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  She’d winced when Brenton had called her a Trekie fan at her initial interview and he’d given her the corny Star Trek Vee signal with his fingers. Tabitha had resisted giving Brenton a finger all right. She suspected he was baiting her as she was very serious about her job and Brenton, being the self-made millionaire and pain in the ass owner of the hotel, liked to test his employees’ stress level concerning customer service. So Tabitha had merely smiled politely at Brenton’s weak humor and had gotten the job.

  Brenton might be a pain in the rear smart aleck but he did allow for idiosyncrasies, which boded well for Tabitha. Tabitha worked until 7 p.m. with two hours off around noon. Brenton never asked why she needed the two hours off and Tabitha was glad because she was not about to admit she took a catnap in the afternoon and preferred late hours. She very much doubted Brenton would understand it was her inherent nature. Not to mention Tabitha was the runt of a large litter and all of her close family had tails and purred when content. No better just to pretend she was an eccentric normal person and needed two hours downtime during the day.

  At eight Tabitha caught the elevator up to the penthouse. Davey, the elevator operator, who was approaching sixty and still liked to be called Davey and not the mature Dave, smiled at her. “You look very pretty, Miss Tabitha.”

  Tabitha tried to play nice and smile but she was ambivalent about the compliment. Sure, she had meant to look particularly attractive when she’d chosen the beige and black wrap dress that accentuated her figure for her interview with Brenton. The mirrored back wall of the elevator proved one of the two things Tabitha knew about Brenton; he loved his expensive clothes and his tall blonde women. And Tabitha could not afford the first except at outlet prices and she sure as hell was never going to be the second. She sighed. Worse, she suspected Brenton was a dog person.

  Tabitha resisted pacing the elevator. For one thing her croc-textured black sling-back pumps made a whoosh noise when she walked, that was as embarrassing as it was irritating. And for another, Davey would never understand her anxious reaction to closed spaces. He might think her claustrophobic but if she got in a dither and her breathing accelerated rapidly, she might transform and there was no way in hell Davey was going to mistake her paws for opposable thumbs.

  It was a reoccurring nightmare Tabitha had to be caught in a stuck elevator with no way out. By the time she was rescued her fur was more than just ruffled; she was stuck in mid-transformation, neither woman nor beast. So far transformation had always been complete and as far as was known it was just an urban legend among her genus that it could happen, but urban legends were known to have their roots grounded in reality!

  But they reached the penthouse without incident and Davey winked at her before the elevator door closed on his grandfatherly countenance. Tabitha knocked once then slid her passkey in the slot. If Brenton was indecent he’d had a warning. But when Tabitha entered it was to find Brenton sitting at the ornately carved Louis XV dining table reading the morning paper and sipping orange juice while eating a blueberry muffin. Alone. Apparently blondie was a half-nighter and hadn’t stayed for breakfast.

  Tabitha sniffed the air. The perfume odor was stale; yep, blondie was gone. And Brenton was alone and dressed, well sort of. He wore freshly creased slacks of gray wool and cashmere but no shirt. Tabitha tried not to stare too hard at the nipples she had studied the night before. How dense could a man be not to be able to tell a woman was giving him the once-over at the breakfast table?

  Tabitha admired the way Brenton’s chest tapered down at the waist and his flat stomach beckoned her to slide her tongue over the hard surface and trace the path from his belly button down the sprinkle of light colored hair that ran inside the top of his pants. She wanted to devour his cock much as he was devouring that blueberry muffin. The mushroom head was made for sucking and she could curl her tongue around the shaft and milk him until he shouted for mercy.

  Tabitha fantasized Brenton’s muffin-filled hand was palming her breast, raising it until the areola was upturned to his lips where he slowly pressed it to his mouth, taking in just the tip and sliding his tongue over the tiny sensitive creases until it hardened. Then he ran his tongue over and around the soft, satiny skin, taking the nipple within and suckling it while his other hand moved between her legs and sought her cunt. God, she wished there’d been more time last night! A noise startled Tabitha from her sexual reverie.

  Brenton had spoken and Tabitha realized she had not heard a word. “I’m sorry?”

  “I said I’d wished there’d been more time.”

  “What?” Was he a mind reader?

  “To retrieve the necklace. I know it was short notice to tell you yesterday afternoon and expect you to just waltz in and retrieve it.”

  Tabitha smiled at her thoughts. He didn’t know. Of course not. “It was no problem.”

  “Then you have it?”

  Tabitha reached under the neckline of the wraparound dress and pulled at the strap that held the pouch around her neck. She threw the velvet bag at Brenton.

  He caught it deftly with one hand, the other still clutching the corner of the newspaper. Taking his time he wiped his mouth on a napkin then opened the pouch and shook out the diamond and sapphire necklace. “Ugh! It’s ghastly!”

  “Yes. But worth a great deal,” Tabitha reasoned.

  “But something of value should also be beautiful to look at.”

  “Beauty is…”

  “Yeah. Yeah. In the eye of the beholder,” Brenton finished.

  “I was going to say, ‘Beauty is overrated’.”

  “Whatever.”

  Brenton was clueless what she meant. Not surprising. If he didn’t know Tabitha wanted him, he sure wasn’t going to acknowledge she was far more suited for him than the jism-choking blonde. Humans! They practically had to have the truth shoved up their asses before they realized it! Tabitha was as frustrated as if she was chasing her tail and that she rarely did.

  “How did you get it away from that skank Diamond Charlie?”

  Tabitha smiled. “I waltzed in and retrieved it.”

  Brenton would naturally assume she’d used her security pass card and walked into Diamond Charlie’s room. And indeed, Tabitha could have done just that, but why add the risk of being seen by someone entering the room? Her way was far more effective and foolproof.

  “I can skip into Agatha Winters’ suite and return it just as easily,” she assured Brenton.

  “No. I can’t let you do that.” Brenton was staring at Tabitha like a cat that was stalking a goldfish. If he didn’t wipe that devil-may-care bedroom smile off his face, Tabitha swore she would cream her panties right there and then.

  Brenton seemed to have lost his train of thought. It wasn’t like him and Tabitha wondered what was on his mind. She glanced at him and caught him eyeing her legs. Tabitha caught her breath. Was he interested in her? A girl could dream.

  But he seemed to be back on track. “Uh, Agatha Winters had security cameras installed in her suite yesterday. No, it’s better I return the necklace to her on the up and up.”

  “You can’t very well tell her your security was lacking the night of the charity ball when Diamond Charlie snatched it from around her neck, with no one the wiser, until she discovered it was missing when she looked at herself in the ladies’ room mirror.”

  “Yeah, that’s the last time I hire a private security firm and give mine the night off. You’d think if you hire professionals you get better quality than the help you hire off the street.”

  “Hey! You hired me off the street! You told me to go away for the night remember? You said the ball was too important to trust with minor hotel security. You said—”

  “Shut up! Like I need the reminder. Anyway, the necklace is back and I’ll tell Agatha it was found in the laundry chute.”

  “Like she’ll believe that! Are you going to convince her it was lost in her brassiere?” Tabitha scoffed, Brenton was rankling her fur.

  “I don’
t have to be specific. She can draw her own conclusions how it got there. Perhaps it fell off before the ball and got mixed up with the linen or towels. Hell, she’ll be so glad to see it, it won’t matter how.”

  “Just smile and look pretty when you tell her and she’ll believe anything.” Tabitha watched Brenton’s facial expression.

  He looked annoyed. Agatha Winters was well into her sixties and known to be on the prowl for another husband. Number four to be exact and Brenton was on her list of prospects. She liked her men young and studly. At thirty Brenton filled the bill, not to mention he could circulate in her upper echelon circles without social training.

  “Don’t you have a job to do?” Brenton tried to change the topic.

  “Sure. Uh, how was your night last night? I mean, while I was waltzing into thieves’ hotel rooms.”

  “Nothing special. I had dinner with a friend and early bed. I have to stop eating beef before bedtime though. It gives me the most peculiar dreams.”

  Tabitha wondered what he would say if she confessed it hadn’t been a dream and she had been in his room masturbating with him, and imagining she was riding his hard delicious cock until he exploded inside her. Would he let her explore his body and discover what made men and women crave sex so much? She wanted to take her sandpaper-rough tongue and run it over his cock until it stood at attention. She wanted to lick his balls until they ached and she wanted to taste more of his jism, lapping his cum like the cream she had lapped up that morning for breakfast. She would make him see she was special, indeed! In more ways than one. But of course she said nothing, did nothing, and only smiled mysteriously.

  Brenton seemed to watch her in contemplation. Tabitha wondered if he ever looked at her breasts the way his eyes caressed his buxom dates and bed companions. Did he see anything attractive in his newest security officer? Damn! Why was she even thinking about that, this morning? It wasn’t like Tabitha to dwell on human feelings. And this morning she was in sexual overdrive. She had better check the calendar. Perhaps it was the time of the month to double up on her hormones and decrease her omega intake. She could not risk coming in heat and having to isolate herself when she was so new to the job. How would she explain that to her boss? Uh, Brenton… I know I’ve only been here four months, but I need seven to ten days off or I’ll strip and drop to my knees and beg you to penetrate me from behind and fuck me continuously for a week while I yowl and claw at you. Yeah, that would go over real well and what kind of referral would it get her?

  “Is something funny?” Brenton asked. “Care to share why you have that smirk on your face?”

  “No. What do you suppose Diamond Charlie will do when he discovers the necklace is gone?”

  “What can he do? No, he’ll chalk it up to a thief robbing a thief and cut his losses. Good work, Tabitha. Now that your three-month probationary period is up, we should get together and discuss what would keep you satisfied here at the Arpel. I don’t want to lose you to competition. Is there anything I can do to ensure your loyalty and fealty?”

  Yeah, unzip your pants and let me lick and suck you until you’re rock-hard, then do to me what I dream of doing to you. But Tabitha kept her wayward thoughts to herself and tried to beam a grateful employee smile at her boss. “I’m just happy to do my job. It’s not often a boss lets his employees call him by his first name.”

  “It’s my philosophy to trust my employees and treat them like extended family.”

  “You are a prince among men.” And a Tom among cats.

  “Tabitha. You are so maddening when you fire retorts back at me. I can’t tell if you’re serious or having a joke at my expense. Sometimes I just want to…” He was on his feet and Tabitha thought she must be dreaming again as he pulled her roughly against him and pressed his lips against hers, raising her off the ground to his height. She was pinned to his bare chest and her own breasts hardened instantly. She growled deep in her throat and tangled her arms around his neck.

  His hands were low on her back, pressing her to him. She swore the bulge in his pants was growing larger. She could not help rubbing against him to indicate her need. It was instinctual and felt so right.

  His tongue slid inside her mouth and ran along her teeth then settled deep within. He pressed her even tighter until Tabitha made a mewling noise that signaled she needed air. That’s all she wanted. That and Brenton to make love to her until they both fell into an exhausted stupor.

  But the slight noise seemed to bring Brenton to his senses and he stepped back, quickly. “This isn’t right.”

  “What!” Tabitha almost yelled. “It’s perfect!”

  “It’s impossible.”

  “Because you’re my boss? I quit! Problem solved.” Tabitha saw a shadowed frown on Brenton’s face, she did not understand.

  Nonetheless he smiled slightly at Tabitha’s quick retort. “It’s not that simple, Tabitha. It’s impossible for reasons I can’t explain.”

  “It’s because I’m not beautiful like those other girls you date, isn’t it? You don’t want to cramp your reputation with the likes of me, is that it?”

  “That’s not…” But Brenton changed his mind and instead almost painfully rasped out. “Yeah, that’s it.”

  Tabitha stared hard then to her horror tears gathered and threatened to spill down her face. There was no way in hell she was going to let that man see her cry! No way! She turned her back and slammed from the suite without looking behind.

  * * * * *

  Tabitha purposefully stayed away from Brenton for the next few days and concentrated on her job. Agatha Winters did not raise a peep at the return of her diamond and sapphire necklace and neither did Diamond Charlie at his loss of it. Charlie checked out of the hotel and Tabitha figured that was that.

  A few nights later Tabitha the she-line, unable to sleep, was prowling on the hotel ledge high above the street when she heard the unmistakable sounds of whimpering and begging coming through a balcony door. It was her job to check it out and if it was something that would cause a blight on the hotel, Tabitha could always go around and transform to human form and knock on the door as hotel security checking out a noise complaint. She was on the tenth floor and the rooms here were comfortable, but not the most exclusive, so it could be any guest doing heaven only knew what to a wife or girlfriend.

  Nimbly Tabitha jumped onto the balcony and slinked through the door, ducking behind a chair as the room was lit and she didn’t want to be seen. Peering carefully from around the chair, a strange sight met her feline eyes.

  A man was lying tied to one of the double beds, with neckties binding his wrists to the wooden bed frame. He was clothed in a ladies’ pink sheer negligee with nothing underneath. He was morbidly obese; the rolls of flesh around his middle almost obscuring his meager organ and sacs. As Tabitha watched, a woman clad in a red leather outfit with a spiked collar and thigh-high patent leather red boots walked up and down the floor between the beds and yelled obscenities at the man. She carried a flogger and occasionally dealt the man a smack, miraculously close to his groin but missing his penis by mere inches. She continued to yell and flog until the flaccid penis began to perk up. Stubbornly it remained at half-mast.

  The woman had a mass of red hair coiled around her head like a beehive and bright garish red lipstick. She wore heavy makeup, punctuated by vivid peacock blue eyeshadow and false eyelashes. She began to jump up and down in a tantrum and Tabitha almost transformed out of shock when she saw the woman had an Adam’s apple that bobbed up and down when she jumped. What was this strange she-man?

  The she-man began to shriek; “I knew it! I knew it! I don’t excite you anymore, you whore! Our weekend away is ruined because you can’t get it up for me! No one is limp for Stevie, no one! Do you hear me!” The she-man jumped on the bed and stood over the prostrate form. The red leather outfit was split at the crotch and the she-man’s testicles were clearly visible. The flogger was brandished for effect and whistled through the air. The she-man named Stevie br
ought it down on his own scrotum. He shrieked. “You see what you’ve brought me to? You see what your Stevie has fallen to?”

  For the first time the man on the bed spoke. “My love, untie me. Let me hold you.”

  The she-man flogged himself again, crying sharply, “I dare not! You do not truly love me.”

  “I do. Look! My cock rises for you and only you!”

  Tabitha looked and sure enough the half-mast penis was at full attention, puny though it was. The one called Stevie shrieked with glee and fell to his knees, hastily untying the man in the pink negligee and turning about-face, in a prone position. Without preamble the pink negligee fluttered to life as the fat man threw himself at Stevie and rammed his cock through the split in the red leather. Stevie uttered a guttural high-pitched cry then called out expletives as his paramour rode him.

  Tabitha had never seen this mating habit before. Men who were womanish and women who were men! It was all so confusing. And how did it feel to have a cock rammed into your anus? For some reason she thought of Brenton and his large member, swollen and glistening, plunging in and out of her rear. Intriguing. A contraction in her cunt and her ass simultaneously took her by surprise. She would leave the she-men to their games and contemplate this new feeling and what she had seen. And how could she get Brenton to do this to her?

  Chapter Three

  Tabitha had the next day off for personal reasons. Her three-month doctor’s appointment was routine. The shot of Depo-Provera was a godsend for three months protection of birth control. If Tabitha did happen to have breakthrough estrous she certainly did not want what had happened to her sister Felicia to happen to her.

  Felicia was a beautiful tortoiseshell Persian who had gone slumming one night in the alleys of the city. The result was Tabitha’s nephew Leo, who had to be home-schooled until he achieved transforming control. Mind over matter was no principle for a rambunctious child to learn easily. Not that Leo wasn’t a great kid, but Tabitha wasn’t ready for that kind of responsibility. There was also a high chance of multiple births and that was one experience Tabitha could live without. She had seen what her mother had gone through with a litter of five that had led to stringent rules for her and her siblings. Trying to enforce those rules on a subspecies that was prone to roam at night and stay away for days at a time was no picnic.