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

Katrina’s heart went out to him. She felt like she was finally getting a glimpse into the real personality of this man who had grown up with Ren. It was important to her to make friends with Ren’s friends, since she was going to be immersed in his life and people more than most couples would be. She smiled at Dave and nodded reassuringly.

“There’s someone out there for you, Dave, and I’ll pray you find her soon.”

Dave smiled back. “From your lips to the Goddess’s ears.”

The rest of the flight passed companionably with occasional conversation. At one point, the steward, a young man in his teens named Bobby, brought out food from the small galley. Dave ate with the gusto she’d come to recognize in her shifter friends while Katrina enjoyed her much smaller portion.

Dave was good company, but he wasn’t Ren. Within a few hours of being back home, Katrina was pining for Ren. Their phone calls just weren’t enough, and when he suggested she come back to England, she jumped at the chance. It hurt her, deep inside, to be apart from him.

“I was afraid this might happen,” Ren told her that night, during their hour-long phone call. “They say mates, especially newfound mates, find it difficult to be apart for any reason.”

“Then, why did you let me go home?” she asked, frustrated. “This hurts, Ren. I never expected to feel this ache in my heart simply because you’re not here with me,” she whispered into the phone.

“Whatever you’re feeling, I’m feeling, too,” he replied softly, his voice carrying the huskiness of his inner cat. “This wasn’t the brightest thing I’ve ever done, and I’m sorry. I wanted to give you your freedom. I don’t ever want to hold you back from doing the things you want to do, and I know it was important to see your family, even though I had commitments here. I didn’t think the separation would feel this bad.”

Katrina suspected that whatever she was feeling, he was feeling it much worse because of his shifter nature. His voice sounded strained, and she wanted nothing more than to put her arms around him and hold tight for a very long time. But she was in New York, and he was still in England. Why had she ever thought laying groundwork here at home with her parents was a good idea?

“I can fly out tomorrow,” Ren said suddenly. “I’ll get the jet back here, and I can be with you in New York in a matter of hours after that.”

“But you still have work to do on the movie,” Katrina objected.

“To hell with the movie!” Ren surprised her by his vehemence. “You’re so much more important to me than anything else. I can’t take much more of this, kitten.” His tone gentled as he revealed his feelings, and it touched her deeply.

“To be honest, neither can I,” she whispered.

There was a pause before Ren spoke again. “Come back to England,” he said finally, his voice conveying the same longing she felt in her heart. “I’ll send the jet to New York to get you. They can be there in the morning and bring you back here. To me.”

Her heart soared with immediate response. Yes! She wanted to be with Ren. No matter what. Then, saner thoughts intruded.

“But what will my parents think? I only just got home and I haven’t even broken the news about us to them yet.”

“We’ll make up an excuse. A film emergency. Some kind of glitch that means we’ll have to reshoot some of your scenes. I’m sure Sonia will go along if and when your folks meet her and the matter happens to come up in conversation. So will my Clanmates. We can make it work, kitten.” He sounded so earnest, so needy. She felt the same need to be with him.

“Okay. I’ll pack tonight and tell my parents in the morning,” she decided.

“I’ll phone Dave, and he’ll make arrangements to get you both to the airport,” Ren added.

Katrina had been astounded to learn that Dave was staying in the apartment directly below hers, which had been empty for the past couple of months. Apparently, Ren had rented it out for just such a purpose, so his Clanmate could stay close enough to Katrina to be of help should there be a problem.

Dave had taken it one step farther, though. He’d installed a large cardboard box on her fire escape and had told her he’d be sleeping out there, under cover of the box, in jaguar form tonight. The box was just to camouflage his spotted fur from sight, he’d explained, and he told her he’d be more than comfortable sleeping in it in his jaguar form. He had claimed to like sleeping outside, especially high up off the ground. Katrina had just shaken her head and figured she wouldn’t win this battle. If the crazy man wanted to sleep on the fire escape, so be it.

Ren ended the call a few minutes later, and she knew he was calling Dave, as promised, while she started her packing. He called back a half hour later, and they stayed talking for a few hours more until, finally, she fell asleep. Morning couldn’t come soon enough. She needed to be with Ren in person, not just on the phone.

Katrina and Dave flew back to England the following day. Katrina’s parents didn’t really understand the manufactured film-set emergency recall, but they didn’t fuss, for which she was grateful. Reuniting with Ren was everything good in her world.

The small jet came to a stop on the tarmac in the private portion of the airport reserved for charter flights, and Katrina was out of her seat even before the door opened. She saw a car waiting as the stairs unfolded and lowered to the ground, and Ren was standing there, waiting for her.

Throwing caution to the wind, Katrina ran down the steps and into Ren’s arms. He caught her and