All The Little Pieces

Moonlight On Your Skin

Author's Note: This chapter contains sexual content. Please be advised prior to reading, if this topic makes you uncomfortable.

After the noise and crowds of the feast, the corridors were almost eerily silent. The pair walked slowly, hand in hand.

They finally reached Loki's door. He unlocked it and held it open. Elizabeth stepped in and sucked in her breath at the brilliant light from the full moon streaming in through the tall open windows.

"The moon is gorgeous tonight!" She walked slowly down the steps from the upper part of the room and leaned on the window sill to get a better look.

Loki unfastened his breastplate and set it on a chair. He walked down to join Elizabeth, and together they stood in the moonlight, drinking in the peaceful beauty of the night sky. Her arms were chilly to his touch, so he reached out and pulled her back against his chest, wrapping his cape around them both. She leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed.

"If you had told me months ago, when I was still trying to find a new job, that I was going to end up in a different world, standing in Asgard, with a god's arms around me..." She trailed off and shook her head. "I couldn't have even imagined or believed it."

Loki's lips curved upward and he kissed her hair, inhaling her delicious scent. "And I wouldn't have believed I would ever find anyone, let along a Midgardian, that would make me this happy. You're the most unlikely of lovers, but I can't imagine being without you."

Elizabeth snuggled back into him. "Lover. I like the sound of that."

He tipped her chin back to kiss her. "You are so beautiful," he murmured against her lips. "Midgardian men are fools."

She smiled into the kiss. "Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me for telling you you're beautiful."

Elizabeth laughed. "I'm ordinary looking. I don't have a tiny skinny body, I'm the clumsiest person you'll probably ever meet, I'm more comfortable with a book that I am with most people and-"

Loki turned her around to face him and spoke earnestly. "Listen to me. You are the only person I've met who truly understands me. You find books as real as I do, and you know they can be a better companion than some people. I can see the depth of your thoughts in your eyes. Your mind, your smile, all of you-you are tremendously beautiful to me. Don't think for a minute that you are not." He lifted his fingers to his lips. "You are nothing short of amazing."

A wicked gleam shone in his eyes. "And no, you're not skinny. You don't have the body of a girl. You have wonderful curves for me to enjoy."

"I'm glad you like them-"

"Like isn't the word." Loki ran his hands up her hips and pulled her tightly against him. "They intoxicate me. It takes every bit of control I have to keep my hands off you whenever we're in the same room."

She looked at his lips, then up to his eyes. "You're quite the charmer, you know that? And the feeling is completely mutual." Elizabeth wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "By the way," she whispered with a smile, "you're failing at keeping your hands off me."

"Oh, I plan to fail in spectacular fashion tonight." Loki lifted a hand and trailed his fingers slowly from her hairline, down her cheek and neck. He leaned in so their lips were almost touching and watched her pupils dilate. "Before I left, I promised to keep you up all night, and I haven't made good on that yet."

Elizabeth felt her breathing turn shallow and her pulse began to race. She licked her lips. "So what are you waiting for?"

Loki stared down at her for a long moment and finally took a step backwards. Without breaking his gaze, he reached up and unfastened his cape and removed his long coat. He kept his eyes locked on her, then tossed both behind him to a chair, and with a single stride, closed the space between them. His mouth fell hard against hers, devouring the taste of her lips. Then his tongue found hers and she responded, biting his bottom lip and sliding her tongue inside it.