Title: Protect My Heart

Author: Erik-in-CT

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

Author's Note: This scene is an uneditted version of Bella's dream sequence in "Protect My Heart: Chapter 9". Thought I'd post it for y'all to enjoy. This is what I had originally written before thinking to myself; "My mother is reading this...I can't post this smut!". lmao Anyway, onto the yummy goodness!

Bella found herself in an unfamiliar room, the walls and furnishing all white and blending into each other, giving her no distinct evidence of where she was standing. "Hello?" She called out as she looked about, trying to find some sign as to where she was, or how she had gotten there. She felt more than heard a movement behind her, and she started to turn to try and discover who was there with her.

"Bella," Tony whispered hotly against her ear as his arms wrapped around her, pulling her close against his body. She turned in his arms, his lips ghosting over her forehead and across her cheek before pressing softly against her own, drawing a quiet moan from her as she responded to his touch. It had been so long, and he was so warm and solid against her as she pressed herself up into his arms, her hands resting against his shoulders as her eyes fluttered closed. She felt his hands sliding down her back to grasp her waist, holding her close as he deepened the kiss, the soft touch of his tongue brushing across her lips before pressing deeper. Somewhere deep inside of her, Bella felt a heat begin to rise up and consume her like fire.

"Oh yes Tony," she breathed when his lips released hers, her head falling to rest against the side of his neck. She inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of him, a sweet musky smell that left her feeling intoxicated. In that moment, she couldn't recall ever feeling this way before, and she didn't want to lose that feeling. And so she clung to him with all the strength she possessed, and thrilled to find that he was holding her just as tightly, his hands slipping beneath the thin cotton of her pajama top to brush lightly across her lower back and sides.

"So beautiful," he whispered against her ear once again, lips and tongue playing along the sensitive spot as she shivered at the attentions. "Open up to me Bella," he said, his fingers trailing along her sides and across her stomach. Her head began to spin as she felt herself falling, and she found herself laying upon silken white fabric with Tony beside her, his hands never losing contact with her heated skin. Finding the courage from somewhere within, Bella began to explore with her hands as well, brushing across his shoulders and down his arms, feeling the hard muscles underneath his skin. It felt so good to touch and be touched, and she wanted more of it, she hungered for it in a way she couldn't explain.

A soft gasp escaped her as she felt his hand move higher, his fingers brushing against her chest, and she found herself grasping his wrist and pressing his hand more firmly against her. "Please Tony," she breathed, turning her head up to search for his lips once more. A shift against her, and he caught her questing lips again, stealing her breath away in a passionate play of lips and tongue. She could feel the full, hard lean length of him against her, and she pressed her body against his, wanting to feel him completely.

His wandering hands skimmed along the waistband of her pajama bottoms, and she moaned a quiet encouragement to him, her heart pounding as she felt his fingers dip beneath the elastic band and tease the sensitive skin they found there. Her own fingers twisted into the soft fabric of his shirt as she poured her heart into the searing heat of his kiss. But even as she held onto him. she felt him slipping away from her, and she grasped desperately at anything she found under her hands, trying to draw him back to her.

Bella gasped as her eyes flew open to see a darkened room around her, her hands fisted in the blankets at her side. For a frightening moment she was so disoriented by her strange surroundings that she nearly flew into a panic, but then she slowly calmed down as she remembered the events of the day. The images in her dream still burned hotly in her mind, and she felt the ghost of a kiss that hadn't actually happened flutter across her lips. Just a dream, she told herself in the darkness. A dream that had felt so breathtakingly real. She knew she was lost.