At the extraordinary scene of Cornelia standing up for James in front of Evanora, James' chest swelled with pride.
The air sizzled with hostility as Evanora disapproved of Cornelia's insubordination while Cornelia defended James fiercely, and James could swear that his chocolate-colored Goddess became more enchanting.
James really wanted to scoop Cornelia into his arms, take her to a room, mark her, and make love to her until the end of time. But they didn't have a room, and the mood was not right, and they never did it, so James knew that the most he could do and stay within boundaries of what was acceptable, was to admire her silently.
It's not that Cornelia was only protecting him, but she was also claiming him as hers! The only thing that could make this better would be if he was the one doing the protecting, but Evanora was scary, and Cornelia was still talking.
