Second chapter, yeah! Thank you for all those of you who have reviewed the first chapter, you feel my writer's heart with joy. I'll be in vacation with almost no access to internet until Monday 17th, so I'll try to write the third chapter on my notebook between two beach related activities but I promise nothing. But I will try to get it done as fast as I can. I really like that universe. Pepper-centric stories are my favorite kind of fanfic. Badass and yet vulnerable, now that's a woman after my own heart. And Tony is such an idiot, you wouldn't know the man is a genius. Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy that chapter.
Love, Callie xx
Pepper wakes the next morning feeling well rested and sore in all the right places. In the bathroom, she sees in the mirror the marks of fingertips on her hips, already bruising. She has a small smile. They're like battle wounds, only far more gratifying. She stares at her reflection.
Virginia "Pepper" Potts slept with Anthony "Fucking" Stark.
She should be ashamed of herself, really. She knows her mother would be, god rest her soul. But it's too late now to have any remorse and Pepper doesn't live in the past. She goes on, and right now, she has to prepare for her meeting with Mr. Kusaka and Mr. Osana.
Xxxxx
The meeting is a bust and an utter waste of her time. It's also the first time Pepper Potts actually considers killing someone as a viable solution. Because throwing Tony Stark out of the window of the 47th floor should be a constitutional right, not outright murder.
She arrives at the meeting right on time, and Mr. Kusaka's secretary and interpreter meets her in front of the door. She steps into the conference room and she feels the world spinning onto its axis. At the other side of the room is Tony Stark, sitting at the table of negotiations, laughing with Mr. Kusaka and Mr. Osana while drinking scotch when it's not even ten in the morning. He turns to her, all smile and smooth charm:
"You must be Ms. Potts. I'm Tony Stark, CEO of Stark Industries. I don't believe we've met." He gets up from his seat and comes to her. She extends her hand out of habit, her body trying to mask the sheer incomprehension that her brain cannot seem to compute. Fortunately, her mouth seems to catch up faster than the rest of her body.
"Indeed, I think I would remember such an encounter. However, I do not believe that you were invited to this meeting, Mr. Stark."
His hand is still holding hers when he leads her to the seat in front of him. She doesn't know why she's letting him move her around like that. She sits nonetheless as Mr. Osana and Mr. Kusaka do the same. What is going on here?
Stark goes back to his seat and pushes a folder towards her. "I am since yesterday evening the owner of K&O Incorporated. The deal was struck just after your last meeting with these gentlemen."
He pauses, giving her some time to process the information. That or he is trying to fully enjoy the look of shock on her face. The latter option seems more likely. He continues:
"Stark Industries is trying to establish itself more effectively in the Asian market. My father had already implanted a few buildings here and there but now that the Japanese, the Koreans and the Chinese are dangerously catching up with the rest of the world when it comes to technological advances, and so, I saw it fit to ensure Stark Industries' role in the progress of the next decades by buying a few companies here and there. Those and a delicious Asian fusion restaurant in Kyoto. We should totally go there to celebrate our new contract afterwards, Miss Potts. "
Pepper is reading the contract in front of her as she is frantically trying to find an explanation to the situation she's in. She raises her head "No thanks and if I may, what progress are you talking about? You're a weapons manufacturer. You're one of the US military's biggest contractors. I don't see how K&O Incorporated is in any way of relevance to your company. They're medical laboratories. They cure people, they don't kill them."
She knows her last comment is rather crude but she is grasping at straws here. That and the fact that he still has that god awful smirk on his face and she is so relieved that she is sitting down so that they can't see her legs wobble.
Mr. Osana, who had remained as silent as his partner since the beginning of this meeting, finally speaks up. "Miss Potts, I understand your confusion and I apologize for not telling you sooner about the true nature of our dealings here. The fact is that our company has lost the support of the Japanese's government a month ago and that without their subventions, the company would not have survived another year. Mr. Stark and Mr. Stane agreed to help us in exchange for the creation of a new department and the ownership of 51% of the company's shares."
The situation from then on becomes very clear indeed. Stark fakes a look of guilt before smirking again and she wants to slap it from his face with the thunder of God. She puts her hand in a fist beneath the table instead. She's not about to let that obnoxious bastard ambush her into a sham of a contract. She turns towards the two other men.
"You mean they bought you out. And I suppose this new department will be about biochemical weapons. So what you really want from VAST are not self-sustainable buildings but someone to reassure anyone with understandable concerns that what Mr. Stark's company will be creating is not environmentally noxious. A nice front for your very ugly endeavours so that your future buyers will have something to hide behind when the press and other international organizations get wind of their purchases."
Stark smiles like the Cheshire cat. "Actually, we're still interested in the self-sustainable buildings. But my name will be on the checks. And the buildings."
Pepper purses her lips because she wants to bit his until they bleed.
"You understand that I cannot accept anything without referring to the board. But if I were you, I wouldn't hold my breath, Mr. Stark. VAST is not in the habit of working with war-mongers. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a few calls to make."
She gets up, gives a short nod to the Japanese businessmen and their secretaries, and leaves the room without any further ado. Well, so she wishes. Stark follows her out of the conference room.
"Reconsider."
She raises an eyebrow. "I'm sorry?"
"Reconsider your refusal. Don't let what happened between us get in the way of the contract."
She looks at the window just behind them and she regrets that she's probably not strong enough to make him go through the glass if she pushes him. Although, the idea of her very pointy heel in his crotch is still on the table. "You think this is about us? You've got some nerve, Mr. Stark if you think I would let my personal feelings get in the way of my professional responsibilities."
The elevators doors open and she gets in. So does Stark and she fumes internally. "You mean you're not mad at me for not telling you the truth?"
The doors close and she looks right at him. She doesn't know how to respond to that. Well, she does, but she is conflicted. On one hand, she wants to punch him for lying to her, for smiling like that and for smelling so nice that it takes her right back to last night, with him laughing between her legs and her being completely helpless. And on the other hand, there is something completely terrified in his voice that makes her want to reach for his hand. She doesn't.
"Oh, I'm not pleased that you lied to me. You can be sure of that. However, what annoys me the most is that you, Osana and Kusaka felt compelled to ambush me into your new project. I don't appreciate surprises Mr. Stark. Even less so when they come from liars with an agenda such as yours."
He pushes the emergency button and the elevator stops abruptly. The lights in the elevator go out before turning green. "I get that you don't like working with weapons manufacturer but we're trying to end wars with minimum casualties here. Your company, or rather, your boss's company, is the most ethical consultant company on the market. You could change the way we make weapons from the inside. I mean, I create them but I'd rather make sure that when they're used, we don't get reports that tell us they work a little too well and that we have casualties we never counted on."
Something inside her clicks. He sounds far too caring and desperate for this deal to be anything but usual. There's something he's not telling her. She feels his hand coming up her arms to hold her shoulders. She looks right at him and she knows what he is hiding.
He's not here on Stark Industries behalf. Or rather…"Mr. Stane doesn't know you're here, does he? That's why you did it behind my back and everyone else's. He doesn't know you want insurance that your weapons are not more harmful that they should be. Because he doesn't care, as long as they sell, doesn't he?"
She pushes the emergency button and elevator moves once again. Stark remains silent. "I don't know what is going on between you and Mr. Stane but there are enough rumours going around to make me think that he's really the one in charge and that you just don't have it in you to take the reins from him. And now you're starting feeling guilty for x or y reasons and you're trying to stop something you know is going to be disastrous no matter what under the guise of an environmental concern."
The elevator arrives at destination and opens its doors to several confused security agents and the hotel manager. Pepper reassures them that she wasn't feeling well and that she pushed the button without meaning to. She strides towards her suite and hears Stark still following her.
"So you're not going to help me, is that it?"
She turns at the next corridor on the right but stops before she reaches her door. "Tony, I appreciate what you're trying to do. But you're clever enough to know that the only way to stop Mr. Stane going forward with the biochemical weapons is if you do it yourself. Get the board on your side. If you need an expertise on the environmental disasters that such devices create, then my company will be more than happy to work with you. But what you're asking, it's not going to work. And VAST has other matters to attend to than try and settle a divergence of opinions between you and Mr. Stane. A man like him only understands profit."
She reaches for his hand because she cannot help it anymore. "I'm sorry. I wish I could help you. But the board is never going to agree to this, even if I pitch it the way you want me to."
He tugs her hand and makes her take another step towards him. "I don't blame you for not helping me. I just wish I could resent you more for it."
She has a sad smile. "I'm not worried. You'll find something to blame me for eventually." He chuckles without mirth. "Oh, Pepper. You don't know the half of it." He kisses her hard on the mouth and she can taste the scotch he had in the conference room on his lips. He pushes her against the wall and for a few seconds, she thinks he's going to take her right there, a few feet from her suite. He bites her lower lip and she moans at the pain and the sudden desire pooling in her lower belly. He stops kissing her but doesn't release her hand just yet. "I wish this could have been different. Until next time, Miss Potts." He kisses her cheek, softly.
"Until next time, Mr. Stark." He goes without looking back.
Xxxxx
She doesn't hear from him for a few months. Unsurprisingly, the board and Mr. Wanamaker were adamant in their refusal to consult for Stark Industries, even though it meant refusing a contract worth tens of millions. Ethicality was not something you sold to the first war-monger with a big checkbook and a guilty conscience. Although, Pepper felt that their refusal was more based on resentment towards Stark and Stane than their endeavours in weaponry. She'd have to ask Andrew about that one day.
What surprises Pepper the most, however, is that she doesn't hear any news about the biochemical weapons either and she wonders if Tony finally pulled it off on its own. She keeps her ear to the ground for any shift of power at SI but she hears nothing either. She meets Stane, briefly, at the Johannesburg world summit on sustainable development where he jokes with a Nigerian government representative that Tony isn't here because he's too busy partying in Rio de Janeiro, where he sure would prefer to be as well. Pepper observes him from afar, smoking cigars and laughing too much, and decides that she's glad she refused to work for him. There's something unsettling about a man who laughs too much and sells weapons in the same breath.
The summit ends a week after and Pepper is back at her office when she gets the first piece of news from Tony, or so to speak:
"GOLDEN BOY TONY STARK CAUGHT WITH TWO BRAZILIAN TOP MODELS IN NIGHT CLUB BATHROOM"
Well, she thinks, some things never change.
Xxxxx
And then, they do.
Xxxxx
One, two, three
One, two, three
Pepper has locked herself in her private bathroom at the office. She is trying to get her heart not to run away from her. She feels its beats, knocking hard against her thoracic cage and it hurts. God, does it hurt. She breathes with full inspirations and expirations, counting the air coming in and out. She shakes. Her hands are moist and her legs are having a hard time making her stand. It's over, it's over. One, two, three. One-two-three. Onetwothree.
She's on her knees. The floor is cold under her and she's glad she can feel something else than just her pain. She knew it would be like that. They had told her, and they had told his family. The man was never going to wake up from the induced coma, that waking him up would have been too cruel because of the pain he was in. "Better let him go this way, Mrs. Wanamaker." Andrew's wife had cried; leaning against her son. Pepper had just stood there, near the door, watching the man who had given her more than anyone else slipping away from life. She didn't say anything more than just "I'm so sorry", before going back to the office and try to make sense of the administrative nightmare that the CEO's death was going to cause. Shareholders were going to back out, investors would think twice before giving their money. She didn't even want to think of the board's reaction when they were going to learn about Andrew. A difficult task she would have to perform very soon, or legal would have her head.
So she does everything that is required from her. She fills the papers informing that Mr. Wanamaker is no longer able to perform his duties as CEO, she fills the forms saying that she will fulfil the role of CEO while the board looks for a new one to replace Andrew permanently, that her personally appointed deputy, meanwhile, would fulfil her role as CFO. She drafted the press release, for after Andrew passed away, leaving only blanks for the date of his death. The doctors weren't sure how long he would last in an induced coma, but they didn't give more than a few days. She sets up an extraordinary meeting with the board for the next morning and when she finally looks up from all the paperwork, the sun is setting and Pepper hates the hollowness resonating inside of her. She wished she could go home, crawl up under the sheets and only come out in a year, when all of this will be behind her, that Andrew's death was a distant memory and not some dreadful, unstoppable disaster waiting to strike at any second. On her desk, she sees the announcement of Andrew's death she's just printed. She feels like she's killed him already.
The phone call came at 5am, the next Sunday. Mrs. Wanamaker made the call herself, still sobbing "He's gone, Virginia. He's gone." After they hung up, Pepper got ready to call the journalists and she emailed the board about Andrew's passing. Four hours later, she made a short statement to the press that VAST's CEO Andrew James Wanamaker, aged 64 and loving husband and father of two, had sadly passed away in the early hours of the morning, after battling cancer for less than a year.
And there she was, in her office's private bathroom, crying her pain for the loss of the only father figure she ever had. There is a soft knock on the door, and it's Temperance, her PA, telling her through the door that Mrs. Wanamaker wants her to come by the house in an hour.
Her phone rings all the way to the Wanamaker's mansion. Journalists, lawyers, collaborators and people she forgets about as soon as her phone stops displaying their name on the screen. She doesn't want to answer. Right now, the only thing that matters is arriving at destination.
She pulls up forty-five minutes after receiving the call and doesn't bother ringing the bell, knowing the door would be open. She enters the mansion and the scent of honeysuckle is everywhere in the house. She missed that scent. Andrew had offered her a few bunches of flowers over their few years of collaboration and they always had some honeysuckle in them because she and Andrew's wife shared a common appreciation for its scent, which amused Andrew to no end, for whatever reason he wasn't telling her. Never told her.
She takes a deep breath, and goes towards the living room where she knows Mrs. Wanamaker is waiting for her. She finds Aurelia – as she had asked her to call her many times before – sitting in Andrew's armchair by the fireplace. She is still in her dressing gown and Pepper wonders how long she's been here, looking at the unlit fireplace. Shouldn't the boys be with her? Where are John and Casey?
"Mrs Wanamaker? Aurelia?"
The other woman looks up, seemingly startled. "I'm sorry, Virginia. I didn't hear you. You didn't ring the bell, did you?" Pepper has a sympathetic smile. "No, don't worry, I let myself in. Where are Casey and John?" Pepper sits in the second armchair, near Aurelia. "I told them to go and fetch the lawyer. They should be here shortly. I'm sorry, I didn't realize I'd been here so long. Will you excuse me for a moment? I need to go and change. Help yourself to a cup of tea in the kitchen. I sent the staff away for the day so you'll have to do it yourself."
Pepper nods in agreement and lets Aurelia go put on day clothes. She makes her way to the kitchen and silently makes the tea. She looks around her and lets her mind wander while the water boils.
The mansion had been in the Wanamaker's family for some time now but it always amazed Pepper that Andrew hadn't moved out with Aurelia and the boys somewhere bigger and less draughty. The mansion in itself is beautiful, with old stones and wood panelling, which contrasts nicely with the steel and glass of VAST's headquarters. However, the house is old and she often heard Andrew complain about the renovations the mansion sorely needed. But Andrew was a traditionalist at heart. Building for the future while protecting his values. A man after her own heart. That mansion was the symbol of why she admired him so much and never thought of working for someone else.
The boiler whistles and she pours the water into a fine china cup before adding the tea bag. Black tea for her. Today she drinks it bitter and strong, anything sweeter would seem like an affront to her grief. Ten minutes later, John and Casey come back with the lawyer. They greet Pepper, honestly happy to see her, even under such difficult circumstances and wait in Aurelia's office for her to come and join them so that the testament and last will can be read. She arrives, wearing a dark navy dress and some light make-up, looking far more confident than she was when Pepper arrived. The younger woman admires her strength and vows to be there every step of the way for her and her children.
The lawyer finally starts to read and Pepper is, unsurprisingly, Andrew's choice as his executor.
The mansion, some other properties, including Andrew's private winery and all remaining personal belongings go to Mrs Aurelia Mary Wanamaker, as well as a part of his shares in the company that he entrusts her to either keep or to sell to whomever she sees fit to.
To both his sons, Messieurs John Aidan Wanamaker and Casey Michael Wanamaker, to be shared equally between them, the rest of his shares in the company, a few others properties in both the United States and Europe, his boats and cars and of course, the full access to their trust funds that Andrew set up when they were children.
And finally, to Miss Virginia Isabelle Potts, his collection of paintings pertaining to the modern art movement and the relevant documents to make her the new CEO of VAST, as it was his right as CEO to choose his own successor. The document may either be used or destroyed as Miss Virginia Isabelle Potts sees fit for herself and for the well-being of VAST.
The VAST Foundation for relief in the third world is entrusted to both Mrs Aurelia Mary Wanamaker and Miss Virginia Aurelia Potts.
And finally, he also wishes to make a five millions dollars donation to the St John hospital and its oncology department.
There is a silence in the room and Pepper doesn't know what to say. It was never discussed between Andrew and herself, or anyone else for that matter as far as she is aware, that she should get his place as CEO. Pepper knows that it is – that it was – his right to appoint a successor at the head of VAST, and that the board would not be able to say anything about it. Of course, she knew that if she were to exercise her right to become CEO, the board would probably try to sue her and have Mr. Wanamaker's posthumous wish dismissed as not receivable or even illegal. But what Pepper feared the most wasn't the board. She knew she could handle them. However, Pepper always thought that if Andrew were ever to appoint a CEO, it would be John, and not her. She knows she has to say something and so she does:
"I don't know what to say, apart from the fact that I will never exercise my right to become CEO if you do not wish me to." Pepper's voice shakes as she utters the words. She feels a wave of shame overcoming her for having cheated her boss's own son out of his rightful inheritance.
She continues: "Believe me, I had no idea that he desired to appoint me. I would have dissuaded him. I swear, I-"
"Stop it." It is not John, or Aurelia that talks, but Casey, Andrew's 21 year old son. "I knew we couldn't trust a nobody to make sure dad wouldn't fuck up. You're no one. We know next to nothing about you and now, you take John's inheritance? Who are you to tell us want to do? Just because you were his pet and that you came to Christmas dinners doesn't mean you're family, you're just a poor, little-"
"Casey, stop this immediately if you do not want to get my fist in your face." John speaks and Pepper breathes again. She's petrified in her seat. She wants to vanish and never come back and yet, her desire to hear what Aurelia has to say is more powerful than anything else, even if it is to reiterate her younger son's words.
But the lawyer speaks up first, visibly embarrassed by the scene playing right in front of him. "I should tell you that Mr. Wanamaker also entrusted me with some letters, addressed to each one of you. Perhaps you will find some explanation in their content." He proceeds to get the letters from a different folders that he hands to the four of them. Pepper takes hers and puts it in her bag. She doesn't want to read it in front of everyone. Casey stalks out of the room, furious, with John following him. The lawyer then leaves after repeating his sincere condolences to Aurelia and bidding them goodbye. Pepper is left alone in the office with Aurelia.
"Please, say something. Even if it is to insult me, you have every right to be angry and-"
Aurelia takes her hand. "If you think for one second that I had no idea of what my husband was about to do, than you are sorely mistaken."
Of all the things she thought Aurelia could have told her, it was certainly never on her list. The older woman cups Pepper's cheek with her other hand. "I knew because he told me. We had discussed it at length when he was first diagnosed and then again when the doctors told us the chemotherapy wasn't working. Andrew made the right choice appointing you. Don't listen to Casey, he is young and angry because he just lost his father, but he'll come around eventually."
"But John is- "
"John is uninterested in becoming CEO, or in VAST's affairs entirely. He only went to Harvard because he thought it would please Andrew. John has always wanted his father to be proud of him and he thought that going into business with him would achieve that. But Andrew and I, and I think John too now, have become aware over the years that John's place was never at the head of VAST. I don't know what he'll do, but he'll find his own path eventually, I'm sure. And as for Casey, that boy doesn't know what is good for him, much less for an entire corporate empire. And he loves to play music."
Pepper is softly crying and she cannot find the off-switch button. Aurelia pulls her in an embrace. "My dear Virginia, you should have seen the look on Andrew's face the evening after he first met you. He told me: "Aurelia dear, I think I have found our miracle." You were always supposed to succeed him. He just never thought it would happen this quickly. But you rose to the challenge when he became too sick to do the work himself and that's when we knew he had chosen well. Please, do not trouble yourself with Casey's words. You are family. Never doubt that."
They stay in other's arms a few moments longer. Pepper doesn't stop crying until she is in her car, on the way back to the office. She's got a plan of attack to think of.
Xxxxx
The funeral takes place two days later, in rainy London, where Andrew's parents and grandparents are buried as well. Although he was born American, he'd always been proud of his British roots and had made very clear in his testament that he wanted his last resting place to be with his family.
It's hot, despite the rain and England's reputation for cold summers, and Pepper is sitting next to Aurelia, at the front row in the cemetery. Casey is still no speaking to her and John gives her an apologetic look. He had called her just before her boarding on the company's private jet to apologize for Casey's behaviour and to assure her that there were no hard feelings, just the relief to know that VAST was going to be in good hands.
The cemetery is rather crowded and Pepper recognizes a few faces from work and from social gatherings that she had attended on behalf of Andrew. Some family members and close friends were there too, of course and behind the gates, the media has set up camp before any of them had arrived. So much for privacy, she thinks.
But the real surprise – if the media could ever be called that – are not the journalists and the other vultures waiting outside, but one figure in the last row that Pepper almost missed.
Tony Stark had come to pay his respects. She wasn't even aware he had been on the list of attendees in the first place. The short service begins and a few words are spoken by John for the eulogy. She is grateful that Andrew wasn't too religious. She's not sure she could have hold herself that well if they had had a long service at the local church.
She throws a white rose on the coffin after they put it in the ground and she retreats by the great oak while Aurelia and her sons receive everyone's words of condolences. Aurelia had asked her to stay by their side but she had politely declined. She didn't feel like she belonged there, especially with Casey still being mad at her.
An umbrella appears over her head and Tony squeezes her hand. "I'm sorry for your loss."
She takes a deep breath and tries not think too much about the nice scent of his aftershave. "I didn't know you knew Andrew." She squeezes his hand back.
"My father did. I've only met him a couple of times myself. I think they were friends, a long time ago. Anyway, Mrs. Wanamaker had her assistant send me an invitation. It was only polite to accept. How are you holding up? I heard rumours that you have been nominated by Wanamaker to take his place. Congratulations."
Pepper groans without meaning to. "First, this is hardly the time or the place to speak about something like that. And second, where did you hear that? This is supposed to be confidential information. The board is not even in the know yet."
Tony has a secretive smile. "You're right, this isn't the place to discuss such matters. I'm sorry. Shall we say, eight o'clock, in my suit at the Savoy? I've taken the liberty to check where you were staying so that we could have a nice dinner and a chat without attracting too much attention."
This time, Pepper looks him right in the eyes. "I can't believe you've just come to a funeral just in the hope to get laid. You're revolting. That man was very important to me."
He has the presence of mind to look slightly embarrassed. Slightly.
"I assure you my intentions are completely pure. Unless you want me to collect on that rain check that you've promised me in Tokyo, then maybe I could be tempted in things becoming a little more heated, what do you say?"
The nerve of that man, Pepper thinks. "God, if you so sorely need a blowjob, you didn't need to take the plane. I'm sure you have a plethora of groupies waiting in line to do just that on the other side of the ocean. As for myself, I'm afraid I'll have to pass on getting on my knees for you tonight. I think I've just developed a migraine. Goodbye, Mr. Stark."
"Until next time, Miss Potts." She leaves without looking back.
Xxxxx
She is in her suite at the Savoy when she hears the knock on her door. She fumes, because she hasn't asked for room service yet and she knows Aurelia and the boys are staying at their London flat in Belgravia. She opens the door expecting to see a smirking Tony Stark.
She couldn't be more wrong. It's John and he looks like hell.
"John, what are you doing here?" she lets him in and fetches a towel in the bathroom because it's been pouring outside all day and John is drenched. "My god, did you walk here?"
"Hum, yeah, I guess I did. I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you, I can come another time if you want me to-"
She comes back in the room and hands him the towel. "Don't worry, you're not interrupting anything. I'm just surprised, I thought you were with your mother and your brother."
They seat on the couch. "I was. It's just… I couldn't stay there. Mother is crying in her room and Casey is playing music in his, I just had to get away, you know. I just found myself here and I knew I had to see you." He takes her hand, still wet and cold from the rain but Pepper tries not to mind.
"Is there anything I can do for you?" He looks at her hesitantly before invading her personal space and kissing her sloppily. Pepper tries not to jump off the couch under his ministrations but it's a near thing. However, she does push him away by the shoulders. "John, what are you trying to accomplish here?"
"I love you, Pepper. I've loved you since Father brought you home the first time for dinner. I want to be with you."
She feels sick, suddenly. And the taste of his lips and tongue are still lingering in her mouth. She tries not to look too nauseated. "John, this is not a good idea. You're upset and confused. You should try to get some sleep. I'll call you a cab." She gets up but he grabs her wrist.
"I'm never been more sure of anything in my life. Please, spend the night with me."
She knows she doesn't have a choice anymore. She cares for John, very deeply. He is a year younger than her and yes, he is very attractive with his blond hair and blue eyes and his sweet angelic face but Pepper had never considered him anything than a very good friend, a long lost brother even. She blames herself for not seeing that he had been attracted to her all along, but she had been busy worrying for Andrew, the company and a million other things and she cannot sleep with John.
"John, please don't make it more complicated than it already is. I'm very flattered by your interest, but I won't sleep with you. Not today, or any other day. You need to leave now. And we'll never have to speak about this again."
John looks completely mortified and she wishes she could take him in her arms but she doesn't want to make it worse. He clearly didn't think she would refuse him. She doesn't know if she finds this endearing or annoying. But he is clearly still too boyish for her and she cannot handle puppy love. She's certain he'll find someone else to moon over soon enough. But right now, she just needs him to go.
Which he does, faster than she's ever seen anyone walking. She just hopes he doesn't do something stupid before he gets home.
But now that she is left alone in her suite, Pepper feels something else replacing her nausea. A kind of anger against anything male. She is angry at John, for being so idiotically in love that he didn't feel the need to ask her about her feelings before kissing her. She's angry at Casey and his adolescent anguish and spoiled upbringing that enabled him to look at her as if she were trash. She's angry at Andrew, for leaving her completely alone at the head of a company she never wanted. She's angry at Tony Stark and his fucking nerve for thinking she was ready to drop to her knees at the snap of his fingers.
She's in front of his door before she can even register she's left her room. She knocks, knowing he's there, waiting for her to cave and take him in her mouth. Well, not today. He opens the door, and is about to say something before she takes his ability to speak by kissing him hard and biting his lower lip. They stumble inside his suite and she makes him fall on the floor.
"Don't speak, don't do anything I don't want you to do. I'm not here to blow you or do your bidding. Tonight, I either fuck you or I leave. Do you want me to fuck you?"
He only nods, because Tony Stark is a fast learner and she's really grateful for that. She grabs his belt, take it off before getting to his fly. After that, he gets out of his pants and boxers with some difficulty but Pepper doesn't care because she's just got a better idea. She gets out of her skirt and her panties and manages to sit on his face. He gets to work immediately and moans against her dripping pussy and God! It feels good to have him between her legs, doing something she actually approves of. The taste of John in her mouth is completely gone and only Tony's tongue and fingers exist. He makes her come once then cleans her well and deep with his mouth before trusting three fingers in her again and her second orgasm hits before she can do anything about it. She doesn't let him try to go for a third time and she backs away from his face and stands up.
He stays on the ground, completely at her mercy with his pants undone, his cock hard against his belly and his mouth still glistening from her arousal. He looks at her like he wants nothing more to fuck until kingdom come but it's her show tonight and he respects that. And just because he understands the fine line between her choice and his desire that she gives her what he wants. She straddles him over his knees and bends towards his aching cock, fisting it and licking it. He doesn't try to grasp her head right away, for which she is grateful, but she knows it's only a matter of moments before the urge to do so is too strong. She may be angry at the whole world tonight but she's not cruel either. She takes him in her mouth and a long, heartfelt moan resonates in the room. She sucks him and she thinks it's the endgame, that he'll be gone in less than a minute but he's got stamina, more than she gave him credit for and she wonders why he's holding back.
She asks, sort of, because she's not going to do that all night and her position is becoming uncomfortable. "You can come inside my mouth, you know? Unless you'd rather stain the carpet?"
He laughs at that and she had almost forgotten that Tony had the cutest giggle when in the middle of fucking. She finds she missed that sound. She also finds that while Tony Stark is a fast learner, he is also always first at breaking rules.
"I'd love to come in your mouth, Pepper. You've got a fucking masterpiece of a tongue. But right now, I want you to hold on your promise to fuck me."
She arches an eyebrow.
"Please."
Well, if he is being polite about it…
"Condom?"
He produces one from his suit's breast pocket. "Always prepared."
She smirks and puts it on him before sinking down on his shaft. Shit, does that man feels good inside of her. She starts to move, sets a punishing pace from the start and grabs a fistful of his hair while kissing him. He bites her lip, mirroring their first kiss when she entered the room and she didn't think she could come a third time before getting him to his first but he slaps her ass and she climaxes abruptly. He gets there three thrusts later but she doesn't care anymore. She limp against his torso, her mouth against his neck, nibbling his pulse softly. He lets her to her ministrations until she's too tired to do it. Meanwhile, his cock has gone soft within her.
It's a testament of his strength and agility when he manages to get up with her in his arms and carrying her to the bed. He disappears a few minutes in the bathroom. When he comes out, she's gone but there's a note on his bed:
"Until next time, Mr. Stark."
Maybe he should take her to dinner one day.
