Chapter 39
‘Oh shit. Disaster.’ Jackson shifted his weight to the edge of the narrow bed.
‘Exactly what every girl wants to hear after sex. Thanks,’ I teased. ‘And there was I thinking I was incredible. Like you.’
We were in his dorm, squashed into his single bed. He’d got the room to himself until tomorrow, when a batch of new volunteers were due to arrive, and we were making the most of being able to spend a whole night together.
It hadn’t happened often, but the times when I got to wake up beside him and watch him sleep were the best. This boy had awakened something new in me, a softer side.
He made me feel safe and so I had let down my guard.
Moments like this when we were completely alone, in our little bubble, gave me the perfect opportunity to reveal my vulnerable heart.
Tomorrow we’d be back to sneaking down to the rocks at the far end of the beach to get some privacy. We’d been for a romantic midnight swim earlier and then he’d smuggled me in here. That was an hour ago.
He laughed, a low, sexy laugh. Everything about this boy was sexy. There was a full moon tonight and the muscles in his back gleamed where slivers of light filtered through the shutters.
He turned back to me, sliding his hand into my hair. ‘I don’t mean you . You were …’ He leaned down to kiss me. ‘Amazing.’
I felt blissed out, alive, deliriously happy.
‘What is the disaster then?’ I hitched myself up onto my elbows, trying to see what he was doing.
He pulled a face. ‘The condom has split. I’m sorry. I feel terrible.’
I giggled. ‘Is that all? Don’t worry about it, I’m on the pill.’
He stared at me, amused. ‘Now you tell me. So I needn’t have bothered with a condom at all.’
For a fraction of a second, I felt a squeeze of panic; I had taken it today, hadn’t I?
I should probably go and check, but then the other girls in my dorm would tease me mercilessly about it.
Also, it would break the mood; I didn’t want to do that.
I gave myself a shake. Of course I’d taken my pill; I was being paranoid.
He got up, put the condom in the trash and lay back down beside me.
‘Better safe than sorry,’ I said.
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ He pretended to be insulted.
‘I mean double protection.’ I put my hand on his hip, feeling the jut of his hipbone hard against my palm.
I tugged him towards me. ‘We don’t want any accidents, do we?
A little Maggie or Jackson making an appearance and turning our lives upside down.
Anyway, thank goodness I am on the pill, given what’s just happened. ’
‘I dunno.’ He grinned. ‘A little girl with your brains and beauty would be cool. Or a boy. We would make awesome babies.’
‘Jackson!’ I punched him in the chest playfully. ‘No thank you. Besides, I thought you wanted to roam free, explore the world one beach at a time. No responsibilities.’
He laughed. His breath soft against my mouth. ‘You’re right, as always.’
He kissed me then, pulling my leg over his hip and easing his body against mine.
‘Maybe we should meet up in ten years, when we’re proper grown-up adults, make some beautiful babies then.’
I traced my fingertip lightly along the lean muscles of his arm. I delighted in feeling his breathing hitch, knowing the effect I had on him.
‘So,’ I drawled. ‘We have to wait ten years until you’re ready to do it again? Is that what you’re saying?’
‘Hell no,’ he growled, his eyes dark with desire.
He rolled onto me, pinning my arms above my head and pressing a line of hot kisses down my stomach. I closed my eyes, arching my back.
A future together. For a moment I let myself dream.
There was nothing I wanted more than to keep Jackson in my life forever.
For us to stay like this, blissfully in love and wrapped up in each other.
But I forced myself to think logically, even though it pained me to do so.
It was a delicious fantasy but in ten years’ time this precious boy would belong to someone else, I just knew it.
No, this was my time, right now, and I was going to enjoy every second of it while it lasted.