Thirty Four Minutes DEAD (23 page)

When the project rank and file reassembled at Designation B, the new liberal corporate culture was very much in evidence. The armed guard that lined the driveway to the venue was reduced quite significantly, and a banner proclaiming 'Victory' was hung from the Neo-Gothic pillars in the main entrance. The number of internal security checkpoints were reduced and even Leif Denison seemed less austere, wearing a navy coloured suit as opposed to the black clothing he had previously favoured. The project leader's greeting speech initially concentrated on this form of security relaxation, but then Denison carefully added that the MC project was still underpinned by the most intense security cover of any Western research group that were currently on 'active' duty.

In the post-Washington ergonomic climate, MC project staff still had to adhere to Designation curfews for the majority of their 'days in residence', but usually they would have a thirty-six hour weekend leave-facility built into their contractual commitment. When project staff were in attendance at an MC Designation, section heads would organise the hour breakdown with regard to their team's obligation, and Denison would check various section proposals. Leif could call an intensive work period at any time and all sections would then wait on his instructions alone. The pressurised atmosphere of pre-Washington MC project operations could subsequently be revisited if Denison felt the need.

Vain's front-line team carried out further mindsight explorations in the first week back at Designation B, and the majority of the volunteers involved Chinese scientists that Denison had invited into the MC project ranks. These individuals were collectively very sincere with regard to the gratitude they expressed toward Vain's team, and as they 'shadowed' the front-liners a bond built up between the two groups. The good-natured Eastern delegation even seemed to nullify the inherent suspicions Tavini harboured for their countrymen and that represented quite a conversion! The team were more than ready for their thirty-six hour leave period as Friday's working commitment drew to a close, and as Vain packed his travel bag he looked forward to surprising his family with a quick return home. Denison had introduced the new social freedoms on-site and thus Vain had not been able to envisage that he would be back home on the first weekend! Usually an MC project 'tour of duty' lasted a number of unbroken weeks and Tanya had got used to these lengthy separations. Vain felt that she would be pleased to see him despite the fact that they had rowed quite frequently during the recent leave period - Tanya still detested the notion of mindsight-reading even after witnessing the strengths which were evident in the televised global press conference. Vain hadn't had any interactions with Levene during the week, and he had wondered if she had had her 'fix' as far as he was concerned. Vain had only seen Levene from afar during the week and he was surprised that she didn't actively seek his company after Denison's effective endorsement. As Greg's bag was zipped up, he contented himself by envisaging the mental image of his good-looking wife. To Vain, relationships currently seemed to involve a no-lose scenario!

Vain was still mentally trapped in 'social blindness' as he turned towards the door of his quarters and he nearly collided with the figure in the doorway as a result. Leaning against the doorframe stood Levene.

"If that's a family bag you've just packed, I'll understand Greg, but one femme's ready to end the foreplay, if you get my drift!”

“Here?”

"No. I've got a place in mind. You drive, Greg."

The couple didn’t exchange any more words before they left the Designation, and as they approached Vain’s car, he stole a quick glance at Marcia. She walked with a purposeful stride, her eyes looking ahead with a forthright determination. Vain opened the car door for Levene and as she took her seat, she flashed him a smile that was both elegant and sexual at the same time. Her ivory-white teeth and long black hair proved to be an excellent complement to each other when she wanted to secure a person’s attention - Levene’s appearance left an indelible impression on the beholder.

Levene directed Vain to proceed toward London’s West End, and after an hour, as the car neared her intended destination she added more definition concerning where she and Greg would be spending the night.

“I thought we could go to my ‘London Retreat’ Greg - a little two bedroom mews house that I bought four years ago. I wanted my own piece of London and when I acquired the house, it was a little dream realised for me. I haven’t been there since just before the Venison exploration, but I employ a housekeeper Miss Arnett to come in twice a week and look after the place. She airs the house and makes sure that both the freezer and real fire log pile are well stocked. Miss Arnett never knows when I’ll turn up because even
I
don’t know that due to my MC project commitments! She’s nearly seventy but I guess she’s what some of you Brits call a ‘real diamond’; I wouldn’t replace her for the world. The house should be reasonably warm, but I thought that we could throw some logs on the fire because I’ve found that early May in England involves nights that are a bit chilly usually. Still, we’ll probably create enough warmth ourselves won’t we, Greg?”

Levene’s London hideaway was situated in close proximity to the West End theatres, but the discreet Mews houses had been constructed in cul-de-sacs that enjoyed a quiet serenity which was oppositional to the bright light culture nearby. The houses dated back to the late eighteenth century and although their interiors featured twenty-first century luxury, their exteriors preserved a halcyon London quality from the era of their construction. The facade of Marcia’s property was the same as the neighbouring houses with white stone dominance, black wood complement and brass embellishments proving to be three features of structural uniformity. When the couple entered the house, Vain realised immediately that Levene’s personality came to the fore with regard to the interior design.

Black wood furniture, similar to the type favoured at Alvettis was used frequently, and on occasions peacock feathers appeared in black glass vases. Some ‘Burne-Jones’ wall hangings and a tiled ‘Morgan’ fire place highlighted Levene’s affinity with Pre-Raphaelite art, but these expensive art treasures were subdued in their impact when compared to the animal furs splayed out on the white walls. The six furs included pumas and a tiger but the most prominent coat was that of a polar bear, complete with head and paws. Vain asked about the necessity for the collection but Levene’s answer challenged his expectations.

“Only two were specifically ‘shot to order’ for me - the tiger and the polar bear. Fur wall-hangings seem a bit morbid nowadays, but they fulfilled a purpose for me at the time. When I started my collection, I was way down in the CIA ranks, stuck in a department concerned with criminal psychological patterns. I was very young, power-hungry but obviously female. At that time, it was more of a ‘man’s world’ than today, and my struggle to rise was set against a bedrock of misogyny. The furs weren’t the centre-piece of my retaliation but they served to make me feel better at the time. You see, as a non-wearer with regard to furs, society expected me to whimper, protest and sob as the fur trade survived - what did it expect of men at the same time? It expected some to be appalled like most women, but it also expected a minority to reap the commercial benefits associated with the fur trade and to actually shoot the fucking animals. With this collection, I was doing my shooting! I was fighting the double standard”.

After her explanation, Levene lit the real fire which had been prepared by Miss Arnett and then poured Vain a glass of the red wine that they both favoured. Whilst she undertook these tasks Vain was left to reflect on her reply to his question. His eyes kept returning to the polar bear’s head, and a chill ran through him as the words ‘shot to order’ kept replaying in his mind. When Levene returned to the lounge she handed Vain his drink and then after noticing the apparent unease that the polar bear had instilled in her lover, she placed her jacket over the animal’s head. She turned to Vain and in a softer voice she invited the communion that both of them had desired since his initial rebuff on the night of project celebration some months previous.

“I guess the holding back is over now. I’ve made love with a certain Mr Vain many times in my mind but tonight is going to be our incarnate realisation. I love you Greg, now and for all our tomorrows. Without each other life is just a skin-deep fixation. Open me up - free me”.

When Levene had uttered these words her long fingers dimmed the lights to a degree of illumination that prepared the couple for their release of intimacy. Her fingers loosened Vain’s clothing and while her hands were at work, Greg echoed her movements by carefully undoing the buttons, which were the last bridge to their union. Whilst the synchronised loosening took place the couple entwined tongues in the savage style that they had made their own. This time both of them traded a tiny blood bite on the lips of each other, and as the teeth had only made a faint penetration, the blood just coated the lips, remaining within the mouths for the most part; a bitter aperitif that added to the intricacy of the mirrored sexual deliverance. As Levene’s clothing dropped to the floor she pulled Vain’s head downward to direct his attention toward her breasts, and his tongue proceeded to trace lines around her nipples, fluctuating in pressure, led by her touch as her nails ran down the smooth skin of his back.

The woman’s hands proceeded upward to massage Vain’s shoulder blades, leaving faint lacerations when his tongue excited the erogenous area around each nipple. As the couples mutual touch quickened, all garments except their respective briefs were discarded. The symmetry that choreographed the undressing had remained synchronised to the last. Vain started to massage the silken material of Levene’s underwear with his left hand and she arched her back as his fingers gently kneaded the soft flesh below her pubic mound. For a couple of minutes Marcia broke their symmetry, tilting her head backwards and temporarily ceasing to claw Vain’s shoulders. The gusset of her briefs became saturated as she approached orgasm and her hand wildly reached out for Vain’s penis just before she came. Levene translated her ecstasy into powerful hand strokes, pulling hard on her lover. She let out a guttural cry when she reached the peak of sensual release and after her delirium subsided, she turned her attention to Greg, crouching down on him, taking his penis deep into her mouth.

Levene’s tongue greedily flicked along the sensitive end of Vain’s erect penis, whilst her hands rubbed his testicles with a force that was only just short of a painful threshold. Vain looked downwards as his partner became engrossed in her oral stimulation. Her cheekbones were accentuated by the dimmed illumination and as she turned fellatio into an intricate performance, Gregory Vain shut his eyes as he anticipated a powerful ejaculation.

Levene’s technique revolved around a heated pressure, which seemed to emanate from within her throat and her teeth were used simultaneously, nipping the thick veins, which ran through to the swollen foreskin.

Vain felt that he was going to cum on numerous occasions but when Levene sensed an approaching climax, she altered the method of oral pressure and intensified the massage that she was directing to her lover’s testicles. The woman teased her partner for a forty-minute spell, before finally conceding to his desperate thrusts. Once Levene stopped restricting intake in her throat, Vain indulged in ‘mouth fucking’ his partner at breakneck speed and when he had passed the point of ‘no return’ Levene pulled out his penis, directing his semen across her face and breasts.

It had been the most powerful ejaculation that Vain had experienced, and as his project colleague fastidiously licked his semen from her breasts, he lay down on the floor, reflecting on the sexual excellence that he had just received. Levene however was in no mood for reflection, and as she ran a comb through her tousled hair, she broke the silence, which the couple had lapsed into.

“Time to return the service, Greg. Lick me like it’s the last time!”

After uttering these words, Marcia knelt down and reverse-straddled Vain’s face, looking past his legs to the fur hangings on the wall. From his spatial position, Vain saw her perfectly proportioned buttocks drop down toward him and beyond this vision was the smooth skin of Levene’s back, complemented by the mane of black hair that he had come to adore.

Vain placed a cushion under his head to enable him to gain a slight elevation that raised his mouth upward towards Levene’s vagina. As his tongue started to probe the tight confines of the favoured destination, Vain recognised the distinctive taste that he had experienced second-hand in Alvettis, but this time there was an unlimited supply!

As his tongue reached deeper, Vain’s two day old chin stubble made contact with Levene’s clitoris and the effect sent the woman into a frenzied state, moaning in a shrill pitch, tightly squeezing her nipples until her nails turned temporarily white. Vain didn’t employ any teasing tactics like Levene had done. He had thought ahead to the ultimate coital union and thus his tongue hammered through at a frenetic pace, bringing his partner to a state of climax in a matter of minutes.

It was now Marcia’s turn to shudder into temporary submission, but Vain decided to implement a slight manoeuvre to enable the long awaited copulation. He skilfully pulled his body through the arch afforded by Levene’s kneeling legs and gently pushed her onto ‘all fours’ so that he was kneeling behind her. Taking his freshly erect penis in his hand, he entered the woman from behind with a thrust that was stronger in terms of impact than any previous single stroke performed by the couple. He felt that his entry was deeper than any penetration he had experienced before and Levene used her powerful, compact vaginal muscles to invite every inch of Vain’s sizeable penis. When he came, Vain felt as though he was using a ‘life supply’, and whilst his first ejaculation had been shot in the open, this semen consignment was released ‘within’ for a duration that seemed to fully savour their completion, holding the moment like a sacred occurrence.