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Jackson continued. “Are ye okay now?”
“No,” I confessed.
He paused, his fingers curling around mine, still on his arm. “Want me to stay with ye?”
My soul leapt, but at the same time, I knew it wasn’t what he wanted. “Yes, but also no. Not after…” I gestured between us and dropped my hand.
He sighed. “Would it help if I apologised for earlier?”
“Maybe. What happened?”
He pointed inside my room. I returned to my blanket nest, and he followed, locking the door.
Jackson stood over my bed. “Can I get in?”
I shuffled to the side. My bed was made up for two, though I’d only ever shared it with Daisy on a couple of occasions.
Jackson claimed his side, leaving space between us. “Light off?”
I leaned for the lamp switch, plunging us into darkness.
Silence held for a long minute.
His voice pierced the dark. “I haven’t slept with anyone in a long time. I got freaked out. I was scared I’d say or do something wrong.”
“Like what?”
“Not sure. It overwhelmed me, though.”
I turned in his direction, curled on my side. Finally, my heart had stopped thumping. “I looked you up online.”
He stiffened. “Yeah, I figured ye would. Or someone else would and tell ye what they found.”
“I didn’t read past the headlines. It wasn’t my business to find that out without your knowledge, so I butted the hell out. But if you ever want to talk, I’ll listen.”
Jackson sank back into quiet.
He went for so long without replying, I thought he’d fallen asleep.
Then his low voice returned. “No one wants to hear that degree of shite.”
My stomach tightened. The air in the pitch-black room seemed to warm. “I offered, didn’t I?”
“I dislike secrets, and I hate people talking about me. That makes me want to close up.”
“You don’t owe me anything.”
Jackson leaned in and kissed my hair, finding the right place easily. “I disagree. Right now, I’m sorry for fucking up. Let’s get some sleep.”
I thought him wrong. That I’d never sleep with him there.
But I did. Darkness embraced me, and this time, I didn’t dream at all.
Chapter 20
Ariel
Warm arms held me, and a firm, big body curved around mine from behind. In my half sleep, and with faint light in the room telling me it was morning, I gently arched my spine, pressing more into Jackson’s embrace.
