Cat and mouse (part 1) Revised version!

Chapter 23

I woke in the middle of the night to being snatched roughly out of bed.
I screamed but a gag was shoved deep into my mouth muffling the sound.
I kicked furiously but it was no use, at least two pairs of strong hands held me steady as a sack was thrown over my head and my arms bound behind my back.
No! No!
I struggled harder, adrenaline pumping through my veins until something struck me in the back of the head making me go limp.
When I opened my eyes again, I had been hoping it was a dream but I could feel myself being dragged across the cold hard ground.
I started trying to scream again and thrashed against the bonds.
"Look at her, wild like a lioness." One of my captors  chuckled.
"Who's there!" I heard someone call out.
Loki.
We had returned to his cell block.
I screamed but it didn't make it past the gag and the bag was ripped from my head. I blinked up at three guards, only one of them looked familiar.
It looked like the disgruntled guard from yesterday morning was taking revenge for his damaged pride.
He grabbed my arms and hauled me forwards onto my feet, dragging me farther into the cell block.
"What are you doing?" Loki asked the man, his voice strangely calm.
I met his eyes just before my back slammed into the force field. Unbridled rage seemed to roll off the god of mischief in waves.
"I don't like the idea of you loose in our palace, the princes whore deserves to rot in a cell just like him." He sneered putting his finger under my chin and forcing me to look at him.
"But not before we have some fun with you first."
I tried to speak through the gag and he smirked pulling it free of my mouth.
"Fuck you!" I snarled trying to bite his fingers.
He grabbed me by my cheeks, stilling my feral attack and brought my face close to his.
His breath smelt like whiskey and his eyes were so dark they were almost black.
I shivered despite my previous bravado and he grinned.
"Your mouth is to pretty to be cursing like a man." He said licking his bottom lip.
"If you touch her, I will kill you in the most painful way possible." Loki threatened from inside the cell standing not but a foot or two away from where I was pinned against it.
The man hardly even glanced at Loki, clearly not considering him a threat at the moment.
He let go of my face and looked down at my pajamas.  Matching silk shorts and camisole, both a pale pastel pink. Compliments of Asgardian hospitality that had already been stocked in my room.
His finger dragged along the hem of the shorts and my stomach lurched at the feel of his rough finger against the skin of my stomach.
I snarled and jerked away but his hand fisted in my hair holding me still.
"I'm warning you." Loki snarled and I swore that I felt the force field tremor in the wake of the fuming god.
He drug his hand up my arm and pinched the camisole strap, dragging it across my skin and down the bend of my shoulder.
I took a deep breath and cracked my forehead into his nose, ignoring the searing pain as some of my hair was ripped out.
He howled in pain and dropped me. It felt like my forehead was going to split open, and I blinked trying to clear the slight daze I was in.
"Run!" Loki yelled.
I took off running but was grabbed and thrown to the stone floor, a heavy boot colliding with my ribs. I curled into a ball to protect my face and areas that could receive the most damage and waited for it to be over.
Just when I thought I couldn't take any more I was hauled back to my feet. My legs wobbled but I forced myself to stand and meet their gazes.
"That all you got?" I panted.
I received a smack to my left cheek, making it ring with a stinging sensation.
"Pathetic human. Let me show you what we do with pests."
His words were slightly garbled as he spoke though the blood that was pouring out of his clearly broken nose.
I felt myself being tossed away from the guard and braced my body to hit hard ground but instead collided into someone arms.
"Do your worst demon, show her what you really are." The guard laughed wiping at the blood streaking his face.
"I will rip your lungs from your chest." Loki snarled holding me tightly against him.  "We'll see how well you laugh then."
"Your head will roll before you ever get the chance."
Their laughter and footsteps grew faint until I heard the door to the cell block close and lock behind them.
I shoved out of his arms the second they were gone.
"Let me help you." He said reaching for me.
"Don't touch me!" I yelled turning away and sitting on the ground, drawing my knees to my chest protectively with my back to him.
My cheeks burned with embarrassment and rage.
"Anna."
"I said leave me alone!" I barked at him wrapping my arms around myself.
My entire body felt like a bruise and I don't know what was worse, the beating or the humiliation.
"And I said let me help you." He snapped kneeling in front of me.
Loki moved my hair away from my cheek, inspecting the lump that was forming. I jerked my face away from him.
"I don't need your help."
He didn't look convinced as I scooted my butt across the floor in a way I hoped didn't look as pathetic as it felt.
I turned away from him again and gingerly lifted up the fabric of my top, angry purple and yellow bruises had bloomed quickly across my ribs and I knew I'd probably fractured one or two.
When I saw Loki watching I yanked the shirt back down.
"I warned you, people won't take kindly to you aiding me, I'm not exactly the people's favorite."
"Am I supposed to believe you've been a complete dick because you were trying to protect me?"
"Believe what you want."
"I believe you're a coward." I lashed out.
"I told you to watch your tongue." He warned moving closer.
"I think threats of violence are a little insensitive at the moment." I snapped, scooting backwards faster.
I'd never seen a person crawl in such a graceful way..it was like a panther stalking prey.
"That's what you get for being a smart mouth."
"No that's what I got for helping you."
He grabbed for me and I cursed my battered body for not being able to move faster. His arm encircled my waist pulling me under him, his free hand snaked up my shirt and I jerked away at the feeling of his skin running across mine.
"Stop." He ordered resting some of his weight onto my body to still me.
My breath caught in my throat as he looked down at me.
What I saw wasn't predatory at all but worry, maybe even guilt.
His hand stopped on my ribs, his fingers splaying as wide as possible and I gasped when a warm pressure built under my skin.
"Relax." He said almost gently.
It burned, whatever he was doing to me.
I fisted my hands in the sleeves of his shirt and gritted my teeth but soon the burning turned to a light buzzing and then to nothing at all.
"How does that feel?" He asked using his fingers to apply pressure to a few different spots on my ribs.
They didn't hurt! In fact it almost tickled.
"Did you..heal me?" I asked looking at him shocked.
"Hold still, I'm going to do the other side."
His fingers drug across my stomach and I couldn't help when the skin jumped under his touch. My fingers twisted in his sleeves tighter, but not because of pain. No, it was much worse than pain.
My body was awake now, reacting on its own accord to a man's touch regardless who was on the other side of that touch.
My cheeks burned and I tried to control my thoughts, instead thinking about baseball or reading emails..anything other than his legs tangled in mine and his surprisingly gentle hand.
He paused for a moment before continuing to my ribs on the other side of my body. His slender fingers were strong but soft as the same burning pressure blanketed the soreness across my midsection.
"Can you hurry up?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
He rolled his eyes and seemed to only lower himself into me more.
"You are infuriating." He breathed, but his heart wasn't in it.
"Yea, well the feeling is mutual."
He applied pressure to my ribs and when I didn't protest in pain I felt the magic retreat..but his hand didn't. It stayed under my camisole, gripping me.
His free hand came up and his finger brushed along my jaw, cheek and forehead healing them as well.
His searched my face for more injuries but his eyes caught on my lips, lingering their gaze on them as his gaze grew a little darker.
My nipples pebbled under the thin top when hand on my ribs twitched.
Every alarm bell in my head was going off at the way he was looking at me, at the way I knew I was looking at him.
"You're not going to try and kiss me again are you?"
Maybe he'd take the hint..
"No, I find you repulsive." He murmured, but I watched as his eyes dipped down to my chest and he let out a sharp breath when he saw the points my breasts were making through the camisole.
His hand moved up slowly and I felt his knuckle graze the underside of my breast making a sinful tingle go between my legs.
My breath caught in my throat and his eyes darkened farther, then he was leaning in.
"Loki.."
He froze, a fraction of an inch from my lips.
I waited to see if he'd back off, to see if I'd make him if he didn't.
To my relief he growled and rolled back onto his knees, watching me with a dark look.
I let out the breath I'd been holding and tried to calm my racing heart as I slid out and away from him.
I'd almost let him..I'd wanted him to kiss me, to touch me.
It was inexcusable behavior. It showed nothing but weakness to allow myself to be charmed by a master charmer. Pathetic.
I got up and went to the force field, pressing my face into it and trying to see down the hall.
"Hello!"
I needed out of here, I couldn't stay in here with him.
"No one is going to hear you, you're stuck here till morning."
I groaned and turned back to him, he was sitting with his back against the chaise and his arms thrown over his knees.
"Fine, while I'm here you might as well start talking. Your hearing is tomorrow." I said wanting to do anything other then linger on the line we'd almost just crossed.
"Your insistent prying is growing old." He snapped.
"If you're going to die tomorrow, what's the harm in telling one person?"
He seemed to think on that for a second.
"Very well."