Chapter 3 –
The brilliance of the light beaming through the blue gem was nearly blinding. Natasha seemed to have lost track of time as she continued to stare at the scepter incased in glass, last night they had reached the helicarrier by the skin of their teeth. The victory, however, had been short lived once the realization had come that somehow during the battle to keep this strange scepter from Thanos' grip, the Tesseract had been stolen away from them undetected and with it went the ability for the Asgardians to return this mystical staff to the sanctuary of Odin's lair. Now the threat would remain on Earth for her and her friends to deal with until they could locate the cosmic cube to create the portal needed or find some other means to bring the demigod's back to their home and this scepter with them. It was doubtful that Thanos or his skrull army would give up on gaining the infinity gem held within the rod that easily but why had they not yet attacked the ship. Had they taken the Tesseract simply to ensure that Thor and Loki would not be able to retreat back to the safety of Asgard? Did they have other plans for the cube? If indeed they had been the ones to take it.
As if on cue, Loki entered the room. She had known he was heading her way, she had felt him in the back of her thoughts moving closer, but she would not acknowledge this to him or anyone else. She was sure he knew, he must have done something to her the last time they were on this ship, some kind of magic to drive her insane but she would not give him the satisfaction of knowing that whatever he had done was working. Yet, it wouldn't do for him to think that he could sneak up on her, so she waited until he was close enough that any member of the team would have noticed someone's presence to make her awareness of him known. She didn't bother to turn her gaze from the jeweled piece; she stared ahead and spoke simply, "Forget the way to your room?" He chuckled behind her and she felt an involuntary tremble throughout her body at the sound of his voice. She closed her eyes in an attempt to calm herself but it did no good, she could imagine his face in her mind, the sexy grin that most assuredly was upon it at the moment, the deep green eyes that must be dancing with delight at the obvious affect he was having on her. She hated him but she hated herself even more for her inability to control her feelings around him.
"Perhaps you would like to help me find it?" his voice was enticing and filled with desire. She felt him move closer and she rushed quickly out of his way and towards the entrance from where he had come. He laughed again, this time deeper and filled with mirth. He was baiting her obviously; he took some sort of sick delight in making her squirm. The kiss had been a mistake, one that she would never dare repeat. She needed to regain control of her emotions; there was no reason for her to run from this man like a scared school girl. She was the Black Widow; she ate men like him for breakfast. She turned to face him, hard and determined, until her eyes met his; she felt her confidence waver but she steeled herself, she could handle this. She could handle him.
"You will stop this." She spoke coldly and without a hint of emotion. She had always prided herself on her ability to maintain her composure, to leave people without a hint of what was going on inside of her mind. In the midst of torture and immense pain she was able to remain stoic, unresponsive, giving her enemies the impression that she had not a care in the world but never had she needed to call on more strength, more courage to maintain this blank stare than at this moment looking into this god's slender face.
"I know not what you mean?" He shook his head softly and his lips formed a slight grin before returning to their natural state.
"Your implications about the two of us, the whispers when you think no one else can hear, you following me to this room? Whatever your little mind game is, it is over, do you understand now?" She took a slight step back toward where she had been earlier clearing the doorway for his exit. After all, she should not retreat from this place, she had been here first, and it was silly she knew, pure childishness, but she felt that if she was the first to leave, she would be conceding to him somehow. No, she would not let that happen.
He gazed down at his wrists as one hand fingered the edge of the binding of his bracelet moving the gold ornament back and forth, seemingly in deep thought. She couldn't help but appreciate, if only to herself, how handsome he was. His long black hair resting upon his shoulders, the tight black leather of his garments perfectly fitting his lean, muscular form; his face seemed to be sculpted from porcelain, and his eyes, so filled with emotion and longing. She realized quickly this train of thought would do her no good and turned once more to the jeweled staff as she waited for him to respond or leave.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, agent Romanoff, but I didn't follow you to this room, I came to see the scepter, it is mine after all," he said finally, placing his arms behind his back, his hands clasped together as he strutted towards the glass.
"You think to take it?" she asked, "You must realize how impossible that would be to accomplish."
"Sometimes just being in the room with something you long for is quite soothing," he turned toward her, his mouth upturned in a devious smile as his eyes gazed up and down her body before settling once more in returning her stare.
Natasha felt suddenly flustered at the intensity of his eyes, the lustfulness held within them; she needed to regain control of the situation, to be firm. There was nothing between them and there never would be. She knew these feelings inside of her had been manufactured somehow, he was the great trickster after all, the god of lies and she would not succumb to it. She was stronger than that.
"Is this because I tricked you, discovered your little plan to use Banner?" she decided the time for talking around the obvious was over; she wanted this to end once and for all. "Is that why you've placed this...this spell on me?"
"Spell?" He questioned, one eyebrow rising quizzically as if he didn't know what she was talking about.
"Yes, spell," she continued, "It's the only explanation for these, these..," her voice froze as she searched for a word that wouldn't make her feel anymore foolish than she already did.
"These, what?" he asked turning his body completely toward her. He really was going to make this as difficult for her as possible, wasn't he?
"I want you out of my head," she said flatly, "I will go to Thor if I have to." Now she was sounding truly infantile. She frowned to herself. "Whatever magic you placed on me, you must undo it."
"And will you return the favor?" he took a step closer to her as he spoke; his voice had a breathless quality that seemed to linger in the air and wash over her. This was getting worse by the minute. She took a step backward trying to hold onto the safety of the distance between them. "Will you take away this hold that you have placed on me, Natasha?"
He took another step towards her. She took another step back. The sound of her name coming from his lips was unexpected, he spoke it with the tenderness of a lover, and it caught her off guard. It left her speechless. He came still closer and it was in her final attempt at retreat that she realized that she had backed herself into the wall. There was nowhere to go.
"Do you think I want you inside of my head? What kind of sorcerer would place such a curse upon himself? No, I'm sorry, Natasha, but I cannot help you anymore than you could possibly help me." He sighed a slight smile beginning on his lips before disappearing completely as his expression became deadly serious, his eyes searching hers. She turned her head as if to leave and felt her heart leap from her chest as he placed his arm straight out, hand flat against the wall, blocking her exit.
"I don't believe you," her voice came out weakly, "just more of your tricks."
"You are so beautiful," his voice a whisper as his hand began to caress her face, his body leaning in closer, she knew she should push him away just as she knew in the depths of her soul that she would not. She felt his lips against her throat, her body trembling at his touch as he kissed his way up her neck, soft hushed sounds coming from his mouth as he moved, "so warm" was the last thing she heard before his lips were upon hers and her world melted into an oblivion of desire.
It was the sound of footsteps and the chattering of Shield agents walking through the halls that brought them back to the reality at hand. "They say these skrulls can shape shift or something, maybe that's how they got in and out without a trace." The voices became faint in the distance as they stared into each other's eyes, a sudden awkwardness coming over her as she stepped away from him and attempted to catch her breath. He leaned against the wall, watching her as a panther watches its prey, his breathing as labored as her own but his face was lit up with a devious grin and a wicked confidence that exuded from him as he stood there. So much for the strength of her resolve, her only accomplishment this evening had been to prove her feebleness in his company. Yet, he claimed that her feelings were her own and not his doing, that he was as tormented by her as she was by him. No, she could not trust him, if these emotions were truly of her own making than she would shed herself of them one way or another.
"You caught me at a weak moment," she said finally, "It won't happen again."
Before he had a chance to respond, Steve and Hawkeye walked into the room. She let out a sigh of relief as they entered, she knew all too well the weakness of her decision, had he pressed her further, she would never have been able to resist.
"Banner has been working on the machine all night, he will locate the cube and then we will take it back, it shouldn't be much longer now, "Steve was saying as they walked further into the room. The scent of coffee that wafted from the mugs they each held in their hands was soothing to Natasha's spirit. The mission that was all that mattered she thought to herself as she watched Loki make his way to the exit, strange that she felt no relief at his departure.
"Are you alright, Tasha?" Hawkeye walked toward her with a worried expression on his face, "You look pale?" She smiled at her friends concern but it was better if he never knew what had caused her flushed cheeks.
"I'm fine," she told him as he came closer.
"DAMN," he spat as he waved his free arm back and forth droplets of coffee falling from his hand and onto the floor, gingerly moving the cup in his left hand he set it down on the side table. Brown liquid covered the sides of the glass.
"What happened," Steve asked.
"Not sure, the coffee seemed to rise up all of a sudden; I guess I must have tilted it without realizing it." Barton continued as he wiped his hands with some napkins he had found.
Natasha looked up at the doorway where Loki was still standing, looking amused as he nodded to her and continue down the hall. It was a coincidence, of course, those bindings prevented him from accessing any of his powers, and there was no way he would have helped them find the scepter if that had not been the case. Still, they needed to find the cube, the sooner that they could return the Asgardians to their home, the better it would be for everyone especially Natasha.
