46. Kiss It Better
kiss it better
. . .
Ellie
One second, Cade had been standing behind me while I confronted my cat’s bully.
The next, he was gone.
He’d jumped over the side of the yacht after Whiskey, and a scream caught in my throat as a splash sounded.
People around me erupted in shouts and cries, sending my blood pressure skyrocketing as we rushed toward the railing. Mac’s grip stopped me from scrambling over the ledge to jump in, leaving me to frantically search the water’s surface.
“Let me go, Mac!” I fought against him, but he caged me against his hairy chest—making me extra thankful for this robe.
“Not happening,” he said grimly, strapping down my flailing arms with both his steel ones. He was too freaking strong. “Cade will kill me if I do that.”
“But Whiskey’s out there!” I gasped through the adrenaline. “And Cade. They’re…”
Terror paralyzed me. I couldn’t see anything in the harsh, dark waves crashing against the boat. Not Cade or Whiskey or—
“Oh my god, oh my god,” I whispered through tears, pushing with everything I had against Mac’s arms.
He didn’t budge.
Everyone else shouted over each other, calling for Cade as the crew shouted orders. Panic clawed at my chest, and I redoubled my fight to get free of Mac, until Dr. Lovejoy cried out, “There he is!”
“Look, Ellie! Look. He’s fine.” Mac shook me hard, jabbing a finger over my shoulder. “See? They’re both fine.”
A floodlight flipped on from lower on the ship, bathing the waves in light and revealing Cade’s dark head of hair and broad shoulders cutting through the water toward the boat. One arm clung to a drenched and yowling Whiskey, but it didn’t look like he slowed Cade down.
Someone from a lower deck threw out an orange life preserver ring attached to a rope, and my heart caught in my throat as Cade swam toward it before latching on.
The people around me cheered, while I could finally breathe again.
I slumped in dizzying relief, and Mac’s arms quickly went from caging me in to being the only thing keeping me from falling.
Cade was okay. Whiskey was okay. Everything would be okay.
I repeated those thoughts over and over in my head like a prayer.
The next few minutes were a blur. Mac refused to let me go to the lower deck, claiming Cade was already on his way up.
“I’m not gonna run around the ship in my underwear, so you need to chill,” he grumbled. “The boss man will be here in a minute.”
The sulky bodyguard was right. Cade appeared at the top of the staircase—drenched to the bone, hair dripping, and with a mountain of towels wrapped around him.
And with a squirming, yowling Whiskey clutched to his chest.
My heart stumbled over itself.
“You idiot!” Harrison was the first to jump forward, practically tackling his brother in a hug.
Whiskey wasn’t too pleased about that.
Cade pried his brother off him with a grunt. “I’m fine, Harry. Get off me.”
When Mac finally let me go, I froze. Cade was slowly pushing through the crowd toward me with Whiskey in his arms. I wanted to run to him and jump into his arms. To tell him how much it meant that he hadn’t hesitated to jump off the ship to save Whiskey. My heart felt so full it might burst.
But I couldn’t move my feet.
Everyone else rushed to Cade with hugs and praise. He forced a small smile at all the attention.
It felt like an eternity but must’ve been seconds before he stood in front of me, presenting Whiskey to me like a newborn baby. A wry smile tugged at Cade’s lips. “He’s a little wet, but still his charming self. No harm done.”
He handed me the towel-wrapped cat, and I squeezed him to my chest. He wiggled and fussed, but his claws were swaddled in the towel like a little kitten burrito. I stared down at him with my heartbeat roaring in my ears, having no idea what to say or how to properly thank Cade.
I swallowed around the lump in my throat, searching for words. Any words.
“You saved him,” I finally croaked—stating the obvious.
I looked up as Cade’s smile pulled wider. “The life jacket helped. Made it easier to spot him in the water.”
I could only nod, too overwhelmed to speak again.
“All right. Party’s over, folks!” Dr. Lovejoy announced, clapping to get everyone’s attention.
She removed her slightly bent glasses to wipe tears from her eyes.
“We’re all happy Cade and Lord Whiskerson are safe and sound, but it’s late.
Clear out and rest up. You’ll need all your energy to win the Love Olympics tomorrow. ”
A few groans answered her, but people said their good nights. Cade’s grandfather came over to pull him into a hug—and give Whiskey a relieved pat on the head—before shuffling off.
Cade moved closer to me while scanning the deck. “Where’d Fletch go?”
I scoured the deck for Fletcher’s stupid face, too. Worry had distracted me, but now I wanted that jerk’s head on a stick.
Harrison’s scowl matched my own. “Security took him away.”
“Where?” Cade asked.
“They’re confining him in his room for the night.” Harrison met Cade’s gaze, and some sort of unspoken communication passed between the brothers before Harrison nodded. “I’m coming with you.”
Cade nodded and turned to me with a tight smile.
“We’re going to go have a quick chat with Fletcher.” His gaze flicked to Mac. “Stay with her.”
My heart kicked in my chest. “Cade, wait—”
He pressed a brief, chilled kiss to my forehead, which shut me right up. “I won’t be long.”
And then he was gone—striding across the deck with Harrison and leaving me gaping after them.
And I hadn’t even thanked him yet.
Mac sighed behind me. “He’s the most infuriating boss I’ve ever had. Who jumps into an ocean in the middle of the damn night?”
I sniffled and clutched Whiskey closer, earning a grumpy meow from the swaddled cat. “Cade does.”
Mac just grunted and got comfortable on one of the deck chairs.
Whiskey knew exactly how to take advantage of his near-death experience.
He had me pamper him on one of the couches, cradling my little furball and feeding him his weight in salmon treats while we waited for Cade.
Whiskey was on a mission to groom every inch of himself, while Mac had gotten another worn paperback from somewhere and was ignoring me for the spy thriller.
I’d stifled a few yawns by the time Cade returned. He’d dried off, changed into new pajama pants, and strolled across the deck like he’d just taken a dip instead of diving into rough waters to save my cat.
“Sorry that took so long.” He stopped just in front of me, rubbing a hand down his face. “Someone interrupted my mother’s sleeping pills working their magic to update her on what happened.”
I winced. She must’ve given him an earful. I went to apologize, when my eyes caught on the narrow red scratches marring Cade’s chest and arms, and my stomach dropped. “Oh my gosh. Whiskey tore you to ribbons!”
He smiled wryly. “He didn’t seem to get the memo I was helping him.”
That was an understatement.
“I’m so sorry, Cade. I…” I stared at the cuts with my heart in my throat, before leaping at him with the huge hug I’d been holding back. “Thank you for saving him. It means everything to me.”
Cade went instantly rigid at my touch. But I was too emotional to care, and I squeezed him as hard as I could.
It took a moment—a long, slightly awkward one—before Cade wrapped his arms around my waist. “Anything for you, Darling.”
That did nothing to help my fragile emotional state, and I kept clinging to him to hide the welling tears.
Mac cleared his throat behind me. “I’m going back to bed. You mind hitting pause on the heroics until tomorrow, boss? It would make my job a hell of a lot easier.”
Cade’s chest rumbled with a chuckle, and his hand found the small of my back, rubbing soothingly. Embarrassed by the emotions I couldn’t seem to control anymore, I kept my face buried against his chest.
“But then what would I pay you for?” Cade asked Mac.
The bodyguard grumbled and left, while I held on to Cade long enough to collect myself. Desperate for something else to focus on, I tugged him toward the couch Whiskey was licking himself on. “Come sit down, please. I’ll get a first aid kit and patch you up.”
“I’m fine,” Cade repeated, already waving me off. “They’re just scratches. They’ll heal on their own.”
“Please let me do this,” I insisted. “I couldn’t help Whiskey earlier when he needed me, but I can help you now. Please.”
He sighed, but thankfully stopped arguing, and a crewmember appeared like magic with a first aid kit.
I’d never been medically trained, but I had enough experience with cats to be a pro at patching up scratches. I carefully cleansed the cuts on Cade’s arms and chest before applying ointment, then gently blew on each one to help the drying along before bandaging up the worst ones.
Cade shifted on the couch during the blowing part, making me snicker.
When I got to his right hand, the knuckles were split open. My brows drew together. I didn’t recognize these wounds.
“These don’t look like cat scratches,” I murmured.
Cade eyed them and flexed his hand. “They’re not.”
He left it at that, and I blinked. By the look of the split skin, I could guess what sort of chat he’d had with Fletcher. “Oh.”
Unsure what to say—but fully aware of my chest filling with warmth—I bit my lip and carefully cleaned his knuckles.
Once every single scratch was cared for, I could breathe properly again. I checked over my work before nodding at Cade. “Okay, I think that’s it. Is there anything else I can do?”
He paused before answering. “There is one thing…”
“What?” I frowned, worried he’d hurt something worse in the water.
Cade’s gaze lowered to my mouth. “I’ve heard kisses make everything better.”
My lips twitched. “Oh, really?”
He nodded slowly. “I have it on good authority from the ship’s doctor.”
I couldn’t help grinning, which was clearly what he wanted—and I was more than happy to play along. I slowly brushed a kiss over one of the scratches on his forearm. Then another on the back of his hand.
Really liking this new game, I kissed every scratch marking Cade’s body. Every single one. From the bottom of his chest to the tip of his ear, I cleaned and kissed each battle wound. Cade’s breathing grew deeper the longer I worked, until I pressed a final kiss to a mark on his jaw.
“Do your scratches feel better now?” I whispered.
A smirk curved his lips. “What scratches?”
I snorted right in his face. Maybe it was silly, but after all the worry and panic and fear, that little joke undid the tangle of knots in my stomach. It eased the terror that’d gotten a choke hold on me.
Feeling lighter, I threw my head back and cackled into the night’s sky.