of the last few people she thought of the responsibility she had to ensure everyone's safety. She looked down at her notes, the fingers of her right hand automatically twisting the beautiful engagement ring on her left hand, now another much treasured part of her adornment since she accepted Ryan's proposal four months ago.

She looked up again, mentally going around the room, seeing not only the adults but also the younger siblings who had been born in the months and years after her and Ryan. Although nobody had joined the community as an adult in the past many years, she felt sorry for anyone who did join; the complexity of the relationships were confusing even for her. Mentally she went through these as she cast her eyes around the room, trying to see who still had not arrived. There were Lance, Bel, Frank and Karen, the matriarchs and patriarchs of the community, then there were her mom, Cherie, and official dad, Al, then Matt and Carol, Wendy and Marie, Simon and Terry, and Doe, Tracy and Sue, all of whom formed the second generational tier, but even here there were complications when it was remembered that Lance, not Al, was Cherie's father as well as being her grandfather. After that it became complicated. She was the oldest of the next generation, followed closely by Ryan, Frank and Karen's son, then there was Trevor, Cherie's surrogate baby for Carol and Matt; Sarah, Karen's surrogate baby for Simon and Terry; Troy, Wendy's boy by Lance, and Ruth, Marie's girl by Frank; Kayla who is the result of Doe's wrongly calculated dates after her first fling with Lance, and finally Cherie's fraternal twins, Jessie and Damon, the result of a few nights of passion with Simon at the wrong time of the month and at 14, the youngest of the group of siblings. She thought with a flash of excitement of the coming of age parties that would be occurring during the next few years as these family members reached adulthood. The last two people, Terry and Tracy, arrived looking slightly flushed and with muttered apologies. Bel gave her a nod to let her know that she could continue, so she stood and waited for silence.

"Good evening , everyone. Thank you for giving up your free time to attend this meeting. I assure you that it is extremely important that you all know what is happening and I need your feedback on what I would like to do for a research project for one of my college courses. As most of you know, I am studying psychology and I am taking a research paper for which I need to carry out some independent research and write a paper on the findings.

"The area that interests me is us, our large family. I don't need to remind you of the origins of the family, starting with Lance, Bel, Frank and Karen, who were very accommodating to some who arrived here needing help. They were welcomed and have stayed on as full family members, the diversity of these people strengthening and benefitting the family as a whole. The younger family members, including Ryan and I, have arrived as a result of diverse relationships between these older members. As far as I'm aware, this family is unique in many ways. It is this uniqueness that I wish to investigate. The uniqueness is not simply that which occurs when a group of people with common goals live together; we had many examples of this in the 1960s during what was called the hippie commune era. Our uniqueness goes further than that and includes the attitudes and values we have and practise especially regarding interpersonal relationships. As you younger members become adults you will understand to a greater degree the significance of these relationships.

"The research I am undertaking will require me to interview many or all of you and the results of these interviews will be compiled into a research report. The questions will be focused on your attitudes and values as it is these that have allowed this community to flourish as it has. I assure you that during this research everyone will be allocated a code number and nobody will be identifiable from that unless they themselves release that information. I hasten to add that I definitely do not recommend anyone doing that. I have discussed this at length with the psychology department professors and they assure me that it will never be possible for anyone to obtain any information that may identify any particular person as once the report has been accepted, all raw data and records of interviews will be destroyed."

Sophie stopped and looked around the group, noting that all were giving her their full attention as she would have expected due to the importance of her topic.

"However, I will not proceed with this research without your full permission. In short, I am putting the future of this research in your hands. I firmly believe that in this day and age of fragmented families, research on an inclusive family that works together and has developed its own ethos and character due to the alignment of the beliefs of the individuals is of significant importance to possibly replicating such a community and maybe even extending it. As the saying goes, the family that plays together stays together, and we certainly know how to play together. You, as members of this community, may in the future have a role to play in helping to re-establish family and community living in an increasingly dysfunctional society. So I firmly believe that anything we can do to bring this goal to fruition is of benefit to humanity. That is why I believe it is important to identify the reasons why this works and the way in which individuals within the community think and function.

"So, I've said enough. If anyone has any questions I will try to answer them as fully as possible, otherwise, you will have been given a piece of paper when you arrived. On one side is written 'NO' and on the other 'YES'. All you need do is to cross out one of those and deposit your slip in the box as you leave. That way, if you object for any reason, you will be able to reject the proposal anonymously. Simply cross out the word that does not apply. I am, of course, hoping for all 'YES' votes so I am here to answer your questions for as long as it takes until you are completely decided. Do you have any questions please?"

There was silence for a few seconds than people began talking in pairs or small groups, some becoming quite animated. Sophie tried to gain some indication of what was being discussed, but without success. After a few minutes Carol raised her hand. Sophie tapped her pen on the table in front of her and the hubbub died down.

"Carol, you have a question?"

"Sophie, I have several questions. First, when we're interviewed, will the interviews be videoed or recorded in any way?"

"Absolutely not," replied Sophie. "I will personally undertake all the interviews so I am the only person who will know what anyone says and I will be writing your responses down with only your code number on the paper. As I mentioned, that will be destroyed once the report is completed. I guarantee that everything I hear will be kept in the strictest confidence and used only for the anonymized research paper." She stopped and smiled to herself. "I assure you that nothing you say will ever end up on any social media network as seems to happen to so much supposedly confidential material these days."

"Thank you," replied Carol, "Once this report is completed, what happens to it then?"

"It will be read and marked by my professor and will then be archived in the college library. Remember, nobody at college will know the location or the names of the people who have been interviewed."

"Thank you. Sorry there's so many questions; they're not all mine but just what came up in our small discussion." Carol smiled encouragingly towards Sophie. "It seemed to us in our discussion that this could be the tip of the iceberg and that far more detailed information in addition to our attitudes and values could be researched. Do you have any plans to take the research further after it has been completed as a course project?"

Now it was Sophie's turn to smile. "Yes, one of my goals is to continue my research to complete a Ph.D., possibly looking at a comparison between our family attitudes and values and the ways in which these are manifested within our community and the attitudes and values and their manifestation in society in general in an attempt to identify ways in which attitudes and values in society could be influenced to create communities such as ours on a far larger scale. Of course, when a person changes their attitudes, beliefs and values, they can then also change their behavior, meaning they can do things that they didn't think they could before. You will have noticed that when people have arrived here they have had very different beliefs, attitudes and values to those of the established family, but that for some, who have made this place their home, they have changed those to fit in with the existing members. Others have been unable or unwilling to change and have left after a short time. I would like to find out why some people are able and willing to change these core beliefs and values, while others are apparently not. In short, it is research that could literally change society at grassroots level, at the level of the attitudes and beliefs of its individual members, and have major benefits for the integration of people into societies which are different from those they are born into, for example, refugees and immigrants."

"That sounds like a great idea and a huge undertaking. Thank you, that's all the questions I have. For your information, I have thoroughly enjoyed and continue to enjoy being part of this community. It is because of this that I have Trevor. I certainly will be voting 'YES' to support your project and I thank you sincerely for your interest in attempting to improve the increasingly dysfunctional society in which most people seem to survive, rather than thrive, these days."

Sophie felt both pride and embarrassment as everyone in the room applauded Carol's comments. There were no further questions and people didn't seem to be in any hurry to leave the room, this sort of gathering being infrequent due to everyone having their own busy lives to lead, so Cherie asked Jessie to take the box around and collect the voting slips. Sophie noticed this as she was in discussion with Bel and Lance, and felt the apprehension of not knowing the outcome of the vote, hoping that it would be unanimously 'YES' so she could continue with her project.

After a short break, Ruth and Troy brought around soft drinks and some cookies that Wendy had baked that afternoon especially for this meeting. Jessie, her half-sister, brought the box full of voting slips to Sophie once they had all been collected. Nervously Sophie, Bel and Lance removed them, placing them in a pile with the undeleted side uppermost. As each one was brought out with the 'NO' deleted and piled in the 'YES' pile, Sophie slowly relaxed, grateful for the family's confidence in her but knowing that it would only take one 'NO' to stop her program. That 'NO' never eventuated; everyone had voted to allow her to undertake the project. She lost control and held Bel, sobbing against her shoulder for a few seconds before pulling herself together. Bel tapped loudly on a table and the sounds of talking lessened then stopped. Sophie looked around the family and smiled gratefully.

"Thank you all very, very much," she said quietly, humbly, "Thank you. There's nothing more I can say." She turned to Bel and sobbed tears of relief against her shoulder some more as everyone burst into applause.

That night she and Ryan lay together in their bed, cuddling each other.

"I'm continually just blown away by this family," said Sophie, "They're just so wonderful. Even the younger teens don't act like their peers in normal society. Our kids seem to be so responsible, as though even at their age they have a social conscience."

"Yes, definitely, but that's because they've been and are being brought up in a responsible mini-society where they are expected to be responsible, where they are expected to take care of themselves and each other. Look at society in general; it's so over-regulated, over-protected. Look at the number of signs warning of just about everything now. People are told what to do and what not to do and are made to fear everything. It's crazy. Whereas here everyone knows that they need to be aware of what's happening around them. Here if someone slipped over by the pool and fell in, for example, anyone nearby would offer help. Out in society in general everyone would reach for their smartphone to photograph the person as he drowned. That's the difference."

"Yes, I guess so. Doe, Tracy and Sue certainly did a good job with the young kids in bringing them up to show respect and to develop responsibility. We've been very lucky with the people who've come into the family."

"No, I don't think luck had much to do with it; I think that the ones who stayed were the ones who could fit in and adapt to the prevailing ethos and values. We had a few who came here for a short time then left, possibly because they didn't want to make the changes needed to fully participate in family life. It can be really challenging for some people, you know. We don't see this aspect; nobody from our generation does because it's all we've known. So when we turn 18 and we're introduced to the sexual side of life we simply accept it because we've known nothing different. So as well as teaching the youngsters and inculcating them into the culture, we also do not need to dis-educate them because they have never had to attend an outside school. Those schools are possibly the most destructive thing there is for young children because they are taught so much more than just what is in the official curriculum. No kid needs to be told they are a loser or they're slow or be made to feel inferior. School can be a devastating experience for those who are sensitive or a bit different. Kids here, including us, are so lucky not to have had to suffer that."

"Yes, darling, I agree, but right now get off your soap box and make love to your fiancée please, honey."

Ryan rolled over and kissed his darling, his hand roaming over her body, feeling her firm flesh and smooth sensitive skin. His hand automatically moved between her legs, feeling her clit ring, now fully healed, and he wondered when she'd have the nerve to have the clit rod fitted. He inserted his finger gently into her damp love tunnel, moving it around slowly, feeling her juices begin to flow more copiously as their kiss deepened. He felt her hand clutching his hardening cock, moving the loose skin up and down. He broke their kiss.

"How would you like it tonight, darling?"

"I feel triumphant tonight," she announced, "I want to show my superiority and ride you hard into the sunset."

"Hmmm, well, honey, you're a few hours late, but I daresay you'll be able to ride fast and catch it if you really try."

"What, travel faster than time?" she chuckled, "Just get on your back and let me run the show."

She pushed him to roll him flat on his back, then grabbed a pillow and pulled his cock upwards. Ryan got the idea and lifted his ass off the bed, allowing Sophie to push the pillow under him, causing his cock to stick up high. She then straddled his legs and put her mouth over his cock, working it down her throat then removing it to breathe, then back down until her nose was in his mat of hair. Ryan felt her swallow a few times, then lift off once again. She wriggled forwards allowing Ryan to cup her breasts and pinch her nipples between his thumbs and forefingers. For a few seconds Sophie closed her eyes and tilted her head backwards as the sensations rushed through her, then she leant forward and positioned herself over his cock before sinking onto it slowly and lasciviously. Once she was fully impaled on his tower, her weight mainly on her pelvis rather than her knees because of the pillow, she began rolling her hips back and forth, massaging her clit against his body, pleased to be able to do this now the ring had healed completely.

They made love gently, for them, Sophie gradually changing her position to lean forward more, increasing the stimulation of her clit while feeling his cock head moving in the end of her vagina. Slowly she felt the familiar sensations rising from her clit, pushing her closer to her release. Her movements increased, Ryan's massaging of her breasts became harder, she was nearly there.

"Yes, darling, yes, ooohhhhh, yes, fuck me, fuck meeee, yes, darling, YES, YES, YESSSSSS, OOOOHHHHH, HONEY I'M CUMMMINGGGGGG!!"

Ryan felt her pussy muscles clenching and releasing his cock as she came hard. Gradually, as the sensations passed, he lessened his pressure on her nipples and she slowly lay forward on his body, breathing hard. He caressed her hair, softly, lovingly. What a wonderful person she was; his true love, the girl he had known all his life, his fiancée, soon to be his wife. How could a guy be this lucky, he wondered to himself frequently, especially at special times like this. Sophie stirred.

"Your turn, sweetheart," she said.

She climbed off and pulled the pillow from under him, then slid back on. The different angle changed things considerably, not least was the ability to raise and lower herself now so she could massage his cock with her love tunnel. She began doing this, raising herself up then lowering herself down again, then changing again so that she was sliding back and forth on the pool of lubrication she had produced, then up and down again. Ryan felt the build-up of sensations in his cock as her pussy massaged it beautifully. He began thrusting in time with her movements, meeting her body as it descended then withdrawing as she lifted until only the head of his cock was still inside, then she dropped again as he rose, over and over. Then she stopped and lay on him, preventing any movement, while she contracted and released her vaginal muscles. Ryan could feel the rippling of her muscles massaging his cock without any movement of their bodies. He knew that in this mode he would cum, just as she would, eventually. In a previous session it had taken well over an hour for them to reach a huge simultaneous orgasm like this, but tonight Ryan wanted to cum and soon. He clutched her breasts again and pushed her upright, then used her breasts as handles to push her back and forth, thrusting into her each time she moved backwards, feeling her clit pressing against his pubic bone each time.

Suddenly he felt the sensations change; it was as though he passed a certain point and from here on it was a downhill rush towards his release. He increased the tempo, feeling her respond and they fucked each other hard until once again she let out a shriek and clenched his cock hard while his dam overflowed and he spurted his thick potent cum deep inside his darling fiancée, each spurt accompanied by a grunt of effort.