by Bianca D’Arc
Katrina was a nobody. A nobody who had crushed hard on the young Ren the first time she’d seen him in a movie. She’d followed his career to some extent, seeing each of his new movies and enjoying his performances and those mesmerizing green eyes that were, she had discovered, even more potent in person.
He had barely aged since his debut a decade or more ago. He was still fit and trim and handsome as sin. He really lived up to that promotional logo that had been used on one of his early movies. She could see no real difference in the Ren of ten years ago and the Ren of today. She would’ve thought he’d at least look a little more weathered, but no.
Ren was still as handsome as he’d been back in his first film, with no visible signs that he’d changed much at all in the intervening years. Men had it easy. They grew more mature and handsome while women just got old. At least, that’s the way it still was in Hollywood. Katrina had known, when she’d first tried to make a living at acting, that her shelf life was limited. There was a narrow band of years when a woman could play leading roles like the one she’d been given here.
Katrina had sometimes fantasized about acting again when she got older. She could play supporting characters. Mothers, aunts, crazy old cat ladies…but Sonia’s offer had come at a time when she’d given up on being the lead. Well, as the Bard said, there are stranger things in heaven and earth.
Katrina caught her breath and tried to calm herself. Within moments, she’d have to face Ren again. Franny would be with him, and the past few days had taught her that Franny was a keen observer of human nature. Katrina wanted to project a professional competence. A nonchalance that was diametrically opposed to how she was really feeling inside just thinking about what she was going to do today.
For today, she was going to kiss Rendall Smith. Glory hallelujah!
“What is it with you today, Ren?” Franny asked once the door had closed behind Kat. “You were scaring her.” Franny gestured to the door where Kat had beat a rather hasty retreat. “Your cat is in your eyes.”
“He’s always there, Fran. You know that,” he told her as he flopped down into the makeup chair and spun to face her. “He’s part of what made me so disgustingly famous.”
“I know that,” she told him, “and you know that, but little Miss Kat has no clue. Yet, she still ran from the predator.”
“Maybe she just has good instincts,” Ren said offhandedly, but he knew he wasn’t fooling Francesca.
“Maybe you should be a little more careful around the human,” Franny countered. “Now, don’t fight me on this. You may be a handsome devil, but you shine. Your natural glow needs to be toned down for film, and you know it.” She grabbed the arm of the chair and swiveled him around to face the mirror. Then, without giving him the opportunity to object, she set to work, evening out his skin tone and taking the shine off his face.
She’d have to touch him and Kat up—along with anyone else who was going to be on camera today—as needed, but Ren knew that Francesca liked getting the foundational work done here, under controlled conditions, with all her tools, lotions and potions around her, and a steady light source. She probably could, maybe even should, have created a space like this on set, but Franny always said she liked to be mobile during filming, staying where she was needed, ready to fix things on the fly.
She worked fast, and within a few moments, he was ready. He hadn’t objected, which he knew was abnormal. They usually went through a little routine of banter while she fixed him up, but today, for some reason, he just didn’t have the energy. No, all his focus was elsewhere. On the human, as Franny had called Kat.
He was going to kiss her today. He’d kissed hundreds of women in his years in film. Maybe even thousands, though he certainly wasn’t counting. That would just be tacky. Still, something about the idea of kissing Kat made him pause.
And, for the first time ever, his inner cat was interested, too. The jaguar had been watching Kat out of Ren’s eyes. He’d been sizing her up. For what purpose, Ren wasn’t really sure. His inner cat wasn’t quite as at peace with his human half as he probably should have been by this age. There was something still very wild, very restless, about his furry side.
It showed in his eyes. The famous green of Ren’s gaze was sharpened and crystalized by the cat’s energy, showing through. In any other profession, that would have been a detriment, but in Hollywood, people just assumed it was some kind of cosmetic affectation. Maybe a bit of photographic enhancement, even.
Ren couldn’t figure out why the cat was so interested in the human woman. If Ren were more in-tune with his wild side, he might understand better, but as it was, he and his inner cat had always had a somewhat tense relationship. Mark Pepard, the jaguar Alpha, claimed Ren’s inner beast might settle down more if he found his mate. Ren wasn’t so sure.
He’d looked. He really had. He’d dated many different women, from all sorts of backgrounds. Shifters of every species. Humans. Even a white witch or two. He hadn’t really been looking for forever, but if it happened to find him, he believed he had been open to it. Like anyone, he didn’t fancy being alone for the rest of his life. He wanted a mate. He just didn’t know how he was going to find one when no woman he’d met since attaining adulthood had ever stirred the mating instinct.
Hell, before now, no woman had even roused the interested of his jaguar. So, then. Why now? What was it about Kat that made the jaguar take notice? Was the beast assessing her as some kind of threat? Or was there something more…potentially life-changing…going on?
He wished he knew, but he and his cat had never really been in complete sync. The cat seemed like an observer, just along for the ride in Ren’s body, when he was in human form. When he was in jaguar form, the human side looked out from the cat’s eyes in the same way, but somehow, it worked.
Ren knew it wasn’t ideal. He knew most shifters had much more symmetry with their beasts, but it’s just how it always had been for Ren and his inner fur ball. He didn’t know any other way.
Would a mate change that? Would a mate change him? He wouldn’t know, for sure, until it happened, and he was almost at a point where he’d given up on it ever happening. There had been so many women in his life that he thought might’ve been perfect mate material, but none of them had ever stirred the cat’s interest.
“Something’s up with you today,” Franny said as he got up from the makeup chair. “Are you all right?”
Ren gave her a smile and did his best to hide his innermost thoughts. “I’m good. Just a little tired. I didn’t sleep all that well.”
She wasn’t buying it. He could see the suspicion in her eyes, but she seemed to be willing to let it pass, for now. Thankfully.
They walked together to the waiting van that would take them to the location. Katrina was already inside, waiting for them. She’d chosen to sit in the front passenger seat, next to the driver, precluding any closer contact between them while they were driven to work.
Ren guessed he deserved her skittishness. He’d let the cat show a little too much this morning, he supposed. He hadn’t meant to, but he’d probably given her a good scare. Not that she would know what she was frightened of, but many humans had good instincts about sensing predators in their vicinity. Self-preservation was a strong instinct in many prey species.
He knew he really shouldn’t think of humans in those terms, but his cat was a big influence, even if they didn’t always merge seamlessly into one being. Because of his lack of peace with his cat, Ren was more comfortable among shifters, though his work brought him into contact with all too many non-magical folk, more often than not. His fame gave him a good excuse to hide out on his estate, away from people, when he wasn’t actively working on, or promoting, a film.
They were driven to the location, and Katrina took off for the costume trailer. Ren followed behind while Franny frowned at them both. Ren just shook his head. Franny could frown all she wanted. He was going to have to deal with this...whatever it was...between himself and Katrina.
Sonia pulled Franny aside as they watched Ren stalk after Katrina, heading for the costume trailer.
“How’s it going?” Sonia asked, her gaze narrowed on the pair walking away.
“Something’s in the air,” Franny replied. “Ren’s inner jaguar would not stop staring at Kat. It got a little too obvious, I think.”
“Kat is a total innocent. She knows nothing about shifters or the magical world,” Sonia said quietly.
“Regardless, she sensed it. She ran like prey,” Franny insisted, frowning a bit.
“Maybe that’s because she felt like prey,” Sonia replied. “You know he’s going to kiss her today. Our Kat is inexperienced in such things.”
“Surely, she’s kissed men before. She’s pretty enough to have had many boyfriends,” Franny said, looking sharply at Sonia.
“Oh, certainly,” Sonia agreed. “But she’s never kissed anybody in front of rolling cameras. That’s got to feel a little odd. And she’s certainly never kissed Ren before. Say all you want about your cousin, but he is…um…potent.”
Franny scoffed. “All jaguars are, when it comes to sexual attraction, but I suppose you’re right. I’m so used to him I forget how he makes women swoon with the merest glance.” Franny laughed at her own words.
“Well, I’m glad she’s coming on set with the right attitude for the scene. Marian isn’t going to jump into Robin’s arms easily in my movie. She’s got to have a little fight in her. A little spark,” Sonia enthused. “If she’s fighting the attraction, I can use that.”
“What if she’s just scared?” Franny countered.
Sonia shrugged. “I can use that, too. Remember, a well-raised woman of Marian’s time would have been completely sheltered. She never would have kissed a man. She probably wouldn’t even know how sex was accomplished until her wedding night.”
Franny’s eyebrows went up. “No shifter woman would ever be kept that much in the dark, no matter what time in history.”
“Maybe so,” Sonia agreed, “but humans are different. The last time I was in the mortal realm, the high-born females were treated that way, though it was different among the other classes. The Marian in this film, despite other portrayals in the past, is going to be like those high-born women I knew in the old days. Fear was a big part of their lives, I’m sorry to say.”
“Good. Because Kat is definitely running scared this morning.”
Chapter Ten
Sweet Lord in heaven, this was really happening. Katrina was going to be kissed by Ren in just another few minutes. Her costume was great. Check. Her makeup was done. Check. Complicated hair style accomplished. Check. Everything was ready, except maybe her nerves.
They’d already shot the parts leading up to the kissing, and Sonia had seemed pleased with Katrina’s performance, so far. She just hoped and prayed she didn’t freeze up or do something really weird when the actual kissing started. Darn it. Why had he unnerved her so badly this morning in the makeup room? What had that all been about?
His famously green eyes had gone all stalker-y on her. The intensity of his gaze had creeped her out! It was almost as if… No. She had an overactive imagination, that’s all.
Still, she’d run. Chicken-hearted. That’s what she was. Scared of who-knew-what. So, he’d been staring. Big deal. He couldn’t actually do anything to her with his gaze, could he? She’d been crazy to let him get to her. Maybe it had just been an actor-on-actor psych-out of some kind, though why he’d chosen to do it this morning, she had no idea.
She kept giving herself the same pep talk as they waited patiently for the cameras to be ready with some new angle Sonia had requested. The next take was it. He was going to grab her, push her up against the stone wall, and kiss the living daylights out of her.
Sweet Lord. She wasn’t sure she could handle it. Just the anticipation alone was enough to make her crazy. Or…crazier. She hadn’t been thinking clearly since this morning in the makeup room when his stare had so discomfited her.
“Okay, the first kiss between Robin and Marian isn’t something sweet or fairytale. In this film, it’s an assault, at first. Of course, it quickly morphs into something bone-melting once they both get into it,” Sonia advised them as she and Ren walked closer to where Katrina waited. “I want to see intensity. Kat, he’s going to grab you and push you up against this wall. Go with it but let the fear and anger at being manhandled show. Marian would have been gently treated her whole life. She’s outraged at being touched by this ruffian. She’s afraid of him, too, but she also has a bit of backbone. Don’t fight him. You’re too stunned at first to fight, and then, after he starts kissing you, you’re too involved in the new sensations. Remember, Marian had probably never kissed a man before this point. She’s convent-educated. She’s the next best thing to a nun. Innocent and sheltered beyond all reason. Then, this big hunk comes along, and she loses her head.”
Sonia backed off, leaving Ren nearby. The look in his hooded eyes was hard to decipher, but it sent a little frisson of fear—or was that merely awareness—down Katrina’s spine. Sonia went around behind the cameras, which had been set up at right angles to the stone wall. There was a tapestry on the wall to her left. The camera was to her right. The wall was at her back. They were near the corner, but not quite in it. Just close enough that the tapestry on the adjoining wall made an interesting backdrop.
“All right,” Sonia said in a loud voice as everyone began getting ready for the scene. “Places!” Things settled down, and everyone was quiet. Katrina took her starting position, as did Ren. Katrina’s nerves shot up to warp power. When Sonia called action, Katrina figured all hell would break loose.
She wasn’t far wrong. Ren blurred into motion, grabbing her by the arms and pushing her up against the wall, pressing against her with his hard body. Oh, dear Lord! She gasped. This felt so incredibly real.
She knew it wasn’t, yet… A tiny part of her mind was taken in by his acting, and she forgot all about acting the part of Marian. She just reacted to what he was doing, with what she hoped were the expressions and movements Sonia wanted.
Then, Sonia was completely forgotten as Ren drew closer, his mouth nearing hers… Oh, my Lord… She could see nothing but the green intensity of his gaze as he stared at her lips. Then, his lips were on hers, and it was nothing like she’d expected.
It was hard and rough. Commanding. A little violent, at first. Something sparked within her, and though she resisted the harsh treatment, after only a few moments, things…changed. The violence became intensity of a different sort. His hands gentled, though they held her no less securely. Her back was against the hard stone of the wall. Her front against the hardness of his muscular body, and if she wasn’t imagining things… Oh, my. There was another kind of hardness, as well.
Had that been in the script? She thought not. She met the thrust of his tongue with enthusiasm, rather than fear, and pushed her fingers into the long, silky hair at the back of his head, holding him to her, rather than pushing him away.
Thought ceased. Only sensation remained as the kiss went on and on, morphing and changing from something steeped in violence and anger into something more akin to seduction and coaxing. Of course, she didn’t need a whole lot of the latter. Her body responded to him as if it had been made just for him.
Ren’s kiss worked on her like magic, making butterflies in her midsection take flight and her knees go weak. She clung to him as he kissed her, the taste of him like a drug, the feel of him something she could not get enough of. Ever.
Ren lost all sense of time and place. The woman in his arms… Katrina… Human. Fragile. Hotter than molten lava. More seductive than any practiced siren he’d ever known.
She tasted of heaven, and her little sighs rooted him to the earth. She was paradox and contradiction. She was heaven and the answer to all the really important questions he’d ever had in his life. She was…
Sweet Mother of All.
She was his mate.
Now, he
finally understood what his inner jaguar had been trying to tell him. The inarticulate cat had been yowling at him for days. Now, it all made sense. Katrina was theirs. She was Ren’s destiny.
The people filming this first kiss faded from his perception. There was only him and her. Jaguar and mate. Magic and life.
How had this happened? He didn’t know, but he blessed the Fates that had brought this one special, perfect woman into his life. She kissed like a dream. Her body fit his as if it had been made especially for him, and if legend was to be believed, she had been. His perfect mate. The One destined to be his, and for him to belong to, for all eternity.
“Cut!” Sonia’s voice came to Ren out of the haze of discovery. He lifted his head slowly, unwilling to leave Kat’s lips, as if their kiss had meant nothing. This had been no stage kiss.
The world could think whatever they wanted. Ren knew the enormity of what had just happened, and soon, if the Goddess was smiling on him, Kat would understand, too.
“You okay, little Kat?” Ren whispered to Kat as he looked deep into her dazed eyes.
After a stunned moment, she nodded. “Never better,” she quipped, though her voice was fuzzy with desire.
His inner cat smiled at the sound. He’d done that to her. He liked knowing that she was as affected by his kiss as he was by hers.
“Don’t move,” Sonia told them from behind the camera. “We need a little more footage.”
“I don’t mind, if you don’t,” Ren whispered to Kat, hoping to hear that rough edge in her reply, once more.
“I don’t mind,” she told him, her eyes filling with mischief.
“What?” he dared her to speak what was on her mind.
“I mean, who would mind snogging with you? They’d have to be crazy, right?” Her words were a whisper meant only for him. He smiled at her, their bodies pressed intimately together.
