It seemed to Aislinn that Tofa would never leave. Sigrid had gone soon after supper, but Tofa fussed over every detail in Aislinn's room with more than usual care. She seemed perturbed that Aislinn had disappeared earlier in the day while supposedly sick, and kept flitting about offering to fetch her things. Aislinn found herself painstakingly, immaculately clean. Her hair braided perfectly and neatly before bed, sheets changed and smoothed and tweaked, blankets and furs piled high enough to keep her warm on a mountain peak in winter, and a full pitcher of water by her bedside and Tofa still insisted Aislinn might need something else.
"Thank you, and I love you my dearest friend, but what I need now is rest! I promise I will be exactly here in the morning. You've put so many blankets on me I doubt I could move anyway."
At long last, Tofa left – though still threatening Aislinn with a large, fortifying breakfast and a visit to the healers on her way out.
Aislinn no sooner heard the outer door to her chambers close before she was out of bed like a shot, dumping the extra blankets out of the way in a corner of her dressing room. She fretted and paced for some time, and began to doubt if Loki would come at all. In the end, she went out onto her balcony to breathe the night air and try to calm herself.
She sighed, and shivered slightly in the thin silk gown she wore even in the warm summer air. She watched the stars reflected in the ocean below her for what seemed like an eternity. Eventually she wished to sit down, and turning around at last, she saw Loki leaning against the wall gazing at her.
"How long have you been there?" Aislinn gasped as she saw him.
Loki smirked and said, "Awhile."
"Why did you not say anything?" Aislinn said, crossing her arms in front of her. Her nightgown seemed suddenly thinner and more translucent than she remembered.
"Who am I to disturb such a beautiful scene?" the prince retorted, half in earnest and half in jest. Aislinn stared at him in the moon light, shocked that he seemed even more handsome in this setting. The pale silver light made his skin look like white marble, and his hair was mussed by the sea winds; its color turned as black as the abyss by the night. The contrast made him appear more of a work of art than a man or a god.
Aislinn flushed prettily and glanced away, still shivering slightly. Loki closed the distance between them quickly, and threw his arms around Aislinn, pressing her head to his chest. She had never seen him looking so relaxed. Even his dress attire had elements of armor in it, but tonight he wore a simple linen shirt and loose black leggings. Aislinn loved that she could feel the warmth of his body through the fabric. For a time they simply held each other, drinking in the sensations of their closeness.
Aislinn slowly slid her hand up Loki's chest until it reached the back of his neck. She pulled away from his embrace slightly, to look at his face. He was happier than she could ever remember seeing him, as though a weight had been thrown off his shoulders, if only for a moment. When he smiled at her, it reached his eyes and lit them with joy and desire. He looked decades younger and even more handsome. She ran her other hand through his raven hair, so rare among the Asgardians, and traced the delicate high arch of his cheekbone with her fingertip. Stretching up, she kissed him gently and felt him respond.
At first, their kisses were tender and halting – nervous as they both were. However, the lustful passion both had struggled to conceal soon came bubbling to the surface. They began to kiss passionately, with almost bruising force. Hands tangled in hair, hearts pounded in their chests. His tongue slid into her mouth, exploring and demanding, and she grazed his bottom lip with her teeth, drawing a sound out of him half way between a groan and a growl. Aislinn instinctively found herself wrapping one ankle around the back of Loki's leg to pull closer to him.
Feeling her balance shift, Loki hitched her leg up, hooking it over his hip. She was surprised by his sudden movement, but was so engrossed in their passionate kiss she did not react. She did not stop kissing him even when he picked her up and lifted her other leg to wrap around his waist also. He carried her forward a few steps, sitting her down on the wide marble balcony rail.
She was vaguely aware she ought to be terrified sitting as she was, hundreds of feet off the ground. Nevertheless, she had never felt safer anywhere in her life than she did in his arms.
As the kissed, one of Loki's hands remained at her back to keep her safe and steady, but the other began to explore her body. At first, he only ran the backs of his fingers over her bare arm: taking in the velvety softness of her perfectly smooth skin. It did not take long for him to wish to explore other things, first tracing the lines of her collar bone and neck with his long, thin fingers. He left trails of tingling sensations on Aislinn's skin, making her shiver under his touch. The smoothness of her skin was addictive, intoxicating. He wanted to press himself against it and feel every perfect inch of it. He gave in to his urge, sliding his hand down and cupping her breast, feeling her through the thin layer of her silken shift.
This caused Aislinn to jump and pull away, trembling with a dizzying combination of excitement, nerves and indescribable terror.
"L-Loki wait," Aislinn said as she continued to tremble. Her thoughts all jumbled in her head and tried to come out of her mouth at the same time: "I've never done- never been with a man before. I don't know what –" she sighed. "I had not even been kissed until –"
Loki could have smacked himself. Of course she had never known the touch of a man. She had lived alone with her parents as long as she could remember. A dark thought crossed his mind, she could see it cloud his eyes, and for a split second she was terrified of the man who held her, concerned her protestations had enraged him. When he spoke he asked in a dark voice, "You mean Thor was your first kiss?"
Her brow knitted for a moment, wondering how he knew about that incident, but briefly thought she should not wonder about Loki knowing anything and everything.
"Bad enough that he did it at all. But to steal your first kiss like that? I'll kill him." Loki whispered darkly.
"No, Loki." Aislinn said, reaching up to touch his face. "That was not a kiss. He… bumped his face into mine." Loki looked incredulous and was about to angrily ask if she meant it had been an accident. "It only counts as a kiss if it is wanted, and reciprocated." She whispered, looking up at him with loving eyes. She stretched up and kissed him tenderly, on the lips, then the cheek and by his ear, murmuring, "You kissed me first, and you will be the only one."
The anger and competitiveness evaporated from Loki's mind and eyes, burned away like fog by the sun. He was left with only tender feelings for Aislinn, and hugged her close to him. "Do you promise?" He whispered.
"If you do."
"I promise."
Aislinn smiled and kissed him gently in reply.
He took a deep breath to steady himself, and scooped Aislinn into his arms off the railing. He carried her inside, still trembling. She trembled as he walked through the living quarters, into her bed chamber, and as he lay her down on the soft firs, he swore he could hear her teeth chatter.
She looked like she was about to protest again as he climbed into bed beside her, but he hushed her by gathering her to his side, kissing the top of her head, and stroking her back. The tension began to go out of her body as she listened to his heartbeat, her head laying on his chest. For a time they did nothing, said nothing. He just held her until her nervousness began to pass.
Almost at a whisper, and half not wanting to know the answer Aislinn asked, "You have been with women before? Of course you have… you are a prince."
"Yes." Loki said simply, unable to bring himself to lie to her.
"Was she... or...were they... special to you?" She murmured, compulsively tracing a seam on his shirt with a finger, trying to focus on something else.
"No." Loki would have been happy to leave it at that, but she looked up at him with her large dark blue eyes, waiting for him to go on. He sighed and said: "When we had just come of age, and perhaps even still, Thor and Fandral often made a game of bedding beautiful women. Being charming, handsome and in powerful positions made it easy sport. They would tease me for not joining in, and in my weakness I began to follow suit." Loki shifted uncomfortably, unaccustomed to honesty. "Aside from the immediate pleasure, it gave me no satisfaction. Thor could seem to fall in and out of love every few weeks, but I never felt for anyone… until now." Loki kissed her forehead and held her closer. He half expected Aislinn to shy away or reprove him for his tale, but she only shifted closer to him.
They began to kiss and Loki found his hands again wandering over Aislinn's body. His need to touch her was overwhelming and he began to lose focus and control as soon as they started kissing. She began to shake again under his touch, and he murmured "I should go" into her lips as they kissed.
"No, please stay?" Aislinn said in a small voice.
With a chuckle he slid his hand down her side, grasping her hip bone and breaking their kiss. He rolled her over on her other side, and then settled in behind her, curving his body to fit neatly against hers. He placed his arm awkwardly over her, trying not to touch anything that would make her uncomfortable, and was gratified when she took his hand and drew it up, resting her cheek on their interlaced fingers. "I have not sought the… attentions of a woman in many, many years." Whispered Loki, "I can wait for you as long as you wish me to, my love." He kissed her bare shoulder chastely, and lay his head down to sleep.