Warning: Sexy scene ahead.
Si vis amari, ama - If you wish to be loved, love.
Tony studied the cut on his forearm. The dull day had surprisingly turned sunny and he had taken off his shirt, due to the heat. After lifting the numerous statues in the inn's back garden, he and the gregarious Pyotr had tried to take the rickety rackety back door off its frame.
In the midst of that, he had acquired a nasty cut, by carelessly scraping himself against one of the door's edges. There was also a splinter or two embedded in the cut.
He was trying to see how to take out the splinters, when Pepper and Beatrice walked into the yard.
Pyotr said "Oi! That was a long lunch break, ladies." The sharp tongued Beatrice retorted back with some snarky rejoinder.
Tony however, was holding his breath because Pepper was looking at him in a way, he had never seen before. Her blue eyes have darkened but not with anger. With something else ... why can't I place it?
The inane chatter going on between Beatrice and Pyotr, faded into the background as he stood still under Pepper's sensual gaze, unwilling to break the silent spell, she was casting over him with her sea blue eyes.
She raked those eyes over his face and then slowly downwards, slowly over his bare chest, his stomach and his legs, finally pulling them back up to his face. He felt every caress of her eyes on his flesh and swallowed hard to control his libido. She followed that movement as well and bit her lip. Then she met his eyes again and he was shocked at the naked emotion in their blue depths.
Possessiveness... that is it... it is as if she is marking me with her eyes.
Tony was willing to forget all about Pyotr and Beatrice and pull Pepper in for a deep kiss, when said audience decide to interrupt his and Pepper's sensual trance.
Beatrice said with worry, "Lord Stark! What a nasty cut you have." She came close to him, tsking and reached out to touch his arm.
But Pepper was faster and lifted his arm towards her. She gave Beatrice a dark look and slowly inspected the cut.
Tony hissed as he felt the splinters move in his flesh. Pepper muttered absently, "It is deep but I have some honey and we should be able to remove the splinters and bind the wound. Now, should we stop for the day?"
Pyotr stretched tiredly. "Yes please, that would help. I am all sore from the lifting." Beatrice asked him something about a statue.
Tony opened his mouth to object at stopping so early but Pepper leaned close to him and whispered urgently, "Let them leave, I want to show you a secret room I found."
He nodded and Pepper said out loud, "You two should move ahead. I will return to Lorinthia with Tony." She smiled sweetly at him then. "I will dress your wound, my lord. Do not fear."
Beatrice was looking at them suspiciously but Pyotr pushed her along, muttering, "Let's go, I want to take a nap, come on Beatrice, move..."
They waited for them to leave and as Tony saw them exit the gate, Pepper took his hand and led him up the stairs. He shrugged his shirt on as they climbed.
"A secret room, Pep!"
"Yes Tony, one which is accessible only from the room above. Come on, this way."
They entered a room which had a large hole in the center of the floor. Pepper had tied a rope to the edge of a large armoire and the other end dangled down the hole.
"We can use this to climb down. Let us go!"
She shimmied down the rope and Tony followed her. He looked around the small but charming room.
"This must have been a child's room! Look! There are notches on the wall, possible to mark height! And there is a small blanket thrown here!" Pepper was excitedly pointing out items in the room.
The most attractive feature of the room however, was the large, square window with a wide, wooden sill. Tony walked to it. The sill was rectangular and ran the length of the window. It was clean and blemish-free. Sunlight shone beautifully through the window, into the room.
Pepper came to him and said clearly, "Tony, please hand me your dagger."
He looked at her askance but obeyed her and then winced as she moved the dagger towards the cut.
"Hold still, my lord, I can see the splinter, luckily for you, it is big."
"Luckily!" He exclaimed.
She said patiently, "My lord, it is easy to remove a big splinter because of its size. Additionally you can feel it in your flesh, so you know it is there. With small splinters, you never realize there is one in the first place. Then it festers in your flesh."
She had artfully removed the large splinter from his hand and was working on the next one. Tony was squeamish about splinters, so he avoided looking at his arm. He focused on the reddish gold head, so close to his, bent in concentration.
Pepper removed the other splinter and let go of him to dig through her satchel. She pulled out a tiny bottle of honey, dipped her finger into it and spread it on his cut tenderly. Then she pulled out a white wide handkerchief from her bag and tied it around the wound, with a light knot.
Tony blinked at her loving attention. Then he noticed the initials on the kerchief.
"Who is A E S ?" He asked sternly, suddenly feeling insecure because Pepper had a monogrammed handkerchief, which clearly belonged to a man, in her bag.
She dimpled charmingly and said, lowering her head. "A souvenir of the time when a brave, handsome knight once comforted me during a storm. A man as tender as he is heroic."
He caught Pepper's chin in his hand and raised it, so that she met his eyes. "How long have you know this handsome knight? And where is he now?" Pepper's eyes were sparkling mischievously at him.
"It has been nearly a year that we know each other. And he is standing right in front of me..." she said softly.
He laughed sheepishly. "Good lord, one of my old handkerchiefs. Wait... Pepper, you had it all this time?!" He asked incredulously.
She nodded at him, eyes shimmering blue at him. "Yes Tony, it is one of my treasured keepsakes of you... so my lord," she leaned towards him and kissed his chin softly. "Please return it to me when your wound has dried up."
"I thought you would want a necklace or precious stones or a ring as a keepsake, a token of my love..." he whispered to her softly.
"No, my lord, I treasure it because ... that was the first time I realized you are not as cold as your armor..." Pepper whispered against his chin, his face slowly grazing hers. "And I was so thankful for your kindness..."
He had his cloak with him and laid it on the window sill, towards one corner of the window. Then he pulled her gently to the window sill and sat down, making her sit next to him. Tony kissed Pepper deeply, gently holding her face to his by running his hands through her hair. He stroked the soft nape of her neck as he broke off the kiss, to gently bite her bottom lip.
At her moan, he licked the bite and started to nibble on her upper lip, enjoying the feel of the soft moist flesh between his teeth. Pepper writhed under his hold and he gently but firmly held her in place as he leisurely made sweet, sweet love to her soft, trembling mouth. Their tongues danced together and she pressed herself to him.
Tony wanted to hold her against him, so he broke off the kiss, so that he could adjust his hold of her. She whimpered with frustration.
He pulled her onto his lap, such that she straddled him, branding him sensuously with the feel of her soft breasts on his hard chest. Pepper took charge now, holding his cheeks and sucking boldly on his tongue. He ran his hands up and down her back, stroking her and holding her to him because she was his anchor in this heady sea of passion.
Mouths still mating passionately, Tony passed his hands over the beginning of her backside and pulled her even tighter against him. She moaned then, breaking off the kiss and he started to kiss her neck. Pepper held his head to her neck, roughly pulling at his hair, as Tony nipped her warm, firm flesh gently with his teeth.
"Tony, Tony... Tony! Your beard..." she moaned at him and he raised his head, to peer at her dazedly. Pepper's eyes were tightly closed and her head was thrown back to give him better access. She was nibbling her lip and he asked "Pepper, what is the matter? Am I hurting you with my beard? Is it too rough for you?"
"No, you idiot! It feels so rough, so wonderful... keep touching me, please please Tony...Tony..." she whispered brokenly and he murmured, "If the lady desires more, the lady shall get it." He purposely rubbed his beard against the delicate flesh of her neck and Pepper let out a beautifully abandoned groan.
Tony slowly opened the top three buttons of her gown, so his lips could move over her bared collarbones. She was trembling now and then she gasped deeply as Tony bit her taut flesh where her neck met her shoulder. He laid his nose at the spot, inhaling deeply, drowning in the swirling scent of lilies and vanilla. He nipped her there again, unable to resist the tender spot and Pepper pressed herself to him even more.
"Tony, Tony...", she was saying his name like a prayer and he moved his lips to her collar bone, alternating between bites and licks, kissing her strong but delicate bones under his lips.
"Pepper, Pepper," he stopped to murmur against her neck, "my wild rose, so strong yet so delicate... so beautifully wild..." She was too lost in passion to reply, her face and neck was flushed but Pepper stayed still in his arms, neck exposed vulnerably, waiting for his loving attention.
He did the same to the other side of her neck and other shoulder, choosing to bite her slightly harder. Then he pressed his lips to each hollow of flesh at the base of her throat.
"Pepper," he whispered raggedly, her fragrant soft flesh making him dizzy, "Pepper, my sweet, I do not know who is seducing whom but... sweet lord, it is as if you were made for me to worship." He swept his tongue slowly at the hollow and she gasped violently. "Tony...please... more... more..."
He swallowed hard and opened one more button of her dress. Then Tony slowly used one hand to push off one shoulder of her dress, exposing her thin chemise. The other hand held her to him.
Looking at her, wanting to see her reaction, Tony looked at Pepper's flushed face as he slowly placed his hand on her taut, perfectly round breast, fingers pressing it gently. She swallowed hard and looked down into his eyes. Her eyes were dark blue, the blueness swirling with passion. But he waited, not wanting to frighten her by being too amorous.
She moistened her lips and said, "Tony, touch me, please... please touch me, my lord." He cupped the beautiful globe in his hand and swiped his thumb over the already semi-hard nipple.
Pepper cried out and pulled the hair at his nape. He kept moving his thumb, feeling the little nub harden deliciously under his finger. She was making small, heaving cries. He cupped her breast again and massaged it with his fingers, reveling in the soft taut flesh, so intimately responding to his touch. Her nipple had hardened completely now, the stiff tip impudently jutting through her chemise.
He kept massaging the breast and slid the dress off the other shoulder as well. Pepper's arms were now pinioned to her sides because the dress was lowered to her arms but she did not seem to care, she just arched wildly into Tony's hands as he caught her other nipple between his fingers, tweaking it gently.
She let out a loud, sweet moan at the sensation and he pressed his lips to her throat, trying to soothe her. "Easy, sweeting...easy...you are so goddamn beautiful... your body responds to me so sexily." He raised his head to kiss her and they kissed deeply as he held her breasts in his hand, squeezing and cupping them. She kept pushing herself into his touch and gasped against his mouth as he simultaneously swirled his fingers over each breast, feeling her nipples. He rubbed them a little roughly with his thumbs, then felt them up and down and they seemed to tighten even more. Pepper broke off the kiss, leaned her forehead against his and was breathing harshly now, looking down at his hands and what they were doing to her.
He pinched one nipple hard between his thumb and index finger. Pepper cried out, then pushed herself into his hands and he obliged by squeezing the other breast hard between his fingers. Her responsiveness was driving him crazy. She kissed him desperately and he responded but he did not stop playing with her sweet body.
They were so lost in passion that the sound of someone calling Pepper's name, did not penetrate their deep fog of arousal. Tony heard it finally and broke off the kiss, panting. Someone was in the building, loudly calling "Pepppper...Pepper... Beatrice... anyone there?" He tried to catch his breath. Then he looked at Pepper and felt his heart swell with love. She was so beautifully disheveled, dress off her shoulders, neck red and flush, eyes soft with passion and pink lips moist and swollen.
He tried to stop his grin because Pepper had finally realized someone was in the inn. Tony nearly laughed at the comical expression on her face, when the calling voice finally reached her ears and she gasped. He quickly covered her mouth. "Do not make a sound, it is okay."
She stared at him in horror and Tony grinned. Sweet young thing... this is her first time being interrupted. Luckily for her, I have a lot of experience in avoiding getting caught.
He gently guided her to stand up and they both stood up and looked at each other. Tony was already damn hard but he felt his cock twitch painfully at the sight of Pepper's pointed little nipples, poking out through the thin chemise. Pepper however, was busy staring at his erection, poking out through his pants.
She whispered frantically, "Tony, that is Johan, he can't see us like this! He will know what we were doing!"
Tony chuckled. "Unless he's completely blind, yes, he will definitely understand what we were doing."
She punched him in the arm and he grimaced. "Tony, this is not funny."
He looked around as Johan's voice grew closer and closer. Then he had an idea.
The room was square in shape. He picked up his cloak, and pulled Pepper towards one corner, farthest from the hole above. He placed her in the corner, back to the wall. She looked up at him, confused. He whispered, "This room cannot be accessed from a floor, only through this hole. We can hide in this corner. Even if Johan looks down the hole, he will not see us in the hole. Trust me, sweeting..."
She nodded and he pressed himself against her and raised his cloak over his head, enshrouding them both. He held up the edges of the coat, so they would blend into the darkness of the room's corner. Pepper was breathing hard, pushing herself into his chest and he whispered against her forehead. "Calm down, my love... relax.. take a deep breath, let it out... relax your breathing."
She obeyed him and he gradually felt her relax against him. Tony tried taking his own advice to calm his own body. But it was no good, he was leaning too close to Pepper, he could feel every soft curve of her pressed to him, especially her aroused nipples. They stood there like that, waiting for Johan to go away.
Pepper sighed in the darkness and Tony kissed her forehead softly. They heard Johan walk on the floor above them and both tensed but held still and quiet. Johan did not enter the room directly above theirs and Tony was silently relieved as his footsteps faded away.
After two or three minutes, they heard Johan close the main door of the inn. Tony stepped away and Pepper exhaled in relief. "Oh god, Tony... that was close..."
He grinned at her and she smiled shyly at him. "Pepper..." he said, wanting to say something, anything about her letting him touch her, "Sweetheart, that was beautiful, you were amazing... I hope I am... I mean...". For once, Tony Stark was at a loss for words but Pepper seemed to understand what he was trying to say and hugged him tightly.
"That was wonderful for me too, my lord... and it was perfect. Thank you for being so tender, so caring with me." She kissed him gently and as he stared at her dazedly, she walked to the rope. "Let's go home, my lord."
She stood there in the fading light, his lady, smiling at him with love in her eyes and Tony smiled back in response, feeling like he could fly. "Yes, let's go home."
