Vanessa crept across the room. With my feline vision, I could see her perfectly, and I was trying my best not to gag. It took all my effort to keep a feline laugh from happening when she banged her shin into a table. She swore under her breath, stopping to make certain she hadn't been heard. Because I was waiting to see what she was up to, she felt herself safe, thinking that Eddie was alone in the room. The maid must not have told her that I didn't take the other room.

She passed into a shaft of light from the window, and I suddenly found it harder to suppress my gag reflex. The woman was practically naked, dressed in skimpy lingerie and a flimsy, see through negligee. Mr. Oblivious Eddie was still asleep, the jerk. Vanessa stood at the side of the bed, slipping the negligee off her shoulder and opened her mouth to speak. I took that very moment to flick my tail out at her.

Fear gripped her as my tail wrapped around her ankle. I could see the color draining from her face as she looked down and saw my tail. Entering her field of vision, I stretched, making certain to yawn and show off my claws and fangs. Removing my tail from her ankle, I took a step toward her, licking my fangs as I gazed up at her. A blood-curdling scream ripped from her throat. Like smoke I vanished back into the shadows, only to emerge in human form.

"Shut up, Vanessa! Would you please shut up!" bellowed Sleeping Beauty as he sat up in bed, hands over his ears.

Her mouth remained open, but the noise died away as she burst into tears. I flipped on the lights, squinting a bit. Eddie took his ears off his hands, looking at her standing next to the bed in bright red lingerie, then at me in my tank top and shorts.

"What the hell is going on here?" he demanded.

"Ask the Frog here. She just snuck in a minute ago, very noisily, I might add," I said, pinning her with a glare.

"I... I just..." With a squeaky gasp, she burst into fresh tears and flung herself onto Eddie. She curled herself onto his lap, holding him tightly and sobbing.

"Query, what happened?"

"Ask her," I repeated. "I'd like to get back to sleep!" I kept my voice level, with only a slight edge of irritation.

Eddie pushed her back a bit. "Vanessa, what is the damn matter?"

"C-c-cat! B-big one!"

"Tangram is not big, Vanessa," he said. I was pleased to hear his voice colored with disgust.

"Not him! B-black! It tried to kill me!" she gasped. "Make that child take her wretched pets away! They should be locked up, the filthy creatures!"

"I could say the same about you, you trollop!" I muttered under my breath, balling my fists up. Hitting her right now would make me feel so very good. However, she was pushing me toward it, and I was not about to indulge the little tramp.

"Query only has Tangram, the little tiger. There is no other cat here, right, Query?" he said, shooting me a disappointed look.

"That's right," I said, ignoring his disapproving look. "I've only got Tangram. But she still hasn't told you what she's doing here, Mr. Nigma. By the way she's dressed, I'm sure it was a 'private business meeting,' wasn't it?"

Vanessa curled up against Eddie, her tears stopped, as she put her arms around his neck, shooting me an amphetamine glare. Her eyes narrowed as she pressed her big boobs against Eddie. "I came to inquire on his comfort. I did not expect you," she sniffed contemptuously, "to be in the room with him."

"Obviously. But I wouldn't be a very good bodyguard if I slept in a different room than him when there's just me, would I?"

"You're not a very good guard if I got this far into the room," she said, calm now.

I grinned at her, saying, "Yes. And the way you almost fell on your face as you so gracefully ran into that table! I could barely contain my amusement. Sorry, darling. But I was watching you from the second you turned the doorknob."

Her face started to turn as red as her outfit as she tried to contain her... What? Anger? Embarrassment? Indignantly, she pouted, turning back to Eddie. "Edward, why do you allow your servant to speak to me so? And you allow her pets to attack me! I know what I saw! It tried to kill me."

"Nothing tried to kill you. Look around. The only feline present is Tangram. He might scratch and bite, but he's too small to kill anything much larger than himself." He paused, putting one hand on her thigh, the other around her waist. He looked up at her. "As for Query, no one can keep her from speaking her mind. But she is an excellent bodyguard. Now I think we should all go back to sleep. I need to be rested for the tedium of the meetings tomorrow."

"Very well, Edward. Would you walk me to the door at least? I don't want an unexpected attack," she said, stroking his face.

I wanted to throttle the pair of them! How dare he! He was my boyfriend, and he had his hands all over this... This whore! Why was he doing this? Why was he being such an asshole to me? Yes, Vanessa was - whatever the hell she was to Henry. He had to be nice to her. But he should not be treating me like dirt and indulging this bitch! Where his sense had gone, I had no idea, but I knew which head was doing the thinking.

"Sure," he said.

I watched from where I was as he walked her to the door, stepping out in the hall with her. Scowling, I shifted into a tabby and hid myself where I could watch and listen to what happened in the hall. Eddie had his back to me, but I could plainly see Vanessa from where I was.

"Really, Edward. You should hire a more pleasant bodyguard. Not a child like that. It isn't right for her to speak and act like that to you or your guests. Plus, she shouldn't sleep in the same room as you. It is just indecent! You can't have any privacy!"

"I have plenty of privacy. I told you, she's a great bodyguard. Finding one that won't rip me off is a plus. Also, I'm positive she wouldn't be likely to take a bribe to rat me out like some of my past hired help."

"But why does she need such a dangerous hobby as those large cats? I would have preferred they remain on the plane. She should have remained on the plane, good or not. How will I ever get you alone?" she asked, a slight giggle in her voice. I saw her once more drop the negligee from her shoulders. "Do you like it? I wore it special for you."

Eddie sighed. "I can't leave my bodyguard on the plane. She can't leave Tangram on the plane. And there is only one cat!"

"I know what I saw, Edward! It was a large, black cat! Maybe a panther. They are black, no?" She paused for a moment, then added, "Come to my room. We can have 'negotiations' there. Show each other our assets."

Vanessa dropped her negligee to the floor and quickly took her bra off. Taking Eddie's hand, she slapped it to her breast, moaning. Eddie made no move to back away as she rubbed his hand on her breast. I cringed as she put her hand into her panties and started playing with herself.

That's just... I stopped that thought as she pulled her hand out and held her fingers up.

"Come, Edward. I'm offering a free sample of my product. It's the finest French food you will ever eat in your life. I am dying to sample that American sausage you brought with you." She put her middle finger in her mouth, groaning. "Taste it, Edward. It is so good!"

Finally Eddie moved, tugging his hand off of her breast. Vanessa's overly abundant breasts jiggled like a bowl of Jell-O.

"If you will excuse me, I need to get back to sleep," he said, walking back into the room and closing the door on a stunned looking Vanessa. He locked it and leaned against it, looking more than a bit frustrated. "Query?"

I stepped out, not bothering to shift back into human form. Giving him an indifferent stare, I sat on my haunches, the tip of my tail slowly twitching.

"Do not let her get past this door again, understood?"

I blinked in answer.

"Do not pull another trick like you did, either. She might figure things out."

To this I responded with cat laughter, which sounded like sporadic purring, my lower jaw dropping in feline amusement. I laughed so hard I fell onto my side, waving my paws in the air.

Eddie just frowned at me as I rolled on my back. "One more thing. Would you please change back? I'd like some company in bed."

This made me stop. I stood up, flicking my tail in annoyance as I strolled to the couch where Tangram still laid. Leaping lightly up, I curled myself up between his front paws. He nosed me, and I responded by growling at him to settle down. From my safe spot, I glared at Eddie.

"Please, Kitten?" he pleaded, coming to the couch.

I answered him by curling my tail over my eyes. He sighed and I heard him return to bed, turning the light off. Once certain he was preoccupied with his current thoughts, I shifted back and went to sleep.
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