Soooo I was gonna wait till I hit 300 views on the story before posting this chapter, but I guess 291 is a good number too so props to you, my lovely viewers :D
However, despite the huge number of views this story got since its inception, which still blows my mind because no other of my stories got this many views in just a few days, I am a bit... I can't say disappointed, that sounds too harsh. I'm sad that it only got one... ONE (1) review so far. How can I write what you guys like or in the style that you like, if you don't tell me what you like/dislike about this story?
I know it might seem like I'm overreacting and being too "clingy" or desperate for reviews. But really, reviews are the only thing that help me improve as a writer and the sooner I get them, the sooner I can improve the story in the points where you guys think it's lacking (I said this for those who think that a prologue + one chapter isn't enough for me to be asking insistently for reviews). I don't ask for them just for the sake of seeing that my story gets 100+ reviews or something, because I'm not competing with any other writer to see how many reviews I can attach to a story. I ask for them because I literally have no other way to gauge people's interest and relatability (is that a word? Yes, that is now a word... don't think, just accept it xD) to my stories and writing style.
And I know it might seem tedious and boring to write a review that's longer than just "Please update soon, I love this!" But guys, I know you are more awesome than one-liners. I KNOW THAT because I have received some wonderful and exceptional reviews over the years for some of my other stories. If you feel too shy to leave a review in which you tell me what you like/dislike in this story where everyone can see it, or if you think people might judge you for just being honest and saying my story sucks (if that's what you think) by all means just PM me, I'm always open to conversation and I always appreciate honesty and constructive criticism because that's what helps me improve.
With that being said, I would like to offer a heartfelt THANK YOU and I LOVE YOU to KhAeL who has reviewed some of my other stories over time and who is in fact the very first to review this story. You are pure awesomeness, my dear, and I sincerely hope you will enjoy this story just as much as you enjoyed the others.
But on to the story...
So in this chapter we get the very first of the time skips you will encounter along the story line. Because having Loki interact TOO MUCH with a ten year old is just... wrong. We all know how we view Loki, and how we imagine he was even before he found out about his true heritage and his mind started breaking down. That is... he comes across as a ladies' man in a lot of aspects. Some of you will probably hate me for saying this, but just take a moment to REALLY examine his personality at the beginning of Thor and you'll see that spark somewhere in there amidst all the mischief. Or maybe that's just me being a weird person and seeing him in that light, I dunno xD
I strongly suggest watching the deleted scenes on Youtube as well, since they are MAJORLY important and actually add a lot more depth and layers to Loki's personality than the actual theatrical release, at least in my opinion. I have no idea what sort of demon possessed Ken Branagh to make him delete those scenes which in the end amount to only a few more minutes that would've been added to the movie length, but which fill in such GROSSLY HUGE plot holes that you likely have noticed in the theatrical release - especially the scene with Loki and Frigga; won't spoil it for you, those who watched that scene on Youtube know what I'm talking about. If you haven't watched it, look for it, watch it! You'll get a WHOLLY different view on Loki, you'll understand how his character was built and you'll understand the whole plot of the movie a lot better just from that one deleted scene, trust me.
But yes, I didn't want him to interact too much with the 10-year-old Kara, specifically because I don't want him to come across as a big brother figure to her, since that is NOT what he's supposed to be in this story. So in this chapter, it's been six years since they last saw each other physically, like face-2-face. I know some people might feel a sort of "pedophile vibe" from him, given that she's only sixteen, but I promise nothing sexual happens in this chapter except a lot of sexual tension (what can I say? She's sixteen, we all know how hormones work at that age xD). But I'm saving the good parts for when she's an adult ;)
So forgive me for another long rant at the beginning of a chapter, lovelies, but I just had to get it all off my chest. I'll just let you enjoy the next installment of this story for now :D
P.S. Every Thor/The Avengers/Thor: The Dark World character belongs to the wonderful Marvel. I own nothing, except my OCs :)
Entry #2
He couldn't even remember how many centuries had passed since his interest had been piqued to that extent. But he would figure out all the odd things surrounding her, if it was the last thing he ever did.
OoO
Location: Darien, Connecticut, U.S.A.
Date: June 20, 2003
"See you later, guys!"
"Later, Kara..."
Once she had bid goodbye to her classmates, the girl now turned to head home. After a quiet walk along the empty streets, she finally approached her home only to suddenly find herself rooted to the spot. Her breath hitched and her heart suddenly began pounding, making her unable to hear anything aside from the blood rushing through her veins. The reason...? It was staring at her from across the street, veiled in moss green, black and gold just like before.
"Loki..." she managed to whisper.
Although he normally should not have heard that, his lips curled into a smile which soon stretched into a full grin, revealing his milky white teeth. Before she noticed, she too was grinning and not only that. She was stepping toward him, bent on running across the street and into his arms. The next thing she knew, a car horn blew in her ear nearly making her jump out of her dress. As she looked to the car speeding toward her time seemed to slow down; all she got the chance to see was the metal monster rushing at her as if it was trying to devour her... then a flash of gold covered her eyes and she felt her feet leaving the ground, her shoulder hitting something hard. By the time she had regained her full senses, she was back on the sidewalk from where she'd started crossing the street. Not only that, Loki was cradling her just as he had six years before.
"We really should stop meeting like this."
His jesting remark made her raise her gaze to him; and the only reaction she could give him was a mixture of laughter and tears. Once her feet touched the ground again, she flung her arms around his waist and latched onto him while almost crushing her nose against his armor.
"You really need to stop wearing this..." she muttered, in a rather failed attempt at sounding upset.
His soft laughter washed over her like the freshness of the air after a summer rain, and she felt unable to hold back another smile. And then his arms enveloped her with the same warmth and the same promise of safety that she remembered from that night so long ago.
"I missed you, dearest..."
Looking up at him once more, the girl pouted.
"You visit me almost every night in my dreams... how could you possibly miss me?"
"Reality is sometimes better than dreams." he replied with a soft chuckle, before leaning down to kiss her forehead.
"Well I didn't miss you..." she retorted, trying – as usual – to appear independent.
"Oh, but your actions say differently, dearest." he teased. "You're holding me so tightly, that I fear you might break me in half."
Another chuckle left him when Kara stuck her tongue out at him in annoyance, and he finally released her.
"Are you invisible again?" she finally asked.
Before he could answer, however, a few girls from her class passing by came to a halt, gaping at Loki as though they had just seen a rare piece of cake.
"Not this time..." he chuckled, motioning toward the females.
Upon turning around and sighting the group, Kara felt her stomach dropping to her feet. When the girls recognized her and made a straight way toward them, she gulped, suddenly much too aware of his presence just behind her.
"So what the hell am I supposed to tell them about you?" she asked.
She would have probably shot him a nasty glance when he chuckled again, if she didn't feel his slender hands creeping along her neck; the way he was moving them, with his fingers just barely tickling her skin, sent a pleasant shiver along her spine. She was instantly painfully aware of her appearance; the sleazy dress which stuck to her frame, the generously low cut of the dress which complimented her already well developed chest, just how short it was – reaching only halfway down her thighs... in short she was much too aware of both herself and Loki, to feel comfortable.
"You can tell them what you wish, dearest..."
Only when she heard his whisper in her ear did she realize he had settled his hands onto her bare shoulders. For a moment she noticed that his skin felt quite chilly against hers, but the giggles of her friends drew her focus away from that.
"Weren't you guys going home?" she asked once they were within earshot.
"Well we saw you almost getting hit by that car..." one of the girls replied.
While normally she would have dismissed that and given a reassuring reply, Kara found that Loki's presence seemed to have cleared her mind on one side, despite having muddled it on the other what with the arousal he had triggered in her body even while barely touching her.
"Were you following me home?" she asked, trying to sound humorous.
"Okay, okay..." another one sighed. "We decided to go into town and we were gonna stop by to see if you wanted to come with us."
"We didn't know you were meeting with your boyfriend..." the third one grinned.
Opening her mouth to deny that, Kara found that she fancied the idea too much to reject it; especially after she had talked to her friends about him and had actually never denied it when they'd reached the conclusion that he was her secret boyfriend. But what if Loki felt offended if she played along with that now? Then again, he had told her to say whatever she wished...
"Why does life have to be so complicated?" she whispered under her breath.
Shooting a quick glance to the Æsir, she gritted her teeth at his bemused expression as he watched her; it was almost as if he enjoyed seeing her struggle to come up with an answer. Or was it perhaps the fact that she was likely as red as a tomato, judging by the burning sensation in her cheeks?
"This is... uhm..." she stuttered. "This is..."
The more she looked at him, however, the less conviction she could muster to deny that idea. It felt almost as if he was encouraging her to admit it, just with his eyes... or maybe he was daring her to admit it. For the past year or so, she'd tried her best to hide her growing feelings for him but something told her that she had utterly failed. Or was he like that with all women? Trying to push away that cluster of thoughts and save them for later, she heaved a sigh of defeat.
"This is my boyfriend, Loki..." she finally stated. "Loki, these are my friends... Clara, Maria and Alice."
"We can kinda see that..." Clara grinned.
"Nice to meet you, Prince Charming..." Alice giggled.
"You know, Kara talked a lot about you this year." Maria nodded. "We just couldn't convince her to tell us your name or to let us meet you."
"The pleasure to meet you is all mine, I assure you." Loki finally replied with a warm smile.
It actually amused him how all three of them nearly literally melted at the sound of his velvety, half-whispered tone.
"You're a cruel girl, you know?" Alice now pouted at Kara. "Keeping such a hot guy a secret for so long... and then revealing that he's your boyfriend, and we'll never have a chance to woo him?"
"Yep, that's definitely cruel..." Clara agreed.
Rolling her eyes at their antics, Kara merely rubbed her arm shyly.
"Yea, well... he's not from around here. We don't get to see each other that often..."
With Maria being the most sensible one of the group, she cast one quick look at Loki who was by now watching Kara again with a bemused shade on his face.
"Then we'll let you two have some time to yourselves..." she finally said.
Ignoring the dismayed protests of her two friends, she ushered the girls away while Kara offered her a grateful glance. Winking at her, Maria then dragged the other two along the street leaving Kara to once again become painfully aware of Loki's presence next to her and the utterly amused smile playing on his lips. She actually wanted to find his amusement annoying, but as usual there was just something in him that made such a feat impossible to attain... or perhaps it was simply her disobedient streak responding to the mischief he embodied, merely because his very existence was like a promise of complete freedom from the bounds of the world she lived in; and likely a promise she would never receive, as she was quite sure that he did not share her feelings.
OoOoO
The walk back to her house was somewhat of a blur... her mind had simply been much too overridden with thoughts and the pang of arousal that simply refused to die while he was near.
"Should I conceal myself, dearest?"
His question was actually what snapped her out of her reverie, making her realize that they were standing before her door. When she looked up at him, his eyes finally made her realize that along the way he had kept quiet intentionally... had he noticed just how troubled she was, and decided to let her settle her thoughts?
"I'm sixteen... I don't need a nanny anymore. And mom's going to be at work until tomorrow morning, they have a huge contract to discuss and some other things she didn't explain to me." she finally replied, offering him a smile.
Returning her smile with that charming yet mischievous one of his own – the kind that most times in the past year had caused her stomach to tighten and her groin to explode in a torturous flame – Loki merely nodded awaiting for her to lead him inside. Only when she stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind him did she finally realize the words she had said to him. Suddenly she found her heart thumping in her chest and her body faintly trembling. No, it wasn't fear that had triggered such reactions, but the mere realization that no one would be interrupting her time with Loki until the following day... that is, if he agreed to stay there overnight.
As she was standing there, apparently contemplating the doorknob she was still grasping, she was nearly startled out of her skin when Loki leaned down and kissed the side of her head.
"Do not fret, dearest... I have no intention of leaving you until morning."
His whisper slithered into her ear along with that oh so torturously sweet tone he sometimes used when speaking to her; if she had to describe the sensation it gave her, she would have said it felt like someone was dripping chocolate into her ear. The only thing to get her mind working again was when her brain finally processed the actual words he had spoken.
"You... how did you... I didn't say that out loud, did I?" she stuttered in embarrassment.
"You did not think you're the only one who can guess other people's thoughts, did you? There is magic out there that you could never even dream of."
Her reactions of late entertained him terribly, as displayed by his utterly amused smile. She was unexpectedly intelligent and witty... she had a most appealing mischievous streak... she was stronger – emotionally – than he had ever anticipated... but she was also frail and delicate, as if ready to break at the slightest strain. And he found those contradictions of her existence to be deliciously intriguing. Oh, if only she would have known how many times he had wanted to test her... to push her further and further, and see how much she could endure before she actually broke down, either physically or emotionally – or both. What held him back, however, had been the realization that over the years he had actually grown fond of her; too fond to ruin her as he had ruined all his other toys.
He knew he should have never shown himself to her, that he had broken the laws of his father which said they were not to come into contact with mortals unless in a time of great need. But she was like a beacon, lighting across the vastness of space and across the branches of Yggdrasil itself, to blind him with her glow, to stir his curiosity until he felt it clawing at his mind like a caged beast. No, as much as he might have wanted to stay away, he had come to accept that he would always be drawn back to her and that his will – which could usually be stronger than the mountains – would always crumble to dust in regards to her; in short, he couldn't help himself. It was an appalling feeling... both elating and terrifying... as he saw himself falling more and more into that odd, twisted sort of spell she seemed to be casting on him, with little chance of being able to rid himself of it.
OoOoO
It was nearly dusk and the dark haired Æsir was now sitting in an armchair in Kara's living room, a stack of papers on his lap; it seemed he had left quite a mark on the girl's life since their first physical meeting, for she had taken to creating so many likenesses of his face. Although her skill could still be further polished, nonetheless it pleased him greatly to know he had so deeply imprinted himself into her being.
"May I keep this one, dearest?"
His question was followed by his hand raising one of the drawings; it was by far her best work to date, actually reminding him of the skill displayed by the royal artists in his father's palace. Looking up from where she was sitting on the floor to work on her homework, Kara briefly examined the paper he was holding before she felt her cheeks warming.
"Why... why that one?" she muttered.
When he had found the drawings in her room, she'd tried to deter him from looking at them, but to no avail; in fact, he seemed to have taken great pleasure from watching her failed attempt at defying him.
She had realized over the years that he was probably the very definition of a ruler... and, oddly enough, she found that to be one of his most appealing traits. Most other males she had met so far always seemed to have this glaring hesitation whenever they were supposed to make a decision, but not Loki. No, he was the kind of man who simply took whatever he desired: without second guesses... without asking questions... without any intention of ever giving it up again. He was a man who knew he was above everyone in her realm, and who relished in that knowledge, even though – every so often – she could have sworn that he too had a frailty he was well versed in concealing.
"Because I like this one the most..."
His reply pulled her out of that contemplative circle her mind was slipping into, making her aware again of the drawing he was holding. The reason she had been flustered by his choice? It was a drawing – the only one actually – where she had depicted both of them in what appeared to be a lush garden. That probably would not have been so bad in itself had she not drawn them sharing such an intimate embrace, her head against his shoulder, his nose and lips buried in her chocolate hair.
"I don't see why you'd want to keep a child's drawing..." she finally replied, lowering her gaze back to the homework she had been struggling like hell to finish for the past hour.
The amused huff she heard from him informed her that he had acknowledged her defeat and was utterly pleased by it. Throughout the following half hour he remained silent, until Kara could swear that it felt as if he wasn't even there anymore. Just as she was thinking that, however, she was startled by the sensation of his magic slithering into her mind.
'Did I not promise that I would be here until morning, dearest?'
His voice resounding in her head had her eyes dart up, to meet his mischievous smile.
"I know you have not been working for the past few minutes..." he said tauntingly. "Are you truly that flustered because of a mere drawing?"
"It's... not the drawing itself... I'm actually quite proud of it. It's more... what the drawing shows that has me feeling uncomfortable."
Even after all these years it still was a mystery to her as to how he could so easily make her speak out her thoughts and render her utterly unable to lie. When he narrowed his eyes in amusement and lowered his gaze back to the paper he had set apart from the others onto the table nearby, she instinctively gulped as she awaited his reaction.
"And why is that, dearest? You know I take no offense when you ask me to hold you... or is it that you wish for something more than just an innocent embrace?"
She was making this game much too easy for him; it wasn't the first time such had happened with women around him, and yet he found that she still intrigued him, unlike the others whom he had cast aside without a second glance the very moment he had perceived that they might become boring. After all, he had never been one for easy games... he enjoyed challenges and relished in surpassing odds which no one believed him capable of overcoming.
With the silence lingering, he finally averted his emerald gaze to the girl only to find himself unable to hold back a satisfied smile at the sight of her skin having turned such a delicious shade of red. Yes, now was as good a time as any to test some of her limits.
"Your gaze betrays your thoughts in every way possible, darling..." he teased. "I do not even require my magic to know what you are thinking right now as you watch me with those large doe eyes, while your mind holds the image that you placed upon this paper."
Leaning back into the armchair, he fixed her with a pointed gaze when she opened her mouth to try and retort.
"Oh, yes... do not attempt to lie, dearest; after all, I am the God of Lies and you will find it quite a challenge before you can deceive me."
Even as he spoke he could see the bouquet of emotions that crossed her gaze; from shyness to shame to desire, all the while adorned with that ever present spark of hope. But hope for what? Oh, he would find out without any doubt.
"If you truly wish for more, simply say so... name what it is you desire and do not try to hide what you long for."
Truly, he had no need of his magic to know what she was screaming inside her mind right now... her expression and her body were already shouting it in his face. It was then, however, that the image of him sitting there flickered for but a moment. At the very same time, his arms locked around the girl from behind, his chest pressed against her back, his lips tickling her ear as he spoke, whilst his illusion faded to nothingness revealing the empty piece of furniture.
"So there is a spell you are not immune to..." he whispered. "It pleases me greatly to know that, dearest."
Feeling the faint shiver in her body, he exhaled an amused huff.
"Or is it that you were so distracted by your own thoughts, that you did not even notice when I switched places with my double? Come, dearest... do not treat me with silence; I may very well start believing that you do not enjoy my company anymore."
His last words had the desired effect of triggering her reflexes so as to let him gauge her true intentions, when she involuntarily reached out with both hands to grasp the arm he was holding across her chest. Bringing his other hand to her face he gently grasped her chin to make her look him in the eye.
"You trusted me with your deepest secret... why do you not trust me with your desires?"
It was his gaze that finally got Kara's throat working again and she found herself again speaking her thoughts despite not having intended on saying them out loud.
"Because I'm a child... and you are a man, not a boy."
His chest quivered against her back as he chuckled at her words, before he leaned down until she could feel his breath on her lips.
"My dear, on Asgard your parents would have married you off already... and you would have possibly been carrying a child as well."
For a few moments all Kara could do was stare at him, the notion of what he had just told her having even chased away her shyness briefly. Her first impulse had been to say that such a thing was insane, but the words refused to come out of her mouth. The reason? Her own mother had been only 17 when she had married her father while already pregnant.
"But you're a god... and I'm nothing more than a mortal..." she finally said, in a pathetically weak attempt at dissuading him.
"Yet you desire me..."
The widening of her eyes as he said that left him without a doubt as to the nature of her yearning. Narrowing his own eyes slightly, he once more slithered into her now shaken mind... and what he found there pleased him to quite an extent.
"Is that not why you told your friends that you slept with me?"
At those words Kara felt utterly mortified; so much so that she thought she would faint right there in his arms. At the same time, however, anger rose inside her at the fact that he had read her memories without her approval and it was that pang of fury that led her to tear herself away from his arms.
"Who allowed you to poke around in my memories?" she snapped at him.
By now tears had welled up in her eyes, though they did not stem from irritation as she had initially thought, but from the shame of having been caught lying about him without first having sought out his permission to spread such rumors.
Silence reigned between them until she finally gave in to her curiosity and raised her gaze to him only to find that he had not moved an inch. He was still on one knee before her, one of his arms resting upon the leg he kept against his chest, and he was watching her with that expression that she never knew how to interpret. There was no humor lighting his features now, and despite that his face still conveyed such a mixture of feelings... warmth, kindness, curiosity, but also the unspoken promise that he was not some weak human and that he was not to be toyed with. What was clear for the moment, however, was that he had not been happy with her reaction despite having not forced her to remain in his embrace.
"I'm sorry..." she finally muttered, once more lowering her eyes.
Briefly she contemplated leaving it only at that, but then decided that her reaction needed no apology, as she was not the one in the wrong there. Wiping away her tears, she took a deep breath before finally speaking.
"I... I'd already told my friends that you and I were lovers. And in the past couple of months they all started talking about how they slept with their own boyfriends and kept asking me if I'd already done that with you. I guess... I just didn't want to... seem like the odd one out."
When she looked at him and Loki merely cocked his head to the side whilst pinning her with that same pointed look, she sighed.
"I should have asked you first if you were okay with me saying that, and I'm sorry I didn't. Thinking back on it, it was really stupid to lie just for the sake of being as cool as my friends."
The following moments she found to be the most agonizing of all her life, as she waited for him to speak; had she just destroyed their friendship with that idiotic lie? The prospect of that – she found – terrified her in such a way that she had no idea how she would cope with it.
"This silence is killing me..." she finally said whilst forcing herself to muster the courage needed to sustain that burning gaze of his. "Please say something... anything at all..."
"You really are a foolish girl, are you not?"
The sound of his voice, carrying a slightly amused tone, was so unexpected that she felt her body jolting in surprise. She would have even believed it to have only been her imagination, had Loki not covered his mouth to stifle his laughter. At the sight of her bewildered expression, he finally settled on both knees and reached out taking her wrist.
"Come here..." he said gently.
Unable to resist him Kara soon found herself back in his arms, this time holding onto him as he was holding onto her whilst he trailed his slender fingers through her hair.
"Whoever made you create this deformed image of yourself, that you would attempt to deny me by claiming you are not right for one such as me, when I can so clearly see how much you yearn for me? Have I not stressed it enough over the years that you are perfect just the way you are?"
Again grasping her chin, he raised her face to his.
"The Kara I see and have always seen in you, would never deem herself unworthy of any man's attentions – peasant or king, mortal or god – for any reason."
"So... you're not upset... with me?"
The sight of his prankster smile nearly had her melting in his embrace, and barely allowed her to even register his answer.
"Why would I be upset that my dearest fantasizes about me in such a way? Oh, I am not upset... the knowledge that it is indeed I whom you desire, only spurs me on. Had you told me of your longing, I would have tended to it whenever you would have wanted me to."
Once again he leaned down until their lips almost touched... a thing that Kara found to be a sweet kind of torture.
"You need only name what it is that you want, and I shall give it to you. But I tell you now... say that you desire me, and I will never let you go. Say that it is I whom you long and ache for and you will be mine forever; I am a devoted lover, but a jealous god as well. Say you are mine and I will suffer no man to touch you the way I do... any male who believes he can take what is rightfully mine, will rue the day that he was born. That is the oath I take for you... that I will hold you as my equal in public, and treat you as my goddess in private, only so long as you are mine and mine alone. Deceive me and shatter my heart, and I will have you pay the consequences along with any other involved with you... I will show you what it truly means to anger the God of Chaos."
By now he had again leaned back so the girl could see his stern gaze as he spoke. It was a look Kara knew too well; he was not joking in those words, nor would he allow her to believe that he was jesting in any way. In truth, he could not yet tell if what he felt for her was merely his desire to possess her, or if it was indeed more than just carnal instinct drawing him to her. He assumed that something within him was leaning toward the latter; otherwise he knew he would not have warned her beforehand, but would have simply taken her for his own.
"Do you still yearn for me, now that you know what you would commit yourself to?"
"I don't..." she whispered, unable to speak louder due to how dry her throat had become.
At her words Loki finally loosened his hold on her, though his pride was entirely unhappy that she had found the strength to refuse him.
"Perhaps you have chosen the wiser path and..."
His eyes widened, however, when the girl suddenly pressed her hand to his mouth muffling his voice before she spoke again.
"I wasn't done talking."
His annoyed gaze drew a smile from her, but she did remove her hand and lowered it to the base of his neck, hooking her fingers beneath his armor.
"I don't see why you would think that you can scare me away... or do you believe me to be like other women of my world? That I would be afraid or unwilling to belong to just one man for my whole life? If I give myself to you, it would be out of love... and I would need no other man to complete my existence."
"That's a nice way to say that you refuse to give me an answer now..." he grinned.
"By the laws of my realm, I'm still a child... ask me again in about two years and I'll have an answer for you."
"I will hold you to that, dearest."
"Good..."
With that reply she finally made use of his armor as leverage, so as to lean up and place a kiss to his cheek. It certainly wasn't the first time she'd done such a thing, but it amazed her each time to see just how smooth his skin could be, that it felt as if she was kissing silk. What startled her out of that contemplation was the sensation of his hand settling on the back of her head and gently guiding her to rest her forehead against the black material covering his neck. His arms again coiled around her and Kara found that she couldn't hold back a smile...
Yes, there was no other place she'd rather be than in his embrace that made her feel so safe and wanted.