He only stayed a day longer, and with Jodie looking sweetly mutinous, Jim insisted on going back to his own townhouse. She didn't argue, and helped him up the stairs, lugging the duffel bag of his freshly washed and dried clothing up behind him.

Jim ordered a pizza for lunch, and let Jodie round up his mail and newspapers. She was impressed with his kitchen ("four wire whisks!") and split a coke with him as she looked with interest through the family photos along the fireplace mantle.

"Your dad is tall," Jodie observed, "and handsome."

"Tall anyway. That's my sister Simone over in that one, with my nieces Allison and Summer," he hobbled over, taking delight in showing off the photos. "She's a pediatrician in Arizona."

"Oh that's great!" Jodie enthused, "She looks like she's great with kids."

"Oh she is, trust me. I am too," Jim murmured, and then felt a flush creep over his face. Jodie didn't look at him, but he noted a quick smile on her profile.

"Seeing how you're just a big kid yourself," came her tease.

"Sometimes," he admitted. "But it's not a bad thing."

"Nope," Jodie agreed. "Wanda's got two brothers, and when we go to family picnics, I hang out with the younger crowd—mostly the napping and teething crowd."

"The diaper posse," Jim laughed. "Yeah, I could see that. You . . . like babies?"

"Yep. Going to have a couple myself someday," Jodie nodded, turning to look him in the eye. "Let me know now if that's a problem."

Jim held her gaze, picturing Jodie round and near term; holding a blanket-wrapped bundle; cooing lullabies. "It would be a good look for you, actually."

They didn't say anything for a moment and simply stared at each other.

Jodie broke the gaze first, turning to look at another picture. This one make her smile all over again, and she picked it up off the mantle. "Oh my God, it's *you!* Jim, you were so . . . skinny!"

"We former track stars prefer the term 'lean'," he corrected, but his own grin beamed out. "Yeah, okay, in high school I *was* a bit on the lightweight side I guess. But it helped cut down on wind resistance."

Jodie took the photo to the sofa and Jim followed her, dropping down and reaching for it, pointing out the details with amusement. She laughed at his stories, and shared a few of her own about her days on her school's softball team. "One of the few sports kind to those of us who got a little top-heavy," she admitted.

Jim laughed. "Can't have been easy, I'm sure."

"I did all right," Jodie smiled. "It's all a matter of a good sports bra and the right attitude."

"I'll take your word on that," Jim snickered. The doorbell rang and Jodie jumped up to collect the pizza.

*** *** ***

They met up every few days, and by the third time—a movie date--found themselves tangled together against the back of Jodie's front door, kissing frantically, both of them hungry for each other. Jodie happily wound herself around Jim, managing to balance on one leg and still hold him *and* his crutches up.

"You're pretty horny for a mobility-impaired guy," she murmured, moving to kiss his throat along the collar of his shirt. Jim sighed, half in embarrassment, half in amusement.

"Too fast?"

"Nnnope," she whispered against the hollow at the base of his throat. "I've been hoping you still wanted me—"

He cut off that silly comment with another kiss, and judging from the happy moan, Jim knew things were going to be very good for both of them. Jodie's hips were rocking against his, and the lure of her contours was proving irresistible.

"Want you," Jim reassured her in a soft voice. "Just . . . not up against your wall. Not while on crutches, anyway."

She grinned in the low light. "Come here . . ." Jodie murmured, and led him to one of the sofas. Jim dropped his crutches in favor of pulling Jodie into his arms; she gave a pleased sigh and straddled his lap, kissing him softly all along his face. Jim returned the attention, savoring the warm weight and feel of her on him.

He'd forgotten how sweet simple necking could be, and the pleasure in making Jodie gasp and wriggle had Jim feeling both delighted and unexpectedly possessive. Sure she was beautiful; that was something he'd always known, but that she was at times playful and at others shy was a lovely discovery for him.

The tease went on, and finally Jodie's impatience made her chuff. She took his left hand and stuffed it under her tee-shirt, bringing the palm up against the underside of one breast. "There! And don't tell me you don't like that, because I know you DO!"

Jim groaned. The warm heft of it sent fresh pangs through his stomach, surging lower to make his erection even more rampant than before. His fingers cupped around the smooth, warm skin under her bra. "Damnnnnn," came his helpless sigh. "Oh you got that right. You have one hell of a pair, beautiful thing!"

Jodie shivered, her arms resting on his shoulders. "Mmmmm, I didn't know they could . . . feel like this . . ."

A small nagging thought dawned on Jim, even as he let his thumb brush against the hard rivet of her nipple, toying under the fabric with teasing care. "Feel good, baby?"

"Yeah . . ." Jodie gulped, nuzzling his cheek. "All . . . electric . . . ohhhhhhh . . . ."

It hit him, and he reacted on instinct. With care, Jim let his thumb and index finger lightly squeeze her nipple, rolling the stiff nub lightly between them as he kissed her, deeply, tongue toying with hers.

Jodie rocked against him, and shuddered hard; the nipple in his fingers went rigid, and the prickles of gooseflesh rose against his palm. Stunned, he softened his kiss, and Jodie panted a little, slumping against him. Jim held her for a few minutes, feeling too many things to sort out, but when she finally sat up and cupped his face in her hands, he smiled. "You . . . um, you came, didn't you?"

"I don't know *what* that was, but ohhh it was GREAT!" Jodie laughed. "It was like my whole body just EXPLODED, and ohhhhhhyeah!"

"Whoa, whoa, you mean . . . you've never done that before?" Jim demanded. "Time out Jodie baby. Be honest with me here."

She looked at him, some of her elation draining away at his serious expression. Jodie glanced down between them, finding his bare chest and unbuttoned shirt fascinating. "Well . . . no, not like that before. I mean, I like kissing, and I like, you know, sex and stuff, but this was like a feelgood heart attack! I just . . . you touched me, and I couldn't HELP it!"

"You're telling me you've never . . . had an orgasm before?" Jim couldn't quite get his mind around that concept. He himself had been well-practiced in the art since mid-puberty, and even then thought of himself as a late bloomer. He ached at the moment, but this was too important to ignore.

"I've had dreams that were really good," Jodie admitted. "And I get feelings and urges, sure. But this was like, amped up! Oh God—am I a freak?"

She looked so scared and woebegone for a moment that Jim bit back a grin even as a rush of protectiveness surged through him. "You could never be a freak, sweetheart. I'm just a little . . . surprised, that's all."

A little freaked out was more honest, but Jim wasn't about to add to Jodie's uncertainty, not in the wake of her beautiful orgasm. He took some pride in realizing he'd given her her first, and cleared his throat. "I just assumed, because you're so sexy and so . . . uninhibited . . . . that you've . . . . come, before."

"I know women can," Jodie mumbled. "I just always thought I wasn't one of them."

Jim moved to kiss her, taking time to linger on her lips before pulling back to whisper. "Good to be wrong, huh?"

"VERY good," she snickered. "No wonder guys love to do it, with a jackpot like that!"

"Yeah," he admitted, blushing a little. "Having the right person with you does a hell of a lot for the process. You're not a . . ." Jim trailed off, trying to be discreet and feeling like an idiot. Jodie smirked at him, brushing away one corkscrew curl from her face.

"No, I'm not. But there haven't been a lot," she added anxiously. "Not all the way, that is."

"That's not; don't worry about that," Jim soothed her. "I'm just saying you deserve the pleasure every time, and most of the fun is in mutuality: me making YOU happy—"

"—and me making YOU happy," Jodie laughed. "oh yeah, I'd like to do that."

Jim bit back a groan, since her words and weight were enough to make him throb again. "There's no rush, beautiful thing. We can take things slow. One of the benefits of dating an older man, you know."

"Will you stop it?" Jodie growled. "You are all of ten and a half years older than I am, not seventy, Jim! Yes, I'm younger than you are, but it's not as if it's a crime or something."

As she spoke, Jodie ran her hands along his bare chest, stroking Jim's broad pectorals, her fingers warm against his skin. "You're sexy and sweet and you taste wonderful and I'm pretty close to being absolutely in love with you, Jim Rhodes, so stop trying to sell yourself short, because any man who can make me . . . come, is an incredible person, got it?"

"Baby . . ." he whispered, feeling weak and happy at her words, "it still takes some time for me to see how lucky I am."

Jodie chuckled, and took his hands, pulling them under her shirt to her ample chest. "Me too."

"Oh don't do that," Jim warned, even as his hands curled lovingly around the contours of her breasts, stretching to accommodate the luscious overflow of them. "You're playing with fire now—"

"Good," Jodie whispered, and sighed with pleasure.

It didn't take long, and Jim found himself unable to resist the erotic combination of friction and frottage; not with his hands filled with Jodie's chest and her warm weight rocking in his aching lap. All of those factors, along with deep, delicious kisses sent his arousal into overload, and Jim grunted, his orgasm surging wetly through his jeans as Jodie purred.

"I haven't done that in . . . years," Jim admitted in embarrassment, laughing at himself. Jodie kissed him and climbed off his lap, settling on one side of him, arms still around his shoulders. "Sorry about that."

"I'm not, but you'll probably want to clean up," she giggled softly. "Are you okay?"

"Oh I'm good. Messy, but good," Jim assured her, his voice slightly sleepy. "Not doing this again, though—we're making plans, Jodie. I want the best for us."

"You sayin' my couch isn't good enough?" Jodie teased. Jim slipped an arm around her, and hugged her to his side, sighing.

"I'm saying I'm taking you to dinner tomorrow—Valentine's day at the Officer's Club—and afterwards . . ." he tried not to sound too hopeful; this was up to Jodie of course, but Jim had already made the reservations.

Jodie bounced with delight. "Oh yes! I'd love to go out! I have JUST the dress, too!"

*** *** ***

And she did.

The next night, Jim nearly dropped the corsage box when the door swung open and he saw Jodie standing there, smiling shyly at him. He felt his pulse jump, and whistled admiringly.

"Oh beautiful thing, you ARE!" he told her warmly.

Jodie blushed, and spun. She wore a soft red sheath dress that molded to her figure, and the square cut neckline showcased the upper half of her cleavage beautifully. Her ruby earrings and chignon hair gave her sophistication, but Jodie's smile was merry and her blush adorable.

"I'm glad you like it," she murmured, smoothing her palms down along her thighs. "Seemed like the right choice for Valentine's day."

"Oh yeah," Jim rumbled, wondering for one lusty moment if he could talk her into staying home, because his appetite had very definitely shifted south of his stomach.

She took the transparent box and gave a little 'ooh' of delight; Jim took the pink orchid out and she slid it onto one slender wrist. It completed her outfit in a way he hadn't realized before, and Jim nodded, feeling contented when Jodie smiled.

He was getting better with the crutches; even the low stairs along the main entrance to the club didn't slow him down. They were seated near the big window; the one that overlooked the swimming pool far below, and as the sun set, Jim and Jodie had dinner, talking lightly of everything, taking time to enjoy themselves.

Jim was well aware of the interested glances of other diners; he knew he'd be asked about his lovely companion by some of them who knew his connection to Stark. It bothered him a little that some might wonder if Jodie was one of Tony's cast-offs; he and Tony had actually never dated the same woman, but the public didn't know that, and assumptions were easy to make.

"Thank you," Jodie broke into his thoughts softly, smiling in the candlelight at their table. "This is so wonderful, Jim."

"My pleasure," he replied quietly. "You are saving room for dessert, right?"

Jodie made a clucking sound. "Actually, I was hoping to nibble on something sweet back at your place—"

"Oh you are a bad woman," came Jim's chide as he fought a smile. "It's not nice to tease, you know."

"That's not what you said yesterday," Jodie reminded him, and leaned forward, letting the candlelight gleam over her cleavage.

Jim's nostrils flared, and his eyes promised retribution for that move.

After dinner, as they strolled out of the club, a large man approached Jim and smiled, his voice rumbling out. "Rhodes! Heard about your accident. Holding up all right? And who is this charming creature!"

"Jodie, I'd like you to meet General Hendris of Strategic Air Support. General, this is Miss Jodie Zody of Zody and Son Toys," Jim made the introduction, well aware of the general's none too discreet staring. "She's been working on a line of model planes based on our own hardware here on base."

"Is that a fact? Oh I find it hard to believe anyone so beautiful could be a model plane builder!" the general boomed.

"I put together my first Vickers years ago, General," Jodie replied gently, "But most plastic kits are flimsy and as we both know, the specs are off for security reasons. Die cast is better.."

"Yes . . ." The general replied, slightly startled. "A Vickers you say?"

"I wanted to do the entire Lafayette Escadrille before I tried my hand at a Fokker. And of course there were those really nice Corgi models for the Battle of Britain . . ."

"Hurricanes," General Hendris smiled broadly. "I remember those."

Jodie nodded back. "Triumphs, Spitfires, Messerschmitts—those were some of the ones Zody did first in die cast. We've covered the military classics all the way through our current conflict, thanks very much in part to Jim—Colonel Rhodes here."

"You're giving me too much credit," Jim murmured, his shoulder pressed up against hers. Jodie leaned against him, suddenly shy, and the general looked at Jim admiringly.

"Oh she's a keeper, Jim, very definitely."

"Don't I know it, sir," came his quick reply. They said their goodbyes, and made their way down the sweeping front steps of the club, waiting for the valet to bring the car around. Jodie gave a happy sigh, linking her arm through Jim's.

"You did pack a suitcase, didn't you?"

"In the trunk," he assured her, feeling his pulse jump.

*** *** ***

It felt, Jim realized, like coming home. He carried the overnight bag in one hand and made his way through the door into Jodie's house, feeling a sense of peace along with the happy anticipation her nearness brought, and it seemed perfectly natural to follow her to the big bedroom at the back of the house.

The bed here was a queen-sized one with a thick quilt of dappled greens and greys, and Jodie had turned down the covers. He set his bag down inside the door and wondered where to rest the crutches, but Jodie came over and took them from him, setting them against the tall dresser before slipping into his arms.

"I'm . . . nervous," she confessed in a quiet whisper. "I want you so much, and I'm afraid of screwing this up!"

"Not going to happen," Jim assured her, his hands coming around to stroke her back gently. "Just being with you makes me feel good, Jodie baby."

She trembled a little, but he kissed her and that seemed to ground them both; they sighed in unison and laughed softly.

The nightstand light was on; Jim liked the way it cast a soft glow in the room, and he steered Jodie to the edge of the bed, brushing his lips along the side of her neck, letting his words reach her ear. "Hey beautiful thing. Tell me what you want."

She squirmed, giggling, and wrapped her arms around him. "Let's make love, Jim," Jodie purred, and turned to kiss him with happy passion.

They undressed each other slowly, lingering over their newly exposed skin. Jim was amused at how the tattoo on his shoulder fascinated Jodie; she traced the stylized wings first with her finger and then her tongue, making him shiver when she left his skin wet. Jim held back and let her explore him, fighting his own desire and urgency.

It was delicious torment, and for all her previous boldness, Jodie was almost shy in her caresses. By the time they were both bare, Jim decided it was time to take his turn with her, and guided her to the bed. Happily Jodie stretched out, and looked up at Jim through half-closed eyes, her lips quivering.

"My Jodie," he smiled, and lay beside her, not rushing, stroking her soft skin in gentle sweeps of his hands, moving to cup the nearest breast. Jodie squeaked, her breathing loud when he bent his head and let his lips brush the hard, rosy nipple.

"J-Jim," she gasped, arching up in quick, delighted response. "Ohhh, it's too good . . ."

Privately he agreed with her; his rampant shaft was throbbing against her hip, and the scent of her perfume and musk was urging him close to insanity, but as a pilot and a man, Jim knew about throttling back, and instead, brought his mouth around her nipple and sucked.

Jodie shook. Her hands clutched at him blindly, and she rolled, letting one leg slide around his. Jim kept sucking and She gave a little cry, going stiff in his arms, hips rocking hard against him.

When he pulled back, giving the nipple one last loving lick, Jodie whimpered and lay back on the mattress, dazed and bright-eyed.

"Oh damn it, I love you!" she whispered, and tears spilled down her cheeks.

Jim sighed harshly, and dropped a kiss on her mouth, plundering it warmly, feeling a rush of tenderness and lust that threatened to overwhelm him. He knew then. He knew, and the enormity of the truth was a wave of joy within James Rhodes.

"Baby, I love you too. Want you," Jim blurted, not sure if Jodie would understand that he meant more than just for the moment, or the night, or the week, or day or month.

She let her arms circle his neck, and when Jodie pulled him to her, he sighed. It was the work of a moment to find the condom and roll it on; kneeling between her thighs, Jim reached up and touch Jodie's cheek, looking into her eyes. "Jodie—"

"You're mine," she murmured, and wrapped her legs around his hips, one hand coming between their bodies to guide him forward. Jim gave a thrust, sinking into the heat of her body, and they both cried out. He rocked into Jodie again and again, mad for the pleasure, beyond anymore waiting or patience now. Jodie clung to him, her breasts bouncing against his chest with each thrust, her hair tangled and damp against the pillow.

Jim tried to hold out, but the relentless rush of pleasure had gone beyond any capacity to contain it now, and he grunted, his searing orgasm fierce and hard, throbbing deeply in Jodie as he blindly kissed her chin.

She held him, letting Jim slump onto her chest and he felt her kiss his head even as he grinned against her breasts. They said nothing for a while, both of them overwhelmed and sated, drowsing for long moments. Gradually though, Jim reached down to grip the condom and pulled himself free of Jodie's body, rolling away and sliding the condom off. Gratefully he accepted tissues from her, cleaning himself up, and when he'd disposed of the used prophylactic he slipped back into bed, pulling her into his arms.

"I love you," Jim told her quietly, his voice low. "You know all that stuff I mentioned before? About age and race? It's not going to change, Jodie, but that doesn't change the fact that I love you."

"I love you too," She smiled through a yawn. "And I know that stuff's not going away, but I don't care. If right here, right now we have something this good between us, then we can take on whatever else is out there, Jim. I know we can."

He grinned and settled down into the bed, tucking Jodie up against his side and kissing her. "Beautiful thing, you keep talking like that; I believe you."

Jodie laughed, and Jim watched her gradually fall asleep, feeling warm and happy, and wondering how the hell he was ever going to be able to thank Tony Stark for initiating such an unlikely and yet perfect, match.

end