"You've managed to make a great deal of trouble, love."
Your heart stuttered against your ribs. "What happened?" You pulled your blanket closer to you against the chill that swept through the room.
"I'm surprised you can't hear Odin's rage from here," Loki said. "I thought surely he had woken all of Asgard by now." He prowled over the bed until he loomed over you and took your chin between his fingers, forcing you to meet his icy gaze. "Tell me: what possessed you to go to Thor for help?"
You shook your head. "I didn't—"
"No lies, pet."
"I'm not lying." You hadn't gone to Thor for anything. Not intentionally. Loki's eyes narrowed and you squirmed under his gaze. "I told Thor that I didn't want to marry him."
Loki released you. "Thor has asked that Odin break your engagement." You opened your mouth to reply, then closed it again. "You aren't surprised by this." No question. It seemed Loki already knew the answer. This wasn't an investigation. It was a trial.
"Thor..." Your voice felt small in the dark room. "Thor said that he would take care of it."
"Thor is an idiot."
Oh, stars, what had Thor told Odin? "What is going to happen to me?"
"Nothing yet," Loki answered. He stood from the bed, facing away from you. "Thor may be a fool, but he knows better than you when it's appropriate to lie. He won't betray your honor. He's told Odin that he wishes to break the engagement for his own reasons." You stared at Loki in stunned silence. "Naturally, this has backfired spectacularly." He turned around, anger simmering under his expression. "Odin has no intention of ending the betrothal. And since Thor has voiced his objection, it has only hastened your marriage."
Your mind spun over the new information. The engagement was not something you could break, for certain, but you'd never dreamed that same invincibility applied to Thor. If he didn't want you... "Why? I'm nobody. A... a minor noble. The king gains nothing through me."
"Don't be so self-centered," Loki snapped. "It has nothing to do with you. Odin made an oath to your grandfather. If Thor refuses to honor the engagement, Asgard will see it as a betrayal of that promise. A king that cannot be trusted to keep his word cannot be trusted at all."
"Then... then I'll go to Odin and explain that it was me." You tossed the sheets aside and started to stand. "That I was the one that—"
"Stop." Loki pushed you back. "Stupidity doesn't suit you. It is one thing for Thor to defy Odin. He has done so before. You are in no position to tell Odin anything."
The icy pit that had formed in your stomach ignited. Loki was treating you like a child. You stood from the bed to face him, an effect that was much diminished since you had to look so far up to meet his gaze. "You told me to do whatever I wanted." Your voice rose, filling the room. "That's what you said."
"I didn't think you would turn to my brother for help before me," Loki snapped, meeting your fury with his. "Odin will see you tied to Thor and he'll do it soon to avoid any obstacle. You have made things much, much worse."
You stepped into Loki's space, glaring up at him. "I was trying to fix it. I didn't want to marry Thor, so I told him so. I was honest."
"You were stupid."
You strode a few paces away and took a deep breath to try to collect yourself. When that didn't work, you whirled back to him, embracing the fight still roiling inside you. "Is that why you kept me isolated so long? That's what you were doing, right? You didn't want me to find out about the coronation, so you kept me in your rooms."
"I should have kept you there longer."
Your temper unraveled. "You should have told me what was happening."
"Why?" Loki asked. "So you could run to Thor for help and make everything worse?"
"That's not what I—"
"That is exactly what you did." He stalked across to floor to you. You stood your ground though your heart beat in your ears. "All you had to do was sit back and trust me."
"How could I trust you if you didn't tell me that you were going to do anything?"
"I acted in your best interest."
"That is not for you to decide."
Loki snarled and turned away, pacing a tight circle that led right back to you. "You were naïve to think that telling Thor everything would end well for you."
"I didn't tell Thor everything," you said, wrinkling your nose. "I didn't tell him a word about you. So if you're worried about saving your own skin, you can stop."
"I don't have time to worry about myself," Loki said. "I'm too busy cleaning up after you. And I cannot fix this if I don't know how you broke it. What did you tell Thor?"
You snapped before you could think to check yourself. "I told him that I loved someone else." Your anger had burned through all your inhibitions, leaving your words unguarded. They came out as a challenge.
Silence greeted the admission. Loki's mouth opened, then closed again. He shook his head and looked away. "That was very stupid of you." His voice was soft.
"Fine." You stomped past Loki toward the door, too angry to form a cohesive plan. "Then I'll go tell Thor that I take it back."
"No, pet." Loki caught your wrist. "Come here."
"Why?"
"Because I want you to."
You snatched your arm from his grasp, blood boiling. "Try again."
Loki took you around the waist and turned you to face him. "Because you're angry with me"—he stepped closer so his body pressed all along yours—"and because I haven't yet found any better way to soothe you"—he ran the backs of his fingers over your cheek from temple to chin, then tipped your face up to his—"and because you said you love me."
Your heart thumped. Stars, you had done exactly that. You swallowed the frustrated tears that had gathered.
"Stop," you said and tried to pull away. There was a reason you were fighting with him, something important, but Loki's words and hands were quickly unravelling your resolve.
"Why?" he asked, fingers now twined in your hair.
"You always do this." You scrambled to collect your thoughts. "You come in here and—and you blame me for something and then you worm your way out of trouble and... stop smiling at me!" You shoved at him, but he held fast. "I'm mad at you."
Loki leaned his forehead against yours, fingers rubbing soothing circled against your neck. "I'm sorry."
You froze. "What?"
He placed your hand against his cheek and closed his eyes. "I'm not going to say it again, sweet."
"But you—"
Loki cut you off with a kiss that left you speechless. When he pulled away, he was still smiling. "Stay sweet, love. It's all right." He led you back to the couch, hands soft around your waist and voice soft in your ear. "I'm not angry anymore." He sat and settled you on his lap with your knees straddled over his hips.
You huffed. "I still am."
"You're allowed to be."
"I don't want your permission." You tried to hold on to the anger still simmering in your chest.
"Hush," he said. "Berate me all you like, but be quieter about it."
You took a deep breath and fixed him with a glare. He didn't seem to notice, fixated instead on winding some of your hair through his fingers. "You told me to do whatever I wanted," you said.
"I did."
"And then you blamed me for it."
"I did."
"That's not fair."
He still didn't look at you. "Perhaps not."
"Today was terrible," you said. "And you didn't come here like you said you would."
Loki finally returned your gaze, a soft affection to contrast with your frustration. "I'm here now," he said. "Why didn't you tell me what you were going to do?"
"I wasn't—" You stumbled over the unexpected question. He really had fixated on that point. "I didn't plan to do it. It happened. He kissed me and—"
"Thor kissed you?" Loki asked. He cocked his head to the side. "And then you told him you loved me."
"That's not—" You flushed. "You're deliberately misunderstanding what happened."
"Then tell me what happened." Loki returned to playing with your hair. "What did you say?"
Your face burned. "You're making fun of me."
He smirked. "But you do love me."
"You're just trying to get out of trouble."
He traced a stray hair out of your face and tucked it behind your ear. "Still, you love me."
You huffed and looked away. "You're insufferable."
"And you still love me." Loki nuzzled at your temple, voice dropping to a whisper. "Say it, kitten." Your insides melted, persuaded by the soft lines his fingers drew over your skin. "Please."
You had to swallow your heart from your throat before you could speak. "I love you."
Loki let out a long breath and his body went lax against you. "Kiss me, sweet," he said. "It has been a trying evening and I want you to set my mind at ease."
You did, soft and slow. You let Loki slide his tongue past your lips when he tried, then let him slip his hands under the hem of your shift and over your legs.
"You're still an ass," you said when you pulled away for a moment.
"And you are far too forgiving." He kissed you again, harder this time. "Lucky for me." His hands petted down your neck and arms, taking the straps of your nightgown with them so the cloth puddled around you.
You tangled your fingers in his shirt. "I still don't know—" He cut you off with another kiss. You broke away. "What am I supposed to do?"
"You're always thinking," Loki said. "You torture yourself with these worries."
"But—"
"Are you being married to Thor right now?" he asked. "Right this second?"
"No, but you said—"
Loki rubbed his nose slowly along yours. "The problem will still be there tomorrow. We'll handle it then." He untangled your fingers from his shirt, then pulled it over his head. Your hands went to his chest and he wrapped his arms around you. "Just keep your attention on me for now," he said in your ear. "You will have plenty of time to worry later."
Time slipped a little after that, blending into nothing but the feeling of your skin against his. Loki never stopped kissing you, leaving your nearly breathless. Every touch was gentle, guiding you where he wanted you, leaving you panting and whining against him.
Loki was right, you were far too forgiving. By the time you were both naked, you had let go of all but the last dregs of your anger. Even those fled when he positioned you over him, when he looked up into your eyes with unguarded affection as you lowered yourself over his erection.
He moaned as he kissed your neck. "You're wonderful, sweet," he said. "You're always so good for me. So perfect." His hands over your hips rocked you forward and back, moving you around him, pushing him deeper inside you. The room fell quiet with nothing but your breathing and his, the muffled sounds of you moving together.
This was different. Loki had never let you be in charge quite this way before. You rolled your hips over his, trying something new that made your jaw drop.
Loki laughed softly against your skin and ran his hands down your back. "Did you find something that you liked, love?"
You didn't answer and instead thrust against him harder so he cut off with a groan and bit into your shoulder.
Another stretch of silence as you lost your mind in the way Loki made you feel. He whispered sweet words against your throat. His hands stroked up and down your sides. He urged you on, but never faster than you wanted to go. It was slow and sweet and absolutely heavenly.
And a huge distraction.
You couldn't be doing this right now. You had a disaster with Thor and Odin to fix. Your movements faltered.
"No," Loki said, voice as smooth and sweet as ever. "Keep your mind here with me, sweetheart. You don't have to think right now." His hand circled around your neck and he pulled your face to his, starting another long kiss. "Don't worry," he said when he released you. He looked at you through clouded eyes. "I won't let anything happen to you." His thumb feathered back and forth over your cheek. "You trust me, love?"
"Yes," you answered, the words coming with no thought.
"Good girl." Loki wrapped one arm around your waist, placing his hand firmly against the small of your back. The other hand held your hip and urged you faster. The combination forced your body to roll over him differently than it had under your direction. It hit your center and your clit with every stroke and left you gasping against him. You let him take over—honestly, there really wasn't much of a choice. His every movement pushed your closer until you were pleading with him, barely coherent sounds muffled by his skin.
"Come for me, sweetheart," he said, whispering the command in your ear like a dark secret.
"But—"
"No arguments."
You wrapped your arms around his shoulders and took over the last few strokes, thrusting hard against him and coming with a cry. Loki still held your hips and moved you when you couldn't anymore. His own climax followed soon after.
You took a shuddering breath and nestled closer against him. Loki gathered you in his arms. You waited for his steady heartbeat to sooth your own.
"What do I do?" you asked.
"You'll do nothing, sweet. Promise me that. I can't tell you everything I have in store, so I need you to trust me. Do everything Odin asks of you. Go along as if you plan to go through with the wedding. I'll take care of it."