Page 43 of Last Thrall of Asgard

“Seems this is good for fucking after all.” Tyr lifted his stump. “But maybe I needed to prove my prowess to myself as well as to a mouthy mortal.”

I had touched a nerve, and he’d needed me after all. “You certainly did,” I assured him.

The door to the bathing chamber was still open, and in my periphery, I would swear I saw that dog tail again. Why wouldn’t he claim me if he enjoyed watching so much?

As we lounged in the hot spring, with Thor soon asleep and Tyr poised to follow, I felt as I had when I dropped into thatlake after Freyr, pulled into my own slumber, but one so deep, so sudden, that it had to be brought upon by magic.

LOKI

Did you know that even the heavens have heavens above them? There was an endlessness to everything beyond godly knowledge, just like the tapestry of fate, that not even us gods fully understand.

The vastness of the heavens might make some humans feel small, but I didn’t mind feeling small. I was a flea sometimes, after all!

And a fly.

No, I loved the vastness of the heavens seen from any realm, but here,home, the sky was the most beautiful, deepest blue-black at night and sparkling with stars. Especially with a certain slumbering menace on my lap.

I enjoyed the quiet. Thor’s chattering could annoy even me after too long. But it was quiet here, save for the soft sounds of Oli breathing.

Damn him for almost catching me watching.

Damn him for knowing that I watched.

Damn him for being all that had been prophesized.

Who’d have guessed anyone could keep up with my bantering? And almost steal a kiss. And command my whole attention, even when at the mercy of another’s touch.

I hadn’t meant to peer inside the enclosure of the hot spring, but Tyr had not been on the menu,opportunistic ass, and I had been moments from revealing myself and ruining everything to rescue the poor mortal until Thor had to go and beThorand save the day in my stead. I was still glad he had.

The quiet couldn’t last. The stillness. The peace. But looking up at the stars with Oli’s head in my lap, I could pretend and almost believe.

And then he stirred.

OLI

I could feel the soft thighs I had been missing. Feel the scratch of long nails through my hair. I was coming out of my slumber, revitalized once more, and as I woke, I reached for the waist of the one who held me.

My arms wrapped around a pillow, propped on the edge of the hot spring.

I sat up. This was not the same spring I had been in earlier. The room was smaller, and while it had walls, there was no roof.

And no Thor or Tyr.

It was nighttime, although exactly how many days had passed since my abduction, I couldn’t guess. One? Two? A dozen? Where I was, it was beautiful, with twinkling stars and a full moon. But why was I, yet again, alone?

“Sick of hearing stories yet?” Loki’s voice came through the closed door.

I smiled. I knew the imp couldn’t stay away.

Or hoped he couldn’t.

“Aren’t you going to ask if I’m sick ofcock?” I teased.

“Are you?”

I settled into this new, smaller hot spring pool. Loki wanted to play games. Maybe he couldn’t resist or didn’t know how to be direct. I could work with that. “Not even a little, truth be told. And I’m not sick of stories. I’m sick of stories that don’t need to be told. I would rather hear truths.”

Loki went quiet, but I knew he was there, behind the door. I imagined him sitting on the ground, leaning against it.

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