Dancing to the Finish

by Martana Alexander.

Tony/Pepper story rated M for sexual themes

It had been months since the moment that they had shared on the dance floor. He had nearly died trying to save her life when Obadiah made his move, and now more than ever she was responsible for keeping him safe. Of course as Pepper knew keeping Tony Stark out of trouble was no easy task.

The hardest part of all though, the part that she would barely admit even to herself, was not keeping him out of trouble it was keeping him out of her mind. Spending nearly twenty hours a day in the Malibu mansion had led her to see some sights that she was not quite comfortable with. Not so much that they scared her, but that they caused need for her to take more personal time than she would wish to.

Of course there were other things that could trigger those responses, and looking at the dress she had worn that night was one of them. It was so similar to those that she had to pick up from the dry cleaners in the mornings following the lavish parties Tony had previously been so keen on attending. The sheer fact that it was one of very few formal dresses to take up permanent residence in a closet in Tony's mansion was enough to work up day dreams for Pepper, the kind that she would almost rather not have about her boss. Of course the only formal dresses that did take up permanent residence were the ones she kept on hand for attending last minute events if Tony so wished to go.

For the time she had the house to herself, Tony was out fighting against the world's evil; and for one rare moment she decided to do something crazy. Shedding her business style work clothes, she pulled on the dress and added the shoes and jewelry that she had to go with it. She giggled as she made her way to the den, the most formal room in the house.

"Jarvis, play classical ballroom music please." She instructed the house's computer system and waited until the first notes began to play.

She held her arms up around an imaginary partner and closed her eyes as she danced with the music.

Tony walked up from the garage where he had just returned from his mission. He stood at the landing of the stairs watching her for a moment before walking over and taking the place of her imaginary partner. "I believe I do owe you a dance."

Pepper's eyes flew open as she felt his hand in hers and heard his voice. "What are you doing home? I thought you'd be gone for a few more hours at least."

"So what, while the boss was away you were going to slack off and play dress up." He pulled her closer to him. "Good thing I came home early so I could catch you."

"There is nothing to catch." She tried to keep her breath even as she looked into his eyes. "I've done all my work, so my time is my own."

His hand trailed down the deep plunge of the back of her dress. "You do look amazing in this."

"I believe you've told me something to that affect before." She pressed against him as they danced. Shivers went down her spine when he slid the hand down her back and the low hum of the ark reactor in his chest buzzed against her skin. "I think it would be the last time we danced that you said it."

"I messed up so much that night I wasn't sure I'd gotten that right." He began gliding her in the direction of the hall. "Let me make it up to you."

"How do you plan on doing that?" Her voice became faint as she realized they were approaching the hall that led to his bed room.

"By showing you how good that dress would look on the floor." He leaned down and kissed her neck. "If you'll allow me."

"Do I have to pick up my own dry cleaning in the morning?" her hands were already letting go of him so she could undo the jeans he was wearing.

"I'm not sure you'll be able to move in the morning." His hand slid down underneath the fabric of her dressed and he raised an eyebrow. "No underwear? Should make this even easier then."

"Look who's talking." Pepper answered as she unzipped his jeans. They were only steps away from his bedroom and she could feel the wet warmth between her legs. "If I didn't know better I'd suspect you'd planned this."

"Only in dreams." He answered huskily, much more comfortable since the stress of his jeans had been alleviated.

She felt the carpet change under her shoes as they stepped into the bed room, then she felt his arms wrap tightly around her as he picked her up and carried her over to the bed where he laid her down. "Good dreams?" she asked faintly.

"The best dreams." He lowered himself over her and softly kissed her lips. "The kind of dreams that make me not want to wake up in the morning."

"Tony." She moaned softly. Her hands found the hem of his t-shirt and she pulled it up over his head.

"Working a little fast?" he asked her as he began to pull her dress off her body. "Let me catch up."

"Just hurry up." She felt the silky material of the dress fall from her body and then felt the warmth of his mouth on her breast.

He slid one hand between her legs to her wet warmth and slid two fingers inside of her, gently working them in and out. Pepper gasped as his fingers stroked her. Once she was able to regain enough of her mental control she reached down and slid his jeans off his hips. Her small hands wrapped around his length as she began to work him up. It was not long before both of them felt the climax coming.

Tony removed his fingers and took her hands as he slid inside of her. Pepper grasped tightly to his hands as he worked in and out of her, bringing them both to and earth shattering finish as they called out each other's names. Both spent, they lay on the bed together, still not separating out of the closeness.

"You know," he said once he found enough breath, "it is probably better that we didn't dance too long at that party. Something like this would have gotten me black listed for life."

"You? I would have been the assistant that had sex with her boss at a formal event. I would have been forced to leave the country."

"Good thing we had our first dance here then." He softly stroked her face.

"You planning on there being more?" she stared into his eyes.

"Many, many more." He answered and softly kissed her.