Believing that she was awaking from a mad dream, Emma opened her eyes, and noticed her exhale vaporizing in the cool air. She felt comfortably warm, under a blanket, leaning against the side of a male body covered with black leather and green expensive fabric decorated with golden details. The golden ornamental gorget on his upper chest felt hard against her right temple and she pulled her head up a bit. She felt an arm around her, cradling her, and found her own hand resting on his thigh too close to his groins. She took note that they were sitting in the cabin of the SnowCat, the windshield and side windows covered with snow outside. Slightly horrid she recalled the ride over the glarier with the bad-tempered demigod, and cautiously lifted her gaze up, facing Loki's smug smile.
"About time, my dear. You got me worried that I caused you a permanent damage," the demigod smirked in triumph, his green eyes studying her with curiosity.
"Y-you what?" Emma pulled away from his embrace fast like a cat from a hot stove. "What? No, no, no! " she gasped having no recollection of the events that had led her into his arms. What was that damage he mentioned about? "Huh? What...?"
"The blizzard has past. Perhaps we can continue this, hm, intellectually stimulating conversation while we proceed our way?"
Bemused Emma moved as far away from him as she managed. She glanced at herself, finding herself decent, thankfully still all dressed up. But her memory wasn't fully there. "What have you done to me?"
Loki smirked. "Nothing you were not willing to do."
Emma didn't like the sound of that. "What was that supposed to mean? And why were we like that?"
Loki frowned, looking disappointed. "Oh, do not tell me you have no recollection of all the fun we had?"
"Um? Of what?"
Loki enjoyed too much of this. Being drunk or not she had dared to laugh at him a few hours ago and now it was his time to have his fun. He had dwelled alone long enough in his dark thoughts while she was asleep. And this certainly gave him something else to think about. "I must say that a drop of vodka turned you into quite a beast," he admitted in an appreciating tone.
"You've got me drunk?" Emma gasped, abashed, knowing perfectly well that she couldn't hold her liquor. "How could you?"
She couldn't even dare to beginning to think of what she had done, or what he had might have done to her. She had thought that she could have at least trusted his word to be a gentleman. Embarrassed and angry by his deceitful doings, Emma kicked the door open and jumped into a knee deep snow. The snowstorm was over and the vehicle covered with a white, soft mantle like everything else around them. Fresh cold air had never felt that good.
"Shit!" Emma hissed, struggling to get through the snow at the tail of the vehicle, braiding her long hair loosely to stop it from getting on her face in the wind. "Oh, you're such an idiot!" she scolded herself for trusting the mischievous demigod who had shown her those beautiful visions from his home world and then intoxicated her with a drop of alcohol. And for what reason, she wondered, having a bad hunch of his intentions. Then again, if he would have just wanted to rape her, he would have done it long ago while she was sober, she reasoned. "I'll behave, you have my word. My ass!"
Loki came out too from his side of the truck, meeting Emma on the back. The cold gusts of wind made his dark-green cape fluttering on his side and messing up his neatly styled raven hair. "I meant no offence!"
"Oh, really? Well, it seems that offence is what you're good at!" Emma ranted, pulling the trunk open and taking out a large fuel can. "Mister freaking master of illusions!" she bridled in a silent voice, not meant him to hear, heaving the heavy canister towards the side of the SnowCat. Men creatures were all the same, no matter where they were from!
Loki watched her struggling with the canister and picked it up for her with ease. Apparently he had upset her more severely that he had thought. It must have been a female-thing, since he recalled lady Sif also having a temper when it came to insignificant matters. "My apologies, but I do not see what the fuss is about."
Emma lifted her angry eyes at him. He looked so tall and imposing, standing in front of her that she felt herself shrinking. In height her forehead just reached to his chin. His dark, outstanding appearance was even more emphasized in the pure white, arctic wilderness that surrounded them. No matter what thoughts they had shared during the blizzard, she was still his prisoner and he was still a threatening extraterrestrial being.
Emma took a defending step back and opened the cap of the vehicle's fuel tank, glaring at Loki who was holding the fuel can. "Pour! There!" she told him and went back at the trunk picking up a shovel and a brush to clear up the snow from top and around the vehicle.
Loki let out a small unpleased breath, finding himself getting his hands dirty by doing her job. "I am a king not a serving boy!" he reminded her, grunting.
"Then off you go back to your precious kingdom, Your Highness!" Emma grunted back at him waving her hand towards the bright blue sky. "Don't expect me to drop a curtsy on you."
Loki answered with a dry smile. "You ran out of your pretty words? It was not so long ago when you were pouring sweet compliments into my ears. Your lavish endearments were such delightful."
Emma could awkwardly imagine that, her cheeks turning red, afraid of what kind of idiotic lovesick crap she had told him. There was no denying it; Loki was hot as hell, literally. Tall, dark, charming and yet so scary and dangerous. He was everything that a woman could have asked for, but in so wrong way. He was a badass prince from some beautiful alien kingdom, maybe a king even. He was an ultimate bad boy fantasy. Emma gasped. What the hell had he done to her? Had he messed up her mind completely with those illusions? Why was she feeling like this? Was she on heat?
Emma cleared her throat. "You shouldn't have trusted a word of a drunk!"
Loki followed her with his gaze as she waded in the snow going past him with the shovel, not sparing a glance at him. He could have let her brush off all the snow, to letting off her steam, but he decided to give a helping hand. Making a small gesture with his hand, he conjured one strong wave of energy that blew away all the snow, uncovering the SnowCat completely. He waited as long as Emma turned at him looking annoyed, which took more than a few seconds.
"You are welcome," he smirked then with a tiny bow, and emptied the fuel canister into the tank and tossed it back in the trunk.
The wind played with his hair as he took a few steps closer to her, his dimples growing deeper on his cheeks. "There really is no reason why we should not continue further on of our little intimate liaison," he said in an inviting voice, rubbing his palms together slowly like he would have had cold.
No-one had never talked to her like that. Emma was melting, not really knowing where she found the will or courage to fight him. She swallowed, lifting slowly the shovel on her shoulder like a baseball bat, for some serious shooing out, reminding herself that this charming devil was still the same creature who had stabbed Scott. Who knew what kind of weird alien stuff he had done to her already.
"Stop, please! Or I'll swing that smug grin off your face!" she warned him, speaking slowly to cover her hesitation.
"You wish to fight me?" Loki asked, amused, spreading his arms wide to his sides theatrically. "After all we shared?"
"No, but a girl has got to stand up for herself." No-one else was going to do it. "I wish that my personal boundaries are respected."
Loki let out a careless laugh. "Where were your personal boundaries when you threw yourself in my embrace? Why would you resist now? I still need you."
"You've got two perfectly good hands. You go with them!"
Loki furrowed his forehead, giving her a perplexed look. "What?" he asked with a small shake of head. "You thought I...? Seriously?" His face darkened with a meaner smile. "If I simply would want to lay you I would have already taken you. Oh, several times, believe me!" he said, his voice turning harsher.
Awkward! A possible language barrier conflict? "Oh?" Emma heaved an embarrassed sigh, biting her lips nervously. Wait! Did she just tell him to go fuck himself? Oh, shit! That couldn't be good.
Loki frowned even more, mouth gaping in indignation by her insolent tone as if it would have been pure blasphemy. "Wait! Were you implying that I should go...?"
Emma flashed an unintentional grin. "It was more of ah... an alternative suggestion!" she interjected him, pondering how far would she be able to run in the knee deep snow before he would unleash a hell upon her. "It came out wrong. Sorry. What if I'll just go and start the engine so we can move on?" she made another suggestion with more subtle tone, squeezing thigh on the arm of the shovel. Why couldn't she just keep her mouth shut?
Loki's temper nearly got the best of him as he beheld Emma with fiery eyes, with a look that could had devoured her soul. He was a trickster, but his humor had its limits. He had just found out that his whole life had been nothing more than a charade. He had been cast out from his throne and exiled into a dull world of mortals. He was not going to take anymore of insults. He was not to be defied by anyone, especially not a mortal woman.
He shook his finger at her in berating manner, the blazing expression slowly turning to a mischievous smile; only that his mouth wasn't smiling but his green eyes were.
"Have I not yet made my nature clear to you?" he asked in a dark voice moving closer to her with composed steps, and she moved backwards as much. He was a king. He was a god compared to her; he expected to be addressed with respect. Their little talks hadn't changes anything in that order of precedence. And he couldn't let his fledgling feelings towards her blur out his rational thinking.
"I am a god compared to you. You resistance is pointless, not to mention naive. I could break you apart with my bare hands," he declared, the tone of his voice building up wrath.
Emma frowned, shocked by his heated words, a little spark of anger flaring within her too. After all he had shown her and said in a charming way, he really was nothing more than a monster. She couldn't understand why she had felt so sorry for him.
"What? You don't know half of the shit I've gone through in my life. I'm not going to be bullied anymore by some dark smurf from space. So, back off!"
Not yielding and not knowing what kind of madness had struck her, she was holding tight on the only weapon she got ready to hit him with the shovel, no matter the consequences, knowing perfectly well that she had a zero chance to fight him.
Loki's eyes flashed with curiosity in a mean way. He had no desire for a battle of wills. He knew he always win, one way or the other. And he wished not to fight her. He had better things in mind for her. He made a small move of his hand towards her, and waited, a mischievous smile slowly growing on his lips.
Suddenly as if the arm of the shovel would have became alive, Emma felt it slithering heavily on her shoulder. When she saw it turned into a huge black serpent that was coiling itself around her arm, hissing menacingly, she shook it off in a fright, stepping away from it. The serpent dropped on the icy ground and turned back into a shovel.
Not yet recovered from the snake surprise, Emma found herself in Loki's arms as he snatched her and pushed against the flat, hoodless front of the vehicle. He lifted her in his embrace so that he could look straight to her eyes, locking her body against the vehicle's front with his, his pelvis between her open thighs. His right hand cupped her neck, so that she would have nowhere else to lay her eyes but on him. "You want me to eradicate that defiance from you, Emma Morgan?" he asked in a deep, dark voice, his mouth left ajar, his hot breathing vaporizing in the cold air.
A low moan escaped from between her lips as he held her hard on her place, his whole body leaning against hers heavily, their faces on the same level. "No!" Emma protested, inefficiently trying to push him off, her eyes nailed at his. He was just too damn strong, and he was scaring her, making her breathing harder with his weight against her. She feared that the windshield behind her (she heard it already cracking) would break and she would get injured. "Stop! Let me go! Loki, you don't play fair!" she screamed at his face.
Loki watched her closely, a small grin creeping on his face. "I never do. I am a trickster. I am the god of mischief," he reminded, breathing in her sweet scent. She looked so beautiful, so strong and yet so fragile, her small body trembling against his, her faint resistance only arousing him. "You still find me beautiful? You still appreciate my smile? Well, take a good look!"
Emma let out an angry cry or it was more of a roar of extreme frustration, feeling helpless fighting against him and that bestial rage boiling inside of her. There had always been that darkness inside of her she had kept at bay. And she knew if she would give into her animal instinct now there wouldn't be turning back. "I can't believe I actually felt sorry for you. You truly are nothing but a monster!" she gruffed, clenching her teeth, trying to free her hands as he was holding on both of hers with one of his.
"A monster?" That word stung Loki and his breathing was shivering with fury. "Well then maybe, if this is what it takes to break your will, I will take you out there in the cold like a proper monster of Jotunheim. I will crumble down your boundaries. You will learn to respect me as you king!" Loki rasped out, the intensity of cruelness in his gaze giving her a real reason to be afraid. "You will learn your place," he whispered into her ear, brushing her soft, cool cheek with his lips, pulling her head closer to him.
He still might have been a prince of Asgard but there were no more rules to bind him to any code. He could freely become the true god of mischief, maybe even the god of malice, taking whatever he wanted, starting with her and later taking her whole world. The woman had been his prey from the very beginning, and he had already prolonged his self-claimed right on her long enough. For a mortal, she was everything he desired from a female, and he was going to make her his own.
Emma could smell him. His strangely savory scent was stirring up her mind as well as her body. He smelled so damn good and she hated him for that. She felt the waves of heat running through her as if preparing her for the inevitable. She couldn't felt anymore mixed up; his husky voice and his lips on her skin made her body aching for him, willing for his to take and yet the rest of her was still going on the battle, abhorring to be touched without her will. He couldn't do this to her. She was not going to let him. She would have rather died than let him force himself on her. She bit her teeth together to stop her mouth from trembling. "Loki, if you'll harm me, I swear I will take you down with me! I'll drive you straight into a mile deep ice canyon!" she groaned from between her teeth in resistance, sounding as stern as she managed. It was time to set the beast loose.
The god of mischief eased his grip on her a bit and gazed at her questioningly, the cruelty slowly fading away from his face, his emerald eyes glancing at the vehicle behind her. "With that thing?" he asked a bit puzzled, thinking how she could possibly drive him off from a great glarier with that sluggish vehicle, him sitting there with her.
"Do not think for a moment that… that I wouldn't… I would…"
Loki noticed from Emma's eyes that she had also realized her minimum chances to fulfill her monstrous threat, and their dark debate took a turn to brighter direction.
"Was that the absolutely worst you could think of?" he asked frowning, and it looked like she tried to think of something cleverer to say.
Loki let out a laugh, eased more of his grip, letting her hands free, only holding his hand on the back of her neck and her against the vehicle with only the lightened weight of his body. Her golden curls felt soft on his palm. He laughed, not mischievously anymore but cordially. The best laughs he had have in ages. He lifted his eyes at hers and stroked her cheek gently with the back of his fingers, a small glint of passion still lingering in his bold but soothed gaze.
He took a breath before saying a word. "I like you," he stated playfully and bit his lower lip, chuckling softly and watching how Emma beheld him looking alarmed. She had done wisely to fear him, but maybe he didn't want that anymore. He liked her spirit, and she had found a way to make him laugh. He had so needed that. It was only yesterday when he had lost everything and nearly died, chosen to let go. Now he craved for the feeling of being alive again, and she had made his blood surging hot and fiercely through his veins again. "Perhaps I judged you too hastily. Do not fear me, pet," he whispered, his voice turning softer. He had no real reason to harm her. Besides he wanted to spare his most vicious deeds just for Jane Foster.
Messed up by his scary, capricious behavior Emma let out a small breath, still handing between him and the vehicle. "Wha..?" What the hell was he up to? "You're a serious nutcase!" she snarled and clenched her fist to hit him. A hard punch to his Adam's apple and then an unmerciful kick to his balls should do the trick.
Loki closed his palm over her fist before she managed to punch him with it and gave a tiny laugh at her attempt to hit him. "You are persistent. Good! I wouldn't have it any other way," he said in an appreciating tone. He would have truly hated it if she would have yield without a fight, throwing herself at his feet begging for mercy.
The situation and the feelings aroused by her were quite novel to him. Though, he wasn't going to come away from it empty-handed. His confident smile turned into uncertain seriousness as he hesitantly leaned closer and claimed a kiss from her smooth lips. Emma winced, unable to pull back, his hand still behind her head, his mouth meeting hers uninvited. All she was able to do was a suppressed shriek of protest as he gently tasted her. Loki released his mouth from hers for a moment, only to see her lovely sky blue eyes. There was uncertainty in her gaze as she beheld him eyes wide open nearly holding her breath, no fear, no hatred, but great confusion in her look.
Emma's forehead furrowed as she stared at him from only a few inches away, the tenderness of his kiss taking her by a surprise after all of his awful threatening. "W-what do you think you're doing?" she whispered shivering into his mouth. She placed her hands against his shoulders to push him away which didn't work.
A small smile flickered on the corner of his mouth. She could have screamed him to stop, she could have fought back harder, she could have cursed him, but no, so he let it continue. Loki returned to her lips, caressing her mouth with his, feeling her quickly risen resistance fading away, slowly, melting like ice from between them. With a deeper kiss, her hands stopped fighting him and she returned his kiss, opening to him little by little. She tilted her head to the side, giving in to him, giving into the long kiss entirely as if her life would have depended on it. Never had he kissed anyone like that. She was an enticer too good to resist. He gave a low, approving moan in her mouth, before drawing back and letting her go gently, lowering her back on her feet. She tasted sweet and he yearned for more, but that was it for now. She was worth more than be taken like a beast. Maybe it was her fighting spirit that made her so appealing in his eyes, that and the flame that had just flared within her. He knew he could make it burn even brighter with ardent passion if she would let him.
Loki caressed once more her cheek, touching her lips with his fingers. "My fierce Valkyrie," he said softly with a subtle smile. It would have been idiotic to call her an angel but a Valkyrie could have matched her beauty and the fierce fighting spirit. He had heard all the stories about valkyries, who were said to been heavenly beautiful, virtuous, elite female warriors who took fallen heroes to Valhalla and pledged undying fidelity to the Asgardian king. Yes, a Valkyrie would do perfectly.
That was it? Taken aback by his kiss and her own reaction to it, Emma took a long breath, taking her hands off him, and remained leaning against the truck, unsure would her feet still carry her when his support wasn't holding her. She had met the both side of him; the dark and cruel as well as the affectionate and appealing, it had been the second one that had melted her resistance. His stolen kiss had been like fire, sending the heat through her body with a way that she had never thought could be possible. That was it? He wasn't going to hurt her?
"Thank you," Emma sighed, feverishly, unsure was she thanking him for not harming her or for the kiss that had blew her mind away. She was just trying to get over what had happened. She hadn't kissed anyone in eight years, and that had felt like a recompense for all she had missed in the dating frontier. Oh, how pathetic she was! That freaking alien could have raped her but after his kiss she acted like a teenager in hormones. What the hell was wrong with her?
There were not even a trace of anger or resentment left in Loki's gaze as he watched at Emma curiously, taking a couple of steps backwards and opening the truck's door for her. "Should we continue?" Loki asked and saw how she turned her heated gaze at him looking worried. "The journey," he clarified with a tiny chuckle, "I meant the journey." He bit his tongue between his lips, tasting her mouth on his lips. "Unless...?"
"Ahh...No! We'll… we'll continue the journey!" Emma shoved herself in motion. "Most definitely. Let's get going!" she reassured, unable to sound casual. She gave him a sideways look, puzzled, how could she go normal from here. He had nearly forced himself on her and now he acted like nothing had happened. Damn sick bastard!
Her own worse threatening had been so lame and pathetic that he must had laughed off his boner and let her go. She couldn't tell which one was closer; a hysterical laugh or fearful cry, tears brimming in her eyes. He had called her a Valkyrie. Was that supposed to be a compliment or a gentle way of saying that she was a raging bitch? Didn't he tell earlier that all the valkyries were supposed to be dead? Oh, yeah, that really felt comforting. He had surely silenced her and she was getting angry for him treating her that way. A king, my ass!
She went for the shovel that lied on the snow a few steps away and cautiously first kicked it to make sure it wasn't turning into a serpent again before picking it up. Seemingly comfortable of the outcome, Loki kept his eyes on her, finding her reactions towards him entertaining. As she picked up the shovel, he noticed her giving him a small glare, her cheeks burning red by anger and embarrassment.
Loki answered it with a smile before she said anything. "Looking for a rematch?" he asked softly, holding the door open for her.
After gathering herself and her courage, she lifted the shovel towards him as if for a warning. "Do not touch me! Do not ever touch me again!" she said in an undertone and went to put the shovel back in the trunk. "Or you'll find this from the part of you where the sun doesn't shine," she snapped with a whisper, not meant him to hear it.
"I heard that!" Loki informed calmly. He was starting to like her more. He could have had her if he would have wanted to. Oh, he would have wanted to, but not like this. There was still that much morals left in him that he wouldn't go ravishing young maidens. Frigga would have never forgiven him that.
