Crazy Seduction(erotica)

“I’d love to get that shield spell for my pack and Mary,” Roy sighed.

Ignoring Roy, Camila got Henry’s attention once more. “You came in for this afternoon’s meeting with the Directors? Why don’t you take a nap in the interim?” She gestured to her couch.

He was sorely tempted, but he had a few things he had to take care of, and he’d promised to set aside time for Siobhan for whatever she needed. “I-I can’t. I’ll try to take a nap at lunch, and I’ll go home directly after our meeting. I-I should get started.” When he got a nod, he stood and headed for the door with his head down.

Camila looked to Roy then unlocked the door before Henry got to it. He went through and closed it behind himself. He gave Felix another nod then headed to his office. He sighed in guilty relief when he saw Marisa wasn’t at her desk as he really wasn’t up for another conversation. He unlocked his office door, stepped inside, and locked it behind himself before dropping his ass in his seat. He leaned forward to rest his face in his hands. He was so tired.

When he caught himself nodding off, he pushed himself upright and booted his computer. He had work to do before Siobhan arrived. He’d spent Sunday putting the finishing touches on the documentation for the new firewall applications. The new code was basically a lite version of what VRL was using, but he’d rewritten some modules to make the differences significant enough to prevent anyone from reverse engineering it to break VRL’s firewall. He’d surprised himself to discover how many ways there were to create an ‘N’ Dimensional Labyrinth. Each agency was receiving different code, so a breach of one wasn’t a threat to the others. Of course, their labyrinths only went to three levels before letting the potential hacker know they were getting nowhere.

He was pleased with the work, and while he hated documentation, he was proud of the package he’d produced. He even thought his old professors in college would agree.

Right after his nap at noon, he planned to head down to the boardroom to triple check the test server he’d built for this demonstration. He knew the techs would want proof, so he was going to give them what they demanded. He knew his check was redundant, but he was nothing if not thorough.

The software was ready. The documentation was ready. The test rig was ready.

He felt a little better about himself.

He realized, if his life had gone as young Stanley Garin had initially planned, this might have been the only measure of success and failure he’d have faced.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

He stared out his window at nothing as he reflected on how little pain that life would have contained… but how little love as well.

-=-

Camila called for Sigrid once Henry left her office. The blonde arrived shortly, and Camila locked her door once more as Sigrid took a seat next to Roy.

“What’s up?” Sigrid said cautiously as she saw the concern on her friends’ faces.

“It’s Henry. Something’s bothering the lad, and he’s closing himself off. He’s hurting, but he won’t talk about it,” Roy said. Camila and Sigrid blinked in surprise at the big man who scowled back at them. “What? Can’t I be concerned for the boy?”

Camila held her hands up to calm Roy. “Of course, you can! We’ve just not heard you express it so clearly before!”

Roy squirmed. “Yes, well… I am concerned! He’s… he’s like a son to me, and no one likes to see their kid in pain!” Even he surprised himself with that confession.

Once she recovered from her surprise, Camila looked to Sigrid. “When you and Meixiu were at his place Sunday morning, did he say anything that might explain this new behavior?”

Sigrid thought about that for a moment, then looked up. “You saw the news about the Glass People in Kuwait City?”

“Yes!” Camila exclaimed.

Roy’s expression just showed his worry. “The cat’s out of the bag on that one. There’s nothing the Hidden Races council can do about that. Way too much publicity on that. Did-did Henry have anything to do with that?”

“No, but he was there while his mind was on walkabout. He witnessed it. He said so much death when I asked him about it. He might have seen some truly horrifying things.”

Camila frowned sadly at Sigrid. “He needs to talk about this with someone. If he continues to refuse, we may need to have an intervention for him.”

The others nodded.

“So, is VRL going into the network security software business?” Roy asked Camila.

She smiled gently. “It was actually Henry’s idea.”

Roy frowned. “Did he have second thoughts about giving them the source code to VRL’s firewall source code?”

Camila shook her head. “No, he said he thought that a better way to get the agencies off our back would be to truly give them what they wanted. Henry said he figured out how to write a new firewall. I approached the new Director of the NSA, who brought in the other two agencies’ directors. We had a meeting, and they all showed interest in having Henry write them an application. They’re coming in today at 2 PM with their senior technical people to review the code and take delivery of the applications.”

“How much are they being charged for the software?” Roy asked.

“Two hundred and fifty thousand for the application, if they use it and they will, plus a yearly service contract for fifty thousand,” Camila said with a smile.

Roy’s eyebrow rose. “Is that price high or low?”

“They aren’t getting an exclusive, so we can sell it to other companies. How many companies do you think would be interested in a firewall the three top US Security agencies use? The banks alone will be beating down our doors to get this. We’re going for volume,” Camila said.

“Let me know how Henry is in the meeting,” Sigrid asked as she stood. Camila nodded to her, and Roy stood as well.

It was another Monday, and they all had work to do.

Siobhan entered Henry’s waiting room just before 11 AM and smiled at Marisa, who gave her a brilliant smile in return.

“Good morning, Marisa!”

“Good morning, Siobhan! Ready for your appointment?” the executive assistant asked with a cheeky smile.

“Don’t make me more nervous than I already am!” Siobhan scolded gently, her Irish lilt coming through clearly.

“You’ve no reason to feel nervous. This is Henry we’re talking about! He’s one of the sweetest men I’ve ever known,” Marisa sighed.

Siobhan relaxed a little. “Right. Okay then, I’m ready.”

Marisa nodded and picked up the phone. “Henry? Your 11 AM is here.” She listened then nodded to Siobhan as she hung up. “Go right in.”

The brunette smiled at her blonde friend and opened Henry’s door to step inside. She closed the door behind herself and smiled at the handsome man sitting behind his desk. He looked a little weary, and that made her hesitate. “Good morning, Henry. Are you okay? You seem tired.”

“I must look like a wreck as everyone is telling me that,” he replied with a weak smile.

“Not a wreck, just tired,” she assured him.

“An improvement since this morning then.” He held his hand up and smiled to forestall her next question. “I didn’t sleep well last night, and it was a busy weekend.” He gestured to the chair before his desk.

She sat and smiled at him across the desk. “I wanted to thank you again for inviting me to the party.”

He looked at her in surprise. “Silly girl! You’re one of my treasured friends. Of course, I’d invite you!”

Siobhan smiled happily at being considered treasured. At the same time, it made what she wanted to ask of him more difficult to do.

She glanced up at the ceiling speaker. “Is it safe for us to speak of things not spoken of?”

Henry followed her eyes then smiled at her. “Yes. I graduated finally. No more squealing alarms.”

She returned his smile. “Good, good.” She shifted on her chair as she prepared herself. “This isn’t something I’m comfortable talking about. You’re aware of my true nature, but we don’t share these particular details about ourselves–”

Henry held up a hand. “If you aren’t comfortable talking about something, why are you? I hope you aren’t under the impression you have to with me!”

She shook her head as she looked down at her clasped hands on her lap. “No, it isn’t like that.” She took a deep breath and smiled at Henry’s concerned expression. “You recall how I originally became linked to the Wild Magic? I’d been with Nate, and the next morning I woke to find I’d transformed most wonderfully.”

Henry nodded, wondering where this was going.

Siobhan pushed onwards. “You recall shortly after that you had a little… get-together at your condo with Camila, Sigrid, and Marisa? Marisa shared your essence with me and declared my transformation was complete?”

Now it was Henry’s turn to squirm as he recalled the… he’d just call it an emergency recharging session. He did remember watching Siobhan’s lovely hair growing until the beautiful mahogany strands reached her ankles. “Y-yes,” he forced out, and she gave him a knowing smile.

“Marisa said my transformation was complete, but she was wrong,” she said wistfully, and Henry’s eyebrows rose.

“Is something wrong?” he asked cautiously.

She looked at her lap once more and steeled herself to speak an intimate secret known only to the Selkies. She knew Henry would never force her to disclose it, but as she was about to ask a friend to share intimacy with her without any relationship expectations, the one-sidedness of the transaction made this feel necessary. She’d tested him with her passionate kisses at the party. While he’d returned them delightfully, she knew he was likely to remain in the friend category. Intimate friends, at best.

As if reading her mind, he leaned back in his chair and looked at her seriously. “Stop. I can see you’re struggling with whatever you’re trying to say. That means what you are about to say is something you know in your heart you shouldn’t say, and I want you to stop. I told you before. You don’t need to tell me anything you don’t have to. You are my friend, and I would do anything for you, no questions asked. You need to have your transformation completed, which means you need… another exposure to Wild Magic,” he said, delicately.

Siobhan watched him in surprise as he was completely serious. She blushed as she nodded.

“Is your schedule open tonight? You can come by my place, or I could visit you at yours?” he suggested gently.

“My place,” she immediately said, then blushed again. She wasn’t sure why she was getting so flustered, but Henry was so sweet. “I’d be more comfortable at home.”

He nodded. “Okay. I’ll need your address.”

Siobhan pulled out her cell and sent him the details. “Do you like seafood?”

He blinked in confusion. “Uh, yeah, I think so.”