Disclaimer: I don't own Thor, or Tom Hiddleston… such a shame. The things I'd do to that man. Anywho, no copyright infringement intended.

Calm down. You're just dreaming, breathe.

Hannah looked around her, her eyes trying desperately to fathom where she was. It was a hopeless endeavour. She was stood in a large bedroom, one she had never seen before in her life. Either her imagination was getting really good or she had in fact just been kidnapped. She silently prayed that it was the former.

She'd heard somewhere that you could never remember the beginning of a dream but she could clearly remember how she came to be stood in this room. She'd been plucked from her bed and transported, how she couldn't say, to this place. Her eyes had been covered, her wrists bound before her and a gag had been strapped to her mouth.

Someone didn't want her to move or speak. That was fine with her; she couldn't have done either voluntarily, her body was frozen in place. A moment after she'd been released from whatever had transported her she had felt someone walk around her, not touching her, but she felt his presence none the less. He was most definitely a he, she was sure of that much.

A cold, silky voice said. "My, my, my. What have we here?" She felt a flutter in the air around her and suddenly the blindfold and gag were gone. When she opened her eyes Loki was towering over her.

She'd only seen him once he was not someone you could forget. She had seen him through the bullet-proof glass of his cell when she'd taken some urgent information to Director Fury. It had only been glance but in those scant seconds she had his image burned into her brain.

He'd looked bored. He'd met her eyes for a second before turning away from her, dismissing her as non-consequential. Had he changed his mind?

"Welcome, Miss James." His voice was amused, his eyes sparkled with humour. If that was a joke, she really didn't get it.

He stepped close to her suddenly so that his chest pressed against her breasts. She inhaled sharply, making his smile broaden. She realised she was still wearing her tank top and short she wore for bed. That was all she was wearing, no underwear, no dressing gown. He stared down into her eyes as his hands deftly untied the ropes at her wrists.

He stood, his chest pressing against hers, longer than necessary before stepped back. He indicated a chair by the window with a casual hand gesture. "Please, take a seat. Make yourself at home."

She stared at him for a moment, rubbing the red marks on her wrists. Eventually she simply shook her head and took a seat, a smile playing across her lips.

"What amuses you?"

"Your manners. This was surreal already but you're approach seems to be 'I'm going to have to kill you but I'm going to be polite about it'."

He laughed outright. "You are an interesting little mortal. You needn't worry. I have no plans to kill you. You're much more useful to me alive."

"Why?" She couldn't think how valuable she could possibly be. She was just a researcher at SHEILD, pretty much just googled people using a military grade search engine. Very low level security clearance, no access to anything of any real importance. Her only connection to anything significant came through one of her few friends, Darcy, who was an assistant to SHIELDs leading expert on astrophysics.

Thinking of Darcy reminded her of her of the story she'd told her about the first confrontation between Thor and Loki, though Loki had simply been in charge of the giant mental monster rather than actually present. She felt a shiver of fear pass through her as she recalled the ease with which this man had killed his own brother. Granted it hadn't stuck but the intent had been there.

A slow smile crept across Loki's face and Hannah realized that he was following her thoughts. Darcy had mentioned something about his ability to skim the minds of those around him.

"You're reasonably well informed I see. Good." Loki said.

Hannah shuddered, he was pleased with her response to him. He was glad she felt fearful. That couldn't bode well for her.

He sat back in her seat, watching her intensely, she felt frozen in place by that stare. She couldn't have moved an inch unless he released her. Even if the room had spontaneously burst into flames.

His smile widened slowly. "So you really think I'm going to kill you?" he asked suddenly.

"I'm an intelligent woman, of course I think you're going to kill me. What other use would you have for me?"

He didn't answer her. "I believe I've provided everything you could need. Food and drink will arrive at appropriate intervals. You should be comfortable during your time here with me."

She glanced around and noted the king sized bed covered in green silk sheets with a quilted satin comforter at the foot. The chair she was sitting on was a large, comfortable wing back. The window beside the chair was covered with boards from the outside. Farther along the wall, there was a table with two chairs, a dresser and a door leading into a bathroom. A large mirror took up most of the wall over the bed.

She looked back at Loki. "They'll miss me, they'll start wondering where I've gone," she told him.

"No, I don't think they will. You have a holiday booked, you're supposed to be on a flight to Florida at the moment. No one expects you at work. They won't notice anything's wrong for at least a week and we should be done by then."

"Done with what?"

He ignored her question again. "I'll bring you something to drink."

Her eyes shot wide as she took in his offer. What if he put something in her drink? Some kind of hocus-pocus to make her do something?

He looked at her, a little smile playing about his lips. "I will not use magic on you. Nor will I use any mortal drugs. You have my word."

"What's that worth?" she asked, a little bite in her words.

His smile vanished and he sat forward in his seat. "Trust is going to be an important part of what we will do together, Miss James."

She stared at him, she was sure her eyes couldn't have gotten any wider than they currently were. What did he mean?

He looked at her with intensity so strong that she was once more frozen in place. "If I make a promise to you within these walls then I mean it. I will not break my word, here and now."

She looked back him, her mind working at triple speed. "Will you promise you won't kill me?"

The amused smirk returned. "No. I cannot promise that. I will, however, promise that should a time come when you are not longer of value to me, I will tell you so."

She gave him a disgusted look. "Great. You'll give me the heads up to say that I'm useless before you blast me into oblivion."

He shrugged. "I will only make a promise to you when I know I can keep it."

He left the room, waving his hand behind him absently and making a tray of iced tea appear on the table. She stared at it for a long time before she finally chose to simply accept it as what it was and poured herself a glass. As she sipped the sweet tea she considered what he has said. He could have promised not to kill her and simply lied. He chose not to. He had admitted that he could not guarantee that he could keep that promise so had not made it. She sat back in her chair and continued to sip at her tea, her mind wandering aimlessly through thoughts of consequence and trivial thoughts until Loki entered the room again.

He looked her up and down for a few seconds, almost assessing her. "You're tired. Why don't you get some rest? We'll start tomorrow."

"Start what exactly?"

He ignored the question again, it was getting rather annoying. "The bed is most comfortable and the bathroom is fully stocked should you require a toothbrush."

She could do nothing but stare at him. He simply smiled back at her, mischief written all over his face before he inclined his head. "Goodnight Miss James."

He strode across the room and left, closing the door quietly behind him. She waited a moment before she climbed to her feet and went to the door. She tried the handle but it wouldn't open. There was no lock visible on the door itself, meaning it was most likely a dead bolt on the other side holding it closed.

She looked back at the bed. It was intimidating. Nothing like her own humble bed. It's green silk sheets looked insidious. Not a chance she was climbing in there. She returned to her seat, curling her legs up under her and leaning against the wing back. Reluctantly she closed her eyes again and prayed that it really was just a dream.

So what do you think? Liking it, hating it? Let me know, I live for feedback.