Petra rolled over sleepily onto her side and laid her head on the pillow next to Loki's. The man was much easier to deal with when unconscious. He'd been pushy about the baby ever since they returned to Utgard. Eat this, don't lift that, sit down, go rest. Now he was finally quiet, and a sleeping Loki was a pleasant Loki.

Even in sleep his brow furrowed slightly, the corners of his mouth forming a small frown. She brushed her fingertips against his forehead, intent on erasing the lines from his face. Her skin connected with his for two seconds before a hand clapped around her wrist. Her stomach dropped as Loki's eyes snapped open, his cold gaze murderous.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm sorry, I just—."

"You just what? Thought it would be entertaining to test the King's reflexes? Dum jente," he growled.

Tugging her wrist, Petra glared, her heart still pounding from adrenaline.

"Stop calling me names."

"I'm not calling you names." He dragged his other hand from beneath the pillow, revealing a six-inch dagger. He dangled it in front of her face. "I'm stating what you are. You're fortunate I remembered it was you in my bed. Were I any less sharp, this would be embedded in your eye."

Petra flushed and swallowed hard, bowing her head.

"I'm sorry."

"I don't want your apologies, just don't be foolish."

Petra bristled, successfully tugging her wrist from his grasp and flipping over to face the wall. She heard him stash the knife beneath his pillow and waited for him lie down. When he continued bustling beneath the sheets she glanced over her shoulder to find him pulling two coils of rope from beneath the bed. That combined with his visibly awakening cock prompted her to bolt, practically falling out of bed in her eagerness to get away.

"No."

Loki's brows rose innocently. "No, what?"

"Just no. Whatever you're doing, stop."

"You speak as though you have control of this situation. Have you forgotten you owe me a debt for coming without permission? I keep my promises, skapning. You'll learn to listen to me."

"I'm still sore from earlier," she grumbled, her cheeks burning as she squeezed her thighs together in an attempt to protect her tender bits.

Ignoring her response, Loki crept near the headboard and looped each length of rope around either post of the bedframe. He tugged, and once satisfied they'd hold, motioned for Petra to climb back on the bed. She shook her head.

"I said no."

"Do you so easily forget the circumstances under which you're here?"

"I'm doing my part of our bargain. We have a lot of sex. You've probably gotten me pregnant. I didn't agree to anything having to do with ropes."

His maroon eyes glittered as he shook his head. "You agreed to let me breed you. Who's to say I'm not about to do that?"

Lips pinched, she wrapped her arms around her naked body. "You can breed me without restraining me."

"I told you what we do with Jötunn women that resist. Do you remember?"

Of course she remembered. They were tied down. He'd threatened to do the same to her their first time together.

"I'm not resisting… your use of me. And I'm not Jötunn."

"You're right, you're not Jötunn."

He crawled forward on the bed and slung his legs over the side. Spreading them, the conversation having obviously aroused him, he yanked her between his thighs by her wrist. Hesitantly she rested her hands on the tops of his upper legs, freezing when he leaned forward, his hardening cock pressing against her belly.

"If you were Jötunn, you'd have a better concept of your status," he murmured against her ear.

Petra whined softly, shaking her head as she tried to back away. Even though she was fairly certain the Jötnar didn't kiss, she couldn't think as well with his mouth so close to hers. He sank his fingers into her hair, tangling them in the silver strands until she stopped moving.

"Even as a Dark Elf your place is on your knees before me. I've put you in it many times."

She pushed against his chest with a scowl, "I know my place. I willingly assume it whenever you want me."

He studied her, his even breaths softly expelling hot, moist air against her hair.

"This is true." Loki tilted his head, thoughtfully tracing her collarbone with cool fingertips. "Perhaps I don't need to tie you down for what I have planned."

Shooting her a wicked smirk, he retreated on the bed, arranging the pillows so he could sit comfortably against the headboard. Long legs splayed wide open, he shamelessly revealed his growing erection. Loki gave it a few strokes and her brows rose as it hardened further. She'd never seen his impressive cock so close.

Loki reached for her, "Come to me."

Stomach flipping, Petra eyed the still-present ropes and warily climbed on the bed. She inched forward, perching on her knees at his side. With a sigh, he lazily pumped his fist over his length.

"In my lap, skapning."

"I don't want to…," she waved her hand at his half hard cock, "hurt you."

His sharp canines glistened as he smiled. "You couldn't hurt me if you tried."

With a huff, she delicately crept into his lap, carefully positioning herself between his spread legs. Loki hummed, bending his knees as he leaned forward to arrange her with her back against his chest.

She stiffened as his fingers twined in her hair again, experimentally weaving through the platinum strands. With a shiver, she watched him out of the corner of her eye. He looked curious, almost innocent as he investigated her hair, so different from the stark ebony of the Jötnar. It was an act more intimate than he realized and it made her stomach flutter in the most unseemly manner.

Distress spiking, Petra broke the silence. "Why are we sitting like this?"

"Relax."

She could feel the timbre of his voice rumble in his chest as she shifted uneasily.

"I'm trying," she snipped.

"Careful, skapning. This isn't meant to be comfortable."

Just as she was forming a response, his chilled fingers stroked down her chest and sides to trace along the skin of her inner thighs. Her breath hitched and without thinking, her knees fell open. Pursed lips curving into a smile he cupped her mound, Loki pet his hand against the soft flesh. When she squirmed, he released a grunt at the friction created between her back and his cock. His fingers tightened, nails pressing into her delicate skin in warning.

"Be still," he said against her jaw. With his free hand, he wrapped his fingers around her neck, forcing her to look up and back at him as he peered down at her. "You asked why we're sitting like this. We're sitting like this so I can touch you without interruption. In this position, you can't crawl away from me, you can't run. You can't fight me. Perhaps you may try to block me with your hands, but you're easily subdued and therefore I'm not concerned."

Flexing his fingers to remind her of his strength, Loki released her throat and hummed against her neck. "You owe me something and I'm intent on taking it." Hand still nestled over her mons, he carefully slid his middle finger inside her entrance. Over her shoulder he watched, captivated, as it sank in. Petra could feel the firm ridges of his cock length swelling against her back.

Her body clenched as she processed exactly what he said.

"I owe you use of my body, and that's it. I'm a vessel, not a toy," she said, turning her face to the side so he could see her speak.

His warm breath ghosted over her jaw as he chuckled, "You became my toy the second you came without permission. I'm now obligated to teach you self-control. You're like a child, really."

White brows that furrowed in confusion eventually relaxed as he smoothed the wetness gathered at her entrance over her clit. He began moving his fingers in slow, tight circles and she groaned, pussy pulsing.

She shifted in distracted irritation as her thinking grew foggy, hampered by the heat accumulating in her lower belly. All she could contemplate was that he was supposed to be a beast, not her seducer.

Loki licked her neck and the elf let out a soft keening noise, her head thumping back against his shoulder. He varied the pressure of his finger, dragging the tip across her swollen bud with the lightest of pressures, then firmly rubbing it. Her chest rose and fell swiftly as she tried to keep her eyes open, the spine-tingling sensations he was forcing her lids to lower.

He continued, dipping his finger back inside her swollen passage to gather more arousal and in an attempt to ground herself, she clutched his forearms.

Drunk on lust, her words were slightly slurred. "This is because-because I couldn't stop from orgasming?" Swallowing hard, she squeezed her already-closed eyes in concentration. "That's the self-control you're talking about?"

Loki nipped at the tender skin of her neck. "Mhm." Casually he increased the speed at which he tormented her clit, making her toes curl. "You can't keep yourself from reaching your peak. Do you know you're unique in this occurrence, skapning?"

Breath coming in tiny pants, she shook her head. His lips curved into a smile against the shell of her ear.

"I'll have you know bringing Jötnar women to completion is burdensome. When we breed, the males orgasm and typically leave. It's expected that the females also orgasm for the sake of aiding in conception, but they're left to do so on their own," he whispered against her neck. "You? You I can't keep from coming, my disobedient little elven bitch." He bit the lobe of her ear and Petra failed at subduing a whine. She felt his cock jerk behind her at the noise, which only made her hips pump forward against his hand.

"It's not-I'm not…," she sighed as his dexterous fingers massaged her tender bundle of nerves. Pressure built in her lower abdomen, a winding spring desperately close to releasing. As she faded from reality, a whimper escaped from between her lips and her back arched, thrusting her pelvis against his palm. When he chuckled at her, she ignored him, until he spoke.

"You're rutting against my hand like a common whore," he husked.

His words felt like they'd slapped her across the face. Men on Svartalfheim had never been overly respectful to her, but they'd never accused her of being a whore. Trying to elbow him in the ribs, she began to turn when two of his fingers slid inside her, made easy by the accumulated wetness.

"Shhh, skapning," he soothed.

Slowly his fingers flexed. Loki curled them, stroking the tips against a swollen patch inside her. Petra groaned in his lap, nails biting into the blue skin of his arms as she tried to reason with herself. Nothing good could come from giving him what he wanted, but the notion quickly vacated her mind. Failing at thought in general, the coil of electric heat only wound tighter, coaxing her hips into rocking against his hand.

"If you're…," she tried to focus, words evading her, "If you're teaching me self-control, why does it feel good?"

Loki's breath brushed against her hair as he chuckled. "You'll see."

He made a beckoning motion, the pads of his fingertips brushing against the supremely sensitive area inside her. She gasped, bucking hard against his hand. He pumped his fingers swiftly, giving her no time between thrusts for her to gather her thoughts. Mind hazy, she let her eyes slip closed as she relished in the intoxicating feeling of his fingers inside her. When the thumb of his opposite hand grazed her clit, she cried out. As he started rubbing while simultaneously plunging inside her, he spoke lowly.

"Come, skapning."

Petra's brows furrowed and she let out a choked whimper. He'd forbidden her to orgasm so many times prior, knowing she'd fail. Now that he was coaxing her into it, it felt wrong. Like a trick.

He curled his fingers, pressing firmly and making her see stars as he overwhelmed her with sensation. The wet noises of him pumping into her competed for her attention as he growled.

"Now, Petra."

Her name on his lips was her end. Such a cold man preying on her sense of significance by using her name sent her over the edge, a sharp cry flying from her lips. As her walls contracted a gush of moisture released, flooding his hand as he continued to rhythmically press against the soft tissue just inside her channel.

It took her a moment to come down, her chest heaving as she collapsed against him. He gave her a minute to recuperate, but after that pulled his fingers from her cunt, dripping with slick, and pressed them back over her clit. Her hips jerked and she yelped, writhing to move from beneath his hand. Her cunt twitched, her flaming nub too sensitive for contact.

"Ow!"

"Shhh, skapning. You'll only make it worse."

Confused, she tried to turn but he used his free hand to stabilize her. Loki disregarded her wriggling and clamped his fingers down into her hip, using his iron grip to hold her still. Her clit burned, heavily overstimulated.

"Stop!"

Ignoring her, he increased the pressure and started drawing tiny circles around her pearl. As she shrieked and rocked forward to leave his lap he regarded her silently, his eyes flicking between hers as she looked back at him in desperation. With an air of tranquility that confounded her, his fingertips dug into the soft flesh of her side, leaving individual bruises as he dragged her back down.

"You're going to learn to listen to me. No more of this haphazard orgasming at your own pleasure. What we are doing is serious and you will listen to me."

"I'm sorry," she gasped, distractedly clawing at his forearms as he assaulted her bundle of nerves.

"I know you are. But if I don't teach you, you won't learn."

His nimble finger rubbed against her swollen nub in a way that made her pelvis lift from his lap. It still hurt, but that dizzying feeling of pleasure now accompanied the sensation.

She let out a guttural cry as her walls contracted, which spurred on Loki's actions. She looked down in a daze, his hand moving so rapidly it blurred. The feeling of her impending orgasm began to overwhelm and she squeezed her eyes shut, coming with an aggravated scream.

Relentlessly, Loki continued assaulting her clit. She squealed, writhing to unseat his hand. He gave her dribbling pussy a slap and she stilled with a stunned yelp. Petra panted heavily, still trying to process exactly what was going on. She'd never considered the forcing of orgasms before.

Cutting off her train of thought, Loki's hand wandered, this time his fingers sliding back inside her. It didn't hurt like when he'd rubbed her clit just after orgasming, but she was sensitive enough that it was still uncomfortable. His fingers fucked her ruthlessly, absurd sloshing noises echoing in his barren chambers. Whimpering in confused frustration, she tried to push his hands away.

Loki issued another strike to her pussy, making her jolt in surprise. Gathering her wrists in his free hand, he pinned them against her chest, all the while pumping his fingers inside her cunt.

"Continue, skapning."

She shook, her entire body on overdrive as he coaxed her into things for which she denied it permission. What she wanted didn't matter. With a tortured sob, she obeyed as he worked her through another orgasm. Fire licked up her spine and for one blissful moment, her mind went blank as she seized in his lap, the walls of her pussy greedily sucking at his fingers.

Tears leaked from her eyes and she tried to wrestle her hands free to wipe at her face, but he easily held her in place. His other hand remained busy, thrusting into her brutally. He twisted his fingers, smirking as her hips lurched forward for more attention.

Breaths coming in heaving gasps and no longer able to support herself, Petra leaned on Loki. She weakly tried to close her thighs, and screamed when he issued five rapid smacks to her red, swollen slit.

"Again," he commanded.

"I've learned my lesson," she panted. "You can stop!"

"Again," was his cold reply.

Offhandedly she fumed at how calm he sounded, as if he were instructing a group of practicing archers instead of ripping orgasm after orgasm from her. The thought quickly evaporated as his lips suctioned around her earlobe. Without thinking she pressed the side of her face against his mouth, eager for more attention even as he attacked her opening.

A few tears dribble down her cheek as she tried to reason with him.

"I'll stop, I will. I'll stop coming when you tell me to," she whimpered.

Loki's hand slowed, but his fingers continued to flex against that enflamed patch of flesh hidden inside her. The king considered her for a moment: Eyes glassy, hair tousled and cheeks tinged with crimson. He released her wrists, which dropped limply to her sides.

"I'm afraid I don't believe you, skapning."

More tears threatened to pour from her eyes as she held back a sob.

"Shhh, I said I don't believe you, not that I won't stop. One more, then your lesson will be over."

Petra's body went boneless with relief, and had he not been holding her so securely she would've wilted in his lap. His fingers began caressing her insides again and she vaguely realized she could feel the grooves and ridges on his agile digits.

As his fingers quickened, shockwaves throbbed inside her, making her clench around his fingers. She mewled, her hand climbing up his neck and burying itself in his hair as she braced herself for the euphoric disorder he was about to inflict.

Loki's fingers rubbed her just right and she let out a scream, her own fingers clamping around one of his horns. He stiffened, releasing a guttural groan and as she convulsed in his lap, she felt liquid warmth splash against her back.

Delirious and now covered in his come, she flopped back against him, completely spent. They both wheezed, bodies desperate for air as they came down. Finally, he spoke, his voice resentful.

"That is not how I like to spend my seed. You'll not touch my horns again. You just wasted a valuable opportunity. Were I not so taxed from your lesson, I'd scoop my come from your skin and push it inside you."

Petra nodded dumbly, her lower body alerting her of the abuse it had received. Her entire center ached, clit to sensitive to withstand closing her thighs.

With an irritated huff, he dumped her from his lap and strode to the washroom. Too fatigued to follow, she managed to crawl to the dry side of the bed and collapsed in exhaustion, quickly losing consciousness.

She woke alone to a female Jötunn clothed in a simple dress prodding her.

"Get up, elf. It smells of sex in here, I'm to change the sheets."

Petra glared with all her might at the woman, but rolled out of the bed. She stumbled, sorer than she anticipated. She supposed Loki had fucked her rather severely. Eventually she made it to the bathroom, where she found the tub filled with steaming water. Bracing against the wall, she walked herself down the stone steps and into the bath. The water soothed her aching muscles, coaxing a tired groan. Just as she was about to dip beneath the surface, she caught sight of a red bloom in the water. Tears of frustration stung her eyes as she realized the source, and she dropped her head back against the ledge of the tub in defeat.

Three knocks sounded as Loki sat among his advisors, speaking rapidly in their language.

All silent, they looked to their king. The list of those who dared interrupt him while with his counsel was quite short.

"Tast inn."

When the door clicked closed behind Petra, the three women and two men looked up from the document they had been studying. Loki frowned. She looked pale, her skin more gray than blue and her lips pallid. Loki dismissed his cabinet without a second thought.

"You're all excused."

They bowed before filing out of the room while Petra fidgeted with the sleeve of her dress in the entrance.

When she didn't look at him, Loki drummed his fingers on the table. "Come in. What is it? Is something wrong with the baby?

Petra wandered in slowly, not meeting his gaze. She lung one leg over the other, chewing at her lip.

"I… I got my period. I'm not pregnant."

She was met with silence and fleetingly glanced up. The king stood with his lips pursed, clasping his wrist behind him in the opposite hand. He watched her, eyes flicking back and forth from her belly to her face.

Her stomach rolled. She knew he wouldn't be pleased, but his stillness was unnerving. What if he only allowed her the one chance?

"We'll continue copulating. Elves bleed monthly?"

Petra nodded, trying to stand tall.

"Very well."

When he examined her without saying a word, only nodding, her eyes prickled with relief that he wasn't throwing her out... and something else she couldn't identify. Guilt, perhaps? She shook the feeling off and snuck another glance at him. Though his solemn face was nearly emotionless, she knew the way his brows furrowed signified frustration. Her stomach twisted but she ignored it. It wouldn't make sense that disappointing him hurt. She barely knew him. Elves weren't supposed to feel, anyway.