Maelstrom Ch. 02

"Sure, that would be nice," Zach murmured before taking a bite of the toast in a desperate attempt to distract himself. He chewed it methodically and waited for Meg to respond.

"I have a date with Danny," she said coldly without looking at him. "I invited him over to watch a DVD."

Zach swallowed the toast with difficulty. The thought of her spending time with 'Danny' made him feel sick, despite the knowledge that he had no right to feel that way. He was sick when all was said and done.

"Danny?" Sylvie repeated. "Have I met him?"

"Yeah, he's Sarah's cousin - the one who's studying Engineering at Uni."

"Oh I remember, nice lad, good looking."

"Very good looking," confirmed Meg before shooting a glance at Zach which clearly said, better looking than you.

"Oh well, maybe you two can do something another evening."

"Sure, I'll check my rota at work," agreed Zach as he pushed the plate of toast away. There was no way he could stomach another morsel.

"I so can't wait." Meg smiled sweetly and Sylvie looked happy.

Zach tried to smile too, but his mouth wouldn't obey and it became more of a grimace.

* * *

Before Sylvie dashed out of the house that evening, she pulled Zach to one side and said, "Unless you have plans, can you stay in and keep an eye on things?"

She smiled apologetically and Zach could do nothing but nod encouragingly. He had had no intention of spending his evening listening to Meg and Danny whisper sweet nothings to each other, but now it looked like he was stuck playing big brother/babysitter.

"Thanks," Sylvie said gratefully. "I know she's not a kid or anything, but this Danny is four years older and I would hate for him to lead her astray if you know what I mean."

Zach stared at her in disbelief. Did she have no idea what her daughter was like? Meg was far more likely to be leading Danny astray, never mind the other way around! It was all he could do not to burst out laughing, but he smothered the thought and simply nodded again.

"Sure, no problem," he said. "I'll use the time to check out rental stuff on the internet if that's okay."

"You can stay here as long as you like," she reminded him gently.

"Yeah, I know, it's just that I would like my own space." And seeing Meg every day is driving me insane.

"Well it's up to you." She smiled a little sadly before. "I'll be back about eleven," she said before she left.

There was no sign of Meg, so Zach disappeared into the study and turned the computer on. He closed the door and set his mind on searching for somewhere else to live.

* * *

He finally gave up around nine. There were loads of places, just hardly any he could afford. The piece of paper he shoved into his pocket listed three potential bed sits. Tomorrow he would ring the numbers and hopefully one would work out. If not, he was going to have to stiffen his resolve a while longer.

When he walked through the hallway, heading for the kitchen, the living room was ajar and he heard the muted volume of the television. Unable to resist, he paused in the doorway and peeked in to see if Danny had turned up.

In the light from the small lamp on the table, he could see a tall bloke half lying across the sofa with Meg sitting rather stiffly beside him. To say she was supposedly dating this guy, she didn't look too interested. This instantly cheered Zach up, although he preferred not to question why that was the case.

Meg must have sensed him watching for she abruptly turned around and saw him on the threshold of the room. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Nothing," he replied vaguely, annoyed that she had caught him staring.

She suddenly smiled and Zach instantly tensed up. He was beginning to recognise that evil smile: it indicated she was up to something and he probably wouldn't like it.

"Come and join us," she said sweetly. "The film hasn't been on long and you'll soon pick it up."

"I err..."

"Yeah, mate, we don't mind," Danny called.

Since he couldn't think of a good reason to say no, Zach walked in and took a seat on the chair across from Meg and Danny. He turned his attention to the screen and attempted to make sense of the film.

It only took him a few minutes to realise he had seen it before. It was a decent enough film, however, and he would have watched it again with little complaint, but his attention was distracted by Meg. Now that he was there, she had suddenly warmed up towards Danny, much to his evident surprise.

As Zach tried to focus on the screen, he was horribly aware of Meg shifting position so that she was lying across Danny's lap, her hand stroking his upper thigh suggestively.

Judging by the tense expression on his face, Danny was enjoying her ministrations rather too much. The lad shifted uncomfortably and Zach almost felt sorry for him. Meg slipped her fingers even higher until she was touching the bulge of his crotch. Over and above the soundtrack of the film, even Zach could hear Danny's harsh breathing.

"Shall I fetch us some drinks?" Zach jumped up, unable to bare the sight of Meg touching another bloke.

"That would be good, thanks, bro."

Zach could hear the sarcasm in her voice, but he chose to ignore it. "What would you like?" he asked solicitously.

"Ooh, let me think..." she said as she arched her back and pushed her tits out.

Zach resolutely watched the action sequence playing on screen and pretended not to notice.

"Coffee?" he suggested.

"That's boring," replied Meg. "Mum has vodka in the freezer – I'll have some of that with lemonade."

Somehow he doubted Sylvie would be too thrilled at Meg drinking vodka, but he couldn't be bothered to argue. "Okay. How about you, Danny?"

"I'll have a beer if there is any," Danny said in a strange voice. He was stroking Meg's neck, edging ever closed to the swell of her breasts and Zach felt like killing him.

"I'll have a look." Before he committed any violence, Zach left them alone and headed out into the welcome cold of the garage where the freezer was located.

Meg was right – there was a small bottle of vodka in the bottom rack. He removed it and briefly touched it to the hot skin of his face. He actually felt like shoving it down his trousers in an attempt to quell the raging hard-on he had, but common sense prevailed.

Instead he took the ice cold bottle into the kitchen and added a tiny measure to a glass before topping it up with a large amount of lemonade. Allowing Meg to get drunk was a terrible idea and if she thought he was going to let that happen, then she was mistaken.

There were some tins of beer in the fridge and Zach grabbed a four pack for Danny and himself. He might not want Meg to drink too much, but there was no reason why he couldn't. If nothing else, it might enable him to sleep for the first night in ages. Tucking the cans under one arm, he picked up the glass and headed back through to the living room.

* * *

Danny's hands were groping her tits with all the finesse of a gorilla and under different circumstances she would have slapped him. But Meg wanted Zach to see them when he returned from the kitchen, so she responded enthusiastically to Danny's clumsy attempts at seduction.

It wasn't his fault exactly. If Zach hadn't appeared in the room, Meg would have kept him at arms length all evening. She wasn't even sure why she had invited him really. Although their paths had crossed a few times over the years, Meg wasn't all that interested in Danny. He was a little insipid for her tastes; boring if truth be told.

He had been rather surprised when she had called him that morning and hurriedly invited him round to watch a film.

"Err, yeah...I'd love to!" he had blurted eagerly.

"Great, we can have some...fun," she'd promised huskily, "My mum's off out so we should have the house to ourselves..." He dropped the phone at that point and she had to shove her fist in her mouth to smother her laughter.

Meg knew from Sarah that he was seeing some girl at university, but she also aware that he had he had always had a serious crush on her. Ever since Sarah had found some photos of Meg in a bikini, hidden in Danny's journal, the two of them had teased him mercilessly.

Poor lad, she thought gleefully as she squeezed his cock through his jeans. He has no idea he's being used.

Trying to make Zach jealous had not been a conscious decision exactly, but she had to admit that his rejection of her had hurt a great deal. As much as she knew it was wrong to want him, she ached for his touch, and the more she tried to analyse it, the more her head hurt. It was a horrible situation and it was all her mother's fault. So if she could score a few points, then so much the better. See how he liked being rejected.

Although the film was still on, Danny seemed to have forgotten all about it; he was more interested in trying to slide his hands inside Meg's bra. He also appeared to have forgotten that Zach was still around, allegedly fetching drinks, although he had been ages and Meg was beginning to wonder if he had disappeared upstairs instead.

"God you've got great tits," Danny groaned when he finally found his target.

Meg rubbed her pelvis against his erection and was rewarded with another groan. "And you've got a nice, hard, cock," she commented teasingly, arching her body towards Danny's mouth as he kissed her collar bone.

"Oh Meg, I want you so badly," Danny confirmed.

Meg hid her smile in his neck. Like I don't know that?

His fingers tweaked her nipple and she was surprised to find that she was actually being slightly turned on. Just for a moment, she pictured Zach's face if he walked in now and saw Danny playing with her tits, and a surge of heat flooded her pussy.

On screen a car chase was in full throttle and the sound of explosions partially masked Meg's encouraging moans as Danny pulled the soft cup of her bra down to expose her nipple. He took the hard nub in his mouth and bit her in his efforts to suck, causing Meg to wince slightly. His other hand burrowed inside the crotch of her knickers and probed about somewhat ineffectually.

"Oh yeah, that's good," lied Meg, silently wondering if Danny's poor girlfriend ever let him near her. Given his obvious inexperience, it seemed unlikely.

"Get your fucking hands off my sister!"

Danny nearly leaped off the sofa in shock at Zach's furious outburst. Meg raised her eyes innocently, recoiling instantly at the angry expression on Zach's face. He looked like he wanted to murder somebody and for a heart stopping moment Meg wondered if she had pushed him too far.

"I'm...I'm...sorry!" Danny was babbling like an idiot as he tried to retrieve his hand from between Meg's thighs.

Ignoring Meg, Zach grabbed Danny's shirt and yanked him to his feet. Although Danny was the taller one, he still seemed scared to death. Hardly surprising, thought Meg, given the homicidal way my brother is behaving.

"She's only eighteen, you bastard!" Zach shoved him against the wall and several ornaments rattled ominously. One hand slid around his throat. "Get out of here now and if you ever lay another finger on her again, I'll kill you." Despite the calm way Zach made his threat, Meg saw the fear written all over Danny's face. She knew exactly how he felt – she was scared too...and more than a little bit aroused.

* * *

Zach was not a violent person, but he knew how to handle himself. When he had walked back into the living room and seen Danny's hands and mouth all over Meg's body, he had lost it completely and the only thought in his head had been to drag the bastard off Meg.

If Danny had attempted to fight back, Zach would have taken great satisfaction in pummelling him into a bloody pulp. Jealousy at seeing another man with Meg had cut through him like a serrated blade and the ensuing pain was excruciating. He just wanted to kill Danny. Knowing that Meg was still lying there with a triumphant expression on her lovely face only served to exacerbate the rage inside.

When he came back into the living room after forcefully ejecting Danny, the closing credits were rolling on the film and Meg was languidly sprawled out, drinking the vodka he had so helpfully fetched her.

"Satisfied now?" she said scornfully as she surveyed him through thick lashes.

Her top was still hanging off one shoulder and he could see the edge of her nipple. The sensual picture she made did nothing to calm him down.

"Pull your clothes back together," he snapped. Picking up a can of beer, he opened it and knocked back a third of the foamy liquid. He needed something to take the edge of his temper. Unfortunately, they both knew beer wasn't the something he really wanted.

"Anyone would think you were jealous of him," she taunted as she stood, still drinking the vodka and smirking.

"I'm your brother, so let's not go there," he reminded her. But he couldn't walk away, even though he knew he should.

"You were jealous, weren't you?" She stared at him and he felt his eyes drawn to her lips. Cherry red and moist...

She stepped into his space and her arms slipped around his neck. Then he felt her breath on his cheek, warm and vodka scented. "Go on, admit it," she whispered softly.

"Yes," he sighed. The anger seeped out of him slowly, only to be replaced with the crushing knowledge that he was doomed forever to want a girl he couldn't have.

Then she began to laugh and he pushed her away in disbelief. "It's all a game to you, isn't it?" he said in disgust.

After knocking back the rest of the vodka, she dropped the empty glass on the carpet. "I can't help it if I'm a horny little slut," she said. Then she yanked her top off over her head and stared at him provocatively. "But no, let's not forget that you're my brother and you don't want me, so I'll just have to amuse myself now you've thrown Danny out."

Zach watched, helplessly, as she hitched her skirt up higher and higher, until he could see the black crotch of her knickers. He knew damned well she was teasing him, but he was powerless to stop her.

"Don't you like what you see?" she asked in a low, husky voice. Her breasts swayed slightly as she leaned forward and he felt his cock straining against the zipper of his jeans.

When she slid a scarlet tipped finger inside her knickers, reason and common sense deserted him as raging desire blocked every last thought from his fevered brain. He picked her up easily and threw her on to the sofa, kissing her until they were both breathless.

"Please," she moaned as he pulled her bra down and found her breasts with his hungry mouth. "Please...I need you..."

Her hands grappled with his jeans and eventually made contact with his cock. "Just fuck me," she pleaded, rocking her body against his desperately.

Before he could really think it through, he was inside her, enveloped in moist heat and moving towards a crashing climax. Her hands clutched at his back, nails digging in painfully as she cried out her pleasure. He felt her body tightening around his cock and he thrust harder.

"Oh Meg," he gasped as his orgasm blasted over him. Her mouth found his and they kissed. It was only then that he tasted salt and realised she was crying.

The weight of what they had done threatened to crush him. It was like he was spiralling down into a black vortex of guilt and shame and there was no way out. He had known what would happen if he came here, but he had stupidly thought he was strong enough to resist.

How wrong he was.

"Meg, I'm..."he began to say, but they both jumped when a car pulled up outside.

Meg wrenched her body away from him, averting her tear-streaked face. She was gone before he had a chance to catch his breath. When the a key turned in the front door, Zach suddenly realised how bad it would look if Sylvie walked in the living room and saw the state of him. He hurriedly pulled his jeans together and grabbed a can.

"Have a nice evening?" Sylvie asked when she came in and found him watching television.

"Yeah, it was okay," he managed to say without choking.

"Did Meg behave herself?"

That gave Zach pause for thought. He nodded and took a huge gulp of beer.

Sylvie glanced at him curiously and eyed the empty glass sitting on the table. "Has she gone to bed already?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Danny left a while ago." Zach wished she would leave him alone. This line of questioning was making him feel like a bug under a magnifying glass.

"Okay, well I'm tired so I'm off to bed. Make sure you switch the lights off before you come up."

Zach smiled. "Sure, I won't be long myself." I just need to have a few more beers to help me sleep first,he added silently.

He sank back against the cushions after Sylvie left him and closed his eyes. It now looked like finding somewhere to live was not something he could afford to ignore - whatever Sylvie might want him to do. It wasn't fair on Meg to put them both in such an untenable position. The more time they were forced to spend together, the harder it was becoming. Only with distance between them could they ever hope to move past this.

Despite the years he had spent yearning for a family, Zach wished for the first time he had never gone searching for his mother. The pain that had been caused in the process was almost too intense to bear.

Eventually the clock reminded him it was gone three in the morning and Zach reluctantly turned the television and lights off before heading to bed. He had had a few cans of beer, but he still felt wired and jumpy and he knew that sleep was unlikely to come easily.

Meg's bedroom door was firmly closed when he walked past and although he wanted to talk to her, he didn't dare knock. It would be too dangerous and he had no desire to make things any worse than they already were.

Instead he climbed beneath the cool sheets in the guest bed and closed his eyes. As expected, all he could do was think about Meg over and over again. It didn't matter that he had had her but a few hours earlier. He still wanted her again. His body refused to forget the feel of her flesh around his and the taste of her skin. She was a drug and he was an addict.

He turned on to his side and faced the window, watching the shadows flicker across the wall as leaves on a tree outside fluttered in the wind. The sound of faint traffic noise from the main road a mile away wafted intermittently through the open window despite the late hour. It was almost soothing and Zach slowly started to drift off into a restless sleep.

Then his bedroom door opened softly and he froze. It could only be one person. He turned around with a sense of finality to see Meg standing beside the bed like a forlorn ghost.

"Please?" she whispered hesitantly.

He pulled the sheet back with a sigh and she climbed in beside him, curling her body around his. For a while he said nothing. He just listened to her breathing and wondered what on earth he could say to make things right. Then she spoke.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. Her fingers drew small circles in the light sprinkling of hair on his chest.

"You have nothing to be sorry about."

"I shouldn't have done what I did. It was wrong."

He turned over on to his side and stared at her in the darkness. When he rubbed his thumb across her cheek, it was wet.

"It's not your fault all this has happened. It's not anyone's fault really – it's just fate I suppose." He just wished that fate wasn't so twisted.

"I just wish that you weren't my brother," she said finally.

"So do I," he replied bitterly. "So do I."

"Do you?" Her voice was so faint he barely heard it.

"I always wanted a sister," he said almost to himself. "I pictured a cute girl with blonde hair, somebody to look after as she grew older. I never for one second thought I really had a sister and that one day I'd meet her. When that sister turned out to be you, I was devastated. Not because I didn't want you as a sister, but because I care about you in a different way. If I could change things, I would, but I can't."