Thank you for the lovely reviews! Y'all are so awesome. :D Surprised that no one commented on another cross-over line from After the Fall, tho! Did y'all miss it? Let's see who saw it! *heh* It was fun writing him beating his brain against the brick wall of impossibility, possibly because I am just a mean, mean meanie. As to the reviewer who pointed out that they didn't see a happy ending coming in this one (sorry I didn't write down your name and can't remember now!), you know, I really honestly have no idea whatsoever on that score. I mean, I know some of the things that are going to happen, but Happily Ever After? *shrugs* I do not know.
And now for a scene that fought me tooth and nail. Here's hoping I wrestled it into some form of coherence after all that angst! And I cannot WAIT to see what y'all think of this one. Yes, darlings, that's a hint. On with the show!
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A wave of ice washed over Taryn from head to toe although she tried to keep her sudden fear from showing. She refused to think about all she would lose no matter what he chose–if he went through with his plans for conquest, everything she knew would change and not for the better. But if he chose her, didn't the same apply?
No, don't think about it, Taryn thought fiercely. She wanted him to choose her. Sacrificing one person for an entire planet's freedom? Logically, it was the best possible bargain.
It was just getting to the point where that one person was her that was giving her pause.
Loki was watching her so carefully that she wondered how much of her foreboding had shown on her face. She lifted her chin with a confidence she didn't feel. "You've chosen?" she prompted when he continued to merely look at her and showed no sign of speaking.
He nodded and gently, almost lovingly, cupped her cheek in one hand. "I want you," he murmured, and the bottom fell out of her stomach.
"You–you do?"
He laughed at her astonishment. "So surprised, darling? I thought you were trading on that hope. Was I wrong?"
"No!" The word came out too quickly and Taryn's cheeks heated. "I mean, no, of course not," she said more calmly. "I'm just… surprised, that's all. I didn't know which way you'd go. But yes, I am glad."
His smile didn't quite reach his eyes, she suddenly noticed. At almost the same instant, Loki pulled her closer and rubbed the pad of his thumb over her lower lip. "I pray you enjoy all my surprises so much," he whispered, and then he kissed her.
And there was this about the devil's bargain she'd just made–when Loki kissed her, Taryn couldn't think at all, and no part of her wanted to be anywhere but in his arms with his mouth dominating hers. He could make her forget everything with astonishing swiftness. She didn't fight it. Right now, she wanted to forget everything she was giving up... her life, her home, her world, her freedom.
She'd expected the kiss to go on longer but Loki pulled away after only a bare few seconds. "The so-called superheroes," he murmured against her lips. "They are coming, yes?" She nodded, not fully trusting her voice, and he nipped her lower lip and swept his tongue over the sting before going on, "How long until they arrive?"
Taryn tried to think. It wasn't easy, especially since Loki had backed her up against the bar and was kissing his way across her jaw. "I–I had an hou–oh!" she said, gasping when he suckled her earlobe for a moment before biting it. "When I got here, an hour," she tried again, and now his hand was against the bare skin of her back, fingers restless, as his tongue explored the shell of her ear, and he was doing it again–it was cheating, it wasn't fair, using that other life to know just how to take her apart so effectively. "How long–oh, god–how long have I been here?"
"JARVIS?" Loki said, barely pausing in his explorations, and the AI answered immediately, "Twenty four minutes, madam."
"That gives us just over half an hour," Loki said, and he pulled away from her ear and looked down at her with a wicked smile. "Barely enough time, yet we must make the best of what we are given."
Taryn's head was spinning–oh, he could short-circuit her brain far too easily with that mouth of his, and even though she knew the bitter origin of the name, she couldn't deny that Loki had become the Seducer of Asgard in truth indeed. "Wh–no, you can't mean–here? Now?" she stammered, and he grinned as if delighted by her hesitation.
"Oh, my sweet lady," he murmured affectionately, grasping both her hands and drawing her toward the wall of closed doors. His smile widened. "Shall we use Stark's own bed, hmm?"
Taryn knew she was gaping at him and couldn't stop. Then his last question sank in. "Stark!" she gasped. "He'll arrive before the others–"
"Mr. Stark should arrive in approximately thirty two minutes and fourteen seconds, madam," JARVIS broke in.
Loki waved a hand and a door opened. "No time to waste," he said, and swept her up in his arms before she could react.
But Taryn had regained some of her wits with the pause and pressed a hand against his chest as if that could halt him. She would hate the Avengers to arrive and find her naked in bed with this man they'd declared their enemy. After all, none of them knew exactly what she was planning–Tony might've guessed, but even he wasn't sure. She hadn't thought to ever see them again if Loki chose her. She'd hoped they'd never truly know of her betrayal–they might suspect, Stark especially, but not for sure. It had been one of the very few comforts she had. "But right now?" she protested again as Loki carried her into a bedroom so opulent she had to believe it really was Stark's. "Shouldn't we get away first?"
Loki laid her gently on the bed and traced a fingertip over her cheek. "Give me this time, please," he whispered. "Nothing can be done until they arrive to learn of my decision and I can think of no more pleasant way to await their arrival. I will not allow them to see you, if that is your concern," he added as if just thinking of it. "We will not be, as they say, caught in the act."
Taryn swallowed hard and finally gave in. She'd told him she would share his bed if he chose her, yet here she was, balking right away. "All right," she whispered, and she saw Loki's smile an instant before he kissed her again.
The bed dipped beside her as he joined her on the bed, his mouth never leaving hers. Taryn opened her lips to his questing tongue and shivered as he took the invitation and branded her with his taste and desire. She raised her arms to wrap around his neck and felt not cool leather and cold metal, but soft linen. Peeking briefly confirmed that he'd somehow gotten rid of his intimidating armor and now wore only simple black linen.
But that was all she had time to see because he ran a hand down her side and she abruptly felt the kiss of cool air as her own clothing vanished. "JARVIS, a five minute warning, if you please," Loki said, and then his mouth and hands set to exploring the skin he'd just exposed, and all Taryn could do was gasp and moan.
His fingertips traced tingling patterns over her shoulders, her arms, each hand. Taryn forced her eyes open and saw a faint green light sinking beneath her skin in the wake of his touch. "What's that?" she gasped, half-sitting up as alarm eclipsed her desire, remembering that blue-light haze over the eyes of his mind-controlled minions.
But Loki raised his head from where he'd been licking a path over her collarbone and pressed tender kisses to her jaw, her nose, her temple. "Protective spells," he murmured, "nothing more than protective spells, darling." His lips feathered caresses over her eyelids. "I will not bewitch you, my Taryn, my word upon it," he breathed, "trust me, surrender to me, believe that I will do anything to keep you safe."
And somehow she knew he spoke the truth even before he offered his word. "I trust you," she whispered, more than a little stunned to discover it was true, and she allowed herself to succumb to his sensual spell again.
It seemed there wasn't an inch of her he didn't touch, didn't kiss, didn't trace those runes over and bless. Taryn did her own share of touching, pulling his shirt off and revealing that tightly muscled chest again, discovering that he moaned when she raked her nails over his nipples and swore when she bit him. She was hardly aware of wrapping her legs around him, only realizing it when he pressed hard against her, trembling just as hard as she.
Finally Loki buried his face in her hair, holding her so tight it was just shy of painful, but that was all right because she was holding him just as hard, and he groaned into her hair, "It's not enough, it's not enough, I want more time," in a voice that was nearly a sob and sank into her before she could reply.
Then everything was heat, and glorious friction, straining and reaching for that pinnacle even as she wanted to put off the end as long as possible–but it wasn't possible, surely she couldn't take this much pleasure, but he thrust into her over and over again, taking her higher than she'd ever been before–ecstasy built, overwhelming, and Taryn was digging her nails into his shoulders and her heels into his back and Loki was groaning her name over and over–abruptly it was all too much and her orgasm took her, threw her into the stars and only reluctantly flung her back to Earth into Loki's arms as he came inside her with a cry that sounded of equal parts joy and pain.
It felt like an eternity that they lay together in the aftermath. Taryn held Loki close, eyes closed, savoring the feeling of him still inside her as long as possible, and he rolled so that she was atop him and caressed her hair and her back with a hand that shook. As if she needed more confirmation, that showed her that he was just as affected by the unexpected power of their lovemaking as she'd been. I can be happy with him, Taryn thought, realizing it with a jolt of welcome surprise. I really can. Thank God for that.
It was JARVIS who broke the spell with a quiet, "Forgive me, sir, but Mr. Stark is on pace to arrive in five minutes."
Taryn finally raised her head from his chest and smiled down at him, but Loki didn't return her smile. He closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath, then let it out slowly before opening his eyes and looking at her again. It looked like he was going to speak, but he didn't. Instead, he pulled her down and kissed her–brief, fierce, possessive, nearly desperate–before releasing her and sitting up on the edge of the bed, his back to her.
An instant later, his armor was on once more. Taryn also sat and started to clutch the sheet to her chest when she realized that she was dressed again, too. "That's a neat trick," she said, reaching out to him, but Loki stood before she could touch him. She frowned when he walked to the bedroom door without a backward glance. "Loki?"
He stopped with his hand on the doorknob. "You will be safe if you remain in this room," he said in a low, tight voice, as if he struggled to get the words out.
"Safe?" she echoed, also standing. "Safe from what?"
Loki turned and finally met her gaze. "From the battle, Taryn."
For an instant, she didn't understand. Then realization dawned with a feeling like when she'd been shot in the back. Taryn stared at him wide-eyed, searching his face desperately for any sign that this was a bad joke, seeing none. "I don't–I don't understand," she whispered, but she did understand and all she could do was hope against hope that she was wrong. "What battle?" Maybe she was jumping to conclusions, reading false intentions into his actions–
But Loki looked away as though unable to hold her gaze any longer. "You know what battle, darling." He flexed his hands, looking down at them, then up at the ceiling–anywhere but at her. "My army arrives soon. I will not allow you to be caught in the crossfire. In here, you will not be harmed."
Taryn sat down abruptly on the bed as all the strength left her knees. Her body still felt loose and blissful and sated, making it hard to think, to comprehend what was happening. "But you chose me," she said in a small voice, so confused, still fighting against the soul-deep sense of betrayal. "You chose me."
But then she remembered exactly what he'd said. I've made my choice… I want you. Not I choose you but I want you. It had only been a trick to get her into bed, nothing more. Taryn pressed a hand to her mouth against the bile rising in her throat. She'd never imagined such humiliation. "You lied to me," she choked out, feeling as though there wasn't enough air in the room. "You made me come to you like a whore and then you lied."
Loki's fists clenched and his face tightened as if she'd struck him. But when he opened his mouth to speak, Taryn beat him to it. "Don't you dare say you spoke the truth," she hissed, surging to her feet, furious enough to wish she had some means to hurt him as he'd hurt her, and if there had been any weapon in that room she'd have used it on him without hesitation. She'd never been so angry. Her ears rang with it and tears of rage welled in her eyes. She dashed them impatiently away. "But hey, at least you got what you wanted from me, right? The whore put out and you got laid before your big battle. Good for you."
His gaze shot to hers, his own anger now rising. "Stop it," he growled, low and dangerous. "Don't cheapen what we shared."
She scoffed. "I didn't cheapen it, Loki. You did." He took a step toward her but Taryn's glare, full of all her hate, stopped him in his tracks. She crossed her arms over the ache in her chest. "You know, maybe I should even feel flattered, right? After all, you're a god and I'm just a lowly mortal. Should I get down on my knees and thank you for the divine dicking?"
Loki was breathing deeply now, clearly holding onto his temper with both hands. "You owe me two boons," he said in a voice like gravel.
Taryn laughed bitterly. "Oh, of course, how could I forget that? You're not done fucking me. What do you want now? My pride? My self-respect? No, wait, you already took those."
She could hear his knuckles pop from across the room and was glad that she was getting to him. It could never be enough to overcome the humiliation and pain she felt right now, but any kind of revenge was better than none.
He still didn't lose his temper, though. "The first boon. If you find yourself with child from this, you will tell Thor," Loki said through gritted teeth.
Taryn gaped at him for a moment. Then she laughed again, a sound utterly without humor. "If you think for one instant I'm going to have your child–"
Abruptly he was in her face, grasping both arms tight. "You will tell Thor," he snarled in her face. "You owe me this! Swear it!"
Taryn didn't. She lifted her chin and glared right back at him. "Unless your godly sperm is super-charged, I think a Plan B pill will take care of it, so I see no need to swear a damn thing to you."
He swore in some other language and didn't release her. "If you carry my child for so much as an instant the Æsir and the Chitauri will know it, and they will come for you no matter if you rid yourself of the babe or not," he ground out. "Thor is the only one who could defend you. Do you understand me? This is for your protection! Swear you will tell him!"
She saw the reasoning well enough and still didn't want to give him her word, just to needle him. But finally she nodded stiffly. Of course she would be on his enemies' radar now. She really had no choice but to agree and he knew it. "And the second request?" she said, her tone now tired, defeated. She should've known better than to try and bargain with the Wordsmith. She spent her life teaching mythology, damn it! She knew mortals never won when they tried to bargain with the gods–most especially the God of Lies.
Loki held her arms for a long moment before releasing her. He turned silently and walked to the door. Only when his hand rested on the doorknob did he finally speak. "Forgive me," he said softly, still facing away from her. "I had no choice."
Taryn wanted to laugh. She wanted to fling those words in his face and make him choke on them. But the pain in his voice stopped her from that, even if it didn't do a thing to ease her own. "You did have a choice. I would've given up everything for you," she whispered. "I would've left it all behind. All you had to do was say the word."
His shoulders were rigid and his knuckles white on the knob. "I would have given almost anything to have said it," he replied quietly. "But the Chitauri… are not forgiving of broken vows. Would you truly wish to spend the rest of your days running from them, only to know they would capture and kill you in the end no matter what you do?"
She remembered the glimpses of the torture Loki had endured in Chitauri custody. Her own brief stint at Fury's hands was a day at the beach by comparison. She swallowed hard, imagining herself in Loki's place, torn apart and tormented as his punishment. Then she forced her next words out, knowing they remained true even if the one was her. "One life for an entire planet is still a good deal, Loki."
"Not to me."
The sound of the door closing behind him was barely audible, yet it struck her like a blow. Taryn curled into a ball on the bed where she'd so recently known such bliss and wept with complete despair.
