The Jaguar Star (Tales of the Were: Jaguar Island Book 4) by Bianca D'Arc (e book reader android .TXT) 📗

the former altar space, where the windows opened out onto the garden at the side of the building. Katrina stood there, gazing out the window, as directed, finding herself fascinated by the action at the back of the property that she could just see from her vantage point.

The larger part of the cast was running through one of the big fight scenes in the clear space at the back of the building. Greg was giving the counts while the rest of the cast ran through somewhat acrobatic movements, including Ren. Katrina found herself entranced by the way they dove and rolled, popped up and leapt, as if gravity didn’t have much of a hold on any of them.

Her eye was drawn to Ren. Even in the crowd of others, he moved with a sinuous grace and command that demanded attention. She knew he was just playing a part, but there had to be something of his real personality in it, didn’t there? How could a man have such a commanding, dominant presence on screen and not be just a little bit of the Alpha male in real life?

Now that she was seeing him in action, she thought there was more than a little bit of truth to her musings. Only time would tell, of course. She’d be working with him for a couple of weeks, at least, so maybe she’d get to know him better over the course of time.

Sonia called her name, and Katrina dragged her attention away from the window. Only Ren could cause her to lose track of what was going on around her to such an extent. She shook her head, vowing to do better. She was here to work, not to moon over her co-star. Even if he had been rated drool-worthy by one of the big fashion magazines just last year.

That evening, the cast and crew gathered as a group in the hotel restaurant for an official production get-together to celebrate the beginning of filming, which would commence the next day. Katrina didn’t know if every production followed the same pattern, but she thought it was a nice gesture to get everyone together in a festive atmosphere. She was seated at the cast table, next to Ren, which gave her a moment’s pause. Then, she realized everyone was seated according to their role in the production. Principles first, then supporting roles, etc.

She enjoyed the camaraderie and was surprised to see that the food was both plentiful and not exactly low-calorie. She couldn’t understand how all these actors could eat the way they did, but she just munched on her dinner salad and tried not to think too hard about it.

“Are these sorts of gatherings common at the start of a production?” Katrina asked, just to make small talk. The actors around her gave each other some kind of measuring look before Dennis replied, seemingly having been chosen as the spokesman for the group in her immediate vicinity.

“Not exactly common, I wouldn’t say, but then, our director marches to the beat of her own drum.” Dennis raised his wineglass in Sonia’s direction before taking a healthy swallow.

“I had expected to spend a quiet night in my hotel room, going over the script and making notes in my planner,” Katrina said, just to keep the conversation going. “Of course, I would’ve had to have dinner at some point, and spending time here, getting acquainted with everyone, is definitely preferable to a meal by myself.”

The others smiled and nodded agreement with her words. Surprisingly, it was Ren who jumped into the conversation next. Up to now, he’d been reticent, and she’d assumed that was just how he was with new people.

“If not for this, I would’ve enjoyed a quiet night. I’d hoped to take a stroll around the grounds and get outside for a bit,” he went on.

Hearing that, she felt it only right to warn him about what she’d seen.

“You might want to be careful outside at night around here,” she said, taking just a sip of the wine he’d politely poured for her. “I happened to look out the window late last night. My room faces the woods at the back of the property,” she explained to the others, who were listening intently. “I saw a pair of glowing eyes. They looked sort of feline, I thought, but if I wasn’t seeing things—and maybe I was because it was the middle of the night and I was half asleep—it was something way bigger than a house cat. Do they have mountain lions in this part of the country?”

She’d thought they’d probably laugh at her claim, but instead, her tablemates got unusually silent, and they all looked at Ren, as if he had to come up with an answer. He shrugged and topped up her wine glass on the table, then spoke casually.

“Anything is possible, of course, but I wouldn’t worry too much about it. There’s no call for you to be outside late at night, right?”

“True, but what about you? You should be careful if you do take that walk later,” she advised him, not sure why it was suddenly so important to her to warn him to be safe.

“Oh, I usually find that most animals are more afraid of me than I need to be of them,” he said offhandedly, then surprised her by meeting her gaze. She felt pinned under the intensity of those famously green eyes. “But it’s nice of you to be concerned about my welfare,” he told her in a low rumble that reminded her almost of a purr. That was the magic of his famous voice, again. It was amazing how powerful it was in person. If he asked, in exactly that tone, she’d give him anything. “I can’t remember the last time one of my co-stars actually said something that nice to me.” He bowed his head a little to one side in a display of old-world charm that had made women swoon the world over at his