She gulped. “I swear, I didn’t realize.”
“I know. You didn’t act awkwardly around me. It was only then I realized it was more subconscious than anything else.”
Her hands were shaking as she unfolded her arms from her chest. With trembling fingers, she ran a hand through her bob, disheveling the neat cut. “I’m sorry, Jarvis.”
He shook his head. “There’s no need to be sorry. I’m not saying it for you to apologize, doofus,” he teased gently. “I’m explaining why I’ve been acting the way I’ve been acting.”
“You’ve been protecting me,” she said on a long exhalation.
He smiled. “Exactly. Look, you might think you’re ready to be Claimed, and never doubt that I’m not ready to do the Claiming, but I want you to be wholly ready.”
“That might not be for the best, Jarvis,” she said softly. “I hav
