A/N: Sexual content warning! Unfortunately I don't have a convenient stop reading spot as it comes up toward the middle and ends before the end...so I guess stop when they start kissing then skim from the bottom so you don't miss anything. But I don't know how many people who don't love the sexy stuff are still hanging around this far into the story since it is a running theme. I'd rather the sexual scenes be unexpected and a nice surprise instead of giving it away up here, so I don't think further chapters will have warnings up here, unless for violence.

Chapter Twenty-Four: Even Better

As Eve's eyes flew open, her mouth spread into a full-blown smile. Loki was grinning right back. They hadn't been apart for an entire day-not even close, in fact-but he was a sight for sore eyes. He stood tall at the foot of the bed, hands in his pockets, surveying her with hungry eyes. He was dressed well in perfectly tailored clothing, as usual. "You like your gift, I take it?"

"I love it! I love her," she gave Sasha an affectionate pat on the head. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but...should you really be here?"

"Straight to business, I see," he chuckled lightheartedly.

"You know what I mean."

"Well, there are three cameras in here. They have one man monitoring you. I stopped by, cast a temporary aura. As far as he's concerned, you're taking a nap. Now that I have my powers back, it's almost too easy," he smiled confidently.

"Now that you...have your powers back?" Eve sat forward. Loki looked away momentarily, then right back, and said nothing. "The whole time? You didn't even have your powers?"

"Not at first," he conceded, not sounding at all remorseful. "Don't look so offended," he scoffed, "it never mattered. I could have and would have killed you without them."

"I don't think you would have…"

He sat beside her on the bed and paused thoughtfully. "Had you not been you, I may have." He brushed the hair away from her face. "I'm glad I didn't, if that does anything to ease your sorrow over this."

She pretended to swoon with the back of her hand to her forehead. "Gee, thanks!" She pat him on the shoulder sarcastically.

He snatched her hand as she drew it back and held it. "No, really. Think about it. How many times were you confused about the fact that you were still alive? Or is it that you eventually assumed my threats were empty?"

"No," she confessed, "I was always scared." He smiled as though flattered. "Oh! Did you know that they left one of their recording devices behind? That's how they-"

"I knew…" his eyes met the floor.

"What? Why didn't you say anything? We could have-"

"I knew, but I knew too late."

"How is that even possible? You were able to locate one and point it out to me, did that one just slip through the cracks or something?"

"I've been wondering about that myself, Eve. I honestly think I was too engrossed in our activities. I wasn't as alert as I should have been," he seemed disappointed in himself, though his uncertain expression gradually rose to one of delighted realization. "If I had to do it again, oh, I wouldn't change a damn thing."

She grinned at him and was then distracted by Sasha yawning with a small, sweet noise. "Oh, poor thing has had a long day, huh?" She got up and set up the cushy pet bed in a corner. She placed the pup on the ground and led her to it. She curled up and yawned once more before her eyes drifted shut.

"I'm so glad you two get along," Loki said as Eve sat back down next to him. "I'm a bit surprised they blindly let you keep her."

"I'm pretty sure that was an oversight. I'm not complaining, though," she laughed and admired the dog. Her eyes came back to his and he was staring intensely at her. He embraced her purposefully and held her tight with his face buried into her shoulder. "What do we do now?" She sighed dreamily.

He rested his lips beside her ear before responding softly, "Come away with me."

She pulled back to see his face and measure his seriousness. There was no question that he meant it. "Where would we go?" She asked despite herself, keen to run in the field of her own daydreams for just a moment. She wanted to just say yes, say it a thousand times, in every language.

"Wherever you want," he offered. It was a lovely gesture, yes. But she wanted to go home. She thought it and he heard it. "Why would you want to go back to that place? We can start a new life. We'd never want for anything."

"Loki, as wonderful as that sounds," she began, each new word hurting her, "but is that even what you want? To live life on the run? Always looking over your shoulder?"

"I wouldn't need to worry. You wouldn't need to worry. I'm strong enough now that-"

She placed a finger on his lips. "So you're trying to tell me that the man who wanted to rule an entire planet would settle for a quiet life with a mortal? I don't buy it."

He heard the logic in her words and took a moment to contemplate. It would be easy, yes. And that was exactly why it wasn't the life he wanted. "So you just want to stay here...with them? Indefinitely? They'll never catch me."

"No, of course not…"

"Then come with me! We'll figure it out! I'll make a new, better plan. Then when I succeed, you can sit by my side as my queen!"

She giggled involuntarily. "I'm flattered, don't think I'm not. But that is not a solution." She wanted to say one thing. One nagging thought. They hardly knew each other. They had incredible chemistry and she could see it being something real-as absurd as it was. But he was a bad guy. A villain. She blinked several times as she realized he was in her head.

"A bad guy, huh?" He teased her.

"Stop doing that," she laughed nervously and shook her head.

"But you know all about how bad I can be, don't you?" His tone stooped lower and tickled her ears. She swallowed anxiously. He kissed her intimately and she leaned back until her head hit the pillow. He followed her smoothly so that he was on top and his weight comforted her immensely. It wasn't long before he flipped her so that their positions were switched. She straddled him gladly and continued kissing him, often venturing her tongue into his mouth and against his lips.

He swiped her shirt up over her head and she felt her heart pounding. Their unresolved encounter in the conference room had left her wanting more. She pressed forward to get her mouth on him again, but he held her away. She straightened her spine and eyed him up curiously. He undid her bra clasp and discarded it. He looked her up and down and licked his lips. His hands held her hips and began to sway them back and forth, causing her to grind against him. He was hard and obviously enjoying the sensation as a low moan broke through his lips. "Slower," he commanded as his hands came up to rest at her waist. She deliberately drifted her hips along him, and back again, until his eyes closed involuntarily.

He shot up to a sitting position and caressed her back whilst trailing kisses along her breasts and collar. He undid her pants and pushed her away forcefully so that she was on her back again. He swept his legs out from under her swiftly and took her pants off. "I think I owe you something from earlier, don't I?"

"Oh, you really do," she sighed. In a single blink of her eyes, his clothes were gone. She smiled widely in pure delight. She caught sight of him, rock hard and ready, and lust drove her to shove him back to where he'd been, on his back. She climbed on top and took in his eager look. She guided him inside her easily. A moan erupted from her core immediately and his hands flew straight to her backside, squeezing. She rode him leisurely at first, enjoying the way his lips twitched with desire. One of his hands made its way up her spine and twisted its digits into her hair, pulling and causing her to groan as the dull pain enhanced her pleasure.

"Why don't we pick up the pace slightly?" Loki nearly begged, his patience with her teasing clearly wearing thin. In spite, she rose off of him even more slowly than her previous motions and brought him back in with agonizing care. He laughed off his frustrations with a sexy smirk and pulled her forward so that he could whisper right in her ear. "You might think you enjoy toying with me," he stated huskily, "but I know something you'll like even better." With this, he held her where she was and began thrusting into her from underneath. When he felt her stop resisting out of stubbornness-which didn't take long-he took to pulling her hair again as she'd reacted so warmly to it before. As she moaned on top of him, panting and curling her toes into his legs, he relished in her lust-driven self expression and chose to encourage her until she was satiated. "Do you like that?" He wondered aloud with a hint of sarcasm-she very clearly did.

"Yes, yes I do," she managed to say between moans.

"Do you want me to make you come?" He tugged on her hair again to throw off her answer.

"Ah! Yes!" She replied almost frantically.

His hand slid between them and found her clit almost instantaneously. His pace never suffered as he began playing with it and massaging it rhythmically. Eve felt close to literally blacking out as she peaked. She came so fiercely that shudders pulsed through her body. She shook on top of him, pressing her hips into his, desperately trying to engulf every last centimeter of him.

As she began to relax from the sensation she'd felt, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. There came a loud knock at her door and her eyes opened to see that Loki was gone. When she fell forward into the space he'd once occupied, she was fully clothed. Her face collided with the pillow in a haze. She was barely able to right herself as Sam barged in.

"Are you hurt?" He barked, looking her up and down. "It sounded like you were in pain but they told me the monitors showed you sleeping…"

"I-" Eve was at a loss. To go from elation to awkward and abrupt questioning seemed to be an ongoing theme for the day. "Leg cramp," she finished lamely.

Sam seemed relieved by her disjointed thought and smiled, even though it was obvious he was trying to be upset with her. "Better now, then?" He unsuccessfully tried to sound indifferent.

"Yes, thank you," Eve rested her head back. Her insides were still on fire, her entire body still trying to come down from the high Loki had provided. She gained some awareness of the present as a thought glided through her mind. "Why were you listening at my door?" She knew that Loki wouldn't have overlooked the auditory aspects of the cameras, so why hadn't he cast some sort of spell on the room itself?

"I'm assigned to keep an eye on you," Sam was quiet as though he expected anger from her.

She gave him none, just a resigned sigh, and said nothing more until he left. As she settled back and contemplated actually taking a nap, Loki appeared next to her, mouth to her ear. She jumped slightly, startled. "Looks like you owe me something next time," he spoke before leaving her, alone, again.

A/N:

My keyboard is being really weird, sometimes not picking up letters or typing on a weird delay. I tried to find all the typos and missing letters and such, but forgive me if some went unnoticed. Anyway! I wish I could have let Eve run away with him, and I guess I could have... but it's just not something she would do. And Loki would end up unhappy or regretting it in some way. At least I think so. Fear not, though, he'll be popping in and out of the story at his leisure, and yes it is all going somewhere :D