Free Purr by Paisley Smith

know. Together, we can get out.”
    “Arabella? Are you finished?” Helga’s voice sounded from the
next room.
    Giselle released her and fled out the door before Arabella
could respond.
    Together…
    Arabella stared at the spot where she’d last seen Giselle.
    “Clean up and get back to bed,” Helga said upon finding
Arabella still in the preparation room.
    “Yes, ma’am,” Arabella replied, dipping into a quick curtsy.
But as she put away the kitten costume and cleaned her table, she could not
stop imagining what a life outside the walls would entail—a life with Giselle.
    * * * * *
    Giselle didn’t stop until she’d arrived at her room.
Sickening guilt roiled in her gut. The girl genuinely liked her. She closed her
eyes and inhaled, breathing in the scent of Arabella’s sex that still lingered
on her lips and hands. Giving the woman release had caused a stirring in
Giselle for which she’d not been prepared.
    For the first time, she’d felt the true desire to give
pleasure to another. Granted, she’d sought to tempt the girl into helping her.
Giselle had learned that her beauty and sexual ability could be used to
manipulate others. Thus far, she’d used her weapons as such.
    But what she’d done with the guileless girl had left her
confused and remorseful. She tamped down the unwelcome feelings and resolved to
stay the course and escape Katzenhalle—whatever the price.
    Not bothering to don her nightgown, she climbed into bed.
The komtesse had awakened her to deliver another punishment more devastating
than the first. Her rough treatment had given Giselle the perfect opportunity
to appear the victim. Her entreaty to escape could not have been played to more
sympathetic ears. But Giselle had not expected to feel such self-reproach. She
had no intention of doing anything with the hapless attendant once she was
safely back in France. Perhaps her father could offer the girl a position or
give her a reward. But even the thought of easing her conscience with money
brought Giselle little succor.
    Arabella was clearly infatuated with her. Giselle could see it
in her eyes. That made seducing her all the worse. Giselle had thought she
could do what it took to arrange her escape with no qualms. She touched her
tongue to her lips and tasted Arabella’s essence again.
    No qualms, indeed.

Chapter Five
     
    Arabella felt a strange quivering in her belly when Giselle
mounted her table the next day. As she readied the brunette for the den,
Arabella’s hands trembled. Perspiration misted her spine and the back of her
neck flamed. All she could think about was their exchange the previous evening.
And while she found the kitten extraordinarily beautiful, conversing with her
had made her that much more alluring.
    She was falling in love with the komtesse’s favorite, and
there was nothing Arabella could do to prevent it. Her pulse skittered when she
remembered the breathtaking sensuality of Giselle’s mouth kissing her between
the legs. In contrast, an ugly streak of jealousy snaked through her at the
thought of Giselle bestowing that same pleasure on the komtesse.
    Arabella did not want to share.
    Perhaps escape was their only option.
    When Giselle lifted her bottom to receive her tail,
frustration ate at Arabella. She wanted to take her time to explore the
tempting cleft but under Helga’s vigilant eye, it proved impossible.
    “Fingers first,” Giselle implored, looking back over her
shoulder.
    Arabella lubricated two fingers and eased them into the
tight, hot hole. Giselle expelled a quiet breath, inciting Arabella to slowly
thrust the fingers in and out. She didn’t dare dawdle though. Helga marched
down the line, smacking a strap against her palm.
    Attempting to appear industrious, Arabella withdrew her
fingers and then pushed the tail dowel securely into place. She finished
readying the kitten for the den and as Giselle climbed down from the table, she
leaned close. “Did you give any thought to our