As the sheet drops, he's startled, but Natasha's never been shy about the way she feels toward him, she's rarely been shy about anything, it's one of the increasing number of things that remind him of Alice. He doesn't look down, but there's a little gleam in his eyes now as he holds hers, the mischief that comes through more and more often around the people he's truly comfortable with.

It's a sizable temptation to look, she clearly wants to see if he's going to, she's testing him and pushing at him again like she often does. Except there's still something that's going to hold him back, something beyond his own hunger, not something he'd wanted to address if he could avoid it, but the topic might be looming now.

He loves his niece, but he's simply not going to risk putting Natasha through what Bella went through.

"Do you now," he murmurs. "Somehow that doesn't come as a surprise. From what Alice told me—and she told me quite a lot—I was under the impression she'd tired you out awfully thoroughly, Natalia."