I see you || Loki

24. Gripping Games

Loki sat on the couch, brow knit in concentration as he stared at the game board between you. It was a strategy game, one you were fairly good at playing—though, right now, you were using your skills in a wholly unorthodox manner.

"Are you trying to lose?" Loki asked.

"So what if I am?" you said without looking up at him. You moved a piece into a terrible position.

"There's no point in playing if you aren't trying to win."

"You want to win," you said, taking a sip from the teacup that sat on the nearby table, "and I don't care one way or the other." You were good at the game, but Loki was better. Never winning wasn't much fun, but teasing Loki was.

"So, you are aiming to lose." He prodded a piece forward.

"Don't complain." You ruined the intricate trap he'd woven by barging into it. "This way we're both happy."

"It takes all the fun out of the game."

"Why?"

"The point isn't to win, love, it's to beat you." He moved again, letting your previous blunder slide. "If you won't counter my moves, then my winning means nothing."

"How terrible," you said. "You can't enjoy winning unless it comes at my expense?"

"That is the point of playing the game."

"Well"—you picked up another piece and placed it in a vulnerable position—"I want to lose. How you feel about it is your purview."

"You have to try, pet." Loki moved again, pointedly not taking advantage of the opening you'd left for him.

You fought back the traces of a smile. "I don't have to do anything."

Loki snatched your hand from the piece as you made your move. He pulled you forward, so you knelt over the board, face inches from his. He gripped your chin in his fingers. "Play nice, sweet. I won't warn you again."

Your heart thumped against your ribs, from fear or excitement, you didn't know—you'd stopped keeping track of the difference. Your gaze dropped to Loki's mouth and you leant forward to press your lips against his.

Loki let you lead, soft and slow. You trailed your hands down his sides and let your weight rest against his thighs. When you pulled away, his eyes were hazy.

"You're trying to distract me," he said.

"Yes." You smiled. "Is it working?"

A knock at the door startled you. You recoiled from Loki, knocking the game from the couch in your haste.

Loki looked to you, amusement sparkling in his eyes. "Did you make arrangements to meet with someone else in your rooms tonight, pet?"

You shushed him and scrambled off the couch. "You can't be here," you hissed. You hurried toward the door.

Loki lounged back against the cushions. "And yet how often I find myself here regardless."

You pressed your ear against the door, straining to hear a trace of whoever waited on the other side. "Go," you hissed to Loki, waving him off. "At least hide."

His eyebrows rose. "I will do no such thing."

A knock shook the door again, jarring you. You gave Loki a look of exasperation, which he returned with a smile. With trembling hands, you opened the door, but barely enough to show your form. You stood in the crack, blocking whoever stood on the outside from seeing into the room. Hopefully, it would be enough.

Thor stood on the other side, a look of perplexed politeness fixed on his face. A spike of fear stabbed through you.

"May I come in?" he asked. Your panic must have shown on your face because Thor's smile dropped. He held out a placating hand. "It's alright. I guess that would seem improper."