Sorry this chapter's a little late—I'm in a rush getting ready for a conference this weekend. Don't worry, I've set it up so I can post on the road!

The theme song for this chapter is "Bound to You" by Christina Aguilera, which is not perfect lyrically, but is the right feel for the chapter.

A warning: this chapter earns the M rating. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to really work in a good stopping point, so if you want to skip the explicit parts you'll just have to use your best judgment as to when you should stop. But there is a little bit at the end that you'll want to catch, after the line break.


Chapter 51: The Flame and the Blade

Loki stood on the balcony of the room, looking out over the darkened beach and hugging her arms to herself. What had gotten into Natasha? One minute she was securely in the 'friend zone,' wondering if there was any way in the nine realms that she could work up the courage to approach her. The next, Natasha was touching her, and feeding her delicious cake, and—

"Cold?" Natasha asked as she rested her hands on Loki's shoulders lightly.

She whipped around, bumping into the railing and gripping it for balance. "Freya's tits, don't sneak up on me like that!" she gasped.

She smiled slyly. "Not my fault you were lost in thought. ...Or is it?" She took a step forward, but Loki quickly dodged around her, retreating back into the bedroom.

Loki opened her mouth to say 'I don't know what you're talking about,' but stopped when she remembered what the consequence of lying would be. "What do you want?" she said instead.

Natasha leaned against the open doorway. "That depends."

"On what?" she asked, almost afraid of what she would say.

She pushed away from the door and closed the distance between them, standing so close they almost touched. Loki had taken her shoes off, and in her stilettos Natasha was a good two inches taller. "On what you want," she said softly.

Loki sighed and closed her eyes. "I don't know what I want."

"I think you do," she argued, making her open her eyes again. "Otherwise... you wouldn't be looking at me like that."

"Like what?" she asked, trying not to stare at her lips, and failing.

"Like you want me to kiss you," she murmured. When Loki said nothing to disprove her, she leaned forward, slowly, cautiously, and slid her lips across hers. Loki sighed softly, and Natasha felt a tightening in her stomach. She had almost forgotten what it was like to kiss a girl, warm and soft and pliant. She wanted to grab Loki and press her against the wall, but she was still wary of scaring her off. After a long, sweet moment she broke the kiss and looked to Loki with a question in her eyes.

Loki licked her lips, and touched them absently. Her eyes were a little hazy, but when she looked up to Natasha they cleared. "Okay, so maybe I do want you. But I don't see why you would want me. Wouldn't you rather I just lied, and—"

"Shh," Natasha pressed two fingers to Loki's lips. "No," she sounded amused. "This isn't about Him. This is about you, and me."

She looked nervous. "You... Don't you think he'll be... jealous?" she asked.

Natasha's chuckle was low and rich, and it made her stomach flutter in a funny way. "No, but I wouldn't care if he was. You want this, and I want this—"

"But why?" Loki interrupted. "I'm so gawky and awkward, and..." she trailed off in the face of Natasha's laughter.

"Loki, you are a graceful, beguiling, beautiful woman." When she continued to look doubtful, Natasha traced the line of her cheek with a finger. "Let me show you. If you say no now, I will walk away and this never happened. But please let me show you how gorgeous you are."

Loki took a deep breath and swallowed. "How?"

Natasha allowed herself a small grin of triumph, and then turned to close the balcony door and curtains. She then took Loki's hand and led her to stand at the foot of the bed, before whispering in her ear, "With a mirror, of course."

Loki's eyes fluttered shut, and a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she realized what Natasha wanted. When she opened them again, there was a beautiful ornate mirror where the headboard had been before. There were other mirrors about the room, and the lights had given way to flickering candles.

Natasha looked around, nodding her approval. "Very nice." She moved to stand behind Loki, so she could see her reflection in the largest mirror. "See?" she trailed a finger down the side of Loki's face, down her neck and onto her shoulder. "Beautiful."

She bit her lip. "I see that you are beautiful. Next to you I look—"

"Is a flame more beautiful or more deadly than a blade?" Natasha interrupted.

Loki, surprised, found she had no answer.

"Someone once told me that my beauty was like a flame, that it consumed the hearts of anyone who looked too long," Natasha explained. "Your beauty is like a blade, sharp and cutting," she traced a finger over her cheekbone. "With a single look you could pierce the unwary heart. Comparing the two is pointless—it would be like comparing a bird to a cat."

"A cat?" Loki asked, smiling a little.

Natasha returned the smile, and slipped the barrette from Loki's hair. "Yes. You make me think of a Siamese cat, slender and tall, with regal poise." She did not add that her counterpart made her think of a much larger and more dangerous feline predator.

Loki seemed to like the idea, and relaxed as Natasha swept the mass of her dark hair over her shoulder. She kissed the nape of her neck, and touched the jet choker she wore, thinking to remove it. But she hesitated, catching sight of the matching cuffs on either wrist, and decided to leave them on. Instead, she began deftly undoing the tiny buttons of the outer layer of her lace dress. Loki's breath began to quicken as Natasha slowly pushed the fabric off her shoulders and down her arms, letting it fall to reveal the long black slip she wore beneath.

With her practiced eye, Natasha could see that Loki had forgone her advice and wore nothing beneath the slip. She gave her a look in the mirror that said you naughty girl, and Loki blushed, biting her lip. Sliding her hands around Loki's waist, Natasha relished the feel of the silk fabric, which was so thin she could feel the warmth of her skin right through it. Loki gasped softly as Natasha pressed her back against her, at the feel of her full breasts pushed up against her shoulder blades.

Loki watched in the mirror as Natasha's hands drifted upward with agonizing slowness, until they slid over the peaks of her more modest endowments. As if sensing the mental comparison, Natasha gave them an affectionate squeeze and said, "I like these. They're perky."

She giggled, but accepted the compliment. She was quickly distracted as Natasha's hands inched higher, tracing her collarbones and taking the straps of the slip with them. They fell off her shoulders, and Natasha dragged them lower, revealing Loki to her gaze in the mirror inch by inch.

"And so lovely," she added, pressing a kiss to her shoulder. She slid her hands over Loki's bare skin, following much the same path as before. Loki let out a whimper, her hands darting up to bury themselves in Natasha's hair. She moaned as Natasha took a firm grip, kneading and pushing her breasts together before releasing them to tease a delicate pink nipple with one hand. The other drifted lower, pushing the material of the slip down over her hip until it fell to join the lace on the floor.

A sense of frozen anticipation washed over Loki as she saw Natasha's hungry gaze, and the whole of her world dwindled to the sight and sensation of her hand snaking across her stomach and lower, lower, until her fingers disappeared into the small thatch of black curls. Loki's mouth dropped open in a silent 'O' of surprise at the exquisite sensation they elicited there. Not even she had touched herself so privately, not since the change, and this was entirely different from what she had experienced before.

Natasha continued to work her own brand of magic, desire stirring in her at the deliciously innocent sounds Loki made. She kept on until Loki began to falter, her knees growing weak and her body limp. Then she suddenly let go, allowing her to fall onto the bed in front of them.

Shocked out of her trance, Loki turned onto her back to see Natasha staring down at her with a self-satisfied smirk. She watched as she reached to unzip her dress, and then unhook the strap behind her neck. Kicking out of her shoes, she slid the fabric of her dress down her body, clearly enjoying the touch of her own hands. But what really got Loki's attention was what they revealed: Natasha now wore a red and black corset, black silk stockings, and a matching thong. Loki was overwhelmed by the realization that she had been secretly wearing them the whole evening. She had been wearing them while she talked to her, while she touched her, while she...

Loki frowned. "You planned this," she said with wonder.

Natasha grinned. "Of course I planned this, did you think I would seduce you by accident?" she knelt on the bed, straddling Loki's narrow hips. "Although..." she reached down and traced a finger along her midline, eliciting a gasp. "I wish I would have had the foresight to bring a couple toys."

"Toys?" Loki's eyes went wide. Of course, she had read about such things, but she had never imagined that she owned any. Natasha laughed at her expression, and Loki realized that was probably a very silly assumption on her part.

"I haven't had much use for them lately," she admitted, "but it would be so much fun to use them on you..." her voice and her smile promised that it would, and she bent forward to kiss away Loki's shocked look. "But not this first time, of course," she murmured softly against her lips.

Loki laid back, her head swimming with Natasha's kisses and the implications of this first time. Natasha began to trail her lips lower, and gazing up at the blank ceiling Loki quickly magicked a mirror there as well before she lost the ability to concentrate enough.

Natasha noticed the way the light changed, and glanced upward with a raised eyebrow. "You're enjoying this," she teased with a smirk.

"Yes," Loki breathed, but when she felt Natasha's hand graze her ribs, she still flinched.

She sat back, thoughtful. For this to work, she needed Loki to relax. She stepped back off the bed. "Lay on your stomach," she gestured towards the pillows at the head of the bed. As Loki did as she was told, she watched Natasha dig around in her suitcase a minute, coming back with a bottle of something. She crawled onto the bed, pressing a couple kisses between her shoulder blades before straddling her hips again.

Loki found if she turned her head she could see their reflection in one of the smaller mirrors. She watched as Natasha poured a measure of something into her hands, and then rubbed them together before smoothing them over her back. Loki hummed appreciatively at the warm, slick feeling of Natasha's fingers teasing the tension out of her muscles.

As she worked, Natasha had a rare moment of self-doubt. Why was she doing this? It had been such a long time since she had used her wiles without a very specific goal in mind. Of course Loki would come along and throw a wrench into all that. She had spent so much time and effort resisting Him that by the time she gave in it seemed like the inevitable. She could rationalize that it gave Him a sense of control and gave her a way to manipulate him into cooperating with SHIELD, but this was different. She was the one in control here, and Femme Loki was more than happy to cooperate of her own free will.

Loki moaned as Natasha released a particularly stubborn knot, and she felt her insides clench involuntarily at the sound. She took stock of her body, so often ignored, and found that her level of arousal was far beyond what she had guessed. Alright, she decided, so I'm doing this because I want to.

Satisfied that Loki was adequately relaxed, she slipped to the side and turned her over, kissing her deeply before she could start second-guessing again. This time she was much more responsive, wrapping her arms around her waist and opening her mouth to permit her access. Natasha pressed her advantage, slipping her tongue past Loki's lips and exploring. Her hands, still slicked with oil, found Loki's breasts, and she moaned loudly against her kiss, arching her back up to fill her hands eagerly.

Leaving her lips, Natasha dipped her head to flick a nipple with her tongue. Loki let out a surprised yip, and Natasha chuckled.

"That oil can't taste good," Loki gasped.

"On the contrary," Natasha smirked, smearing her thumb over Loki's lips. "Taste."

Obediently, Loki licked her lips, catching Natasha's thumb in the process. They tasted like marshmallows. Feeling bold, Loki captured Natasha's thumb with her lips and sucked eagerly. "Mmmm," she agreed.

Natasha's eyebrows raised appreciatively, and she rewarded Loki's bravery by slipping her other hand between her legs and spreading the oil there as well, mimicking the motions Loki made with her tongue. Surprised, Loki stilled, and so did the assassin's talented fingers. She frowned, but Natasha gave her a look and licked her lips suggestively. Hesitant, Loki stroked her thumb with her tongue, and gasped as Natasha flexed her finger in a matching pattern.

Loki caught on quickly, and was eagerly fascinated by this indirect method of pleasuring herself. She quickly became distracted by the sensations, though, and wasn't able to focus on what she was doing for very long. Natasha pulled her hands away, and Loki whimpered at the loss before she felt them return, gently urging her legs apart. She watched wide-eyed as Natasha blazed a trail of kisses down her chest and stomach, glancing up just as she reached her destination...

Natasha was well-prepared for the jerk of her hips as she first touched her tongue to her most sensitive spot. She pulled back quickly, and gave Loki a warning glance. "Hold still," she ordered.

Loki nodded eagerly, even as she wasn't sure how she could possibly obey. If she had been astounded by the sensations that Natasha's fingers elicited, it was nothing compared to what she did now with her mouth. She clutched the pillow behind her head tightly, and stared at her reflection above, her surprise and pleasure etched in every line of her body. She felt—she was—beautiful.

Just when she thought she could not tolerate another moment of the exquisite torture, Natasha slipped a single finger inside of her. The sweet invasion was so foreign, so unfamiliar, that for a moment it stilled her rising passion. Then she began to move, stroking a spot deep inside of her that burned like fire, and she cried out as the unexpected rush of ecstasy sent her careening over the precipice.

Natasha watched her face, fascinated by the untutored ardor she saw there. It gave her a hell of a high, knowing that she was the cause of this, that she had made Loki feel things she had never dreamed of. She waited until the last tremors had passed, and then once again straddled her hips. "What do you think?" she murmured softly, brushing away a lock of inky hair that had fallen into her face.

Still gasping for breath, Loki regarded Natasha with wonder. "I think..." she swallowed, "that I want... more."

"More?" Natasha tilted her head, curious.

Gathering her courage, Loki reached up to undo the bow of her corset laces. Released from their confines, the sides of the corset sighed apart, and her ample breasts threatened to spill out. "More," Loki managed to say, although her mouth had gone dry. Natasha grinned as she watched Loki pull the laces loose, and she sat up to quickly undo the hooks in the back with quick efficiency—glad to have picked up the trick of it as a girl. When the last was undone, Natasha drew it away, moving her legs so she could sit comfortably in Loki's lap.

For her part, Loki's gaze remained riveted on Natasha's exposed assets. She swallowed thickly and cautiously slid her hands up Natasha's sides. She hesitated at the last minute, and Natasha grinned, putting her own hands over Loki's and moving them where they wanted to go. Loki's lips parted, and then she smiled, looking almost intoxicated.

"They're so soft," she murmured, and gave them a gentle squeeze before leaning forward to press her face into the valley between them.

Natasha giggled, it was a favorite gesture of her counterpart, though she had no way of knowing it. Loki liked the way her laugh made her jiggle slightly in her hands, and tentatively stuck her tongue out for the barest little taste. She glanced up to gauge Natasha's reaction. She looked amused.

"Am I doing this right?" she asked self-consciously.

Natasha wove her fingers into Loki's hair and kissed her forehead softly. "You do whatever you want to do," she murmured encouragingly.

Loki sighed contentedly, and then considered the bounty before her once more. Without further hesitation, she drew one nipple into her mouth and began to tease it mercilessly.

Surprised, Natasha's hands tightened in her hair, and she moaned appreciatively. Without much warning, she found herself on her back, and glanced up at the mirror to see that her panties and stockings were suddenly missing. Magic, she reminded herself, and then rational thought fled as Loki pressed her lithe body against hers.

"Oh, Natasha," she whispered. "You feel so good."

Natasha returned the sentiment with a soft hum and an arched back. Her appetites had always been flexible as necessary, but she found Loki's deliciously feminine softness erotic without any mental encouragement. They kissed for a long moment, lips and tongues and arms and legs twining and sliding to their sighs and murmurs.

Encouraged by her eager responses, Loki moved lower, drawing her tongue along the crease of Natasha's cleavage, and then dipping it into the recess of her navel. She slipped between her legs, determined to return the favor, but suddenly she hesitated.

She knew that at one point she had been good at this. Her former self had earned something of a reputation for it, and the eponymous 'silver-tongue' had served as a double entendre for centuries. But having now experienced it first hand cast it in an entirely new light, and she wondered if any of the tricks and techniques he had picked up were any good.

Sensing her reluctance, Natasha reached down to brush a hand over her head. "Loki, you don't have to if—" the end of her sentence was lost in a surprised cry as Loki went at it with a determined vigor.

She quickly had Natasha clutching the covers and mewling her name, but in some way it wasn't enough. She knew that He could do this for her, that He probably did, and she wanted, as always, to be better than him. With a smirk, she cast a small spell that made the tips of her fingers tingle, and then slipped two of them into Natasha's warm, moist center, mimicking the same beckoning motion she had used on her earlier.

Natasha let out a string of Russian invectives at the unique sensation, and then lost the capacity for coherent thought as fireworks seemed to go off in her brain. When her vision cleared, Loki was hovering over her with an oddly familiar smirk on her face.

"Did you like that?" she asked mockingly, the answer obvious.

"I think," Natasha scowled playfully, "that you give new meaning to the phrase magic hands," and with that she flipped Loki onto her back, which made her giggle, and proceeded to take her revenge.


Hours later, Natasha lay awake, staring up at the mirror on the ceiling. Loki was fast asleep, worn out, and clung to her side like a life preserver. They had changed into their pajamas, and when Loki had cautiously crawled back into Natasha's arms, she had been unable to refuse her. She was unfamiliar with post-coital affection, but had grown used to Loki's possessive moods afterwards. Who knew the god of mischief liked to cuddle?

She looked down at her sleeping face, expecting to find it untroubled and relaxed. Instead, she slept with a small crease between her eyebrows, as if something bothered her, even while unconscious. For a moment, Natasha pictured an affection-starved little boy rocking himself to sleep in a lonely, oversized palace bedroom. It made her remember her dream of the Snow Queen, of Loki as the lost little frozen boy, Kai. No wonder Loki was a little fucked-up in the emotional department; she didn't know what a normal childhood was like, but she was pretty sure he hadn't gotten one either.

Natasha kissed the little crease, and was inordinately pleased to see it smooth away. A sense of suspicion rose to mirror the warm feeling in her heart, but she quashed it down. She wanted her friend to be happy, where was the harm in that? It didn't mean she was going soft. She nestled against Loki comfortably, and closed her eyes to sleep.


A/N: So, that is officially my first time writing a non-het sex scene. I haven't had to use that much imagination since before I got married! lol. I think it turned out alright, but I would really appreciate feedback.

I would like to respond to a particularly good guest review by "faithful reader." You, my friend, are right on. I want to address your comments because I figure if one person is thinking it, there's probably more.

Yes, Natasha has been through hell sexually, and if you recall earlier conversations between her and Loki and Dr. Bryardie, she does not swing that way, probably for those very reasons. But she's never going to admit that's why, even to herself. As she becomes more emotionally invested in her relationship with Loki, she'll have to examine these issues more closely. But also keep in mind there are many different degrees of BDSM, and Loki has a very creative mind. I could say more, but I don't want to spoil anything. You'll just have to keep reading!

But I want you and any other readers concerned about these issues to know I'm not going to pull a "oh, it's ok because they're in LOOOOVE now." I hate that. As someone who isn't exactly conventional in her tastes who is in a relationship with someone who is as vanilla as they come, I know it can be a very long road to understanding and acceptance... but it can also bring you closer.

Ok, now I'M rambling lol. Tune in on Saturday for Dude Loki's reaction in Chapter 52: The Morning After!