by Bianca D’Arc
“Greg probably knew, though,” Adela put in. “Sensei Mendez is a true master and not easy to fool.” Again, the jaguars all nodded.
“I’m new to all this,” Katrina reminded Margarete, “so please forgive me if I ask any impertinent questions.”
“Better you ask me than some of the others. Monty’s ancient ideas have sort of rubbed off on a lot of the older family members. Of course, some of them are a lot older than they look. Monty’s magic helps extend our natural lives a bit, but nothing like you shifters.” Margarete nodded toward the jaguar ladies.
“I’m just a regular human being,” Katrina said with a smile, though inwardly, she wondered just how old Ren was, and how long they’d have together. Would his magic sustain her, or would she die an old lady long before he left this earth? The thought made her sad.
“Mated to a jaguar, you will share his lifespan,” Adela said, her softly accented voice reassuring. “The Mother of All would not bring you together only to part you too early. All true matings are thus.”
Katrina hoped Adela was right as they looked at the collection of musical instruments kept in the music room, from an antique harpsicord to a concert grand piano. Woodwinds and what looked like every variation of stringed instrument were kept in what Margarete said was a humidity-controlled display that took up a large section of wall. There were also brass horns of all shapes and sizes and other instruments that could well make up a decent sized orchestra.
“Monty has always loved music. He plays all these and has taught most of us at least one instrument. Several of us play together at least once a week, to practice.”
“I’d love to hear you play,” Adela said softly, stroking her fingers along the edge of the piano. “Music is important in my homeland. It is the stuff of life.”
Margarete smiled. “Monty would agree with you. He is a great patron of musicians, even now, though he does it behind the scenes these days. Centuries ago, he supported many of the great composers and performers. When he reminisces, sometimes, he tells us stories about those who played in this house, or in other places where he lived over the years, but we don’t push. He likes to live in the present as much as someone like him can do so. I think it makes him sad to think about the past and the ways of life he’s known that are gone now.”
“I can understand that, I guess,” Katrina commented, looking at a violin carefully posed behind glass that was probably worth more than her apartment in New York.
The tour picked up again in a long hallway that Margarete called the east gallery. It held paintings and lush furnishings out of a bygone era. Dainty chairs with hand-carved scrollwork and giant paintings of people and landscapes long past. It was a room rich with history, as was just about every room she’d seen so far in this castle.
“You’re filming in the west gallery on Thursday, I heard,” Margarete said as they progressed down the long room. “The sunset in there is really lovely, and we moved all the furnishings out so it’s down to the bare stone. Monty wanted to redecorate the walls anyway, so this came at a good time. Every few decades, he modernizes a different section of the building. This time, he’s concentrating on the west wing, so you can use those bare-bones areas for filming now that they’re empty. He’s even had us digging through the attics for some authentic medieval trappings.”
“Liatha’s going to love that,” Deidre observed. “She told me a little about her plans for the sets on the plane ride here.”
They went on to a few more rooms, but eventually, Katrina caught herself yawning, and Margarete called a halt to the tour, promising to show them around more anytime they wanted. Margarete delivered them to the main hall and said goodnight. Katrina knew how to get to the room she was sharing with Ren from there, so she made her way up the correct staircase until she found their suite.
Ren wasn’t there when she went in, so she decided to indulge herself with a bubble bath. To call the attached bathroom luxurious was an enormous understatement. The giant marble bath was calling her name, and she didn’t want to resist. She filled the tub with hot water and used the bubble bath that was so thoughtfully provided to create a little steamy oasis for herself.
She slid into the hot water with a long sigh, loving the way the water enveloped her, the suds sliding against her skin. The fragrant soap was soft on her skin, and the scent wasn’t overpowering, but herbal and refreshing. She soaked for a while, resting her head back against the gently curving rim of the tub. Her eyes closed as she relaxed fully.
Sometime later, she became aware of the fact that she was no longer alone. She didn’t know what alerted her, but she opened her eyes to find the sparkling green eyes of Ren’s inner jaguar looking back at her. She gasped as the cat sat, like a living, furry statue, not a foot from the rim of the tub. He just sat there, front feet posed straight in front while he sat on his haunches, much like a house cat, only five times the size.
He had come in silently, but Ren had a presence that she was coming to recognize. He brought an energy with him into any room. It even shone through on the big screen, which had helped propel him into super-stardom. To realize that larger-than-life man was now hers… Well, it took her breath away. It all still seemed just a bit unreal.
Then again, there he was, in all his sleek, furry glory, just letting her look at him. She wanted to touch him, but her hands were wet, and he held her immobile with only the glint of his eyes. She was mesmerized by the green magic swirling in his gaze. Drowning in the essence of him.
Then, a golden mist swirled around him, and where the cat had been, a moment later, the man was, bent down on his haunches in the pose the cat had been in only moments before. He lifted one hand to the rim of the tub and took her fingers in his. His smile was soft, and all for her.
“I like the way you look at me when I’m in my fur.” His voice rolled over her like a purr.
“You’re gorgeous in both forms, and you know it,” she scoffed gently.
“I don’t really care how anybody else sees me, you know,” he told her, his tone light, but the look in his eyes was serious. “Just you. I like to know that you enjoy what you see.”
“I enjoy more than just looking at you,” she replied honestly. “That’s surface stuff. What I like best is the person you are. The kindness. The skill. The intelligence and the willingness to help others.” She wasn’t sure where the words were coming from, but they felt right. Judging by the dawning joy in his gaze, it was the right thing to say.
“I feel the same about you, kitten.”
He moved closer to rub his cheek against hers. The roughness of his beard stubble was delicious against her smooth skin. He was gentle, but the stark contrast between his maleness and her female attributes was both bold and alluring.
“Why don’t you join me?” she invited in a breathless voice. The tub was definitely big enough for two, and he was already naked from his shift. She wanted him more than she wanted her next breath and didn’t want to wait.
He didn’t answer in words but levered himself up and into the tub, all without breaking contact between their faces. The moment he was settled next to her in the water, he took her mouth in a kiss of rediscovery. Of passion and possession. Of coming home and welcome.
They made love in the giant bath, splashing more than a bit of water onto the marble floor, but Katrina didn’t care. She’d clean it up later. For now, she was going to enjoy every moment, every sensation, every inch of Ren’s possession. He came into her slowly, the warmth of the water no match for the fire in her blood as his body claimed hers beneath the dissipating bubbles.
He rocked her in the water, the warmth of him even greater than the warm water all around them. She was surprised there wasn’t more steam rising off the surface as the heat of them together soared ever higher.
Her blood boiled with passion, and his possession was total. She surrendered her essence to him and received his in return, straining higher as he brought her all the way to the pinnacle and beyond. She cried ou
t and clung to his shoulders, secure in the knowledge that he wouldn’t let her drown in water, even as her senses drowned in pleasure of his making.
Ren’s muscles grew taut as he came, flooding her with his passion, showing her things about making love that she’d never known existed. Maybe they didn’t. Not for normal people or regular relationships. Maybe this intensity only existed between herself and Ren. The true mates he claimed they were. She felt the certainty of that thought in her bones and realized that she had, indeed, won the love lottery. She’d found her mythical true mate without even knowing such a thing existed.
As they came down from that intense peak of pleasure, Ren turned her in his arms so that they lay side by side in the giant tub, his arm around her, supporting her as they luxuriated in the hot water. His fingers stroked her arm as their breathing returned slowly to normal.
“I’m going to have to find a mop somewhere,” Katrina mused, smiling at the thought of how lost she’d been to passion that she hadn’t minded all the water that had sloshed out of the tub at the time.
“Why a mop?” Ren asked, turning slightly to look at her, one eyebrow raised on that famous face that made her heart nearly stop every time he looked at her. Maybe in a few million years, she’d get used to how handsome he was. Then again, maybe not.
“To clean up all the water on the floor,” she replied absently.
Ren smiled. “No need. Didn’t you see the drain?” He settled his head back on the rim of the tub and closed his eyes.
“Drain?” Katrina found the energy to lever herself up a few inches to peer over the side of the tub. Examining the floor, she really noticed the fancy tile work for the first time.
“Every few dark tiles on the frame design around the tub aren’t actually tiles. They’re little grates that feed down into a drainage pipe that runs just under the floor. There’s a subtle slope to this whole room that allows water to drain away. No mopping required. It’s rather ingenious, actually,” Ren said, his eyes shut as he appeared to doze the entire time.
“Wow.” Katrina was impressed all over again by the thought behind the design of this beautiful place.
“I think Monty spends a lot of time dreaming up new ways to make his home more efficient,” Ren went on. “He renovates part of it at all times in sort of a rolling upgrade movement, from what I’ve been able to learn, and he does a lot of the design work himself, in consultation with experts in all the latest techniques and materials.”
“I never thought of a vampire being interested in interior design,” Katrina mumbled, resting her head back against the rim of the tub.
“When you’re immortal, I suspect time weighs heavy if you don’t have many and varied interests.”
“Margarete took us to the music room. It was more like a mini concert hall and museum of rare and costly instruments all rolled into one. She said Monty plays them all,” Katrina volunteered.
“I’m not surprised,” Ren said, his voice deep with the purr of his inner cat. Katrina loved his voice. The timbre of it lit a fire of desire in her that was never quite dormant when Ren was near. “I suppose being the Prime Minister for his kind in this country isn’t quite enough to keep his waking hours filled.”
“He’s what?”
“The Immortal Prime Minister is the official title. In the States and most places in the world, they just call themselves the Master of their regions, but the Brits always seem to do things a little differently.” Ren chuckled at his own words. “Basically, he’s in charge of all the bloodletters in the area, and if there’s a problem, he sorts it out.”
“Sounds like a lot of responsibility.”
“It is. I know I wouldn’t want to get in the middle of a fight between two of their kind. They have moves that no shifter can match, and the really ancient ones have all sorts of magical tricks they can employ. The Masters—or, in this case, the Prime Minister—has to be the strongest of all the bloodletters in the region to rule them. If another challenges his position, their battles for dominance are the stuff of legends.”
“But your people have Alphas, too, right?” She was learning a lot. Things she felt would be important to know about this new world she’d been brought into.
“Being Alpha is slightly different. I mean, I’m an Alpha, but I wouldn’t dream of challenging Mark for the leadership of the Clan. I’ve got enough to handle just in my own family.”
“So, you’re the Alpha of your family group?”
“One of them,” he admitted. “My career choice and being in the public eye has kept me in the background of Clan operations and my family, as well. That will change as I age out of the human world and can focus more on family matters. Finding you—my dear mate—is the first part of that transition. Though, I suspect it will take more than a few years. We can have a lot of fun in the human world for a while yet, being super stars and making movies.” He turned to kiss her jaw, rekindling the fire that always smoldered between them.
“That sounds amazing.” What his hands were doing beneath the water was also pretty amazing.
“You’ll see,” he promised, then kissed her lips in a way that made her forget all about their conversation and concentrate only on him. Them. Together.
*
Filming started in earnest the next day with blocking rehearsals and location shots. Katrina had an early call for costuming while Ren was off in the forest around the estate, shooting some of the foundational scenes with Robin Hood’s Merry Men. Katrina’s scenes that day were sunset and evening shots, so she had a little free time after lunch. She went for a walk around the grounds with Adela, who was also free.
“This place is beautiful,” Katrina remarked as they walked down the long driveway that was sheltered on both sides by tall, straight trees whose leafy branches formed a canopy over the roadway. She had never seen anything quite like it. “There’s a feeling here…” Katrina tried to put her feelings into words but failed. “I can’t quite describe it.”
Adela shrugged. “It’s magic,” she said in her husky contralto.
Katrina would have stopped short, but Adela kept walking, so Katrina kept going. She realized magic was something Adela took for granted.
“Magical,” Katrina mused. “That’s a good word for it.”
This time, it was Adela who paused to look over and meet Katrina’s gaze. “More than a descriptive word in this case, my friend. It’s clear to me that Lord Montague has invested much time and study into protecting his home and lands. There is real magic here. Protective magic of a kind I have seldom encountered.” Adela shrugged and turned away to continue walking. “Of course, I have not met many of his kind in my time. I’m relatively young.”
Katrina wanted to ask Adela just how old she was but knew that would be rude. She was more interested in the magic at the moment, anyway.
“There are different kinds of magic?” Katrina asked instead.
“Many,” Adela replied almost absently as they strolled along. “Shifter magic is what I know best, but there are many other varieties, both good and evil.”
Adela shared what she knew of the various sorts of magic as they walked along, and Katrina counted it among the most interesting and informative conversations she’d ever had. Adela was becoming a good friend, she thought, and was warmed by the idea. It was nice to know that Ren’s friends and family were willing to accept her, even if she was just a non-magical nothing.
Adela returned with Katrina to the castle then ran off in the direction of the filming location in the woods. She had a fight scene to be part of, she said, and laughed as Katrina just shook her head and went inside. Margarete was crossing the main foyer as Katrina entered and paused to say hello. They chatted for a few minutes, and Katrina learned that Margarete had been invited to watch the filming that evening in the west gallery, along with a few other members of the family. Katrina wasn’t really surprised by Margarete’s enthusiasm, given her reaction to their arrival, and was glad of the heads-up. Katrina would have an
audience to her work tonight, in addition to the film crew.
At the appointed hour just before sunset, Katrina got to work in earnest. They had some scenes to shoot in the west gallery before the sun went completely down and then some crucial scenes that they had to time right for when the sun shone through the ancient windows. Sonia had it all worked out and kept them to a strict schedule. The concentration required helped Katrina block out the audience of onlookers who were seated just behind the cameras, watching.
Chapter Twenty
Ren stood next to Sonia, watching them film Kat’s close-ups. Sonia was keeping them all on track with an iron will, but even she had to allow the camera crews a few minutes between shots to rearrange for the next take.
Kat was so beautiful she stole his breath, but there was something even more alluring about her now, since they’d made love and he’d claimed her as his mate. He remarked on this to Sonia and was surprised by her response. Sonia regarded him with a knowing smile on her face and laughter dancing in her eyes.
“Of course she looks different,” Sonia told him. “This is why I pushed to have all the early parts of the film done first. You’ve had this effect on her, Ren. Katrina now has the look of a woman in love. She will never have that same air of innocence she once had.”
It stunned him to know that he’d changed her on some fundamental level. Then, he wondered, had she changed him, as well? The answer came back immediately. Of course she had, but he wanted to know what others saw. He turned his questioning gaze on Sonia.
“Are my eyes calming down now, as the elders claimed they would?” He was almost afraid of the answer. Having more normal eyes could both alter his career and allow him greater freedom in the human world. It was a complex situation.
Sonia smiled gently at him. “They are. A little. But it’s a miniscule change that few would notice at this stage. I believe it will take years for your inner cat to settle completely. By that time, if he should fade from your famous eyes, it won’t matter. In fact, it would probably be for the best, since you’ll likely have retired by then and will want to alter your appearance in any case. But don’t worry, dear Ren, the cat is still there and will continue to be for a long time to come. I think he likes the attention he brings to your human form.” She laughed her musical laugh and took off to oversee her crew once more.