tenderness performed over contempt — "It gave him real pleasure to…"

The seduction's closed loop shown from inside its aftermath: what looks like devoted post-coital tenderness is the exact opposite, a performance of care laid carefully over the contempt Orin can't show because it would spoil the Subject's pleasure — and her pleasure "has become his food." Intimacy here is a thing administered, not shared; the gentler he seems, the more sealed off he actually is, giving the impression of connection precisely so that the real connection never has to happen. [sweep · shared-ground surveillance-disguise]