The First Time

by MyCedarChest

Life is full of meeting people for the first time, and we all know that first impressions do tend to steer the course for future relationships.

7. Chapter 7

Most of the characters in this story belong to Marvel Comics and whoever else has current legal ownership of Iron Man at the moment. No infringement on any corporate, business, or individual's rights is intended in any way. This story is not being written for profit, just for enjoyment.

Author's Notes: A sincere thank you for all the reviews and PMs on this story of mine. I really do appreciate all of your support, encouragement, and kind words. And I am very happy that all of you have enjoyed this story so far. I have been really busy working on a big project for the past two months, and I regret that it's been such a long time between chapters. Hopefully Chapter 7 will have been worth the wait for you! Please note that a rating change has occurred for this chapter: The rating for Chapter 7 is 'M'.

The Very Last First Time

It was exactly one month and one day after Tony flew the nuke into the space portal that Pepper found him curled up in a ball on his Malibu mansion bed, drenched in sweat and screaming into his pillow. Jarvis had called her at work at 8:38 PM to report his unstable condition to her. She was working late, doing her dead level best to steer Stark Industries into the wind in the aftermath of the Chitauri invasion of New York. Her mind reluctantly regressed back into the recent past as she mindlessly gathered up her laptop and briefcase and quickly walked out of her office towards the parking garage. She remembered just how helpless and hopeless she felt as she watched Tony vanish into that space portal on that day not that long ago. And she also remembered dropping to her knees on the floor of the SI corporate jet and praying fervently for Tony's safety. Then in what could only be described as a small miracle and an answer to her prayers, Tony emerged from the space portal, and with Bruce's help managed to survive once again against the odds.

She had promised herself that she would cut back on her hours at work once she got Tony safely back home to Malibu from New York, and for the most part she had been keeping that promise, tonight being one of only a few exceptions. She had been spending more and more time with Tony at the mansion and she found herself seeing less and less of her condo as the days went by, not wanting to leave Tony alone any longer than absolutely necessary. The battle of New York had made it quite clear to her that every moment that she spent with Tony might be the last, and she was now determined to not only be with him as much as possible, but also make every moment she was with him count.

She had made up her mind this morning in the shower that she was going to sit down with Tony tonight and have a talk about their future plans together. She had even met with a realtor yesterday afternoon and had listed her condo for sale. He had been dropping some not so subtle Tony-like hints about cohabitation in the past few weeks, but as usual neither one of them would slow down long enough to have a serious conversation about either their present or future living arrangements. And even though he had not formally verbalized his feelings to her about wanting her to stay with him on a permanent basis, she could see the separation anxiety clearly written in his face whenever she would leave his mansion to go home for the night. She knew that she was going to be the one in their relationship to step out into the emotional shifting sands surrounding their cohabitation first.

As she sped towards the Malibu mansion grateful for light traffic on the PCH, she could feel her pulse begin to race as she asked Jarvis for minute by minute updates on Tony's condition. She called and left word with Bambi, her assistant to clear out her schedule for tomorrow because she knew that tonight was shaping up to be a long night at the Stark Mansion for her. Since tomorrow was Friday, her planned schedule had been relatively light anyway.

"My sensors indicate that Mr. Stark's blood pressure and pulse has risen dangerously high now. He is still unresponsive to my request for him to wake up." Jarvis reported solemnly.

She found herself slamming on the brakes as she pulled up to the mansion's front door, knowing that it would mean a faster trip to Tony's bedroom than parking underground in the mansion's garage.

"Just keep talking to him, Jarvis." Pepper pleaded as she ran from her Audi towards the front door. She knew that he hadn't been sleeping well since New York, but she had no idea that his nightmares had actually become dangerous for him. Leave it to Tony to order Jarvis not to let her know just how bad his nightmares had become. The fact that he was even in bed trying to sleep at this early hour meant that he must be exhausted.

She quickly ditched her heels and jacket at the front door, sprinting up the staircase and down the hall towards his bedroom. She flung open the door and found him curled up in the fetal position on his bed, his head buried under his pillow. She could now hear his muffled screams and see that he was violently shaking as he lay there drenched in his own sweat.

"Tony" she called out softly, finding it difficult not to yell his name, her concern for him increasing rapidly as her eyes quickly looked over his trembling body. "It's OK now." She reassured him laying down on the bed with him and quickly spooning up behind him on the bed. She wrapped her arms securely around him and she felt him start to react to her as his body suddenly stiffened in her arms, and his trembling started to subside.

"Sweetheart?" he asked tentatively, his voice still muffled by the pillow.

"I've got you, darling." She replied squeezing him tenderly as she felt him suddenly let out a huge sigh of relief.

They lay there a few minutes in silence. She could now feel his cold sweat slowly soaking through her thin blouse, and she suddenly had to fight back a shiver. She certainly didn't want him to mistake her involuntary shiver for fear of him, as she forced her body to remain still.

She could feel his body relax as he slowly uncurled himself, pressing his back gently into her in order to seek out the warm comfort of her body. She pulled him even closer to her as she wrapped her left arm around his boxer clad waist. She then gently tucked her left leg around both of his legs. Her right hand moved to the top of his head and she began to slowly card her fingers through his thick, sweaty hair, massaging his scalp with her fingertips as she did. She knew from past experience that this calmed him quickly.

She leaned her head down slightly and tenderly nuzzled his bare back between his shoulder blades. She heard him moan in response to her touch and she could feel his body relax even more into hers. As she continued to hold him, she could feel his breathing slowly returning to normal. She sighed deeply, inhaling the unique smell that was Tony, suddenly becoming very aware of the effect that the sweaty and moaning man in her arms was now having on her own body. She silently willed her libido to stand down as she planted a chaste kiss to his back.

At first it had been an accidental 'babe' and 'sweetheart' shared between them, but within a month after they started dating after the Expo, they both began using terms of endearment with each other when they were together in private. After so many years calling him 'Mr. Stark' and 'Tony', as well as various other names most of them containing the word 'ass' within them, she was hesitant at first to come up with any 'pet' names for him. After all old habits did die hard. But slowly she managed to come up with her own set of names for him. At the top of the list was 'honey', but she soon added 'sweetheart', 'darling', 'babe', with the occasional 'handsome' and even 'stud' used only in teasing, at least for right now. After all, Tony's ego had been stroked enough in the past. Tony had his own set of 'pet' names for her calling her 'babe', 'baby', 'sweetheart', 'gorgeous',

'beautiful', 'honey', and even used 'woman' occasionally in teasing just to see if he could get a rise out of her.

Even though they had been dating for almost eight months now and had shared many kisses and caresses, they had yet to make the big move into an intimate relationship. After so many years together, she could plainly see past all of his bravado and bullshit, and she knew that it was actually fear keeping Tony from taking that big step into intimacy with her. After returning from Afghanistan Tony had developed this irrational fear of karma…some sort of back payment for how badly he had treated people in the past. And she was fairly certain that he was now worried that she would treat him like he had treated all his one night stands if they slept together.

"I'm sorry that Jarvis had to call you, babe." He whispered into his pillow.

"Don't be sweetheart." She replied placing another tender kiss to his back as she pulled him even tighter to her. "Being in love with you means I get to help you when you need it, and not necessarily when you want it."

He pushed the pillow aside and let out the long, deep breath that he had been holding. "I know I don't tell you this nearly enough, but I am so in love with you, Pepper Potts." He then paused for a few seconds before continuing as she hugged him back in response to his words, not wanting to interrupt what else he was going to say. "But you and I both know that I don't deserve either you or your love." He finished sadly.

She sighed softly into his back again. His nightmares always left him so vulnerable and depressed. But she found that humor always seemed to help pull him out of his post-nightmare state quicker than anything else. "What about me? Maybe I'm the one that doesn't deserve your love." She teased gently. "You know that I'm not a very easy person to get along with." She continued as she felt him began to squirm in her arms as if trying to free himself from her grasp without hurting her. "After all, I am bossy, demanding, and have been known to raise anal retentiveness to new heights."

She slowly released her hold on him as he turned over to face her. He quickly reached out and cupped her cheeks in his hands tenderly. "I had never noticed that about you before. Not even the 'bossy' part." He teased back, softly stroking her cheeks with his thumbs. His bourbon eyes suddenly turned serious as he locked his eyes with her ocean blue ones. "You, Ms. Potts are, in fact, quite perfect."

"And you too have your moments, Mr. Stark." She replied back equally as serious, as a small smile started to creep onto his unshaven face at her words.

He suddenly looked down at her chest. "Pepper" he said reaching out to touch her blouse "Your blouse is wet. What happened?"

"Well" she began innocently "my boyfriend gets me so hot and bothered that I sort of self-combust when I'm in his arms."

Tony suddenly looked down at his chest and then back up at her. "I'm so sorry, Pep." He apologized suddenly realizing that it was his own sweaty body that had soaked her blouse as he touched the collar of her blouse with the fingertips of his right hand. "I hope I didn't ruin your blouse. This one is one of my favorites, you know."

Pepper quickly sat up in bed and unconsciously began unbuttoning her blouse. "Don't worry, Tony, you didn't ruin it. I just need to go change into something dry now."

She felt his left hand reach out to envelop her right hand, stopping her as she started to unbutton the third button from the top, but not before exposing the top of her lacy, sapphire blue bra. "Please don't tell me that you have panties on that match that." He teased, first looking pointedly at her bra and then looking up at her coyly from under his black eyelashes.

She looked down at her exposed bra, then slowly leaned down and kissed him softly on the lips. "OK, I won't then." She chuckled, pulling slightly away from him as she teasingly batted her eyelashes back at him.

He smiled up at her as he slowly pulled her back down towards him and she relaxed in his arms as he draped her over his body and tenderly hugged her. "Thanks for being here for me." He whispered sincerely as he rested his chin on the top of her head.

She tilted her head up and kissed the underside of his bristly jaw. "You are most welcome." She replied as she then placed another kiss a little higher up on his jaw. She could now feel the beginnings of his erection against her stomach. Those thin boxer briefs of his provided absolutely no physical or emotional barrier against the thin wet material of her blouse. And as a result of feeling his arousal, her own libido quickly rose to the occasion. She quickly tamped her lust back down as she shifted her weight intending to roll off of him and back onto the bed. As she began to move, her shoulder suddenly twinged in pain. "Ow!" she exclaimed falling back onto him.

He immediately rolled her over on to the bed, hovering over her. "What's wrong?" he asked his eyes wide with concern.

"Muscle cramp in my shoulder." She replied tightly, pulling her right shoulder up towards her ear as she tried to stretch the joint out in order to relieve the cramp.

He gently pulled her up into a sitting position being careful not to put too much stress on her shoulders as he lifted her. "I can help." He said firmly as he tenderly placed his hands on her shoulders and began to massage them gently. "It feels like you have a tennis ball in here, Pep." He fussed as he increased the movement and pressure of his fingers on her right shoulder even more.

His hands felt so good on her shoulders, especially her right shoulder. It was all she could do just to moan in reply to his words. Tony's hands gently continued their ministrations interpreting her incoherent noises of satisfaction as her authorization for him to continue his massage.

He suddenly stopped his massage and his hands began to unbutton her blouse. "I require bare skin in order to do my best work, Ms. Potts." His voice now a low, deep rumble within his chest. "That is, if you will allow me to." He finished in almost a whisper.

She could feel his hands trembling slightly as he hesitated on the next to last button. "I certainly wouldn't want anything less than your best, Mr. Stark." She replied as she felt her arousal quickly start to build up again, moisture quickly pooling between her thighs. It always amazed her just how quickly and totally she could be turned on by this man.

His fingers nervously unbuttoned the last button on her blouse, and she watched as his eyes grew dark and wide with undisguised lust at the sight of her now uncovered chest. He quickly leaned over to plant a soft kiss on her sternum. She couldn't help herself as her breath hitched in her throat at the feel of his soft lips between her breasts. As he gently pulled her blouse off of her shoulders and arms, she closed her eyes and another low moan involuntarily escaped her lips with the realization that Tony was actually undressing her for the first time ever.

Although she had never even come close to being the whore that Tony had been before he became Iron Man, she had enjoyed a very satisfying sexual life up until the moment that she had met one Tony Stark. That egotistical, brilliant man had, in one fell swoop on that memorable day at the SI R&D budget meeting more than 12 years ago, somehow managed to derail all hope of her ever continuing her search for her 'Mr. Right'. Because when she had locked eyes with Tony for the first time in that conference room so many years ago, her heart knew that she would be forever lost in those bourbon eyes of his, and that no other man would ever come closer to that 'perfect man' profile she had created for herself early in her teenage years. But of course her iron clad ethics had never allowed her to ever enter into a relationship with her then boss. And considering Tony's character flaws pre-Afghanistan, her heart would have never allowed her to enter a relationship with him at that time in their lives either.

Through the years, her hefty salary and her pivotal position as Tony's PA meant that she had never been at a loss for male companionship in her non-Stark Industries hours. But it seemed that none of her temporary bed mates had ever managed to take the place of her annoying, but rather handsome boss in her heart or in her sexual fantasies. As the years went by, she found that the number and intensity of her erotic dreams about her and Tony began to increase as she and Tony grew closer and closer together both professionally and personally. And as her SI job duties continued to grow and Tony became more and more possessive of her, she had found herself with less and less free time to troll for non-SI male companionship. This dwindling supply of available men had unfortunately resulted in her lovers slowly being replaced with romance novels, her favorite vibrator complete with a fresh set of batteries, and a good bottle of wine, although not necessarily in that order. And she had definitely noticed in the past 8 months that she and Tony had been dating, her budget for batteries had been steadily increasing.

Without a doubt she had been in love with him for years, but so in denial that it took 92 days without Tony Stark in her life to wake her up to the fact that her life was somehow incomplete without him. And since the battle in New York, she was finding it harder and harder not to rip Tony's clothes off and have her way with him every time they kissed, inwardly fearing that she would never have another opportunity to ever make love to him. But she was also very determined that it would be Tony that would be the one to make the move into the bedroom for them because he seemed to have the most fear of their relationship somehow falling apart if they took it between the sheets. So she waited and waited; knowing she would keep her promise to him about never, ever giving up on them. Pepper knew without a doubt that becoming intimate would only strengthen their relationship. But she also knew that Tony had to believe that too before they did the deed, and she was willing to wait for however long it would take Tony to make that decision for them. And given the look in his eyes at this moment as he locked eyes with her, Pepper was fairly certain that he had just made that decision for them both.

She watched with hooded eyes as he laid her blouse carefully down on the foot of the bed and he quickly shifted to her side. He then gently pushed her down on the bed. "Lay on your stomach so I can give you a proper massage." He pleaded, his voice low and full of passion, as she slowly rolled over onto her stomach.

Once her body was on the bed, he swung one of his legs over her in order to straddle her. She could now feel his heavy manhood laying against her gluts as his strong hands began her massage. She lightly bit her lip and tried to focus on just his hands and not her now-throbbing womanhood in order to stay as still as possible for the massage. As her shoulder muscles relaxed under his hands, he began to move further down onto her back and focused his fingers on her tight trapezius muscles. He had given her many massages over the years, but this massage was the first one ever done on a bed, and definitely the first one he had given her without her top on….and she found herself more turned on than she would have ever thought possible now.

He suddenly leaned down low over her and dropped a quick kiss to the shell of her left ear as he draped his body over hers. "I don't know whether to thank or to beat the jackass that is making you so tense at work, babe." He whispered in her ear and then lightly kissed her neck just below the ear. "Because if it wasn't for your stiff muscles, I wouldn't be touching you like this." He then kissed her once more on the neck closer to her shoulder before leaning back up to murmur into her ear again "And I really like touching you like this."

She quickly turned her head to the left and leaned up managing to catch his mouth with hers. She heard him moan into their kiss as his pelvis rocked into hers. She could now feel the huge bulge in his boxers as he gently pushed himself into the small of her back. His hands slowly began traveling up the sides of her rib cage to her breasts and he gently began caressing the underside of her breasts as they continued to kiss.

"See what you do to me." He moaned as he broke the kiss and rocked his pelvis gently into her again, this time a little more slowly as if wanting to let her feel just how hard he was right now.

In reply, she leaned up and kissed him again as she tucked her left shoulder underneath him and began to turn over onto her back. She never broke the kiss as her arms encircled his neck and pulled his body down to hers. She then opened her mouth and he was quick to respond in kind as her tongue found his and they deepened the kiss.

She pushed her pelvis up into his groin and swiveled her hips into his eliciting what she could only describe as a growl from his lips. "I want you." She whispered as they broke the kiss.

He pulled back slightly from her, stroking her left cheek with the pad of his right thumb his face suddenly looking unsure. "I want you too, Pep. But we…but I…." he hesitated pulling slightly back from her, looking towards the master bath and effectively avoiding eye contact with her.

She placed her left hand on the back of his neck and with her right hand reached up and tried to turn his face back towards hers, but she felt him resist. "Tony" she pleaded softly "Please don't turn away from me and try to shut me out of what's going on inside that head of yours."

He then let her turn his head back to face her and slowly looked down at her, making eye contact with her once again. "It's just…" he started sadly "Don't get me wrong, Pep. I want you more than I have ever wanted anyone, ever." He closed his eyes trying to gather his thoughts for what he wanted to say next. "It's just that…I…I don't want wake up alone tomorrow in bed…in our bed because I somehow managed to do something stupid and screw up the best relationship of my life and cause my best friend in the whole world to leave me." He finished quickly closing his eyes tightly at his heart-felt admission.

Pepper waited patiently knowing that he had more to say to her. She gently stroked his goatee, silently willing him to continue.

"Pepper" He began again "to me sharing a bed with you isn't a one-time roll in the hay…..it's actually kinda a 'forever' deal in my mind." His eyes continued to lock with hers and he swallowed hard obviously nervous about what he was saying. "And I've realized that all I want is to wake up every day with you in my arms for like the rest of my life. But I'm not sure at all if that would be in your best interests or if you would even want that. After all, you know what a hot mess I am right now." He finished and quickly looked away, trying once again to hide his emotions from her.

She slowly reached out with her right hand and gently turned his head back around to face her. She could now see the self-torture and sadness in his eyes. And she realized that she had never loved him more than in that moment.

"Anthony Edward Stark" she began, stroking his goatee once again "I have never in my life wanted to be with someone as much as I want to be with you. And I don't mean for just one night either, Tony."

Tony's eyes brightened at her words. "You mean it, Pep?"

She pulled him down and kissed him softly on the lips. "I put my condo up for sale yesterday, Tony." She whispered to him, her breath merely puffs of air against his lips. "So, yes, I do mean it."

A huge smile immediately lit up his face at the meaning of her words. "How about we get started packing you up then?" he said starting to pull away from her.

She knew how task oriented he could be when he was motivated, and she also knew that he was now only about two seconds away from calling Jarvis and asking him where the closest packing supply place was that was open so he could go purchase boxes to pack her belongings into tonight.

"The only thing you will be packing, mister, will be my happily sated body into the master bath shower in the morning after we make love all night." She said only half-teasingly as she pulled him back down to her. "Packing up my belongings can wait until at least late tomorrow afternoon."

She watched as his eyes opened so wide that she could no longer see his long, black eyelashes. He opened his mouth to say something, and then quickly closed it again. She smiled to herself knowing that she had once again silenced the great Tony Stark, which in and of itself had always been quite the accomplishment.

She trailed the fingers of her right hand down his cheek tenderly. He quickly turned his head, kissing her fingers as they moved past his mouth. She then moved both her hands to the back of his head as she smiled up at him. He smiled back at her with that soft smile that she loved so much. She pulled him back down into another passionate kiss and she felt him respond to her immediately. She could feel his waning erection once again come back to life above her as she gently pushed her pelvis into his, relishing the resumed friction between their bodies.

Yes, she knew exactly just how much of a 'hot mess' Tony was…..but she also knew without a doubt that he was her 'hot mess'. She also knew that Tony wasn't the only one who wanted them to wake up in the same bed every day for the rest of their lives. What Pepper now wanted more than anything else in the world was that this first time with him would be her last first time ever. After all they had been through together; she just couldn't even begin to imagine herself with anyone other than Tony for however long either of them had left on this earth.

She was still worried that his still-mending bruised ribs from being caught midair by the Hulk in New York City would cause him to suffer if he took top position during their lovemaking, so she immediately took the lead before all her sentient thoughts lost out to her passion.

"I call dibs on top." She said breaking the passionate kiss between them. "That is, if it's OK with you." She added with a chuckle and a smile.

Laughter suddenly danced in his bourbon eyes. "Why of course, Ms. Potts." He replied kissing one corner of her mouth hard. "How can I possibly deny you anything?"

She replied by gently pinching his left butt cheek.

"Hey!" he said rolling over onto his back and pulling her gently with him. "Don't touch the merchandise unless you intend to buy it." He teasingly warned.

"Why of course, I intend to buy it." she said leaning down and taking his lips once more in a searing kiss.

"Good!" he replied firmly after their kiss. "Because I don't put out for free, you know."

She looked down and smiled broadly at him. "So I've heard." She quickly moved to straddle his waist, rucking up her skirt high around her waist. "So tell me, Mr. Stark" she began running her hands up along his rib cage and then over his bare chest to tweak both of his hardened nipples at once. "How much is this going to cost me?"

"Oh you know; the usual." he replied with a twinkle in his eyes and a small smile starting to form on his face as his hands trailed their way over her hips, along her ribcage, up to the underside of her breasts, his bourbon eyes quickly darkening with passion. "Your eternal love, your faithful companionship…our first born child."

His last four words quickly sank into her now lust-fogged brain and she immediately pulled back from him. "You want children?" she asked him breathlessly.

His eyes immediately became worried, fearing that he had already said something that would not only kill the mood, but would anger her too. He slowly withdrew his hands from her breasts and moved them back down to her hips. But he pressed on suddenly feeling the need to express his true feelings to her. "Not just children, Pep. Our children. I've sorta been wanting you to be my baby mama since the first day you came to work for me." He paused trying to gauge her reaction, then continued when he saw a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. "I mean….. I know that I will never be voted 'Number One Dad' or anything remotely close to it. But you on the other hand are definitely 'World's Greatest Mom' material for sure."

Her smile broke quickly, lighting up her whole face now.

"I love you, Pepper." He said leaning up to kiss her softly on the lips. "You are the only woman in the world I could ever see myself having kids with, you know."

"Oh Tony!" She replied immediately leaning down and kissing him back tenderly. "Only you would already be planning out a family when we hadn't even made love yet." She teased. "Were you thinking about artificial insemination, or what? Because I'm not really game for that. I am a big supporter of natural methods for procreation, you know."

He gently pushed his pelvis up into hers as his hands moved from her hips to her gluts. "Well then" he growled, his voice now a sexy, low rumble in this chest "Since you are in the control position now, what do you say to us doing a few practice runs for procreation au natural then?"

"I say 'yes'." She replied leaning down to kiss him again.

She felt his hands move to the zipper of her skirt. "Pepper?" he asked, seeking her permission to continue.

"Yes, Tony." She replied as he quickly began fumbling with the now bunched up zipper. She reached behind her in order to help him with the zipper but quickly realized that the zipper would never open in its current state. He raised his eyebrows at her. "Don't even think about cutting my skirt off." She warned as he laughed.

"You know me" he began "I don't usually let anything get in the way of progress."

She quickly reached down and tweaked one of his nipples. "Not with this skirt you don't."

He laughed again and quickly sat up hugging her close to him. He quickly leaned her backwards, his strong arms laying her down on her back between his now spread out legs. She made no move to resist him repositioning her because she had already figured out that it would be much easier to free her stuck zipper once it was pulled down into its proper position. He gently rolled her back onto her stomach.

"Raise up." He instructed as he repositioned himself at her side.

She immediately raised her waist off of the bed and he gently pulled her skirt back down over her thighs. She felt his hands once again on her skirt's zipper. As she predicted, the zipper slowly gave way to his hands and her skirt was now ready to be removed.

He patted her tenderly on one hip "OK, babe."

She knew what he wanted her to do now, so she leaned back into the bed and slowly raised her hips up. She could feel his hands gently work the fabric of her skirt down over her thighs, knees, calves, and then off her feet. She then felt his hands caressing her ankles, moving slowly back up her legs until he reached the garters for her stockings. She could feel his fingers pull teasingly on the elastic of her garters. She smiled to herself knowing that she would never ever tire of the feel of his strong hands on her body.

"On or off?" he asked, his voice a husky whisper now.

"Off, please." She replied as she felt him suck in a quick breath. To her leaving her stockings on was indicative of a quickie, and this first joining for them was going to be anything but quick. And judging by his moan as he ran his hands up and down her legs, her meaning and intent were not lost on him at all.

She could now feel his mouth on one of her garters, tugging on it gently with his teeth as his fingers quickly removed her stockings. "I'm saving these for later." he growled against the skin of her thigh making her shiver uncontrollably.

She quickly bit the inside of one cheek trying to rein in her arousal. "But aren't those a little small for you?" She teased somewhat proud of just how steady her voice sounded, if only to herself.

He chuckled softly and quickly planted a kiss on the back of each thigh as he slowly pulled off each of her garters. She then felt his fingers under the waist band of her panties as he gently tugged on them. She moaned her permission as he began to slide her panties down her legs ever so slowly, kissing a trail along her legs closely behind the path of her panties, and watching as he tossed her panties over to the side of the bed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his black boxer briefs quickly go flying off the bed onto the floor.

"Aren't you forgetting something, Mr. Stark?" she teased knowing that she still had her bra on.

She immediately felt his fingers move to the clasp on her bra, quickly un-fastening it. He gently pulled the silken straps from her arms. He then reached under her abdomen, gently pulling her up so he could pull the bra out from under her. She then saw out of the corner of her eye that her bra quickly followed the path taken by his boxers only a moment ago.

Her breathing began to rapidly speed up, realizing that she now lay naked before an equally naked Tony. But even in the throes of passion, old proprietary habits died hard. She felt an unconscious blush start to spread along her body starting at her face.

"Pep" he moaned loudly straddling her once again as he tenderly moved her hair to one side and lightly kissed the side of her exposed neck just under her left ear.

She suddenly realized that he must have noticed her blush and was now trying to keep her from being embarrassed about their mutual state of undress.

"You are so gorgeous when you blush for me, baby." He whispered as he slid his hands up her ribcage and gently caressed her breasts. "So fucking gorgeous…." He moaned again, turning his head to whisper into her left ear. "I love you so much, sweetheart."

With that he began to kiss the inside of her ear. The warmth of his tongue and his hot breath was now sending shivers down her spine, and tingles radiating out into her arms and legs. Her ears were her Achilles' heel and he knew just what to do to her in order to make her rapidly lose control. She could now feel his engorged manhood resting heavily on her buttocks. She forgot all about being embarrassed as her arousal flooded her, spreading its heat in waves throughout her body.

She turned her head so she could look up at his face and she saw that his eyes were now hooded and almost black with emotion now. "I love you, too." She managed to get out before he crashed his lips down onto hers.

She wanted him so badly now. He leaned his body low over hers and she could now feel his manhood huge and hot between her butt cheeks. She could feel and smell the sweat sheen which now covered his body. She suddenly felt herself losing all self control to her lust at the feel of him pressed up against her, and she felt herself push back unconsciously against his heated core. She heard and felt him moan deeply as he reached under her hips and gently pulled her pelvis up into his, as he positioned his thick manhood between her now spread legs.

"I know you wanted to be on top" he groaned between gritted teeth "But will you let me make love to you like this, please?!" he asked quickly, his breath short and labored.

Pepper knew that he sounded as desperate as she now felt. She could now feel the cool drops of sweat from his body as they fell silently onto hers. "God, yes! Now Tony!" was all she could get her tongue to say as she felt his left hand move to position his tip at her entrance quickly, hesitating only a second before slowly pushing the tip of his manhood into her, giving her time to adjust to his girth as he moved within her sex-soaked walls. She began to focus on relaxing as he moved deeper and deeper within her, willing her muscles to allow him to continue to penetrate her without pain. She was suddenly very grateful for keeping up with her yoga routines which gave her the flexibility and control she so desperately needed at the moment.

She could now feel him bumping gently against her cervix wall and at the same time also feel his heavy balls nestled snugly against her as he came to a stop within her. Since they had begun their romantic relationship after the Stark Expo, she had always been pleasantly surprised at the ways they just seemed to physically fit together. And with the sudden rush of pleasure that she felt as he filled her up so perfectly right now, she knew that sexually they seemed to be made for each other too. He was her soul mate in both spirit and body now. This emotional revelation suddenly made her teary eyed.

As he leaned over her again to brush his lips along her cheek, he noticed a small tear slowly rolling down her face. "Oh god, Pepper!" he said in a worried tone and she could feel the sudden tension in his body as it lay gently against hers. "I didn't mean to hurt you!"

She could feel him now attempting to pull out of her and she clamped down around him with all of her might. "No, Tony, no!" she begged finding her voice quickly as he immediately stopped moving again. "You are not hurting me." She explained turning her head towards him and reaching up to grip his right hand tightly as it lay on her right shoulder. "It's just… we fit together so perfectly… that it seems that we really are made for each other…. and I got a little weepy about it, that's all."

He leaned over immediately to kiss her softly on the lips as he squeezed her right hand tenderly. When they broke the kiss, Pepper noticed that his eyes too had misted over confirming in her mind just how important this moment was between them. "We are made for each other." He said, his voice breaking a little as his lips took hers again in a strongly passionate kiss, thrusting slowly back into her again as she moaned her approval against his lips.

She was already getting so close, that when he thrust back into her a third time she was unable to hold back her orgasm any longer. She had been waiting for this moment for so long; years in fact, that the actual event almost seemed surreal. She began to shake as she closed her eyes tightly and began to ride out the waves of pleasure that quickly engulfed her. She could feel him draping his body over hers and she struggled to remain conscious as the stars danced behind her closed eye lids. She could hear him murmuring words of love to her as she continued to fight to stay focused, wanting to somehow burn this moment into her consciousness and keep it within her forever.

He slowly lowered her from her knees to rest flat on the bed, and he began to pump his hips slowly into hers again. The change in angle between them became apparent when he thrust back into her. He was now hitting her clit in a manner that had her libido immediately turning back on. She had only been multi-orgasmic a few times in her life, but she quickly realized that Tony had her now well on her way to yet another orgasm. She knew that it had been a long time for her, but she also knew that no other lover had ever made her feel as good as she felt right now.

As coherent thought slowly returned to her, she was suddenly cognizant of what Tony was saying to her. Unfortunately for her she had been within earshot of him in the throes of ecstasy on more than one occasion in the past, and knew that his past bed manners had always been both loud and obnoxious, ever gloating over the orgasms of his conquests. But with her he was quietly passionate, punctuating his feelings with moans instead of shouts, and soft murmurs of encouragement and love instead of loud boasts.

"Pepper" she could hear him saying softly into her ear in a voice low and full of love and passion "you are so beautiful…. love you so much." He went on to whisper softly "Only you, Pepper….it's always been you…..now I finally know what its like to really make love…..god Pepper….never felt like this before. Then he quietly chanted "This is not a dream….this is not a dream!"

He continued to move slowly in and out of her as his hands continued his gentle ministrations over her body. His hands had always been her undoing, and it had always amazed her just how his calloused and rough fingers could be so loving and tender with her. She could now feel his strong hands gently kneading her butt cheeks, as he leaned back onto the backs of her thighs as he pulled gently back from her without ever leaving the warmth of her body. Then he leaned forward thrusting slowly into her as he slowly moved his hands to her hips, then along her ribcage to gently caress her breasts as he placed small open-mouthed kisses along her spine. He moved her hair back and forth between her shoulders, gently kissing the side and back of her neck as his fingers trailed slowly through her hair. He then leaned over to kiss the sides of each of her breasts as he gently caressed each one in turn. And as his hands and mouth continued their tender assault on her body, his hips kept up the steady rhythm that continued to send goose bumps out from her core to the rest of her body. She was quite positive that she had never in her life been loved like he was loving her right now.

Soon Tony began to speed up his thrusts, his breaths becoming shorter and more labored. She could now feel the sweat dripping off his body on to hers in an almost continuous rain of passion. She could smell the arousal on his body as he leaned his head into the crook of her neck, planting small, sloppy kisses along her neck and left shoulder. She suddenly heard his teeth actually clench in his jaw as his thrusts started to become less smooth and seamless. He now began to pant heavily as his thrusts continued to become more and more choppy. She knew he must be getting close now. But then too, so was she…..again.

"Pepper!" he panted into her left ear "Can't hold on… much longer."

"Tony!" she said arching her back slightly into him as she forced herself to be vocal. "Just let go baby!" She said leaning her head over to his and bumping into his head gently "I love you so much….cum for me, sweetheart!""

She could feel his hips begin to jerk now as his hands went to her hips and he pulled her back up into him. Her vaginal walls were suddenly flooded with his hot seed as he moaned loudly wrapping his arms around her hips as he continued pumping into her with each rock of his hips. With the feel of his warmth within her, she suddenly exploded into orgasmic bliss as she came a second time in a mind shattering release, feeling her vaginal walls milk every drop out of him as he continued to thrust deep within her.

Her double orgasmed brain finally registered the fact that he was actually ejaculating into her, and suddenly her mind was racing. Surprisingly she did not panic….but she was definitely confused. In the 12 plus years that she had known him, Tony had never once to her knowledge (which was considerable as well as quite complete) failed to use a condom. Obie had always been insistent, sometimes brutally so, with Tony that there would be absolutely no legal heirs to the Stark throne. She knew that Tony was quite capable of putting a condom on correctly no matter how drunk or stoned he was, and he was neither tonight.

Given Tony's promiscuous past, every room in the mansion had designated locations for condom storage. And even though he would take his 'catch of the day' into guest bedrooms and not into his bedroom, she knew for a fact that his bedroom's bedside table still had unexpired condoms in the drawer because she had put them in there herself after he returned from Afghanistan. She remembered silently wishing at the time that Tony would use those condoms, never bringing another woman into his bed ever again. And given that he had not been with a woman since he had returned home, it seemed that she had in fact gotten her wish.

Upon the advice of her doctor, she had stopped taking birth control over six years ago. She had suffered with endometriosis since she was 16 but it wasn't severe enough to warrant surgery, so she had been on medication for the condition off and on since she started working at SI. Tony knew her medical history and the fact that she was no longer on birth control. So apparently his intentions to start a family with her were both genuine and immediate considering that here they were in their very first time of making love bare-backing it. She quickly started calculating her cycle and reasoned that even though she was not exactly at mid-cycle, she was close enough to her ovulation date that potentially she could become pregnant. She knew the statistics: the average over-30 couple's successful conception time was six months or longer given her endometriosis. But then again, she and Tony were no average couple.

Until she came to work for SI, she had always dreamed of having a large family. But for the past 12 years her wish for having children of her own had fallen way down on her personal priority list. Even her family had quit asking her when she was going to get married and have kids. Hearing Tony talk about the two of them having children together tonight had reminded her just how important having her own children had been to her years ago.

As he tenderly nuzzled the side of her neck at the shoulder, still unable to speak words, his moans of pleasure still continued to raise goose bumps up all along her body. His arms continued to gently pull her hips up into his as his rocking gradually started to slow down.

As his hips stopped moving, she felt his right arm move up and under her right shoulder as he slowly turned them over on their sides, still joined at the hips. She sighed deeply at the feel of him spooned up behind her, his warmth soaking through the cool sweat now gathered on her skin. She tenderly stroked his left arm that was still wrapped around her stomach just under her breasts. He suddenly reached out with his left arm, pulling the comforter up over and around her, re-wrapping his left arm around her waist on top of the comforter in order to keep it securely fastened around her. She reached back under the comforter with her left hand to stroke his left hip, eliciting a low moan of pleasure from him.

"You know, I think I could really get into this making love thing with you, babe." He teased his deep voice rumbling into her chest from his.

Her hand on his hip stopped immediately and she couldn't help but giggle at his casual choice of words as he pulled her even closer to him. "Making love thing?" she teased back; as a yawn overtook her by surprise "You are just so full of yourself."

"Yes, I am." He agreed enthusiastically, placing a quick kiss to the back of her head "and in case you hadn't noticed, you are now full of me too….and in more ways than one." He finished proudly with the gentle nudge of his hips and an empathic yawn of his own. He quickly burrowed his face into the back her neck.

"Actually, I had noticed that." she replied with a small laugh.

"Would you be upset if we took a little nap before you have your way with me again?" He asked, pulling her into his embrace just a little tighter. "Even though you are the love of my life, and I would like nothing more than to have you ravage me again right now, your yawn is very contagious, Pep."

"Well…" She replied shifting back against him slightly as she closed her eyes. "a nap does sound pretty good right about now." The past week had been an exhausting one for them both. She tried her best to stifle another yawn before continuing. "And I love you too, Tony."

She could feel his breathing start to slow down as his breaths continued to move her hair at the back of her head to and fro. He was softly snoring into her neck in less than a minute. As she snuggled her back against him once more, preparing to join him in slumber, she thought back to their first time making love. It hadn't happened the way she had envisioned their first coupling being at all. Neither one of them had been drunk/high, bleeding, or for whatever reason in fear for their lives. There had been no pomp and no ceremony, no trumpets blaring out from the heavens, no choirs singing 'halleluiahs'. It had just been them being themselves, using their own brand of humor and snark to help in their transition from best friends to lovers. As sleep finally caught up to her, she realized just how happy finally being with Tony had made her feel. And she knew instinctively that her days of sleeping alone had just come to an end.

Pepper woke with a start, aware of an electronic hum in her left ear as her head slowly moved up and down. She cautiously opened her eyes and saw the clock on the night table display indicating '1:23 PM'. Her eyes then focused in closer and she realized that she was currently draped across Tony's body, her left ear on his chest next to the arc reactor, and her right arm slung low across his bare hips, pinning his flaccid cock down against his pelvis. Her left hand was woven into the dark curls at the base of his neck. She could feel his right arm wrapped snugly around her right hip and his left hand was resting on top of her head, his fingers carded through her now tangled strawberry blonde hair. She remembered him stroking her hair just before she fell asleep the last time.

She tilted her head and softly kissed the skin adjacent to the reactor, and she felt him start to move ever so slightly under her touch in reaction to her kiss. She really didn't want to wake him just yet, but as she breathed in their lusty combined scent, felt his warm skin beneath her fingers, and saw the muscles in his chest ripple with his slight movements, she could feel her passion start to build quickly again. They had paced themselves during the night and early morning taking short naps between each round of their lovemaking. After all they had over 12 years of repressed hornyness to catch up on. Around 6:00 AM, they mutually agreed to call it a night (actually morning) in the pre-dawn darkness when they finally admitted to each other that they were both getting too tired to continue without something more than just a power nap.

She now felt his manhood stirring beneath her arm. They were both badly in need of a shower at the moment, as they had been too tired to get out of bed at 6:00 AM this morning to take one. As she slowly wiggled her body, she now realized that her arm was definitely sticking to Tony's manhood. The movement of her arm away from his manhood triggered an immediate response from him as his unconscious arousal quickly gained speed and momentum, and his erection grew. Even though her neat-freak personality wanted her to immediately get up and take a shower, the passionate side of her just accepted the fact that her arm was now bound to his rapidly hardening cock with their own unique combination of dried bodily fluids. She figured that he was probably sore like she was from the overuse of long-since-used various parts of their bodies, so she continued to force herself to refrain from pulling her arm away from the no-doubt tender skin of his manhood. She decided that she would just wait until he was awake before attempting any other separation moves.

She suddenly felt her body move quickly upward as he suddenly breathed in a huge breath of air, slowly releasing it in a prolonged, contented sigh. "G'morning, gorgeous." He whispered planting a soft kiss in her hair as he tenderly stroked a few wayward strands away from her face before entwining his fingers within her hair again.

She quickly kissed him on the chest again and then tilted her head up towards him as she felt him release his left hand's hold on her messy curls. "And a good morning to you, handsome." She replied as he stretched his neck down to kiss her softly on the lips.

"I would ask you to pinch me just to make sure I'm not dreaming" he started with an obvious twinkle in his eyes "but I don't think my body could take it."

Pepper chuckled loudly as he softly smiled down at her "Sore, are we?" she teased as she smiled back up at him.

"You wore me out, woman." He replied reaching down with his left hand to tenderly brush her hair out of her face again as she moved her right hand slightly upward away from his body tugging on his manhood slightly. "Ouch! Hey that hurts!" He whined "Please be careful…I'm going to need that later."

"Later?" she teased him as he reached around her with his right hand helping her free her arm from his now semi-erect penis. "How much later?"

Without warning and with a speed that negated in her mind his claim about being sore this morning, he quickly rolled up onto his knees at the same time rolling her over and then scooped her up in a bridal carry as he quickly walked on his knees backwards across their Californian king bed with her now held securely in his arms. She began to squirm in his arms and he quickly kissed her full on the lips, immediately stilling her. Once he reached the edge of the bed he planted his feet on the floor and stood up with her in his arms as she looked up at him a small smile now on her face.

"Well now that all depends, Ms. Potts." He teased back "I seem to recall a comment you made last night about 'packing' a certain someone into the shower this morning." He said with a chuckle as he turned and carried her quickly towards the master bathroom. "And I also remember something about that same certain someone having a happily sated body too. So if I'm not mistaken, and I'm usually not, then that must mean that we need to get busy in the shower immediately, right?"

"Maybe." She answered with another giggle as he gently dropped her feet to the floor of the huge shower at the same time pulling her close in to his body as they stood together under the double shower heads. "But that all depends on how you define the word 'busy'.

A warm cascade of water began to flow on and around them as the ever-vigilant Jarvis once again made his presence known to them. Pepper had long since gotten over being surprised or even embarrassed about Jarvis' omni-presence in their personal spaces within the mansion.

"I'll show you." He answered immediately his voice now raw with sudden lust. He quickly leaned into her, taking her lips in a passionate kiss that had Pepper's mind reeling within seconds. His hands quickly began roaming gently over her body, setting up a rhythm of love that she had learned to appreciate during the night and early morning. As he stroked his fingers slowly up her thighs, his right hand gently parted her swollen folds, being careful not to over stimulate her as she felt herself grow even wetter at her core.

As they continued to kiss, she suddenly felt the urge rise up in her to take him in her mouth again. She remembered back to when she had gone down on him the first time, feeling him writhing in pleasure as she slowly took him into ecstasy, licking and sucking him until he came apart for her. Somehow she was not surprised at all when he tasted like Skittles and Red Bull, his current drugs of choice. And during their second round of lovemaking, she had found him to be very talented at cullingus making her cum with his mouth twice before entering her and carrying her to a rare third orgasm as he climaxed. She felt her core now dripping with need at the sudden rush of memories of him going down on her.

She immediately dropped to her knees and gently pushed him back onto the large marble seat built into one of the shower walls. She heard him moan loud and low as she gently spread his thighs with her elbows and tucked her head between his legs. She heard his head hit the shower wall with a dull thud and quickly looked up at him.

"Are you OK?" she teased after realizing he was indeed OK, quickly leaning back down to swirl her tongue around his un-cut tip as he groaned loudly in response. "And I suppose that I can take that as a 'yes'." She chuckled, the vibrations from her lips causing him to immediately squirm under her.

"God, Pepper!" He barely managed to get out, his breath now hitching in his throat. "I'm… more…. than…. OK. Just….don't…..ever….stop!"

She smiled to herself as she began to stroke him with her right hand, her left one now gently kneading his balls as he moaned loudly again, twitching his hips slightly. She had always loved oral sex and had learned to deep throat in college with one of her more sexually experienced boyfriends. Tony's girth only allowed only part of him inside of her mouth, but she could tell by his facial expressions and body language that her efforts to take him deep were most appreciated. She also knew from their previous lovemaking that while he did enjoy her mouth on him, he preferred his release to be in her core instead of her mouth. He had teased her at the time about not wanting to waste the 'Stark baby batter'. But she remembered getting the distinct feeling from him then that he was quite serious about getting her pregnant. Her plan right now was to pleasure him just short of his orgasm, making sure that their hips were fully engaged when his release came.

And judging by his body language and loud moans, he was already getting close. As she licked along the underside of his sheathed head, she could already taste the salty essence that was his pre-cum. She raised her head and looked up at him and saw that his head was thrown back once again against the shower wall, eyes screwed tightly shut, and mouth open slightly. He looked almost drunk with raw lust, the muscles in his chest, arms and legs tensed and standing out against the white marble of the shower as the water cascaded down upon him. And of course, he had never looked sexier. She felt her own body shiver in heated lust at the sight of him.

He opened his eyes as she slowly stood up trailing her hands up his thighs, abs, and chest, her hands winding up on the back of his neck, bound up within his dark, wet, curls.

"Can't waste that 'Stark baby batter', remember?" she whispered in his left ear as he growled loudly reaching out to tenderly envelop each of her breasts with his hands.

"Damn straight!" He replied and stood up in front of her quickly wrapping his arms around her hips and pulling her into him, as he adjusted his hips so that his rock hard manhood successfully sought out her hot folds.

She suddenly felt one of his arms blindly seeking out the oversized loofah on the marble shelf behind him as he gently pushed into her center and began to maneuver them towards one of the flat walls of the shower. As her back gently hit the wall, he placed the loofah behind her head as a make-shift pillow as he began to slowly thrust the rest of the way into her. As her eyes began to lose focus from the feeling of him now buried deep inside of her, she noticed that his eyes were now completely dilated with passion and completely black in color. The look of raw passion etched upon his face as their eyes locked made her shiver with anticipation. He quickly leaned his head to hers and kissed her hard, his tongue silently begging permission to enter her mouth. As she opened her mouth to him, she met his tongue halfway as she felt his hips pull back slightly and immediately thrust back into her as if he were afraid she was going to slip away from him somehow as the water continued to fall on and around them.

The angle between them as they stood joined together was amazing and he hit her g spot now with every thrust of his hips. She felt him reach around with his hands to grip her legs under each hamstring, gently pulling her legs up around her waist. Then he began thrust a little harder and with only the fifth thrust she literally exploded around him as her orgasm swiftly overtook her, surprising both her and him.

"Got to hold on, Pepper!" He pleaded leaning his forehead onto her shoulder as his hips ground to a halt deep within her core. "Want to make this one last…." He moaned loudly. "Feel soooo good, babe…..love you so much!"

His voice faded away from her as she felt her eyes roll back in her head. Her body seemed to freefall forever, shaking uncontrollably as her orgasm rippled outward from her center. She could feel his strong arms under her easily holding her up and she pushed her head more into the loofah, as she continued riding out the waves of pleasure now washing over her. She knew that he was hoping to wait her out and give her another orgasm before he gave in to his own body's wants and needs. In their short time together in intimacy, she had realized that her desire to pull him over with her in her orgasms was quite strong. After all she had spent over 12 years catering to his wishes. And she instinctively knew what he needed at the moment.

"Come on sweetheart!" she pleaded as the last of her body's tremors began to subside. She began running her fingernails lightly up and down his back feeling goose bumps rise up on his back with each of her strokes. Her vaginal walls clamped down hard on him and she felt him shiver. Although he was definitely the more vocal of the two of them during their lovemaking, she wanted to change that a little. "Pleeeease Tony!" She begged. He raised his head up quickly to look her with a questioning look in his eyes knowing that her words were somewhat out of character for her. She gave him a small smile and quickly leaned over, biting down softly on his right ear lobe as she breathed softly into his ear. "Give it to me hard and fast, stud!"

His reaction was immediate. He hands moved to her gluts and she wrapped her legs more securely around his waist as he began to thrust more deeply into her. She could feel him bump her cervix on each stroke now as he filled her up completely, then back out slightly as he lifted her halfway off of him, only to thrust deep within her once more as he pulled her back down on to him.

She knew that he had always been unusually strong for his size, and being Iron Man had given him even more bulk muscle. But she also knew that for her height and physical condition, she was definitely not a lightweight. Yet he continued to lift her up and down as if she weighed little to nothing. His display of raw strength with her suddenly turned her on even more than she ever thought possible. She began to use her legs to help pull herself down even harder onto him hoping to bury him deeper within her on each stroke and she felt him immediately growl his approval.

All of their previous lovemaking had been passionate but with undercurrent of tenderness. But this time their passion held within it the feeling of barely suppressed wanton desire. Even though you couldn't categorize it as rough sex, it definitely had a feel of desperation to it. And considering their past history, a feeling of desperation between them was not at all surprising. As he continued pumping his hips into hers, she knew that this particular version of shower sex was definitely on her list of future things to do with Tony.

She felt him actually grow harder within her as he started to speed up lifting her up and down his engorged shaft. She quickly realized that she was already getting close again. She leaned her head back down so that her mouth was next to his right ear again.

"I'm so close, Tony." She breathed into his ear feeling him shiver in response to her warm breath "And I want you to cum with me this time, baby."

She could now feel him stutter in his thrusts and she knew that it wouldn't be much longer for him either. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck pulling him closer into her and changing the angle between their bodies slightly.

"Pepper!" he shouted as he drove deep into her, pinning her up against the wall. She could feel him began pumping into her as he quickly pulled out and plunged once again deep within her, his heat continuing to flow into her depths.

And with his next deep thrust, her own orgasm suddenly exploded in a white hot light behind her closed eyelids. She quickly tucked her head between his neck and shoulder as she shuddered violently in his arms. She felt him pull her body into him tightly as he drew back a fourth time quickly thrusting into her again as he continued to pump into her. She lost her fight with consciousness at that point, becoming aware again as she felt herself slowly being lowered to the floor of the shower by his shaking arms. He then leaned his head onto her shoulder after she regained her footing and she could now feel his heavy breathing in her right ear as he wrapped his arms around her and held on to her like his life depended on it.

They stood together wrapped in each other's arms for a few minutes as the shower water continued to flow down on them. They both slowly began to get their breathing back under control.

"Wow!" Tony breathed into her ear, following his exclamation with a quick kiss to the shell of her ear. "That was amazing, Pepper!" He then leaned his head down to kiss her shoulder tenderly. "But I think I'm going to be limited to only one of those a day."

She finally found her voice as he continued to plant kisses up her shoulder to her neck. "Me too." She replied with a soft chuckle. "Maybe it's time we really took a shower and cleaned up."

"Yup." He agreed leaning back from her as he reached up to brush her wet hair away from her face. "I am getting a little hungry for something other than your lovin', sweetheart."

"So you're telling me that you can't live on just my love, Mr. Stark?" She teased pulling him back in for a quick peck on the lips.

"Actually my spirit can, Ms. Potts. It's just my body that is in need of some breakfast." He grinned broadly at her as he reached around her pulling out the bottle of body wash and grabbing another loofah from the rack. "Turn around babe and let me wash your beautiful back." He said as she slowly turned around in his arms.

He quickly soaped up the loofah and began to gently scrub her back. Since she was the one who picked out all of his toiletries, she absolutely loved the smell of his body wash. He continued to gently scrub both her backside and front, being very careful with her now sensitive body parts. She closed her eyes and just enjoyed the sensations that surrounded her as she stood there motionless under his hands.

"You are so gorgeous." He whispered to her as he continued to gently wash her "I am such a lucky man that you chose me to love…..I am so very lucky."

After the previous night together, she suddenly realized that she was no longer embarrassed about him openly admiring her naked body. She was almost limp now in his hands as he continued to tenderly wash her, and she could only manage a moan in response back to him and his whispered words.

He chuckled to himself "Feels good, doesn't it?" he commented as he kissed her full on the lips when he finished.

She slowly opened her eyes and smiled at him. "Yes, it does." She replied her voice low and lazy as she gently took the loofah from his hands. "Now it's your turn, Mr. Studly." She teased.

She laughed as his eyebrows shot up on his face. "Mr. Studly, huh?" he repeated closing his eyes in contentment as she began to wash his chest gently. "I do like the sound of that."

"Of course you do." She replied adding more body wash to the loofah. "You know I could just hear your ego crying out to be stroked."

He smiled at her, his eyes still closed as she continued to scrub him clean taking care to be gentle with him along his left ribcage, his back, and of course his manhood. She smiled to herself suddenly when she realized just how content performing this labor of love for him made her feel. When she finished with his body she hung the loofah up and poured shampoo into her hands reaching up to quickly lather up his dark head of messy hair. Now it was his time to moan a response to her as she gently scratched his scalp with her fingernails.

She promptly moved him into the shower spray and rinsed his hair taking her time to rub his scalp with her fingertips making sure to remove all of the shampoo. He moaned again even louder this time as she steered him out of the shower spray to the side of the shower in order to squeeze a generous amount of conditioner into both his hair and his goatee. He opened his eyes and looked at her, a silent question in his eyes.

"Beard burn." She answered and he closed his eyes again as she continued to work the conditioner in. She then began to massage his muscular shoulders as she counted off the seconds in her head in order to give the conditioner the proper time to work its magic on his dark locks and beard. He groaned under her hands and she smiled to herself in satisfaction.

After counting to 120, she turned him back into the shower spray, eliciting another deep moan from him as she rinsed both his hair and face.

As her hands fell away from him, his eyes slowly opened and he looked at her with such love and devotion that she felt her knees almost buckle under her.

"I love you." He said simply, his voice a low rumble over the sound of the water. She smiled back at him as he grabbed his bottle of shampoo off the shelf. "We do need to get your body wash and shampoo in here, babe." He said a huge grin spreading across his face as he began to work the shampoo into her hair and scalp. "We can't have you going around smelling like me, can we? You know how people like to talk."

She chuckled at him, knowing that neither one of them gave a flying flip about what anyone, including the media said or didn't say about them anymore. They were way past that in their relationship. She then closed her eyes and focused her attention on the feel of his strong fingers on her scalp. She noticed that his right arm suddenly wound itself around her middle. She then realized that she was starting to slowly sink down her body suddenly becoming boneless as he continued to wash her hair.

"Hey, no falling down in the shower, sweetheart." He said only half seriously "Baby, I knew my hands were good, but I just didn't know that I could bring you to your knees just by shampooing your hair." He teased. "You do realize that this is very valuable information for me to have for my use in future interpersonal negotiations with you, right?"

He slowly moved her into the shower spray to rinse the shampoo out of her hair before she had a chance to respond. At the feel of his fingertips on her scalp again she couldn't help but moan out her reply. "Yeeeessss." She finally managed to get out as he laughed out loud at her.

He then moved her back out of the shower spray again and poured some of his conditioner into his hand and then began to massage the conditioner into her hair. She closed her eyes again at the sensation and chose to ignore another chuckle directed at her.

As he waited for the conditioner to work on her long hair, he began to massage her trapezius muscles starting at her neck and working his way down her back. She groaned at the sensation of the sweet pressure on her sore muscles.

"I'm not hurting you am I?" he said stilling his hands suddenly.

"God, no Tony!" She finally managed to get out as he began to massage her again.

"That's it, woman." He said with upmost authority in his voice "From now on I get to give you at least one massage a day." He continued "That is my duty seeing how I am now your love slave."

She started laughing in earnest at his words. "My love slave, huh?" she finally managed to get out. "You had better hope that you don't regret those words, Mr. Stark."

"I will never regret being your love slave, Ms. Potts." He said suddenly turning serious. "I regret a great deal in my life, but definitely not that."

She tried to turn around and he gently caught her and moved her back into the shower spray. "Time to rinse off, babe." He said as he began to run his fingers through her hair again down to her scalp. He then massaged her scalp once again until he was satisfied that she was thoroughly rinsed. "Hey, J." he called out "Turn off the water, will ya?"

"At once, Mr. Stark." Jarvis replied. "Sir, I must now inform you that Col. Rhodes continues to wait downstairs. I have made repeated attempts to reschedule your meeting with him, but he steadfastly refuses to reschedule or to leave."

"Dammit!" Tony exclaimed "I forgot about Rhody coming over this afternoon." He took her hand in his and quickly led them out of the shower. He pulled three towels out of the linen cabinet, leaving two on the countertop next to the sink and quickly wrapped one around her, gently tucking the ends of the towel between her breasts. He then carefully draped one of the other towels over her head so she could begin to dry her hair.

She couldn't help but watch him as he quickly began to dry himself off, first his hair and then the rest of his body, her eyes immediately drawn to his manhood. She looked away quickly when his eyes turned to her, not wanted to be caught ogling him when she should be sharing his concern over Rhody being in the house with them.

"Jarvis" he began as she started to towel her hair dry "Does Col. Rhodes know about us…. uh…. meaning Pepper and me… you know…. being together?"

"It would be a violation of my protocols to report to anyone, including Col. Rhodes that you and Ms. Potts' are now engaging in sexual relations, sir. You and Ms. Potts' security and privacy have been given a high priority in my core programming." Jarvis replied "I did however sir, discretely inform Col. Rhodes that you and Ms. Potts were currently indisposed." Jarvis continued "But Col. Rhodes has no doubt become suspicious in the 93.5 minutes that he has been waiting for you to become available, sir."

Pepper looked at Tony and when their eyes met, she could see the uncertainty in his eyes. "Do you want me to come downstairs with you?" she quickly asked.

Tony sighed heavily. "No." he replied "Let me try to handle this on my own." He then walked out of the master bath quickly.

Pepper finished towel drying her hair and followed him out into the master bedroom with the towel now wrapped around her head. Tony had just finished pulling a t-shirt and a pair of black work pants. He sat down on the bed to pull on his socks and shoes.

"I'm going back to my room to change." She said picking up her clothes from last night and walking over to the laundry chute with them.

Tony got up from the bed and quickly walked over to her after finding and picking up his discarded briefs from the night before. He opened the laundry chute for her, holding it open while she put her clothes in. He stuffed his briefs behind her clothes into the chute and closed the door.

"See you in a few." He said pressing a quick kiss to her forehead before he turned and jogged out of the bedroom.

Pepper had known Rhody for many years and she had come to both trust him and value his friendship. He had always treated her as an equal and an ally. Rhody had in many ways become a big brother to her over the years. And of course he had also acted as a big brother to Tony since they were in MIT together when they were both in their teens. She also knew that Rhody was above all else a very conservative military man now with a very rigid set of standards in both his professional and his interpersonal life. It was going to be interesting to hear how he reacted to Tony being late for their 'meeting' and his suspicions concerning the reason behind his lateness.

Rhody knew that she and Tony had begun to date and he was very supportive of their changed relationship commenting numerous times that them being together had been a long time coming. Rhody was also very protective of Pepper and had on more than one occasion in the 12 plus years they had known each other, nearly come to blows with Tony over Tony keeping and maintaining a professional and proprietary relationship with her. Even after she and Tony became good friends, Pepper knew that Rhody continually worried about her emotional well-being when it came to Tony. It was almost like Rhody didn't trust Tony when it involved her, acting just like any other big brother when any man took more than platonic interest in his baby sister.

As she finished dressing, she began to brush her hair out. She had just finished putting her hair into a loose, damp ponytail when she heard Rhody's voice from downstairs.

"Pep-per!" Rhody called out to her in a voice which Pepper knew meant trouble for someone, and not necessarily her.

She smiled to herself and she opened up her bedroom door. "Coming, Jimmy." She replied as she quickly walked towards the stairs. She found them sitting together at the kitchen table. Rhody was drinking his usual strong blend of coffee which she had often commented did not even need a cup.

As was his habit, Rhody stood as she entered the room. Not to be outdone, Tony also stood and then pulled out her chair for her at the table as she approached them.

She locked eyes with Tony as she softly smiled her thanks to him. He smiled back at her as she sat down and he scooted her chair in for her.

Rhody sat directly in front of both of them his expression somber and serious as he looked at each of them in turn. He continued to look them over for a few seconds noting their freshly showered condition complete with wet hair.

"Let me preface this conversation with the two of you with the fact that I love you both like family, and I will always have your best interests at heart no matter how you might feel about my opinions." He began as he reached out to take Pepper's hand in his locking eyes with her.

"Hey!" Tony protested as Pepper giggled at his jealous outburst.

"Give it a rest, Stark." Rhody replied immediately in a soft tone, never breaking eye contact with her. "That macho shit doesn't work on me, remember?"

"Yes, mom." Tony replied sarcastically as Rhody reached out and gently kicked him under the table. "Ouch! That hurt Platypus!" as he feigned genuine injury.

"Quit your whining and pay attention." Rhody replied firmly finally looking over at Tony.

Pepper noticed a smile in Rhody's eyes at he locked eyes with Tony.

"After all, I'm the one that has been here waiting on you for almost two hours now. So if anyone should be whining, it should be me." Rhody continued "Jarvis told me that the two of you were indisposed, and given both of you seem to have just stepped out of the shower, I now feel fortunate that I didn't just disregard Jarvis, and come upstairs looking for the two of you. I would have no doubt been emotionally scarred for the rest of my life if I walked in on the two of you being 'indisposed' together."

"A very wise course of action, Col. Rhodes." Jarvis commented.

She noticed that Tony had now opened his mouth with the intent to say something snarky back to Rhody and she was quick to kick him not so gently under the table.

"Ouch! That really did hurt Pepper!" he exclaimed as Rhody laughed loudly and shook his head at them both.

"Yep." Rhody said loudly "You two really are made for each other." Tony just glared at him as he began to speak again "Now let me just say what I need to say so we can get things back to normal here."

Pepper knew that Rhody was about to launch into full lecture mode, and she saw Tony grimace as Rhody smirked at him, just daring him to say something. But surprisingly Tony remained silent. Rhody suddenly turned to look at Pepper, his eyes becoming soft and concerned.

"While you were upstairs, Tony told me that you had agreed last night to move into the mansion with him." He paused for a few seconds as if to let that statement sink into his own head. "I know that you two are grown and can do whatever the hell you want, but what I want is to make sure that this really is in both of your best interests. My preference being, of course, that you two marry before you play house."

Pepper looked at Rhody, tenderness showing in her eyes at his well intended words and she noticed that Rhody's brow furrowed slightly as if in worry at her in return.

"He also told me that he intends to be faithful to you and that 'Tony Stark the Playboy' is no more. And I already know just how faithful you have been to him." He then hesitated a few seconds as if he was in deep thought about their current situation before he spoke again. "And although I would rather be accepting your offer to be best man at your wedding at the moment, here I am somehow giving you my big brother blessing on this co-habitation plan for the two of you."

Pepper felt herself smiling at his words as Rhody looked first at her then at Tony. She looked over and noticed that Tony was stock still, staring at Rhody intently, but remaining silent.

"But my approval of the two of you living is sin comes with a condition." Rhody continued, undaunted by Tony's somewhat menacing look at his last words. "If you two decide to go all Brangelina on me and get pregnant, both me and my shotgun are going to come calling. There will be absolutely no children out of wedlock….understand?" He then turned to look at Tony pointedly "And one last thing, Stark. You definitely need to consider this conversation fair warning of the beating that I will give you if I find out that you ever treat her badly."

Pepper knew without a doubt that Tony would never, ever treat her badly. But given that the two of them had agreed during the night to try to conceive a child, Pepper was almost surprised that Tony was agreeing without a fight to Rhody's condition regarding having children out of wedlock. In the years she had known Tony, he would get nervous even at the mention of the word 'marriage'. So it seemed unlikely that he would even consider getting married himself. Then it suddenly dawned on her that Tony had not only been fearful of having sex with her because she thought that she would leave him the next morning, but also of proposing marriage to her because he believed that she would turn him down. She quickly turned to look at him to gauge his reaction to Rhody's words, noting his tense posture as he continued to stare at Rhody. She realized that by agreeing to Rhody's conditions, Tony would never have to worry about her not agreeing to marry him. For all of his brashness and bravado, his insecurities had always tugged on her heartstrings. Career as CEO of SI aside, yes she would agree to change her last name to Stark when the time came, pregnant or not.

"Agreed." Tony suddenly replied with finality looking Rhody square in the eye as he reached out his right hand across the table in order to shake Rhody's hand.

Rhody immediately reached out and took his outstretched hand and shook it firmly, a huge smile breaking out on both their faces when their hands made contact over the table. Rhody then quickly stood up and walked around the table reaching out to pull Pepper up out of her chair. He looked at her with questioning eyes as he held her at arms length.

"I agree also." She said quietly and she swore that she heard Tony let out a breath in relief at her answer. Rhody quickly took her into his arms and gave her a tender hug.

"I amhappy for you both." Rhody said to both of them as Pepper hugged him back. "And the cool part of all this is that we can now double date. Marci and I have decided to start dating again."

"Double date?" Tony questioned as Pepper and Rhody separated and Tony quickly moved to her side, wrapping his arm possessively around her waist.

"Tony still hasn't quite gotten the hang of dating yet." Pepper explained with a laugh.

"We are so going to have fun with this." Rhody replied laughing with her.

"Ha, ha, ha." Tony replied sourly knowing from past experiences just how much fun he was going to have when they double teamed him. "So now that all of the drama is over, can we please eat? I'm starving."

"Come on then, let's see what I can cook up for us." Pepper said walking over to the fridge and quickly opening it up. Tony immediately joined her so they were both now side by side, his arm back around her waist, both of them intently peering into the fridge. "Let's see here. How about some Hawaiian grilled chicken, pasta salad, and homemade Hawaiian bread?" Pepper loved to bake bread and she would always make sure that she baked extra to put in the freezer for quick meals such as this.

"Now we're talking." Rhody said. "That will go great with the Big Wave Golden Ale I brought today."

"I'll go get the grill ready." Tony said shooting a quick grin at Rhody in thanks for the beer, as he leaned over to kiss her softly on the cheek, then pulled back slightly to look deeply into her eyes as he smiled at her.

She smiled back her response to him as he turned to walk outside onto the patio to their outdoor kitchen.

"You know I really don't know how it just happened, but I suddenly get the feeling that you two are going to work out just fine." Rhody told her with a heartfelt smile "After all, my mom has always said that you two were just made for each other. She and my sisters are going to be so happy when I tell them about the two of you finally getting together. And speaking about happy people, I don't think I've ever seen him or you, for that matter, any happier than right now."

"I am happy, Jimmy." She replied as she turned to smile at him. "And I believe that he is too. The past 8 months of us trying to move from friendship into romance hasn't been exactly a smooth journey, but then nothing is ever easy with us. We both carry a lot of history and baggage between and with us. All I know is that I really do love him with all of my heart, and I can't picture myself being with anyone but him now."

"And I know that the little shrimp loves you more than anything or anyone on the planet too. I alsoknow that he will be devoted to you for the rest of his life, so you won't have to ever worry about him reverting back into his old self. That Tony Stark never made it out of the cave in Afghanistan." Rhody said with conviction as he pulled out a cutting board and knife for the chicken. "And he will make a good husband for you too when the time comes, Pepper, shotgun or no shotgun." Rhody began slicing up the chicken as she began thawing out the bread in the oven. "And you do know that I plan on holding both of you to taking those wedding vows…..and I don't mean two or three years from now either. Six months to a year tops. You two need to have kids of your own while you are still young enough to really enjoy them. Tony has more than enough of Maria in him to over power any of the Stark genes when it comes to being a good parent. You'll see. And I definitely think it would do the little dweeb some good to be peed and pooped on by someone else for a change."

Pepper started laughing as her mind immediately conjured up Tony changing diapers. She moved over to the cabinets taking out a mixing bowl for her to make her secret Hawaiian sauce for the chicken in.

"Having fun at my expense, no doubt." Tony said loudly as he walked back through the patio doors, hearing their mixed laughter.

"Actually I was attempting to distract Pepper so I could finally steal her secret Hawaiian sauce recipe from her." Rhody teased trying to peek over her shoulder as she instinctly blocked him. "And it almost worked, too."

Pepper actually had many 'secret' recipes and stealing them from her to give to his three sisters had been a game between her and Rhody for years. What Rhody didn't know was that Pepper had already given his sisters her recipes on the condition that they never make them for Rhody. And early on in their relationships, Tony had become her self-appointed protector against Rhody's culinary snooping. And Rhody had often used Tony's protective behavior towards her to torment him, much to his own delight.

"Come on Chef James, I need to share a new modification for War Machine with you." Tony replied taking Rhody by the arm and leading him away from Pepper winking at her knowingly as they walked away from her. "You know I have to protect my woman." He could barely be heard saying as they walked down the steps to his workshop.

She smiled at his words, enjoying his protectiveness and the possessiveness in his voice as he spoke of her. She looked up and out the window as two pelicans flew past the mansion in the clear blue afternoon sky and she sighed deeply, her mind reflecting quickly upon all the events of last night and today. Yes, she knew without a doubt that it wouldn't be easy living with Tony Stark. But she also knew that it would be even harder living without him.