It's been three days since your escapade in the library, and you've done nothing but hide away in your chambers since. Loki has come by several times to check on you, most-likely worried he has something to do with your sudden reclusiveness.
In a way, he does.
You're not entirely sure what your relationship with Loki is, so how do you go about telling him it must stop? Worse yet, how do you make yourself tell him something must stop when you desperately don't want it to?
The thought makes you sick to your stomach, which is a huge part of the reason you've found yourself unable to leave your room.
You've nearly fought through the most recent wave of nausea when a new letter slides in from underneath your door.
You told Loki days ago that you were feeling sick, and blamed your refusal to let him in on fear it was catching.
You obviously knew that was not the case, but you also knew you couldn't handle seeing him right now. The man made you feel things. Things you'd never felt before, and things you couldn't explain. Things you didn't ever want to not feel again.
He'd taken to writing you letters, sometimes illustrated with his own drawings as well, and sliding them underneath your door.
"Hello again, my patient prince." You whisper through the door, sitting down next to it to read the newest letter.
"Hello, my beautiful Gersemi. How are you feeling today?" The sound of his voice alone sends goosebumps running down your back and legs, forcing you to accept that your separation is simply not helping dampen your feelings for him.
"I think I am doing a bit better today." You begin to open up his letter.
Your heart leaps from your chest when you fix your eyes on his absolutely beautiful and perfectly accurate drawing of one of the purple flowers like he showed you in the book of enchantments.
The only words he's written this time are: Let me show you more.
Slowly, and without much thought, you stand to your feet, and open your door.
"Gersemi." Your name escapes his lips as no more than a whisper as he wraps his arms around you, pulling you firmly against him.
"I'm so sorry." You nearly weep in his arms.
"You have nothing to be sorry for." He squeezes you tighter. "If I pushed you too far, if I hurt you, or scared you in the library, I simply cannot express how regretful I would be-"
"No." You pull back to look him in the eyes. "You've done absolutely nothing wrong. I was just not feeling well. I'm- I'm doing better now."
No you aren't.
"Loki... would you be willing to show me the flowers? As soon as it would be convenient for you..." Your cheeks begin to grow warm at your forwardness, but you're able to push it away this time, the realization that you are becoming comfortable in the company of the prince sinking in.
"I will take you right now if you're truly feeling up to it." He rests a tender hand on your shoulder as he searches your face.
"I am- oh Loki, I would love to go right now!" You cheer, all of the worries that have been so heavy on your heart these last few days temporarily fading away.
———————-
Loki pulls on Hrimfaxi's reins, slowing the mare down as you approach the edge of the extremely dense woods.
"How are we going to get through there?" You tip your head, which has been comfortably rested against Loki's chest for the majority of the ride, back far enough to look him in the eyes.
"We will have to go on foot from here." He pulls you down from the horse with him, tying her lead to a nearby tree.
Out of thin air, he conjures two lit torches, and passes one to you before taking hold of your free hand and stepping into the formidable woods.
The moment you step through the thick tree line, you feel as though you've been transported into another world. The air is different, heavy- in a way that weighs down your lungs more and more with each breath you take.
"Loki- I'm afraid."
"Do you wish to turn back?" He gives your hand a reassuring squeeze.
"No... I'm okay. Please keep holding my hand." Your cheeks grow warm at the request, causing you to actually feel a bit grateful for the shroud of darkness the woods provide.
He brings the back of your hand to his lips, placing a tender little kiss, before turning back toward the darkness and continuing on.
The two of you maneuver through the woods for what feels like forever, Loki ceaselessly keeping you upright as you trip over roots and vines. He abruptly comes to a halt, placing a protective hand against your now sweat-slicked back, and pulling you close to him.
"Are you doing okay?" His emerald eyes reflect the torchlight in a way that nearly causes you to forget that you're standing deep inside the scariest woods you've ever been in.
"Mm-hm." You grunt, embarrassed that you're too out of breath to form words.
"We've made it." He places an excited little peck on your forehead.
Before you can speak, he puts out your torches, forcing your eyes to strain to see through the darkness.
You spot something out of the corner of your eye and snap your head in the direction of it. As soon as you realize that you're looking at one of the purple flowers, the entire field of them begins to ignite into a brilliant, mystical glow.
"Oh!" You gasp. "Oh gods! Loki! They're beautiful!" Your heart feels as though it could burst out of your chest.
"Not nearly as beautiful as you, my love." He wraps his hand around your waist, and pulls you snug against him.
My love.
His words cause a tightness in the back of your throat that nearly distracts you from the sudden burning in your core- that damned feeling you thought you had gotten rid of days ago, is back.
You look up to meet Loki's gaze- bad idea; his eyes are fixed on yours, and seem to light up against the glow of the purple flowers in a way you could never have imagined.
Oh.
"I-" You clear your throat.
He searches your face for several moments, waiting to see if you will continue, and when you don't, lost in his gaze- he twists his fingers into your hair, pulling you against his lips, a carnal little huff escaping him.
The taste of him completely clouds your mind, the warmth of his body surging into yours causing delightful trails of goosebumps to run down all of your extremities. You cling onto the lapel of his shirt, not allowing for any space to come in between the two of you.
Eventually, you're both breathless and forced to break the kiss, gasping for air. You take advantage of the bit of space between you to tangle your fingers into his hair, and throw yourself against him, seeking out his swollen lips once again with the aid of the glow provided by the flowers.
He clearly was not expecting your level of exuberance, and grabs tightly ahold of you as he begins to tip over backwards, thrown off balance by your sudden need to be against him again. He goes down as gracefully as possible, keeping you on top of him. The bioluminescent glow of the flowers light up even brighter as the two of you fall into them, making Loki's face much easier to see in the darkness. His eyes have grown dark, an animalistic glint in them now.
In one impossibly graceful movement, he wraps a single, firm hand around your waist, places the other on the ground, and flips the two of you over, sliding his body on top of yours. The flowers seemingly respond to your movements by burning even brighter everywhere the two of you come into contact with them.
He's far heavier than his frame would suggest, the feeling of him on top of you making you feel delightfully trapped, marvelously powerless, and terribly excited.
The heat of his body surges into you deeper, reaching your very core.
He begins his descent down your body, grasping at the skirt of your dress and shoving it up to your hips. You arch your back, reaching for the laces of your dress, and undo them- aiding in his removal of your clothing.
You harlot!
In a joint effort, the two of you lift your dress over your head, leaving you in nothing but your undergarments before the young prince of Asgard.
You feel your face, ears and neck flush at the feeling of being so exposed in front of him, the mystic glow of the flowers no longer allowing you to hide in the dark.
"Every single inch of you is perfect." He marvels at your body in such a tender, genuine way, that every bit of awkwardness and embarrassment that you've ever felt slowly begins to fade away.
He begins to melodically make his way down your body, traveling no more than an inch at a time without placing another soft, loving kiss- worshiping every bit of you.
He continues his descent at an agonizingly slow pace, placing nips and kisses in his wake.
"Gods, Gersemi... I want you so badly." He pants into your thigh.
"Have me, then." You sit up on your elbows to look at him.
He stares back at you in silence, a stunned and conflicted grimace spreading across his face. "Now? Here? Are you entirely sure that is what you want?"
You take a deep, contemplative breath before responding.
What are you doing? You don't even know what you're asking for! With a man you cannot be with!
"I want you, Loki- in this moment, right now. I want you to have all of me."
You've read far too many romance novels, you idiot.
You'd almost swear that you could see tears begin to pool in the corners of his eyes just before he consumes you with a fiery, desperate kiss.
You moan against his mouth, this kiss affecting you differently than all of the others. This kiss is different from all of the others.
He clings on to you in a far less gentle way than he always has in the past, but it's a feeling you don't mind. In fact, you welcome it.
Sensing his urgency to have you, his desperation to run his hands all over every inch of you, you feel like a true goddess. You feel like the most beautiful and desirable woman in the nine. You feel- in control.
In control of your life, your destiny, and of your own decisions for the first time you can remember.
"Loki! Please!" Still clinging on to you, he tips his head back to look you in the eyes as you continue, "I want you. All of you." Fingers twisted into his raven hair; you pull him into another frenzied kiss.
He breaks the kiss just long enough for you to watch as a soft green glow encapsulates his body, rendering him, and then you, completely naked.
His bare chest gleams with a sort of phosphorescence against the light of the flowers, the sight causing an entire swarm of butterflies in your chest to burst into flames of desire. Even in the low light, you can easily make out that he is far more muscular than his slender frame would suggest, and you shamelessly drink him in. When you eventually work your gaze up to his face, the purple light dances in his eyes in such a way, it appears almost as though there is a fire burning within them.
"This may hurt a moment." His beguiling green eyes search yours.
You give him a reassuring nod before he begins to push the hardest part of himself inside of you.
You begin to gasp, your breath catching in your throat as he stretches and fills you. As he presses on, deeper inside, you cling to him, digging your fingers into his back, nearly shouting for him to stop at the new feeling. It's tight, and it hurts.
This can't be right.
Just as you open your mouth to speak, the feeling begins to change, causing your body to relax ever so slightly, and without warning, the new feeling begins to feel good- really good.
"Oh, Loki." You sigh into his shoulder, a wave of relief and pleasure washing over you.
He stops pushing into you immediately, arching his head back to look at you once again. "Are you alright? Do you need me to stop?"
"No, no. Please don't stop." You murmur, suddenly finding it difficult to keep your eyes open due to the new, incredible feelings of pleasure.
"Gods..." He groans, the feeling of his hardness swelling and pulsing inside of you causing you to gasp even before he begins to rock his hips into you.
His pace is agonizingly slow, and you dig your heels into his buttocks in an attempt to encourage him to rock into you faster- harder.
"Gersemi- I... oh, no- '' Without warning, he pulls himself from you, not a second passing by before he slides two fingers inside of you to fill the empty space.
You yelp at the loss of him and the startling replacement of his fingers, a feeling that is more familiar to you since your encounter in the library.
Settling into the feeling, you ride his fingers with a complete disregard of your modesty, title, or whatever frivolous duty was holding you back before.
"Loki... gods." You reach forward to wrap the fingers of one of your hands around the side of his neck. "It's happening again."
"Good girl." He purrs into the palm of your hand. "Remember, let it happen."
"Mmhm..." your voice trails off as the pleasure shoots all of the way down to your toes, beginning to consume your entire body. Just as you're about to be swallowed up by a deep and dark sea of pleasure- possibly never finding your way to the surface again, he removes his fingers from you and slams his arousal back inside.
You yelp, your cry cut short as he reaches down to where the two of you connect and begins to make slow, gentle circles on your most sensitive spot.
"Loki! I- oh gods, I-" Suddenly your head is spinning and your body feels as though it's being ripped apart in the most wonderful way possible.
Your eyes reconnect just as you feel him begin to shudder and throb inside of you- his eyes locked onto yours as the feeling of his warm seed filling you up causes your own orgasm to hit another peak, the two of you riding out your bliss together.
You've hardly come down from the impossible high before he's at your lips again, placing amorous and demonstrative kisses against you.
"How are you?" He whispers against your jaw, moving his kisses down to your neck.
"I feel... bad. In the best way possible." You mewl, a devilish little giggle escaping you.
"Gersemi... gods, what have you done to me?" He nips at your neck, causing you to involuntarily clench around the part of him that still rests inside of you.
He lets out a hiss bordering somewhere between pleasure and pain as he fills you up once again.
You gasp at the feeling. "Are we going to do that again?"
He practically collapses on top of you at the question, and begins to roll his hips into you again. "Oh, my love- we can do this as many times as you like."
————————
The two of you are a sweaty mess when you finally cease your fevered lovemaking.
You lie languidly amongst the field of flowers, their glow seeming to slowly fade away as you fight back the oncoming feeling of sleep.
It feels as though Loki's entire body is wrapped around you. His touch and his wonderful scent encapsulating you is just so warm and comforting and positively delightful. The experience has you feeling more relaxed than you could possibly recall ever having felt before.
Without warning, you fling yourself upwards, startling Loki and forcing away the feeling of an oncoming nap. "I need to collect a few of these flowers!" The flowers seem to almost burst back to life along with you, their glow igniting all around you. You're startled by your own tone, but even more started by the fact that you are most certainly talking to yourself. You are clearly in desperate need of convincing to leave your current state.
"Yes, of course." Loki shoots up from the ground just as suddenly as you had, waving a hand in your direction, and then at himself, returning both of your clothing.
You immediately crouch down to examine the incredible flowers close up. They vary from about the size of your thumbnail, to the size of your palm, but seem to glow brighter the smaller that they are. You decide to dig up the smallest and largest ones you see, and then one that falls somewhere in between. You are exceptionally careful to dig up every part of each flower, including their delicate root system.
"It is something of beauty, to watch you at your craft." Loki's velvet-like voice is slightly more gravely than usual, and it causes a delightful feeling of electricity to run down your neck and spine.
"You are kind." You pause to smile at him. "Anything that you see is simply a reflection of my love for the pursuit." You secure each sample safely in your satchel and look back up to the prince.
"All set?" He questions.
"For now, I am. Would you mind bringing me back here sometime if I ever desired to collect more samples?"
"I will gladly bring you back here and relive this day with you as many times as I possibly can." He reaches for your hand.
You feel your cheeks grow warm at his comment, a reaction that honestly feels a bit silly to you at this point, after what the two of you have just done together.
You squeeze his hand, and he proceeds to gently guide you out of the dark woods.