but she didn't ever hold me

She still didn’t shy from his touch, so he continued his gentle grooming across her neck, shoulders and upper back. He kept the polite distance between them, and kept his touch chaste and appropriate, making his grooming of her a methodical and distant. He knew that she was lonely, and that was why she had fallen into Io’s arms. He wished he could do something for her, wished he could give her what she wanted, but he loved Zee too much.

So instead, he briskly ran his tongue through her coat, and tried to dwell on has-been and could-be, because they would do nothing but hurt the Empress. “So much trouble.” he countered, voice gently teasing. Of course he wouldn’t get her little ones into too much trouble.