(SIGYN)
How did we make it back to my chamber? I only recall the dark halls and him pulling me forward while cloudy and tinged with a halo of green. His trick to get through the palace unnoticed certainly was useful.
Tiwaz was sitting in front of my door when we arrived and chirruped loudly, making that lovely, happy sound that never failed to make me grin.
Since no one else roamed in the open, Loki ended the spell. "Hello you," he whispered, patting Tee on the head before turning to me. "I'll let you enter first."
"So kind," I said, batting my eyes playfully and opening the lock. I didn't wait and yanked him in behind me, only leaving enough time for the cat to enter, too.
My chamber was larger in the dark. Such space was wasted on me alone. The mood inside was marred with yellow from torchlight in the city around us. The second floor wasn't high enough to escape them like in Frigga's room. Loki didn't like it either, and he closed the drapes with a swift pull.
I wanted to tear off my clothes and his, but before I could think about that, I caught a glimpse of myself in my vanity mirror. Gods, that's what I look like right now? I wetted a corner of the washcloth by the sink and scrubbed at my eyes, embarrassed that he had to see me in such a state.
Loki stepped toward me with his signature plods, slow and calculated. Every footfall made a part of me ache deep within. "There's no need for that," he said.
"Oh, absolutely there is." I fluffed my hair and turned, leaning my back against the vanity table. "I think this will suffice."
Somehow the wicked heat between us on the bell tower had fizzled to a strange awkwardness. Instead of feeling wanton, I had an urge to laugh.
"Are you snickering?" he asked, tipping his head as he skulked ever closer.
I bit my lip and tried to move in a way that made my hips dance seductively, but his question and expression only made my irreverence worse. Breaking the silence, I burst with amusement. "I'm sorry...I guess I'm nervous in a way I wasn't before."
"Nervous, are you?" Loki purred, taking the final step closer, enough to reach me with short extension of his arms. "You should be."
Still trying to calm my giggles, I tensed and curled into myself. "Why?"
"Because you shall not escape me again." He answered my levity with tricks of his own and clutched me quickly. "Let's see...I recall a spot right about here—" His fingertips found the crux of my neck and wriggled to bring even more out of me.
I yelped, half-heartedly slapping at his arms the best I could. "Loki, that's not fair. Not fair!"
"Oh, I'll give you fair." He lifted me over his shoulder and took the few strides necessary to drop me on the bed, where he was no more merciful with his games. "Where else might I find the source of that delightful sound?"
I didn't know if he referred to my squeaks or the snorting I couldn't control. Had I ever done that before? "You'll never...make me...tell you!"
"Confess, confess!" Loki tumbled and tangled with me, rolling back and forth while trading in our merriment. This wasn't the same man who once seduced me on the noble floor and realized my teenage fantasies—it was the man I woke with instead; the one who guided my arms and my arrow, the one who now fulfilled a wish I didn't know I had.
To laugh.
"Ha—now I've got you," he said, pinning me down in the shape of an X, flat on my back with my arms and legs outstretched. His hands pressed on my forearms—heavy, but not uncomfortable. "Any last requests?"
I saw him in the dark. His eyes shone from within, as if a lantern deep inside ignited his whole being. With him above me, I no longer felt uncomfortable or lost in life. Even if this night was our last, I would revel every second.
"I want to hear it again," I said, falling in love with the name he invented when I hadn't asked him to invent one at all.
Or perhaps it was more than that?
Loki softened, quieting his own chuckles to take and release a deep breath. His hands slid up to meet mine and he laced our fingers. He didn't need clarification to know precisely what I asked for. "Anything for you, Ginny."
I shuddered. The appeal of his own frequent requests made more sense. It was wise to choose the king.
He nibbled my ear. "Are you still nervous?"
"No." I gripped his hands tightly. "Kiss me."
He obliged with a heave of pressure, sighing through it. His humming vibrated against my lips, sprouting goosebumps across every bit of my body. I wrapped my left leg around his hip, and he answered by releasing my hand to stroke the soft skin of my calf and thigh, raising my skirt in the process. The coolness of his skin thrilled me. Loki squeezed in forgiving places that proved my soft femininity.
It had been too long since I had seen him in the flesh, so I rolled to the side to make him prone, allowing me to tug at the strings that tied his tunic in place. Once his chest was revealed, I pecked up his sternum, suddenly more aware of how hairless he was. Unlike Theo, who was practically covered in fuzz, Loki was smooth almost everywhere except for his long locks and a nest that announced what he had to offer.
When I pushed the tunic over his left shoulder, I paused to examine the now-healed scar of the injury I'd once helped with so long ago. I traced it delicately.
He directed my face in his usual fashion, putting one finger beneath my chin. "I hope it stays forever. That way, even if we're doomed to failure, I'll always be marked with something that reminds me of you."
I hummed, moving his hand so I could carry on with my trail of kisses. Perhaps someday I'll have a way to keep you with me always, too.
Loki sighed as I moved further down his torso. His taupe trousers, obviously tented in front, were more revealing than the underarmor I'd seen on him before. He kicked off his simple boots while I undressed him fully.
"You're different," I whispered, admiring his slender frame. His arms and legs were void of cushion. If I didn't know how powerful he could be, or if his attitude hadn't brought me near, I might've found him unappealing. "I don't recall so much...definition."
"A consequence of battles won and worried nights. Yet I have more strength than I once did." Loki sat up and kissed me softly, then gripped the neckline of my black dress with both hands. Without warning, he ripped it down the center.
I wheezed. "Gods—"
He took control, keeping my sleeves intact so he could bind my hands behind my back. With greedy paws, he kneaded my flesh and mouthed my breasts, leaving a trail of slick behind. A light nip here and there, slight jolts of pain, made me exclaim in quick gasps.
"I won't rest until you're satisfied," he growled, forcing me to be horizontal. Since he only split halfway down the front of my dress, he tore the remainder and planted himself between my thighs. I wore no other barrier to keep his whim at bay. His learned lips teased below my belly button, dropping, dropping, until he devoured me with full intent to watch me writhe in pleasure.
What could I do but sigh in relief? Theo left me pining so much, I'd even denied myself personal trysts so I wouldn't be tempted to beg. Now, I didn't need to. Loki did read my mind, in a way—he used the coos that escaped me as a guide to what I needed next.
The excitement alone made my stomach flip in glorious waves of euphoria. Deep inside me, warmth spread. I imagined his tongue was the tip of his cock and he teased me with shallow penetration, scratching the itch of my tight opening. His vigor added to my pleasure. Loki's gorgeous hands were equal players alongside his tongue, and he slid them inside me. With a firm but slow touch, he pumped his arm with a steady rhythm.
My whole body shuddered—his position was just right to tickle me into that special place between climax and irritation. "Don't stop, Loki...don't stop..."
He didn't reply—not that I expected him to. Merely did as I asked and forcefully kept me still by pushing his face into me even more.
I bit my lip harder than ever before, almost hurting myself, but he'd be worth it. Was it minutes? Seconds? Even hours wouldn't have mattered. His patient, tender sucking and his skilled digits were enough to sustain me until the end of time.
We turned a corner. The heat and warmth and tickle of it all crept over my inner thighs and through my spine, descending to the point of no return.
I couldn't catch my breath enough. Exhaling might've ruined it. "Loki..." I pointed my toes and hugged my thighs against his head. An involuntary reflex, like my body wanted to push him away and keep him close all at once.
He replied by moving his hand ever faster and groaning with me each time I made a sound.
His name turned into constant yells and I lost myself. Where was I? On the ceiling? Outside, dancing in the rain. Beneath the bell. In the stars. Wrapped around him. Him around me. Us together. Something slammed inside my soul and convulsed, culminating in a wave of perfect pleasure and no doubt. I screamed into the pillow at my side.
He celebrated my ecstasy with a shining grin, exposing all his perfectly straight teeth. It was a victory well-earned. "Would you like another?"
"Not like that." I was out of breath and still stunned in the aftershock. "I'm ready to see what you can do without an injury."
"That's right—I was somewhat restricted, wasn't I?" He laughed under his breath as he crawled over me, keeping me bound. "But of course, you'll let me know if I should stop, yes?"
I nodded, now trembling for a different reason.
"Of course, like this...it's almost more fun watching you try to reach me." Loki smirked as he glanced over my unsteady legs.
He was right, of course. I tried to pull him near with my right ankle behind his knee. "Please."
"What was that?" he asked with a raised brow.
"Please."
"My Ginny's begging now?"
It was dangerous to make any presumption at all, but my voice ran away with the internal thought. "Yours, Loki?"
He didn't lose his lighthearted attitude, but my question stirred something within him, too. "Mine?" Loki bit his lower lip and pushed my legs backward, spreading me apart. Exposing me to be sure of his aim, he dove and filled me well with his unyielding shaft. "Oh, yes. You are mine."
I clenched my eyes shut and focused on every sensation. He alternated his thrusts—a few quick, then a few almost torturously slow—accompanied by a helping hand up top. His exertions grew in volume, as did mine. Unlike the first time we were together, when I had little choice but to take a more active role because he couldn't move well, now he purposely ensured I would not take the lead.
Our passion continued in sweaty slaps of our skin. The beautiful rain of his scent surrounded me, making me wish I could bottle it. When he kissed me, continuing to move below, it was as if our sex was an enhancement to the joining of our lips and not the other way around.
He pulled me off the bed, resting on his knees as he fumbled behind me.
What are you doing? I continued to undulate against his chest as best I could.
Another few tugs, and my hands were freed. Loki directed them around his back and clutched me close in a similar fashion. He rocked with me, still deep inside, but this was something else. "Sigyn...I need you," he panted.
So many things pounded on my inner doors, begging to be released, yet I held firm to the keys. Confessions borne out of desire were to be trusted even less than those birthed deep in drink. I knew better.
Still, I couldn't let it linger to drift in the air alone. I said the only thing I could play off as nothing later. "My heart is yours, Loki."
It was his turn. His summit approached. "S-say it again."
I pulled a handful of his hair and scratched his back. "Yes, Loki."
"Mine. Mine." He plunged into me harder, deeper, hitting a place that would make me sore tomorrow—an impressive feat for our chests-together position. Loki finished, spasming through a guttural yell of fulfilment.
And you are mine. I let my heart spill over from my hidden eyes, prayerful that he wouldn't notice.
When we finally recovered from our late exercise and could speak again after washing up, Tiwaz sprang on the bed and plopped between us, purring loudly and demanding attention.
I snickered, playing with Tee's ears. "I think he's missed you, too."
"You think so?" Loki sat up with a sigh and stroked his back. "I must admit, I've grown fond of this creature. He certainly understands me."
Tiwaz stood to turn in a circle, then collapsed closer to Loki with his belly in the air.
"What a traitor. I'm the one who feeds him." I shook my head and rested flat, stretching my legs and propping my head up with an arm bent underneath me. "Yet I suppose he felt I betrayed him somewhat. He hates Theo."
"Mm, can't imagine why," Loki mumbled, still preoccupied with the pile of fluff.
It warmed me to see how he treated my Tiwaz. Always gentle. Impish, perhaps, but they carried themselves the same way.
Loki chuckled when the cat stood and bumped his chin for more. "A bit demanding of affection, isn't he?"
"Oh, yes. But when he's content, genuinely happy, and really doesn't want me to go anywhere, he stops moving to exhale in a long sigh. It makes him sink into me, like somehow he weighs more."
"A surrender in a way, isn't it?" he said, tittering at Tiwaz again.
"Speaking of surrender..."—I yawned, unable to hold it in—"...I don't know if I'll be able to walk tomorrow, but I'll certainly be able to sleep soundly tonight."
"Oh, glorious sleep." Loki echoed my yawn. "Truthfully, I haven't rested since the last time we were together. No more than a few hours, at least."
"You're more than welcome to stay here."
"No...I should return to Odin's chamber. Though the offer is certainly tempting." He leaned over to kiss me, which he did in a quick, almost routine fashion. Comfortable and absent of hesitation.
"Let me be clear—your presence here is no longer a trespass."
"Thank you, Ginny." Another soft peck. He pressed my right hand into his cheek and closed his eyes.
"Loki, one more thing should be said."
"Hmm?" He glanced at me again while keeping my hand in place.
"I'm proud of all you've done." I sat up again slightly to caress his hair on the other side, keeping him focused on me. "Everything you've done for Asgard...it hasn't gone unnoticed. Not by me, or anyone. You're an excellent king."
"A false one," he said, bringing my hands down.
"No—a true king, not yet sure how to show the world his brilliance." I tipped my head until he met my eyes again. "He is a fierce warrior, a learned man, capable of being kind as he is just. You've proven that time and again."
Loki arched his brows. "Truthfully?"
"I have no capacity to lie. Especially not now."
A small smile flashed on his face, like a child receiving a bit of praise. "Rest now," he said, encouraging me to be flat again, though this time he relaxed with me and put his head on my chest. "I'll stay a while longer."
I twirled a few strands of his hair while staring at the blank ceiling, imagining what the universe might look like with the pink shine of romance all around. Tiwaz moved to my feet and curled up, purring away in a rhythmic him.
Loki shifted a bit and collapsed, sinking into my side. His breathing changed.
"Lo?" I whispered, expecting to hear his low voice grumble back.
But he said nothing. His plans to leave were dashed. The prince—no, the king—fell asleep in my arms instead.