Ninety Seven
Ash
As the plane landed, Ava pulled us all together. “Here are your passports. Ayden, read this information. Remember you’re not Ayden Blackthorne. You’re Colt Harrison.”
Ayden studied the passport and nodded.
“Don’t worry. I have a great deal of contacts in the here so we should be okay until we get to the pyramids themselves.”
We all stepped from the plane clutching our passports.
Ayden stiffened as I touched his shoulder briefly. “Don’t worry. I’m here, brother.”
Ava shook her long black hair. “Ladies, here wrap these around your hair. It shows respect for the culture. Draws less attention to us.” She handed hijabs to Reese and Amber.
They all wrapped their hair up in the hijab.
“Is this necessary? We’re Americans. They will know that.” Amber asked uncertainly as she tucked her long hair beneath the hijab.
“Shut up and do as I say.” She hissed at us.
As the plane door opened, we walked down a short corridor. The air was stale and dry. The heat of the day was just beginning and the private airport wasn’t air conditioned. Several fans were spinning on high speed in an attempt to cool the airport, but were failing miserably.
Looking around, I could see the sand swirling in the wind. A sandstorm was coming. I felt the hair stand up on the back of my neck as we walked into the airport. I heard Ayden breathing hard next to me.
“Keep calm.” Ava pressed her hand on Ayden’s back.
“Passports, please.” A man in a brown uniform with thick black hair and dark skin held out his hand.
I went first with Amber at my side. Then Ava and Reese passed through with no problems.
Ayden went last.
“Sir, please step to the side.”
My heart nearly stopped as Ayden’s face went stark white. It was what we’d been fearing all along.
Reese bit her lip as she clutched Ava’s hand.
“What’s wrong?” I demanded as the guard shoved Ayden off to the side.
“This isn’t your concern. Please move along.” His thick Arabic accent was difficult to understand.
“The hell it isn’t.”
Ava grabbed my shoulder pinching it hard. “Shut up, Ash. I will deal with this. Go with Amber and Reese outside.” She seethed.
“What are you going to do?”
“Trust me.”
Helplessly, I watched as two burly guards ushered Ayden off down a hallway. I walked over to join Reese and Amber.
Ava slipped behind them. What could she possibly do?
Moments later, Ayden emerged looking relieved with Ava at his side. The two guards were smiling ear to ear. Damn. Whatever she did, she made them quite happy.
“What the fuck did you do?” I whispered to Ava.
She pushed a lock of her dark hair under her hijab. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” She grinned wickedly.
Ayden remained quiet as we all got into the rental car.
Ninety Eight
Ayden
The sands swirled around us making it difficult to see. Our guide, Nephi advised us the storm would make it difficult for us tomorrow on our way to Giza.
“I’m sure we will be fine. I have confidence in you, Nephi.” Ava sat up front with him. She ran her fingers up the length of his leg. He was young and handsome. Nephi grinned at her. His long dark hair was swept back from his face bound in a low ponytail showing a chiseled profile. He was dark skinned and clearly heavily muscled from the tight shirt he wore.
The sand continued to pelt the car. Nephi switched the A/C to recirculate to keep the dust out, but still a fine mist managed its’ way into the car through the tiny cracks in the doors.
“This is awful!” Reese exclaimed. It was nearly noon and the sky was darkened by all the sand. The winds had picked up and sent sand blasting at speeds of over 35 mph.
“Yes. When you get out of the car, be sure to pull your scarves around your faces,” Nephi advised. “Take care to cover your arms and legs. Wear sunglasses if you have them. When the sand moves about this fast, it can feel as though you’re being scrubbed with sandpaper.”
“What about Ash and Ayden?” Reese wondered. We had no scarves.
“Not a problem. I have some extra in the back I can give you.” He winked at Ava. It seemed as though she knew him.
But she’d never met him before, had she?
Ava was a mystery. Like the dirty secret, you hide under the covers at night hoping no one ever finds out the nasty little things you do alone in the dark. She was like that secret. Filthy, furtive, and oh so naughty.
My half-sister.
It must be genetic with us. The Blackthorne family doomed to live our dirty, sordid lives trapped inside of prisons of our own making. Poor, little rich people.
I chuckled as we pulled up to the hotel. It was a grand affair. I wouldn’t have expected anything less from Ash or Ava. They both had a taste for the finer things in life. Me, I would’ve been just as comfortable at a fucking Holiday Inn.
Pushing the door open against the strong winds, Nephi helped the ladies out first. They all pulled their hijabs over their faces to block the dust. Then he gestured for us to get out.
As soon as the sand hit my body, I felt a terrible scratching. The sand was everywhere. I could barely see and my eyes burned intensely.
We all hurried into the hotel.
“Here, you may step inside this area to shake the sand off.” Nephi motioned to an area next to the reception room. The floor was covered in sand already. I stood back amazed as the minute we’d spent walking from the car to the hotel we were covered in sand as though we’d spent a whole day at the beach lying in it.
“Ugh,” Amber groaned shaking the sand from her clothes.
“I hope this is over by tomorrow. I imagine a trip to Giza in all this would be terrible,” Reese noted as she removed the hijab.
“It’ll be fine. The forecast is calling for this to end tonight,” Ava replied smoothing her hair back and taking her suitcase by the handle.
“Please, ladies, I will get that for you.” Nephi took our luggage as he escorted us to the check-in area.
“Is this a trip for business or pleasure?” A friendly looking Egyptian woman smiled at us.
“Both.” Ava grinned back.
“We hope you enjoy your stay.” She handed us the keys to the suites Ash booked.
After we arrived on the top floor, Ash and Amber retreated to their suite. He’d booked two additional suites for Reese and Ava and one for me.
As we stood at the door, Ava waited for Reese to go inside their suite.
“Have a good night, Reese,” I called to her. She looked back at me longingly. I had already told her to meet me later after Ava was asleep. “Good night, Ava.” I turned to walk across the hall to my own suite. Ava’s hand on my shoulder stopped me.
“Not so fast, dear brother. I saw that look you gave Reese. Don’t make me give you another warning. Stay the fuck away from her.” Ava’s fingers dug into my flesh making me wince. For a woman, she was remarkably strong.
“Why is such a big deal to you? Do you still have a thing for her?” I shot back pushing her hand off of my shoulder.
“No, I don’t have a ‘thing’ for her as you so succinctly put it. I’m not fourteen years old. I’m concerned for my friend. She’s been through a lot. Just leave her alone, Ayden. After we find the spiders, you can fuck a dozen whores if you want to. Hell, I’ll even give you the number of one of the hottest girls in the world, Stormy. She’ll melt your face off.” Ava backed away slightly moving in front of her shared suite with Reese as if she were warding me off.
I didn’t feel like fighting with her so I agreed to leave Reese alone.
Of course, I wouldn’t. I was never one to abide by any rules. I supposed my sister and I had that in common.
“Get some rest. Tomorrow will be brutal,” she warned before slipping into her own room
.
With that warning, I felt a chill go up my spine.
Was I ready for this?
As dawn arrived, I awoke to Reese lying next to me. She’d slipped away from Ava in the middle of the night to join me in my suite. The gentle slope of her hips captivated me as I grazed my fingertips against her heated flesh. Her long blonde hair laid against the sheets like silk. My cock throbbed with soreness from last night. The woman was insatiable!
Before I could rouse her with a kiss, a sharp knock was at the door.
“Reese! Ayden! Get up!” a familiar voice insisted.
Rolling over throwing her arm over her head, Reese moaned loudly.
“Ash, give me a few, okay?” I barely had a chance to yank on my jeans before Ash thrust the door open. There he stood dressed in a pair of army green pants and a long sleeved shirt.
Amber was behind him dressed in khaki pants and a long sleeved striped shirt. She was holding a scarf in one hand.
“It’s going to be very hot today. The sandstorm has died down, but you will still need sunglasses and a scarf. Wear long sleeves to protect your arms from the sun,” Ash instructed standing at the door looking impatient.
“Ayden, don’t you have any other pants?” Amber asked looking at me as I held a pair of jeans in my hands.
“What’s wrong with jeans?”
“Ash has an extra pair of pants with him. I’ll go get them.”
“Can you give you give me a minute?” I leaned close to Ash whispering. I was praying that Ava wasn’t up yet.
“That’s why we came by early. I knew you’d likely have company. Didn’t I tell you to stay away from her?” he rasped in a low voice gazing over my shoulder.
I moved to block his view. “Just give me a few. Is Ava up yet?”
“Haven’t seen her.”
Before I could shut the door, Amber came rushing back and tossed me a pair of dark green trousers.
They reminded me of army pants. I shut the door and turned back to Reese.
She quickly pulled a tank top over her ample breasts.
I loved the way she looked sitting there in the tight top her nipples poking up against the thin fabric. Her hair was rumpled giving her a delicious just fucked look.
“We need to hurry before Ava wakes up. Is everything okay with you two? I mean, did I interfere with something? Is that why she doesn’t want us together?” I asked gesturing to the closed door.
Reese rose from the bed. “Not really. Ava and I have known each other since we were kids. I met her at that terrible foster hell we were both living in. I was barely thirteen when she arrived. When she’d decided she’d had enough of being prostituted by our foster parents, she ran off taking me and my sister with her. Ava has been looking after me in one way or another since we were young.”
“But weren’t you two—?”
“—involved? Yes, we were. When I was in college, we met up again. I lived with her and her girlfriend. All three of us were lovers, but I’m not a lesbian if that’s what you mean. I prefer to be with men sexually. Ava and I just have a connection.” Reese fished a pair of khaki trousers out of the backpack she’d brought with her.
“I see. So, what about Ava? I mean, she acts as though you two are a couple now.” I opened the door and grabbed a cup of coffee from the tray the maid left outside our door.
Reese buttoned up a long sleeve shirt and shook her head. “We’re not. I care very much for Ava, but I’m not in love with her. She’s not a lesbian either. I don’t think she loves me. Not like that anyway.”
I handed Reese a cup of coffee as I finished putting on my shoes.
“She just likes hot pussy every now and then.”
I stared at her as she winked at me. “Don’t we all?” I laughed swatting her on her ass.
“Let’s get this show on the road. If Ava says today will be brutal, she’s not exaggerating.”
“Somehow I gathered that. Ava doesn’t have much of a sense of humor, does she?” I asked as we slung our backpacks out the door.
Reese turned to me with a serious look on her face, “No.” She opened the door to the suite quietly and slipped back inside. About a half hour later, Ava and Reese joined us downstairs in the lobby.
Moments later, two well-built Egyptian men joined us. They were all dressed similarly. “Are you all ready for this?” One of the guides smiled at us. His accent was thick, but he spoke good English.
“Of course. We’ve been waiting for a long time to go on this adventure!” Ava grinned with an uncharacteristic cheerfulness.
“And you all are family?” He smiled at Ava.
“Yes, we are. These are my two half-brothers, Ash and Colt. We’ve recently rediscovered each other.”
“So this is a type of family reunion?”
“You could say that.”
The two guides nodded. “Well, the weather has certainly cleared up for a tour. You are lucky. We’ve been having terrible storms for weeks now.” The guide whose name was Musad gestured for us to follow him.
A large van awaited us. We loaded our backpacks inside the trunk as the other guide, Hanbal started the vehicle. Musad sat up front with him. They turned the radio to a local station playing the latest Europop.
“So, how is this going to work?” I whispered to Ash. The van rambled down through the crowded streets.
“Are we going to ride on camels?” Reese asked Ava giggling.
Ava shot her a contemptuous look. “I wasn’t planning on it.”
“Is this music all right?” Musad rolled down the window that separated the driver area from the backseat.
“Yes, it’s fine.” Ava winked at him.
He eyed her through the rearview mirror before rolling the window back up.
“Ava, how are we going to dig without shovels? This is insane,” Ash declared folding his arms across his chest. Amber nodded in agreement.
“Really? Don’t you think I know that? I’ve got that under control. It’s not a matter of having tools to dig with it’s a matter of getting to the right spot and being able to dig.” Ava stared at us coolly. I got the feeling that nothing ever rattled this woman.
Abruptly, the vehicle stopped. A host of Bedouins were walking across the road. They had their packs piled upon their backs as they moved. I watched them wondering what it would be like to never call any one place home.
I grabbed a bottle of water from my backpack taking a long drink relishing the feel of the cool water sliding down my throat. My veins had been throbbing for days now. It was funny, I thought that I’d gone for nearly four months without any inclination to use and now here in the middle of the desert with my newly found sister and my brother and a gorgeous woman by my side I wanted to shoot up more than anything. Maybe it’d never truly left me. The cravings were more intense than ever. I could hardly stand it. I began to scratch my legs through the dense material of my pants.
Ava eyed me intently. “Having a hard time, are you, Ayden? Your veins crying out for a fix? I know the feeling.” She arched her brows at me.
I bit my lip surveying her arms. She had no visible track marks. I never figured her as a junkie. “How would you know?”
She shrugged. “I wouldn’t know personally. I’ve sampled every pleasure this earth has to offer and none of it has fascinated me to the extent of addiction. But I lived with an addict for years, remember?”
Her mother.
Of course.
“Yes. Well, let me tell you, it never gets any better. The fucking cravings are always there. Sometimes, they just hide better than at other times.”
Reese looked at me with such pity in her eyes. I hated that look. I didn’t want her to feel sorry for me. I wasn’t a pathetic addict. I was in recovery, but still the need to use was sometimes overwhelming.
“Are you okay?” Reese traced a finger over my muscular arms decorated in tattoos covering the track marks.
“I’m fine,” I replied brusquely. I just wanted to pretend I wasn’t there for
a moment. I wanted to get lost in this ancient world and forget my present troubles.
“Good, Ayden, we need you.” Ava reached across the seat and gave my hand a squeeze.
I glared at her. “I’m doing what I can.”
The conversation in the van died as we ambled forward towards the great pyramids of Giza. There were more than I thought there would be. I never knew how amazingly huge these wonders of the world were. “Holy shit,” I whispered as the caravan passed the biggest pyramid of them all.
“That’s the tomb of Khufu. It was built around 2500 B.C.” Musad explained as we pulled up to a huge parking lot.
“Wow.” Ash stared in awe.
I thought he’d been here before.
“Haven’t you toured Egypt, Ash?” Ava asked reading my mind.
“No, I’ve never had the chance. I’ve always been too busy with work.”
“It’s quite magical.” Ava leaned forward looking out the window in anticipation.
As we all sat on the edge of our seats, we looked towards the Great Pyramid. There was the biggest one which was built for Khufu and two smaller ones. The van stopped and the guides opened the doors for us. Several other tourists were milling about. The sun was relentlessly beating down upon us causing me to feel faint. I’d never felt such strong sun.
“This is brutal, Ava,” I murmured.
She laughed pulling a light colored scarf around her head. “Told you. This isn’t my first expedition, but it will hopefully be my last.” She handed a tube of sunscreen to me.
Shit, with sun this strong I’d need an SPF of 1000.
Both Reese and Amber wrapped their heads in cream colored scarves.
Ash and I slathered our tanned skin in sunscreen, but hesitated before wrapping ourselves in cotton scarves until we saw the guides doing it.
“No shame, my friends. This is what all the men in Egypt do. The sun is strong even for us.” They laughed.
More at ease, we wrapped ourselves in the light cotton scarves. The sandstorm had died down, but the wind was still light giving way to soft swirls of sand. We blinked our eyes to rid them of sand before putting on dark sunglasses. The glare of the sun off of the sand was intense.
Darkest Sin Page 79