As confused, and upset, as he was, James almost didn't even register the hand on his upper thigh, or just how far up it got. His attention was all for Rook. The fact that he could feel Mab growing serious was really not helping and he could feel his heart starting to pound a little in his throat. What had just happened? He wasn't about to ask, his Master rarely let him have a peak into his history, who he had been before they met, and he felt like this was one of those things. Maybe he'd heard, or now knew something, he wasn't supposed to?
This was confirmed when the topic was changed. Something Mistress knew that James himself wasn't allowed to. Maybe it was something buried he didn't want to have come back up? Part of him wanted to go to this Ash guy and ask what the hell, but he wouldn't ever. He could have the thought, that was fine, but doing something directly against either one of the vampires he served was something he could never, ever do. Maybe not even on punishment of death. You couldn't repay the world with betrayal, no matter how small.
"That's probably for the best." The kissing part. He wasn't in the mood to be his usually dramatic over the top self, but he put that he was trying. They had chosen to keep this piece of secret out of the light and he had to respect that, no matter the size of the pit in his stomach. "Mistress might get jealous." There was an attempt at one of his grins, and for the most part, it worked.