Hey bbs :) Just a lil warning this chapter contains highkey mature themes. much smut ykno ;). If y'all wanna skip past that it starts at the lil *** and ends at the next lil ***. But just bear in mind that even if there is no plot within it, you may miss out on some... a lot of character and relationship development.

ACE'S POV

My heart felt decidedly heavier as I lay, curled up under the silk sheet. I didn't have the strength to leave just yet. But when the sunrise finally showed itself I'd be gone. Back to Charlie, back home, back where I was comfortable. Or at least, as comfortable as I possibly could ever be.

I shook my head, clearing the phantom feeling of Loki's steady heartbeat against my head from my mind as I turned under the covers, irritably watching the constant shower of streaking comets in the sky just outside my window. I was frustrated. In every sense of the word. He'd left me shaken, defenseless, and vulnerable. As he always did. Every. Damn. Time.

I rolled my eyes and rolled onto my back, tracing the cracks in the ceiling with my eyes as I tried to ignore the aggravation that was building slowly inside me. Every inch of me felt uncomfortable, too hot, And itching for the arms of another. Of a certain other. My chest constricted painfully as he swam into my mind for what seemed like the hundredth time in the past hour, crushing my ribs under the weight of the guilt that cling like sodden cloth to me, burdening and sewn into my skin with the recollection of his hurt expression just before he'd left. There was a lingering nerve in the back of my mind as well. Something that sparked alight periodically. Something so foreign but so familiar. Something haunting and affectionate. Something so very...him.

It jumped alive again with the ceaseless energy of a striking match held to the wick of a deadly pile of explosives which I held in my hand as I watched the fire dance closer. Lighting up the hand that held the match. His hand. Again his deep emerald gaze flashed poignantly before my wide open stare, glinting in the dark of the room. I felt the crushing again. I felt the sharp twist in my gut. I felt the thick haze of blissful intoxication flood my skull. I felt my feet hit the floor.

Fuck this.

"Hey." I supplied passively, eyeing Raoul and Kuz standing in the corridor either side of the door as I let it swing shut behind me. Kuz' eyes shifted to me as I turned around in front of them to face them, still eliciting no acknowledgement from the stoic, statuesque figure of Raoul, as was to be expected.

"Damn, again with the stoic, shit-smelling face." I commented off-handedly, staring at the poised guard that still wouldn't even spare me a glance. I'd have almost believed he couldn't hear or see me if it weren't for the near imperceptible twitch of his eyebrow as I spoke. Kustaar just looked confused.

"Shit-smelling?" He queried, wrinkling his nose in attempt to locate the phantom smell as his eyes flitted from me to Raoul.

"That stern grimace he wears, like he's just stepped in a horrific smelling pile of shit but is still trying to be professional about it." I explained, finally swivelling his heavy gaze toward me as he stared down at me with a distinct distaste. I raised my arms in mock surrender, trying not to smirk.

"I mean don't get me wrong, it's a hot face. All authoritative and that. I mean I'd happily ride it til the sun came up. Come to think of it, I'd even consider riding you until the sun came up. But you know. I have at least a shred of dignity left." I rambled airily, watching Raoul's penetrative glare as his eyebrows lifted up a little and his eyes narrowed as they flashed vibrantly with something dark, his pupils growing wide as he observed me carefully. His expression was still as blank as ever though and I smirked as I turned to Kustaar, grinning wider when I saw the look of blatant surprise and disbelief staining his face. I let out a low laugh and looked him over.

"You too Kuz." I piped up, winking. He seemed to shake himself out of it and laughed a little shaking his head as Raoul cleared his throat, bringing my gaze back to meet his intense stare once more. And once more, my stomach fluttered a little. Fuck these fucking hormones.

"Ah, you see, Loki would have us hanging by our throats with our guts pulled through our asses if we so much as thought about that." Kustaar sighed regretfully as I let out a quiet laugh and tried to ignore the feel of Raoul's intense stare trained on me.

"Guess I'm condemned then." Raoul uttered smoothly, drawing my gaze back to him and confirming my instinct that his flashing ice hues were carefully watching me. I bit my cheek to quell the irritating fluttering sensation and tore my eyes from him when I'd finally gathered the strength.

"So what's the deal then are all asgardians hot? Is it like some kind of superior race of-" My query fell and died on my lips as I sensed footsteps and quickly snapped my head toward the source, seeing a tall curvacious maid with flowing ebony hair and sandy toned, pristine skin walk along the corridor towards us purposefully, her stride hurried but elegant. She nodded toward the guards and her eyes lingered on me for a glorious moment before she'd passed us and carried on down the long hallway.

I stared for a second longer, drinking in the sight of her before she'd turned the corner, then I dropped my shoulders and blew out a steady breath.

"That's a yes then." I muttered under my breath, suddenly feeling only the slightest bit inclined to stay in this realm a little longer now that I'd experienced their standards of beauty. I briefly considered the deteriorating state of what would become a life here and bit my tongue, feeling an uncomfortable chill run through me when that nagging alarm spread icily over my mind again, reminding me of the prominent issue that I knew all too well, but was strongly avoiding acknowledging it.

one of the guards cleared their throat, knocking me out of my little reverie before I could fall in too deep.

"Where are you going." Raoul queried bluntly, raising the question like he'd recited it and had no interest for the answer.

"Leaving so soon?" Kustaar piped up curiously, staring down at me with an almost sympathetic glint in his brown eyes, dancing bright golden in the flames of the wall mounted torches flickering around us. I pulled the hem of my nightshirt down and looked away from him, observing the markings on the door arch as I sighed, resenting then answer I had, prepared.

"No. I need you to take me to Lok- the King's bedr- quarters. I need to speak with him and I don't know my way round this dumb castle." I uttered coolly, ignoring the well shaped form of Kustaars eyebrows steadily rising in a disbelieving arch as I spoke, my tone hushed and unnervingly transparent. His stare glittered devilishly and a small smirk crossed his mouth as I narrowed my eyes in what I thought to be an intimidating flash of warning. But he only smiled wider and opened his mouth to speak.

"Visitors not permitted after 10 pm." A cool, deep voice ground out smoothly, swiftly before Kustaar could say a word. I bit back my frown and turned to Raoul as his astonishing blue eyes swivelled towards me, flashing brilliantly even under the dim lighting. His mouth pulled into an attractive half smirk for only a second, before it fell again, his eyes staying trained on mine. Despite myself I let out a short laugh, my lips twitching up as I slowly raked my gaze over him, only briefly glancing Kustaar's way simultaneously.

"You said it yourself, Raoul... I'm a 'special case'." I recited lowly, grinning devilishly as his gaze dipped down over me before returning to its favoured place against my own steely glare. His eyebrow twitched ever so slightly, still never giving away his expression's true intent.

"Master Loki wouldn't exactly mind her visiting would he?" Kustaar whispered, shrugging, and I bit my lip, muttering a quiet 'wouldn't bet on it.' Under my breath as Raoul just let out a heavy breath and returned his gaze to the wall.

"You know, I don't get it." Kustaar mused as we strolled down a corridor identical to the last one, and the one before that. I looked up at him, raising an eyebrow.

"You have the chance to have all of this. The castle, the people, the money, the vaults...the king....but you want to leave?" Kustaar implored, looking wistfully around at the lavishly decorated halls as I rolled my eyes. How the hell did they even know about that?

"We heard your argument...through the wall." Kustaar explained brightly as if he'd been reading my mind, which, now that I thought about it was not too far fetched an idea. So, frowning, I pulled the steel walls up over around my consciousness as I'd been trained to way before all this, and tried to refrain from peeking inside Kustaar's head just to make sure.

I raised my eyebrow again, shuffling along beside them as I let out an incoherent mumble and ignored Kustaar's question.

"It just doesn't make sense to me." He sighed almost to himself, looking like he was off in his own world as I narrowed my eyes and finally faced him fully.

"She doesn't belong here." Raoul answered for me before I could even get the words out.

"Raoul." Kustaar reprimanded him lightly, tutting as he sent him a deploring glance. But I just bit my cheek and carried on walking. I noticed Raoul's tone hadn't been malicious in any way as Kuz had taken it. His comment wasn't a spiteful jab or a display of his obvious dislike toward me. It was simply a statement. His words sounding Almost understanding as he'd spoken, still avoiding my gaze. His bright icy stare accosted me for a mere second, confirming my prediction with the knowing glint that sparked alive in his aqua gaze, before they flitted away and it was like it had never happened.

I exhaled heavily and looked back to Kustaar as we began to slow down in front of a large, wooden set of double doors, regally outlined with an ornate doorframe. Figures. I shot out an arm, grabbing Kustaar's wrist before he could knock his knuckles against the silent wood, crying out in surrendering submission that screamed of our presence.

I clenched my jaw and let go of him once he'd got the message, giving him a quick nod and only briefly acknowledging Raoul before I'd swallowed my trepidation, and clicked the door open, venturing inside as all the boundaries I'd stacked one by one fell noiselessly in a deafening capitulation.

He was sat in a plush green armchair by the fire when I entered, brow furrowed, posture that seemed forcefully relaxed in an incredibly tense way that kept him strung taut, becoming impossibly tighter wound when my first footstep sounded.

The book in his hand was held still, unmoved as he kept his eyes fixed to the one spot on the page. I swear I watched his indignant hostility ripple over his every muscle as he expelled a heavy breath, still refusing to spare me a glance even when I dared a risky play with another crippling step towards him.

"People usually knock." He stated bluntly, his smooth semibreve tone winding delightfully around the crisp, sticcato crackling that churned up within the fireplace beneath the thrashing flames.

"You knew it was me."

"At this time of night. Who else?" I nodded my approval, sourly batting away the intrusive, mental images of local prostitutes coming to visit the god at this late hour to 'satisfy his needs'. Now that wasn't a pleasant notion to explore was it? I probably would've been inclined to make a joke about it, but the wave of odd possessiveness that had come over me seemed to mix badly with the frustration I already felt in a churning fire of need that sparked alight once more. I was already soaked with the fuel to send it into a roaring wildfire that brought an impossible heat to my flushed skin.

Now I'd stopped moving. I let the throttling desire wind around my senses as I stared at him, my vision shrouded in red around the breathtaking vision of his tense expression under the candlelight. And finally, he looked up to acknowledge me; face easing, tired eyes widening when they observed the black corruption in merely my stare alone, his brow furrowing upon the observation of the high flush against my cheeks.

The hand elevating the book lowered slightly as his posture subconsciously opened up to my figure approaching, his eyes were glassy, so dark they almost perfectly formed the distorted mirror image of me before him against his glittering gaze. I finally reached the spot just before his lap, stopping as I stared down at him, resentfully displaying my irrepressible need and the sheer feeling he stirred up within me.

"Look at you," He scoffed mockingly

"practically begging for m-" I cut him off with a flick of my wrist as I sent his book to the floor from where I was stood with a wave of energy, he only lifted a brow and lowered his gaze, raking an acknowledging stare over my minimally clad figure with ever darkening eyes that sent my desire spiralling ever higher. But, he still made no move towards me.

I clenched my jaw in effort to refrain from rolling my eyes at his pettiness. He couldn't seriously still be mad about a couple of hours ago could he?

I exhaled a shakily stubborn breath of gentle submission and deftly shed my satin-like night robe I'd found hidden in the closet that made me feel like an 'oh so innocent' wife from the 60's who it turns out had actually been the cause of her unfortunate rich husbands untimely death. Underneath the flowing material I wore one of my favourite lingerie sets that coincidentally also made me feel like a badass wife from the 60's.

I watched a single dancing flame run feral and untameable in his widening eyes as they appreciatively scoured every inch of the black lace and thin straps. His lips parted as a steady, longing breath fell shamelessly from between them, huskily becoming a soft growl toward the end that almost sent me falling against him with the weakness that fell through me, reducing my legs to flimsy paper as I wavered ever so slightly. A single, coarsely uttered curse word shot from his mouth and I let go of any restraint I had left, leaning forward as I grabbed his face and crashed my lips against his with no more than a passing glance back at my previous inhibitions.

A slight groan rumbled up from the base of his throat as he returned the kiss with as much vigour, running his cool hands along my thighs as I swiftly climbed up onto his lap, straddling his legs. I'd fucking missed this. I tangled my hand deep into his familiar soft locks as he parted my lips and I thrust my tongue into his open mouth, letting the soft moan fall from my lips into his as he bit my lower lip softly, but with enough pressure to display his lingering anger. I moved up further against him, rolling my hips into his ever so slightly as he sucked against my lower lip, eliciting another helpless moan.

I was breathless, my heart cracking against my sternum with enough force to trigger an earthquake. I was more alive than I'd ever been. And then, he pulled away.

He leaned back as my head naturally followed him like my entire being perfectly attracted his magnetic force and straying from him took such energy and effort. I blew out a shaky breath and lowered my head as my hands fell away from his neck. My stomach had tied itself up into an excruciating knot and I could feel my burning chest begin to numb. He sighed, my lips parted, hoping to find solace against his once again.

"Ora..." His surprisingly sharp tone rang out amongst the stifling silence, causing the dull throb in my chest to surge painfully in the form of a slick, sharp stab between my lungs that he'd cast himself. ruthless and efficient.

With any strength I could muster, I lifted my head to meet his eyes. Those eyes... Dark glassy emerald masses burned obsidion by the scorching fire of his impossibly wide pupils, quivering dangerously with blackened embers of the fatal lust I so plainly lost myself within. The sleek resin casing restrained the swirling mist of his desire behind his gaze so similarly to the facade his face set hard against his thickly lined frustration, and as my anger rose with his I found myself wishing I could crack it open like a damned egg shell. Demanding his hidden truth to be shown and ordering for his fury to spill out over me, thick and crimson as the blood from every other victim I'd destroyed.

"I'm not doing this." He uttered, falling for a loss of elaboration that only filtered through his ever changing kaleidoscope gaze for my eager interpretation. I frowned.

"What?"

"I refuse to go on like this, playing to your act of using me as naught but an object for your satisfaction." Now my eyebrows had flown up past my hairline. I stared at the god before me, searching his gaze for any reasoning or clue he could be simply jesting. I found nothing but the clear, tragic pity painted so haphazardly across his perfectly sculpted features.

When my eyes had narrowed in confusion, still creasing my face as I worked out what he could mean, he sighed, breaking his stare for only a short, excruciating moment.

"I despise the way you resent the notion that this could be anything other than pure, feral lust. The way you push me further and further away like I'm naught but a hindrance, breaking down in aggravated fear at the mere mention of anything more between us." His brow furrowed for a moment, his eyes searching as they scrutinised every factor of my reaction to his words before continuing.

"...and then you come back. When the craving hits. Like a helpless addict. You filter everything you feel for me into the one insatiable desire like it's all you have. And you come back to me, just like tonight, to feel something. To grant your body the satisfaction just enough to keep you in control. Because no other can do it for you like I do." He theorised brusquely, each word becoming searing white hot blades that struck me with the force of a fucking chainsaw.

A flinch, I reflexively bit into my tongue, the blunt rough trauma of it cutting into the sensitive flesh and drawing a sour coating of blood over the creases of each tastebud. I recoiled at the bitter harshness of his words, drawing a thick metal armour between us in pure, instinctive retaliation as my eyelids shuttered and I drew the masking blinds over my gaze. It was vulnerable, all too vulnerable. His stare, my position, the sheer intimacy of the moment.

I swallowed thickly and clenched my jaw harshly trying to dispel the discomfort that settled around my shoulders in a chilling shawl that seeped a fluid cold deep into my flesh. I reached out toward him, aiming to close the exposing gap between us and cut off any sincerity weaving throughout our tension but his hand caught my wrist before I could even graze past his jaw and his dark stare hardened.

"I'm not doing it. I won't." His voice wavered ever so slightly like he was almost trying to convince himself more than me, reassuring the crumbling supports of his restraint.

"Until you acknowledge this, until you let me in, until you actually speak to me god damnit, I refuse to be just something to pass the time, to scratch that itch. heaven knows I'm more than that. I know I'm more than that." I said nothing, only stared down at him. Waiting...

"I won't sleep with you tonight."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ***

LOKI'S POV

"Gods...again?" I ground out in agitation, biting back my groan as I grit my teeth harshly together, intently observing her stunning form as she rolled her hips into me repeatedly. I twisted my fists into the sheets and growled, lay on my back as I tried my hardest to resist the urge to thrust upwards in time with her movements, remembering how she'd reacted to that last time. I could just about deal with this torture at the moment, so I wasn't in any way eager to revert back to the cruel torment of earlier.

She hadn't caved, she hadn't given up, she hadn't become any less cold towards me... in a metaphorical sense of course, since I'd literally already watched her come twice above me, each time driving me closer to losing it. But she hadn't let me in, she hadn't acknowledged anything and she certainly hadn't heeded a single word I'd said.

And yet somehow, through all my strong willed stubbornness and bitter resentment, she'd managed to seep in again, through the tiny, imperfections and cracks in my resolve. No more than an hour after I'd made my steel reinforced declaration, I had her moving above me, knees sunk into the emerald, satin bedsheets either side of my hips, breathless and moaning, and...in her little way of control.

A brazen gasp tumbled from her parted lips as her pace quickened only slightly, crackling my nerves with a new electrifying feeling that coaxed another growl from my throat. Her eyes finally opened and she looked straight through me, her gaze clouded with an intoxcating lust that sent me nearly spinning out of control. I was edging closer and closer to entirely losing my patience with her, and one look at her softly curved smirk told me she knew that.

"Ora, I'm warning you..."

Another breathy moan escaped her and she planted her palm down in the centre of my chest, her nails digging into me with a dizzying, sharp sting as she curled her hand, dragging a low, rumbling groan out of my throat as I struggled to see her through tunnel vision; Her stunning body pulsing as she rode me determinedly, never once letting my hands stray so I could feel her soft skin, and pull her hips into me with a strengthened force that could grant us both what we needed and more.

My hands seemed to unconsciously drift from their position, unknowingly gravitating toward the hypnotic sway of her hips. I'd barely even brushed the scorching soft skin before she let out an agitated breath and slapped my hands away again, causing my already dangerously high desire to spike almost painfully as I growled, glaring at her through narrowed eyes.

That's it, I was losing it. The sight of her dainty hand drifting to gently caress between her parted legs was the last straw, enough to snap the final crumbling self control that I had straining inside me.

With a surge of white hot frustration I shot up, throwing her over by her petite waist so fast she'd barely comprehended the movement until I was knelt over her, holding her wrists above her head with one hand and closing my hand over her throat with the other. The grin on my face was bordering on maniacal but I couldn't find it in me to care as she stared up at me, bright eyes alive and thrumming with a restrained eagerness.

She opened her mouth to protest as her eyes narrowed but it soon died on her tongue when my hand found the sensitive spot between her thighs and she hummed a soft moan instead, her iris' darkening hypnotically as I observed intently.

"I'm done playing your little game now, Sweetheart." I growled quietly by her ear, my pulse fluttering as I coaxed little gasps out of her with every stroke of my fingers. She made a wavering noise of contempt in response so I withdrew my hand, earning a restrained wimper as I drew back.

"We're going by my rules now, little hex. And maybe, if you're good for me, I'll give you just what you need." A stubborn growl poured from her throat as she narrowed her eyes at me, but it didn't help to dampen the hungry smirk that took over her soft mouth, curving her lips up deliciously. I held myself still over her as she considered her situation for a moment, before a flash of eager thrill snapped brightly in her gaze and she gave a single nod.

Immediately I grabbed hold of her thighs, yanking her towards me as my hands rapidly wandered over her immaculate form, kneading and caressing every square inch of searing skin my palms had been itching to feel for so long. Her mouth opened wide in a silent cry when my cool fingetips roughly ran over her exposed breasts, feeling her nipples stiffen under my hands.

When my hand dipped south below her waistline again, I darted forward to catch the breathless moan that escaped her, capturing her addictive bittersweet-poison lips between mine in a rough kiss. I slid in a finger, biting back a growl at her slick wetness that was from no one but me; for no one but me.

My lips moved restlessly further south, tracing the sharp line of her jaw up and down before dipping down to her sweet spot on the underside of her jaw. My teeth nipped at the spot as she sucked in a harsh breath and I began roughly circling her clit with the pad of my thumb as my lips soothed the bite and sucked at her sweet skin in rhythym with each pulse of my finger.

Each gasp that escaped her and every cry that tore from her throat when I added a second finger, had me harder, and burning hotter with pure desire than I believed I'd ever been, slowly drawing me to the immediate conclusion that I couldn't hold out much longer. I needed to feel her again.

I drew back, tearing myself away from the warm heat in the crook of her neck and immediately missing every scent and every sensation. Her eyes were closed, eyelids shuttering softly as her brow creased and her teeth gnawed at the soft flesh of her bottom lip muffling every moan that escaped her throat. Her expression was one of pure ecstasy and I immediately felt the throb in my chest expand painfully as I observed her breathtaking form, feeling it become increasingly harder to hold back.

I allowed my other hand to drift away from her wrists, snaking down her body as I mapped out every square inch, faltering when my fingertips coasted over the rougher markings of marred flesh by her abdomen. I swallowed thickly, tracing the scars with a heavy gaze as I found an entirely new feeling overwhelming me.

I hadn't realised I'd slowed down until my gaze flitted back up again to find her brilliant eyes wide open again, staring up at me with a multitude of sensations swirling around her vibrant mossy hues, lit up by the dancing flames that caressed the side of her face with a warm glow. I was struck with a painful jab through my chest when I noticed a blinding flash of something so unfamiliar ghosting the light beyond her gaze as she glanced from me to the rough flesh of her scarred stomach. Something new and vulnerable. A scattered streak of nervousness. An insecurity.

And I quickly understood. My gaze lowered again, accosting the vivid pink scars that cut through her defined stomach before I locked my eyes with her uncertain stare again. Every word was silent, sailing through the stifling quiet between us as I backed my swords, withdrawing their pointed blades and drawing out a peaceful, loose fist in reassurance of all I attempted to say through my softening stare.

She still hadn't moved, her whole body tense under mine as her eyes fastened to mine, wide and unwavering in wariness. A crucial second of silence I witnessed. And slowly, I lowered my head, looking back at the mess of scar tissue as I felt her fatal stare follow me, timid and threatened.

The throbbing in my chest threatened to suffocate me as I ever so gently pressed my lips against the mismatched skin of her stomach, pouring the thudding sensation of my heart and the roaring pain that gripped me through my mouth as I kissed her scars, Showing all I felt for her and more, in her enrapturing beauty, unhindered by any of the scars she was marked with. I just saw her.

When I raised my head again, dizzy with feeling, I could've sworn I witnessed a glimmering sheen hover against her lower lashline, stark against the flash of shock and affection in her iris'. Then her eyelids shuttered closed for a mere second as she let out a heavy exhale. And when they re-opened, her dark stare was black and heavy once more.

She didn't have to say a single word. Feeling my heart thud powerfully against my ribs, I leaned forward again, capturing her lips in a feral kiss as I slid a third finger into her and my pace started up, faster than before as her breathing became husky and hurried. Knocked intoxicated by her sheer beauty, I blew out a breath bleeding raw with disbelief and awe as I sped up my movements, tearing out an uncontrollable cry from deep within her.

She was close, I could feel it, and see it in the turbulant landscape of her striking eyes. In a swift movement of bliss, I curled my fingers inside her, circling her clit as I sent her tumbling over the edge. She came undone with a rough cry of my name that knocked me off balance as I felt my mind spin with the echoes of her voice calling my name in that tone.

I willed my eyes not to shut to the sensation as much as I could so I could watch intently as her face screwed up in the softened expression of bliss from the crashing wave of ecstasy I'd just caused. An image I saw every damned time I closed my eyes. The sheer radiance of her face as she lost control seemed to close over each and every one of my senses and it took me a few breathless moments to remember where the hell I even was, before a rather more pressing matter flooded my mind again and I swallowed thickly, pulling my hand from her dripping centre and raising it to my lips as her eyes fluttered open, swimming glazed in the bliss that still had a heavy grip on her.

When her gaze found mine I watched the stunning light behind her eyes darken as her pupils blew wide at the sight of me sucking her taste off my fingers, savouring each drop of the sweetness. Nothing in her stare was playful any more. The tension suffocating every soul between us was a heavy, dangerous game. And we eagerly played to it's corruption, splaying our evil desires out before it in a hand of cards we couldn't know if they'd be the winning spread or not.

Her legs widened as I found a position between them, and I hastily pushed into her, groaning low in my throat as the sensation rocked through my entire body in electrifying shocks that triggered with each pulse of her walls around my length. I knew then there wasn't a chance I could've waited any longer as I found myself struggling to keep up with the slow pace I'd assumed.

Her hands tangled roughly into my hair as I thrust into her, reveling in her tiny bursts of gasping moans with every push of my hips. She rose up to meet my strike and we both moaned loudly, my vision clouding over in dancing spots of white at the intensity of every sensation she sent crashing throughout me.

I buried my head deep into the crook of her neck again as she let out a moan and I involuntarily struck her with a powerful thrust that was followed swiftly with my pace speeding up as I was helpless to stop it. She'd stripped me of my resolve and destroyed all the foundations of my self control with no more than a quiet moan of pleasure, and it drove me insane.

I knew it should scare me, the power she had over me and the sheer gravity of everything I felt for her. But it never held enough of a warning when it was drowned out by my infatuation.

I pulled out nearly entirely, before driving back into her with a force that had her digging her nails deep into the skin of my back as she gasped breathlessly. I could barely keep hold on my restraint anymore when I sped up my pace and her walls clenched around me, tearing a feral growl from my throat as I raised my head to look at her. And I was nearly paralysed with the intense gravity of her gaze as she stared up at me with parted lips, the expression on her face striking me full force with a dizzying nausea.

Dread creeped into every corner of my mind with a cruel permanence. My eyes narrowed and I felt the euphoria draining from me as my pace slowed ever so slightly, my eyes desperately searching hers to confirm what I'd witnessed to be true, only to find it so painstakingly clear, splashed across her mossy hues.

A fear. A crippling fear that swirled around her lingering desire and a underlying flash of dismal acceptance. I clenched my jaw harshly, gripping the sheets tightly in my fists either side of her head as I continued my forced movements, begging for my insight to be worng, for my eyes to be deceiving me. But there was no mistaking that look.

"Don't- don't look at me like that." I ground out shakily, willing myself to avert my gaze from the agony of her pitiful stare but finding myself unable to even find the strength. Her brow furrowed but the flash of sorrow in her eyes displayed her immediate understanding of what I knew to be true.

"Like what..." She uttered quietly, her sweet voice softer than I believed it had ever been, plainly steeped in guilt and surrender, suffering the tragedy of loss before it had even happened, and I found myself almost wincing at the sheer pain it brought me.

I spat out an indignant growl of anger, hearing her gasp as I drove into her harshly, my thrusts becoming disjointed and untamed with every powerful strike. Her nails bit into me and scratched a stinging path down my back as I groaned and screwed my eyes tightly shut, unable to take the weight of her gaze any longer.

"I can't fucking take it." I pushed out through gritted teeth, hearing her gasp brazenly with each roll of my hips into hers until she was cursing loudly.

"Jesus, Loki- ah..what- fuck! what...do you mean?" Aurora growled, summoning my eyes to open as my intense glare locked onto hers again. There was quiet for a moment, no sound other than the impact of our skin clashing against each others. My stomach twisted sickeningly as the reality struck me blind.

"Don't...don't fuck me...like it's the last time."

~~~~~~~~~~~

ACE'S POV

I could've sworn everything ground to an impossible halt as the heavy words tumbled from his lips.

I'd known already. Everything had already crumbled down around me into dust before he'd even spoken, and then the sweeping chill of the true reality crept in.

My eyes dropped from his as I lowered my head, my teeth biting at my lip as I fought to find the words even I didn't know yet. There was a distinct heaviness that settled deep into the air between us and I held back a sigh, feeling a chill rake over me.

I couldn't help the realisation that had hit me, the knowledge that this indeed felt like the last time. There was an agonising sense of finality to everything he'd done. And I just found myself...savouring it all, unknowing of whether I'd ever feel anything like it again.

I raised my head when he growled, feeling it rumble throughout me as he thrust in perfect rhythym with every thud of my heart. I cried out in pleasure when he struck a nerve deep inside me that curled my toes and sent my eyes rolling back. This time felt so new so unlike anything I'd ever felt before.

I not only felt every nerve lit up in flames from every sparking pleasure he triggered in me, but realised that I could feel him, his passion, his affection so deeply, swirling an intoxicating rush with my every emotion. The throb in my chest had become agonising and I truly couldn't remember a time I'd felt this much. I was so...alive.

"I- I can't stay." I whispered into his mouth in between gasps, feeling the rumbling tremor deep in my bones as everything I knew crashed down around me.

"You know I can't Loki."

Bright, glistening green eyes regarded me, swimming in deep multitudes of flashing emotions, some familiar, some entirely new, sparking the dread that weighed me heavily down across the bedspread. It seemed like a hundred moments, all varying in feeling, passed in the space of only a few. Then I watched, deeply entranced as his blown wide pupils split impssibly larger and a flash of something fatal, unreadable cracked through the green of his gaze like a lightning bolt.

And something snapped.

A feral cry tore from deep within me as he gripped the headboad and drove into me with such force I swear I'd been blinded, seeing flashing spots and stars as a rough hand dragged a painful path down my abdomen to my clit, relentlessly circling the bundle of nerves when my gasps became ragged and uneven.

He growled low in his throat as I dug my nails into his shoulder blades again, feeling the sparking nerves feed into an enormous raging wildfire that licked its way up from my gut. I was close, so unbearably close it felt like the sweetest torture as he repeatedly struck me in that blissful spot, ripping noises from my throat I didn't even know I could make.

He was grunting too, groaning incoherent words into my neck between kisses and bites. And the pain in my chest, the weight that was tearing me up from the inside in blissful torment. But I never wanted the feeling to go, and despite my best efforts I couldn't, for the life of me, put my finger on what it was.

A click of pure, raging pleasure spat up from the heat swirling in my stomach and I felt myself hurtle towards the edge, so close to tumbling over whilst still not quite letting fully go. He sensed it and carried on in his unrelenting movements, never once slowing his pace as his lips made their way up from my throat. The pressure in my chest seemed to consume me whole, and for a heavy moment I believed I might've imploded from the insane power I felt surging inside me.

His lips coasted over my ear and I moaned brazenly at the pleasure his skilled hands and powerful movements delivered, mixing delightfully with the sensation of his cool breath at my ear.

"Come for me, darling." He growled by my ear. And that was it. The pleasure sent me crashing over the edge, wracking my entire body in tremors as I cried out loudly, my toes curling. My eyes involuntarily rolled back in my head and I could've sworn my entire being combusted for a blissful, surging moment.

The waves crashed and flowed throughout me, fading out ever so slightly with every thundering heartbeat that cracked through my chest, until, without warning, I felt my chest sink, my heart dropping to my stomach as everything clicked into place, and I realised, with a quivering dread. I knew exactly what this feeling was. And it killed me.

My moans quietened, and he groaned loudly at the last, powerful thrust, spilling inside me with a hissed curse as I felt an unnatural moisture coat my lashes, warm droplets wetting each black curl in a display of betrayal against masking the feeling I suffered.

There was a long moment of quiet that shuttered into place as my hands unclenched and I was left with naught but the ache in my chest that not even the blissful throb between my legs could dispel.

***

Our panting gasps had quelled, becoming deep, shameful breaths as a numb hush seemed to clasp the room in its greedy hands. A silence that promised finality, an unbearable quiet that appeared to grant us an end to all We'd began. Bittersweet. An easy way out.

For I'd lost.

Through swimming vision, I watched his face hover above me, relaxed, but with lines of dread running through the creases in his expression. A strike of pain seared through me when his glazed eyes cleared and he studied me, gaze heavy with the unbearable weight of our sin.

He seemed to acknowledge the glistening sheen across my gaze and the torment beyond my eyes, his expression shadowing as his hand came up to cup my face, painfully searing the skin of my cheek, and his brow furrowed deeply.

"Ora..."

His concerned voice struck me blind with another flash of pain. And with that, My guilt, my shame, and the despair I felt, turned into rage. Blind rage that shocked through me with a force that caused my every limb to quiver with white hot fury.

My hand flew out and struck him, clashing against the side of his face in an echoing slap. And then again, and again, as I spat obscenities at him. I shot forward, vision blurry as my fists pummeled his chest, fuelled by the uncontrollable wildfire of pure loathing that built up inside me. I could vaguely hear him calling out, hissing as he tried to hold me still against my violent attack. But I couldn't stop. I cracked my fist into his jaw in a powerful swing that exploded my forearm into burning pain. And that seemed to be the last straw...

A gasp fell from my lips as my back slammed into the bed all of a sudden and I heard a silky voice call out to me as my hands were restrained and a weight closed over my hips, pinning my legs to the sheets too. And slowly, but surely, the colourblock crimson that stained my vision faded out and I felt the thrumming adrenaline seep out of my veins, leaving me exhausted and agitated as I lay there with a distressed looking Loki above me, staring at me.

He blew out a breath as his brows knitted together with the force of his confusion as he tried to make sense of what had just happened. His eye snapped a flash of something powerful before it was hastily restrained and I watched his throat bob as he swallowed thickly.

"Words, Little Hex...Use your words." He growled lowly, tired eyes accosting me as his velvet words wrapped around my senses, caressing, and calming. I clenched my jaw and swallowed forcibly, biting back a grimace as I felt the sombre despair come crashing down over me once more. When I finally spoke, my voice cracked and I felt the crushing weight grow impossibly heavier as I uttered quietly,

"I've lost."

A beat. His brows came together as he watched me, confused, and I inhaled shakily before delivering the final blow.

"I fell for you."