CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
McKenna couldn’t keep the smile off her face as she scooped some blueberries onto her plate. She peered over her shoulder and her smile widened at the sight of Loki sitting with Aislinn on his lap and Selig to his right. It was something she thought she’d never see again and once more, she offered up a silent prayer of thanks to whichever god was responsible for bringing Loki back to them.
“Do you keep touching him?”
She jumped as Sif sidled up to her and reached for a pastry. “What?”
“Loki.” Sif smiled. “Do you keep poking him, to make certain he is real?”
“I’m not so much poking him as I can’t seem to keep my hands off him,” McKenna confessed, setting a banana onto the plate and selected a few strawberries to go with it. “It’s so funny, Sif, but it’s like it was when we first got together.”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” Sif replied, breaking off a corner of her pastry to pop into her mouth.
“You know, when you first start dating someone, you get a million butterflies in your stomach and the time just flies by when you’re together and a single kiss makes you want to rip each other’s clothes right off and you just can’t get enough of each other.” McKenna leaned back against the sideboard, gaze going back to Loki. He must’ve felt it, for he looked up and a slow smile lifted the corners of his mouth. He winked, then turned back to Aislinn. “He just looks at me, Sif, and I want to melt. And we’re an old married couple.”
“That’s because you both found out what it would be like to be without the other.” Sif turned to grab another pastry, this one she tucked next to the banana on McKenna's plate. “Most couples, I think, come to take one another for granted. You’ve both learned no tomorrow is promised or guaranteed.”
“I think you’re right,” McKenna murmured, watching as Loki ruffled Aislinn's hair, then dipped to kiss the top of her head. “There is something so sexy about watching him with the kids. He’s just such a good father, no matter how many mistakes he thinks he’s making.”
“Frigga always thought, when the time came, he would make a good father. He’s always had an affinity for children. Children and animals.” Sif broke off another piece of pastry. “When we were children, he was always healing some poor creature or taming some wild thing.”
McKenna smiled. “I can see that. And when I see him like this, when I see him laughing, with them climbing all over him, I just fall in love with him all over again.” She glanced up at Sif. “You have no idea how wonderful it is to see things like this again.”
“I know how lost you were, Your Highness. And we all hurt right alongside you, trying to think of some way to make it easier for you to bear. You were never alone, no matter what you might have thought.”
McKenna felt tears poke the backs of her eyes. “I’m sorry, Sif. My emotions have been all over the place for weeks. They’re still leveling out.”
“Worry not. I won’t tell a soul I made you cry.”
“You’re making my wife cry?” Loki slid his arm about McKenna's waist. “Selig is starving, love. I can hear his stomach growling.”
“Oh, sorry.” She handed him the plate, but snagged the pastry. “That’s mine.”
He gave her a squeeze. “Feeling a little hungry yourself?” he asked with a wink.
Sif gave her a knowing smile, but McKenna's face didn’t even feel warm as she smiled up at him. “What can I say? You make me work up an appetite.”
He winked again, bent to brush her lips with a quick kiss, then took the plate back to Selig while she turned to fix one for Aislinn. Sif nudged her with a shoulder. “I take it the two of you are making up for lost time?”
“We’re like bunnies right now.” At Sif's puzzled look, McKenna chuckled. “We’re making up for lost time.”
After fixing a plate for Aislinn, McKenna and Sif both made their way to the table and McKenna sank next to Loki. “So, what’s the plan for today?”
Selig popped a blueberry into his mouth. “Do I have to do lessons today, Daddy?”
“I think we can give you and your sister a pass today.” Loki peered at her over Aislinn's head. “What do you think, love?”
“I think it’s a good idea. I’d like to take today just for us.”
Loki nodded. “I have to sit down with the Allfather and Thor, but when I’m finished, I’m all yours.”
Her heart did a funny little skip and her stomach twisted. “Sit down with them for what?”
“Nothing you need worry about. Just discussing where and when the Infinity Stones are going when they leave here.”
Sif sipped her juice. “You aren't going to be transporting them, are you?”
That knot in McKenna's stomach grew tighter, even as Loki shook his head. “No. The Allfather will not send me. On the off chance Thanos does decide to try to exact revenge, he’ll have to come find me first.”
McKenna looked over at him. “What are the chances of that happening?”
“Here? Slim to none. They’d be slightly better on Midgard.” He shook his head, lifting his hand from Aislinn's leg to rest on hers. “But you’ve nothing to worry about, love. He isn't going to trouble with me. He’ll be too busy trying to retrieve the stones again.”
“Well, what if he finds them? Are you going—”
He cut her off. “No. I’m not, so don’t even worry about that.”
She couldn’t hold back her sigh of relief. “Thank God.”
“You’ve nothing to worry about, McKenna. I promise you.”
“I’m holding you to this promise, you know.”
He smiled. “I know.”
She sighed softly, nibbling at the pastry Sif had given her. In the span of a few minutes, it went from buttery and delicious to dry and dusty. She set it back on the plate and wiped her hands on a napkin before reaching for her coffee.
Loki gave her thigh a gentle squeeze. “I’m not leaving Asgard again, McKenna. Not unless we are going home.”
“I’ve heard that before.” She stood up. “Excuse me.”
“Mommy, what’s wrong?” Selig asked.
“Nothing’s wrong, sweetie. I just need some air.” She ruffled his hair and skirted the other diners as she strode toward the promenade.
It was a beautiful day in Asgard, with plenty of sunshine and the breeze held just a slight crisp hint of autumn. In the distance, where the forest began, the treetops were already starting to turn. In a few weeks, they’d look like they were on fire, ablaze in glorious shades of orange, yellow, and red.
Beyond those woods rose stark cliffs. Last year, Loki brought her to those cliffs and, despite her absolute terror of heights, brought her to the edge to show her an amazing view of Asgard. He held her tight about the waist, assuring her he’d not let her fall. Her heart pounded, her pulse pounded through her temples and it took every bit of willpower to force her eyes open.
But when she did, it was to see one of the most beautiful views she’d ever seen.
With a heavy sigh, she sank onto the edge of the railing and leaned back against the pillar. How many times did Loki promise that whatever it was he’d been asked to do was the last time he was going to agree to do it? Each time, it seemed something new came along and he just couldn’t refuse.
“What’s the matter, love?” Loki came out onto the promenade, arms folded over his chest.
“How long will it be before the Allfather is asking you to something else that’s going to put you at risk?”
“He’s not asking me to do anything now,” he said, stopping a few feet away from her, legs slightly spread, arms still folded. “I’m just sitting in. Thor and Sif, and I think Volstagg, are going to be responsible for moving the stones. I’ll have nothing to do with it.”
“Really?”
“Yes,” he nodded, “really. Do you think I’m lying?”
“I think it’s only a matter of time before the Allfather decides he needs more reassurance of his decision to let Thor abdicate in your favor.”
Loki sighed. “That isn't entirely fair, love.”
“Really? How many times have you had to prove yourself? This last time, you had to let us think you were dead.”
He winced. “I did not wish to do it that way.”
“But we did, Loki. And what happens next?”
“McKenna, I’ve told you,” he shifted, moving to sit across from her, “nothing happens next. I’m not going anywhere. Just like how the Allfather will not send me to Jötunheim, he is not going to let me get anywhere near those stones. Thanos will not touch me.”
“Unless you go back to Midgard.”
“It’s unlikely, but it is possible. He moves around in your solar system. He likes it. Titan is home, so he’s used to your galaxy.”
She sighed, reaching up to rub her forehead. “So do we have to worry about him showing up on our front doorstep?”
“I doubt it.” He unfolded his arms and reached for her hands. He gave a gentle tug. “Come here.”
She slowly slid across the marble and let him pull her into his arms. He cradled her close, kissing the top of her head as he whispered, “I’m not leaving you again. I promise you this. I’ve already told Odin and I intend to keep that promise. Now, we are going to go grab Aislinn and Selig, stop by the nursery to scoop up the twins, and then we are going to make our way to the beach, where the most taxing thing I plan on doing is building a sandcastle with our children.
“And tonight, I plan on dancing very slowly and very closely with you, and then when we’re alone in our chambers, I’m going to spend the rest of the night making slow, wonderful love to you. I don’t intend on sleeping until you’re hoarse from crying out my name.”
She shivered at the low growl of his voice. “Hmmm… I kind of like the sound that.”
He gave her a gentle squeeze. “I thought you might. We still have a lot of lost time to make up for and I’m already feeling a little frisky.”
That made her laugh. “How is that possible? We’ve been going at each other like crazy since last night.”
“Because it’s been far too long and you are far too impossible to resist.”
***
McKenna sighed with content as she tickled Nicholas’ belly and he let out a giggle. They weren’t the only ones who’d chosen to come to the beach on such a beautiful day and while she and the twins lay on a blanket beneath an umbrella, Selig and Aislinn were running around with a bunch of other children (under Tyra’s watchful eye, of course.)
A shadow fell over them and without looking up, she said, “Don’t drip on us.”
Loki grinned as he stretched out beside her and kissed Kyra’s forehead. “I wouldn’t. I know better.”
“How was the water?”
“Warm and perfect. You should come in.”
She looked over at him and did a mental melt. His hair was slicked back, dripping a little, but not nearly enough to worry about, and water beaded across his bare chest. She wasn’t the only one who noticed, either. Any time he rose to cross the beach, clad in only a pair of swim trunks, female heads whipped about to watch him pass.
Kyra giggled as seawater splashed on her forehead and Loki chuckled. “Sorry, little one,” he said, dabbing at the droplets with a towel. Then, smiling at McKenna, he said, “Come in with me.”
Kirsten looked up from her book. “Go, Your Highness. A swim would do wonders for you.”
McKenna hesitated. Lying there, under the shade of the umbrella, she wasn’t nearly as self-conscious about being in a bikini as she would be, once she stood up. She didn’t know how Shannon managed to talk her into buying the red bikini last summer, but she had to be having a high self-esteem day to do so. This was the first time she’d worn it, and when Loki first saw her in it, back in their chambers, his eyes widened and at once swirled aqua. He liked what he saw.
But now, there were tons of other people around, which made her even more aware of how pale she was. And still a little squishy from having the twins.
He reached over and trailed damp fingertips up the curve of her belly. “Come with me, love, and let’s go play in the water.”
She shivered at the delicate sweeps. “Oh, I don’t know…”
He stretched over the twins and kissed her gently. “Please?”
“Oh, okay.” She reluctantly rose and when she did, Loki let out a low whistle. “Don’t tease me.”
“I’m not teasing. Isn't that what Midgardian men do when they see a beautiful woman in a skimpy suit?”
She rolled her eyes. “I thought you didn’t want to be like Midgardian men?”
He came around to catch her hand in his and lifted it to his lips. “I’m not like any Midgardian man, I should hope. But you do look amazing in that suit.”
“Thank you.” A blush stung her cheeks, but this time, she didn’t try to suck in the small belly she still had, and definitely tried not to think of how it looked last year, when Sif's rigid training had her perfectly toned and flattened. “But really, a wolf whistle is likely to get you punched on Midgard.” Well, probably not him, but definitely mere mortal men.
His eyes sparkled, hints of green showing about his pupils. “I like how you look in that, love. I’m not about to apologize for it.” He gave her hand a squeeze. “Let’s go.”
They strolled down the beach, the sand growing wetter and easier to walk on as they neared the water. The surf rolled in about her ankles, as warm as bathwater. A little further out, waves broke with a little more force and the water stretched to the horizon, just as it did on Midgard. The difference was, where people once thought you could sail off the edge of Midgard, only to be proven wrong, in Asgard, that was exactly what could happen.
She smiled up at Loki. “Has anyone ever swam right out of Asgard?”
He swept her up and purposefully sloshed through the water to where it was deeper. “I think one or two might have, but I can’t swear to it.”
“You better not throw me,” she told him.
“Who?” His eyes went wide and round with feigned innocence. “Me?”
“Loki, don’t you da—”
That was all she could get out before she arced high in the air and sliced through the waves with the smallest of splashes. When she surfaced, Loki grabbed her around the waist and smiled. “Feeling cooler?”
“You are evil.”
“I know. But you’re fun to toss.”
She rolled her eyes, but slid her arms about his neck. “You know, as sad as it sounds, I even missed you doing things like this.”
He drew her closer and his lips were salty as they brushed hers. Pulling back, he whispered, “That is sad, love.”
“Ugh,” she groaned, pushing up and away from him to shove him under the water instead. But it was difficult to stay angry. When he’d been home more than a day, she could be annoyed. Now, she just wanted to play.