He would not do the same to Holmes, to blanket her, even if it was with love, when she preferred to be without encumbrances. Was there not something she desired that he could give her? Ah, but from the very beginning, she’d always been clear about what she wanted from him. Which he had been too proud—and too afraid—to give. Because . . . what if it was the only thing she would ever want from him? But today, under her steady blue gaze—today he wasn’t so proud. Or so afraid.
more gender rev. A thought process generally experienced through the woman's pov just before she gives in.
