Chapter 159: Second Monday (4)
Jack held up his hand to forestall whatever Nora was about to say.
"I’ll be just as happy if you chose one of the other options. Though, if you decide you want to go the sibling route, you’ll have to settle for sister, not big sister. I will not tolerate being bossed around or talked down to."
Jeeves had mentioned that he might be able to make some alterations to his exiting soul bonds, so while Nora chewed on what he’d just said, he concentrated on their connection.
He mentally squeezed their connection with the intent to push her away emotionally. He didn’t want to cut off her ability to sense his emotions, or vice versa, but he did want to reduce or eliminate the sense of affection the bond seemed to be engendering.
As he pushed, he felt the bond shift almost immediately and felt her soul shift further away from him.
At the same time, he felt a hollowness form in his heart, like he was losing something precious to him. He was paying attention to her emotions over their connection and stopped when he felt that sense dim slightly.
He didn’t like distancing himself from her like this, but it was the only thing he could think of that would help her accept that he was not going to force her into a relationship.
And he was beginning to think that maybe she had some trauma in her past that was making it difficult for her to accept his words, even with the soul bond.
When he pushed her soul bond away from him, she gasped and clutched at her chest. And over their connection, he sensed the pang of loss.
"What, what did you just do?!"
"I altered our soul bond. I believe I’ve eliminated the affection side-effect, without losing our ability to sense each other’s emotions."
"But..."