Chapter Text
After breakfast, I dressed warmly but light enough to be able to move around easily and we traversed the mountainous terrain. Loki kept a good pace, not leaving me behind with those long legs, offering help up the more difficult parts as we hiked. Both of us enjoyed our frosty surroundings and I paused every so often to take photos of the more beautiful places we traveled. It was a solid couple of hours before we reached near the peak, and Loki surprised me yet again.
Loki tugged me up over a ledge and I heard the slosh of water. My boots crunched on the snow as I noticed what seemed like a natural collection of spring water in a chest-deep pool. It had allowed for some vegetation to grow around it, including tiny bright blue flowers. It overlooked the valley and the rest of the mountain and was tucked close to the cliff, meaning the bitter wind couldn’t quite reach it.
“Oh,” I said in awe. “This is gorgeous.”
“I thought you might feel that way,” Loki said, his tone edging on smug, but that was nothing new. “We have an excellent view of the countryside. Fancy a dip, pet?”
I blinked at him. “Loki, it’s like ten degrees up here, not counting the wind chill. I can’t get in that water. I’ll freeze to death.”
He clucked his tongue as he strode over and knelt, placing his fingertips to the lapping water. “O ye of little faith.”
Loki’s eyes shut and then a faint glimmer of gold light enveloped the pool. Seconds later, steam rose from it and then bubbles gushed to the surface. He’d turned the spring into a hot tub.
I shook my head and stifled laughter. “Loki, you are the most extra person in the entire galaxy.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “I beg your pardon.”
“Nothing.” I walked over and tested the hot water with a hand, considering it. Well, I had worked up quite a sweat from the hike. No one could see us from this vantage point, not even if for some reason a helicopter flew by. It would be a good way to relax.
I lifted onto my tiptoes and kissed Loki. “Thank you. This is great.”
He winked and intently watched me take off my outer clothes, unashamed in his admiration of my body. It still made me a little shy, but I managed as I lowered myself into the pool in just my bra and undies. I could tell the water was clean, but I wasn’t quite up for skinny dipping in this climate. Loki disrobed as well and climbed in, naked, because of course he was, and settled in beside me. I draped my legs over his lap and relaxed into him, my head on his shoulder, watching the sunlight spill over the snow-drenched landscape. Birds called. Animals chittered. Wind howled. Beautiful.
And we would have to leave it all behind in less than a day.
“Your mind wanders,” Loki murmured after a while. “You are thinking of when we leave this place.”
“Mm,” was all I said.
“Are you worried?” he asked.
“Not especially.”
“Good.”
“What will you do?”
“Whatever I want. It is my way.”
“Will you still help the Avengers?”
He snorted. “Only when the situation is beyond dire. I do not enjoy their company anymore than I enjoy my brother’s company.”
I nibbled my lower lip. “So…if you found a new planet to settle Asgard, would you leave?”
He shifted underneath me slightly. “Have I a reason to stay?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Do you?”
“Do not answer my question with a question. It is quite irritating.”
“Well, among the two of us, I’m not the mind-reader, so I can’t answer that question.”
He moved suddenly, pushing me off his lap and cornering me. He planted his hands on either side of my body and stared down at me, his eyes narrowing. “What you want to ask me is if you are enough to make me stay. So ask it, mortal.”
“That’s not my place. You are a prince of an ancient alien race of gods. I’m a SHIELD scientist. It would be arrogant to assume I could in any way make you stay here on Earth.”
“Have I misjudged you? Are you a coward, woman?”
“I’m not a coward,” I said quietly. “I’m not going to ask because I already know the answer.”
“Do you?” he whispered. “I thought you said I was the mind-reader. Ask.”
“Loki—”
“Ask. Me. Mortal.”
I swallowed hard, held captive by that white-hot gaze, powerless to look elsewhere. I licked my dry lips and steeled myself. My voice came out rough. “Am I enough to make you stay, Loki?”
He didn’t move, didn’t speak, for quite some time, just penetrating my whole person with his stare. My heart wouldn’t slow down. I thought it would explode from the tension building in every limb.
“No.”
There. He’d said it. Now I could stop wondering about what this whole thing had been. Nothing more than a getaway. A fantasy. I would go back to my life and he would go back to his and we’d pretend this never happened. Good. It would be easier that way.
I started to get up, but then he gripped my hip so I couldn’t rise. He leaned in closer and spoke again.
“But you could be someday.”
I exhaled, hearing a sob somewhere in there, not even realizing I’d held my breath. “Loki, I—”
“You should know by now you can’t hide anything from me. You wear your heart on your sleeve, little mortal.” He brushed my hair behind my ear. “I do not consider you a conquest. I am not so callous as to toss you aside when we return to civilization. You made a choice when you decided to help me through this affliction. You did not do it just to be kind. You did it because you find me worth something to you, even if you did not know it at the time. Had anyone else been assigned, I would have hidden myself away until mating season ended. I opened up to you for a reason, pet. I wish to know you. Will you let me know you, darling?”
I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “You might not like what you find.”
“Then I shall make peace with it.”
His hand cupped my chin as he guided me into a slow, steamy kiss. I slipped out of the hot spring and Loki kindly waved a hand to dry us with his magic. We redressed and resumed the hike, this time heading towards the base of the mountain on the east side. I shifted nervously when I recognized the area, tugging on his sleeve.
“Loki, aren’t we—”
“Yes,” he said. “Just trust me, pet.”
I chewed my lower lip as we reached the entrance to a cave, but not just any cave. The cave where the night bayers dwelled. And I very much did not want to get on their bad side.
By now, it was late afternoon so the rosy sunlight slanted at an angle, casting large shadows. Loki gave my hand a little squeeze before he let go and cupped his hands over his mouth. He let out a long, slow noise somewhere between a groan and a howl. A moment later, collective howls answered him and then the night bayer pack appeared at the entrance to the cave. They shook out their fur and eyed the two of us, neither hostile nor friendly just yet. I kept still, waiting to see what the hell Loki had just gotten me into.
The creatures surrounded us and began sniffing, the alpha female leading the pack. She eventually got up on her hindlegs and scent-marked our ankles, then our hands. She let out a short bark and then shuffled back inside the cave, her pack following. Loki grinned and gestured. “After you.”
I blinked at him. “Wait, what?”
“There was a reason for what we did yesterday,” he said. “Those were introductions. We passed a test. The pack has accepted us. Would you like to see their den?”
I almost screamed. “Um, yes please.”
He laughed lightly as I bolted past him into the cave after the mythical wintry creatures. The cave had been carved out decades ago by running water and probably expanded by other forms of wildlife. The ceilings were a little shy of about six feet but the space was large and mostly dry with dirt over the stone beneath our feet. There was a large main chamber where the rest of the pack nestled, some of them sleeping, the pups in the corner playing with each other.
Once the rest returned, the other pack members swarmed over to inspect us. I snapped photos like mad and then let myself be tugged down with them by the pups. They jumped all over us with excited yips, teasing and nipping, eager to be petted or roughhoused with. After playtime, they made a dogpile on top of Loki for a nap and I almost giggled myself unconscious from how sweet he looked with these big mounds of fluff surrounding him. We stayed with them until nightfall when the alpha and her hunters left to bring back dinner for the pack. I watched them disappear into the brush with a deep sense of fondness. I hoped our planet would be kind to them. They were truly beautiful animals.
We returned to the base and I showed Loki how to make dinner—nothing fancy, just fettucine alfredo and spring mix salad—and then we retired to his room.
Where things got interesting.
He didn’t rush me. Instead, he helped me out of my parka and scarf, then my SHIELD jumpsuit, his gaze warmer with every layer that fell away. When I was just down to my bra and panties, he drew me into his embrace, gently running his hands over my skin as he kissed me—my spine, my belly, my upper thighs, my shoulder blades, my nape—each in sequence as if he didn’t want to miss a single part of me. He settled me over his lap as he sat on the edge of the bed, releasing low sighs as I undid the buttons to his tunic and pushed off his shirt. I sunk my nails into his skin and dragged them down his chest slowly. Loki exhaled against my lips, shuddering with desire, sweeping his fingers up my sides in wordless encouragement.
“If you only knew what you did to me, pet,” he whispered.
“Tell me,” I whispered back, lightly stroking over where I’d dragged my nails.
“Your touch is intoxicating. It takes every bit of my self-control not to ravage you like a wild animal at all times. Even when mating season is over, I will still crave you. I will still crave these soft lips and delectable curves. I will still crave hearing your voice call my name again and again in ecstasy. I can’t get you out of my system and I have no desire to even if I could.”
“Fair enough,” I said as I slipped my fingers through that thick, dark hair. “Considering what you do to me.”
Loki smirked, not even needing to glance downward as he popped my bra loose. “And what is it that I do to you, exactly?”
He pressed a slow, hot kiss between my breasts and then dragged his tongue across the swell of the left one enough to envelop my nipple. I bit back a moan and tried to concentrate on speaking. “It scares me how well you can read me. You just inherently know what I want. I try so hard not to just fall apart when we’re together like this but you always melt me into a puddle.”
“Mm, yes, that sounds familiar,” he mused, running his hand lightly across the dampness in my panties. He lavished my breast with light bites and then went for the other one to give it equal attention. “But surely you can do better than that, my lovely mortal. I must know how I am able to melt you. Tell me. In great detail. I am most curious.”
I blushed as I recognized those words. “Egomaniac.”
He chuckled. “Yes. I apologize for nothing.”
I shut my eyes as he continued spreading kisses across my naked upper torso. “You know I like to be dominated to some degree, but you also let me have control when I want it. You’re only rough with the intention of making me feel good, not because of your ego or because you want to hurt me. You tease, but you don’t withhold. You push me to my limits, but not beyond them. You’re attentive without being overwhelming.”
“I am pleased to know my efforts are appreciated.” He flipped our positions. I settled against the sheets that smelled of pine oil and fresh snow and Loki, staring up at him unafraid as he joined me. He slid my panties off and then shed his trousers, nudging my knees apart. “Do you know the thing I find most irresistible about you, pet?”
I shook my head. Loki sank onto his forearms above me, aligning his tall frame with me as much as he could, his brilliant eyes commanding my attention. “It could have all been a lie. I am, after all, the God of Lies. I could have been tricking you into thinking that the night bayers affected me to convince you to give in to me. You are a smart woman, so I know it crossed your mind, but…”
He sighed softly, reverently. “You trusted me. Even against all odds. Even if it could have meant you ended up getting hurt. You did not make accusations. You showed me sympathy and understanding and genuine interest. It has been centuries since I met someone willing to go out on a limb for me, to show kindness without any hidden agenda. I do not know why nor do I feel I am worthy of such trust, but I appreciate it.”
I slipped my arms around his neck. “You are more than your past, Loki. That’s why. Never forget it.”
He stared at me, his eyes a little wide, breathless for a few seconds. He shook his head as if in disbelief and then kissed me fiercely, a growl entering his voice, making it sound coarse. “Nine hells, woman. Why do you always know exactly what to say to make me want you more than I already do?”
Loki broke from my mouth enough to slide down between my legs. I shrieked as he assaulted me with his lips and tongue, easily cajoling me into the first orgasm with a careful curl of his fingers. I took my revenge after I came down from my high, stroking his cock until he couldn’t help but thrust into my hand, groaning things in Old Norse under his breath. I kissed his throat, his chin, as I worked, stifling giggles at the purrs that left him at my touch. Fearsome and lethal on the outside, but a great big kitty if you stroked him just right.
I knew I’d gotten myself into trouble when he slid his forearms beneath my knees, ensuring that I couldn’t close my legs, using his weight and height against me, his kisses messy and urgent as he settled above me. I moaned myself hoarse when he slid into me at last, fighting the tight clutch of my overeager body. His cock twitched a few times, making me mewl from how sensitive I was to him, so full and brimming with heavenly sensations. I gripped his shoulders to try to ground myself as the first wave of heat enveloped me.
“Mm, this cunt,” Loki sighed against my lips. “This sweet, wet little cunt. There isn’t a finer woman in all of the Nine Realms. You are a bloody masterpiece, pet.”
He rocked into me once, eating the whimper that left my throat, his cock reaching impossibly deep inside me. My toes curled and my fingernails sunk into the flushed skin of his chest as the pleasure blossomed through my veins in a sweltering rush. Loki licked and sucked at my throat as he immediately settled into a strong rhythm, filling the air with utterly erotic, filthy whispers in my ear.
“That’s right, pet. Moan for me. Let me hear it. Let me know what I am doing to you.”
I wished I could be demure, but his sex and his naughty words were too much to handle. I clutched the back of his shoulders and tried to hold on as he fucked me into the bed. He knew when he had me on the ropes; I raked my nails down his back and held onto biceps, mewling desperately at the apex of every thrust.
“Come,” Loki ordered. “Come for me like a good girl.”
I squirmed, whining high and needy in my throat, unable to get any words out. He chuckled darkly and followed my movements so I couldn’t escape him. “Oh, no, you don’t, darling. Take this cock. Take it deep. Right where you want it. Right where you need it. Melt for me, my little mate.”
My spine arched and I only managed his name before my climax dragged me under. I kissed him as it thrummed underneath my sweat-slicked skin and drove me off the deep end, taking him with me for once. Loki flattened the heavy body on top of me, rutting into me so fast and hard that it triggered a second climax halfway through. He moaned out my name as he came and slowed a moment at a time, the pleasure lazily drifting over us both for entire minutes, stretching until it felt like hours.
Some eternity later, I nuzzled the spot underneath his jawline. He hummed and kissed the column of my throat, rousing from his temporary sex coma. He ran a hand through his curls to get them out of his face and smiled down at me in a rare moment of contentment. I looped my arms around his neck and cleared my throat a bit.
“You know, on Midgard, wolves mate for life. Is it the same for predators on Jotunheim? Should I be worried?”
Loki smirked. “Oh, quite worried, pet.”
I smiled and drew him down to me again. “Just as well. What’s life without a little danger?”
FIN