"I have to," he commiserates. "It's that or keep coming in to check on you."

And putting her on a timer is too systematic. It rings of establishing a process, and tonight is an anomaly. An aberration. She's learned she doesn't want what misery and isolation coerced her into believing she did. And whatever he wants is of no consequence, the same as it's always been. His worse instincts will go back to sleep once they don't have hers to play with.