The Jaguar Star (Tales of the Were Jaguar Island #4) - Bianca D'Arc Page 0,12

so that, in a few hours, the morning sun would help her wake up. The night was black as pitch outside her window, but for the softly glowing lamps dotted here and there in the landscaping that illuminated small patches around the base of the building.

She was about to turn back to her bed when she saw something moving out there, in the darkness. It seemed to turn, and she gasped when she caught sight of two eerie, glowing eyes. They blinked slowly then turned away again. It was definitely something like a cat. A really big cat.

Her neighbor’s tabby had that same way of slow-blinking, and its eyes were just as luminescent. The creature—whatever it was—moved, and she saw the gleam of dull gold here and there in the darkness, spotted with irregular black dots. Like a leopard? A jaguar? Some kind of exotic cat that didn’t belong in this part of the world?

She blinked hard, scrunching her eyes up and then reopened them. Whatever it had been was gone in the shadows of the woodland that bordered this back side of the hotel. If there had actually been something there. For all she knew, she was seeing things. A mirage conjured up by the late hour, the dark night and the strange environment.

It had probably been somebody’s house cat, on the prowl for mice, after all. She’d just imagined the size and the spots. Had to be. With a confused yawn, Katrina turned back to her bed and lay down. She still had an early call in the morning, and staying awake when she should be sleeping was not part of her plan.

Putting thoughts of wild cats out of her mind, she closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep. She was still physically tired from all the travel and excitement the day before, so that helped. As she drifted off, though, her mind turned back to those strangely glowing eyes…

The next morning, Katrina did her best to put the dream images of big spotted cats running through the forest out of her mind as she got dressed after her shower. She was still yawning a bit when she knocked on the door of the hotel suite that had been designated for props and makeup. Franny answered the door, looking all too awake.

“Sorry,” Katrina said as she yawned again. “I’m used to a much later schedule. The restaurant closes after midnight on the weekends, and I never have to be at work before noon. I’m still adjusting.”

“No problem,” Franny said absently as she sorted through the little containers of makeup she’d selected to try on Katrina. “I’m usually a night owl, myself, when I’m not working. It just takes a day or two for your body to adjust to getting up earlier. You’ll get there.”

“In time to start shooting, I hope,” Katrina mumbled, but Franny apparently heard her and chuckled in reply.

They spent the next hour going over makeup choices with Franny trying various things on Katrina’s face. Sonia arrived toward the end of the hour, and both women spent quite a bit of time staring at Katrina’s face, which was a bit unnerving.

“I think the softer rose,” Sonia finally said. “It’ll look more like her natural tone on camera for the main part of filming. For the close-ups, I want her skin as bare as possible so we get to see her natural responses, but the subtle eye you’ve done on the right side would work perfectly. The more dramatic eye on the left side for everything else,” the director said decisively, patting Franny on the shoulder. “Good work, Francesca. It’s perfect.”

With Sonia’s seal of approval given, the director left the room, and Franny beamed with pleasure. She came back to Katrina and began working on her face again.

“Let’s even you out so you don’t look like a work-in-progress for the rest of the day,” she said, already wielding her brushes with renewed vigor.

Katrina watched in wonder as Franny made the right side match the left and evened out the foundation tones on her cheeks. It was very light makeup, and Katrina really liked the effect Franny had achieved with so little effort.

“Is this about how you normally do your face?” Franny asked at one point.

“I use a heavier foundation, but I like what you’re using better,” Katrina admitted. “When I’m working, I need stuff that will last the entire shift without running down my face, if you know what I mean. I usually use