Another week had passed. There was only one day in which Dahlia had time to hunt Nightmares. She had to give a statement to the police about the incident at the hotel. An agent from S.H.I.E.L.D. had also given a very similar statement - one that did nothing to contradict her story, and so, after several hours, she was finally let go.
Thor had offered assistance on more than one occasion, to help her take the rest of the creatures down, but she had already insisted before that she didn't want to drag him into the disaster she had created.
By the weekend, Dahlia was mentally and physically drained. She couldn't find the motivation to see her own mission to its completion.
She had tried calling Sam on a number of occasions, all of which ended in voicemails or nothing at all. It was still an extreme slap in the face - one she supposed she deserved.
No matter how many people she tried to save, she always fell short somewhere.
She stood on the back balcony from her room, overlooking the lake beyond the back yard. Since she had gotten comfortable, she would get the occasional visit from stray felines. Once she started feeding them, their appearances became more and more frequent. They were the only company she received nowadays.
Living in a secluded home like this was always nice, but being away from the city and the lights made her realize just how alone she really was.
Once again, as she held her necklace in her hand, she knew she was only but so alone after some time. The voice that stirred startled the two cats away from the balcony.
"If you're waiting for some sort of thanks, you're not getting it," she said sourly.
He was behind her, standing in the bedroom and apparently looking at her array of paintings on the wall - all of which had been here before her, really.
"Oh, no, it's not that." Loki, who had his hands folded behind his back, turned to look at her with genuine curiosity. With his dark, Asgardian clothes of black and emerald, he practically blended in with the darkness of the room. "I've just been noticing how secluded you are from this world. Even Thor has shown concern."
"Thor knows I'm fine. Neither of you have anything to worry about." Her voice was relatively sarcastic.
"But we do," Loki corrected, stepping forward yo the balcony door. "The Nightmares will continue to spread as long as you keep this self-hatred within you. You need help."
"And I suppose you think you're the one to do it?"
He opened his mouth, but Dahlia went on before he could speak.
"Give me one good reason why I should trust you, the God of Mischief, of all people." Dahlia scoffed, her smile more sarcastic. "You're probably not even here." As if to prove her point, she threw the amulet at him.
Loki raised his hand, and for a moment, it might have felt as if time had stopped as it fell into his fingers.
"I am here."
There was a pause, and she didn't know what to feel - what to think. Then, as he came closer, his next words made her realize her worst fear...
"You don't have to do this on your own. Allow someone to help you with this burden."
...She wanted him to be here. She wanted him to...
No. He was far too close for comfort. So, why wasn't she pushing him away? Why was he coming in even closer?
His hand was on the side of her neck now, his thumb brushed along her cheek. He wanted the same thing she did; it was so painfully evident now, so why was she so scared?
She could feel his breath on her lips, and between one heartbeat and another, she surrendered to the kiss. Dahlia closed her eyes. For once, she was able to put all the guilt and the pain in the past. She could confide in someone. She could trust him...
But she really couldn't trust him.
It took all of her strength to pull back. "No..." she whispered, and she was almost surprised to see Loki's pained expression looking back at her. Then again, that could have been an act, too. "I can't..."
Once he dropped the necklace, he seized her wrist - not necessarily with force, but more with...desperation. He didn't say anything, but she knew he didn't want her to make him leave.
A small part of her felt the same way.
Then, to her surprise, his lips grazed the burn mark on her wrist. Her body gave a shudder, which she wished she would have been able to suppress. "Loki." She whispered, her breath slightly shortened. He didn't respond - at least, not vocally. Instead, he pulled her closer in, his other hand moving to the back of her head now.
She had anticipated aggression - it was all she had known so far, so why would now be any different? Yet, his mouth waited for her this time, just a couple of inches from hers. Dahlia gave in, unsure whether or not it was simply her nature as a demigod that led her to do it.
She sounded a soft moan against the kiss, her body molding into his as she surrendered. At this moment in time, she was free of her pain. She was at peace, even with flames of desire licking at her skin.
Her fingers found his black hair, tugging at the locks as the kiss grew hotter. She knew she could stop at any time, but at this point, there was no fiber in her being that wanted to. She just wanted to feel something else for a change.
She pulled Loki back into the bedroom, her hands working at the leather covering his torso. His fingers slid beneath the fabric of her robe, brushing her shoulders to remove the ivory and black silk. Bit by bit, pieces of clothes pooled on the floor, a trail leading from the balcony towards the bed as he would firmly lay her down.
Dahlia felt oddly helpless beneath him, naked and vulnerable, and yet, on a greater plane than that of Valhalla. Now that she thought about it, it had been many decades since she last succumbed to the pleasures of the flesh.
The winter air that pierced through the open door from the balcony caused her nipples to harden, and as if he had noticed, Loki took upon warming one of them with his mouth. Then, he moved to the other.
She gasped, her body flinching up into an arch from the mattress. Yet, Dahlia was not one to simply lay down and let a man just take her, no matter if he was a god or not.
Shifting all of her weight to one side, she forced him onto his back, pinning him beneath her weight. His hands grazed her bare thighs, and he stared up at her, as if challenging her to keep going with whatever she had planned.
And that plan, she realized, was going to have to change.
She knew this was the most immoral thing she could be doing right now. Loki was nothing but trouble - an orphaned bastard of Odin that may as well have been the cause of his adoptive father's death. Anything he ever did was for his own gain, and even attempting to seduce a Valkyrie could be no different.
Whether it was strictly for his pleasure, or if there was something more sinister planned, she couldn't be sure, but she wasn't about to wait around to find out the consequences.
She chose her next move carefully. Her body would shift against his, and she sounded a moan. Beneath her, so did Loki. Beneath his pants, he was harder than steel. Her black underwear was soaked. If there was any greater challenge in the world than protecting Asgard, it was fighting her lust at this very moment.
The ribbon of her removed robe still laid on the sheets close by. She grabbed it in an instant, rapidly using it to tie his hands. She would summon one of her twin blades, securing the silk ribbon to its hilt before embedding it into the headboard.
He wouldn't be going anywhere.
"Tricky," he said with a disappointed look. He gave a tug on the binding. "I almost won you over."
Climbing off of him, though it hadn't been easy, Dahlia regained her composure. She behaved much calmer than she really felt within. "Almost doesn't count," she said. "Besides, I understand you enough to know you're up to something."
"How would this benefit me?" he asked, lifting his head slightly. "Aside from the obvious, of course..."
She wanted to slap that amused grin off of his face.
"How would I know?" she scoffed, grabbing for her cell phone. "I just know better than to trust you." She would dial Thor's number to inform him of the situation, that Loki needed to be under close watch, but it went to voicemail.
"Thor, your brother is causing trouble again. I suggest you come collect him at my house before I finish him."
She hung up the phone, setting down the device on the table before she would turn around to collect her robe. Just as she straightened, however, she turned to see he was no longer on the bed. Suddenly, she was shoved down into the mattress, her cheek pushed against the sheets.
"Go on, then," Loki's breath fanned against her neck. "Finish it." She tried to push her hands against the bed to force him off, but as fingers pressed against her sex, she cried out in uncontrollable delight.
Damnit. That wasn't supposed to happen.
"We still have time."
He forced her to roll over, and before she could stop him, her legs were forced to spread and reveal their secrets to him - that they hid her true desires, no matter how much she tried to fight them.
Yet, just as his hand had rediscovered her center, it was taken away in an instant.
"It appears my brother received your message after all..." Her chin was entrapped between his fingers for a moment. "We'll have to continue this some other time."
Loki was off of the bed in the blink of an eye. He seemed smug enough, as if he had gained the upper hand in all of this. Dahlia growled irritably, watching as he casually pulled his clothes back over his toned torso.
The Valkyrie sat up in alarm, her platinum hair a bustling mess about a face of disbelief. She knew this meant that the God of Thunder was on his way, but Loki had already disappeared by the time she realized this.
"Shit!"
Quickly, she pulled her robe on, heavily breathing as she gathered herself together. She heard the door open from downstairs, and as she came down the steps, she heard Thor's voice bellow from below.
"Dahlia? Loki?"
"He's already gotten away," she huffed, crossing her arms against her gut.
"What has he done now?" he demanded, as if he was asking about a trouble-making child.
"He..." Dahlia inhaled, really not wanting to surrender too many details. "He came in unannounced." Thor, however, could not be fooled.
"What did he do?"
It's not like I can't take care of myself, she thought bitterly. She was tempted to just send him away. After all, she hadn't anticipated that Loki would escape his restraints so easily.
"I think he was...trying to seduce me..."
That was kind of bullshit, but there was no way she was about to tell Thor that she had been going along with it up until her reasoning kicked in.
He gave her a dumbfounded look, then, to her surprise, he started to laugh. "Is that all?"
Dahlia couldn't believe he was taking this so lightly. "What?" she insisted. "He's got to be up to something, right?"
"Perhaps, but...as predictable as my brother has been as of late, I can't imagine what. He probably just admires you. A lot."
Dahlia scoffed. Maybe she was overexaggerating her act of disgust. "I don't trust him."
"Good, because I don't either." He smiled. "I will speak with him. If he comes back, let me know."