"What you have here Mr. Sharpe, is a toy." Mr. Cushing said.

"It is not a toy. It is a mock-up of a real functioning machine. I but lack capital to realize it into existence."

"Have you ever done hard labor a day in your life Mr. Sharpe?" Mr. Cushing asked. "Let me see your hands." Thomas offered them as desperation consumed his soul.

"Just as I thought, soft, the hands of a dreamer, not a doer. I made my fortune by the sweat of my brow Mr. Sharpe. I doubt you know the sensation."

"You're wrong. Dreamer I may be but a lack of past experience does not mean I lack the will." Thomas said, passion flooding from his mouth to defend his one chance at changing his fortune. A knock at the door came and the young blonde woman from downstairs entered.

"Ah Edith, thank you." Mr. Cushing said as he took the stack of papers from his daughter.

"You'll not be getting my money from me tonight, nor from any other man in this room I'd wager, but you are welcome to come to my home Saturday night and join my daughter and I for dinner before you leave for home. That is the most I can offer."

"Thank you Sir." Thomas said, trying to sound grateful.

"I'd like to hear more, Mr. Sharpe." A tall very built man with golden hair and piercing blue eyes said from the other side of the table.

"Mr. Odinson? Surely you do not think this huckster can produce results? You'd be throwing your money away."

"I'm not as ready to give up on his ideas as you are. I know it is rather forward, but I would very much like to accompany Mr. Sharpe to your home on Saturday to hear what else he has to say."

"If you are foolish enough to throw your money away, then come to dinner so that I may watch him swindle you. It will be very entertaining." Mr. Cushing said.

"Thank you, Mr. Cushing." Thor said. Thomas turned to Thor after watching the exchange, displaying his brightest smile. The others in the room were clearing out and he and Thor would have the chance to discuss further business details alone.

Loki looked again into those brilliant eyes and his stomach flipped. Thor was smiling, but his smile was predatory and there was a glint of something in Thor's eyes, that he dared not name. He stiffened his posture in response and squashed the urge to swallow down his unease. Thomas no longer felt grateful or relieved by Mr. Odinson's interest in his project. He felt like he'd crawled into the lion's den.

"Come now Mr. Sharpe. Tell me more about your home in England and of the ground from which your fortune will sprout." Thor assessed Thomas. His clothes were rather dated and his shoes very worn, though well kept. He imagined Mr. Sharpe had no choice but to make them last as long as possible. He was a nobleman on the brink of becoming a pauper. Was already a pauper by the look of him. If not for the crumbling walls of his estate, he'd have no home at all.

"Allerdale Hall is beautiful and very close to my heart. It can look a fright, especially during the winter, to those that are not used to it. The red clay comes up through the white fallen snow and stains it red. We call it Crimson Peak, because the ground appears to bleed."

"Gruesome things do not disturb you." Thor stated.

"How do you mean?"

"There's something about you. You've seen terrible things Mr. Sharpe. I know because you have that look in your eyes. I used to carry it too. You do not need to discuss it with me, not now, or ever. But know, you have a friend in which you can confide, if ever you feel the need to bare your soul." Thor placed a large bronzed callous hand on Mr. Sharpe's shoulder, giving it a squeeze. Thomas could smell his breath, a mixture of expensive brandy and tobacco. Thor was dressed in the latest fashion and his burgundy waist coat fit precisely around his trim midsection and broad shoulders. Red was definitely his color. His blue eyes, looked deep into his, for far too long than was polite or comfortable. Loki saw then the thing he did not wish to see. Desire.

"I thank you, Mr. Odinson. I must go. My sister will want to hear of my progress. I look forward to seeing you again at dinner." Thomas' voice cracked slightly as he spoke.

"And tomorrow evening as well." Thor said.

"Tomorrow? Oh the ball! Of course. Yes, my sister and I will be in attendance. Until then Mr. Odinson." Thomas shook his hand though he couldn't stop it from trembling. He turned and walked down the stairs, though he wanted to run as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Oh! Mr. Sharpe!" Edith called out.

"Yes my lady?"

"Please forgive my father. He is too blunt and quick to judge in his old age. I think your idea was wonderful."

"I'm glad to hear you say so." Thomas smiled. She'd make a fitting candidate. No mother, father easily dispatched. "Until tomorrow night."

"Until then." She smiled, gentile and kind. She looked like an angel. Thomas returned to his hotel to give a full report to his sister Lucille.

"Any investors?" Lucille asked.

"One, but there is a problem." Thomas said.

"What?"

"Lucille, I think he's a homosexual."

"He wants to fuck you?"

"Yes."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes."

"Are there no others?"

"There is a girl. Mr. Cushing has a daughter. His wife is dead and if he dies she inherits everything. I think she might be our best option."

"Who is the investor?"

"Thor Odinson. He's a bull of a man. He's tall, taller than even me and twice as wide in his shoulders and very strong, very large."

"While I've gotten used to sharing you with others, to a small degree, this will be a first."

"Absolutely not. I will not whore myself out to a man. How do two men even...?" Thomas gestured with his hands, looking dumbfounded and frustrated.

"Well, I imagine a lot of cock sucking is involved, and penetration into an orifice not designed to perform that function."

"Must you be so vulgar?"

"Must you be so ignorant? We need the money. I will size up the girl and the investor and determine which is the easier path." Lucille said.

"Easier for you perhaps. One requires that I seduce and poison an innocent girl. The other…"

"Requires you to simply seduce."

"There is nothing simple about it."

"Which is why it does not bother me as much as it otherwise would. If I thought for a moment that you enjoyed him fucking you, I'd slit his throat."

"And yet you could tolerate the thought of him defiling me, doing unholy things to my body that two men are not meant to do together."

"So far I've been the one getting my hands dirty. It's your turn. If sucking his dick is all that is required to get him to invest, then do it. I can even teach you how, if need be." Lucille ran her hand down his torso and tucked it inside his pants. Thomas breathed out as she stroked him, teasing an erection. "You can close your eyes and think of me."

"Lucy." Thomas shuddered. She sank to her knees and unbuckled his pants.

"Shh, brother. The neighbors will hear you." She pulled out the silky shaft and licked a long streak up it before swallowing the head. Thomas grit his teeth, as his fingers ensnarled into his sister's elegant and complicated up-do. He fucked her mouth, grabbing the sides of her head for leverage. She grabbed his hips, holding on for the ride. He bit his lip to stifle his yell when he came, feeling his seed get sucked away down an undulating throat. He moaned in relief. He pulled his dick out of her mouth so she could breath and tucked it back into his trousers.

"Now, pretend you were the one on your knees."