I'm a terrible person, I know, but at least I eventually got this up, yeah? Enjoy.

Unbeta'd, so all mistakes are mine. Sorry!

EDIT: I forgot to add that there might be another installment to this, though it will be posted as a separate one-shot. Nothing is solid yet, but I would keep your eyes peeled for it in the coming weeks if you liked this.

.

Jane had never believed in marriage.

To her, it was an outdated institution that her logical, scientific mind balked at. Why would she marry now, in this day and age, when a two people didn't need to be married to be together in one house? Sure, it made sense back when the church would have burned a woman at the stake for having a child out of wedlock or needed a man to provide and protect her, but now? A woman could raise a child on her own, if she wanted to. She didn't need to have a man around or be legally married to be with someone.

If she was completely honest with herself, Jane would say that she never thought marriage was in her future. She had been so focused on her career, on proving herself to everyone who doubted her, that she had never been able to keep a steady relationship, let alone entertain the idea of marriage or children.

Of course, then Thor had come in and…she was helpless in the face of his charm, his sweet smile, his guileless demeanor. And suddenly, Jane could see herself settling down with someone like him, having little golden-haired children and being happy, if not married. It was a nice thought.

That lasted about an hour.

He left, but he promised to come back for her. In hindsight, she should have known that it wouldn't work out between them.

After a year of nothing, not even a blip on her radar, he came crashing back to Earth. But not to her. No, he came back to fight his brother and then head back to his planet. He didn't bother to take a second to fly out to the Swiss observatory she had been relocated to or even pick up a damn phone.

Soon after she learned of his presence on Earth and then his abrupt departure, she let all her lingering feelings for the man go. Well, not all. A fair amount of annoyance stayed with her, especially when he deemed her important enough to finally visit her four months later.

To deliver the news that he was engaged to Sif, the woman who had come with the Warriors Three that day so long ago, and to say that his brother had been banished to her planet in the hopes of rehabilitation.

That had been the death blow to her good will towards Thor, though she couldn't bring up the will to really hate him.

I might be able to now, though.

In the bed in the guest room of Loki's penthouse, in his arms, Jane lay, disbelieving. It was difficult wrapping her mind around the thought that she had just slept with Thor's wayward brother, let alone whatever rubbish he was trying to tell her.

Married? Jane inwardly scoffed. I didn't see a priest anywhere around here and I'm pretty sure I'd have to agree to something like that.

Outwardly, the brunette laughed. "That's a…that's a funny joke, Loki," she said, her expression almost indulgent, like she was humoring his silly sense of humor. She made a move to pull away from him, to get some space, but he wouldn't allow that. Jane brushed his hand off of what she assumed was a large hickey on her neck, his touch uncomfortably…arousing? Electric? Creepy?

Loki's arm stayed firmly around her middle, trapping her against him, and the low growl that reverberated in his chest and through hers was warning enough that she should stop trying to get away from him. Jane stilled, but huffed, choosing to ignore his odd statement as some strange Asgardian pillow talk and move on to more pressing concerns.

"Please let me go," she said, pushing a bit on his shoulder to urge him to ease up on his grip. "I helped you out, didn't I? We did what you wanted. Shouldn't you be, I don't know, tossing me out of your bed by now?"

Usually, that was exactly what Loki would have done. He wasn't one for relationships and had generally only slept with the occasional wench or two when the desire arose. But that was not what this was. Jane Foster, his brother's once-beloved, had a unique quality about her that attracted his Jotun blood – that compelled him to seek her out, steal her away, and take her as his without a second's hesitation.

He would not be tossing her out into the hall like the other women he had seduced. No. This woman was his.

"You will not be going anywhere," he stated, his smooth voice firm and commanding, full of all the authority a prince should command. "You will stay here. With me." Did the woman not understand what a marriage entailed? Loki was certain that Midgardians had marriage, quite like what they had on Asgard. Did she not know of her obligations as a wife or that he was now responsible for her and any offspring they would have? "I was under the impression that you were one of the brightest of your people," he remarked, arching a dark brow at the flustered, indignant face she made. "Have you not been taught of marriage, Miss Foster?"

"I know what marriage is," she hissed, scooting her head back on the pillow in an attempt to find some breathing room. "So I know that what we just did does not count as marriage."

"Perhaps not on Midgard," Loki allowed, tightening his hold on her with a little frown as he noticed her attempt to gain some distance between them. "But magically, we are wed. If it were an Asgardian ceremony, we would have performed a handfasting, but the principle is the same, if a bit outdated."

Yes, he could feel the slight tug in his gut, the slight pull towards her that meant she know housed a hint of his magic within her, tying him irrevocably to her. They were married.

Jane didn't like the absolutely sure look on his face, like he knew exactly what he was talking about when he was so obviously delusional. "Look," she said, huffing out an impatient breath. "I don't care if we somehow did some weird magical-bonding thing. I didn't agree to marry you, so I didn't. Simple as that." After a second, she added. "Now please let me go."

The prince couldn't help but look at her like she was daft, like he was utterly bewildered by her skewed logic. "How could we be bonded but not married?" He shook his head at her. "That is not possible. We are wed. You gave your consent when you agreed to lie with me." At least, that was how the Jotun in him took it. If he had done things properly, he would have courted her with many gifts and outings before asking for her hand, but he hadn't done things properly at all.

But that was beside the point. What was done could not be undone, whether she liked it or not. And it does not seem as though she is terribly pleased by the idea.

"I did not give you consent to marry me!" Jane growled, suddenly taking his words more seriously. Dread pooled in her stomach at his haughty look and confident words, her newfound knowledge that magic really did exist and stuff like this could theoretically happen making her face drain of all its color. "Besides, you kidnapped me. I was in my trailer, ready to go to bed, when you just tore through my house and took me…wherever the hell we are!"

He could tell that she was starting to take his words more seriously by the amount of building hysteria in her eyes. Loki could feel the quick fluttering of her heart, could hear it, could smell the panic that was starting to creep in on her. He was so attuned to her that he could read every little fluctuation in her eyes, in her scent. It made him itchy and uncomfortable in return, the bitter scent of her distress stinging his nose in a way nothing ever had.

Loki frowned and brought her impossibly closer, his arm tightening around her back to anchor her to him as his fingers traced soothing circles on the skin of her back. "Do not be distressed," he rumbled, his voice slipping into a deeper, more reassuring tone without thought. "I did not mean to frighten you and I regret doing so. I was…under duress at the time. I believe my Jotun blood might have been driving me to find someone suitable to lie with, though that is only a theory."

She opened her mouth to no doubt deliver a stinging retort along the lines of, "Well, that's good for you. Now that you've lain with me, can you let me go?" but he was quick to cut her off before she could get the words out.

"And as for your…dwelling," He wrinkled his nose at the thought. That metal barrel was her home? "I regret my less than couth entrance, but it is irrelevant now. You will no longer be living there. You will move your belongings here, to live with me."

Just the thought of her parting with him made him feel nauseous, like the distance was a physical blow to his gut. He couldn't do it.

Before she could interject with the righteous indignation he could see brewing in her eyes, he continued. "Whether you believe you gave your consent or not, we are married. A magical bonding that cannot be undone." Loki sighed quietly through his nose and smoothed his hand down the curve of her spine. Gentler, he said: "Can you not feel it, the bond between us?"

He pressed his chest against hers, feeling his heartbeat sync with hers, willing her to feel it, too. "Can you not feel the magic bonding us?" With each brush of her skin against his, he could feel a little tug in his gut, a little spark along his spine. They were undeniably wed, and although he would have never, ever thought of pursuing Thor's mortal lover, let alone marrying her, Loki could not say that he was terribly displeased with the turn of events.

He had done his research on the woman after being dragged to Midgard for the second time, when Thor had all but thrown him at the poor woman in an introduction that lasted but seconds. Loki hadn't seen much in her then, but now, he saw her in a whole new light.

She is undeniably brilliant, as a builder of a working Bifrost ought to be.

She is strong-willed, if she can humble that oaf, Thor.

She is…not quite the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes upon, but more unique. Neither blond nor tall, quite unlike an Asgardian woman. It is refreshing. But she didn't need to be the most stunning woman to ever cross his path to make him burn with desire for her, as was quite evident by his still hard length held snugly within her, despite her attempts to squirm away.

It seemed that Jane Foster, the woman who was once the stalwart lover of the mighty Thor, was perfectly matched for him. And his Jotun blood knew it before he did.

That wasn't to say that Loki was instantly in love with her, because he wasn't. No, there wasn't love, but he could not be parted from her, he was and had been fascinated by her knowledge, and now he desired her with every piece of his soul. There was in getting rid of him now.

On the other end of the spectrum, Jane lay there, stunned, indignant, panicked, and all of the emotions that came with finding oneself suddenly married to the Norse god of mischief.

It was true, however much she loathed to admit it, but Jane did feel drawn to him. She did feel the way her skin seemed to burn when it came in contact with his, the way her senses narrowed their field to focus solely on him, but that didn't mean they were married. That just meant they had…chemistry.

Jane swallowed thickly when she felt him shift against her, readjusting the way they lay to allow him room to slip more comfortably within her. "Hey, hey!" she squeaked, trying to put some distance between them and failing. "We already had sex! Shouldn't you be better now?!"

He certainly felt saner now that he had lain with her, but that wasn't enough. The prince still wasn't satisfied. Every brush of her skin against his, every sweet breath she exhaled across his cheeks, every subtle nuance of her scent that surrounded the both of them made him shiver with desire. And he had a feeling that his little problem wouldn't be going away anytime soon if they did not find a way to take care of it.

Loki grit his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut when he felt her shift again, attempting to get away from him no doubt, but caused her inner walls to ripple around him in a way that made his length ache with need.

No, we are not done here yet.

Most bonding rites took several rounds of consummation before completely solidifying, he knew, and apparently theirs was no different. Until they finished the bond, he would not be satisfied and she would not be going anywhere.

"Jane," he growled, opening his eyes to send her a heated, almost desperate look. "If you do not cease your squirming, I will take you again. And this time, I will not give you a warning."

Jane squeaked pitifully in surprise then stilled completely, not willing to move another inch if it meant he would really go through with that…threat. Promise?

"So," she began, her voice nervous and slightly disbelieving. Maybe if I keep him talking it will distract him from…that. "If we are married, like you say, then how do we get rid of it? I mean, how do annul it?"

Clearly, this woman knew nothing of magically bonding marriages.

Loki sighed and shook his head. "No, there is no way. It is permanent."

Jane groaned and closed her eyes, letting the absurdity of the situation wash over her. "Okay, but we don't have to actually be married, though. What if we just, I don't know, did this once and never saw each other again? You could go do your thing and I could do mine and…don't look at me like that, I'm trying to help!"

"We are married, Jane." He growled, not liking the sound of her leaving him at all. "You are my wife and I am your husband and we will act as such." There was no way he could let her out of his sight now. There was no way he could allow another man within a mile of her now. "You will live here, with me, your husband." To drive his point home, he bucked his hips just a little, emphasizing the last growled word. "And we will be married."

Jane gasped, feeling like that one small thrust had sent lightening from the tips of her toes to the crown of her head. It dazed her for a moment, all thoughts fleeing her brilliant mind as she clambered to hold onto the delicious sensation. "You don't even know me," she gasped softly before biting her lip, her hips unconsciously nudging into his, trying to recreate that electric buzz she felt.

Loki inwardly groaned at the feeling of her small movement, the effort it took to keep from moving proving almost too much for him. He grit his teeth and moved his hand to her hip, whether to keep her still or to urge her to move again, he wasn't sure. "I know enough," he said, his voice a little rough. "And I will know more with time."

She opened her mouth to protest with the completely logical argument that she was mortal and he was a god, therefore this could never work, but he silenced her by crushing his lips against her before she could get the words out. She fought him for a moment, her hands pressing against his chest in attempt to get him to stop thinking with his thing and really talk about what had happened, but her resistance didn't last long. How could it, when her every sense seemed to focus on him? When he was biting her lip so sensually? When the hand that had been on her hip was creeping up her side in a tantalizingly slow manner?

Very quickly, she melted against him, helpless to the way her body reacted to him. She made a tiny noise of protest in the back of her throat, but it was quickly swallowed by his lips and tongue as they did their magic against hers.

When he felt that she was sufficiently distracted, Loki pulled back, just enough to speak. "We will talk more of this later," he breathed, shifting his weight to pin her beneath him once more, his hands drifting down to arrange her thighs around his hips. "Right now, we have more important matters to attend to."

Loki dipped his head back down to press his lips to hers once more, his tongue snaking passed her teeth to brush against hers. He gently massaged her creamy thigh with one hand before moving it back up to skim over her stomach, then her breasts. His skilled fingers did their work there, making her gasp against his mouth and her inner walls ripple around him deliciously. The prince pulled his mouth away from hers and skimmed his lips over her cheek to rest over her ear, his cool breath brushing over the sensitive skin there. "This time it will be better," he promised huskily, darting his tongue out trace the shell of her ear.

It had been much too quick the first time, something that he fully intended to make up to his new wife. Loki liked to think of himself as a rather skilled lover, so his clumsiness and rushed pace of their first time embarrassed him. This time, it would be about her, no matter how much his aching erection demanded he simply get on with it.

Jane swallowed thickly and tried to work up the will to protest, to argue with him about what the hell was going on, but his touches were too distracting, too electrifying to allow much thought at all. She couldn't help but raise her arms to smooth her hands down his back experimentally, feeling the defined muscle there, flexing with his every movement. He's lean, but he's definitely not skinny.

Loki made a soft purring sound of approval, liking the she ran her small, soft hands over his skin. He pressed a kiss to her earlobe, then trailed his lips down to her neck, leaving nips, licks, and hot, open-mouthed kisses in his wake. He firmly kneaded her breast, before pinching and rolling her rosy nipple between his thumb and forefinger. The prince felt her arch her back beneath him and smiled against her skin. He delivered a sharp, approving nip to her shoulder, and then soothed the sting with a slow drag of his tongue. "Tell me, Jane," he whispered heatedly, dragging his mouth back up to her ear. "Tell me you want."

He wanted her explicit consent, now that he was in his right mind. He didn't want her to have another excuse to fight him on this, on their bond.

Jane was too lost in the feeling of his skin on hers, in the ache between her thighs that he was filling. She couldn't help the fast beating of her heart or the way her breathing had turned to pants, her thighs tightening around his hips in response to his teasing her. "I…" He pinched her nipple sharply, making her gasp and arch her spine more completely into him. "I want…you."

But that wasn't good enough for him. Loki wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled the both of them up in one swift motion, changing the angle and position to have her sitting in his lap, his arm wrapped tightly around her petite body. Loki growled and thrust his hips into hers once, a sharp movement that was meant to give her a taste of just what he would do to her when he got what he wanted.

"Who, Jane. Who do you want?" he growled, lifting a hand to tangle in her hair, angling her head back to look up at him. "Tell me."

Jane clung to his back, not prepared for the change in position, let alone the sharp thrust that made her ache for him. Rational thought fled her when faced with that kind of physical persuasion. She needed him to just move. "I want you, Loki," she gasped, tilting her chin up a little more to brush her lips against his as she spoke. "Loki."

The prince grinned almost sinisterly against her mouth before deepening the contact to a heated kiss, his hand leaving her hair and back to grasp her hips. Without preamble, he guided her up and down on him, his hips meeting hers with each motion in rough, sharp thrusts. It felt unbelievably good to be moving within her like that, to have her fully participating. Now that he was in his right mind, Loki could fully enjoy it, could take in every sound she made and the feeling of her silky muscles gripping him so tightly.

Jane whimpered against his mouth and moved over him, letting him guide her. She clawed at his back; her nails biting into his inhumanly touch skin as the sensations washed over her. Soon, he was leaning her back, his hands completely supporting her weight as he drove into her, faster and faster.

Loki knew when she was close, could feel her tightening and shivering around him as her climax drew closer. When he knew she was just on the precipice, he tore his mouth from hers and dipped his face down to latch his teeth onto the mating mark that adorned her collar, biting down on the tender wound just as she came undone around him.

After several harsh thrusts, Loki once more spilled himself inside her, fulfilling a bone-deep, instinctual need to fill her womb with his seed. When he had finished and his hips stopped moving weakly against her, he laid her back down on the mattress with the utmost care, though he stayed within her like his instincts demanded.

Jane was still too dazed by everything to think properly, so when he shifted to lay behind her, still firmly within her, she didn't protest. "You will stay with me," he whispered in her ear, his arm tightening around her small frame protectively.

He never thought he would be married, but now that he was…he saw the advantage it might bring. Because now, he had someone. On Midgard, he was completely alone, but now he had been tied to irrevocably to this little woman. He had someone.

And though Jane didn't know it or ask for it, there was no getting rid of him, her husband.

Not now, not ever.