Chapter 9

Ashley

I melt into him. I’ve heard that cheesy expression my entire life in one form or another. Usually I roll my eyes, but in this moment as I’m nestled in Jackson’s arms, pushed closer to him as if he can’t get enough of me, I melt into him. Finally, I get it. That desperate need for another human being. The ache you harbor at the possibility of losing them. The fuckin’ stars you see when they simply brush a finger against your skin.

He pulls away first. I almost cry out at the loss of his lips against mine. His hands cup my face, his dark eyes searching for something before he presses his forehead to mine. “You on the pill?”

“Yes. But it’s a little too late to be asking that now, don’t you think? I could be six months pregnant for all you know.”

He pulls back from me, moving so fast that you’d think I was on fire and he’s scared to be burned by the flame. “I pulled out. What the fuck are you on the pill for?”

“What?”

He steps to me, his hands grabbing on the flesh of my upper arm,