Chapter Twenty-One Heimdall

"A re you sure we won't get caught?" I asked as we trudged up the backside of the mountain. "Aren't there patrols and stuff?"

"They won't catch us," Loki replied, assuring me for the tenth time that everything would be alright. "There are a couple of hot springs not on resort land. It's technically in pack territory, but we don't patrol it. The terrain is too rough."

"Are you sure it won't be too rough for us?"

"Nah," he grinned. "We survived a cave for three days. This'll be a piece of cake."

He was only half right. The ‘rough terrain' that he spoke of turned out to be a sheer rock cliff. Granted, it was only about twenty-five feet tall, but scaling it meant literally climbing straight up. Loki, without hesitation, scrambled his way to the top like he'd done it a thousand times before. I, on the other hand, had to take a bit more time. The food we'd stolen had helped me regain some of my strength, but I was still sore from breaking out of the cave. Not to mention, we'd only gotten a couple hours of sleep before Loki had me up again. He said we had to go before the sun rose so nobody saw us.

"Come on!" he called from the rocky ledge above. "Don't be a scaredy cat, Hamball!"

Taking a deep breath, I steadied myself and began to climb. To my surprise, it wasn't too hard going. The path that Loki had taken was full of easy holds for both hands and feet. It only took a couple of minutes before I climbed over the top of the ledge and stood at Loki's side. I wasn't even out of breath.

"Wow," I gasped, looking out over the mountain as it fell away in front of us. Trees swooped down into the valley and the streetlights of Fenris glowed in the center. Gentle snow drifted down, catching the light and reflecting it in a thousand different directions. It took my breath away. "What a view."

"It's pretty nice," Loki nodded, his arm snaked around my waist. "My dad used to bring us up here as pups. It was our own private little swimming hole away from the guests. We could rough house around up here, shift, run around like crazy, and just be energetic mischievous boys. He always got a kick out of it."

"Do you still come up here with your brothers?"

"No. Not anymore."

"Why not?"

"Duty calls," he sighed. "After dad died… Well, there was no time for fun anymore. It was all business all the time. And he was gone before he could fully train us to take over so there was a lot of stumbling. Still is probably."

I felt a profound sense of guilt knowing that it was my father that had taken Loki's away.

"I… I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he smiled, squeezing me tight. "It's not your fault. Besides, I didn't come up here to lament. I came here to warm up and wash off this grime. Come on."

Grabbing me by the hand, Loki pulled me through the trees clinging to the rocky outcropping. The branches were dense and under the canopy was so dark I could barely see. Everything here was pine, their needles refusing the call of winter's chill. The scent of resin filled my nostrils only for a moment or two before the trees fell away and I found myself standing at the edge of a large pool. The water was clear and blue with steam gently rising from its surface. Snow clung to the rocks around it, but never reached the water itself.

"Is it safe?" I asked, having never been in a hot spring before.

"Yeah!" Loki laughed. "Of course it is!" He walked over to the edge, crouching down and dipping his fingers in. "Feels like it's about the same temperature as I remember."

I knelt down beside him, dipping my fingers in. "It's warmer than I thought it would be."

"Have you never been to a hot spring before?"

I shook my head.

He smiled. "Well, there's only three rules. No sleeping in the spring, stay hydrated, and if you feel too warm, get out for a bit and cool off."

"How are we supposed to stay hydrated?"

"There's another spring a few yards that way," Loki said, pointing through the trees. "It's cold and you can drink out of it."

"This place has everything."

"Everything except a restaurant. We'd have to go to the resort for that." He reached out, taking my hand. "Come on. Let's get in and get cleaned up. Then we can relax for a bit and talk. Besides, my dick is getting cold."

I grinned, holding his hand as he stepped into the water. Cautiously, I followed behind him, allowing myself to be pulled in beside him. Heat enveloped my legs, the pool quickly deepening to my waist. The warmth swallowing my genitals was sort of pleasant and I let out a sigh of contentment. It was like having my entire body wrapped in a skin tight blanket fresh off the drying line, the sun's warmth still clinging to the fabric. I could see why people enjoyed it so much.

Loki pulled me along, the pair of us wading through and disturbing the still surface of the water. On the far side he showed me a place where the rock had formed a natural shelf against the edge of the pool. There we both sat down, the water coming up to our shoulders. Loki kept his fingers laced through mine as he leaned against the side of the pool and closed his eyes. I, on the other hand, just sat there, staring at him unabashedly. Thanks to the pinks of pre-sunrise filling the sky to the east, I had enough light to take him in fully for the first time.

I let my gaze trail lazily over his face, taking in every feature. His dark hair had a slight curl to it and while it seemed to still be a little bit of a mess, I thought he looked perfect. There was still a hairband in the back, pulling it all into a sloppy sort of man bun, which I found adorable. My eyes trailed over the gold piercings in his ears that I hadn't noticed before and the strong line of his jaw covered over in a thick black beard. I guessed I knew it was there but for some reason, I hadn't thought of it until now. It was longer than I expected, although not so much that he looked like an old man. That combined with his thick dark eyebrows and his tanned skin made him look like a god sent down from on high to live with the commoners. And I counted myself lucky that he'd chosen me to be the one at his side.

"Fuck you are gorgeous," I said, without meaning to.

He smiled, glancing over at me with those amber eyes I liked so much. "You've said that a dozen times since we got out of that cave."

"Well, it's true. You're really pretty."

"You don't mind the beard?" he grinned. "Or the dick?"

"I love them both," I said without hesitation.

"I think you're trying to flatter me, Hamball."

I moved closer, wrapping my arms around his waist under the water. "And what if I am?"

"Then I'd say I'm not one of those easy sluts that you're used to," he grinned. "I'm not gonna fall for a handful of sweet words and all these…" He trailed a finger down my chest, gulping audibly. " Muscles ."

"What can I do to convince you, Dinky?"

Loki's grin widened as he turned around, placing himself between my legs. My cock was already rock hard under the water, and he made sure to press his ass firmly against it, giving me just enough friction to turn me into his willing slave.

"Rub my shoulders," he replied, leaning back against me. "And we'll see where that takes us."

The first rays of sun began to peek over the far mountains, spilling over Loki's skin. He seemed to glow like he was made of fire and gold. I swallowed hard and lifted my hands, placing them on his shoulders. I started to rub, keeping my movements soft.

"I'm not some delicate little flower," he barked. "Do it like you mean it."

With a low growl, I dug my fingers into his flesh, gripping his shoulder muscles until they relented under my grasp.

"Ah! Fuck!" he hissed. But he didn't pull away from me. "Oh… Oh fuck yes…"

The pleasure in his voice made my cock throb, but I wouldn't allow myself to grind against him. This moment was about his needs, not mind. Besides, I was content just to touch him, to be near him. I wanted that more than anything. Without the threat of death looming over our heads, these moments were too precious to waste on simple lust. I wanted to make love to him and if that started with a full body massage, so be it. I'd worship any part of him he asked me to.

"You know," Loki added after a minute. "We're going to have to talk about serious things at some point. Whether we like it or not."

"I know," I nodded, kissing his neck. "Let the world wait for now. I gave up my whole life to helping my father. His war can wait another day or two before I have to face him again."

"You're gonna go back?"

"I figure I have to at some point."

Loki considered it for a moment before nodding. "Me too, I suppose."

"Forget about it for now," I said, digging my fingers in once more. "And just relax. I'm gonna take good care of you."

He let out a satisfied growl as I pulled him close, my dick still wedged against his ass cheeks. There was something about those small happy noises he made that caused my heart to flutter. Heat flushed through my chest, and it wasn't from the hot spring. It was something more, something much deeper than anything I'd ever felt before.

Even though I wasn't ready to say it just yet, I knew I was falling for this man. Maybe it was just the mate bond, but I wasn't convinced. The more I learned about him and the more we talked, the more I realized I actually liked him. The bond couldn't fake that sort of affection. Lust came naturally. But love? That took effort.