“Why didn’t you just kiss me?” I asked. “Wouldn’t that have been a better thing to remember?”

“It wasn’t the right time.”

“Why not?”

“You were on a mission. If I kissed you, it would’ve only been for a second, because you were in a rush to go,” he said. “And a second wouldn’t be enough.”

“So when is the right time?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” he whispered.

He had his hand on my cheek, brushing away a tear, and his eyes were searching my face. He leaned forward, and his lips brushed against mine. Delicately at first, almost testing to see if this was real. His kisses were soft and sweet, and so very different than Finn’s.

As soon as I thought of Finn, I pushed him from my mind. I didn’t want to think of anything. I didn’t want to feel anything except Loki. The exhaustion of the night was pushed away as something surged through, something warm and hungry.

Loki kissed me more deeply and pushed me back on the bed.

He wrapped an arm around my waist, lifting me up and puling me farther onto the bed. I clung to him, my hands digging into his bare back. The scars felt like braile under my fingers, scars he’d gotten to protect me.

“Wendy,” he murmured as he kissed my neck, his lips trailing al over my skin and making it tremble.

He stopped kissing me long enough to look at me. His light hair fel into his eyes. Something about the way he looked at me, his eyes the color of burnt honey, made my heart beat faster.

It was like I’d never truly seen him before. Al his pretenses had falen away, his smirk, his swagger, were al gone. It was just him, and I realized that this might be the first time I was realy seeing him.

Loki was vulnerable and kind and more than a little frightened.

But more than that, he was lonely, and he cared about me. He cared about me so much it terrified him, and as much as that should’ve scared me too, it didn’t.

Al I could think about was that I’d never seen anything more beautiful. It felt strange thinking of a boy that way, but that’s what he was. Looking down at me, waiting for me to accept him or push him away, Loki was beautiful.

I reached for him and touched his face, almost astonished that he could be real. He closed his eyes and kissed the palm of my hand. One of his hands was on my side, and his grip tightened, sending hot shivers al through my body.

“I hate to even ask this but…” Loki trailed off, his voice husky.

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

“I want you, Loki,” I said before I could let myself think about anything.