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Siobahn was waiting nearby with her eyes closed, so Henry gave her a friendly kiss and a hug.Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.
“Mmm! I wasn’t expecting you to be so warm after being outside,” she said in surprise.
“Ah, I forgot to turn off the heating spell,” he said and did so.
Camila rushed over to get a kiss and hug, which was naturally outrageously sexy, and he had to struggle not to react. “Find me later when everything settles down,” she whispered in his ear, her tongue teasing his earlobe as she pulled back.
Shocks and tingles raced through his body as she pranced back to the counter. Henry took some deep breaths as Siobahn patted his arm.
“What did you need to ask me?” she said.
“It’s about General Crane. I have one of his Silver Soldiers coming to help me open a connection to his hospital room. I need you to look at his aura to see if there is something off.”
Siobhan’s eyebrows went up. “Right! You said he’s not affected by Wild Magic. He’d be the only one to be that way,” she said quietly.
He nodded. “He’s also the only Human who was in a separate dimension when Mab tripped the curse. I believe he’s the only fully Human man on Earth. I need you to take a look at the General but be careful, okay? Just a surface look.”
“When do you need this done?” she asked.
“One of the Silver Soldiers will be coming to the condo. I’ll bring him here so he can open a door into the General’s hospital room,” Henry explained.
“I’ll be here,” she said, patting his arm, then returned to the counter to help.
Henry joined the ladies sitting at the table. He kissed the heads of the two babies, then kissed their mothers, Marisa doing an excellent job of mimicking her mother’s earlier efforts. She gave him a hot smile as he pulled back from her lips.
He stumbled over to stand before Sigrid. “Good morning! How are you feeling?”
She pouted, and his eyes locked on her bottom lip. “I feel as big as an aircraft carrier!”
Henry snorted at the imagery. “Nonsense! You look amazing!” He couldn’t resist any longer, so he swept in and caressed her mouth with his and paid extra attention to that plump lower lip.
“OHMmmm!” she moaned and clung to his arms. He pulled back, and her blue eyes locked on his mouth hungrily.
Hilda made a noise to draw his attention. He faced her. “Good morning, Hilda.”
“You’re going to leave me feeling left out?” she asked with a sly smile.
He froze, then he glanced between the others at the table. “I don’t know the protocols here. How-how does one kiss the mother of one’s girlfriend? And no, it’s not the same as Marisa and Camila.”
Tish just shook her head as she grinned, and Sigrid snorted in amusement. Marisa offered advice. “Follow her lead.” That made Hilda’s grin wider, and her eyes flashed with what looked like a challenge.
He moved to her side, and she turned to face him, still smiling. He bent to gently touch his lips to hers and felt her fingers slide into his hair on the back of his head. She took a tight grip then began to kiss him deeper. This was another dominance contest for her. He could tell he was going to have challenges with this one.
He slid his fingertips along her jawline, and her bold tongue thrusts paused as he sent a torrent of tingles rushing down her neck. She tried to take the initiative again, but he was cupping her face in his big hands, lightning was racing through her nerves, and his mouth began to caress hers, nibbling at her lips, the tip of his tongue stroking across them, gently sucking on them and her tongue.
Her eyes closed as his fingers massaged the back of her neck. She struggled to catch her breath and gasped into his kiss.
When he pulled back, she swayed on her chair and grabbed the table to steady herself.
“Good morning, Hilda,” he repeated, looking into her eyes.
“G-good morning… Henry,” she breathed.
Sigrid could no longer suppress her laughter, and the cheerful sound lit up the kitchen. The others who’d been watching silently also joined in.
Hilda suddenly realized she had an audience and looked around in surprise.
Sigrid patted her hand on the table. “Mother, never try to out kiss a Satyr.”
She looked back at Henry. “No… I suppose not,” she said softly, which caused more giggles.
Mahati and Kali arrived, and Henry kissed them on his way out. Both looked quite pleased.
He spotted Dayshia and Sandy stepping out of the door to the vestibule. Henry was immediately engulfed in Kesini’s embrace. He chuckled and smiled at Sandy when he noticed she and Dayshia were carrying large shopping bags.
“Whatcha got there?” Henry asked curiously.
“Toys for the tables,” Dayshia said with a grin, and Henry just shook his head curiously.
Sandy pulled one of the items from the bag. It was a set of miniature building blocks that could be used to build a variety of shapes. “We have a variety of different toys, and we’ll put one in front of each place setting on the table, so everyone has something to play with,” Sandy explained.
“That’s so cool! These will be a big hit!” he grinned.
“Does that earn us a hint as to what your surprise is?” Dayshia asked slyly. Sandy cheered.
“Nope! Nice try, though,” Henry chuckled as he pulled the blonde into his arms.
She was swooning when they parted, and Kesini had to carry her shopping bag.
Dayshia got a hot kiss as well and pushed at him rather frantically as she caught herself grinding against him and was getting too excited.
They rushed away toward the kitchen, grinning back at him as they kept each other steady.
Henry stepped through the door into the cavern vestibule and saw one of the doors opening. He smiled at Lorelei, who he’d caught mid-yawn.
“Sorry, I’m more of a night person,” she said as she blushed in embarrassment.
“I’ve been up since dawn,” Henry said with a smile.
“Ugh! You’re one of those!” she teased.
He laughed. “No sleep shaming!”
She held up her hands and nodded her agreement.
He held out his hands to her and gathered her against him once she placed her hands in his. He kissed her sweetly, and she sighed ever so faintly. “Good morning.”
“Good morning to you. I might be willing to be more of a morning person if I can get more of that,” she said sweetly.
“If I told you they’re available at all hours-”
“I’d never wake early again,” she immediately answered.
“Don’t go changin’,” he sang, and she burst into giggles. “Hey!” he exclaimed with a pout.
He pretended to stomp away to his door.
“You’re leaving?” she asked.
He smiled back at her. “Just for a bit. I’m meeting one of the Silver Soldiers in a few minutes, and I’ll be back.”
“Don’t take long,” she said as she walked past and tapped his lips with a finger. She giggled at his surprised look as she headed for the kitchen.
He went through the door and went to his front door, but the hall was empty. He went into his bedroom and rummaged for something he could use to store energy in that wouldn’t immediately leak it all out.
He found some dumbbells Tish used to use before her muscles outgrew them in the bottom of the closet. The heads were encased in rubber with a chromed handle between them. Henry picked up the thirty-pound weight set and gripped the handles, directing the energy from his rift down his arms, forcing it into the handle and the connected heads. It took a lot of effort to feed the power into the solid metal. Once he’d filled all of the available space in both heads for each weight, he released the handles. He couldn’t see the energy, but when he gripped the handles again, he noted they wouldn’t accept any more, so it seemed to be holding.
There was a knock at the door, so he carried the weights to the small table in the hall and confirmed it was the soldier before opening the door.
“Welcome, Mr. Yablonski!” He welcomed him in and locked up.
“Hey! The Sergeant mentioned you’d top me up?” the soldier said immediately.
Henry smiled and gestured to the dumbbells. “Grip the handles.”
The soldier glanced at them. “Thirty pounds? That’s nothing!”
Henry nodded to them with a smile, so the soldier took a grip on both.
“OH SHIT! YEAH!” the soldier exclaimed with a large smile as he felt his energy levels surging upwards until he had to let go.
“That’s pretty smart!” Yablonski said as he smiled at Henry.
He needed to know how much the soldier had taken, so Henry took a grip and forced more energy inside the heavy metal. It didn’t take much, so these two weights would probably be enough to charge the entire squad at least once-hopefully.
Henry had spent more time in his condo than he felt comfortable with, so he grabbed a small reusable fabric shopping bag from his kitchen and put the weights inside. “Let’s go.”
He stepped through the closet door into the mansion and went up to the entrance to the kitchen.
“Siobhan?” Henry called out, and the woman turned to look at him. She nodded and joined him in the hall. “This is Mr. Yablonski,” he said, gesturing to the silver man. “This is Siobhan.”
They nodded and smiled at each other.