When the Need Strikes – Chapter 1

Craig looked nervously at his sister. She met his gaze, bit her lip, and a silent conversation ensued.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked wordlessly, and in response Petra simply nodded her head. The pair stepped forward in unison, entering the house of Mason DeGraves, beginning a visit that they knew would change their lives forever.

Ever since he arrived in the neighborhood Lord DeGraves had been an enigma. No one knew how he had gotten his money, where he’d come from, or why he’d chosen to live there. No one even knew quite how old he was—all that was known was that he had more money than any one person should reasonably have—and that he was willing to part with it, for a cost.

“Dares” didn’t quite do it justice—they were more like experiments. Perverted experiments. Completely legal, of course—Lord DeGraves could afford a literal army of lawyers, and though there had been a handful of lawsuits, they’d been thrown out. Sick and twisted though his actions were, it was clear that he was operating entirely within the bounds of the law.

The people who went through with it always came out changed. But they also came out rich—he kept his promises, and if you followed whatever rules he set, DeGraves would make sure you were compensated.

Craig and Petra had read his latest advertisement, and been unable to resist: he was looking for a brother-sister pair. They didn’t desperately need the money, but when they saw the price of his “bounty”, it was too alluring to resist. Two million dollars—each—for two month’s work? No matter what he had them do, it would be worth it…and since he had to abide by the laws, they knew that it couldn’t be anything too bad.

As they stood outside the wealthy man’s huge wooden doors, Petra’s hand reached out and grabbed Craig’s. She was two years older, but the two had never really fought, the way siblings do—this strong bond had made them confident that they could get through whatever Lord DeGraves ordered.

To their surprise, DeGraves met opened the door himself—a hungry look came over his eyes when he saw the pair, standing there and holding hands. Craig was dressed casually in jeans and a T-shirt, but his attention was focussed on Petra—she was wearing one of her favorite skirts. It ended just above the knee, but the old man’s leer made her feel utterly exposed.

“Come this way,” he said gleefully, and the siblings briefly glanced at each other before dutifully following.

Inside the old man’s office, he gestured for them to sit.

“Is there another chair?” Petra asked, looking at the small seat in front of Lord DeGrave’s huge desk.

“Sit,” he replied. “Both of you.”

There was a moment of hesitation, but not wanting to throw away a chance in a lifetime because of a little awkwardness, Petra took the initiative, pushing Craig down and sitting on his lap. She was determined not to let the old man make her feel uncomfortable, though a blush quickly spread across Craig’s cheeks.

“Now,” Mason began, “the pair of you are blood relatives, yes? You share the same birth parents?”

“That’s right,” Petra replied, holding eye contact as confidently as she could.

“Excellent, excellent…I’ll remind you that if that’s a lie, the contract is null and void, and at the end of the two months, you’ll get nothing. Do you understand? I’m only looking for blood relatives.”

“Of course,” Craig muttered, unable to bring himself to look directly at the old man.

Lord DeGraves pressed a button on his desk, and a few minutes later a young lady dressed in a sexy French maid’s outfit brought the siblings a cup of tea each. As she bent down to refill her master’s tea-cup, her skirt rode up, and it became obvious that she wasn’t wearing anything under it.

Petra suddenly began to regret her decision to sit on her brother’s lap, and dug an elbow into his side.

“Ow!” he exclaimed, and his face went even redder as he realized the purpose of his sister’s attack. “Oh, shit…sorry. Just…give me a few minutes. I, uh…sorry.”

The chambermaid blocked the old man’s view of the two, but as she tottered out of the room again, he had a huge grin upon his face, as if he knew exactly what had just transpired.

“That’s Bethany,” he said, gesturing to the door. “I offered her five hundred thousand to be my maid for a month. She liked it so much she’s stayed on full time…”

Petra and Craig shot each other a glance.