by Olga Menson
Isa finally broke, but even then, she refused to make a sound, as if silence were her last barrier. Her whole body shook in quiet sobs, her breath almost out of control. I took her in my arms. We stayed like that for a long time. Eventually, I asked the question.
"Did you kill him?"
"No. Mother did. She loved him and must have suffered terribly, but she wouldn't lift a finger against him, out of her own twisted loyalty and affection. But she loved me too. Both of us. When she saw me there, trying to pull myself together, it was the last straw. I expect that he had lied to her that it would have been a one-time event at the Brigantine, as it was with her. She used poison. I don't know if she had any accomplices, but she might have. She told me all this later, right after his funeral. She hated herself for waiting. Apparently she had considered it after the first time he beat you. Really beat you, I mean. After it was done, she covered up as best she could, but she told me that you couldn't come home for years. That it wouldn't be safe for you to be here. She was fairly certain that an autopsy couldn't reveal anything, but we couldn't cremate him because of the will. So she kept you at arms length. She forbid me from contacting you until a certain time frame had passed or she had. The irony was that there was only a few months left before she had planned on reaching out. We both hoped that you wouldn't think of us too badly, although neither of us was sure how much we wanted to tell you. I guess you know everything now. Or everything that matters."
I nodded. This was a lot to take in, but I was grimly happy that our mother had loved her enough to do what I had not been here to do. I hated Father more than ever before, and myself perhaps more. No matter what Isa had said, I felt awful.
"Isa, I wasn't here for you. I won't make that mistake again. If you want me here, I'm yours. I don't need the money. You don't need to promise me anything. I'll take care of you as much as you allow me, and I'll support you in any way that I can. I love you."
Isa nodded, and she was crying again. So was I, for that matter. We sat there for a very long time, holding each other, saying nothing.
* *
I woke and discovered Isa sleeping on my chest. We'd fallen asleep with me holding her on my bed, and I suppose we'd shifted around until we were both comfortable. The conversation had exhausted both of us. It made sense for it to wear her out, but I didn't understand why I found it so draining on my end. Not at first.
I hadn't been there. That's what it came down to. I could have done...something. Maybe in his demented state, Father would have killed me or had me killed, or perhaps I'd have killed him, but maybe, just maybe, I could have prevented so much suffering. I could have spared Rachel and Isa and Mother, and God only knew how many. I didn't. I'd leftover my conscience, and now it ached more than it ever had.
I'd told myself that I was a good person. That I wasn't genuinely selfish, but I knew that was false now. I'd left and made my own way, with pride and a head start that my wealthy family had gotten me. I began with advantages and called myself self-made. I abandoned the people I loved for my own freedom. I formed few connections and was bitter towards those that I left behind. There were valid reasons for my feelings, but I still felt wretched.
I couldn't change the past. I looked down at Isa, sleeping peacefully, hair a mess, eyeshadow and makeup smeared from the tears. I gently caressed her back and she made a small noise and nuzzled into me. I knew that I would never leave her again. I couldn't. No matter what happened or didn't happen between us, she was the missing part of me. I would not make the same mistake again.
Things just progressed naturally from there. I didn't intend to make love to her. If I sound defensive, its because I am. I still feel a twinge of guilt. She was very vulnerable at that moment, although, to this day, she insists that it was what she desperately needed.
Her eyes fluttered awake then, and the first thing she saw was me seeing her. I don't know how I looked, but she obviously liked what she saw. She pushed herself up on my chest, leaned forward, and kissed me. That was all it took. There were no more barriers between us.
I returned the kiss, and found my hand in her hair, holding her, keeping her there that I might devour her. How had I ever mistaken her for the character of Tonya? She was more mature, more beautiful than she had been when we were younger, but she was still Isa.
"My Isa," I muttered without thinking.
"Yours," she responded without a moment's hesitation, "forever."
Then I had my hands on her ass and was pulling her body up mine. She giggled as she slid over my hard cock. For just a moment, we were dumb and eighteen again and deeply in love. There wasn't a cloud in our sky, and things were all right. They always would be.
I pulled her shirt off, and her breasts fell free. She wore no bra. She leaned back and shimmied out of her pants while I undressed at record speed. In a few moments, our clothes lay crumpled on the floor, and we could finally be together.
Whatever reserve she had at being with me had vanished. That much was obvious. She saw me and saw how I loved her and accepted her. She never should have doubted it, but it was understandable that she would feel that way. Those who damage us often leave such wreckage in our minds.
Our bodies touched, and thought left me. We lay on our sides and kissed for what seemed like hours, our tongues dancing and hands exploring each other. Isa was herself again, her restraint as 'Tonya' long gone. She knew I was hers, and she wanted to make sure that I knew it too. She hooked her leg over mine and then suddenly shifted, so I rolled onto my back, with her straddling me. Her eyes were hungry and intense. I wondered if Sarah had seen this side of her, and I expected that she had.
I felt Isa's breasts relentlessly. She'd filled out so much since we parted, and she was so beautiful. She moaned and smirked, knowing that I was trying to distract her with arousal. She was not to be delayed, however. She steadied herself with one hand on my chest, nails digging into my pectorals just as she knew I liked it. She rose up on her knees and held my cock firmly, then sat down on it smoothly and quickly. Her need must have been great because I could hear the mix of pleasure and pain in her deep moan.
"Fuck," I said involuntarily. Isa was amazingly tight, and she gripped me hard as we joined. She smiled down at me, pleased at the power she had over me. Then she started riding me, sliding up and down my cock, pumping me. When I got used to that she stopped that motion and began to roll her hips forward and backward. I groaned and she laughed. "Are...are you trying to make me cum...as fast as you can?"
"What if I was? What if I wanted to get my brother off, first? Wouldn't that just mean I was a good sister?"
"Fuck, no...I mean yes...but...I want...I need to feel you cum on my cock..." In the age-old struggle that was more of a dance between us, she held the power tonight, and I was okay with it. I just wanted her to be happy.
"I want to, but...I need to make you cum more. It's all right if I don't ...fuuuuck ...that's not fair, Reuben."
I'd interrupted her with my hand, sliding it over the hood of her clit gently, then ever so softly applying my thumb directly to her most sensitive spot. I knew that it was exactly how she liked it because she'd taught me how.
"No, it isn't...but I'll do anything to make my sister cum. You know that. You know how far I'll go."
Isa's eyes met mine, and she picked up the pace. Her face grew more flushed, and I felt a wave of warmth roll over my cock. So she remembered as well as I did.
"You were so stupid," Isa said, but with a tone of adoration, "the amount you risked to turn me on. The number of times you showed up in my room just when I needed you. I took you for granted. Not again."
"God, Isa, you feel so good. I missed you. I missed you so fucking much."
"How much?"
"Nothing has ever been the same without you. Nothing..."
I was letting my emotions get the better of me, I was aroused and in love and sad all at once. She felt it. She had asked playfully but sensed that she'd touched on something much more profound.
We were both close.
"Yes...yes. We're going to be all right, and we're going to be together, and it's going to be good. We can make it good...we can..."
"Oh, fuck. Reuben... I'm cumming, baby. Cum in me, please. Please fill me. Please give me everything...I want your baby, Reuben. I want it so bad."
Isa had never said anything like that to me, and it had a profound effect on me. I let myself go. I felt my cock pulse seed inside of her, over and over. She cried out, as loud as she had shouted before, but this time, it was a greeting. A welcoming of her brother's cum. I wanted to give her a child as badly as she wanted me to. I wanted nothing more than to make her happy.
Isa arched her back, and I moved my hands to her waist, holding her in place as she almost fell backward. She was sobbing now, the orgasm taking her ruthlessly. After a moment, she leaned forward and kissed me, her arms around my neck and her hands running through my hair. I was still inside her, miraculously still hard, although I had no more seed to grant her.
"This is what I want," Isa said, finally stopping the kiss, panting, "now and forever. You and Rachel love each other and I made peace with that a long time ago. Sarah and I love each other too. You have something with her, too, different than me. It brings us closer, and I welcome it. I want these things to stay, but I want you too. I want all of you, and I want you to promise me that you're mine, too. That we belong to each other. I won't accept anything else."
"Yes. I love you. I want all of that. I'm yours."
"I love you too, Reuben. I'm yours too, love. Completely."
* *
I woke to a sharp knocking at my door. I recognized it in the depths of my mind, but I couldn't place it. I didn't panic, though. How could I? Everything was right with the world. I was sexually satisfied beyond my wildest desires, my nude sister was in my arms, beautiful as ever, and a simple sheet lay over us, covering virtually nothing at all.
My visitor, being who she was, didn't wait to hear a response before she came in. I suppose having seen me naked, she felt entitled to entering.
"Reuben," Sarah said, not looking up from her tablet, "Rachel and I are scheduled to meet with Isa this morning, but she's not up, and she's not in her room. Do you know where she might be?"
Sarah was dressed for a busy day. Professional white blouse, tight black pencil skirt, high heels, her typical choker, and lovely glasses completed the ensemble. Her short platinum blonde hair was up in a stylish boyish mess. She looked beautiful that morning.
Isa answered her inquiries with a soft laugh. Sarah looked up for the first time and saw us laying there, intertwined. For a moment, I worried that she would be upset or even jealous, though that wasn't generally her nature. Instead, her face turned the brightest red that I had ever seen and her mouth dropped open comically. I couldn't do anything but look at my sister, and soon both of us were laughing. Meanwhile, Sarah started to sputter.
"Oh my god, I am so sorry...I mean... I'm not sorry that you're together...I just...oh god this is so hot...I mean private! Private! I'm sorry, I'll wait for outside or...uh...down the hall or in another room or..."
Isa mercifully answered. I probably would have let her carry on for a while longer. Sarah was adorable when she was embarrassed.
"Wait here, Sarah. I'll get dressed, then we can have our meeting. I'm famished, in any case. Do you want to join us in a bit, Reuben? Or did I wear you out too much?"
Isa's old teasing tone was back, not cold, but playful.
"I'll be up in a minute," I said, playfully smacking my sister's gorgeous ass. Isa yelped, but it wasn't an unhappy noise. Sarah made a noise between a whimper and a moan. Isa turned back to me then and smiled wickedly.
"You do know what this means, dearest brother?"
"No," I said, honestly.
"Why it means that soon, both of us will have to put Sarah through her paces. Together."
Then both Isa and I turned to look at our mutual lover with smiles that must have appeared to her to be something like predatory cats who've just discovered an injured bird. Without a word, she bit her lip and backed into the wall. The poor dear looked torn between wanting to run away or simply tear her clothes off and submit right there. I would have preferred the latter, but sadly Isa got dressed swiftly, kissed me once, gently, on the lips, and then took Sarah's arm and led her out. I dressed quickly, deciding that I might shower later.
Breakfast with all of the women I loved was not a bad way to start the day after all.
* * *
Burn
* * *
The endgame started a few days later.
"Wake up," Isa said, nudging me gently on the arm, "I think I know who's trying to kill us."
I opened my eyes. It was still fully dark outside, although it was late fall, so that was to be expected. It was still far earlier than I had anticipated rising. I looked over at my sister, blearily. I had fallen asleep beside her hours earlier, but now she was dressed, albeit in one of my t-shirts and loose pants.
"I know it's four in the morning, and I'm sorry," Isa said, "but I couldn't sleep after we...you know...and I remembered something Mom told me right after dad died."
I sat up and pulled the sheet off me, letting the fresh air wake me up. I was, however, still naked. Amusingly, Isa seemed to lose her train of thought as she looked at me. Her hand drifted over to my leg.
"Isa, my eyes are up here. I swear, is that all you ever think of?"
Shocked, my sister looked at me, then blushed, then noticed my slight smile. Then she hit me on the leg, gently as I chuckled.
"Jerk. I'm serious. I can't help it that you're so goddamned sexy right now. Anyway, I remembered something Mom told me. For all the bad things he did, Father tried to get me ready to take control of our operations. He left a lot out, though, things that I think he would have left to you. I tried to get Mom to open up about it, but she wouldn't. Finally, though, she admitted that there was something that I needed to know."
"And that was?"
"Blackmail. We have tons of it."
"I suppose that I'm not surprised. It does seem like something our family would do."
"Right, but he had so much of it. Some, the less important stuff, is digital. The important stuff is on paper. Some of it is in safety deposit boxes. The really juicy stuff might have backups, but we keep the originals here, in a safe."
I sat up.
"You have my attention. Are you saying that you think it might be one of these people that we have dirt on?"
"I'm saying that it is this specific person. I think. I.I'll spare you the details. I didn't have to watch them; thankfully, they merely had names and basic descriptions of the...acts...involved. Some of them are disgusting. I looked at the names, and one of them looked familiar. Look!"
Isa was excited like a little girl who'd solved a difficult riddle. I looked.
"Vincent Trevante," I said, the name clicking into place, "the jerk from the Brigantine."
"The very same," Isa said, sitting back triumphantly before continuing, "apparently our father and his had conflicted over the purchase of a tech company. Our father won, being the nastiest, by getting the dirt on his opposition's son. We have video of Vincent with...well they're not more than girls, and they most certainly are not of legal age. I got the impression that Father purchased the film from someone else, so at least he didn't have the evidence recorded."
"God. That's ...terrible. And something that might cause Vincent to act against us. Why now, I wonder?"
"I don't know," Isa said, sighing, "And that worries me. I think it has something to do with you coming home, but honestly, I can't place it."
"Well, if anyone can figure it out, it will be you, Isa. Do you think that there's any chance we can help the girls?"
Isa shook her head.
"I don't think so. I'm having Rachel run
what info we have, but I honestly think that there's too little on them, and it's unlikely that they will be in any of our systems. I love you for thinking of that, though. Perhaps we can find a way to turn this evidence over to the authorities."
"Well. I suppose we have a target now. We should be careful. If we strike, we have to be sure that we only hurt those who are responsible. After they tried to kill you and Sarah, I don't like the idea of waiting, but there's no doubt that Vincent is in hiding. It's going to take time to track him down."
"Until then, we have to try and stay safe. I won't hide, though. You know that."
I did. I wished that I could have convinced her to hunker down for a few months. Still, she was convinced that it would be bad for the business if we simply disappeared after all that had happened, or worse might make us look weak to other carnivores. Families or organizations like ours who might take an opportunity to prey on us, if we appeared sickly.
So, we waited. It didn't take long for things to escalate.
* *
Ironically, I was outside talking to Rachel about security preparations when it happened. She had things well in hand, thankfully. What happened was bad enough, but when I think of how it could have been if she hadn't been drilling our security staff daily, I get chills.
There was a loud thump, like thunder that was very close, and I felt odd pressure in my ears. I was confused and actually looked up to see if the weather had changed. Rachel was way ahead of me. I was still in shock as she started sprinting towards the noise. I followed seconds later.
I saw smoke coming from the gate, but I couldn't see it over the outbuildings and guest houses. I told myself that it wouldn't be Isa. She was coming back from a brief trip today, it was true, but it was the middle of the morning. We had deliveries, employees were coming to work, and various people were always coming and going. It was unlikely that it was her.
Naturally, I was wrong.
