Fallen Star

Chapter 5

(Jane POV) Jane instantly took stock of her options as she fled out the bedroom door into the hall. Across the hall there was a bathroom. That was no good. She'd be cornered. The other option was the hallway back to the front room. On the far side of the front room was the door to the basement.

For now Loki seemed content to prowl her bedroom, but Jane had no idea how long that would last. Then an idea came to her. She reached for the bathroom door, opened it, and shut it again, loudly enough to make a slight noise. Then she began creeping down the hall. She wanted to run and get it over with, but she was afraid that would make more noise

As she tiptoed past the still-open study door she heard the hallway door to the bedroom open. Without thinking she darted into the study. She crouched by the side of her desk. From this angle, she would be able to see Loki after he stepped into the room and have enough time to flee into the bedroom. Since he would be leaving the bedroom to check the bathroom and hallway, she wasn't worried about the other door.

(Loki POV) Loki turned the doorknob at the end of the hall. Perhaps Jane Foster was less intelligent than he thought. He'd heard her shutting the door from across the bedroom, and she hadn't even locked the door.

"You can't keep hiding, rabbit," he said, standing in front of the closed door. "Face it like a warrior. You may find I'm not so unpleasant as you think."

He opened the door to reveal… an empty room. He wasn't overly familiar with this backwater planet, but he could divine the purpose of the room. Slightly perplexed, he stepped farther inside to ensure that Jane wasn't hiding somewhere. There was nowhere to hide. He ripped back the shower curtain and that was it.

Humiliation and rage flooded together inside him, along with a trickle of admiration for the woman who would dare try to trick the god of trickery and who succeeded. Then they were replaced with a new burst of mischief.

He would show her how it was done.

(Jane POV) Jane heard Loki rifling through her bathroom, but she didn't see how she could move from her position. At any moment, Loki was a single step from the hallway, and she had no way to know when he would make that step. Then she heard a footstep in the hallway. Loki had exited the bathroom. The bedroom door squeaked lightly. Then there was silence.

A little logic could tell her Loki's plan. He would know she couldn't have gone down the hall, since he would have seen her when he left the bedroom. That meant she must be in the study. Since he didn't know where she was in the study, he'd simply taken the quickest route back through the bedroom. At any moment he would be coming into the study through the bedroom door, which she was sitting right beside.

There was no time to be overly cautious. Loki already knew where she was, so her only chance was to get some distance from him before he entered the room. Jane hurried to the hallway, trying to preserve enough quiet for some element of surprise.

She fled down the hallway, turning around the corner to the main room.

Where she crashed straight into Loki.

(Loki POV) Loki smirked as Jane bounced off his chest.

"Didn't expect to see me here?" he asked as he grabbed her arm. "Did you think you'd outfoxed the god of trickery?"

Jane didn't say anything. She tried to pull away from him. She must have known it was useless, but he was glad she tried anyway. It gave him an excuse to grip her harder.

"Finally, we can get to know each other." Loki said. "But this is no place to meet your acquaintance. I prefer somewhere a little more discreet."

He wrapper his other arm around her waist, drawing her up slightly. He started walking back down the hall. Jane's feet skimmed the ground lightly like she was being swept along in a waltz.

He studied Jane as they went. Her face was pale but her eyes were pensive. She seemed to be evaluating how best to resist him while acknowledging his far superior strength and calculating the possibility of antagonizing him further. At present, she was tense and unyielding, but she made no move to impede their progress.

As he drew her into the bedroom, Loki savored the infinite possibilities for what would come next. Whatever he decided, it would be something Jane Foster would never forget.