"Well, Wilfrem," Loki smirked to his friend, "I think I've finally won in regards to Miss Lewis."
"Did you now?" the elf leaned back.
"I did. I expect she'll be far more agreeable now. Thank you for your advice."
"But can you keep up the act?"
"Please. Let's not forget I'm the Prince of Lies."
"Fair enough, Loki. So where is the young lady now?"
"Off in the forest somewhere," Loki waved his hand dismissively.
But Darcy wasn't in the forest.
She had decided to drop in on Loki, just to visit for a while. Her feet had frozen when she heard her last name, and she couldn't help but listen to the rest of the conversation.
I should've known, she thought. God, Darcy, you're so stupid! She stood there for a moment, unable to hear the men's voices over her own emptiness. Well then, Prince of Lies…let's see who plays the better trick.
That evening, Darcy was in her room when Loki entered, straightening when he saw her.
"Darcy," he smiled.
Fake.
"'Sup?"
"I was wondering if you were planning to join us for dinner."
"Oh. Totally lost track of time. Uh, yeah, I'll be down in a minute."
"I'll see you in a minute, then," his smiles looked so sincere, but she knew better. Her eyes narrowed on his back as he left, and she kicked her feet off of the bed. Walking to the mirror, she examined her reflection. She didn't have any makeup, but luckily she was just beyond the age of acne. To add some color to her pale skin, she lightly bit her lips and pinched her cheeks. That was followed by primping her hair, smoothing her eyebrows, and running her fingertips across her eyelashes to spread them.
"You're about to get your shit rocked."
Joining Loki and the elves, Darcy sat next to the god. She looked up at him, her large brown eyes smiling in sync with her lips.
"So, Loki, I was wondering…"
"Yes?"
"Well…I know you kind of don't want to, but I was wondering if we could go back to Earth?"
"Darcy-"
"I mean it's been a few days, and we could go somewhere other than Peunte Antiguo to see if the coast is clear."
"I really…" His voice had a hint of displeasure, which faded as he trailed off. He glanced down into Darcy's eyes which blinked innocently at him.
"Please?"
"I guess that would be alright," Loki gave her a small smile. Success, Darcy thought. "We'll leave in the morning, then. Will that be satisfactory?"
"Thank you!" Darcy threw her arms around Loki, snuggling into his neck and kissing it softly. She looked up into his green eyes, holding the gaze, "Thank you."
Loki paused, his mouth open slightly. Regaining his composure, he shut his mouth and nodded curtly. "Tomorrow, then."
The evening ended when a pair of elves got into a fistfight over a mug of brandy. Darcy and Loki walked toward their rooms, which were next to each other. As Darcy reached for the door to hers, the god took her other hand and tugged slightly. She looked at him curiously, to which he smirked in reply, walking backwards to lead her to his door.
Seriously? Darcy thought, He thinks I'm gonna sleep with him two nights in a row? It's not like the sex was…Well okay it was fucking fantastic, literally, but- Her thoughts, which had been playing as she watched him remove his coat and outer layers until he was in his pants and a simple green shirt, were cut off when Loki pulled her into the bed. Her back was to his front, his left arm under her head while the right snaked around her waist, locking her into place. Oh…Nevermind, then.
"Darcy," Loki whispered into her ear, his breath tickling the skin, "You're very warm."
"Oh…Sorry." She moved away an inch, but Loki's arm pulled tighter to bring her back.
"No, I like it."
Laying there, the god's warm breath licking against her neck, Darcy nearly forgot the conversation she had overheard. Moments like this just couldn't be faked, could they? Then again, it happened all the time in movies. And the actors and actresses only turned out to be sleeping with each other about…eighty percent of the time.
The next morning, the cold woke Darcy. She glanced around to see Loki was not in the room. Had he lied to her about going back to Earth? That son of a-
"Morning, Darcy," he strode into the room.
"Morning," she tugged the covers up to cover her a little more, hoping to block out the brisk morning air.
"Are you ready to return to Midgard?"
"Yes!" Flinging the covers aside, she leapt out of the bed and to Loki's side. "Are we going now?"
"We might as well. We can't go straight to Puente Antiguo, though. It's too dangerous. Is there another place we could go?"
"Well…"
"Darcy!" Her mother's shrill voice greeted them when she opened the door. Darcy found herself in a suffocating embrace with the tall, slender blonde woman who was squealing like a middle school girl looking at Justin Bieber.
"Hi mom."
"You haven't visited in forever! Come inside, come inside!" She ushered Darcy and Loki into the house- a spacious five bedroom estate in Northern California. They were led through the entryway, living room, and into the kitchen where an open patio door revealed Darcy's father.
He was sitting at a glass patio table, reading the newspaper. Both of her parents were the archetypal image of rich parents; her father wearing khaki slacks, a blue polo and a yellow sweater with the sleeves tied around his neck while her mother wore a high waisted floral skirt that flared out around her narrow hips, a ruffled, short-sleeved button up, and a brown waist belt.
"Preston, Preston look who's here!"
Darcy's father glance up and smiled as his eyes fell on his baby girl, "Darcy!"
Loki could easily see that Darcy was her parents' child. She had her father's dark hair and brown eyes, but her mother's build, skin and lips, though she was shorter than both. Preston Lewis stood and quickly walked over, pulling his only child into a tight hug.
"What made you decide to visit?" His smile was large and warm.
"Well, my friend…"
"Luke," Loki raised his eyebrows as he filled in a Midgardian name for Darcy.
"Yeah, Luke. We were on a road trip and figured we'd drop by."
"Oh," Darcy's mother looked Loki up and down, smiling and twirling her hair. "Welcome, Luke."
"Darce," her father began, squeezing her shoulder gently, "We were just about to have brunch, you hungry?"
"Oh, yeah."
Darcy, her father and Loki sat at the glass patio table as her mother brought out several dishes; an egg casserole, French toast, fruit salad, bacon, sausages- way too much food for the four of them, much less Darcy's parents alone.
"Yep. This is about right," Darcy muttered to Loki.
"So, Luke, tell us how you know Darcy," her mother propped her elbows on the table and cradled her chin in her hands.
"Oh. Well, I was in Peunte Antiguo for business, and I ran into her."
"What kind of business?"
"I work for an oil company and we've recently found some reserves in New Mexico. We're looking into building some facilities just outside of the town."
"Fascinating. So you two just met on the street?"
"No. You see a coworker of mine went to university with Jane Foster, the woman Darcy interns for, and asked if I would stop in and say hello. Unfortunately Jane wasn't in when I made my visit, so I got to talking with Darcy while waiting for her to return."
"How cute," her mother chimed. "So you two are-"
"Nicola," Preston chuckled, "Stop badgering them and let them eat."
Darcy's mother pouted but stopped questioning and ate.
"God that was so not cool," Darcy buried her face in her hands as she sat down on the chair in her bedroom. Loki, who had followed her, glanced around the quarters in slight astonishment.
"This is the house you grew up in?"
"Yeah."
"Then why do you live in such a humble villa in a nothing town?"
"Because I kinda like it."
"Pardon?"
"You wouldn't get it. You're a prince. You were born to be a prince. I was born into a ridiculously cliché upper class family but I don't fit. My mom wears designer clothes, expensive jewelry, and takes tennis lessons. My dad golfs, goes sailing, and plays polo. I'm the kind of girl that likes Target and American Eagle. I don't wear a lot of jewelry and I hate horses."
"How can you hate horses?" Loki gaped. They were his absolute favorite animal.
"Their eyes. Those black, scheming eyes. They're like sharks, but not." Loki stared at her, one eyebrow raised.
"That comparison doesn't even compare."
"Yes it does."
"No, it-"
"Knock knock!" Darcy's parents poked their heads inside the door.
"Hey pumpkin, we're going sailing. Want to join us?"
"I didn't bring any-"
"Oh silly goose you've got clothes here, remember?"
"Well Luke doesn't have any-"
"We'll buy him something on the way. Come on!" Their smiles were so bright, Darcy couldn't bear to say no. She sighed as they left, probably getting food ready.
"Well I guess we're going sailing." She stood and walked to her closet- a sprawling walk-in with clothes lining the walls- and gaped, "They shopped for me while I was gone? Jesus."
"It doesn't seem like you really want to go sailing."
"No, I don't. I get seasick pretty easily. But they seem really excited about having us join them, so I kind of have to go."
"No you don't."
"They're my parents, Loki. Just because I don't like what they do doesn't mean I don't like them. So we're going sailing." She returned holding a swimsuit. "Uh, do you mind?"
"What? I've already seen everything."
Darcy blushed, "Yeah but…But I need to change."
Loki strode over to her, circling behind and grabbing the edge of her t-shirt, sliding it up her body, and whispered, "How bout I help you?" Darcy's breath hitched in her chest. The god slipped the shirt up over her chest, his hands going over the curves of her breasts and continued guiding the garment off of her body.
He dropped the shirt on the floor and unclasped her bra, slowly sliding the straps off of her shoulders and down her arms.
"Why do you do that?" Darcy mumbled.
"Do what?"
"Every time you undress me, you do it really slowly."
Loki chuckled lightly in her ear, "Because I enjoy it. It's a memory that I want to last, so I take my time." He kissed behind her ear and trailed down her neck, to her shoulder, then down her spine, leaving a kiss at the small of her back before taking hold of her hips and turning her to face him. He kissed below her navel and unbuttoned her pants, tugging them down her legs.
Dear god, Darcy thought, it's just an act. It's just an act. No matter how fucking hot this is, it's just an act...