Chapter 27

Loke studied Lucy through slitted eyes as he began to move, stepping confidently into the hot water of her 'bath'. His nostrils flared a little as he throttled his need and slowed his breathing even further than he had already, giving himself a rather fierce appearance he wasn't really aware of.

But it didn't bother the blonde woman at all; she wasn't afraid of him in any way, because she already knew he would never harm her. No, the only thing that expression pulled forth was a delicious shiver that shot a hot spark straight down her spine. She suddenly felt shaky and a little overexcited as the lion slowly stalking towards her got closer, moving deeper into the water with an easy grace any king would have scowled with envy at.

He pushed forward with slow, deliberate speed through the relatively shallow water, casually taking a seat next to her before reaching over, and gently pulling her closer to him. He kept his approach tender for the moment, not wanting to make her more nervous than she had already admitted she was. Things would go much more smoothly if he kept his tactics to a soft seduction rather than his own fierce desire, and he was well aware of it. And despite his own screaming need of her, and the toll that frustrated need would take on his body, he didn't begrudge her that fact.

She was new at this, and he found himself rather hypocritically glad of it. She would never know any other man's touch, and the animalistic possessiveness he already felt towards her crowed loudly at that realization. That feeling only strengthened as he felt her delicate shiver as she slowly came to rest against his side, and he smiled inwardly.

It was a dark, triumphant male smile, and it was perhaps a good thing that it didn't actually appear on his face, because he was almost positive that if Lucy had seen it, she would have smacked him. As it was, she hadn't yet looked up at him, still apparently getting used to the feeling of being so close to him in such a way. He could feel the shiver turn to an eager, yet still shy trembling as it chased itself through her entire body, and he was finding it an increasingly difficult thing to keep that wicked grin from finding its way onto his face.

But he did somehow, and when Lucy still hadn't looked up at him after a few more seconds, he nudged his chin gently against her soft hair.

"Hey... are you going to be okay?" he managed to ask, surprisingly calmly for his true state of high excitement.

That got her attention, causing her to lift her head and glance – still a little shyly - up at him, not quite meeting his eyes. But she smiled, though her lips trembled a tiny bit, and nodded.

She drew in a deep breath and firmly unclenched every nervously tensed muscle in her body, and with a determination in the face of adversity (if you could truly call this situation adverse) that he'd frequently seen from her before, she settled closer into his side, pressing her body to his and quite deliberately relaxing into the contact.

He swallowed heavily as she rested against his side, silent, though he could tell she was almost hyperaware of him in the very fine tremors still running occasionally through her. Well, and here I am, Leo of the thousand virgins, as she once called me so very sarcastically, just as nervous and aware of her – as though I'm new at this, too.

And if that's not laughable, I don't know what is, he decided wryly, with a self-deprecation that wasn't entirely a joke. His past with women was known by both of them as well as many others, and he wasn't certain Lucy would quite believe him if he admitted aloud the nervousness her nearness was causing him.

He chose to say it anyway.

"You know, it's rather funny, but you would never believe how nervous I am right now," he finally murmured; being honest with her was really his best bet. He didn't want her to ever think he wasn't - down that road, only heartbreak lay, and he knew it.

Loke waited with bated breath for her answer. He wondered what she'd say to his quiet confidence. Would she respond with solemn but affectionate eyes, or would she laugh as though at a joke? It would only be his own fault if she did, but stars, he hoped she didn't.

Once again she managed to take him by surprise; it seemed a a particular talent of hers in regards to him, for this was certainly not the first time she'd done it.

"Why?" she asked, finally meeting his gaze with her own curious one.

Will she ever stop surprising me in one way or another? Stars, I hope not. "I don't want to mess this up," he replied when he was able to gather his voice again from the depths it kept trying to get lost in. "I know this is your first time, and it's our first time. I want it to be absolutely perfect."

That caused her to giggle at him, once more taking him off-guard. "I'm with you, silly. It doesn't matter what you do, it'll be perfect regardless. I'm the one that should be nervous in that regard – that I'll fail to please you, I mean. I... I don't know any of this, and I don't want to chase you away because I couldn't measure up," she finished candidly, wanting to be honest with him despite her embarrassment.

At that, he outright laughed. "Okay, so we're both being a little ridiculous about this, then. That makes me feel a bit better. So... nothing more need be said on that topic – lets move on, shall we?"

Lucy nodded.

In that spirit, he moved to look down at her, tucked into his side as she was, and tugged her a little closer. When her wide eyes met his with a nervous but tender sort of bravery that was just Lucy, in his mind, he tilted his head and slowly took her lips with his in a soft kiss that slowly built into something far more.

While his body battled his will, Loke's mind slowed and calmed. The large pool of heated water was – under normal circumstances – indeed suited for seduction, as she'd said, but it wasn't really ideal for their particular needs... especially this time. The water would only dry her body of what it needed to be ready for his, and he couldn't even fathom hurting her in any way, especially in that way. So while it was okay for the moment, he needed to decide where to move her soon. When he pulled back from the kiss to draw a desperate breath and allow her to do so, as well, he quickly glanced around.

Truthfully, he didn't want to go into the house. While also beautiful, it wasn't as breathtaking as the skies above them, and with a sort of romantic tenderness he'd never experienced before, he wanted to join with her beneath the stars that defined their very world, and even who they were. It didn't take but a moment, and he decided that the very comfortable-looking lounges at the side of her bathing pool would do quite well for their planned activities, and wouldn't require him to take her very far – which was a good thing, because he wasn't sure he could have gotten them much further than that in his current condition.

Mind eased on that score, he once more focused on the blonde goddess in his arms, and he kissed her again, this time letting himself fall into it completely. That was as much planning as he could stand – he wanted to let himself go, to act and react freely as their hearts and minds led them down this new path.

"Lucy," he whispered, and it was more an affirmation of the fact that she was really in his arms rather than him trying to gain her attention. She seemed to know it, and responded in kind with the same from her lips, her, "Loke," in return just as breathless – and just as much an affirmation. But it drew the lion in ways he didn't understand, and his response was physical and instantaneous; he slowly swept his hands down her arms before letting them fall to her hips, where he grasped her only to pull her even closer.

With nowhere else to go, she followed his tug and ended up perched on his lap with her own arms wrapped around his neck. They both let out gasps as his turgid need pressed intimately into her sweet arousal, and with a broken moan, Loke nudged her head back and began laying needy kisses and desperate nips to the skin of her neck as his hips thrust helplessly up against her. Lucy almost choked on a shocked inhale at how good his lips against the skin of her neck felt. She had never realized that a few lovely nibbles and gentle bites at her pulse would feel so wondrously enervating, never guessed that area of her body was so sensitive.

From there, what followed was almost dreamlike to the young woman. Loke took her up the highest peaks and over the edges several times, free-falling with her over and over. As Lucy once more inhaled desperately, trying to find her mind through all the torrents of pleasure he'd so far introduced her to, the man holding her suddenly stood. He was simply unable to wait any longer to further her pleasure, to taste her, to join with her and experience a oneness that he'd honestly begun to believe he'd never find.

He'd truly been the lonely lion, so deeply alone, that he'd long since lost hope of ever finding love for himself. And, oh, how ironic it was, that until he'd stopped searching and given up, he hadn't.

With purposeful but still tender firmness, he lifted her as he stood and headed up the steps. He strode over to the closest of the loungers, settling her gently down on it only to stop, arrested, as his wanting eyes swept slowly over the abandoned picture she made. It sent a thrill straight down his spine and into his aching groin, that it was he that had made her look like that, he that she had chosen, only he that would ever see her this way. After a few moments of just taking her in, of allowing that knowledge and the image she made to settle indelibly into his memories, he followed her down, hovering over her and once more beginning to sweep her into the sweet madness of desire with his touch.

"So beautiful," he murmured into the kisses he began laying across her now-sensitized skin, from her neck across the soft protuberances of her collarbone, rolling his tongue down into the hollow of her throat as he came to it, and then nipping her more strongly right at its base. She seemed to like that slightly rougher touch, moaning deeply and arching more firmly into the contact as his teeth marked her soft skin.

Loke was awed by her, and the way she made him feel. It was unlike anything else he'd ever known.

He pulled back a little, once more allowing his eyes to drift over her, wherever they willed. She was truly a sight to see; she glowed golden in the light of the heavens, her arms thrown haphazardly up beside her head. Her eyes were slitted and heavy with erotic abandon as she openly reveled in his touch.

She arched once more into him and purred, and his eyes shifted without him even realizing it, from their normal color, to slit-pupiled and as golden as she was.

"Fuck," he breathed, before burying his mouth in her skin again, dragging his lips ever closer to her breasts in teasing spirals. But the teasing promptly lost itself to frantic desire as she arched into his touch yet again, her breathless pleas and obvious need of him stripping him of any ability to think of anything other than her. It was enough to strip him of anything resembling civilized thinking for the rest of his life.

When his mouth opened over a tightly furled nipple, Lucy moaned decadently and twisted her body upwards, desperately trying to get closer to him... to get as close as she possibly could. But no matter how close he got, it wasn't close enough, and she whimpered beneath his daring tongue as he traced the lines of her body with his hot mouth.

"Please, Loke, please, oh stars, please," she sobbed finally, and the lion pulled slightly away from her to meet her pleading gaze with his own impassioned one. She stared at him through unfocused eyes, completely lost to his touch, and not even trying to hide it. The sight undid him all the way down to his soul, his deepest desires coming to life right before him, leaving him open to her in a way he would never have allowed with anyone else.

Nothing in his entire life had prepared him for what he was experiencing right then, but he didn't let that stop him; instead, the heartfelt humility and gratitude he felt towards her only pushed him into slowing things down once more. A molten heat, heavy with the taste of sultry summer nights, washed over him from head to toe, and he shivered. His lips became even more adventurous, his determination to make her feel all this as deeply as he was driving him to move once again down her soft skin, towards her all-consuming heat.

He paused on his journey down her torso to dip his tongue into her navel, and then kissed her on the sensitive skin just below it. The soft kiss became a slow caress of the tender skin, one that caused Lucy to cry out breathlessly, his name the only thing she seemed able to articulate in the moment.

It was enough.

No. It was more than enough.

With a slightly devious smile, he stopped at the line where hip met thigh and lingered there for several seconds, tracing that flesh with his hot tongue. When she shuddered heavily and tensed, he moved over and repeated his teasing touch on her other side, feeling a rush of pleasure that surged straight down his spine and culminated in his already painful groin at her response.

Unable to hold out against her intoxicating scent any longer, he slid down further and ran his tongue boldly up her center, reveling in the taste of her arousal as she tensed almost violently and choked on an indrawn breath. He'd never have believed it possible, but as her taste registered on his tongue, he was stunned to realize that she tasted even better than her scent gave away.

She was simply divine. There were no other words, and he didn't even try to find any, concentrating fully on her and her pleasure. As his tongue reached the end of her and found that wonderful little bundle of nerves all women had, she tensed so quickly and completely that Loke almost worried that she'd hurt herself. But her breathless cries of rapture gave the truth away, and so he continued, playing between that spot and her opening, alternating the strokes of his tongue as she shivered and moaned and even screamed beneath him.

He wondered idly, in the back of his mind, if she was more sensitive than other women, because he'd never seen any woman react with such open abandonment before. Whatever the case, her reactions were overriding his careful control faster than he'd ever have suspected was possible, her taste on his tongue like honey – thick and sweet. He groaned, his body trembling with fierce desire – and then she reached down and grabbed his hair, fisting her hands in it, and unable to stop himself any longer, he slipped a careful finger inside her.

That was all it took, and as he watched in awe, she came apart.

A fierce need ripped through him, then, at the feel of her curled around his digit. Hot, wet, and clenching tightly on him as she shuddered with her pleasure, Loke matched her choked off moan, and took one last, decadent lick of her before slipping another finger inside her molten heat, needing to stretch her body in preparation for his turgid need. Her response was everything that he could have hoped for, her body beginning to coil tightly around his fingers once more as she ascended the heights yet again. Within moments, it seemed, she was coming even more fiercely, and Loke watched it all, never wanting to forget a single second. He'd never had a more responsive lover.

That's because she loves you, stupid, his mind supplied, and you love her. You've never wanted any other woman nearly this much, either. And that's because you love her. Welcome to reality. Isn't it so much better this way?

Oh, yes. No question. And if this was what he had to look forward to for the rest of eternity, then he could not be more thankful that he'd met her, that she'd saved him from an ignominious death as an exile, and then saved him from himself and his self-destructive habits. Gratitude and love swelled in his heart, and his gaze softened upon her with deep and abiding affection.

"I love you," he whispered, not even caring if she heard him or not. He would prove how much he loved her, tonight and for the rest of eternity, by the care he took with her, in all aspects of their lives. "I love you so much."

Lucy was in pain. Despite the climaxes she'd just experienced, the tension hadn't eased from her body, and indeed, she was now even more desperate for him to join with her. She'd never have suspected that being caressed like that with someone's tongue would feel so exquisite, but it had, and the fingers that he was still moving slowly inside her, working her through her orgasm, were only causing her to tense up even more. But when he slipped yet another finger inside, stretching her as much as possible so that she would be able to take him, her body jerked violently and took control. She ripped her hands from his hair and grasped desperately at his shoulders, instead, trying to pull him closer to her.

"Loke, please," she begged, her throat tight and making words almost impossible.

Unable to withstand her pleading voice any longer, he withdrew his fingers, and with her needy eyes watching him, he licked them clean, a pleased purr rumbling from his chest. Her hands tightened on his shoulders involuntarily at that, and Loke knew it was time – neither one of them could take anymore teasing. He moved to hover above her as he stroked her soft skin with one hand, gentling her down from the heights, all so that he could take her there once more.

Only now, he would join her.

"Are you sure?" he asked her one last time. He had to be completely certain she wanted the rest of this, despite her reactions so far giving away her enjoyment of his touch. As he'd said before, there was no turning back if they finished this, and it would kill him if she ended up looking back on this night with regret.

She whimpered, unable to find the words to answer him, but nodded and tugged at him, and Loke groaned. Now as assured of her continuing desire as he could ever be, he finally allowed himself to lay against her fully as he reached down and took ahold of his bold arousal. Pressing himself into place, he hissed, the feel of her heat and softness against his sensitive head wearing away what little control he still had.

Determined to get her pain over with as quickly as possible, he held her steady with one hand on her hip, and with his own body screaming with his need, he thrust gently but firmly into her, taking her in one steady, yet careful thrust.

White-hot pleasure broke over him as her body accepted his, filling his mind and pushing any chance for him to remain coherent away. She arched up into him with a soft wail, drawing her legs up around him and accepting him fully into her body quite eagerly.

Pleasure and pain crashed through Lucy, but she was too far gone to distinguish between the two as she automatically tightened around the intrusion. Her resounding cry echoed his desperate groan, and both stilled momentarily as they adjusted to the feel of the other.

But then that moment passed, and Loke drew back, then thrust into her again, and her mind became consumed with fire. Nothing more than his name made it passed her lips, broken and pleading, but Loke responded to the need that filled her voice. He sped up a little, setting a steady pace of thrusts, and she tried to match them with her own movements. It was perfect, and sacred, and oh, so pleasurable, and the lion leaned down to take her lips with his own, needing to taste her sweet mouth more than he'd ever thought it possible to need anything once upon a time.

The river was burning. There was a fire in her blood, a desperation that was addicting even as it overwhelmed. With his every advance and retreat she writhed, wondering how anything could be so painful, and yet feel so good at the same time. Every movement of his body in hers increased that strange mix of feelings, and as he sped up, she thought, rather frantically, that she was going to pass out if this got the slightest bit more intense. She could clearly understand now why orgasm was called 'the little death'. If it was, then it was the sweetest death she could ever think of, and she'd gladly go to her doom while singing her lion's praises as she went.

His kiss only furthered her rapture, a desperate clashing of teeth and tongue and desire, and Lucy dug her nails even further into him, needing that grip to keep her grounded in reality. Because gods knew, reality had never been so glorious as it was right now, with his body shuddering as he slipped in and out of her, faster and faster as the last of his control fled, and she never wanted to forget any of this.

Unable to stand any more stimulation, Loke's eyes fell closed and he growled against her lips as he sped up yet again, reaching deeper inside her with every thrust. She clenched so tightly around him, so sweetly, that she thoroughly undid him without even trying. Her gasps and moans and cries were music to his ears, and he could tell that she was about to fall over the brink once more – which was a good thing, because he was certain that he would not be able to last much longer. Already, he could feel his core muscles tightening, and as Lucy's wordless keening reached his ears, his rhythm began to falter.

"Lucy," he rumbled, throat tight, "come for me, love. Let go."

And just as his words reached her ears, she did.

A long-drawn out cry resounded as she fell, her body gripping at his turgid manhood even tighter, and that was all it took to send him over the brink, as well. With a loud cry full of satisfaction and joy and incredible pleasure, he followed her over the edge and straight into the most wonderful madness that had ever existed. Fireworks exploded in his brain, rendering him mute as his climax drew out every bit of energy he had, and as the pleasure crested and then finally began to ease, he slumped above Lucy, suddenly more exhausted than he could ever remember being.

But it was a glorious exhaustion, one that was shared by his love, if the way she went limp beneath him was any indication. As the fire finally receded from his mind and his breathing steadied, he slowly - and rather reluctantly - disengaged from her, and rolled to lay beside her, one arm thrown over his face and hiding his eyes as he closed them.

Lolling almost bonelessly there beside her in the aftermath, he grinned slowly, opening his eyes when his love rolled over to lay cuddled against him with her head upon his chest. He dropped his arm to pull her even closer against him, enjoying the feel of her naked flesh pressed so easily to his own more than he'd even imagined. And he had imagined a lot, he would be lying if he tried to deny it. But the reality was so much better...

It was then that he remembered that they weren't in a bed, but on a poolside lounge. Well, I suppose it's a good thing she made them so big, otherwise I'd have fallen right off. What a way to mess up the afterglow that would have been, he thought wryly. She'd always had a detrimental effect on his brain, making it almost impossible to think straight when he was around her, but this pretty much topped everything. She'd rendered him completely forgetful of anything but her – her sounds and movements and wondrous, tightly gripping body – and that had certainly never happened to him before, despite all his previous experiences.

"You know," Lucy's soft voice broke into his musings, "you're lucky you didn't fall. It's a good thing I sort of had this kind of circumstance in mind when I made these lounges bigger and softer than most, or you might have ended up with a very bruised backside... and ego."

She chuckled as she said it, and Loke couldn't help his grin turning wicked as he looked down at her.

"So you were thinking about me and this and planning accordingly, were you?" he teased. "I knew you couldn't resist me!"

His response was a small hand slapping against his chest, and a blush.

"Perve," she threw back at him. "get your mind out of the gutter, you. Don't make me regret it."

Though her words were teasing, they sobered him.

"Will you ever regret this?" he couldn't help but to ask.

As his question reached her ears, she raised her head and looked at him, studying his face for several long, wordless seconds. And then the most beautiful, radiant smile he'd ever been gifted by her lit up her face, and she slowly shook her head.

"No. As long as the river flows in my veins and Regulus glows beneath your skin, I will remember, Loke. I promise."

Unable to help himself, his arms tightened convulsively around her as her words threatened to unman him. How did she always manage to do this to him? She tore him to pieces with the simplest of words... and he could not even bring himself to care.

He pressed a fervent kiss to the top of her head, losing himself in the softness of her hair, the scent that would always be Lucy in his mind lulling him, tempting him into forgetting his lingering fears and relaxing against her once more.

Snuggling even closer to her, he finally allowed himself to drift off with one last, fleeting thought, soothed by the slow, even exhalations of his love as she, too, fell into sleep.

"So will I, love... so will I. Even when the stars forget eternity and lose their glow, I will hold this memory sacred in my heart and mind forever."

A/N: Well, what do you know? It's only been a couple weeks and I'm posting on this again. I am so close to DONE with this story and I'm so happy! Hope everyone else is, too.