Falling For You [Tom Hiddleston]

3

Claire's POV

I followed Tom, studying him as much as his home as he showed me around, making mental notes of the holes in his security that I would need to address later with Luke. The sound of his well modulated baritone when he pointed out things as he proceeded to lead me around his house made me want to spend all day just listening to him talk. I wasn't immune to his charming personality and appreciated his self-depreciating sense of humor that was a little on the dry side, either.

He should read audio books, I thought randomly.

I struggled against my own attraction to him; I'd never felt it this strongly for anyone before. I found myself getting continually distracted by little things, like how perfectly tailored his dress shirt and pants were; it was obvious he was in excellent shape from the way the fabric hugged his lean frame, leaving nothing to the imagination.

Tom was the perfect gentleman the whole time, which was a welcome change from the kind of guys I usually had to spend time around. He was attracted to me as well; I could feel his eyes on me as I looked around and when he set a hand to the small of my back, I could feel my skin tingling with awareness. He kept close enough as we walked that the tantalizing smell of his cologne did nothing to alleviate the unexpected fluttery feeling in my belly.

His place wasn't what I'd have expected someone as famous as him to live in; it was almost normal - even as it somehow still managed to convey he was a bachelor. There were only two rooms that showed any kind of character: his bedroom and the living room - I mean sitting room - that he clearly used a lot. It had a lived-in feel to it whereas most of the rest of the house was a blank canvas, all white walls or generic wallpaper, nothing particularly memorable.

Tom stood behind me as he opened another door to a bedroom with little to no character. "And this is the other guest room. Which one would you prefer to use, darling?"

I shrugged unconcernedly, trying to ignore the delicious feel of his body heat reaching me because of how close he stood. I'd stopped abruptly after two steps into the room, not needing to see any more of it; I knew I wouldn't be spending the night in it anyways.

"Either is fine with me, Tom. Which do you suggest?"

"Probably this one; it's connected to the guest bath, see?" He indicated the door beside us that swung open into the small bathroom.

I nodded, smiling up at him. "This will be fine, Tom. I hate to ask, but do you have something I can borrow to sleep in - shorts and a t-shirt, maybe?"

"Would you prefer joggers instead? It gets kind of cool in here at night. I haven't got around to updating the heating system yet - work in progress."

"Yes, joggers would be great," I said, appreciating his thoughtfulness. "I do tend to get cold overnight."

"I think I have some with a drawstring," he said, taking my hand and tugging me back to his bedroom again. "It's good that you're not as short as Megan."

"I'd only need a shirt if that was the case," I replied with a giggle. I wasn't overly tall for a woman, but I was several inches taller than his rather petite friend.

"That is quite true." He opened a drawer and handed me a pair of sweatpants before walking over to the closet. "Feel free to choose a shirt, darling." 

I glanced through them before grabbing what I thought was a plain black t-shirt. I smiled when I saw what was on it – a Loki screen-print; I showed it to him with a laugh. "I feel like there's probably a story behind this – and I'm sure you didn't buy it for yourself."

He chuckled, his eyes twinkling. "There is - and I didn't. Short version of the story is that this was a fan gift from Comic Con."

"It's so cute!" I cooed, admiring the little cartoon Loki.