296
“I look forward to getting to know you better myself,” Nuru said as the tip of her tongue slipped out to touch her lips.
Henry felt that in his pants.
Nuru chuckled and nodded to Camila before leaving with her attendants.
When Henry turned back to sigh in relief at Camila, he saw she was already around her desk as she prowled towards him. His eyebrows rose. “Camila?”
“I’ve never been so proud of you and so incredibly turned on,” she purred.
“Oh!”
That was all Henry had time to say before she dragged him down on her couch.
It was celebration time again.
-=-
When Henry stepped off the elevator carrying bags of groceries Tish sent him out for after he got home from work, he heard his name being called. He turned his head and saw Sandy bouncing down the hall towards him.
“Hi beautiful!” he said with a smile as he leaned down to kiss her. It was sweet but brief as she pulled away quickly.
“Ahh! You’re cold!” she complained.
He shrugged. “It’s snowing out there, and Tish the Wicked sent me out into it on this terrible quest.”
“Tish the Wicked?” said a voice in false outrage.
Henry looked to Sandy and pretended to cower. “The beatings! The beatings I’ll get!”
Sandy burst into giggles as she dropped her glamor, and Kesini took the bags from Henry’s fingers. They followed him down the hall to join Tish at her door.
“Oh, I’ll give you a beating. Fifty lashes with a wet noodle!” Tish said with a grin.
“See how mean she is to me!” Henry whimpered to Sandy.
The petite blonde rolled her eyes and followed Tish into the kitchen, Kesini setting the bags down on the island.
Henry put his winter jacket away, real clothes, and joined the ladies in the kitchen but kept his hands behind himself. He spotted black eyes watching him over the back of the sofa closest to the TV. He grinned to himself as he knew what reward they were waiting for. He tossed the coconuts he’d picked up at the grocer’s over the couch, and they snatched them out of the air with cries of happiness.
“Hey! No eating those in the living room!” Tish called out, and the twins scrambled to take seats at the kitchen island. Tish slid a sheet of paper towel to each of them as she shot a look of annoyance at Henry.
The twins leaned their heads closer to the coconuts as they shook them gently, listening to the water slosh around inside.
“Do they need something to crack them open?” Sandy asked.
“No, they’ve figured that out,” Tish sighed, but Sandy could see the small smile on her lips. “Henry’s been bringing home different fruits for them to try. They see them on the nature shows, and they’ve been learning how to ask for them. They enjoy coconuts most. Now, that’s all they ask for. The first few times were a bit of a disaster.”
“Messssss,” Aadya sighed with a nod as she concentrated on the coconut.
“So messy,” Maliha corrected her sister.
Aadya held her coconut against the granite countertop and extended a dagger-sharp claw on her right index finger. She poked it into the coconut like it was an apple.
“Damn! That’s sharp!” Sandy exclaimed.
Aadya smiled at Sandy happily, fangs on display as her sister poked a hole in her coconut.
Tish handed them straws, which they accepted with a smile.
“What do you say?” Henry prompted them.
“Thank you!” they said in unison.
“Good,” Henry said, earning him smiles from both as they turned to their treats. They looked back to the TV and then Tish.
“Come back to crack those open over the paper towels,” she said, and they nodded before rushing back to their show.
“What’s up?” Henry said to Sandy.
She raised an eyebrow at him. “Can’t a lady just want to hang out with her friends?”
Henry pulled her into a warm hug. “Of course, you can!”
They enjoyed the closeness. He smiled down at her as he released her.
“I need your help,” Sandy said with a grin.
He snorted and nodded. “Anything.”
“I need to go back to my parent’s home to collect some personal items. The realtor will be preparing the home for sale, but I want to take some things with sentimental value first.”
“Certainly. We can go now if you like,” he said and looked to Tish.
“I’ll keep your dinner warm,” she said.
“Thanks!”
“You sure?” Sandy asked.
“Of course. You’ll have to open the door as I’ve never been there,” he said and guided Sandy back to the front hall to stand before the hall closet. “Picture the door to your parent’s place in your mind. When you have it fixed in your mind, touch the door and keep your hand on it.”
Sandy closed her eyes and nodded her head.
“Reach forward and touch the door, keeping the image in your mind,” Henry said softly.
Once her hand touched the door, Henry touched her hand and activated the spell.
“Okay, let’s go,” he said, and Sandy opened her eyes and turned the knob, opening the closet door into the front hall. She sucked in a breath as she saw the little table in the hall was destroyed. Vandals? In this town? She surged forward as Henry closed the door behind them, releasing the spell.
He turned, and his eyes widened in surprise. The house was not in good shape. Someone had done some damage here. Only then did he recognize the red and blue lights flashing behind him. He turned and glanced out the window on the front door to see three cruisers parked there.
He stepped outside, climbed down the steps, and through the snow holding his hand in front of his face to shield himself from the spotlight they were shining back at him.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
Hands grabbed him, and he was pulled behind the police cruisers.
“Who are you, and how did you get into the house?” a young cop yelled at his face.
“I’m a friend of the daughter of the couple who lived here. What’s going on?”
“Did you see the monster inside the house?” the cop snapped.
Henry’s eyes turned to the house. “Monster?”
“Clifford Hicks. Used to be a cop. Turned into an eight-foot-tall monster with tusks this morning after breakfast at the county jail. He busted out and killed two officers as he did it. Smashed through a cinderblock wall, and we chased him all the way here.”
“Why here?”
“He claims the girl who lived here was the one who raped him. Except, we got videos from his home. He raped multiple women over the years, but we got him. Except now he’s unstoppable. Bullets do nuthin’ at all!”
There was a loud roar, and the front picture window on the house exploded outwards.
Henry ran forward and saw the huge monster, lit by the red and blue lights in the snow, pounding his fists on the shield surrounding Sandy. She was scowling so she wasn’t hurt. Henry dropped his glamor and activated his own protection as he charged at the ogre, only to be slapped back across the yard to crash into the cruiser. “Fuck!”
The ogre only had eyes for Sandy as he went back to pounding against her shield.
Henry couldn’t open a tear and drop him from a height or into lava as he was standing over Sandy. “I need to get help!” he called out.
“Do it fast!” she called back.
Henry called Roy on his cell. The man picked up on the third ring.
“Yes, Henry, what is it?” He sounded gruff, and he was breathing hard.
“We need your help. I’m at Sandy’s parent’s place, and she’s being attacked by an ogre.”
“Did he say, ogre?” Henry heard Mary say excitedly in the background.
“Aye,” he replied to her, then grunted. “Okay, Henry. Mary will help you. Open a door.” Roy grumbled.
“I’ve never been to your place!”
“HENRY! HURRY!” Sandy called out.
Henry dropped his shield, closed his eyes, and grabbed his right ring finger, holding Roy’s image in his mind. He jumped.
“WHAT THE FUCK! Henry!” Roy yelled as Henry popped into… He glanced around and recognized Mary’s bedroom. The scent of sex was quite strong, and Roy was struggling to hide with a sheet.
“Sorry!” he called as he ran for the closet door. He tried to link it to Sandy’s parents’ place’s front door, but he must have left it open. “Shit!” He racked his memory and recalled a small broom closet under the staircase. It would have to do. He linked the doors. He saw Mary was yanking on her pants, so he grabbed her and leapt through the door to tumble onto the hallway floor.
“Out the window!” Henry called as Mary scrambled to her feet. “He’s a rapist.”
Mary smiled back at Henry and ran to the window to dive through it.
Henry pushed himself to his hooves and recalled at the last second to drop the door spell. Then he charged outside.
Mary was getting a pounding on the front lawn in the deep snow. The ogre was slamming both fists on her repeatedly, but Mary’s laughter just got louder and louder.
Henry slid in next to Sandy, who was panting weakly. He slipped into her shield and activated his own. Then he poured energy into Sandy’s body, and she sighed in relief.
“He almost got through,” she said quietly.
“But you held him off until I got reinforcements. Damn impressive.” He stood with Sandy in his arms and backed away from the beast.
The ogre’s attention was drawn away from Mary, who took the opportunity to stand and cock a fist.
“For Sandy,” Mary said before she punched through the ogre’s groin. He squealed in pain, dropping to his knees.
Henry winced.
The gathered policemen winced.
The old man standing on the opposite sidewalk winced. His dog winced.
“Who is this?” Sandy asked.
“The young cop said he used to be an officer too, but he was arrested for raping multiple-OOF!”