“Come here, kitten,” he said, holding out one hand toward her.
Katrina went to him, taking his hand and allowing him to pull her down to the bed. He arranged them both under the covers, holding her in his arms as her eyes closed.
“I wanted to make love to you again tonight, but I hadn’t counted on being magically sideswiped,” he told her, his words whispering over the shell of her ear, causing delightful sensations that she was too weary to act on.
“It’s okay,” she whispered back.
Between one thought and the next, she was asleep.
*
Much to Katrina’s relief, she woke the next morning, safe in Ren’s arms. It felt like they hadn’t moved at all during the night, yet she wasn’t stiff or achy on waking. She felt refreshed and ready to face whatever the day would bring. She felt Ren move to turn off the alarm on his phone that had played gentle sounds to wake them.
He rolled away and sat up on the side of the bed, poking at the phone with his fingers. He was probably checking messages to see what they’d missed during their magic-induced slumber, if anything. A minute later, he turned back to her, leaned in and kissed her soundly. Things were just getting interesting when he pulled away.
“It pains me to say that I don’t have time this morning to make love to you the way I would wish. We’re doing dawn scenes in the forest, and I’m already late.”
His deep voice rolled over her as his words penetrated the sensual fog in her mind. Disappointment filled her, but she knew they weren’t there for playtime. They both had work to do. She knew her planner would reveal that she had a costume session in just a half hour, so she didn’t have time to waste either.
“It’s okay. We’re here to work, after all. We’ll have time later.” She got out of bed on her side and headed for the bathroom.
She was still a little groggy, but she knew they both needed a quick shower. The bathing chamber had a large walk-in shower in addition to the massive tub they’d christened yesterday. She got the water going and stepped under the spray, unsurprised when Ren joined her a moment later.
Despite her wishes to the contrary, they really didn’t have time to linger. Ren refrained from starting anything they couldn’t finish, though just being close to him under the warm spray of water was sending her senses into the hot zone. He kissed her again, apologizing gently, then left her alone in the shower.
Katrina washed her hair quickly and finished with her morning routine, drying off and wrapping a towel around herself as she entered the bedroom. Ren was already gone. Disappointed but knowing she was running late, she dressed quickly and consulted her planner briefly before heading out of the suite. She had a full schedule today, and the costume fitting was just the first of many things she had to do today.
*
Many hours later, Katrina and Ren were together in the forest surrounding the castle, filming scenes that involved them both, as well as Robin Hood’s Merry Men. While she had been told that there were wolf shifters—real live werewolves—in the forest, patrolling and guarding them all, she hadn’t yet seen any. At least, not that she knew.
So, it came as quite a shock when a wolf bounded out of the trees and barked once for attention. Sonia immediately called a halt to the filming and went over to the wolf, which quickly morphed into a man. A very big, very tall, very naked man.
Katrina looked around and realized that she was the only non-shifter on the set right now. Everybody else seemed to be taking the newcomer’s nakedness for granted, barely noticing how ripped and muscled the guy was. Okay, Adela seemed to be sizing him up a bit, but over the attraction was a layer of concern for whatever it was that had made him break cover and speak so urgently with Sonia and Greg, who had joined them.
“That’s the Alpha of the wolf Pack,” Ren told Katrina quietly, standing close by her side. “I suspect we’ve got some trouble on the perimeter, which means I want you to stick close to me. If there’s danger, I’ll see you to safety. You’re my number one priority, okay?”
Mutely, she nodded her agreement, apprehension filling her at whatever might come next. She was totally out of her depth with all these magical folk, and her imagination was running wild at what might possibly get them all looking so grim.
Ren touched her chin gently, raising her gaze to meet his. His smile was gentle and reassuring.
“Don’t worry, kitten. I’ll protect you. It’s probably just one of the paparazzi. I know they’ve been trying to sneak onto the estate to see what we’re up to. It’ll be all right.”
His words calmed her a bit, but her thoughts went back to that big, bald-headed man that had hassled her in Virginia. Even paparazzi could be scary.
Chapter Twenty-One
The Alpha wolf shifted back into his furry form and bounded away, back into the forest. Sonia gave the hand signal for all the shifters to gather round, and Ren brought Kat with him into the circle. She as the only human on set today, which worked in their favor. Whatever was about to go down, the less non-magical folk who were aware of the activity in the forest, the better.
“Rufus just made me aware that the perimeter has been breached. There is an intruder on the grounds,” Sonia said without preamble. She kept her lilting voice low, so that no one outside their circle would hear what she said. “The wolves, in consultation with Monty and myself last night, have agreed to help bring this situation to a head. They’re allowing the intruder to believe his presence has been undetected. They’re following him right now, though from what Rufus said, he has some sort of magical interference that makes it hard to keep an eye on him. Nevertheless, he is heading in this direction.”
“Is it our old friend T.J.?” Ren asked.
Sonia turned to look at him, meeting his gaze. She nodded once, her eyes flinty hard. “It is. Which means, I believe he will head here, looking for either you or Kat or both. The rest of you,” Sonia turned her attention to the larger circle, “are to protect Kat. She is not prepared for this kind of thing, and we need our leading lady in one piece when this is all over. Ren can take care of himself.” Sonia’s lips twitched in a grin that was echoed on every face, except Kat’s. She’d learn what he was capable of, but it would take time.
“You can stop the intruder, but once you have him, it’s my turn. Understood?” Sonia went on. Her grin this time, was bloodthirsty as everyone nodded. “Until he gets here, we go about our business as usual…with a few modifications. The cameras will not roll, except for my own private recording, which we might need for evidence—both to show Monty what was done on his lands and possibly to send to the Lords if we get any actionable intel out of the man. Forget the staging we worked out. Our new scene is Robin and Marian at the center of a knot of Merry Men. You all will be the perimeter guard while we await our guest star. You two—” Sonia spoke to Ren and Kat, “—make up some dialog. It doesn’t have to be Shakespeare.”
With that, Sonia went back to the cameras with the small crew of shifters that worked behind the scenes. One of those was Deidre, who was running sound on this picture. Ren caught her eye and relayed a few instructions of his own without speaking a word. He would see to Kat, but he wanted his little sister to be as safe as possible, as well. Plus, Kat was friends with Dee, and his sister would be a good backup if Ren was somehow distracted. Dee’s reassuring nod was all Ren needed as he took his place with Kat in front of the cameras, in the center of a group of very deadly, very ready, very Merry Men.