There is SOME mature content in this chapter but really hardly anything.

Thank you to my beta again for getting this back to me so quick ;)


Unintentional Attraction

Chapter Seven

It was a ray of sunlight that awoke Zosime from yet another restless night's sleep. The tiny slither of light had managed to peep through a gap in the heavy green curtains and fall directly onto the sleeping goddess's eyes.

She sat up in her makeshift bed by the fire, which to her dismay had died out during the night, leaving the room uncomfortably chilly. 'Why did he have to be a frost giant?' Zoe thought to herself. 'Couldn't he have just been a normal one? Like a Cyclops or something.' She was slightly irritated that she had awoken to a freezing room yet again.

She wouldn't have minded as much had it not been for the fact that they were currently in the middle of an Asgardian winter that she suspected was down to Loki, seeing as Asgard, to her knowledge at least, didn't really have different seasons like Earth did.

Zoe waved her hand over the fire and it soon lit up once more. Beautiful orange flames danced in the fireplace, and she got as close as she dared to it, wrapping a black woollen blanket over her shoulders before proceeding to warm her hands over the roaring blaze.

Fire fascinated Zoe, and she watched intently as the flames flickered this way and that. In no time at all the room had warmed up a little and she could no longer see her breath before her. After a quick glance over to where a sleeping Loki lay tucked up in the oversized bed, Zoe decided to brave the cold and have a bath. She double checked that the blanket was wrapped fully around her and quickly darted to the bathroom.

Once in the bathroom, Zoe was surprised to find that the room was a lot warmer than the bedroom. As she opened the door the heat practically hit her in the face and she immediately removed the blanket and closed the door tight shut behind her in order to make sure that the room stays the same temperature.

Zoe silently thanked Loki for allowing the servants to still have access to the bathroom. He had them enter through a little door that lead to the servant's quarters. It was charmed so that it could not be opened if anybody was in the bathroom. She assumed this was for the 'on call' maids Loki must have had. Why else would he have a secret passage to his chambers when the rest of the servants had to use the main door? The thought alone made her shiver.

Shaking the thought from her head, Zoe removed her nightclothes and underwear and placed them, along with the blanket, on a little table by the side of the enormous tub.

She climbed the three steps that lead to the enormous bath and then submerged herself into the water, letting out a quiet sigh as she did so.

The tub itself was very deep and, like everything in his chambers, was custom made for Loki. This meant that although the tub was raised off the ground slightly, the depth of it continued below floor level, and Loki would be able to stand in the middle of it comfortably with his shoulders still above the water. However Zoe, being quite a deal shorter than Loki, is unable to touch the bottom.

Zoe pushed herself off from the side and swam the few meters it took to get to the other side, where she found the wall jutted out, creating a bench in the water on which she could sit. She perched herself on it and stretched her legs out in front of her, leaning back on the cool marble edge of the bath and closing her eyes. She felt herself relax as she deeply inhaled the scent of the bath oils.

She loved all the different scents that the servants put in the baths here. One day it could be something quite woody and the next something fruity. Today however the bath smelt of roses and vanilla. Her favourite bath oil had been one that Loki had bathed in a few days ago. It had smelt of nutmeg and sandalwood among other things, most of which she couldn't name. She would have asked Loki what else was in it had he not been in an absolutely foul mood that day.

Zoe had been living in Loki's chambers for a month or so, and only now had Loki began to calm his temper towards her. However she still avoided him as much as possible, knowing that he had to be the instigator of any conversation in order for her to know where she stands with him.

Laying back in the water Zosime submerged her hair and began washing it with the selection of soaps that were laid out on the side of the bath.

Once Zoe was about ready to get out of the tub, Loki came striding in, discarding his night clothes as he walked and idly chucking them wherever he felt like it. He walked straight into the tub, and as soon as he was in the God dipped his head under the water. Once he returned above the surface he pushed his ink black hair back so that it fell down his back and not in his face.

"This wretched thing is growing quite cumbersome." He stated as he waded over to where Zoe was sitting. He sat himself on the opposite end away from her.

"If you would let me help it would be able to come off a lot quicker." She responded, not wanting to look at him.

"Ha, you're the reason I'm in this contraption in the first place. How do you expect me to trust you now?" He spat at her. When she didn't answer he let out an irksome growl. "Leave me to bathe." He continued with a dismissive wave of his hand. With an exasperated sigh, Zoe followed his instructions and swam back over to where the steps were in order to get out.

As she descended the steps on the other side she grabbed the only towel on the stand and wrapped it around herself. "That is my towel." Loki shouted after her as she neared the doorway to his bed chamber.

"Not any more it isn't." She called back, and Loki could hear the playfulness in her voice.

Although he was furious with Zoe for putting him in the wretched belt, Loki couldn't help but admire the way she stood up to him. She was not afraid to push his buttons, and she definitely didn't tiptoe around him like everyone else.

Of course she'd been avoiding him, but Loki knew why and he knew he would eventually have to speak to her. But seeing as asking for help was not one of Loki's strong points, he had been putting it off and had put up an angry front around her to make sure she didn't try to start speaking to him, which, thankfully, she didn't.

Loki had to admit that he actually didn't mind having Zoe around as she was much like him in the sense that she tried to keep herself to herself, and he found that he enjoyed the company as she was almost always naked. He would enjoy it even more if she hadn't placed the blasted belt on him.

As Loki scrubbed himself he couldn't shake the thought of Zoe from his head. The fact that she was physically so close to him, on top of the fact that she was hands down the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, drove him crazy. She was bound to his room, she was his, yet he couldn't touch her. Not in the way he wanted to at least. In fact she wasn't his because of that very reason and even thinking about it made him fill with rage. He wanted her to submit to him. Fully. And even if she did he wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

As Loki climbed out the tub, a thick green and black towel appeared around his waist and a slightly smaller one in his hands, and he strutted out of the bathroom to find a barely clothed Zosime sprawled out on his bed, surrounded by a pile of books. "All these books are so dismal Loki, don't you have anything a bit more chipper?" Zoe asked as he ruffled the towel against his hair.

"No." Was all he replied, slightly offended that she had insulted his books, and upon inspecting the selection he realised that they were the only books she would be able to read. Most of them were written in languages of the nine realms. The few that were written in Midgardian scripture were all present on the bed. He did own a few that were written in the ancient Greek language which she had already read weeks ago.

"I'm bored. There's nothing to do and I can't read any of your stupid books!" The Goddess moaned as she dramatically rolled over on the bed so that she was lying on her back, the thin white tunic that she had draped over herself hitching up her thighs as she did so.

"I'm sure you can entertain yourself." Loki said as he pulled on his leather trousers and simple green tunic.

"Hmm, I suppose there is something else I could do…" She mused loud enough for Loki to hear.

"Then do it." He stated, tugging on his boots, sitting on the edge of the bed with his back to her.

"Okay" Zoe flirted as she suddenly sat up, pulled the tunic over her head before lying down again and beginning to remove her lingerie and throwing her panties at Loki so they landed on his shoulder.

"What is-" Loki asked grabbing at whatever had landed on his shoulder and turning around just in time to see Zoe's hand sliding down from her now exposed breasts to her centre. He stopped abruptly when he saw Zoe, propped up on one arm so that she was facing Loki, with her legs spread wide so that he could see her in all her glory. His eyes looked down to see that Zoe's panties were now in his hand, before looking up once more.

His gaze was immediately drawn to her fingers as they dipped between her folds and when she pulled them back he could see how wet she was and his eyes widened. Zoe took this as the queue to delve them deep into herself and she leaned her head back and let out a moan as she began pumping her fingers slowly in and out. "Stop that." Loki commanded, standing up from the bed but not taking his eyes off her.

"But you told me to do it," Zoe pouted as she leant back onto the bed and brought her other hand to massage her clit. Loki watched her intently. "It's a shame you can't join me." She smirked at the God, whose face was now knitted into his famous scowl.

"You evil woman." He practically growled at her before he spun around on his heel and stormed off towards the door, desperately trying to ignore the moaning of his name that came from behind him.

-x-

It wasn't until the sun had gone down that Loki returned to his chambers carrying two large books. He threw them on his bed next to where Zoe was sleeping, waking her up in the process, before he made his way to the bathroom.

"What are these?" Zoe asked sleepily as she rubbed her eyes.

"What do they look like?" Loki replied sarcastically, and Zoe couldn't help but roll her eyes. 'He should be the god of sarcasm.' She joked to herself before she picked up the smaller of the two books and studying the cover.

When Loki finally came out the bathroom he was wearing only a pair of black silk pyjama bottoms which contrasted hugely with his pale skin.

Zoe's mouth opened slightly as her eyes roamed his body. She realised now that she had never stopped to look at him properly, and as he stood there Zoe stared his shoulders, which were broader and more toned than she had expected from somebody who was as tall and lean as him, before her gaze found the rest of his torso, his beautifully toned chest and abdominals, which weren't subtle however they weren't as in your face as she suspected Thor's were. She watched as his chest moved up and down as he breathed, and for a moment she actually regretted putting the belt on him. "Are you even listening?" Loki suddenly questioned, the annoyance obvious in his voice.

"No." Zoe replied as she was snapped back into reality, and Loki smirked knowingly at her. It was rather obvious she was thinking about.

"I said these are books my mother bought over from Vanaheim, so I expect that they are not as, how did you put it-" Loki started.

"Stupid." Zoe murmured under her breath and Loki glared at her.

"-Dismal as my own." He finished, lying back on the bed next to where Zoe was now sitting.

"That's great, except I can't read in this language either." Zoe stated, staring intently at him and causing Loki to laugh.

"Well you have all the time in the world to learn." He mocked and now it was Zoe's turn to glare at him.

"How can I learn if I don't have a teacher?" She protested as she shifted so that she was resting on her heels beside him.

"No." Loki dismissed her request before she even had the chance to make it.

"Then why did you bring me these books?" She questioned, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Oh I see, you want me to beg you to teach me." Zoe realised. "Not going to happen Loki." She stated as she straddled him positioning herself so that she was sitting on his hips. She saw confusion flash throug the God's eyes momentarily before returning to his normal cool stare.

Leaning forward so that her face was only centimetres above his, Zoe gently placed her lips over his, and when no objection came from Loki she deepened the kiss, parting their lips so that her tongue could explore his. Loki paused for but a second before he returned her kiss and his hands moved up to pull her closer to him, one hand cupping her face and the other firmly on her hip. Zoe shifted so that she was leaning on one arm in order for her other hand to snake up to the back of Loki's neck causing Loki's grip to tighten on her hip. "I will not beg for you Loki" she told him, slightly breathless from their kiss.

"Oh you will." He replied before suddenly flipping them over, pressing his body closely to hers and dipping his head down to bite her lip. Zoe couldn't stifle the moan that escaped her lips, and she cursed herself for it as she felt Loki smirk against her before he released her lip from his teeth and continued their heated kiss.

"BROTHER!" A voice came from behind the door causing Loki to stop still, however the interruption didn't seem to faze Zoe, who continued to nip and suck at his neck. "Brother you are late for the banquet! Come. Join us!" Thor proclaimed, and even from behind the door, the God of Thunder's voice was still incredibly loud.

Loki managed to extract himself off Zoe, and they both sat up, each of them obviously irritated at being interrupted from their little test of willpower.

"Idiot," Loki snapped under his breath as his armour appeared on his body, along with his helmet. He had had no intention of attending the banquet that evening but he hadn't thought that Thor would insist that he did.

"Wait," Zoe called after him as Loki made his way to the door, and he turned around to face her. "You didn't tell me if you would teach me to read the books?" She joked, and she could see a smile forming on Loki's lips, one that she had never seen before, perhaps a genuine one.

"When I return." He replied before turning and exiting the room.

-x-

It wasn't until the very early hours of the morning that Loki came storming back into his chambers, slamming the door behind him and stalking straight to his bed. If Zoe hadn't already been awake the echo of the door or even his heavy foot falls on the floor would have defiantly woken her up.

Loki was obviously in full blown tantrum mode. Zoe sat up from her makeshift bed, chucked a few more logs on the fire and tiptoed over to where Loki was removing his armour. She gently placed her hands on his helmet that he was gripping with his own hands. He was holding onto it with such a force that Zoe feared he would leave dents in it.

"Here let me get that," She whispered as she prised the helmet out of his hands and placed it on its stand on his huge dark wood dresser.

"I don't need your help!" Loki spat at her, still furious from whatever had happened at the banquet.

"It's not helping if I'm doing it for you, is it? Help would require you to actually do something." She replied calmly as she waved her hand over his chest and his armour unbuckled itself, exposing his tunic underneath.

"What are you doing?" He asked as he allowed her to remove the armour from his shoulders.

"What does it look like?" She teased with a small grin, and even Loki smiled as he remembered the conversation that they had earlier in which Loki had been the one to say the sarcastic remark.

Zoe handed Loki his nightshirt after removing his tunic, and he hastily put it on, allowing Zoe to do up the buttons before she took off his boots and tugged down his trousers and replaced them with the black silk ones he wore earlier.

By the time Loki was ready for bed Zoe could see that he had calmed down considerably and was looking a little worn out. With a wave of her had a steaming drink appeared on his bedside table.

"Peggy calls it hot chocolate. She says it always makes her feel better," Zoe began. "Try some. It's made out of cocoa beans." She insisted, handing him the mug as he climbed into bed. She then perched herself on top of the blankets beside the God. She stared at Loki's confused expression for a moment and watched as he took a sip of the steamy liquid.

"Mmm it's good" Loki murmured into his drink, and Zoe smiled warmly at him. Loki watched her as she smiled, wondering why she was being so nice to him and he felt a surge of warmness spread through him. Nobody but Frigga had treated him like this in his entire life, and he couldn't help but smile.

They both sat in silence for a while, Loki sipping his drink and pondering over whether or not he wanted to talk to Zoe. On one hand he didn't want to expose himself to her for fear of her discovering his weaknesses or having power over him, but on the other hand he knew that opening up to her could possibly aid his chances of getting the belt off. "It was Thor." Loki blurted out, immediately regretting doing so. Zoe paused a moment as she recognised the confliction of his expression.

"If you don't want to speak about it you don't have to, but it would be a start to your reform." Zoe's voice was soft and calm and it made Loki feel bizarrely at ease.

After a few hours Loki had finally told Zosime of the events of the banquet, and she could see why he was so angry. Thor may have been a nice guy, but he was an absolute idiot, and if Zoe wasn't stuck in this room she would probably have shouted at him herself for potentially interfering with Loki's reform.

The attack on Midgard was a topic that Zoe was only meant to discuss with Loki under strict orders from Odin. Nobody was to mention it to or around him apart from Zoe. He was supposed to open up about it in his own time and not before, but as Loki was telling the story she could sense that he was at ease around her. "Thor is an idiot." She stated, shaking her head.

"I'm glad somebody else can see that" Loki laughed as he placed his third mug of hot chocolate on his bedside table. "He just doesn't understand." Loki's tone was a mixture of annoyance and hurt.

"Nobody does Loki, they can't read your mind, you know." She reminded him as she shifted so that she was lying with her head on his chest. Loki lay there a moment before putting his arm around Zoe. He appreciated that she was trying to make him feel comfortable while he talked about something that was personal to him.

"After I found out my true parentage and the reason behind it, I lashed out. I was mad. I was nothing more than a stolen relic that Odin could use to unite the Realms. So when Odin fell into the Odin sleep, I took it as my chance to prove my worth. To prove to everybody that I was more than just a bargaining tool."

The passion in Loki's voice was evident, and Zoe knew Loki was telling the truth. "With Thor and Odin still around I knew that my reign wouldn't last long, so I had to get rid of them in a way that would still make me appear to be innocent in order for my mother to not suspect anything." He continued. "But when my plan fell through I ended up floating around in the abyss until eventually the Chitauri found me and promised me revenge on both Thor and Odin. What a better way than to steal Midgard from his protection and make it my own!"

Loki's voice was getting louder and she could feel him tensing up beneath her. "I could have made the Earth great! Such a beautiful planet ruined by the human race that Thor claimed to protect! If he cared so much about their species then why does he let them tear each other apart? I meant not to destroy them but to change them, change their ignorant ways." He finished and he let out a loud sigh. Loki felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Finally somebody had listened to him when he tried to explain himself instead of arguing back at him.

Zoe stared up at him intently and the two of them sat in silence for a while longer. "Aren't you going to say anything?" He questioned, looking down to find Zoe still staring up at him.

"No." She replied back as she sat up.

"Why not?" Loki was confused, even Frigga had responded negatively to Loki when he tried to explain to her.

"Because my opinion on the matter is irrelevant. What's done is done. I'm just here to help you move on." She stated, giving Loki a quick peck on the forehead before making her way back to her bed near the fire, just in time to stop it from burning out.

Loki lay there speechless. He was usually so sure of himself but in this case Zoe had left him baffled. He felt better for finally telling somebody, however he felt extremely vulnerable and as he lay there he felt like he was missing something, however he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"If you tell anyone what just happened I will have to reprimand you" He threatened as he rolled over.

"Don't tempt me." She teased before they both drifted off to sleep.


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