Smut ahead, people! don't like, don't read. Also, I am working on the final chapter and epilogue to Breath of Life, but I want to make sure it's up to par before I publish it. Jesse, if you see this, please know that I appreciate all of your support. :)

Anja's reflection peered back at her, silver eyes wide as she took in the green and gold dress she had donned for the day's events. It had been a relatively easy day in the courts, and she hadn't seen Loki in quite some time. Not that she was surprised, of course. As he had started to reclaim some of his duties within the court, the newlyweds had started to see less and less of each other.

She was standing in his quarters, hands at her side as she waited for him to return. They had been married for a month, and besides their honeymoon they had hardly spent more than a few nights in a row together. He had always had something pressing in the court to tend to, or she had been up with Aric.

But tonight she wasn't having any of that.

She ran a hand through her hair, using her magic to ensure it stayed in its pristine style. She wanted to look her best for her husband, after all. Especially with what she was going to ask of him that night.

It had been in her head since the moment he had told her of his true heritage, what he looked like underneath the glamour spell. The idea of his true form did not frighten her. It simply intrigued her. She wanted to know why he hated himself so much, why he chose to keep it from her. She had shared almost every dirty secret she had with him. Now she wanted him to open up to her. She only hoped it would not backfire on her.

She turned around quickly as the bedroom door opened. Her husband looked tired, from the dark bags under his eyes to the slight slouch of his graceful shoulders. She knew that slouch was kept hidden quite well when he was not in the privacy of his quarters. He had never appreciated being thought of as weak.

"Anja," he said with a smile. "I've not seen you in forever, it feels."

Anja smiled back, walking up to him and taking his hand. "It has been too long," she said softly. "How was your day?"

He shrugged at that, loosening the straps of his armor as he turned to pour a jug of water into the wash basin by their dresser.

"Tiring," he replied. "And boring."

Anja bit her lower lip, looking back at him. "I am sorry," she said after a moment.

He waved her off, dabbing a cloth into the porcelain bowl and wringing it out before running it over his face.

"What did you do today?" he said as she sat down at the foot of their bed.

"I sat with the queen in court for the morning. Then I took Aric to see Selena," she said. "He misses her."

Loki nodded.

"And then I started to think about you," Anja said quietly.

He arched an eyebrow as he turned to the mirror Anja had just been standing in front of. She got up to join him, batting his hands away from the ties of his armor to help him remove it.

"Me?" he said with a wolfish grin. He watched her undress him in the mirror. She was dressed in the colors of his house, a fact that never ceased to enthrall him... and arouse him. It held his interest… and in the darkest parts of his mind, his lust. "What about me?"

Anja bit her lip again, nodding. "How intriguing you are, and how handsome," she said quietly. A long fingered hand snaked around to his front as she stood behind him, tapping on the breast plate of his armor before sending a burst of magic to have it fall to the ground. "And…" she trailed off, losing the nerve she had built up.

He seemed to notice her dilemma, and he looked over his shoulder at her. "And?" he whispered.

Anja licked her lips, silver gaze wide as she let him turn fully to look at her.

"How I have never seen… Your true form," she said softly, tentatively.

He arched an eyebrow at that, lips pressed into a fine line. "You don't want to," he said quietly.

"I think that is for me to decide," Anja replied.

He let out a huff, his arousal from just seconds before gone in an instant. She didn't want to see him like… that monster…

"Why?" he whispered hoarsely.

Anja inhaled deeply, looking down as she took his hand. She let out a deep breath before speaking again. "Curiosity," she said quietly. "I wish to know the real you."

"And my preferred form is not enough for you?" he said quietly, darkly. Something was brewing in the depths of his eyes, swirling in the green oceans she had come to love like life itself.

"It seems awfully shallow to accept you only for the face you present," Anja said. "And I once told you I would love you no matter what. I still hold to that, My Darling." She brought a hand up to cup his jaw, silver gaze never leaving his as she looked back at him intently.

"You will run screaming from here-"

He was cut off as Anja kissed his lips lightly, chastely. "Loki, I will not. You have my word."

His lips curled at that, and for a moment of uncertainty, Anja had no idea what he was going to do. He grabbed her by her arm, turning her so she was in front of him by the mirror now. His body was rigid, hard, unyielding. She squeezed her eyes shut as she waited on him to let her go. Sometimes he got like this, and as always all it took was for her to stay still until he could calm down.

"You claim to love me as I am," Loki whispered, hand trailing down her side. "But could you love yourself, if you looked like this?" The hand at her side turned icy as he finished his last statement, and Anja let out a gasp before her eyes flew open.

Loki's alabaster skin had grown a deep cerulean, red eyes glowing in the lamp lit room.

She did not move for a moment, and when she tried to turn he held her fast. "Answer me," he said quickly. His breath was icy as it cascaded down her neck and she shivered.

"You do not scare me," she said, each syllable coming in a steady flow from her lips. This time, when she turned around, she forced him to let her. He looked as she had always imagined him to, she supposed. Perhaps his shoulders were a bit broader than they usually were, but other than that he was her Loki.

He inhaled sharply as she brought a hand up to his jaw. "You do not scare me," she repeated. Her hands traveled down to the top button of his undershirt, tugging at it until it came undone. She kept going, even as he started to feel uncomfortable. "You are my husband." She took in the runes and ridges that stretched across his chest, knowing full well he could make them vanish at any moment. They were beautiful, she realized breathlessly. How could anyone hate themselves when they were this unique? The runes traveled all the way down his toned abdomen… under his pants…

Before she knew it, her hands were searching for the string that would relieve him of his breeches. He didn't speak until her fingers wrapped around the tie, and she froze as he spoke.

"Please, Anja. Don't."

He sounded like a child, like an innocent. Anja pursed her lips, looking back up at red eyes. They were not the green she had grown to love, but they were his eyes. "I want to love you in every way," she said softly. "I want to know all of you. Even the parts you hate. I want to love those parts for you," she whispered.

It seemed to placate him for the moment and she continued on in her exploration of his body, kneeling down before him gracefully.

His breeches came down after another few seconds and her breath hitched as she took in his manhood. He was… aroused… and larger than she remembered.

Her eyes flicked back up to his at that point from where she had fallen to her knees. "Let me love you," she whispered, repeating what he had said to her the first time they had made love. "Like this." At those last words, she wrapped her arms around his thighs, gazing up at him intently.

He closed his eyes, shaking his head as he brought a hand down to pull her up to his level once more. Loki remained silent, and stiffened as she kissed his lips hungrily. He was stiff, cold like the rest of his body for the briefest of moments, before he gave in. She had her over clothes off of her body with a flash of magic, kissing and trailing her tongue down his throat.

Her hand slipped down to grip him. He was cold.

"No. Anja…" he said half-heartedly as she slipped down on her knees in front of him once more. The irony that he was telling her not to kneel was not lost on him, but in that moment he didn't know if he could take it, to allow her to pleasure him in such a way when he knew he did not deserve it. His hand fisted in her hair as she wrapped her arms around his tense legs muscles.

She smiled, kissing the tip of his arousal gently. She had only ever done this once for him… and somehow she was convinced if she did it in his true form he would realize how much she cared about him. Not the dark prince, not the glamour, but him.

She peeked up at him once more before taking him completely in her mouth.

*o*O*o*

He came several minutes later. Hard… and cold.

Anja inched back up his body, standing up as she did so to face him. His body had gotten colder, if that were possible, and she shivered as his eyes opened to look back at her. "I have a surprise for you," she whispered.

He seemed to have forgotten completely about his current state in that moment and he smiled softly down at her. "Another one?" he said with a grin. To see him happy in such a state set her own heart a flutter and she licked her lips as reached up to run a hand through his hair.

Anja smiled, nodding. The idea had hit her moments ago, and she wondered if her magic was capable of it…

"You asked me if I could love myself… if I looked as you do now…"

He nodded, still unsure of where she was going with this. Her hand went up to his face though, cupping it as she closed her eyes in an attempt to think clearly.

His gasp of startled surprise was what alerted her to the fact that her glamour spell had worked. Slowly, she opened her eyes, looking back at him with a fervent desire as it spiked through her body like white fire.

"Oh Anja," Loki murmured, trailing off as he caught a strand of her dark curls between his fingers.

She glanced at herself in the mirror, looking over her shoulder. Her body had the very same color that Loki's did, the deep cerulean of her own back and ass blending in with her lover's form behind her. She met her own gaze in the mirror, and swallowed once as blood-red eyes met her own gaze.

It was the feel of Loki's arms encircling her that made her turn back to look up at him. She let a smile surface, and the feel of the typical Johtun fangs under her lips caught her attention.

"Kiss me, Loki," she whispered as his long fingers came up to brush her cheekbone lightly. "Kiss your wife."

Loki hesitated for a millisecond at the most before his lips were on Anja's, tongue invading her mouth as he fought for the dominance he craved. His fingers gripped at her bare hips, pulling her form flush against his own. She was certain there would be bruises, but in that moment she couldn't care less.

He kissed her for what was surely only minutes, but felt like hours. He savored every hitch of her breath, devoured every moan that passed from her lips to his.

It wasn't until she pulled away that he stopped, allowing his forehead to rest on hers.

"Tell me anything you want in this world and I shall get it for you. All you need to do is name it," Loki said breathlessly, cupping her face and nipping at her lower lip gently.

Anja seemed to come out of the daze he had put her in with his onslaught, and she thought for a moment. In a quick moment of decision, she reached down to take his hand, intertwining her fingers through his and pushing him back towards the bed.

It wasn't until she pushed him backwards and sat astride him that she spoke.

"I want you to fuck me," she said from her place atop him, leaning into his ear and whispering. "Like a whore. I want you inside me as you are now."

Loki breathed heavily. Midgard had definitely affected her vocabulary. "And after?"

"Again," she breathed. "Until we both succumb to sleep. I want you to have me however you wish."

He smiled fully at that, grabbing her by her hips and rolling so she was beneath him. He pinned her down, placing a biting kiss on her collarbone. Her glamour spell had gone quite well. If her skin had been cold, he would have truly believed she was like him. "You may regret granting me that particular accommodation."

Anja was practically panting now. Gone was her normal emotional barrier. All she wanted was to feel him as he gave into everything, every primal instinct, every sinful desire.

Because he was hers.

"I have never regretted anything I did with you," she whispered in his ear, craning her head as he pinned her beneath him. He couldn't help but stare, transfixed at the glowing red of her eyes. He knew it was only a glamour spell… but the frost giant in him called to that glowing red. It was as if every instinct was being amplified. The beast was truly out now.

And frost giants had never been known for being gentle with their lovers.

"I am your whore tonight, Loki Laufeyson," she whispered wantonly, letting out a whimper as his hands dug into her hair. Her blue breasts heaved beneath him and she shuddered. "And you are my king."

His eyes went wide at that, glowing red orbs meeting Anja's.

"Say that again," he whispered.

"You are my king," she repeated unwaveringly. "Loki- Unh!" she cried out as he entered her quickly and unexpectedly.

"Again!" he practically screamed as he took her ruthlessly. He turned her over at that, pulling out quickly and taking her from behind. She was on her hands and knees, taking each of his thrusts and crying out as his hand came down on her bottom in a slap.

When it was over, he fell on top of her, letting her feel his weight as he pressed her into the mattress. Anja whimpered when he withdrew from her moments later and he removed himself from on top of her.

"Do not fear me," he whispered in her ear as he pulled her into him. Gently, he brought a hand down to cup behind her knee. He draped it across his hip as they lay face to face in the bed. Side by side, man and wife.

Anja opened her eyes at that, a small smile touching her lips as she realized her enchantment had disintegrated when she had climaxed. Coincidentally, his own pale flesh had returned as he held her closer.

"Never," she whispered, kissing him softly on the forehead.

And she didn't. Nor would she ever again. He had given everything to her, stripped his pride-filled image bare and laid it out before her. There was no way in Valhalla she could fathom belonging to anyone but him in all her existence.

They didn't speak for several moments, but when Loki finally did, it was laced with humor… and relief.

"Now," he said into her hair as he rolled back on top of her. "About that 'again' part…"

~ Fin