Page 31 of Madness Becomes Her

“It’ll keep your beautiful head warm.”

There he goes again.

My body tingles beneath his words, beneath his arm, wishing he’d have closed the distance and kissed me any of the times we’ve danced around it.

His arm lifts, his thumb lifting to brush through the heat on my cheeks. “You’re flushed.”

“Yes,” I breathe, feeling more heat maneuver through my body the longer his touch lingers.

“Do you have a fever? Maybe we should call the doctor. He’s a beaver, but we won’t hold it against him.”

“What?!”

“The last time I needed his help, he ate half the tea table, but having a nail through my foot required his services, so I had to pay the fees.”

My chuckle is uncontrolled now while Finlo eyes me as ifI’vegone mad.

“I’ll be fine. I don’t have a fever.”

“Then why are your cheeks so red? Even now, they’re getting darker.”

How do I tell him the truth delicately?

I clear my throat. “Because I like it when you call me beautiful.”

I also like it when you touch me.

I kept that bit to myself, not wanting to push him too far too fast.

“Oh.” As if taken aback, he’s silent momentarily, his gaze pinned to mine.

His thumb resumes its perusal over my cheek, only deepening the shade, I’m sure. Tingles tangle in my spine, knotting there as I fight a shiver.

“Amaranth,” he whispers, licking his bottom lip.

“What’s that?”

“The color in your cheeks. The brightest shade of amaranth. So very alluring.”

My breath catches in my chest, caught on his words.

I’m speechless, but I also don’t feel the need to complicate the moment with words.

“Sorry,” Finlo says, dropping his touch away.

Finally, I can draw breath into my lungs. I’m sputtering at the loss of his touch.

“I don’t know what comes over me sometimes. Madness, surely.”

I clear my throat, sitting up to hide the fact of how hard my nipples are behind his shirt. My back hits the gnarled wooden headboard, and I tug the covers over my breasts. “I think we all have a touch of madness in us, Fin. It’s nothing to apologize for.”

“And you?”

You’re my madness.

“Yeah, sure. I have some.”

He grins, a look on his face like he knows I’m only trying to appease his worries.