Sigyn was fairly certain she never wanted to see the palace library again.
Half her day had been spent searching its stacks and shelves for some obscure work on the culture of Vanaheim. The Vanir delegation was expected in Asgard soon, and the Queen wanted to make sure everything was perfect for their stay, even if it meant sending her handmaiden on a exhaustive hunt for a book - a book Sigyn was beginning to think didn't truly exist.
All afternoon she searched, up and down the library ladders, every movement stirring up dust motes that made her sneeze until her sides ached. She was an awful mess by the time she was finished - muscles cramping, hair a frizzy halo around her head, a damned rip in her favorite dress...and no book. She just wanted to curl up and cry in frustration.
She turned the corner to the corridor leading to the Queen's chambers, her head down and heart heavy as she contemplated how to tell the queen she had been unsuccessful in her search, when Loki's voice stirred her from her thoughts.
"There you are! I was just about to go searching for-"
He stopped as she raised her eyes to him, utter dejection on her face. "I'd hoped to clean up a bit before seeing you," she said, her hands gesturing to her disheveled appearance in disappointment. "I'm sure I look a fright."
"Well, you don't look happy, that's for sure," he said, taking her in. "What happened?"
Sigyn sighed, sharing the tale of her fruitless search for the book. "Your mother, she said it has a particular recipe that she needs, and I looked everywhere, and now I have to tell her I couldn't find it, and oh, I don't think I ever want to see another book again in my life," she said, her words spilling out in one big rush. "Honestly, Loki - after today, I think even the smell of the library would be enough to make me sick."
He frowned at her, his eyes serious. "That won't do. That won't do at all."
Before she could object, he grabbed her hand, dragging her back down the corridor the direction she had just come.
"Where are we going?" she asked, certain she already knew. She tried to wrest her hand from his, but the strength in his grip was too much to overcome and she was forced to walk as swiftly as she could to keep up with his long strides. "You're not taking me back there, are you? I'm so tired...please, I just want to rest." She hated to sound like a child, but her exhaustion was getting the better of her with every step.
"The library, of all places, should only bring you enjoyment," he said, not even glancing back at her as he pulled her through the halls. "I'm going to make sure of it."
As they came to the doors of the library, Loki dropped her hand and stepped in, scanning the large room for other occupants. "Hello? Is there anyone else here?" he called, smiling when he was rewarded with silence. He turned back to Sigyn and pulled her through the threshold. "I think we might be alone. How fortunate."
He pulled Sigyn through the threshold and stepped back to the massive doors, swinging them closed with a satisfying thunk before waving his hand over them. She watched in awe as green smoke shimmered up their surface - effectively sealing the two of them inside, and everyone else out.
Satisfied that the door was barred, Loki swung his body back to her. "Now, what was this nonsense about the library making you sick?"
His eyes were bright with need, and Sigyn swallowed thickly as she felt her fatigue give way to something altogether more pleasant. Loki stalked toward her, and she couldn't help but take one anxious step back for every step he took closer. "Well, perhaps I was exaggerating a bit," she said, a nervous giggle bubbling up in her throat. "It's been a long day, and, um-" Her breath stopped as the backs of her legs hit a nearby table.
He continued toward her unabated, until he was looming over her, his frame filling her vision. "Turn around."
She blinked up at him. "I'm sorry?"
"I said, turn around."
She did as he asked, spinning in the small space that remained between his body and the table. There was a book on its surface, and she gasped when she realized it was the very one she had been searching for all day. She reached for it. "What? How-"
"It doesn't matter," he said, cutting off her words as he crushed his body to her back, trapping her against the table. "You have what my mother needs. And now," he continued, roughly shoving her skirt to her waist, "You shall have what you need."
"Right here?" she asked, her eyes wide with shock and her voice barely a squeak.
"Yes...right here, right now."
He slipped her undergarments down her legs, lifting each of her feet one at a time to free her from them completely. As he raised himself back up, his hands grazed up her legs before stopping at her hips. Leaning in close, he brought one hand around to the front of her body, his breath hot as he whispered into her ear.
"If you wish for me to stop, just say the word and I will," he said, nimbly slipping two fingers into her heat. "But let's be honest - as wet as you are, I don't think you want me to."
She wanted to reply, to beg him Don't stop, please don't stop, but the whimper from her lips and rock of her hips into his hand was answer enough.
"That's what I thought," he said, and even faced away from him, she could hear the smile in his voice.
He pushed his knee between her thighs, encouraging Sigyn to open her legs wider as she leaned forward onto her hands. "After today my love, I can assure you the mere thought of this library will bring a blush to your cheeks."
She keened as he withdrew his fingers, so desperate for him to resume contact that she felt like a wanton harlot. "Ah yes, I know you liked that," he said, grasping her about the waist with one arm, pulling her up onto her tiptoes as he freed himself from his breeches with his other hand. "But don't worry. I'll not leave you wanting."
She felt him pressed at her entrance, and her head fell forward as he pushed into her, filling her so completely, so delightfully, that a small part of her mourned the fact that they couldn't remain like that forever. He began retreating and advancing in a steadily increasing cadence, and almost immediately, her arms began to tremble with the effort of holding her body up off the table.
In their position, she could feel him hitting deeper in her body than usual; it was enough to leave her nearly breathless, and she let loose a strangled cry. Anyone right outside the doors would certainly have heard her, but she was past the point of caring about decorum; the queen herself could have been trying to get into the library, but all Sigyn could focus on was the pleasure Loki was so thoroughly and skillfully gifting to her.
The smell of the old books, the reverberating noises in the cavernous room - all of it was exactly the same as before, and yet completely different. Things that had earlier grown oppressive and repulsive to her senses were once again lovely and pleasing; in her haze of desire, Sigyn thought even the dust motes that had tormented her all afternoon were beautiful as they danced through the air, pushed around her head by her panting breaths.
From her tiptoes she couldn't get any leverage, and so she finally gave up entirely, allowing her upper body to fall to the table. She let out a long moan, her cheek pressed to the cool surface, one arm stretched forward and the opposite hand clutching the edge of the table so tightly she could feel it going numb. She was grateful for Loki's strong grip on her hips, holding her up as he slammed into her, the legs of the table scraping minutely across the floor with each stroke.
"I'm getting close, darling," he said, peeling her hand from the edge of the table to guide it to where their bodies were joined. "Why don't you help me?"
Sigyn complied at once, all too glad to help ease the ache gathering between her thighs. She was no stranger to bringing herself pleasure alone, but the sensations were increased tenfold with Loki inside of her. No sooner had her fingers found their mark than she felt herself seize up, her body arching up from the table as her orgasm rushed over her.
She wailed his name into the surface of the table, all of the long held tension leaving her body as it contracted around his. She could feel him pulse inside her as his own release was wrenched from him, the groan from his mouth indecently echoing off the library walls before he too fell forward, his head pressed to the center of her back.
"I think...I think you've cured me," she said, gasping for air as her pounding heartbeat began to settle. "Right now, this is my favorite room in the entire palace."
"Mine too, love," he said, gently kissing the back of her neck before raising up and pulling himself from her body. She remained sprawled across the surface of the table, too weak yet to stand, letting Loki restore her clothing before rearranging his own.
Once he was finished, he lifted her up gently, turning her in his arms to look down at her. "I do hope I've improved your day," he said, twirling a loose lock of her hair in his fingers.
"Immensely," she said, smiling up at him. "You always know how to make me feel better." She turned back to the table, picking up the book before starting toward the library doors, unbarred and opened once again. "But the day's not over. Let's get this book to your mother, and then you can take me to my other favorite room in the palace...your chambers."