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"Are you ready for this?" Steve asked from where he sat beside me in the backseat. I swallowed, balling my fists. And I nodded. I had to be ready.
The car slowed to a stop in front of a massive art gallery, and I gaped, as Steve exited the car, paying the driver and offering a smile.
Before I could do it myself, Steve opened my door and offered a hand.
I stepped out, looking around immediately for Loki. He was set to be arriving before Steve and I. Nat, who remained on the laptop at our hotel, had said it would look less conspicuous.
He must already have gone in, because he was nowhere to be seen.
I slipped my mask over my eyes, and Steve did the same. We'd been happy to learn that the dress-code for the Gala was a fancy masquerade. That way we were far less likely to be recognized, or picked out from the crowd.
We approached the bouncers at the door, offering our aliases that Natasha had conjured in the span of a day.
And in we went.
I kept a hand on Steve's arm as we merged with the crowd, all speaking an array of languages. I recognized some English and Italian as we cut through the crowd.
And then I saw him, back to Steve and I, as he chatted with an elderly couple.
Steve cleared his throat, and Loki turned to face us.
He hadn't seen me until now, and his eyes roamed my body carefully, drinking in every detail.
I wore a sparkling red dress with lace decals that were transparent at my legs, and darkened near my hips and chest. The dress had long sleeves that touched the floor, and my fingers were clad in rings of silver. My hair was swept from my shoulders into a low hanging bun, and my lips were painted a dark brown.
"Darling, you're a vision," he mused.
I felt my cheeks redden.
"Don't get too comfortable," Steve warned, "Lida here is supposed to be my wife, remember?"
Loki hadn't been happy when he'd learned our covers. Lida and Nicolas, played by Steve and I—the rich couple from the Netherlands who'd made it big playing the stock market. And Loki was under the guise of Jakob, a big investor in up and coming tech companies. Which Trutex was, allegedly.
Despite Steve's warning, Loki didn't lift his eyes from me. I made the mistake of meeting his gaze. Heat pooled in low in my stomach as he smirked. And then winked. Like we shared a secret. And well, I guess we did.
I squirmed under his hard, deep gaze. It was like he was trying to remind me that he was very familiar with everything under my dress.
"Alright you three," Nat's voice in my earpiece startled me, "You know your target. Fan out. Find him."
My gaze swept the room. Nat had shown us a picture of Van Leer, so we knew who to look for. Only problem was, we had to pick him out of a sea of masked people.
"I'll bet I can find Van Leer before Rogers," Loki said lowly to me.
Steve's eyes bulged. "Nicolas."
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Fanfiction"You are unimaginably precious when you're flustered, my dear," he said lowly, "And I can assure you that while I often find you distracting, you are much more than just a distraction to me. Why do you think I haven't killed you yet?" "Because you'd...
