Chapter Text
Lucy, eyes slumberous and full of desire, glanced up at her new husband from her spot on his lap after sitting snuggled against him in the – absolutely amazing – bath for a few minutes. She could feel his arousal pressed against her hip, and she was a little surprised at how comfortable she was with it. She was just so happy and relaxed that she couldn't find it in herself to feel bashful though, let alone act it. It wasn't like she didn't want him, after all.
But...
She bit her lip. “Umm, Loke?” When he smiled and opened his eyes to look at her, she continued. “Do you think we could move? This position is a little uncomfortable.”
The lion suddenly flashed a roguish grin. “What, is my lap not soft enough for you?”
“Actually, no, now that you mention it, it's quite... hard,” she returned tartly, rolling her eyes at him.
Loke chuckled with deepening amusement at her feisty reply. “Of course it is,” he agreed easily. “Well, if you aren't comfortable that way, how about this?” As soon as he finished speaking he began to move, and Lucy was very startled to realize, as they shifted position smoothly, that somehow he was changing the shape of the bath itself. The bench had extended and moved around them, shaping itself to what seemed to be her husband's wishes.
“How...?” she gasped, gaping down into the water.
The man she was now laying against laughed, enjoying her befuddlement. “The celestial world is made of... I suppose you could call it ether, for lack of any better term. It's a mixture of energy and matter both. As a celestial spirit I can manipulate this ether and basically make it do whatever I want. The other spirits, too. It's only our own personal abilities that hinder us; I can do things with it that the others can't because of my strength and position as leader of the zodiac. And Seirei-o can do much more than I can, of course.”
Lucy's eyes were wide. “Oh,” she breathed, relaxing and resettling against him in a more comfortable way. “That sounds pretty cool, actually,” she said after a minute. “So, you can basically make the spirit world look any way you want it by manipulating the fabric of the celestial dimension itself. That's what you're telling me, right?”
He nodded placidly. “Mhm.”
“Could I learn to do it?” she asked.
“Most certainly. You are a powerful mage, after all, even able to do high-level caster magic.”
She blushed at his approbation. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” he smiled. “It's really not hard at all, but I won't be able to teach you until we actually move to the spirit world. If you were to try right now and made the slightest mistake, it could unravel the spell merging the two dimensions in a very unpleasant manner.”
Lucy smiled a little in return and laid her head back down against Loke's shoulder. “Well, we can't have that, now can we?”
He chuckled.
“I can wait,” she said softly after a minute. “Thanks, Loke.”
He shivered at the feel of her heated breath fluttering over his damp collarbone. His voice a little husky with emotion and repressed desire, he replied, “No, thank you, Lucy,” as he tightened his embrace.
It went without saying what he was thanking her for. Everything.
Not that even that word was descriptive enough of what he truly owed her.
It fell quiet again after that, and both basked in the time spent curled together. Desire prowled just beneath the surface, but it was partially tamed by the heated water and comfortable feeling that had sprung up between them.
That wouldn't last for long, of course.
Loke was already feeling the need to get things moving, his arousal hard and hurting. However, he really was a tantric sort of man, and he didn't want anything that was going to be over quick. He had quite a bit of control, and he was going to make love to his wife the way he wanted, not have their first time dictated by his (admittedly raging) libido.
With that thought in mind, he slowly began to run his hands along her body. He started with just shallow passes across small patches of skin, gentling her and letting her become accustomed to his touch in less-erotic areas. He moved like a hunting cat – inch by inch, allowing his hands to move just a tiny bit further with each sweep, creeping up on his beautiful prey so that she wouldn't suddenly wake from his spell and try to flee.
He felt an odd little vibration and heard a tiny sound as he did so, and his brows rose in astonishment. Did she just purr? It was a human-sounding purr, but nonetheless... His hands continued their motions, and sure enough... She did! I heard it clearly that time!
“I thought I was the cat around here,” he stated dryly, his voice filled with humor.
Lucy jolted a little at that, but then he could feel a smile cross her face as she lay against his skin. “Do you mind?”
“No way in hell,” he responded pleasantly. “Feel free to purr for me anytime you want, babe.”
She giggled, but didn't say anything. She didn't really need to, he could hear her thinking it. You perverted lion.
Loke grinned wickedly in response to that thought. You don't know the half of it, my love – but you will here quite soon...
“So... is there a reason you're being so cautious? Afraid I'll bite or something?”
The ginger-haired man blinked, a little stunned at the rather forward comment, frankly. What did she just say? “Pardon?”
His wife giggled again in response and lifted her head to look at him with a languid, sensual expression that he'd never seen on her before. “You don't have to worry about creeping up on me, Loke. I'm well aware of what's going to happen between us, and if you hadn't noticed, I'm in a bath naked with you and clinging quite tightly. I'm not going anywhere. Just consider me a captive audience, why don't you?”
A delighted smile slowly crossed his face. “And how do you feel about audience participation, my lady?” he flirted playfully.
Lucy shifted against him, turning in his embrace and slipping an arm up. She tilted her head and went right for his lips, splashing her mouth against his passionately as she wrapped that arm around the back of his neck. He opened immediately for her with perfect trust; though he'd been rather startled by her sudden maneuver, he certainly wasn't going to complain. After a scorching, though slightly clumsy kiss that did funny things to his heart but only lasted all of fifteen seconds or so, she pulled back.
Loke's eyes opened as soon as she moved – he needed to see her. And he did.
She looked like visual sex. He couldn't find any other way to describe what she was to him in that moment. She was the pleasure felt at the height of an orgasm, but only his eyes were actually involved. And then she opened her own eyes all slumberous with heat, and Oh, please gods she was divine and he was drowning.
“Audience participation is required, as far as I'm concerned. This 'audience' isn't one to just lay back and watch the proceedings, anyway,” she replied pertly. “So why don't we finish this bath so we can move on to the important things?”
A wolfish grin stole across Loke's face, and he released his hold on Lucy so she could begin bathing.
“Your wish is my command, sweetheart – err... rather literally, actually,” he laughed. “Master.”
She scowled at him. “Don't do that. I'm not your master, I was your friend, and now I'm your wife. There's no room for a 'master' here. You have your own mind and know how to use it. You don't need someone making your decisions for you anymore than I do,” she said fiercely.
Yet again, she'd made his breath choke off in his lungs and his throat tighten with unrestrained emotion. She unmans me every time. Oh, Lucy... His mind flashed to the extreme differences between his beloved and his former master, Karen. They were so deep as to be an abyss, it seemed.
Aloud, he said, “I adore you, you know,” simply, with no guile or attempt to make himself seem more stoic or manly. There was only them and the quietly spoken words, stark and bare and open.
They made her blush as he held her gaze with his own intense one. She opened her mouth as if to say something; he shook his head and pressed a finger to her lips, catching the words before they could leave.
“But it's okay. When I call you master, I'm not meaning it the way you're thinking. I already told you earlier tonight that you own me, and that it was as a man to a woman, not spirit to owner. When I say that, I just mean that you've mastered my heart. It's not a bad thing, in fact, I welcome it with open arms. It offers me more happiness than I've ever known.”
Lucy made a face, not completely appeased by his explanation. It was clear, at least, that she'd thought on that word frequently, and didn't like what it implied. “Che... owner,” she growled, beginning to look to Loke like an angry cub, hissing and snarling at an attacker. “Who the hell thought up that term, anyway? You can't own your friends.” The water splashed a little violently in reaction to her suddenly harsh, frustrated movements, and Loke half-smiled to himself as he washed and watched her surreptitiously. “Hmph. Bastards.”
Would she ever cease to surprise him with the depths of her heart? He honestly hoped not. He wanted to wallow in all that was Lucy forever. He'd wanted that for a while.
“Okay, okay, I'll stop,” he finally replied as he slanted a light, impish look her way, not wanting her to be thinking displeasing thoughts on this most special of all nights. “You might flood the bathroom if I don't. It's just that you're so much fun to tease and rile up that I can't help it.”
Brow flying into her bangs at that, Lucy eyed her husband. Oh, he looked so damn good with the water dripping down his chest and abs, making her eyes follow those paths with want. She flicked a loaded glance at him, then paused in her washing to lean over and lick unhurriedly upwards from his chest to the base of his throat, following the path of some of the streams of water in reverse.
Loke jerked and swallowed harshly, not having expected that, but it felt so overwhelmingly good that he was beginning to wonder who was the virgin between the two of them, because she certainly wasn't acting like one. Right now he felt like the virgin, because that one, simple little move had just rocked his whole world.
That feeling only got stronger when she got to the hollow of his throat and dipped her tongue in, sucked lightly... and then bit down. It wasn't a hard bite, but enough for him to feel her teeth rather sharply. He was two seconds away from pouncing on her...
She pulled away with a sultry smile and winked at his confused and wanting expression.
“You're fun to tease, too, Loke. Just remember,” she purred dangerously as her smile turned mischievous, “if you tease me, I'm going to get you back for it.”
He blinked. That little...! Oh, he'd known she was a passionate woman beneath her sometimes uncertain and untried demeanor, but he really hadn't expected... this. He wasn't complaining, no... never that. In all actuality, her forward, more aggressive actions were quite welcome by him – more than welcome, truly.
His desire for her ramping ever higher, Loke quickly dunked himself underwater to wet his hair. Time to get the cleaning up over with...
So they could then get out and proceed to get dirty again.
What is it that Natsu always says? I'm all fired up? Best phrase ever.
“See who can finish their bath first?” he offered.
Lucy grinned and clenched her fist. “You're on.”
~~LoLu~~
Fifteen minutes later found two people finished with their bathing.
“Man, I can't believe I lost,” Lucy sighed mournfully, her lower lip pouting as she readied to climb from the bath and wrap herself in a nice fluffy towel.
“I'm a lion,” came the matter-of-fact reply. “Lions don't lose well. Especially in these kinds of circumstances,” he leered.
She turned a dour look on him, and he reached over with a smile and slid a finger down the slender ridge of her nose, which she wrinkled. It was unbelievably adorable. Fuck. I'm a lost cause. The thing was, he just couldn't bring himself to really care.
“What? It's the truth. So... since I won, what do I get?” he asked slyly, watching her closely. He wanted to see how she was going to act – it was time to get out of the water. Would she climb from it with bold confidence as she'd done when getting in, or would that stubborn shy streak take back over?
Lucy was indeed fighting with herself. She definitely had that bold, daring side to her personality, but there was also that little bit of shyness that she couldn't quite seem to kick no matter how hard she tried. But tonight... tonight wasn't a night for shyness and hesitation. Tonight was a night for a meeting of equals. And while she'd never be able to equal his experience (she'd never want to try), she could definitely try to match his daring and passion.
Licking dry lips as she looked down, she firmed her courage and stood up, her chest coming up out of the water and into Loke's view with nothing to hide it. “Time to move this to somewhere better suited, wouldn't you say?” she asked, raising her head to look at him with determination.
Loke's eyes instantly locked on to her breasts, though he tried hard not to let them linger. He couldn't help it. He had always adored his little lioness' attributes... after all, they were very apparent. She was tiny, which brought out his protective instincts, but curvy and well-endowed, and her sweet face, rich brown eyes, and glowing golden hair didn't exactly hinder her appeal. But to gaze at even part of her body completely uninhibited...the impact was... wow. He was blown away by the rush of things just that visual alone made him feel.
So he swallowed hard and said, “That might be the best idea I've ever heard,” tightly.
A sweet flush swept up her body at his hot stare, but instead of letting it intimidate her, she responded by slanting a knowing smirk at him and moving forward to walk boldly up the steps and out of the bath.
Damn... what a woman!
The lion was locked in place, utterly unable to move or look away as her hourglass figure became clearly visible. When the curves of her sweet little ass slid into view, though, it was over for him. He hurriedly stood to follow, moving as a moth to the flame. His eyes were intent and ignorant to anything else, his attention solely on her. He was bewitched.
Lucy looked over her shoulder and beckoned him with a curl of one slender, well-bred finger. “Come to me, Loke,” she said alluringly, making her way out to the other room... and the bed that took up one complete end of it.
Like a satellite to its host Loke followed, entirely spellbound by her and her body and actions. He was altogether unable and even unwilling to break away from her.
The celestial lion had most definitely been leashed.
No matter, he purred dangerously as he stalked her to their marriage bed. Leashed is not tamed.
When he verbalized that thought just as they reached the massive bedstead, Lucy turned around with a high flush and smiled genuinely at him, no trace of seduction in her gaze for the moment, merely honesty. “I wouldn't have it any other way, Loke. And yes... if you're asking, I'm still nervous,” she admitted softly, the twinkle in her eyes turning a little shy but filled with a deeper knowing at the same time. She could feel through their bond that he was curious about that point.
“You sure had me fooled,” he chuckled as he reached her and pressed her backwards into the bedding, following her down onto it. He scooted them up and then propped his head on his hand and looked at her. After a moment, his expression turned serious.
“I could make some speech along the lines of 'there's nothing to be scared or nervous of', but that would be kind of pointless, because you already know that and it doesn't really help. It never does in these kinds of circumstances, for some reason,” a wry smile flashed quickly across his face, then faded again. “But I just want you to know... that you're not the only one that's nervous. This... us... is the most important thing in the world to me, and I'm worried that I'll do something you don't like and mess it up for you. But even though I'm nervous, I'm not going to give in to that feeling and let it stop me,” he warned her. “I've wanted you for far too long to let anything do that.”
She smiled and lifted a hand up to cup his cheek, her gaze searching his for the truth of his words... and finding it. His eyes were open and unguarded to her, and allowing her own to soften, she let him see straight into her heart.
Then don't, and I won't, either.
His responding smile was breathtaking, and Oh, stars, he was just beautiful. No words could even come close. She gently swept her thumb along one high cheekbone, her heart aching with tenderness for him. “Kiss me.”
That was all the invitation the lion needed, and he leaned down and took her lips slowly and sensuously, almost unbearable heat in every flick and touch of his tongue against hers and the sensitive inner flesh of her mouth.
Her hand slid up into his soft ginger locks, pulling him closer, and Loke allowed her to tug him down against her side. In that position he was half atop her, which was just perfect, because there was skin on skin contact but yet it left plenty of flesh for his hands to explore.
He slid the hand that had landed on her waist up slowly until he was cupping a breast. Lucy moaned into the kiss at that, and as he caressed the soft skin, her lashes fluttered and she looked directly into his bemused gaze.
Lifting his mouth from hers, he murmured, “You look so beautiful like that, with your eyes all sleepy and sultry and hungry.”
“Loke,” she sighed as she arched into his touch. “Loke.”
To the lion it was as if she were affirming his presence, as though she was making sure he really was there with her. His heart softened dangerously, and he lowered his mouth to her perfect breast, suckling it lightly as he gentled her into his touch. He didn't want to overwhelm her, he only wanted to love her.
“Lucy,” he breathed when he pulled away from the one and flicked a glance up at her as he moved to the other; she was staring openly at him with, dark, hooded eyes and watching every move he made. He held her gaze hotly as he slowly bent to take the untouched nipple into his mouth, and he was very turned on to see that she didn't once look away as most virgins would have. Having her watch him suckle her breast was an intense turn on for Loke, more erotic than anything he could remember ever seeing.
She didn't try to hide her reactions at all. Every cry, every moan, every demand for him to do it harder, it was all there in plain view. Her eyes dilating 'til the pupil was merely a thin ring around the iris, every sigh and hiss and mewl, she shared it all with him. Unable to help himself as his need momentarily overwhelmed him, he released the nipple in his mouth with a pop and thrust himself upward to take her luscious mouth in a needy, talented, but just slightly sloppy kiss that had Lucy writhing in her attempts to get ever closer to him.
“I love you,” he told her fiercely as he met her eyes with a feral gaze, lips still against hers, before finally falling on her like a man too long denied and simply unable to hold out any longer.
He devoured her.
I will love you forever.