He'd had one plan when he'd knocked on her door. Ask her about her real name, fuck her, and move on. Oh. And avoid being attacked by a prehistoric tiger Avenger. She'd ruined the whole thing.
They were still naked. She was still in his lap, but sideways, her legs tucked up, her head resting against his shoulder. It had just happened. It was positively domestic and he hated it. But he dared not move. He found his arm around her back, his fingers stroking her upper thigh. That skin like satin was addictive. He hadn't even kissed her, and now he was cuddling her after she rode his brains out. He couldn't keep the idiotic smile from his face.
She was running her nails through the hair on his chest.
"So?" he asked.
"Mmmm," she moaned delightedly in response, pushing her face into his neck.
He grinned again. He'd take a moan of satisfaction over "pleasant" any day.
"Yesterday morning, you said no to my advances," he said.
She stopped her stroking. "I wanted to say yes. I just realized that I'm asking the wrong question. It's not about understanding why sex causes murder. How much do you know about the TVA from training?"
"Not a lot if I'm honest. I couldn't stop thinking about these during the videos." He placed his hand over her breast, and a deep shiver went through her, vibrating against him.
"Oh," she said. He felt her smile against his chest. She sighed, and snuggled closer, placing her hand over his. "Well, I want to know if I can save Variant lives. I don't think Zabu is any less Zabu for existing here, even though he's been reset in his timeline, and I don't think you're any less a person for having "you" existing again in your timeline. You're a new man here, and I think you can have a new life. You could do anything, make different choices."
She pulled his chin toward her so she could look into his face. Her big brown eyes were lit with concern. It was his turn to shiver.
"I want you to live," she said.
He felt the overwhelming need to kiss her. Capture those beautiful pouty lips with his and push her backward onto the couch, cover her body with kisses and take her again.
But kissing would mean something completely different.
He squelched it all down deep. He couldn't feel for her, it would ruin everything. He had to tamp down that ember. Kill the fire before it was too late. Only, he couldn't move. In fact, his hands pushed deeper into her skin.
"Should you be saying these things? I thought you TVA workers bought into this divine work?"
"I do. It's just… I wondered if you'd help me figure out how to keep alternate timelines from happening by accident. Then we wouldn't have to prune anyone innocent."
"I…" He didn't know what to say. "I… have to help Mobius first," he said.
She nodded. "I understand. I know you have to try to survive your own way first. Do you mind if I work on it alone until you're done? I'd like to do my part to save your life. You have so much to offer."
He was speechless. He placed his mouth against her hair, refusing to kiss it, but allowing himself to feel the softness against his lips. "Mm." He grunted his approval with a tight throat.
"What did you mean earlier, when you said I wasn't who I said I was?" she asked.
Oh that. The whole reason he'd come. Well, half the reason. Check and check. "What's your real name?" he asked.
She was quiet for a while. "Mabel M. Mobius. I'm sorry I didn't tell you."
"I actually knew that. We'll get to that in a moment. I mean your real name."
"That is my real name."
"Not according to your file."
She sat up in his lap. "I don't understand."
"Your work credentials says it's an alias.
"It must be an error. Let's ask Miss Minutes."
She jumped off his lap. He was struck again by how perfect her body was. Just the right amount of grabbable flesh.
"But we should get dressed first," she continued.
"Why? She's just a hologram."
"Not exactly." She pulled on her clothes, and he followed suit, already missing the feel of her skin. She was making it incredibly hard to forget her.
Mabel moved her computer to the coffee table and pushed a key. It came to life, and the perky orange clockface awoke.
"Howdy y'all? How can I help?"
"Could you pull up my digital file please? Thank you so much!" asked Mabel.
"You're awfully nice to that thing," he said.
"Sh."
"Sorry," said Miss Minutes. "I wasn't able to find anything. You'll have to go see the librarian."
Mabel frowned. "That's odd."
Loki clicked off the computer and grimaced. He had so many schemes to lay out, and here was a mystery that was too delicious to leave alone. Mabel was distracting him to ruin.
He stood up, and checked her wall clock, even though he still didn't know how to read it. "I should be going, it's getting late, and there are more mind numbing videos to watch tomorrow. Thank you for dinner."
"Of course, I understand. Thank you for…" she pinched her lips together.
He was taken aback by her sincerity, her deep convictions. Suddenly he felt like a fool. This girl only wanted to save lives. He wanted to control them. He found his growing attraction eclipsed by his hatred of himself. He was ready to bolt out the door, but he had to touch her one last time. He took her hand and ran his thumb over her knuckles. "Good night."
"Good night." She looked up at him under her long lashes, her eyes… dare he say precious? He left before the overwhelming urge to take her in his arms and smash his mouth to hers made him do something they'd both regret.
