The Jaguar Star (Tales of the Were: Jaguar Island Book 4) Read online

  Sonia made her spin around and move a bit, then pronounced the dress perfect. They would be filming some of her interior scenes this morning and the director wanted to make sure she looked just right.

  After costuming, came hair. Katrina sat in the chair while Guermo fussed over her hair, brushing and twisting and combing and even making little braids in strategic places. She had met him once before, in New York, when she had met him at a hair studio so he could get a feel for the color and behavior of her natural hair. Sonia had been adamant about leaving her hair as natural as possible, which meant no coloring was required. However, Guermo had told her they would make strategic use of hair pieces that matched her natural color for certain styles. He’d taken photos and made notes about color, including highlights and lowlights.

  Guermo was a handsome Latino with an obvious flair for fashion. He was all business when it came to hair, and he had several high-budget films to his credit. His English was heavily accented, but he seemed able to converse fluently in several different languages. When they’d been in the salon in New York, he’d had short conversations with other stylists in French, Portuguese and Spanish, just while Katrina had been there.

  While he worked, he talked about the plans Sonia had made for the day. He would be with Franny, shadowing Katrina on the actual set where they were filming. The rest of the cast would be working outside the building, continuing to work on one or two of the many fight scenes in the movie. They’d rigged up a system of colored flags that would be hung out one of the windows to let the people outside know when they were actively filming and needed absolute quiet.

  When Guermo pronounced her hair done, Katrina caught her breath at the image in the mirror. She looked…otherworldly. Ethereal. Not like her usual self at all. At least, she didn’t think she’d looked like that on a normal day at the restaurant.

  Franny had done just enough to highlight her eyes, and the hair really added to the look, with tendrils artfully drifting around her face in a way that was totally impractical but looked divine. The dress, though, really made the image. It was of fine cloth. A heavy brocade, she thought, that felt and looked lustrous, like pure silk.

  Sonia came in to see how she looked again. Pronouncing the look awesome, she then took Katrina by the hand and personally escorted her to the old church, talking as they went.

  “As you know, we’re filming some of the foundational scenes for Maid Marian today. Nothing too intense. Just basic stuff that establishes Marian’s place in the world. We’re starting off easy, since I know this is your first time in front of a camera,” Sonia told her in a low voice, not unkindly. “Don’t worry. You’re perfect for this part, and I know you’re going to knock it out of the park.” Sonia smiled and let go of Katrina’s hand as they entered the building. “Go on up to where all the lights are and familiarize yourself with the set. That section is part of your home, so you need to feel comfortable there.”

  Katrina nodded her agreement and thanked Sonia quietly before heading off to do as she was told. The place had been transformed. Fully loaded with props and furniture in just the area designated as today’s set, it really did look like a room in someone’s fancy home from medieval times.

  Katrina stepped in front of the lights and tried not to squint at the brightness. She was well lit, but there were deep shadows all around, and when she looked out to where the cameras were set up, all she could see were vague outlines of equipment and people. She couldn’t identify what she was looking at, which, in a way, made her job easier. Without being able to see the audience, she could suspend her own disbelief and get more into the role. At least, that was her belief. The proof would be in the pudding, as her mother liked to say.

  Ren stood next to Sonia back in the shadows of the old church. The director had asked him especially to be on set today, in case his co-star needed any advice or encouragement. Ren didn’t know how to feel about that. On the one hand, he had this weird desire to look after Kat. On the other, she was human. He shouldn’t be feeling quite so protective of a human female… Should he?

  He’d been watching for the past few minutes, waiting for Kat to find her stride, but it didn’t quite seem to be working. Sonia had done a couple of takes, but if he was any judge, none of the material they’d shot so far would be useable. Kat was beautiful, and he suspected that beauty would translate well on film, but at the moment, she looked scared and uncertain. Quite the opposite of what Marian needed to be.

  Sonia had written it so that Marian was carefree at first, before meeting Robin, with a lively interest in politics and the world around her. Most of the action was taking place in the great hall at Marian’s family estate, which was near Sherwood Forest in Sonia’s version. Her first meeting with Robin would happen in the same place, when he came to rob the family and their important guests, including the Sheriff of Nottingham, who was thinking of courting Marian.

  Sonia called a break and told Kat to sit tight. Kat stayed under the bright lights while Sonia came back to talk to Ren.

  “She’s not getting it, is she?” Sonia said in a low voice so that their conversation was kept just between them.

  “She’s nervous, and it’s showing,” he agreed.

  “Would you talk to her? Maybe give her some pointers?” Sonia looked him up and down, her vision apparently as good as a shifter’s in the semi-darkness. “You were working out with Greg, weren’t you?”

  “The fight scenes don’t choreograph themselves, you know,” he replied.

  “It’s okay. You’re fine. Just go talk to her, will you?” Sonia encouraged him, though he knew he was sweaty and a bit disheveled from the workout.

  Sighing, he strode forward toward the set area. Kat was standing on the raised part of the stonework that had once been an altar but now acted as the dais on which the high table sat in Marian’s family’s great hall.

  Sonia went off to the cameras and stood watching. He saw her make a signal to her technical people, but he was more concerned with Kat at the moment. He stepped into the light, and Kat turned, catching sight of him. She gasped and her mouth opened in a little O of surprise.

  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.

&n
bsp; “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 through the takes, moving quickly and making great progress.

  “This is a very successful first session,” Sonia went on after a moment. “If the rest of the film goes like this, we might even be done early.”

  “And I can get back to the time off I had set aside to decompress at home before my next major shoot.” He reminded her of the sacrifice he’d made to do her little film.

  “I’ll do my best to let you get back to your precious island,” Sonia confirmed.

  “If you don’t need me for anything else, I’m going to go back to fight practice. Greg’s choreographed some tricky moves I need to run through a few more times,” he told her.

  “Just don’t break anything or get bruised in visible places,” she laughingly told him as they parted. He went back to the group of men outside while Sonia went back to her filming.

  Chapter Eight

  A couple of hours later, they were done with Katrina’s scenes for the day, and she was dismissed from the set. They called in other actors and began filming other things while she went back to the costume trailer to get out of the lovely gown that had been made for her. Once back in her street clothes, she had the choice of sticking around or going back to the hotel. There wasn’t much to do at the hotel, so she decided to get something to eat from the picnic pavilion and stay for a while.

  The men were still engaged in fight practice in the big field behind the church, so she took her food to go and set herself up on a slight rise behind the garden at the side of the church, where she could watch. She hadn’t taken time to just sit on the grass and have a picnic in far too long, and this little impromptu al fresco dining experience came complete with a show. She watched the men run through their paces in very acrobatic fighting moves.

  What surprised her most was that Ren was right out there in front, with Greg. It was as if he was teaching some of the others, not just being taught by Greg. He seemed to be acting as Greg’s assistant, in a way.

  Katrina watched and ate her lunch, then made a half-hearted attempt to read through her script. She was careful to stay out of the sun, sitting in the shade cast by the old church. She’d been warned by both Franny and Sonia that in order to keep the continuity of the shoot, she shouldn’t get a suntan or sunburn or change anything about her appearance without prior approval. It was even in her contract.

  At some point, Greg ordered a change to the routine they were working on, and that’s when Adela came over to sit with Katrina. She flopped onto the grass, groaning.

  “I hope you don’t mind,” Adela said, her light accent charming and slightly exotic. “That Greg is a slave driver. I’m so glad I’m not in every fight scene.”

  “You were terrific,” Katrina told the other woman honestly. “I saw the way you kept up with the guys. You’re an incredible athlete.”

  “Kind of you to say,” Adela said, flat on her back in the grass with her eyes closed. “But I’m beat. I haven’t worked this hard in a long time. I guess I’ve gotten soft, living in California.”

  “I’m from New York, so I guess we all have a reputation as workaholics, and at least in my case, it fits. I hear the pace in California is a bit more…um…relaxed,” Katrina said, not quite making it a question but hoping to draw the other woman out a bit.

  “Everything is very casual in LA,” Adela agreed. “I spend a lot of time at the beach when I’m not working.”

  “We have beaches, but it’s not really the same,” Katrina offered. “I live on Long Island, but it’s about a twenty-minute drive to the nearest beach, and in the summer, it’s a zoo. I tend to like to walk the beach in the spring and fall, when there aren’t so many sunbathers. I like watching the ocean and listening to the waves.”

  “I’m all about the swimming,” Adela replied. “I love the feel of the salt water against my skin.”

  Katrina could understand that. Adela looked every inch the hedonist. Or the athlete. Katrina didn’t know her that well yet, but she seemed like a nice person, and she had made the overture by coming over here.

  They sat for a while. Katrina enjoyed watching the men do their increasingly acrobatic sword work while Adela reclined in the sun. After a while, she sat up and started making comments about the swordplay, grading each performer’s work, like it was some sort of game. Her ribald commentary made Katrina laugh, and at on
e point, she could have sworn that the men—or at least Ren—had realized what they were talking about. When Greg finally called a halt, the guys formed a line facing Katrina and Adela and took a formal bow, much to their amusement.

  Katrina went back to the hotel and worked quietly in her room for a while, studying her script a little more, though she already had it down cold. She wasn’t sure when the rest of the cast returned, but sometime before dinner, Adela knocked on her door.

  “We’re all hanging out in the lobby, if you want to join us. Nothing formal. Just sitting around, chatting and debating on what to try for dinner,” Adela said. “I figured stuck way back here, you wouldn’t know.”

  “I didn’t. Thank you,” Katrina replied, meaning it. Adela might turn out to be a real friend, and Katrina didn’t want to seem standoffish with the rest of the crew. “Just let me get my bag, and I’ll be right down.”

  “See you there,” Adela said as she started walking down the hall toward the lobby.

  Katrina closed her door, a bemused smile on her face. It was nice to be invited to join the others. She packed her planner and a few supplies in a small tote, added her script on top and remembered to put her keycard in her purse, then headed out.

  She found the majority of the cast and crew sitting in the wide area off the lobby where the hotel served a complimentary breakfast to its business travelers in normal times. They also seemed to have put out finger foods for after hours, but a lot of the people at the tables had what was clearly carryout meals in front of them, sporting different logos from neighborhood restaurants.

  Adela saw her and waved her over to a large table near the back of the room. Katrina was pleased to see Franny and Guermo sitting there already, and they welcomed her with casual friendliness.

  “Great first day,” Guermo gushed a bit as he beamed at Katrina. “I heard Sonia was very pleased with your work in the morning.”