Sorry for the delay in updates. I have three young kiddos so Halloween is a crazy time for us! This chapter was a beast to write and I really hope it doesn't fall short. I went back to switching between Darcy and Loki's viewpoints, just to get it all in. I'm finished now, the story seems to have gotten away from me. I truly appreciate all of your reads, reviews, favs, and follows. Enjoy.

Wrapped in Darcy's embrace, enjoying the feel of her mouth against his, Loki decided that she possessed great skill in the art of kissing, even if he had no one for comparison. Surely not everyone kissed this way, as if the only matter of importance in the universe was the meeting of lips, as if time was suspended into forever by the slide of tongues. How one mortal girl could steal the very breath of a god with such a simple act was lost to his understanding, and he concluded that, in that moment, it didn't concern him in the least. His body roared to life even as his mind shut down, the only thing remaining in the back of it was the thought that she was still injured, that he would have to be careful not to hurt her in his newly awakened passion. But then she slipped her hand into his hair, twisting her fingers around chunks of it, lightly scratching his scalp with her nails, and he jerked her roughly against him, bending her back and taking control of the kiss. She moaned into his mouth, and he started to pull away, afraid that he'd aggravated her ribs, but she tightened her hold on his hair and slid the other hand around to his back, caressing his skin and setting him on fire with her touch. Still, he managed to lift his head a little.

"I don't want to hurt you."

"You're not."

Darcy was as breathless as he was but she didn't care because he started kissing her jaw, her ear, her neck; his tongue swirling patterns across her skin, taking her higher than she'd ever been. His hands were on her waist, slowly sliding up her rib cage, incredibly gentle on her right side, almost tickling her. He smoothed his way down her back, pressing her closer to his heated body until she was enveloped by him, as much a part of him as his silky skin. She clutched at his back and shoulders, buried her nose in his hair, his scent overwhelming, like evergreens on a winter night. He returned to her lips, softly, different from the last kiss they'd shared, but no less devastating to her senses. Last time, he'd been angry, pumped up for a fight, surrounded by intense cold magic. This time he was delicate, almost hesitant, and so sweetly heart-wrenching she actually felt her eyes slick with tears. Loki was not an innocent man, but he wasn't evil. Misguided, tortured, lonely, maybe a little insecure, but not evil at the heart of him. Surely a bad person couldn't hold her so gently, couldn't feather kisses across her temple, couldn't tuck her head under his chin and hug her to him, rocking her tenderly as tremors racked them both.

Loki felt it when her breath hitched, not from passion, but from something much deeper, an echo of what he had felt when she'd called him beautiful in his prison. The kiss that had started out as heatedly as the one before it changed into a silken worship, no less delicious for its more subdued rush, no less potent in its power. It frightened him a little; the hold Darcy had on him was inconcievable, unprecidented in his long life. It went far beyond her physical attractiveness, though he could not deny she pleased his eyes, his hands thoroughly enjoying the curves of her body as she pressed against him. She was a balm to his wounded pride and battered soul, the light Banner had spoken of; she looked at him as though he was more than an unhinged criminal to be rehabilitated or simply ignored or suspected. She seemed to see something in him that was worthy of admiration, something desirable on its own merit, and it made him want deserve her attention, to deserve HER. The very idea would have been laughable only a few days ago, that not only was this mortal not beneath him but that he was the one lacking of her.

Darcy felt Loki take a shuddering breath and she lifted her head from his chest, meeting his eyes. They were troubled, still dark with passion, a longing in them that went beyond the physical. Cupping his face in her hands, she placed soft, chaste kisses on his forehead, his nose, his cheeks, his jaw. Their lips met again, full of genuine tender affection. His head dropped to her shoulder for a moment, then he sighed and stepped back, sitting heavily on the side of the bed, still elegant despite his obvious discomfort with the emotions between them. Darcy fidgeted, uncertain how they'd gone from being all over each other to this somewhat awkward distance, and she missed the warmth of him, wanting it back more than her next breath, not sure what to do though she toyed with a mischievious idea. Did she really have the courage to...?

Whatever. She'd take a chance.

She climbed onto him and sat in his lap.

He had the good grace to look shocked, points for her, but he didn't dump her in the floor so she took that as a positive sign, even though he had stiffened considerably. She lifted his chin with her fingers, smoothing back his hair, massaging away the frown that creased his brow. After a minute he relaxed, wrapping his arms around her again, and she smiled.

"Don't worry, O God of Mischief. Your rep as a badass is safe with me." She teased him a little, trying to lighten his sombre mood. He let out a small laugh, shaking his head at her silliness, then met her gaze, serious once more.

"And what about my heart, Darcy? Is that safe with you as well?"

Loki noticed the surprise on her face, and was sure the same look was mirrored on his own. The question had been on his mind, and while he hadn't planned on speaking it, her reaction kept him from overly regretting it. She stroked his face and hair and chest, eyes shining with emotion for a moment, then she practically attacked him, fusing their mouths once more and pushing him back on the bed. She crawled up his body, devouring his lips, wild and a little desperate. Loki recovered quickly, meeting her hunger with his own, his hands gripping her hips and rolling them over, groaning at the feel of her under him. She whimpered and he immediately lifted himself off of her, but she would have none of that, pulling him back to her, wrapping her arms and legs around him to keep him there.

"Darcy..."

"You're not hurting me, Loki." She was about to go crazy if he didn't stop stopping. "The exact opposite of hurting, actually. Now shut up and kiss me."

That seemed to do the trick, because he growled low in his throat and did as she said, biting her lip for her insolence, thrusting his tongue roughly, dominating her and making her love it. Darcy had never been into aggressive making out, but with him it was different, and her body surged under his until he lowered his hips to hold her down. His lovely fingers were probably leaving equally lovely bruises where he still held her hips and part of her couldn't wait to see them. He kissed his way to her throat, sucking hard on the sweet spot just below her ear, grazing her lobe with his teeth and she swore she saw stars behind her eyelids. She ran her hands down his back, scoring him with her nails and he growled again and how she loved the sound of it. She was swept away by his passion, by his concern for her even in the heat of this moment, by the heart he had hidden away in walls of ice. She thought of the unexpected fragility in his beautiful voice when he'd asked her if his heart would be safe with her, and it made her fiercely protective of him, as ridiculous as that sounded. She wanted him to know that, in her eyes, he was a good man and he deserved a second chance, even more the hero for what he had overcome, the madness inside himself that he had fought back.

The kissing went on and on, and Loki knew he needed to put a stop to it; despite what she said Darcy was still injured and he was fast losing control, especially as she nibbled his jaw and licked his chin. She was by turns wicked and submissive, and it made him feel both powerful and helpless; he was both humbled by her honest response and elevated to the highest status by her fervor, the reserve that had been beaten into him shattered by her touch. The kisses moved from hot and wet and untamed to long and leisurely and luscious, until she was forced to break for air. He took the opportunity to sit up, drawing her carefully back into his lap, cradling her as she caught her breath.

"Easy, love." He nuzzled her hair, softly singing an Old Norse lullaby, and she melted against him as she had done before. She played with the ends of his hair, twirling it around her fingers, and he had the thought that there had never been a more peaceful moment in his life. They sat quietly for a time, each fulfilled in the other's arms, until he felt her start to drift off to sleep.

"Darcy." He shook her a little, and she let out a contented sigh, her breath ghosting across his neck.

"I'm awake." She knew it was time to Talk, but Darcy just wanted to feel him a little more. If she'd thought his voice gorgeous before when he'd been speaking, either English or whatever else he spoke, it was nothing compared to his singing. He should have just sang to the world when he wanted to take it over, he'd have had people kneeling quite willingly. She told him as much, and he laughed and it was wonderful. She lifted her head to kiss the smile still on his lips, wide enough that she mostly kissed teeth, and that was pretty wonderful too.

"Things are going to be complicated, you know." His smile was gone now, and even though he was still beautiful when he was brooding, she didn't like it.

"Duh." He rolled his eyes at her response, but the smile came back and she beamed at him. "I don't care. This, whatever it is," she gestured back and forth between them, "it's special. I've never felt like this before and life's too short to worry about what anyone else thinks. When you find something this good, you have to run with it." She paused, her hand on his chest. "You have to keep it safe."

He closed his eyes, her answer both breaking his heart and filling it with hope he had no right to feel, and he wondered if she understood the irony of telling him that life was brief. It was just another reason, besides his penchant for ruining the lives of those he loved, that they shouldn't continue. Her life was finite, as evidenced by her recent activities, and his was considerably less so. It was one more circumstance in a long list standing in the way of a possible relationship, and Loki wasn't as optimistic as she. He shook his head, opening his mouth to tell her that their passion was ill-fated, and was surprised when her hand covered his lips.

"Don't do that." Her voice was soft, but determined. "You're going to start listing all the reasons we can't be together, and I'm not going to be able to argue with them. So just don't."

Tears spilled from her eyes and he brushed them away with the back of his knuckles, removing her hand from his mouth and kissing the wetness from her face, conflicted with his need for her and his need to protect her from the chaos of himself.

"I do not wish to spend what time we have together arguing either." That wasn't really an answer to what she'd said, he knew, but it was true, and he wanted to be honest with her despite his lack of practice with transparency. He sighed, resting his forehead on hers, smiling again when she rubbed her nose against his. "I worry for you, nontheless. It isn't something I can help. I don't want you losing your friends or jeopardizing your future by getting involved with me."

Darcy had to laugh at that, even though he was being serious. "I think our mutual friend Bruce already pointed out that it was a little late for that."

"So he did." Loki smiled back, unable to resist her when she seemed so happy in his arms. It did much to improve his maudlin thoughts, and a little mischief crept into his voice. "You are aware of course that I am a very jealous god, are you not? I will demand much of your...attentions, should you choose to serve me." He waggled his eyebrows and she burst out laughing, the sound as soothing to him as a healing rain.

"Don't think you can get away with that, Mr. High and Mighty. I'll have you know I'm pretty jealous myself, not to mention the legions of people who will testify to my attention-seeking ways." Her smile was pure wickedness, a hand blazing a path down his stomach.

"We shall see who wins this contest of wills, mortal." His hand tangled in her hair. "We shall see."

Hours later, Darcy sleepily decided that they were both rather good at the giving and recieving of attention, and wondered if he'd heard her whispered confession while he'd been otherwise occupied.

Loki watched Darcy fall asleep, wondering if she realized what she'd said to him and deciding that it didn't matter, because as the God of Lies he knew the truth when he heard it.