His own declaration of love comes back to her in the form of an affectionate nuzzle against her hair, despite the fact that every line in his body says that he really wants to go find somebody else to punch. Lacie is the one person in this world that he will never, ever raise a hand to, not unless she desires it -- and even then, he's the more submissive of the two. If Lacie wishes to be hurt, he'll oblige her. But Kevin never has any desire to cause her pain on his own, no matter how angry and twisted he feels.

"Go and fetch him, if you like," he says. "I'll -- be a minute."

His temper needs time to defuse a little. Then, they can see where they're at.