“Yes. And perhaps after we could indulge in other… things.” Was that too forward? Jane knew what she wanted. Life was too short to feign a demure attitude.
“That can be arranged.” He patted his jacket. “I’ve brought the items you sent in the event you might wish to…” His words trailed off, but a flush crept above his collar.
“Wonderful!” If the butterflies in her belly wouldn’t settle down, she’d give into hysterical giggles, but she settled beside him again and attempted to act calm as she drank her tea.
“You, my lady, are incorrigible.” He selected a small jam cake from the plate. “I must say I’m never quite certain what you’ll do next, but I know I can’t wait to discover what it will be.”
Her heart trembled as did the hand holding her teacup. Amber liquid sloshed over the rim of the cup to dot and stain her gown. “Drat.” With more haste than grace, she set her teacup on the table. Then she snapped open a crisp, ironed serviette and dabbed at the spill. Finn gasped. His own teacup sagged in his lax hand while his eyes took on a faraway look.
“Finn?” Gently, Jane took the cup from his hand and set it down. Droplets of sweat formed on his upper lip. One trickled down from one temple. For all intents and purposes, he was frozen in a moment she couldn’t see. His breathing came hard and fast. One of his hands gripped the sofa cushion while the other curled into a fist on his knee.
“It’s all right.” She finger-combed the hair away from his forehead. When he whimpered, the sound tugged at her chest. “You’re safe. The battle is over,” she whispered in soothing tones. All the while she stroked her fingers along the side of his face and neck. “I’m here with you and won’t leave.”
Several moments went by as Finn fought with his demons. Eventually, he came back to himself. He blinked at her, confusion lining his expression until recognition dawned. When she put a serviette into his hand, he mopped at his face. Embarrassment seeped into his expression. “I apologize. Sometimes the nightmares happen due to a particular sound, a smell. I never know what will set them off or when they’ll come.”
She rubbed a hand along his back. “Do you wish to talk about it?” Oh, how she wished he would let her in so she could help.
“Not right now, for it would spoil our time together.”
“If you’re sure?”
“I am.” He rearranged himself until his back was against the bolstered arm of the sofa with his legs stretched out in front of him behind her. “Come here and let me hold you.”
“Oh?” How utterly decadent.
Finn nodded and when she stood, he shifted his legs with his hands until they were splayed with the right one bent at the knee. “Usually after a nightmare happens, I have Wellington to comfort me, but I’ll take you in her place today.”
“I’d be honored.” Gingerly, Jane sat between his splayed thighs, and when he encouraged her to lean back against his chest, she sighed. “This is nice.”
“Agreed.” Then he collected a book that had been resting on a table behind him. “Fairy stories, eh?” His chuckle rumbled through her chest. “Would you allow me to read to you?”
“That sounds lovely.”
“Once upon a time…”
How utterly romantic. She lost another piece of her heart to him. There was something to be said for a man who indulged her passions for fiction with nary a grumble. In an abstract part of her mind, she wondered what the duke would say about a woman reading, then she didn’t care as she lost herself to Finn’s words.