“Please, I should—”
“Shush.”
“But I—”
“I said, shush!” Natalia gripped her hand. “Stay quiet and listen.”
“Listen?” She cocked her head. “Listen to what?”
Natalia lifted a finger in the air. “To that.”
The orchestra had stopped playing some time ago and after a few more seconds of silence, music began to fill the air. Piano music.
Every hair on her arm and neck stood on end as J.D. recognized the opening notes of Billy Joel’s “Just The Way You Are.”
Natalia smiled at her and pulled her along, toward the raised dais next to the orchestra. Sure enough, Cam sat behind the piano, tinkling out the intro and the first few bars.
And when their eyes met, he began to sing.
His eyes never left hers as he worked through the song. Those lyrics that she knew so well began to embed itself into her heart as Cam’s beautiful voice wove its magic around her, surrounding her and filling all the empty places in her heart and soul she never even knew had been there. His voice called to her, reached out to her, begged for her forgiveness with each note and word.
She didn’t know what it was, but it was as if she could feel his sincerity, his love, and his very soul, knitting into hers. Her heart sang along, repeating the words back to him. So simple, yet so true.
When he finished the song, the room was completely silent. Slowly he stood up. “I’m sorry, J.D.,” he began. “Please forgive me. You don’t have to change anything about you. In fact, I’d prefer it if you don’t because I love you just—”
She didn’t let him finish as she flew to him, wrapping her arms around him, then kissed him with all her might and love. “I love you too, Cam,” she said, breathless. “You felt it right? The bond? It really happened.”
He blinked. “You’re right. Fascinating.”
His expression was similar to that of a little boy who just discovered something new. And she loved it. “Weirdo.” But she kissed him again. Around them, everyone cheered.
Cam tried to pull away, but she wouldn’t let him. She only deepened the kiss, clinging to him as she ravaged his mouth. Finally, when someone behind them coughed, she released him. “Your glasses are all fogged up again.”
Letting go of her, he took them off. But instead of cleaning the lenses, Cam chucked them over his shoulder. “Don’t need those anymore. Maestro,” he said to the orchestra leader. “If you please.”
The conductor nodded, raised his baton, and turned to the musicians. “One, two, three and—”
J.D. burst out laughing as they began to play another familiar, but more upbeat Billy Joel tune. “So,” she began, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Does that make you my Uptown Boy?”
“I’ll be your anything,” he said. “As long as you’re mine. Now, let’s dance.”
And Cam showed her that he wasn’t just a good pianist and an excellent singer, but was also talented on the dance floor.
Chapter Sixteen
As they danced the night away under the glittering chandeliers, evergreen, and boughs of holly, Cam still couldn’t believe this was all real. If he were the type to believe such things, he would have called it a Christmas miracle. However, even his scientific mind was willing to concede that this was, indeed, fate at work.
Whatever it was, he sent silent prayers to whatever force in the universe had given him J.D. Through the mate bond they shared, he could feel the love and joy flowing between them, and he had never been happier in his life.
Of course, he knew this was only the beginning. There was much work to be done in the next few months as he made his transition. Though a cloud of gloom hung over him at the prospect of leaving a career he truly cared about, having J.D. at his side would ease that sadness.
“Why so glum?” she asked as they stopped to drink some more champagne a passing waiter handed them. They had danced with just about everyone that evening, pulling their friends onto the dance floor. She even managed to get his grandmother into her very first conga line.
“Nothing … just tired,” he assured her. “You’ve kept me on my feet all night.”
“Hmm … well how about I just get you on your back for the rest of it?” She wiggled her eyebrows at him suggestively.
He knocked back the champagne. “Where’s that limo?”
“C’mon,” she said with a laugh as she tugged him toward the door. They laughed and kissed as they made their way outside of the castle.
The driveway was empty, as many of the guests had already left and it was nearly midnight. “Gabriel said he’d send the limo back for us. I wonder—” Cam halted as he felt a presence in the shadows. He stopped as his polar bear reared up, and instinctively, he put his body in front of J.D.’s.
“Cam?” she asked. “What’s wrong?”
Someone stepped forward from the shadows a few feet away from them. “Hello, J.D. Did you have a nice time at your fancy party?”
“Roy?” J.D. exclaimed.
Cam’s body went on full alert. This wanker again. He would deal with Jorrell right this instant. “What the fuck are you doing here? I told you to stay away from my mate.”
His expression turned to full on hate as he zeroed in on Cam. “You’re not her mate,” he spat. “I am.”
His bear roared in anger. “You delusional twat. I’m going to kill—”
“You’re mistaken, Roy,” J.D. interrupted. “I’m not your mate. Cam is my mate.”
“No!” he roared. “That’s not true. I can feel it. You know I’m your mate.”
Cam’s anger was about to boil over, but J.D. put a hand on his arm.
“I’m sorry, but it’s not. We would have known the first time we met.”
“But we were kids,” Jorrell reasoned. “We weren’t mature enough.”
“Then our animals would have recognized each other a few weeks ago when you walked into my shop,” she pointed out.
“Search your heart, J.D.” Roy pleaded. “I didn’t realize it back in high school, but now I know it.”
“But my cat doesn’t recognize you as its mate. Does yours recognize me?”
“I …” His eyes turned crazy. “My raven doesn’t know shit, okay? You were always so nice to me. I knew there was a reason. We were meant to be—”
“All right, this stops right here, right now.” Cam’s voice shook with anger. “Leave now, and never come near her or me again.”
“Or what, huh, pretty boy?” he threatened. “What are you going to do? You know what, you’re right. This stops here. I challenge you for J.D.”
“What the fuck is this shit?” J.D. shouted. “Are you for freaking real, Roy? Are you drunk or high? Go home and sleep it off.”
“What the fuck is going on here?”
They all turned around at the sound of the dominant voice. Jason Lennox stood at the doorway arms crossed over his chest. “Who the hell—you.” His eyes glowed as they zeroed in on Jorrell. “We’ve been looking for you, Roy.”
“Looking for him?” Cam asked.
Jason took a step forward, eyes fixed on the other man “Well, remember that kidnapping attempt on J.D.? When Roy’s description of the perpetrators didn’t pan out, we continued our search. Went to some of the businesses across the street from the park and found some CCTV footage of two men on motorcycles driving away around the time of the kidnapping. Tracked them down, and it turns out they were hired specifically to target J.D.”
“Hired?” J.D. asked. “By who?”
“Who else?” Jason nodded at Jorrell. “Your knight in shining armor. Tell me, Roy, was the plan to rescue her and turn yourself into a hero or something worse?”
Jorrell paled. “I-it’s not what you think, J.D.”
“You bastard!” Cam roared. “You did all those other things, too, right? Sent her the gifts? Vandalized her front door so you could come in and clean it up to make yourself look good?”
“You asshole!” J.D. snarled at
Roy. “If I was your mate, you wouldn’t do those things.”
Roy’s expression turned hateful. “I’m not backing down. The challenge stands,” he said to Cam.
“What? Listen here, fuck face,” J.D. began. “That’s not how it works.”
“Challenge accepted,” Cam said as he slipped off his jacket.
“Challenge—what the hell, Cam!” J.D. cried. “You can’t duel for me!”
“This is the only way he’ll accept defeat.” He handed his jacket to Jason, who took it, then began to roll up his sleeves.
“That’s hardly fair,” she pointed out. “You’re a polar bear, and he’s a raven.”
“I can take him,” Jorrell spat.
“And I don’t need to shift,” Cam added. “I can beat this wanker with one hand tied behind me.”
“Oh God, is this really happening?” J.D. buried her face in her hands. “Fine, go ahead. Don’t listen to me.”
Cam kept his focus on Jorrell as they stepped into the driveway, circling each other. Oh, he was going to enjoy beating this man to a bloody pulp.
Jorrell whipped off his shirt, and he flexed his muscles. Though he was shorter than Cam, he was in excellent shape. “After I sold my app in high school and became a multimillionaire, I left Blackstone to travel the world,” he boasted. “I started training with the best fighters all over the world. I learned Muay Thai in Thailand. Karate in Japan. Jiu-jitsu in Brazil. Krav Maga in Israel. So,” he put his fists up. “Bring it on, pretty boy.”
What Jorrell didn’t know was part of Cam’s summer training in Russia while he was growing up was wrestling and fighting with his polar bear cousins, many of them bigger and meaner than this wannabe fighter. “Oh, I’ll ‘bring it’.” He lunged forward.
Jorrell quickly moved to dodge his hold. Cam whirled around to face him, ready for a counterattack. Though the raven shifter had caught him with a kick to the side, he didn’t flinch. He’d been so used to the pain his cousins inflicted on him, he knew when to tense his muscles to absorb the blow.
That seemed to catch his opponent off guard as he probably expected Cam to double over. Using this to his advantage, he lunged again, taking Jorrell down to floor, flipping him over, and putting him in a sleeper hold.
“Yield!” Cam ordered.
Jorrell screamed, spittle flew from his mouth, but he didn’t tap out. “Fuck you!”
“I said,” he tightened his hold. “Yield!” His polar bear roared, sending a rattling growl ripping from his throat.
His opponent yelped, then tapped a hand on the ground. “I … yield!”
Cam squeezed his neck until he passed out. “Bastard.”
“Cam, you idiot!” J.D. exclaimed, then wrapped her arms around him.
“You didn’t think he could defeat me, did you?”
She snorted. “Of course not, I had full confidence in you. But I can’t believe that you would … that you could—”
“Fight for you?” he finished. “No one tries to steal what’s mine and gets away with it.”
Her pupils blew up as she melted against him. “Wow, Spenser … that was kind of hot. I think I need to be alone with you. Like, right now.”
“Well, I can arrange—”
“Aleksandr.”
He winced inwardly. “Uncle Stepan,” he greeted the older polar bear shifter. He stood next to Jason by the doorway, along with his grandmother. How long had the old man been there?
“I already called my driver and offered Princess Natalia a ride back since we were both staying at the same hotel.” He nodded at the limo that pulled up. “I did not expect to see a show.”
Cam sent an apologetic look to Natalia. “I’m sorry you had to see that, babushka.”
“Bah,” she exclaimed. “I have seen much violence in my lifetime.”
“I must admit,” Stepan said, light eyes piercing into him. “I did not think you had it in you.”
“I didn’t kill him, just incapacitated him.”
“You fight for what’s yours. Defend what belongs to you. That is impressive.”
Had he been transported to another dimension? Did Stepan Dashokov actually compliment him?
“What did you think he was going to do?” J.D. asked. “Back down? Cam is smart, brave, and strong.”
Stepan’s laser-like gaze zeroed in on J.D. “‘Though she be but little, she is fierce.’”
“Shakespeare,” Cam said. “Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
“What, you think you’re the only one who reads? So, little cat,” he said to J.D. “I have this feeling you’ve been sharpening your claws, waiting to swipe at me. What have I done to you to deserve such hatred?”
“It’s not what you’ve done to me,” she began, “but what you’re forcing Cam to do.”
“J.D,” Cam began. “You don’t have to do this.”
“But I do,” she said. “This blood oath business, threatening your grandmother, forcing you to give up a career you love, possibly sentencing me to a life of dinner parties and balls. He needs to answer for it.”
“Blood oath?” Stepan sneered. “Why would I care for that?”
“Isn’t that why you’re here?” J.D. asked. “Why Arabella told you about this ball? So you could come and ensure Cam would be fulfilling the blood oath of your brother? And that his mate would be worthy enough to bring honor to your name or whatever shit deal he made with you and your family?”
Stepan’s cool expression didn’t falter. “I must admit, I was intrigued when that silly Englishwoman contacted me. I had to see for myself what kind of man Aleksandr turned out to be and what mate fate had chosen for him.”
“I’m sure you didn’t expect me,” J.D. said.
“I did not.” But there was a hint of amusement in his tone.
“I’m not the perfect, blue-blooded mate you were hoping for the man who’s about to take over the family company, am I? Sorry to disappoint you.”
Stepan huffed. “My brother was the one obsessed about pedigree. He seemed to be intent on erasing our past. Before our coffers grew and our power expanded. To forget about those cold, winter nights we spent huddled on the cold floor of whatever rat hole shelter our father managed to find us for the night. The blue bloods turned us away when he begged for a morsel even while they had so much. But I recall it was working men, the tradesmen—the grocers, the electricians, the truck drivers, and yes, the mechanics, who, despite what little they had, would always have a crust of bread to share with us or space by their hearth to keep us warm. It was those people I did not forget.”
“Stepan,” Natalia began. “Igor, may God rest his soul, helped grow this empire we all benefit from. But … we must accept that he is gone, and perhaps … we do not have to adhere to the wishes of an old man.”
Stepan immediately understood Natalia’s words. “I see.”
Hope soared in Cam’s chest, giving him the courage to speak up. “I know I was groomed to take over the company. And that it was grandfather’s wish and fulfillment of the oath he made to you and your brothers.”
“A blood oath cannot be broken,” Stepan stated. “Igor was to produce an heir to take over the business.”
“Well, it seems to me that he already fulfilled his oath,” J.D. continued. “He did sire an heir—Cam’s mother. No one said it had to be a male heir. Unfortunately, she died before she could take over, right? There was no mention of what were to happen if the heir died, and no promise of her grandchildren fulfilling the oath. Just the heir.”
Stepan thought for moment. “Yes, it seems you are right.”
J.D., you are a bloody genius! He wanted to kiss her right now, but held back.
“Aleksandr,” his uncle began. “If you have no objections—”
“None,” he interrupted. “None at all. You can take the lot of it—I mean, I relinquish any control or claim over the company holdings.”
“It’s not as easy as that,” Stepan said. “There is paperwork to be done. Announcements to the rest of
the family.”
“I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“You shall retain your shares, of course.”
They could bloody take them all and hand over one ruble to him and he’d be more than happy. But there was one thing left. “And of course, my grandmother’s safety is ensured?”
“Of course,” Stepan nodded. “She is released from the blood oath.”
“Yes!” J.D. cried and hugged Natalia. “Oh my God! I’m so relieved!”
Cam, too, felt like a giant weight had been lifted off his shoulders, one he’d been carrying around since birth. “Thank you, Uncle.” He was sure, however, that it wasn’t a hardship for Stepan. He’d probably been waiting for decades for a chance to take over. After all, he had young, strong sons of his own, and would want to see them eventually rise up in the world.
“Well, this has been an exciting evening,” Stepan said. “I must go and make a few phone calls.”
“I shall stay for a while longer with Aleksandr and J.D,” Natalia said.
“Of course. And if I do not see you before I leave, I bid you goodbye.” He bowed to Natalia, nodded to Cam and Jason Lennox, and to his surprise, winked at J.D., before he walked toward the waiting limousine.
Cam turned to Jason. “I’m guessing you know what to do with this trash?” He said, motioning to the still-unconscious form of Roy Jorrell.
The dragon shifter’s eyes glowed. “You bet.” Walking over to the prone form, he picked up Jorrell with one hand. “I’ll lock him up in one of the closets until the police get here.”
Cam let out a distasteful snort when they disappeared into the castle. “Good riddance.” His polar bear was satisfied for now, but it was still agitated because that man who hurt their mate and attempted to steal her was still breathing.
“Aleksandr,” Natalia embraced him. “For years, I’ve seen you grow sad and bitter, but you accepted your fate because of the blood oath.”
His throat closed up. There was always that tension between them, that unspoken thought that he was doing what he was supposed to because he didn’t want her to die. “I would have gone through with it. Whatever it took. A thousand times if I had to, to keep you safe.”
Blackstone Ranger Scrooge: Blackstone Rangers Book 6 Page 19