He had been putting off talking to her for weeks. What was about to happen was a part of what he was, something which he was still ashamed of. That's why he hadn't been able to bring himself to broach the subject.
His Pet was going to be pissed at him.
The symptoms were becoming more pronounced. His senses were heightened and were focused on her. Her scent, the sound of her breath, the warmth radiating off her body. He was feeling much more territorial and possessive than normal, and his wife already complained that he was too jealous to begin with. That may be true, but he had never before experienced the urge to kill Barnes when the man touched his Pet's arm. Every man, in fact, gave him the urge to eviscerate them just for the crime of looking at her. The women as well, even though neither Romanoff nor Belova were attracted to other women, and the other woman Carol wanted nothing to do with his Pet.
As a matter of fact, knowing that she hated his wife, he wanted nothing more than to do his best to take her out, although rationally he knew he wouldn't stand a chance against the cosmic-powered mortal.
Even Thor wasn't spared from his growing territorial rage.
He needed to get away from everyone soon. It wouldn't be long before he would become a danger to everyone except his mate, but he was too ashamed to tell her what was to come. Even after all this time, he fully expected her to be frightened and disgusted, fully expected her to refuse to go away with him and allow him to use her to feed his growing hunger.
He found out that evening that she was pissed off at him. But not for the reasons he feared.
"Well," Tracy stated as she slipped her shoes off. "That was a day. Did you decide to make it your goal to see how many of our friends you could scare shitless, or are you finally going to confess that you're going into rut?"
Loki was distracted with watching her ass and imagining the things he wanted to do to her. Kneed those delicious buttocks, bite, spread them and eat out both of her holes before picking one to slide his cock into and brand her. He was so focused on concentrating on not giving in to those urges that her words caught him completely off guard. "Sorry?"
His Pet huffed and gave him an exasperated look. "Loki. I'm not an idiot. In the past few days your scent has changed, gotten a lot muskier. Every time you enter the room, the temperature plummets about twenty degrees. You have been wanting to bite the head off anyone who comes within five feet of me. You've been wanting sex at least four times a night..." Sex every day wasn't unusual for them...he was normally a twice a night person with her, but his appetite had greatly increased. "When I started noticing all this, I asked Thor to look into the library archives at New Asgard for information on Frost Giants and I found out about the rut cycle. When were you planning on telling me?"
Loki flinched, because he knew that tone. She was going to explode when he told her why he'd been putting off telling her. And sure enough, when she turned to glare at him, he flinched again even while the beast within wanted to bend her over, bite the back of her neck, and exert his dominance by making her scream while he rammed himself inside her.
He ran a shaking hand over his face, which was covered in sweat despite his body temperature being lower than normal. "It is my first one," he told her in a soft voice. "I was not completely certain, because I had never experienced it. The rut only happens to frost giants after we have found our mates...but when I realized what was happening, I..." He trailed off and looked away.
He was ashamed of it. His Jotun heritage. The fact that in a very short time...a matter of hours by his estimate...he would be reduced to being a mindless animal consumed by lust and hunger for her. His fear that he could hurt or scare her. The fear that she may not be willing to help him through the rut at all.
He could feel her eyes on him. He felt her come closer to him. He sucked in a breath when he felt her hand against his cheek, followed when she turned his face so he was looking back at her.
"I love you. I really do. But sometimes? You can be a colossal moron."
"I may hurt you," Loki whispered. "Pet, I can feel it...I will lose control and I will be..."
"Rough?" she interrupted. "Gee, we've never been rough before...what will my fragile paper doll ass do?"
"Sarcasm will not help the situation!"
"No, what would have helped the situation was you getting over your damn insecurities, opening your damn mouth and talking to your wife and partner, and making arrangements together with her to go and take care of this!" Tracy was almost shouting. Yes, she was furious with him.
Bor's blood, she was sexy as Hel when she was mad.
He gritted his teeth as his erection throbbed painfully.
She sighed and made a visible effort to calm down. "I'm not afraid, Loki. You would never hurt me. I know it. You know it. I am, however, sad that you felt you couldn't talk to me about this. Even a simple 'Pet, you need to make plans to take a week off and go on a trip with me' and leaving a book on Jotun laying on the table with the appropriate page marked as a hint would've been nice...it would've been something. But I had to find out from all the shit I've been picking up off you, worrying to death that something might be wrong, and having to go to your brother to get a book? God, I can strangle you right now."
"You don't understand!" Loki cried. "I want to be rougher than usual! I want to bite you, claw you, mark you up, taste your blood, taste all of you." His breath picked up as he spoke, his erection now an agonizing, pulsing steel rod, but he couldn't stop himself. "I want to pin you down, make you submit to me, force you to think of nothing but myself and my cock buried deep inside you. I want to make sure you are unable to utter a single coherent syllable, and it will go on for days. I want to feast on your screams, your tears, take off all your orifices multiple times, use you in every depraved way I can come up with to assuage my hunger..."
He was breathing hard and Tracy was staring at him. He watched her throat move as she swallowed, and could hear her breathing hard. It took a few minutes of her staring at him glassy-eyed before she spoke. "Do you honestly think any part of that is a turn off?"
"I would be in my frost giant form the entire time!"
She gasped, held a hand to her chest, batted her lashes in an exaggerated manner, and in a truly atrocious impersonation of a Southern Belle complete with horrible accent, mocked, "Oh my! Your Jotun form! The one with all the ridges, including the ones on your cock! Why, I'm quivering with dismay, good sir, I surely am!"
"Pet!"
"You really don't realize how idiotic you sound?" She rolled her eyes. "Loki, we get rough all the time and when have I ever complained about you fucking me in your Jotun form?!"
Loki opened his mouth. Shut it. Then opened it again. Tracy leaned her ear towards him. "I'm waiting."
He couldn't say anything, because she was right.
Once again, he had been a fool. He should have remembered that she loved him. He should have remembered all the times she had been so turned on by his Jotun form, should have remembered that she never said no to anything he wanted to do to her.
Gods, she could get so wet when he...
He gave up with a sigh, and closed his eyes while his entire body quivered, his tendons standing out, his veins pumping and angry. "Very well. I am a fool. I apologize. I should have spoken to you. I should never have doubted you." His voice dropped to a whisper. "You're just so precious to me."
She stepped closer to him, putting her arms around his neck, her fingers twined in his hair. "I know it's hard, and that certain insecurities aren't just going to magically vanish overnight, but Loki? You shouldn't be scared to ask me to help see you through anything. You're everything to me, too. I love you so much that it hurts. And I can't stand being shut out."
He cautiously put his arms around her, not sure he could trust himself not to take her right here at this moment. She smelled so good, and she felt….
"I will not do it again," he assured her. "But now there is a problem..."
"No, there isn't. I've already told Steve we're going away for a week. And..." Tracy held out a hand, and a loaded duffel bag skidded across the floor towards them. "I packed. I chose warm clothing...I assume you want to go someplace cold..."
She unzipped a pocket on the duffel and drew out a sweater. He growled when she pulled it on. How dare she cover herself up around him?
He wanted to rip all of her clothing off and lick her skin.
"Some of us aren't frost giants, mister," she said in response to his glare. "Yelena said she'd come in and feed the cat and ferret while we're gone. We're all set, you just need to pick a spot and teleport us."
As she spoke she pulled out a pair of cloth gloves and slipped them on. She started to pull out a knitted cap and paused at his growl. "Fine," she snapped. "But you better have another way to keep me warm in that case."
"Oh, do I ever, Pet," Loki purred, and received the satisfaction of seeing her shiver along with the aroma of her feminine musk stroking his senses. She was excited and nervous, with the excitement winning out.
"How delightful," he crooned as his nostrils flared, "I wonder how wet I would find you if I were to shove my hand into your panties and dip a finger into your…"
"Loki. You're killing me. Are you going to take us where you want to be or are you going to keep torturing us both?"
In moments the two of them were in his chosen spot. A remote stretch of forest in Northern Canada, close to the Yukon. It wasn't the tundra but it was very close. Cold, but hopefully not too much for his bad little girl who clearly needed to be reminded of her place.
With a wave of his hand, the duffel was dismissed to the pocket dimension that served as his personal magic cupboard. Then he prowled close to his Pet, the illusion spells that kept him looking like an Asgardian melting away to reveal his true blue-skinned form. The closer he stalked, the more she stepped backward. Her eyes were fixed on his and he knew she saw his scarlet eyes blazing with ravenous fire. Her back hit a tree, and he leaned over her, arms braced on either side, trapping her.
He inhaled deeply, then licked his lips in anticipation. She just continued to gaze at him.
He leaned in closer…and then she grinned.
She was fast . She slipped under his arm, and ran like the wind into the trees, not making a sound as she vanished.
For a moment he stared at the empty place where she had stood feeling completely flummoxed. Then realization dawned, along with some exasperated amusement.
That little…!
His lips slowly creased into a smile. So, she wanted to play, did she?
Fine, he would play. It would make it all the more satisfying when he caught her then thrust into her body until he flooded her with his cum.
He wasn't feeling as playful two hours later.
The impudent little chit absorbed her lessons from the Dora Milaje a bit too well. She had left almost no trace of herself in the forest save for some footprints she deliberately left. He knew it was on purpose because he could feel through their bond that while she was enjoying this game she started, she didn't really want to win.
The part of him that was still somehow rational knew that while she was playing, this was also payback for the times he'd made her hunt through the forest blindfolded for him.
Mostly though he was growing more impatient, his hunger more fierce by the second, and he now had the all-consuming drive to hunt her down and bring her to heel by fucking the life out of her. His blood roared through his veins, his senses completely attuned to the traces of her he could sense. He had long ago divested himself of his tunic and shirt, and the pants were about to go as well. They were aggravating his already raging hard on, his cock so sensitive and eager to be plunged into the silky fire that was his mate's cunt. Or perhaps he would take her ass for this chase she was leading him on.
There was no hesitation about taking his relief from her in every way he could come up with now…her warm quim, her tight ass, or using that wet mouth and her tight throat. He would mark her sex, her ass, her skin with his seed, make sure she would forever smell it on herself and remember that she was his.
She would pay for this. Oh, how she would pay.
He inhaled deeply and tasted a bit of her alluring scent on the air. Vanilla and jasmine and her. Her musk was so strong, he could almost taste her cunt. So her excitement had grown. Good. He wanted her hot and wet, because he would show her no mercy.
He stepped in the direction her smell was wafting from. And the snare his bad, bad little Pet had set lifted him into the air, where he hung upside down from his ankle.
He snarled and fired a blast of frigid air at the rope, and with a midair flip landed on his feet.
She was so going to pay. She would be lucky if she was still capable of walking after he was through.
He raged on, all of his thoughts gone, himself nothing but a vessel of need that would only be sated when he had his Pet pinned underneath him. Whether she was on her back, bent over, on her knees, he didn't care. He needed her now. He needed her screams, the taste of her creamy skin, her eyes gazing up at him in ecstasy and devotion, her body melting around him in submission.
He jumped in time to avoid the tripline that sprung up. He was definitely taking her ass.
It was getting colder. The sun had set. Surely she would want to find somewhere to settle for the night. Then he would have her. Multiple times.
It was at least another hour and four more traps he successfully avoided before he heard the telltale crackle of a fire. Then he finally spotted her.
She had set up a shelter using a tarp and some branches. His Pet had obviously put some blankets and a couple of sleeping bags into her storage. She had unzipped the bags and laid them out on top of one another and piled blankets on top, creating an inviting nest.
He snarled silently at the sight. Did she think him so far gone that he wouldn't take care of her?!
Calm down, said the small shred of him that was still rational, She is trying to be helpful. Perhaps she became bored waiting for you to catch up to her and decided to set up camp to save time. You know how she is. Besides you know that you were so lost in lust that it had not even occurred to you to attend to practicalities such as packing blankets so she did the consideration of thinking of such for us. You are partners, as she stated, this is how it works.
And in setting up the camp, she provided him with more time to get down to the business of indulging his now-voracious appetites. The snarl turned into a wicked and smug smile.
She knelt before a bush to grab a dead branch for fuel. That's when he struck.
His hand wrapped around her throat and he towered over her. She gazed back at him, her breath speeding up but he could sense no fear. Only arousal and those nerves.
" Mine," he snarled.
He felt her throat move as she swallowed. "Yours," she answered in a whisper.
That rational voice was gone. All semblance of civility was gone. It was just his hunger and her.
He swept her up, carried her to the makeshift bed, and began to feast. He ripped off her clothing, exposing her flesh to his gaze, his touch, and his mouth. He fed his beast with her taste, her scent, the sounds she made when he devoured her soaked pussy.
He bit her, scratched her up, and he wasn't gentle when he thrust into her. He was uncontrolled savagery as he pinned her down and she took everything he gave her. She was hot, tight, wet, and perfect.
She didn't stop him when he took her a second time, a third, and then slid himself into her back passage while he ground the palm of his cold hand onto the pearl at the apex of her thighs. Eventually her voice was too hoarse to scream and she could only moan and whimper.
She had packed food for him but he wasn't hungry for it. He slaked his thirst by licking her sweat and tears and drinking the fluids gushing from between her legs. She was all the sustenance he needed.
He let her bathe in a nearby glacier fed stream the third day, using a warming spell to raise the temperature to a level she found more tolerable. She tried to play with him again, splashing him and swimming away but he didn't let her get far this time. Since she clearly still had energy to tease him, he did not feel bad at all about spearing her on top of the towels they'd brought right there on the bank.
He ate the jerky and dried fruit she brought the fourth day. Even though she had no gear, she even managed to catch some fish and show off her recently acquired skills by cooking them in an invisible globe over the fire. Even though she didn't need food, she allowed him to feed her several bites from his meal. By then he was still hungry for her, but their couplings were more tender and he handled her with more care.
The rut was losing steam. By the sixth day he was content to hold her, although he pounced each time she tried to pull away from him. Then he took her in slow, lazy thrusts while kissing and sucking her neck, listening to her moan his name then holding her while she quivered from the aftershocks.
Finally, the beast slept.
"I'm telling Steve to give me another week off," his Pet muttered into his shoulder. The two of them were wet, having bathed in the stream again. Loki had aided her in washing the blankets and sleeping bags, then used his magic to make them dry instantly. Now the two of them cuddled on top of those blankets that no longer smelled saturated with sex. He was back in his Asgardian appearance and feeling very smug about the fact that his Pet could barely talk in a tone above a whisper.
"You have next year to look forward to this as well," he reminded her, and could feel his Pet trying to decide whether or not to be horrified that they would be repeating this in twelve months.
"I never came so much in my life," she complained. "I couldn't move until yesterday."
She was whining. That was fine. She was entitled to whine.
He squeezed her and kissed the top of her head. "What say you take that week and I take you to the tropics to make up for this past week?"
He knew she was thinking. Sun, sand, some waves. "That's not going to get you out of the massage I need."
"That will be my pleasure, Pet."
"And I don't want to hear a word out of you when I refuse to come off the beach cause you got turned on seeing me in my bikini, or if I decide to swim out and play with the sea lions."
"Not a word, I promise."
"And if I fall asleep in the hot tub…"
" Tracy," he interrupted. "Whatever you want."
"Hmmmm…if your ruts are going to be immediately followed by a vacation of my choice, I guess I can't complain too much about them after all."
He stifled a groan. Oh he shouldn't have told her whatever she wanted. She would drag him to all sorts of tourist trap nonsense that she disliked as well, but she'd do it just to see how far she could push him.
"It'll be nice, being somewhere warm. Doing the Polar Bear Plunge five times while I was still human doesn't actually make me a polar bear, and being near the tundra for a week is more than enough."
She got up and began getting stressed while he laid watching the clouds. Then his brain processed what she said.
"You did what five times?!"
"Gonna go up high to get a signal and call Steve. Why don't you go home, pack up our tropic stuff, then come back and pick me up?"
"Now wait just a minute! You need to—"
She bent down to kiss him and headed towards the trees.
" Pet! You cannot say something like that and then not answer my…"
She melted into the forest and was gone.
Loki shook his head and muttered, "Impudent chit."