“Thatcher knew you were someone to me. He sent me some messages, threatening to come at me through you. So I distanced myself.” His eyes shuttered. “Pushed you away.”
“I see.” I shuddered thinking about everything we’d been through the last few weeks, everything he’d put me through.
Jason pulled the covers up around us, refusing to let me escape from the conversation. “But it didn’t matter because he knew the truth and he already had his ace card up his sleeve,” he hesitated, guilt swimming in his eyes. “He had some images of us, down by the lake that day.”
“No!” Panic flooded me, embarrassment flaming my cheeks, as my thoughts shot off in a hundred different directions.
“I’m so fucking sorry. I still can’t figure out how he got them, but he threatened to make them viral unless I agreed to meet him.”
“He has images… of me. Us?”
“I’m going to go to the authorities. It’s gone too far. I realize that now. I will do everything in my power to make sure he doesn’t release those photos.”
Tears pooled in the corners of my eyes. I wasn’t a slut. I didn’t sleep around or date guy after guy after guy. But I’d done things with Jason… things I didn’t want anyone to know about, let alone see. “Oh God, if my parents—”
“Hey, hey,” he pulled me into his arms, tucking me against his solid body. “It won’t come to that, I promise.”
Hands pressed against his chest, I closed my eyes and inhaled a shuddering breath.
“I’ll fix it, Felicity, you have my word.” I didn’t just hear the words, I felt them. Jason meant every single one. He’d done all this for me, to protect me. It was a lot to process.
Suddenly, a thought popped into my head. “What about Aimee?” I craned my head back to look at him.
“Aimee is no one.”
“Jason…”
“She was someone, once upon a time. But that shit was over a long time ago.”
“She’s Thatcher’s sister?” He nodded, his fingers tracing up and down my spine, making it difficult to concentrate. “You were together?”
“You really want to know this stuff?” he asked, and I gave him a weak smile, nodding. “I hadn’t seen or spoken to Aimee in months until yesterday.”
“Oh, that makes me feel better.”
“Good, I don’t want you to ever worry about other girls. There is no one but you.”
“Jenna?” my brow rose accusingly.
He snorted. “A means to an end.”
“Whatever happens next between us, promise me you’ll never ever refer to me as a means to an end.”
“You’re not a means to an end, Giles. You’re endgame.”
If I wasn’t already head over heels in love with Jason Ford, those three little words would have spun my world.
“Endgame? Sounds… serious?”
“Oh it is.” He pecked the end of my nose. “Dead serious.”
“I’m not entirely sure I understand exactly what it means, you might have to break it down for me.” I fought a grin.
“It means you’re mine.”
“I’m yours, okay, I think I can get on board with that.” Warmth spread through me. He said the words as if they were the simplest thing in the entire world. And I loved it.
I loved him.