Permission to Love (1/1)

Summary: It takes just a bottle of wine and a passionate sex session in an office to admit their love to each other.

Warnings: Spoilers for Iron Man 2 and hard sex.

Rating: NC-17

A/N: Very, very smutty. I must warn you.

---

They have been dancing around each other for a while now and it was just a matter of time until the dance would turn into a much more complicated mess.

Pepper Potts had been trying to leave everything behind for the past year or so. Her new job was a lot more comfortable and it was pretty much her dream job. Being the CEO had its advantages. She could leave her office whenever she wanted and she could fire people very easily, not that she did that very often, but there had been a few cases.

She had insisted that Tony had his own office at the SI headquarters, even though he didn't pass by very often. It was a lot easier, she had to admit. Taking care of his life had been practically a game – she was used to run errands all day long, follow him at his parties and get rid of all of his one night stands. It was pretty much a game until he was kidnapped and held hostage for three whole months. After that everything changed. He became more responsible and took everything more seriously.

She had ran off last time they were left alone on a cargo plane, not long after he'd said to her three words that meant everything… 'You complete me'. Whether or not he was self-conscious, those words were the equivalent of 'I love you' by her terms. Those words scared her – the sincerity in his voice told her that he had changed a lot since she wasn't his PA anymore.

The constant flirting hadn't disappeared. It was still there, maybe even more often than before Afghanistan. She had felt a thrill along her spine that night on the plane when he had demanded a kiss from her. Even though his tone was playful, his eyes were bright and she couldn't help the kiss she gave to his helmet. It had been a surprise to notice the look on his face in those moments and even after when she had thrown it out of the plane.

Holly hell – she had been scared then. And she did the thing she was most capable of. She ran.

She ran far away and she didn't dare to look back. Those truthful words kept haunting her soul and she blamed herself for being coward and not facing the fact that he most probably felt the same way about her.

Five weeks had passed since that night…

Everything was damn fine until last week when he rushed in a meeting with half an hour until it ended. She had checked his appearance out, but said nothing. Throughout the meeting she felt his eyes burn her skin, but she didn't turn towards him. She didn't even meet his eyes… didn't have the courage…

She had ended the meeting with a few prepositions and she'd left the conference room as fast as she could. She didn't want to see or hear anything from anyone, but the faint impression of his eyes burning her skin didn't leave her until she reached the safety of her office.

She'd worked on a few papers before she had decided to grab a coffee from downstairs. Her personal assistant had a day off that day and she had to manage everything on her own. She didn't complain, though because that's what she did best.

On her way towards the coffee machine she had stopped by Tony's office, curious if he was still there.

She had carefully cracked the door and peeked in. The reflection of him in the windows had startled her a bit. He had a glass of scotch in his hand and he hadn't moved, so she decided to leave him alone.

---

A week after that, Pepper was heading towards a conference when the sight of him from the corner of her eye made her stop and smile at him. He looked very handsome in his dark suit and a black tie with silver, green and blue stripes. He smiled back at her, a corner of his mouth quirking up in that adorable way.

Pepper smiled to herself when she entered the conference. She sat down on her leather chair and waited patiently for the other people in the room to occupy their seats. Tony quickly made his way through the group of scientists and took the seat next to her.

"Hi." He mouthed and smoothed down the wrinkles on his slacks.

"Hi." She whispered back and turned her attention back to SI's CFO who was talking about the arc reactor's development.

The conference ended in approximately two hours – two very long and boring hours for Tony who was toying with the pencil in his hand and scribbling random thoughts on the notebook in his lap.

"Are you hanging around the office like you did last week?" Pepper asked him when they were heading towards their offices.

"Yeah, I think so. Why?" He asked back and stuck his hands into the pockets of his slacks, looking nonchalant.

"Maybe you could work on those papers for the new arc reactor." She suggested.

"Haven't we finished those last week?" He inquired and moved closer to her in the crowded hallway.

"We did, but there are a few miscalculations that need to be taken care of."

"All right…I'll pass by your office in a few minutes." Tony silently prayed that she would accept.

"Half an hour, is that okay?"

"Sure." He gave her a charming smile before heading towards his office.

---

It was almost eight when Tony emerged inside Pepper's office with an arm full of papers and pencils. Pepper noticed that he was holding in his other hand a full glass of scotch.

She wondered briefly how his mouth tasted, but quickly dismissed the thought. The fact that he wasn't her boss anymore made him all that much irresistible, but Pepper learned her lesson that night on the balcony.

"I thought you might help me with these…" He motioned over the sprawled papers in his arms.

She eyed the documents and then grinned. She supposed it would be a long night. She just didn't know how long it would be.

After maybe half an hour Tony finished the glass of scotch and noticed Pepper eyeing the empty glass.

"I'd offer you a drink, but I don't have anything except scotch in my office." He told her and tapped the glass with a pencil.

"That's very nice of you." She whispered ironically at him and looked over the papers in her hands.

Not five minutes passed until he excused himself for a couple of minutes. He returned with two glasses and a bottle of red wine. Pepper told herself that if she accepted to drink with him she would probably do unexpected things and she politely refused.

"Just one sip. This is my favorite." He added with a charming grin.

She considered it for a few seconds and took the glass he offered with reluctance. But as she tasted the wine she completely changed her opinion about having this drink with him.

A few hours later and three glasses of wine they finished the project, but they kept talking about various things until Pepper realized how late it truly was. It was almost two and that meant that there were no other workers in the building. An idea flashed through her buzzed mind and she stood up, smoothing down her wrinkled pencil skirt and classy shirt.

"I won't be able to go home in this state." She said and gripped her desk.

"Me either." Tony murmured behind her. "But it never stopped me before." He added.

He looked kind of sober to her, but it was just a poker face he'd managed to improve over the years.

Pepper headed towards the door and held it open for him to leave. He stopped in front of her, took her hand which held the door opened and closed the door with his foot.

"I know you don't want me to leave." He whispered and gently backed her up against the door.

She looked at his mouth with a hunger she didn't feel before and before she knew it his mouth landed on hers, one of his hands cupping her cheek to angle their mouths better. A small moan escaped her when he parted her lips with his wet tongue and licked them before thrusting it into her mouth.

She let her tongue touch his and she shivered instantly, a wave of arousal splashing over her. He had now both of his hands into her hair and he kept his mouth firm over hers. The intensity of his kiss was overwhelming and she felt she couldn't breathe. She gripped at his hands and bit his lower lip none to gently, causing him to break the kiss and groan in pain, his eyes dark and a little pissed off.

He searched something in her eyes – something she couldn't name, but she shivered again when his warm lips kissed her jaw. Her own hands wouldn't stop moving. She stroked his chest and neck and buried her fingers in his hair as he kissed her mouth again, this time gently, moving his lips against hers in an unhurried rhythm.

She let her nails scratch at the back of his neck and she felt more powerful than ever when she felt him tremble against her. His breathing was hot against one side of her face when he gripped her small waist and pulled her against him. He rested his weight against her, careful not to hurt her. One of his legs was resting between hers and she could feel everything was she was doing to him, especially the hard ridge of his cock pressing against her thigh.

She gasped silently into his shoulder when his warm hand lifted her leg around his hip to press himself more tightly against her. She gripped his shirt tightly with one hand as he sucked and licked the sensitive skin of her neck and nibbled at her collarbone.

He moved his hand beneath her skirt and stroked her skin from her knee up to her thigh and down to her bum. Pepper gasped when his hand cupped one globe of her ass possessively. He used his leg between hers to support her as he yanked her skirt up with both his hands, whistling at the sexiness of her black thong. He wondered if she had a matching bra, but he supposed that he would find out soon enough.

Pepper managed to get rid of his tie and she threw it behind him. Fortunately he left his jacket back in his office and she didn't have to wrestle him out of it. While he was busy with her neck she took the opportunity to undo the buttons of his shirt. She stopped when she reached his arc reactor and she gave it a small kiss, a sloppy one because of their current position and buzzed minds.

She was half surprised that he didn't wear a wifebeater under his shirt, but she gave it no importance as she stroked his bare muscled chest and back. Meanwhile he was halfway through getting her shirt off, but his fingers were trembling so she helped him.

His eyes glistened at the sight of her black matching bra and he groaned as he quickly undid her front clasp and fastened his mouth against one of her hard nipples. Pepper moaned in pleasure and scratched his back, her long nails leaving a red trail. Tony groaned at that pain and proceeded to get rid of her skirt.

He was dying to reach the dessert.

Pepper felt a rush of cold air hit her as Tony kneeled and tugged her skirt and panties down. Another wave of arousal hit her when he carefully lifted her leg and rested it on his shoulder. He stared up at her and he mumbled something incoherent as he brought his nose up into her curls and inhaled deeply.

"God…" He trailed off when his fingers found the maddening slickness gathered there. "You want me."

Pepper couldn't say anything else after that because the texture of his tongue swirling and licking against her sex had her whimpering. She brought one hand into his hair and with the other one she held the doorknob until her knuckles went white.

Completely naked and trembling she hit her head against the door as the force of her orgasm left her breathless and completely sated. She barely registered the pain and the fact that apparently she was being carried towards the couch.

Until he managed to lay her against the cool leather she unbuckled his belt and let his slacks fall till his ankles. He quickly got rid of them along with his shoes and he stood there watching her, waiting for something…

Pepper yanked down his boxers and hesitated before grabbing his hot, big cock in her hand. Tony felt himself growing even harder to the point he felt pain, but her slow strokes managed to alleviate his pain.

He didn't bother hiding his moan as she worked him up. After a couple of minutes he grabbed her hand gently and slowly pushed her against the leather while he rested against her. They kissed again, their wet tongues playing with each other's. Their kisses intensified and he stood back on his knees while he took his erection in his hand and lightly stroked it, feeling a surge of pleasure overwhelming him. He needed to be inside of her immediately.

He slowly stroked her from her clit back down to her ass with the tip of his cock before slowly pushing into her. He throbbed madly inside of her while he slowly pushed himself all the way into her. His groan of pleasure was muffled by her shoulder and he bit it gently, not wanting to leave a permanent mark.

Pepper's arms wrapped themselves around his shoulder and back as he started to thrust slowly inside of her. Between the slick sounds of sex, groans and moans he heard her saying.

"Just don't c-come inside."

He could do that. He could try, at least.

It took him fifteen minutes to take her on the edge of orgasm. He always prided himself on his timing, but it had been an awfully long time since he had sex and he needed time to readjust. With a slight touch of the pad of his thumb against her clit he had her trembling harder than ever and squeezing him so hard he could barely breathe as her orgasm rushed through her.

He felt himself on the edge as he remembered her request as not to come inside of her. He slid out of her with a small moan and he looked down at her, eyes half closed as her hand clenched around him and stroked him firmly. It took him three strokes and he felt a deep pang within his chest as the pleasure surged hard through him and his throbbing cock, his semen spluttering against her hand and stomach.

She squeezed him as hard as she could and watched in satisfaction as his whole frame froze for approximately ten seconds. He released a haggard breath as his chest heaved in and out at a frantic pace.

"Tissue." He murmured in a husky voice while looking down at her stomach and hand.

"My purse… On the table." She pointed towards the nearby table and he rummaged through her purse until he found a few tissues.

He cleaned her up with them and threw them beside him. When he looked back at her he found out that she had been looking kind of strange at him the whole minute.

"What?" He asked and looked at himself.

"Maybe we should get dressed and leave." Pepper suggested as she tried to get up, but Tony's hand on hers stopped her mid-action.

"We need rest…" He told her. "I promise I'll turn on the alarm clock, all right?" He sounded irritated that she wanted to get up and leave like nothing happened.

"All right." Pepper huffed and covered her breasts with her hands.

That brought another pang deep within his chest and he realized that she might be cold. He knew that he used to have a blanket inside his desk, but he wasn't sure whether it was there or not. He got up and looked for it, anyway.

With a tremendous relief he found it and he closed the lights as he laid the blanket onto her body. He climbed right beside her between her and the coolness of the couch and he took a deep breath.

His head was still spinning due to the amazing sex session they've just shared and from the unbelievable red wine, but he was sure that the thing he was going to say within the next seconds didn't relate to those things.

"I love you, you know…"

Pepper opened her eyes and looked at him with a frown. After a couple of minutes she laughed.

"You're just saying that because you're drunk." She accused him.

Tony felt wounded but he found that an opportunity to kiss her. He did it nice and slow like they were two old lovers.

"I'm not as drunk as you are, Pepper." He told her matter-of-factly. "I've been worse."

"Huh? All right… Let's say I might believe you."

Tony grinned and waited for her to continue.

"And let's say I might love you too."

"What's with these 'mights'?" He asked her with a big loving smile. "Why can't you just say simply 'I love you' cuz I know you do."

"Okay…" Pepper said and snuggled into his sweaty chest. "I love you."

Tony sighed a little, feeling extremely happy about that. "That's all I wanted to hear."

The silence had him almost asleep before Pepper added.

"Did you turn on the alarm clock?"

Tony opened his eyes and mentally cursed himself.

"Oh darn."