A Very Daring Christmas (The Tavonesi Series Book 8) (23 page)

When no one made a guess, she broke out in a wild laugh. It was impossible not to join in, her laughter was that infectious. Still laughing, she put her hands to her forehead and hauled in a breath. Stomping her feet to focus their attention, she threw her arms in the air and appeared to be floating, flying or rowing.

“Boat?” Jake guessed again through his laughter, trying to help her out.

Cameron nodded vigorously and put her hands in the sign of a prayer of thanks. The soft look she shot him sent him over the edge.

He wanted her. And not just in his bed.

He wanted her as he’d never known want before.

She stifled her laugh and ran her hands down the front of her body. Was she trying to torture him? But she looked to Dimitri, drew the angle again and pantomimed stepping up, her arms moving out to her sides.

“Boat,” Dimitri said.

“I just said that,” Jake bit out, his acid tone surprising himself.

“Indeed.” Dimitri’s heavy-lidded blink was unreadable.

Right then, Jake was sure he did not like princes.

Cameron stomped her feet and made the gesture again, then lifted her hands to her hair and flung it out as if it were flying in a strong wind.

“
Titanic
!” Alana cried out.

“Holy crap on a cracker,” Cameron said as she raced over and hugged Alana. “My savior.”

“I never saw that movie,” Jake said.

All eyes turned to him.

“It came out during the playoffs,” he said, trying not to sound defensive. “Right, Alex?”

Alex grinned. “It came out about twenty years ago. You weren’t in the playoffs then.”

“Does Little League count?”

There hadn’t been a movie theater in Jake’s hometown. Even if there had been, he probably wouldn’t have gone to see a sappy movie. Not unless his sister begged him to drive her to the nearby town. He smiled at the memories; he’d exacted a few good paybacks for those outings. One time she’d had to do his chores for a whole week.

Brigitte tapped her hand to his thigh and let it rest there. “In French it has a completely different title. I always found the film a bit drawn-out myself. Rather unbelievable.”

“You missed a great love story,” Alana said.

Brigitte winked at Jake. “Americans—they love their fictions. I prefer the real thing.” She ran the pink tip of her tongue over her bottom lip.

“Seven minutes and thirty-five seconds,” Parker said from where he sat, holding a stopwatch.

“I prefer drawn-out sessions of passion,” Brigitte said without taking her eyes off Jake’s.

Jake didn’t miss her bald invitation. He was pretty sure no one in the room did.

“It’s our
score
,” Cameron said as she sat back down in her chair. “Not that anyone appears to be paying attention.”

“I am,” Dimitri said. “Well done, Cameron. I believe we are ahead.”

“No one else has played yet,” Jake said. Did it count if you murdered a prince in a castle in the dark of night? Maybe no one would miss him.

“Being ahead early is one of my favorite moments,” Dimitri said with an unmistakable glance to Cameron. “While I love competition, I truly prefer having an early lead. Sets the pace of the game, don’t you think?”

Dimitri’s flirtatious tone set Jake’s teeth on edge. “I prefer to keep the long run of the game in mind.”

“Ah, yes.” Dimitri shot Cameron a smoldering look. “There is always
that
strategy.”

Cameron flushed, two spots of deep red coloring her cheeks. She pressed her palms to her jeans as if to smooth some hidden force and stood. “I’m as parched as if I’ve done forty takes of the same scene under hot lights.”

Dimitri sprang up. “Allow me to pour for you, Cameron. Where I come from, it’s bad luck to serve your own champagne.”

“Bring me one too,” Alana requested. “Games of any kind make me terribly thirsty.”

First points to the prince, Jake thought as he watched Cameron walk with Dimitri to the buffet. They were cut from the same cloth. Cameron was Hollywood royalty with all the glitz and privilege that came with that sort of fame. And Dimitri? Whatever sort of royalty he was, he set Jake’s revolutionary urges roaring into high gear.

As Parker got the game underway again, Jake made a vow. He wasn’t going to let some silly-assed, inherited-gene-pool dude stand in the way of exploring the territory that Cameron had cracked open. She lit him up, and he wasn’t anywhere near ready to shut that light down.

Chapter Seventeen

Sunlight danced on the waves of San Francisco Bay as the ferry cut around the east side of Alcatraz Island and headed for the city. Jake made his way to the bow and peered up at the once formidable penitentiary. The sun bleached the walls white, and the towering lighthouse cut the blue of the sky like a sword thrust up from the bowels of the island.

Names of famous prisoners floated through his mind: Capone, Machine Gun Kelly and crime boss Whitey Bulger.

“You appear lost in thought,” Sabrina said as she leaned on the rail beside him.

He zipped his jacket up, a shield against the cold December wind. “I was just wondering how many bad decisions and wrong-minded plans landed inmates behind the walls of that place.”

“Not a very cheery thought for such a festive outing. It’s a National Recreation Area now. Not so bad.”

What could he say? He felt as tumbled by the activities of the past week as if he’d been thrown into a cosmic Cuisinart and someone had pressed the pulse button. He hadn’t slept well. The beds at Trovare were comfortable enough, but thoughts of wanting to share his with Cameron ate at the edges of his control.

“I understand you’re pretty good on the ice,” Sabrina said.

He knew that tone. His sister used it when she wanted to draw him out from the loops he ran in his head.

Buck up, dude, this is a holiday party. And you’re a guest.
“Not as good as our man Gage over there,” he said, nodding to where Jackie’s assistant veterinarian was giving pointers to Sophie and Tyler.

“He’s a
hockey
player,” Sabrina said. “He grew up scrapping on the ice in Canada. But he told me you skated as a kid.”

Alex’s wife Jackie’s hard-working, hard-partying colleague had won Jake over from the time he’d met him at Kaz and Sabrina’s wedding. That morning as they’d dealt with the logistics of getting their happy group of kids and adults to the ice rink at the Embarcadero Center, Jake had confided about his skating experiences as a kid.

“The rink is about ten minutes from my condo,” Jake said. “But this’ll be the first time I’ve been on the ice here.”

“Life got in the way of fun?” Sabrina asked. Before he could come up with an answer, she added, “I’m reserving a skate with you. Once around the rink. And maybe you can give Cameron a hand since Gage will have his full with the kids?”

He angled toward Cameron. Dimitri had parked himself beside her when they’d left the dock at Larkspur and hadn’t budged from the bench. “Dimitri appears to have Cameron well in hand.”

A slow smile spread across Sabrina’s face. “Hmmm... guess you’ll be free to practice your figure eights.” She pushed away from the railing. “I’m going down to check on Max. His mother will throttle me if he downs too many of those chocolate-chip cookies from the snack bar.”

As Jake watched, Dimitri removed his jacket and wrapped it around Cameron’s shoulders. He glanced at Jake and raised a brow.

Jake turned into the wind and tried to focus on the skyline bordering the city dock. But though he saw the buildings growing in size as the ferry approached the landing, the looming city and the prospect of ice skating couldn’t compete with the riot taking place in his head. The cries of gulls overhead mocked his agitated thoughts.

When had Cameron become more than the rush of a game, more than the prize to be won? More than a thrill to fill the void he hadn’t even admitted was in him until he’d met her? And when had desire turned to an unnameable force beyond the primal, to a pull that was more than attraction, a force that compelled him forward even though he knew there was no possible future with Cameron? What she had confessed to wanting—relationship, family, kids—was out of his league. He wasn’t cut from that cloth. But he was drawn. Oh man, was he drawn.

The thud of the boat as it docked drew him back to the day and the activities ahead. He glanced to the bench.

Empty.

Cameron and Dimitri had disappeared.

Jake helped Sabrina and Gage herd the kids across the double-lane road that fronted the Ferry Building, but watching out for kids in traffic didn’t pull his thoughts from Cameron. He remembered the way she’d knelt at the bedside of the little girl in the clinic in the Dominian village. The way she’d smoothed the girl’s hair and, through the help of the interpreter, told the girl a story. He didn’t remember the story, but he bet the little girl did. The smile that had lit her tiny face had hope and renewed fight written all over it. Cameron had been fortunate, but she wasn’t selfish. She gave back to life as good as she got. Wasn’t that one of his own damn principles?

“The Giants’ stadium is right down there,” Tyler said as they reached the sidewalk fronting the rink. “Can we go there after skating?”

“Yeah,” Max chimed in. “
Way
more fun than ice skating. Skating is for sissies.”

Jake admired Max’s spunk, but the boy’s bravado had nearly ended his life the previous year when he’d had an asthma attack while running the bases during a Little League game. If Ryan and Cara hadn’t rushed him to the hospital, Max might not have made it. He was doing great, his mother had told them when she’d seen them off that morning. But everyone in the extended Tavonesi community kept an eye on him.

Gage swept Max up off the sidewalk with his beefy arms before anyone could blink. “We’ll see how
sissy
skating is. I bet you can’t catch me on the ice.”

“Or me,” Jake said, supporting Gage in his attempt to keep the planned activity on track.

“Don’t go daring the children, you two,” Sabrina said. “They’re feisty enough as it is.”

Sophie scowled. “We are
not
children.”

“Last I checked, you were,” Sabrina countered.

“I rather like daring people,” Jake said. “Catch me and I’ll give you a double session in the batting cage.”

“Yeah!” the boys shouted in unison.

Sophie crossed her arms. “What if we don’t catch you?”

Gage flipped Max head over heels and down to the sidewalk. “Jake and I get to choose a truth or dare for each of you.”

“I
hate
that game,” Max said. “Mom plays it to get me to do things.”

Gage shot Jake a high five. “Game on, dude. We’re facing some mighty challengers.”

“Yeah,” Tyler said, putting his hand up for a high five. He nudged Sophie. She and Max high-fived each other.

The kids’ excitement at the challenge lasted through two servings of hot chocolate from the rink’s festively lit kiosk and the renting and lacing of skates.

Gage raced by them on the ice. Jake had grown up with a couple of guys who went on to play pro hockey, but Gage could probably outskate even them. The air sparkled with the thin layers of ice shaving from the blades of his skates as he executed precise fast-speed turns.

“You’ll need a strategy,” Jake said to Tyler as they stepped onto the ice. “Speed won’t cut it.”

A few couples skated by, their wobbly ankles and unsteady balance evidence that they weren’t accustomed to the ice. But from the beamy smiles and their laughter, Jake was pretty sure skating wasn’t what was on their minds.

He skirted a gazebo-type building that had been constructed in the center of the rink. Skaters could enter from the ice and down a hot chocolate at the small café, do a photo booth session or just take a break on the benches facing the ice. The DJ for the rink worked from a small booth at the north side of the structure.

Strains of “Have a Holly Jolly Christmas” blared over the sound system as Jake took a turn around the ice. He curved past the gazebo. There, skating slowly, were Cameron and Dimitri. She tilted her head and laughed up at the prince.

And Jake recognized something he’d never felt before. A power was tapping at him, a power that wanted to break through. He suspected that jealousy existed to alert a person that something new, something unusual and maybe dangerous, was happening. He knew enough about crimes of passion to know jealousy was a powerful, unpredictable force. But stronger than the jealousy pinging in him was the feeling beneath it—a feeling that bottomed him out like a boat hitting a submerged sandbar. Cameron had gotten him to feel, to actually
feel
. And the surge of feeling rising in him sure as hell wasn’t comfortable.

He didn’t have a lot of practice at feeling impulses and not acting on them. He usually just went with his urges. Only lately had he managed to curb his gambling, but leaving the tables behind had been a battle. And chasing women? He hadn’t chased any since—since meeting Cameron.

Hellfire and damnation.

Dimitri stepped up into the gazebo. Cameron took a twirl on the ice and skated around the kiosk, out of sight. Jake followed. As he rounded the structure, his gut knotted. A man beelined on foot toward Cameron, camera aimed. She nearly fell trying to escape him.

Jake’s skates
zzzzed
on the ice as he pulled up beside the guy. “Beat it,” he bit out as he pulled the guy’s hand off Cameron’s arm. The guy was big, but Jake was bigger. Jake closed his fingers with bruising force around the man’s wrist. “Unless you want your precious camera to be used as a hockey puck.”

He heard Cameron’s sharp intake of breath and saw shock register in her eyes. He regretted that violence was a force that cut both ways—by prey or predator, for protection or aggression. Jake let go of the man’s arm.

“Hey, this is a public space,” the guy muttered as he backed up, wobbling. He tried to catch his balance but slipped on the ice, his camera swinging from a neck strap and hitting him in the chin.

Jake bent down and helped him up. “Look, just beat it, buddy. We want to have a nice day. You’re not helping.”