Dangerous Illusions

Chapter 5

"It's not as bad for me. Adam and I are...different sorts of animals. Under the skin." She licked up and down him. "Adam thinks the saint will help. I don't really know...but you're right, I should go along anyway. We're family. And I'm sure it'll be fun."

Inus chuckled. "What a mysterious lot you all are. And there are more like you? I think I'd like to meet the entire clan."

"All right, but you can't f**k Kieran, he doesn't go that way. Did you f**k Adam?" She teased one of his balls with her tongue, then the other, then licked up to the base of the shaft and around it. "He has a wife; her name's Natalia. But I always figured he didn't really like women that way. He never talks about it, though."

"If I had, I'm sure he wouldn't want me to talk about it either."

With practiced assurance Briony popped the head of his c**k into her mouth and slid down it while her tongue slithered along the sides. Wrapping her mouth as tight around him as she could she slurped all the way up and then down again, squeezing his shaft with the rippling cushion of her lips. While this happened she traced a line on the backs of his thighs with her fingernails, tickling the delicate hairs there and letting the pulse of his blood fill her mouth.

"What about you?" he said. "Is there anyone back home?"

She slid him out again, making a little popping sound when the head left her mouth. "I was going around New Zealand with Saint Cecilia's Bloody Heart. That's a band. The drummer's my boyfriend, mostly. We might be broken up now but I'm not really sure. Does it matter?"

Pleased with the way her spit made the tip of his c**k gleam she licked it again, swirling her tongue around the tip and flicking the opening before flipping over onto all fours and wiggling her hips. She grabbed the headboard and grunted as he pushed into her from behind; he was not the most deft and refined of lovers when it came to the big finish. Still, the steady, reliable rhythm of his still-wet c**k pumping in and out of her and the added force of his hands grabbing her shoulders and pulling her onto him sent a tight quiver through her insides, and when he came it was a hot squirt deep inside that made him flag only for a few seconds before picking up the pace again. By the end she was at least bruised in the right places.

The air in the room felt sticky, so they moved to the shower, Briony stripping off her stockings and letting the hot water run over her while Inus' large hands soaped her body, taking particular time cupping and squeezing her breasts.

"Let's see, what else is there to say about us? Kieran is some kind of contractor out in San Luis Obispo; restores old buildings, I think. And you know Adam, he does investing with the family money, I think in St. Petersburg now. I'm not sure what else to tell you. None of us talk that much."

She turned, slipping her arms around his waste and squeezing his ass with both hands while she kissed him, tasting the wine on his breath. She caught a glimpse of herself in the rapidly fogging mirror and frowned. "Oh God, what time is it?"

"It must be just past midnight," he said, bending to kiss her neck.

"That means it's Valentine's Day." She watched her reflection fog over. "I think this is going to be one of those very bad years..."

***

"Can I take the blindfold off yet?" Briony said.

Audrey giggled. "We're not supposed to, but I already did."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

More giggling. "Because it was funnier this way."

Briony tsked and took the blindfold off, but outside the car windows it was so dark she could hardly see anything anyway. "Is this a park?"

"It's a cemetery," said Audrey. "Well sort of. Just sit back and relax." She patted Briony on the knee. They sat side by side in a town car with a mute driver ferrying them to whatever mysterious locale Inus had set up for the Valentine's Day party. Kieran and Adam were in a separate car, and Briony had ended up in the leftover vehicle with Audrey, a chipper 20-something Greek girl also on the guest list. "Inus sets us up some place new every year."

"You've done this before?"

"Oh yes," Audrey nodded several times. "I go to lots of Inus' parties because he does work for my father and because he always picks the best spots for them. We had a Christmas party in the Basilica of St. Paul a few months ago. I sucked his c**k in front of the Holy Door."

"How'd he arrange that?"

"He asked me to."

"I meant about the cathedral."

"Well, getting into these things costs so much because he has to pay off a lot of people, including the Vatican police. Inus says bribing people is much harder than you think: You have to be the kind of person people want to accept a bribe from. It's really amazing what he can do."

"I guess it is. I think I've decided I don't like him though,"

"Why?"

"I usually stop liking someone after I sleep with them. It's my nature." Briony peered out the window. "It's getting so late..."

"You can't have a party like this during the day."

"I'm just worried about my brothers. This is a bad day for them."

"Are you all right, dear? You're looking a little flustered."

"Sometimes it's a bad day for me too."

They stopped and the driver helped them out. Another car had expelled three or four other people, including Adam and Kieran, and they all found themselves in a little green grove separated from the street by a stone wall, and there was a metal door set into what looked like the side of a grassy hill—but perhaps not a normal hill? It had an odd shape. Excusing herself from Audrey, Briony made her way over to her brothers.

"Have you met Audrey?" she said. "Her father is some kind of broker in Santorini. I think—Oh my God, Kieran, are you all right?"

He was sweating and red-faced, and he seemed ready to double over in pain. As she watched he trembled like the last leaf on a tree and Adam patted him on the back over and over, telling him to breathe.

"Jesus, he's got it bad this time," Briony said, dropping down to look him in the eyes. "Kieran, do you need us to take you away?"

"No," he managed to say.

"You just have to keep it together for another hour," Adam said. "Can you do that? We're all holding it back. It's just as bad for everyone."

Kiernan nodded, but he didn't look confident. His eyes were jaundiced. Briony pulled Adam to the side and whispered. "How are you holding up?"

" I can keep it off. We just have to make it through the dinner. Things will be fine then."

"Adam, I don't know if this is a good idea, especially not with how bad Kieran is. Inus is kind of a creep—"

"You didn't think so last night."

"I'm allowed to change my mind. How is this party really going to help us?"

"If we leave now we'll never get this close to the saint again. We've already come this far, and...I really think everything will be all right. I do. But I can't do this alone."

Briony sighed, but she squeezed his hand back. "Then we'll do it together. I just hope it's worth it. There's going to be a lot of people around..."

The driver unlocked the door in the hill with an old, heavy key and indicated that they should all get in and out of sight as quickly as they could. Inside was a cave-like anteroom of limestone walls and uneven tiles in a clay floor. The roof was low and a draft came up from below. Each of them held a candle and in the flickering yellow light of it Briony saw Audrey wink at her. They formed a procession down the earthen steps and the dark, narrow tunnels yawned open below them. Something like shelves were dug into the walls and Briony's heart jumped up when she recognized the empty sockets of a skull staring out at her. It's a catacomb, she realized.

Kieran made a sound like a whimper. Come on big brother, keep it together, she thought. Audrey tittered at the ancient bones. "You'll find the basilica more comfortable than this," the driver said. "Just ahead."

A draft made the candles flutter out; Audrey screamed and then laughed and in the dark grabbed Briony's hand and Briony took her arm, leading her on. There was light up ahead and as they turned the corner and passed through the portico and into the nave the room did indeed broaden and the roof rose and the air grew artificially warm. Briony saw that lights and heaters had been smuggled in, and expensive rugs laid on the floor, and incense burned to chase off the must of the crypt, and in the center of the tomb was a long table set with glassware and silver and a half dozen waiters standing by. Inus' white teeth almost glowed as he smiled.