In the early evening I was still sitting cuddled up against Steve, only now was I sitting next to him. It made me uncomfortable sitting in his lap after a while and even if he assured me otherwise I insisted that I was too heavy. We both looked up at the person entering the living room hesitantly.
"I'm going to bed…" I got up from the couch and passed by Barnes. He reached out for me but I simply dodged his hand.
"What did you do this time, Buck? She didn't say a single word all afternoon." Steve kept his voice low and I hurried to leave them behind. I didn't want to hear the answer, didn't want to hear his voice. Elliot wasn't here anymore since Clint's kids had asked if their dad could bring home the cute dog again. Since Elliot loved kids I didn't have any objections towards Barton taking him for the rest of the day.

"Sorry…" Deep in my thoughts I had walked straight into someone.
"I am sure I could reignite the fire in those eyes." My eyes darted upwards. That smug grin again. I really didn't have any nerve for that now. I decided to just ignore him, hoping he would get bored at some point and just leave me be. I made it halfway around him when he stepped in my way again and looked down on me.
"Enlighten me, pet. What is that thing between Barnes and you? I can smell him on you."
"None of your fucking business!", I snapped. Again I tried to round him. He made a step off to the side and was now behind me. His hands settled on my waist and stopped me from walking further. His breath was hot against my cool skin and he almost buried his nose in my hair as he inhaled deeply.
"Hmm… Can't be too serious. His scent is too weak. Otherwise it would be all over your body…" His lips brushed lightly against the shell of my ear. "But again, it isn't. That means he doesn't care enough to claim you before someone else can…" He struck a nerve with that and I had to bite my tongue. I wouldn't give this bastard the satisfaction to see me cry. Where inside the Stark Tower was I anyways? I hadn't paid any attention to where I was going.
"The others know where I am…", I tried to threaten him. His reaction was to pull me closer and he chuckled in my ear.
"Oh, my beautiful little thing…Are you really trying to deceive the greatest deceiver of them all? Try a little more creativity next time. We both know you just told our two superheroes that you are going back to your room and wish not to be disturbed." My intestines felt like they were drenched in cold water. His left hand krept up my spine and with a little force he pulled my head back with his fist full of my hair. He didn't hurt me but made sure I was well aware of who was in charge here.

"Why don't we have a little talk, now that I finally got you all to myself and without any distractions?" I didn't like the idea of being alone with him one bit. His left hand was still in my hair and forced me to look up at him while he was still behind me. His right hand took a hold of my face and he liked his lips.
"If you are a good little pet, you might even enjoy this." His eyes got even darker and I hated the way his eyes roamed my body. I just wanted to get away from him, so I did the first thing that came to mind. I stepped on his foot with as much force as possible and tried whirling around to punch him in the face. He caught my arms with ease and my kick didn't cause any reaction at all.
"As I said before, I like a little challenge. Mmmhh… I must say, I really like the scent of pine needles on you when you get angry." Loki took a hold of both my wrists and forced them first over and then behind my head with no effort. I started thrashing around, tried to somehow free myself from his grasp. I just couldn't get my hands free.
"Why can't you just leave me alone, bastard?!" Slowly I was getting really angry about him manhandling me.
"You think you get to me with that? True, I am a bastard. But I can live with that quite well. But leaving you alone? I don't think so. There is something about you that fascinates me. You are different from the other mortals." He let out a short laugh that never reached his eyes while his mouth remained just inches from my face. "Oh and I always get what I want in the end. You will be begging me to listen to all your little secrets. But let's not rush into things. I think I might just take the time and have a little fun with you, pet." There was a noise in the hallway to my left and suddenly I fell to the ground. I looked around but I was completely alone.

"There you are. I was starting to get worried where you might have wandered off to, since you told Steve you were going to bed but your room was empty." I let out a relieved sigh upon recognising Thor.
"Guess I took a wrong turn and got a little lost."
"Good thing I found you then. Stark and I would like to talk to you if you have the time. I read through Asgard's records and Tony seems to have found something as well. We might just have found out what causes the anomalia in your blood." I was on my feet in no time. I hoped this wasn't another of Loki's tricks and followed Thor as he motioned towards the way he came. What could it be that they found out about me?