Cade wasn’t affected by the silence. He looked right at home as he approached the foot of the bed, glancing at Whiskey before returning his gaze to me. His mouth even quirked up as he crossed his arms—like he found thisamusing.
I opened my mouth, then promptly closed it, and his half smile doubled in size.
“Rough night?” he asked.
Wincing, I patted down my hair. “I’m really sorry about yesterday. Especially the drinking. And all the vomiting. Did I ruin everything for you?”
“No, not at all. If anything, you just endeared yourself to Madison and my brother even more.” His smile turned wry. “No harm done.”
Relief loosened my shoulders. “What about this morning? Did I miss anything?”
“Lovejoy had a few drinks herself, so we all got some time off to recover.” He grunted. “Her next activity for us is after lunch, but I can tell her you’re not up for it if you’d rather stay here.”
“No, no. I can go,” I assured him. I had a lot of making up to do.
Cade chuckled and approached my side of the bed, his gaze not leaving me. “How’re you feeling?”
Nervous.
Overwhelmed.
Like my heart would beat its way out of my chest if he kept looking at me like that.
“Good,” I squeaked out, then cleared my throat. “Really good. Um, thank you for taking care of me last night. You didn’t need to do that. It’s not like it was in our contract or anything.”
The amusement faded from his face. “You think I’m heartless enough to leave you sick and alone because it wasn’t stipulated in a contract?”
“What? No.” I sat taller, pulling the sheet up to my waist. “I just meant…It was sweet of you, that’s all. The opposite of heartless.”
The tension eased from his shoulders.
“Sweet? Let’s not go that far,” he said, rubbing his jaw. “How much do you remember from last night?”
The simple question made me swallow again.
“All of it,” I whispered. But I frowned because his rejection still stung. “Including the part where you dangled promises of kisses, only to go back on your word.”
He breathed a laugh. “Now you’re calling me a liar?”
“You’re the one who tricked me,” I accused.
“It wasn’t a trick,” Cade said calmly. “I wouldn’t play games with you like that.”
My eyes narrowed. “So youdidwant to kiss me?”
A faint smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. “Let me be very clear. A kiss is just the tip of the iceberg of what I want to do to you, Darling.”
My brain stopped working. “…What?”
He leaned his knee against the mattress, his smirk widening. “Most of it involves this bed right here. Some includes that die Lovejoy gave you?—”
“Stop!” I cried, half laughing and falling back against the pillows. I yanked a sheet over my head to hide my flaming cheeks at his boldness. “Oh my god. Don’t talk about the die, please.”
Cade laughed quietly, and his hand cupped my jaw, making me freeze. Through the sheet, I could feel his thumb rest on my bottom lip—gently caressing it. My breathing stuttered to a stop, the sheet between us both ridiculous and unexpectedly erotic.
“This is all I could think about last night.” His thumb added more pressure, and my pulse skyrocketed. “This lip right here.”
Oh.