We both froze. Loki sighed and looked down, dropping his hand from my face and pulling away from me. I groaned in disappointment.

"They couldn't have come ten seconds later!" I huffed. I looked up at Loki and my eyes widened as I remembered that he wasn't supposed to be here. "Shit! You need to disappear and quickly."

Loki looked amused at my slight panic. "Trying to get rid of me already, Pet?" He smirked as I started walking away. I turned to face him while still walking backwards toward the elevator.

"Never." I said playfully and winked. Luckily the kitchen was hidden from the view of the elevators, so whoever was here didn't immediately see Loki. I rounded the corner to find Tony stepping into the room.

"Good, you're up. I thought you'd still might be asleep." Tony said. "You missed breakfast this morning. Nat made really great waffles."

"I slept in a bit, so I made breakfast up here." I smiled at him. He looked me up and down and a worried expression came to his face.

"You feeling alright, kid?"

I tilted my head. "Uh, yeah, I'm ok. I'm still a bit weak, but that will get better as I start moving again, why?" I asked.

"You're a bit red. Maybe you should get that MRI done sooner rather than later. The doctor won't be in till tomorrow, but I'll call Bruce. He just got back to the tower." Tony told me and pulled out his phone.

"No," I quickly said, "I'm ok, really it's just a bit warm in here from having the stove on, that's all." I fanned my face and tried to calm down. I was warm, but it was because of a certain god, not the temperature of the room. Tony watched me for a minute, thinking.

"Fine, but you are getting it when the doctor comes back." He said and put his phone back into his pocket.

"I don't really think I need it." I told him. "Really, I feel fine. No brain damage, everything's healed." I smiled at him.

"You're having the MRI." He told me sternly and I rolled my eyes at him. "Why don't you come to the lounge. We are having a meeting about tomorrow."

"What's tomorrow?" I asked.

"There's a PR meeting tomorrow and we were going to announce that you have woken up and are doing alright. All that good stuff." He motioned to the elevator in a 'come on' sort of way.

"Uh, why do we have to announce that?" I asked still confused. Tony sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Right, guess I need to explain. Someone recorded you saving that kid and it went viral. You were talked about on just about every talk show for two weeks. As soon as we announce that you've woken up, you'll have a whole bunch of news stations and talk shows try and get you on their show."

I stood there, wide eyed. "I- I'm sorry, what?" I asked in disbelief.

"We'll have you train with the PR team, so that you don't say anything stupid in front of the press. It'll be fine."

When I still didn't move, or look any less panicked, Tony reached out and patted my shoulder.

"Congratulations, kid, you're famous." He said and ushered me into the elevator.

"Uh-huh." I mumbled.

"All I did was save the entire city of Manhattan from a nuclear explosion, but where's my press?" Tony muttered as the elevator started moving towards the lounge. I gave him a disapproving look. "What? Not good?" He asked. I shook my head.

"No, Tony, not good." I told him. Tony shrugged.

"I'm just saying." He pouted. I chuckled and rolled my eyes at him. The elevator opened a few seconds later. Everyone was sitting around the living room and talking. When Tony and I walked up, the conversation stopped and everyone looked at us.

"Sammee!" Thor boomed and stood up. "Glad you could join us."

I smiled and walked towards them. "Ya, sorry I got up a bit later than you guys do, so I just made breakfast upstairs." I nervously told them. "But from what I hear, Nat makes some killer waffles."

Bruce then poked his head out from behind Steve on the couch. "Hey, there's my favorite scientist!" I smiled brightly at him. He wasn't here when I woke up yesterday. He had been working with Fury on something. Bruce smiled back and gave me a small wave.

"How are you, Sammee?" He asked. I shrugged.

"Not 100%, but I'm getting there."

"Ok, seriously, how the hell is he your favorite scientist?" Tony asked from next to me.

"Aww, did I hurt your feelings?" I fake pouted at him. I heard Steve chuckle from the couch as Tony narrowed his eyes at me. "Suck it up, Buttercup." I laughed.

"I regret not sending you to Fury." He mumbled. "Is it to late to hit 'return to sender'?" Tony asked.

I laughed a little as I thought about my mom. We used to make jokes like that all the time. My smile faded as I realized this was the first time I was thinking about my parents since I'd been here. I quickly looked down to the floor at my feet.

"Uh, whoa, kid? I didn't mean it." Tony told me in an apologetic tone. I shook my head and took a deep breath to clear my throat.

"No, no, it's not that. You just reminded me a bit of my mom, that's all. We always joke like that. I haven't actually thought about my parents since I've been here." I sniffed and looked up at him. "Do you think they're worried about me?" I asked. Tony didn't answer me. He just looked at me with a worried expression.

"Until we know how you got here, we won't know for sure." Bruce chimed in, saving Tony from having to answer.

"I'm sure they're ok, Sammee." Nat said to try and comfort me a bit. I nodded and took a deep breath to calm down.

"Yeah, I'm sure they are." I repeated back. "So, what about the PR meeting tomorrow?" I asked to focus on something else.

"Right," Tony started and walked to a chair to sit down. I walked to the couch and took a seat next to Thor and Steve. "Tomorrow is going to be insane." Tony told me. "Especially because you are 'America's darling' right now."

I nodded. "Right, and how the fuck did this happen again?" I asked. Nat shifted in her seat to look at me directly and answer.

"The press have a mind of their own. Once they got ahold of the video, it spread like wildfire. We couldn't get the video down fast enough." She explained. I continued to nod as she spoke.

"Sammee, you ok?" Steve asked from my right. I bit my lip and looked over at him.

"Yeah, yep! Why wouldn't I be?" I asked in a higher pitch voice than I meant to.

"Maybe we should call it off." Tony sighed. "We'll do it another day."

"No, no, I can do it!" I told him. "I've spoken publicly quite a few times before, so I can handle this. I just need to wrap my brain around this and then I'll be fine."

Tony furrowed his brow and sat back in his chair. "You've spoken publicly before? Where?" He asked me curiously. The others all looked at me and waited for my answer.

"I did a few beauty pageants when I was a kid. I was in the debate team in highschool. I was also in a lot of theater productions growing up." I told them. Tony and Nat actually looked impressed. After a few seconds, Tony clapped his hands together before speaking.

"Ok, so you can talk in front of big crowds. That's less work for us. Let's hope your answers are a bit more diplomatic than when you were a kid." He said. I looked at him and rolled my eyes.

"Like yours ever are?" I raised my brows at him. Tony opened his mouth to protest, but closed it and thought for a moment.

"Good point." He said and pointed a finger at me. "But I'm a billionaire, so I earned it."

"And I'm 'American's little darling'." I told him and batted my eyelashes. Clint leaned forward in his chair and placed his elbows on his knees.

"Ya know, she's got ya there, Tony." Clint told him, making me giggle a bit. Tony looked over at Clint with an annoyed look.

"That is exactly why she needs to be diplomatic in her answers. The people will expect her to be a perfect angel. The press have talked her up too much. They will all be waiting for her to fail."

Clint's smile immediately faded and Tony turned back to me. "It's a lot of pressure and I know it's unfair, but it's the truth." Tony said. I swallowed dryly and stared at a spot on the ground. "One of us will be with you at all times to try and keep some of the pressure off of you. If you're ever stuck on something, you can just refer to whoever you're with and they will help you out." He assured me. I pried my eyes from the floor and looked around me at everyone. They all looked determined to help me with this. I took a deep breath before smiling softly and nodding.

"I'll be ok." I told Tony. "I can do it."

The next few hours were spent talking about how tomorrow was going to go down. To say it wasn't a lot to handle would be a lie. By the end of the discussion, my head was pounding and my anxiety was sky high. At around four PM, I was able to retreat back to my room. A loud sigh escaped my lips as I stepped off the elevator.

"Bad day?" Loki asked from beside me. He was leaning against the wall beside the elevator while reading a book. I didn't see him when I came in, so he scared the hell out of me. I yelped and teleported across the room.

When I realized it was him, I gave an annoyed sigh and teleported back. Loki glanced at me over the top of his book. He smiled amusingly before returning to said book.

"You," I said and took the book from his hand, "are an asshole." I looked down at the cover of the book he was reading. It was a copy of 'Pride and Prejudice'. "Jane Austen?" I tilted my head as I asked. He pushed off the wall and walked toward me. "Well, you at least have an eye for the classics." I told him as he took the book back from my hands.

"Do you not like my choice in literature?" He asked at my expression. I shrugged.

"Almost everyone is made to read it in highschool. It wasn't my cup of tea."

"And what books were 'your cup of tea'?" Loki took a step closer to me and tilted his head. I looked down to think for a moment.

"Uhm... one of my favorites is Alanna. I also like stories like The Most Dangerous Game, you'd like that one. Anything about World War II, or the Civil War, I like. Then there's My Side of the Mountain, Beautiful Joe, and Where the Red Fern Grows, they were my favorite as a kid. I remember finding My Side of the Mountain on DVD when I was about eight and watching it at least once a day for a month, or two. It drove my mother nuts." I laughed softly at the memory. Loki took another half step, so he was inches from me.

"I've read The Most Dangerous Game, and you're right, I did like it. The others are not in Starks library, though. Perhaps you can be a good pet and fetch them for me?" He smirked and wrapped his arm around my waist to pull me closer to him.

"That depends," I smirked back, "do I get a treat at the end?"

Loki raised his brows and smiled mischievously. "Absolutely." He said, making me giggle. I slipped my hands up his arms to rest on his shoulders.

"Well, there is something I'm in dire need of some help with. Do you think you can help me, my prince?" I asked as seductively as I could. Loki scanned my face, his eyes stopping at my lips. I slowly pulled my bottom lip between my teeth to tease him.

"A prince always has to be mindful of his subjects needs." His grip on my waist became tighter and I sucked in a deep breath.

"I'm so glad you see it that way," I smiled and stepped back, "because I need help with training."

Loki dropped his hands and narrowed his eyes at me. "Now who's being a tease?" He smirked. I smiled back and shrugged.

"I learned from the best." I winked and walked past him to go to my room. "Call it payback." I chuckled.

Once in my room I quickly changed into leggings and a tank top. I grabbed a hair tie and tied my hair in a high ponytail to keep it out of my face. When I was ready, I walked out of my room and down the hallway to the training room. Loki wasn't there, so I started without him. I stretched my limbs out and got warmed up. Then, I got up and looked at all the knives. I grabbed a set of throwing knives and went to position a practice dummy.

When I had it set in the right position, I walked to the other side of the room. I pulled one of the knives out and felt where it was weighed. It was a black, eight inch, Smith and Wesson, throwing knife, so it was weighted more at the front. I then took a stance, so that my left foot was slightly in front of my right, and my feet were shoulder width apart. I bent my arm in a 90 degree angle and quickly snapped my arm forward, releasing the blade just over halfway.

The blade spun through the air, but didn't hit the dummy. Since it was my first time using these blades, I expected that. I took out another blade and adjusted my distance and stance. That time the blade hit the dummy, but the blade angled sideways in the air, so it didn't do any damage. I huffed and tried with the third blade, but again the blade angled weirdly in the air and didn't stick. I went to retrieve my blades and tried again, no luck.

Everything I did to adjust seemed to not do anything to change the direction of the blade. I stared at the dummy angrily and flipped the blade around in my hand. I did a full twist and used that momentum to fling the blade at the dummy. The blade pierced through the dummies head with force. I felt a mix of emotions. On one hand, I hit my target correctly, on the other, I was still struggling to make straight on attacks.

"You're holding it wrong." I heard Loki's smooth voice say from behind me. I turned to see him leaning against the door frame watching me. He pushed off the wall and slowly walked toward me. "You're too weak right now to throw how you normally do. Let me show you." He said and gestured for me to get back into my stance. I complied and lifted my arm up like I was about to throw. Loki grabbed my hips and rotated them inward slightly. "You need to keep more tension here." He whispered into my ear from behind me. "Try to keep your shoulders angled." He said and pushed my left shoulder forward a bit. "Now try." He stepped away from me and I instantly missed him touching me. I looked back at him to see him smirk and nod toward the dummy. I took a deep breath before I flung the knife forward. It embedded itself directly next to the one already in its head.

"When did you get to be such a great teacher?" I asked and turned to smile at him.

"I wasn't the strongest of children, so I had to adapt." He told me and looked to the ground almost shyly.

"Well, thank you. I couldn't for the life of me figure it out." I laughed. "So, are you going to help me train?"

He smiled and shook his head. "No, sorry, Kitten. I would probably hurt you."

I frowned and rolled my eyes. "We've fought before and I did just fine against you."

Loki took a few steps, so that he was directly in front of me. "That was when you were a lot stronger and I seem to remember I won that battle." He smirked and tucked a piece of loose hair behind my ear.

"I don't remember that happening." I told him and shook my head innocently, even though I vividly remembered it. I remembered how tightly he held me and pinned me against him. My cheeks heated up at the memory and Loki's smirk turned into a knowing smile.

"Oh, I think you do." He teased and grabbed my waist to make me face him completely and not turn away. "And, if I remember correctly," he paused to pull me closer to him, so that we were pressed together, "you were supposed to kneel to me."

A small smile crept onto my face the longer I looked at him. He was looking directly into my eyes, not looking away for a second.

"And I thought I told you, I don't submit outside of the bedroom."

A wicked smile spread across his face as he looked at me. "Oh, we both know that's not true." Loki turned and walked me backwards until my back was to the wall. One of his hands then released my hip and trailed its way up my body. When his hand reached my neck, his fingers wrapped around it and squeezed lightly. A small, needy whine left my lips and Loki's eyes only grew in amusement. "See, it's just as I thought." He said and added a little more pressure to my neck. I closed my eyes and tried to focus my mind on something else, but it was useless. The only thing I could think of was him.

"Fuck you," I sighed out in annoyance at both my conflicted feelings and his methods. Loki chuckled and the sound made me open my eyes.

"Don't worry, Kitten. I plan on it."

My head was getting clouded with lust as Loki continued to watch me. I glanced from his eyes to his lips, silently pleading for him to make a move. I grabbed onto the leather of his shirt and pulled him as close to me as possible. Loki licked his lips slowly and moved his hand from my neck to the side of my jaw and cheek. He was moving impossibly slow. I knew it was to tease me, but I was getting impatient. I leaned closer to him, needing to feel his lips on mine. He smirked and pushed me back against the wall.

"Getting impatient, are we?" He asked, amusement in his tone. I bit my lip in frustration. "Greedy girls are never rewarded."

The need for him was getting extremely overwhelming, so I did the only thing I could think of.

"Please, my prince...I need you." I begged in the neediest voice I could. I felt a shiver go through him and he closed his eyes. He groaned and tightened his grip on my hip. I smiled slightly at the reaction I got out of him. "Please?" I whispered. Loki's eyes opened and looked straight into mine. His eyes were filled with lust and an almost animalistic-like hunger. He leaned forward and I closed my eyes, but instead of feeling his lips on mine, I felt them attach to the soft skin on my neck. I gasped and arched into him at the unexpected action. He chuckled softly, loving my reaction.

"What is the midgardian saying? Good things come to those who wait?" He asked before biting down on my sweet spot. I whimpered and held onto him tighter. Heat ran through my body and I moaned as he kissed and bit his way up my neck. When he got to my ear, he stopped. "The wait makes it so much sweeter." He whispered before pulling back and slowly, almost painfully so, pressed his lips to mine. I sighed happily and moved to loop my arms around his neck. The kiss was soft at first, but became hungrier with time. I bit Loki's lip harshly to get him to open for me. He groaned and complied. Arousal spiked through me as we tasted each other. He tasted so sweet that it was intoxicating.

The feeling of him pressed against me was so overwhelming that I almost forgot the need to breathe. I finally pulled back, so I could take a breath and Loki moved to attached his lips on my neck again. He found my pulse and bit the sensitive skin. I yelped, but it quickly turned into a moan as he soothed the bite with his tongue.

"Fuck," I moaned, "you're good at that." I felt Loki smirk against me before he moved back to look at me.