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

He could hear the mechanisms of the cameras humming. Sonia, the sneak, was filming this—and thank goodness she was. Kat’s reaction to seeing Ren was exactly what was scripted for Marian’s first glimpse of Robin.

Now, Ren understood. That look. That innocence. That was the essence of Marian.

He paused at the edge of the set for as long as he could reasonably hold the position, willing Kat not to move while Sonia captured the shot. He didn’t realize he was holding his breath until it came out in a sigh as Kat moved, breaking the spell. She looked down and to the side, as if bashful at being caught staring. Another classic Marian move.

Sonia, he knew from a quick glance, was keeping the cameras rolling, but as he caught the director’s eye and got the nod to proceed, he knew the moment was near its end. He walked closer, moving onto the set slowly, giving Sonia a chance to film more of Kat being the perfect Marian for this interpretation of the legend.

Katrina saw Ren step out of the shadows, sweaty and tall and absolutely stunning in every masculine way, and her heart skipped a beat. She hadn’t expected to see him on set today. Why was he here? Shouldn’t he be outside, in fighting practice with the other men?

He must have been doing just that until just a few minutes ago because his long hair was sweaty and mussed. He looked…amazing. Dashing. Sexy.

Katrina looked away, lest he see the attraction she couldn’t deny glowing in her eyes. Embarrassment followed, and then, she started fidgeting as he walked slowly closer. It certainly was taking him a long time to cover what had to be maybe ten yards of space. Or, maybe, she just felt time had stretched so that every second felt like an hour.

When she’d first seen him step out of the darkness, it was as if time had stopped. His famous green eyes glowed with an ethereal light as he drew closer, and she looked away from the intensity of his gaze.

“You look great,” he said, coming to a halt a few steps away.

“Thanks,” she told him reflexively. “Were you at fighting practice?” she asked, just to have something to say.

He looked down at his sweaty shirt and grimaced. “Yeah, sorry.” The half-smile he sent her as he looked up again nearly made her knees give out. No man had a right to be that handsome. “Sonia thought maybe I could help out a little. Maybe give you a few pointers. I know how hard it is, sometimes, to start a new project.”

“Really?” Her heart melted at his almost boyish smile and the kind-hearted offer.

“You bet. Consider me your acting coach for the next ten minutes. Let’s go over here, and maybe we can run through your lines? Would that help?” He gestured toward the back of the high table where there were large wooden chairs set up as part of the scene.

“This is really nice of you,” she said, trying not to gush as she held her skirt with one hand so as not to drag the fine material across the floor as she followed him to the table.

What followed was one of the nicest interactions they’d had to date. He coached her through her lines and her expressions, urging her to milk all she could out of every gesture. He was brilliant. He made her think about movement and the way she used her voice in ways she hadn’t contemplated in far too long…if ever.

“You’re really good at this coaching thing, you know,” she told him at one point. His gaze was startled as it met hers, then he smiled.

“Thanks. I like teaching, but I never really get much chance to do it,” he told her. “The fame interferes a lot with just doing normal things, but if this picture takes off the way I expect it to, you’ll find out first-hand all about that.” His smile turned rueful. “I hope you’re ready for fame and fortune. It can be a bit of a roller coaster ride.”

She laughed at that, put at ease by his teasing. “Somehow, I doubt that’s going to be much problem for me,” she told him honestly, not daring to believe she would ever achieve such fame as Ren claimed.

“You’re going to be surprised. Mark my words. Sonia knows exactly what she’s doing, and this film has all the hallmarks of a sleeper hit.”

“From your lips to the deity’s ears,” Sonia said, joining them at the table. Katrina hadn’t heard her approach. “Ready for another take?”

“Definitely.” Katrina felt empowered by the quick coaching session and met Sonia’s question eagerly.

The rest of the morning was spent on the scenes they’d scheduled, and all went off like clockwork. Ren stood in the shadows for part of the morning, leaving only when Katrina was feeling comfortable and sure of herself and her craft. He’d been such a big help. She really couldn’t thank him enough.

“She’s really very good, now that she’s more comfortable,” Sonia observed as she stood next to Ren behind the cameras while the techs set up the next shot. They were both looking at Kat, who was standing patiently, letting Franny touch up her makeup. “Whatever you said to her worked.”

“I begin to understand why you cast her in this role,” Ren replied, turning to look at Sonia. “She has that natural quality that’s hard to define.”

“Star power,” Sonia agreed, nodding. “All she needs is the right vehicle, and this is it. Of course, I wanted only the very best for my film, which is why I begged Mark to convince you to do this project in the first place.”

“Flatterer,” Ren scoffed, grinning.

The soft morning light coming through the high windows of the old church lent an almost magical light to the scenes they were shooting. Ren was impressed at how good Kat truly was, once she calmed down and put her nerves behind her. They were flying