Guardian

Chapter 35

2 weeks later

(Liv's POV):
My alarm blared throughout the room, stirring me from my deep sleep, courtesy of Loki. I groaned as I rolled over to silence it and I could tell that it had woken Loki as well. So I turned back to face him, placing little kisses up and down his neck. I was guilty that my alarm had stirred him from his slumber so I could at least try to make it a little bit better.

He turned to face me with a smile on his face, "you know, I could really get used to waking up next to you every morning, my vígmaðr."

"And what's stopping you?" I replied, running my fingers through his soft locks.

He pushed himself onto his elbow and looked down at me with a curious expression on his face, "was that an invitation to move in?"

"Maybe," I cooed, a smirk reaching my lips. "I mean, it would make sense. There would only be one rent to pay. Not to mention you have lived here before, so it's not like it's a big step in our relationship or anything. I don't want to pressure you or anything, but you are always welcome here. But if you don't want to-"

Loki cut off my babbling with his lips on mine, pulling me into a passionate kiss. He caressed my cheek as he pulled away, "I would be honored to live here with you, Liv."

I stared back into his captivating emerald eyes glowing in the dark room and suddenly I found myself unable to process my thoughts. Instead, I just gazed at him, butterflies in my stomach, and my heartbeat racing in my chest.

Loki's brows furrowed, "you are content with that, are you not?"

I brought my lips up to his in response, my eyes fluttering closed as they made contact. Throughout all of my years I had never met someone like him. No one who knew how to kiss quite like him or how to pleasure me the way he did, even during our first night together. I had waited over a thousand years to find him and now I never wanted to let him go.

His chest vibrated as he groaned into the kiss, which was getting increasingly passionate as my mind wandered to how much I loved him. As much as I did not want to have to take his lips from his, I knew I was unable to spend my day lounging around with him.

So I reluctantly pulled away from the kiss, "sorry, Lokes, but unfortunately not all of us have 'jobs' that allow us to work whenever we have the inspiration to do so and I have to take a shower before heading out. Feel free to go back to sleep, if you'd like, I know this is a ridiculous hour to get up when you could just as easily sleep in."

I placed one last peck on his lips then clambered out of bed, finding myself incredibly entangled in the sheets. Loki watched me as I made my way to the bathroom, most likely due the fact I had not bothered putting clothes on when we finally went to sleep the night before.

The warm water was a refreshing feeling, wiping away the grime for the day before and the smell of the city. Not to mention any lingering traces of the night Loki and I shared, those that had been missed by the washcloth Loki had been so kind to clean me with.

But, unfortunately, I was running behind schedule so I could not linger in the shower, no matter how much the soothing feeling beaconed me. After shutting the water off, I dried myself with a towel then wrapped it around my hair, allowing it to soak up the excess moisture.

I padded out into the bedroom to find a pair of scrubs for the day, surprised to find the bed empty even after I had told Loki to get more rest. But I turned my attention back to my closet, pulling on some clothes then doing my hair and makeup,

Loki was out in the kitchen, when I had finished getting dressed, eggs cooking on the stove and him placing my cats' food down on the ground for them. He had only bothered to put on pants, which I certainly wasn't going to complain about, I would never tire of the sight of his bare chest and arms.

Loki must have realized I was staring because he turned around and flashed me a smirk, leaning up against the counter as he waited for the eggs to finish. "Like what you see?"

"Mm, it means I don't have to feed my animals or stop by some place on the way to work for a quick bite," I replied, despite knowing that he was referring to himself as opposed to his actions.

"Ah now I see why you are happy to have me move in with you," he teased, watching as I sat atop the island. "You just want me to become your personal servant."

"Is that not what a boyfriend is for? Be careful with those eggs, it looks like you're about to burn them."

He quickly turned back to the food, realizing that I was right and they were a little more brown than he normally cooked them. Still, he had managed to get them off the heat before they actually burned so it was a crisis averted.

"I guess you still need me around to keep you from burning anything," I smiled, accepting a plate from him. "And here I was thinking you had become such a tremendous cook."

"Well maybe if you hadn't come in to distract me," he smirked, sitting next to me with his own plate.

I inched closer as I asked, "are you calling me a distraction?"

"Absolutely. How do you expect me to focus on anything but you when you walk into a room?"

My cheeks heated up and I glanced down at my lap, a little overwhelmed by his compliment. He placed his hand on my thigh and my eyes flickered up to his face, surprised to find such a look of admiration resting in his eyes. He was so good at shielding his emotions, at hiding behind a blank face, but with me he was willing to be vulnerable and put his guard down. And that was why it hurt me to see the mixture of pain mixed in with the love.

Before I had the chance to ask what was wrong, Loki had cupped my face in his hand and asked, "why do you love me? What have I ever done to deserve a woman like you?"

"Loki." My voice was barely a whisper, cracking with emotion as I felt tears well up in my eyes as I placed my hand atop his, squeezing lightly. "How could you even ask me such a question? You are acting as though I am better than you, but I can assure that I am not. I am little more than a coward, one who was willing look into the eyes of a man who had been broken into a million pieces and refuse him because I was scared."

"You are not a coward, Liv. You have lived a generous part of your life detained for being different, experimented on and tortured, you have learned that you have to be extremely cautious. Not to mention that I did try to take over your world, I do not believe anyone would blame you for not wanting to throw yourself at me."

"But I knew that those weren't your actions and you have been nothing but kind to me. Well, for the most part, anyway. Loki, do not think for one moment that you are undeserving of me when you are the most deserving of a person who is there for him, who loves him, more than any other."

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(A/N): Just some more fluff for y'all before things go downhill! I hope that you enjoy!