Title: Protect My Heart

Author: Erik-in-CT

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Stephanie Meyer or Marvel Comics, and not myself.

Bella couldn't believe that this was really happening. Her heart was racing a million miles a minute as she followed Tony up the stairs into the main part of the house, her hand still firmly grasped within his. Was she out of her mind, agreeing to stay the night with him? Maybe, but it felt so good. So...right. As they reached the top of the stairs, he turned back towards her, drawing her against him again. The taste of his kiss was something she believed she would never tire of, and she found her body automatically responding to the passion in his eyes and in his touch. It felt as if a fire had started burning inside of her, and she found what she had been missing for so long.

With the new feelings awakening through her, her nervousness began slipping away, and she dared to touch in the way she had dreamt of over the last week. Her hands slid up over Tony's arms, and down to rest against his chest, fingers curling into the soft fabric of his t-shirt. "Oh Tony," she whispered, her head falling to rest against his shoulder. His hands slid around her waist, holding her close, and she felt his warm breath stirring her hair as he pressed his lips to the top of her head. Without releasing his hold on her, she felt Tony begin to move again, slowly walking them back towards the cliffside part of the house.

"You are so beautiful Bella," he breathed into her hair, "you've no idea what you've done to me, what you're doing to me." She felt the heat invade her skin at his words, and she clung to him just a little more, praying that he wouldn't slip away like he had so many times in her dreams. She felt him shift slightly against her, and she glanced up at his face, finding him smiling down at her. He pressed his forehead against hers, looking into her eyes. "Though I daresay, if you get any closer, you might get some idea."

For a moment she puzzled about his words, then gasped softly as she realized what he meant. She tried to move backwards a bit, to put a little space between, but found herself held firmly in place by his strong arms around her waist. He chuckled quietly, and pulled her closer, and she tried unsuccessfully to suppress a soft moan as her body came flush with his, and she could feel the length of him against her. And she knew then a little of what he meant, and the burning inside of her surged. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she pulled herself up against him, resting her cheek against his.

"God Bella," Tony said as he began moving them again, and in a moment, Bella found herself being picked up and laid backwards upon a feathersoft bed. As he pulled back and looked down at her, Bella smiled softly and tried to look alluring, though she wasn't sure if she was quite pulling it off. "Are you sure about this?" Tony asked, though his eyes roamed hungrily across her body against the sheets.

"Absolutely," she replied, reaching up to pull him down next to her. "I don't think I've ever wanted anything more." Taking a chance, she moved her hands down, slipping under the hem of his shirt and running across his stomach. She watched with a satisfied smile as his eyes slid shut and he inhaled sharply at her touch. Pulling at the fabric she managed, with a little assistance from it's owner, to pull it up over his head and down his arms, and she tossed it aside. Her hands ran down his chest, gingerly tracing the skin around the blue glow of the reactor implanted in his chest. The cool metal contrasted sharply with warmth of his skin, and she found herself curiously entranced by it. Realizing she was staring, she smiled sheepishly and turned her eyes downward.

"It's alright," he said as he took her hand in his, raising it to his lips and pressing a kiss against the tips of her fingers. Lowering their hands, he pressed hers back against this chest, then dropped his to rest against her sides. Leaning down, he pressed his lips against her throat, softly tracing a path along the side of her neck to her ear. And she felt his hands slide against her sides, slipping under her shirt and gliding lightly across her skin. She found herself arching up against him, silently pleading for more, and she knew that he would grant her wordless request. He wouldn't stop, wouldn't leave her aching for more. He could hold her, could touch her, could love her the way she needed so desperately.

Even as he held her, as he slid his hands along her soft skin, Tony still didn't know if this was the best idea. There were so many things that could be considered wrong here, but he couldn't bring himself to care. All he knew was that he had found himself wanting to hold her like this, been thinking of it almost constantly, and couldn't deny himself the chance when it was so obvious it was what she wanted as well. And so he had allowed her to get closer to him than any other woman had gotten in quite awhile. He smiled against her neck as he felt her arch up against him, and he responded by nipping gently at the skin under his lips, his hands tracing across her belly, lightly dancing across her skin and slowly pushing her shirt up to expose the milky skin underneath.

"Edward!" Bella suddenly exclaimed.

"What?" Tony asked, pulling back and looked down at her. But she was staring past him towards the windows of the bedroom. Glancing over his shoulder, he started at the sight of someone standing on the edge his balcony. Scrambling to his feet, he watched as the young man moved forward, towards the door leading into the room, the blue glow from his RT reflecting oddly off the man's skin. "You know him, Bella?" he asked, without turning his eyes from the stranger. He felt her move next to him, her hand resting against his forearm as she stood beside him.

"Um, yeah, from...from back home. I mean...we, that is..." she stumbled over her words, not looking at either one of them, but down at the floor. "What is he doing here?"

A feeling of needing to protect came over him, and he shifted slightly to put himself in front of Bella. He allowed a hard, cold look to wash across his face as he stared at the man who had somehow come onto his balcony, an damn near impossible task, as the only way to do without being noticed would have been to scale the sheer cliff underneath. For a brief moment, the memory of his last flight in the armor flashed through his mind, the woman he had seen on the cliff. The same eerily pale skin as this man had. "Who are you, what are you doing here?" Tony demanded, putting all the authority he had at his disposal into his voice.

However the stranger didn't seem at all intimidated by him, his golden eyes fixed on Bella behind him, and mixture of anger, saddness, and some other unnameable emotion flickering behind his eyes. "You're in danger here Bella," he said, his voice soft, yet full of seriousness. "I need to take you away from this place."

Tony was about to say something again, when he felt Bella tense up behind him, and then move around him. "And what makes you think you have any right to just barge back into my life?" Tony was shocked at the depth of anger and...and hurt in her voice. He began to realize that this man was probably an old boyfriend, the one who had caused the hurt he had seen in her eyes before. "You wanted me to move on, remember? And now that I have, you suddenly show up and try to take me away again? No way Edward."

"Bella," Tony began, reaching a hand to rest against her arm. But she shook him off, the well of suppressed feelings spilling over and cascading into a raging waterfall.

"Why don't you just leave again, you're good at that." Bella said, and Tony could hear the tremor in her voice. He might not know the whole story here, but he knew she was hurting, and it was more than enough to cause his dislike for this boy to increase.

"Yes, why don't you leave," he said, stepping forward again. "You're on private property, and I'll..."

"You can't threaten me," Edward said, his voice cold as he addressed Tony. Turning back to Bella, he added, "Victoria is here, she's hunting you, both of you."

Tony didn't know what he was talking about, but by the way Bella gasped and backed up into him, he knew it couldn't be a good thing. "Anyone care to explain a little?"

Author's Notes:

Wow...of course Edward would interrupt just when thing were getting steamy. lol Bella really went off on Edward there huh?

Anyway, for those who actually read my AN, here's the picture I promised you! This is an illustration I did for Chapter 12, of Bella and Tony in the workshop. If you look around my profile, you might just find another Bella/Tony pic as well!

www(dot)deviantart(dot)com/#/d2uzmo3 (Just replace the "(dot)" with actual "."s lol

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review and let me know what you think!

lol I wonder if Tony was confused by Bella calling out "Edward", since it's his middle name. Hmmm Anthony Edward Stark and Edward Anthony Masen-Cullen...