August 2004 β Summer Holiday
Β© JGUK2004
The Tangled Web is a story spanning several years and is based on the complicated lives of Sara and Sam, lovers who are brother and sister, and those they live with. Set in the English Midlands, the tale is told through a series of interlocking short stories. Although designed to be read in sequence, I have tried to make each chapter stand as a complete and satisfying story in itself.
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Sam stood in the cool shade of the doorway of the bright, white painted villa. He looked across the hot, sun-drenched patio towards the swimming pool, sipping his cold beer slowly, feeling the icy liquid cool his mouth, throat and chest as he watched his sister Sara lying, stretched out motionless, face down in the hot sun. Her glossy brown hair was swept back into a pony tail which nestled between her shoulder blades. Her skin glistened with sun oil and tiny droplets of perspiration.
A thick, white beach towel spread out over the sun bed's wooden slats highlighted the bronzed skin of her long, slim legs. The straps of her small, dark blue bikini top were undone and hung down over the sides of the bed to let her long, smooth back soak in the sun's warming rays. The tiny triangle of cloth that passed for her bikini bottoms was pulled up between her taut cheeks, allowing her firm, slim buttocks to darken beautifully.
After seven years as lovers, Sam still found her totally irresistible. And now that they were properly engaged, their closeness had reached new depths of understanding.
Despite her 29 years and bearing two children β his children - Sara was still the most beautiful, most desirable girl Sam had ever encountered. The fact that she herself did not realise this only made her all the more desirable in his eyes.
He let out a low whistle and reluctantly turned into the coolness of the kitchen.
This holiday in Spain, almost seven years since the magical evening when their affair had begun, had been simply wonderful. Their parents, on holiday with them, were fully aware of how exhausting young children can be, and had gone out of her way to make it enjoyable and relaxing for them both.
Sara and the twins, Simon and Samantha β children she and Sam had secretly but deliberately conceived β had lived with Sam permanently since Sarah's separation from her boyfriend David. The two lovers occupied separate bedrooms for appearances' sake but seldom slept apart.
The twins, like all twins, were very demanding, vying for their parents' attention all the time, and had been taken away and entertained by their Grandparents for at least half of every day since they had arrived in the villa ten days ago. Today they were spending the whole afternoon at the nearby port, looking at the millionaires' yachts and searching for souvenirs at the market.
This left the two lovers alone in the house.
Their parents continued to be worried by the fact that Sam still hadn't had a girlfriend since his wife Lynn had left him nearly two years before. Sarah had been detailed by her father to try and find out what was on his mind and to try and take him out of himself β perhaps to a club or bar so he could meet girls his age.
Sarah had agreed through clenched teeth. She had very different plans for her tall, dark, slim and athletic brother that day.
Sam returned to the doorway with two long, cool glasses in his hands, ice clinking temptingly against their rims. To his delight, Sarah had turned onto her back to face the hot sun. Her deep brown eyes were protected by slim, mirror tinted sunglasses; her bikini top abandoned to allow her small, firm breasts to absorb the full impact of the early afternoon sun. Beads of sweat had formed between her breasts and, as Sam watched, they began to merge and run over the soft pale skin of their sides and down towards her smooth armpits.
Sam stopped for a moment as the single cloud in the sky crossed the sun, briefly casting a shadow over the pool and over Sara's still body. With it came a light, fragrant breeze which wafted over the surface of the pool. Sam watched in amusement as Sara's breasts firmed and her nipples hardened at the shock of its sudden coolness.
Shivering slightly, Sara raised her head from the bed and swung her knees round until her feet touched the hot tiles alongside the sun bed. She stood quickly up, wrapped the fluffy white towel around her bare breasts and, scooping her bikini top in her left hand, walked slowly towards the house and the doorway in which Sam was standing.
The brightness of the sun and the depth of shadow in the house had prevented her seeing her brother as he watched, but as she approached the house she caught sight of him waiting in the deep shadow. She smiled broadly.
"How long have you been there?" She asked playfully.
"Long enough!"
"Long enough for what?" She pressed him, coquettishly.
"Long enough to see how shameless you are!"
Sara took the cold glass of sparkling water from him and sipped it, staring straight into Sam's eyes. Her own eyes glistened behind her sunglasses and Sam could feel the heat of her body radiating towards him. She raised her lips from the glass and he quickly covered them with his own. Sara immediately responded; her soft, active tongue slipping between his lips and dancing over his straight white teeth before diving deep into his mouth. Sam pulled her body into his and wrapped his strong arms around the hot, slippery skin of her brown shoulders. Their tongues sought each other and writhed together as their passions rose and Sara's white towel fell to the floor.
Sam's head was filled with the intoxicating aroma of sun cream and swimming pools. Sara pressed her soft belly against his flat stomach and her breasts against his muscular chest. Her hot skin made his flesh tingle from his knees to his neck.
Sam felt Sara's free hand cup his tight scrotum and his almost painful erection through his damp swimming shorts in the most obvious, most welcome most open invitation possible. His fingers slid slowly down her smooth, hot sides to reach the thin tight straps of her bikini bottoms. He pulled until the bows gave way and the tiny scrap of blue cloth fell to the floor beneath them.
They parted for a second, then Sara took Sam's hand in hers and, entirely naked, led him silently to the bedroom.
Back in England, David tried to relax as he lay back in on the leather couch in his psychiatrist's consulting room. He closed his eyes and listened to the soft female voice as she spoke to him softly and reassuringly.
"David, believe me it's not at all unusual for victim's of a trauma such as yours to have recurring nightmares. I'm afraid in my experience they can last for years β some unfortunate victims are never free of them β but in most cases they fade away eventually.
"It's also quite normal for you to have difficulty distinguishing between fictitious nightmares and actual memories of things that really happened."
David looked uncomfortable.
"How can I ever know what's real and what's just my imagination, then?" He asked.
"Well, we can help work it out." The young doctor replied. "For example, we know that the truck actually struck you in the back. You never really saw it at all. So we can be certain that this particular image is imaginary. It's quite likely that the other visions are imaginary too, but not completely certain."
"It just seems so real." He responded. "I wish I could be sure."