"Tony—" Pepper kept the calendar tucked under her arm as she tried to figure out exactly what to say. She hadn't planned on perusing it with him, or even being around him once he found out she was in it, but at the moment there seemed to be little choice.

At best she could do some damage control by taking charge of the setting, so she spun away gracefully from his determined grasp and settled on the leather sofa in the alcove of the office. The sofa was the only leftover of Stane's time, and Pepper had been too practical to get rid of such a nice high-end piece of furniture. She sank into the end cushion while Tony flung himself onto the one next to her, pressing as closely as Francis had.

Pepper thought Tony and Francis probably had a lot in common, but before she could pursue that thought, Tony was making grabby hands for the calendar. She smacked his fingers and he made a big show of sulking and sucking on them.

"Stop acting as if you're seven, Tony," she chided, "and don't give me the puppy eyes."

"I'm the boss around here again almost," Tony complained. "You're not allowed to be mean to me."

"I thought my entire job was to be mean to you," Pepper replied, carefully running a nail along the seam of the Mylar.

"Not in a hitting context," he insisted. "I know you're excited to see me on the calendar, but—"

"—Wow," Pepper broke in, startled at the first picture when she lifted the page of the calendar. The month was January, and smirking in a come-hither fashion, tiny Benita Mendoza leaned over her modified desk, long black curls decorated with sparkles and streamers as she held up a champagne bottle and glass. There was definite cleavage bulging over her black bustier, and Tony whistled.

"Ditto. I'm impressed."

"Benita's fun," Pepper grinned. "Did you know she rollerblades?"

"I could see that," Tony nodded. "She's got the killer instinct and a low center of gravity."

"Tony!"

"I'm talking aerodynamically." He gave Pepper his most innocent look. "Shall we continue?"

Pepper couldn't help herself, and smiled. She flipped the page, and February featured Natalie Rushman from the back in a snowy judo jacket, the black Obi loose around her waist. Her pants were draped over one shoulder as she looked back at the camera, and the perfect little globes of her naked butt peeked out from under the jacket.

Tony cleared his throat loudly and reached for the calendar. "She's quite an ass . . . set."

"Part of that's correct," Pepper muttered with a hint of exasperation. "I hope you've noticed that the belt there is black, Tony."

"Haven't looked that high yet."

"Moving on—"Pepper growled, flipping the page. Part of her was annoyed with Tony, but when he didn't make any complaint, she glanced over at him only to find him smirking at her.

"You're jealous," he pointed out happily.

Pepper opened her mouth to protest; deny any such thing, but Tony was too close, emotionally and physically. His dark eyes held her gaze, and he leaned forward, letting his mouth barely brush her lips as he whispered. "Only interested in one redhead, Potts."

A little whimper escaped before she could stop it, and the kisses that followed nearly made her set the calendar aside, but Pepper managed to pull back a little breathlessly and smile. "Good."

They both glanced down at the calendar, and this time Pepper was the one to smirk as the glorious charms of Edie Zinkowski rolling around on the conference room table came up for March. Tony pursed his lips. "She looks waaaay too happy for an actuary."

"Anne says you intimidated her; this must have been taken after you left," Pepper observed.

Tony snorted. "I don't intimidate, I awe. Next page-"

Above the April Calendar, Harold 'Happy' Hogan stood bare-chested, in the middle of a barbell curl, his muscles standing out in clear definition.

Pepper 'ooooohed.'

Tony grunted. "Give me a break; you've seen him in the gym a thousand times and besides that's barely thirty pounds! I can do twice that!"

"Speaking of jealous . . ." Pepper murmured, but she flipped the page, albeit reluctantly, making a note to go back to it when Tony wasn't around.

"Twice that," Tony reminded her in a grumble. "While hung over."

The remaining pages each carried particular charms: Cedric's sunlit six-pack; Isadora Chun's wet and luscious steam-bath; Amir Hassan's post-cricket strip down among others. Pepper was aware of her own growing arousal fueled not only by the elegant photos of tasteful erotica, but also by the warmth and weight of Tony's body next to hers on the sofa. He radiated heat against her hip and side, and the feel of his hot breath along her shoulder made her slightly dizzy.

"Damn we've got a lot of hot people working here," Tony admitted. "I approve."

"Actually, what we've got are a lot of loyal and hard-working people who just happen to be photogenic and willing to put themselves on the line to make sure kids can go to college," Pepper clarified. They were nearly at the back, and she hesitated, not quite willing to flip the last page yet.

Tony nodded. "I know. The calendar is a PR move, but the bootleg . . . this is where SI people come through. Not just for the skin, but for the kids." He gave a little sigh and added, "so let's see what Anne and Dan did for my last shot." He reached over, pressing close to Pepper, and lifted the last page.

The twelve little calendars made a frame around the picture in the middle, but neither Pepper nor Tony noticed them as they stared together at the page.

Pepper couldn't breathe for a moment, amazed at how lush the photo was. She'd known it was a good session, and that Dan was one of the best portrait photographers in the world, but this shot was more than she'd even hoped for.

"Holy. Fucking. Shit." Tony growled in wonder, his words slow and dazed.

Pepper felt her pulse race. She squirmed, heat blooming across her face now. "Ummmm . . ."

The dappled greens of the Arboretum made a lush and exotic background, but the clear, glorious focus was in the sensual pose of Pepper and the cheetah, stretched out together in languid repose.

"Skin," Tony finally managed. "You're. showing. Skin."

"Yes, well . . ." Pepper began, and rushed on, "See, the calendar contract requires that the CEO pose and Natalie reminded me that if I didn't we'd be in breach of contract and liable for lawsuits and since we're already dealing with a lot of lawsuits over the Expo and your destroyed mansion I figured it would just be easier to do the calendar than add more fuel to those fires and anyway, for all intents and purposes, you're CEO now, or will be in another nine weeks or so, so you'll be back on the last page *next* year . . ." She trailed off and added, "That's Francis. He's a cheetah."

"You're naked." Tony's tone still sounded stunned; as if he couldn't grasp the truth on the page in front of him. "No panties."

"Tony, it's not as if you can SEE anything!" Pepper blustered. "Honestly, it's a very tasteful shot, and yes, I know it's not the way I usually am, but I HAVE modeled before."

"Not like this. At least, not for Stark Industries," Tony murmured. "God, I can hear the sound of hundreds of heads exploding out there."

"Tony!"

"Hundreds of hands, reaching for tissues . . ."

"Tony!" Mortified now, Pepper yanked the calendar away, but in the process of twisting, she found herself being pinned against the padded arm of the sofa. She looked into his bright, amused eyes.

"Christ, Pepper, you're extraordinary. Not only can you run my company and handle a thousand different duties with some sort of graceful cosmic Zen, but you're constantly able to put me in my damned place and do it in such fucking style that I'm in utter awe of you. Not only that, but you're spectacularly hot, and while I've tried to take things slow like we agreed, it's been killing me. This calendar is NOT helping that issue at all, okay? Frankly I'm way past wanting you and sliding right into NEED—"

He didn't get a chance to finish; Pepper slid her arms around Tony and yanked him down, kissing him fiercely, more than ready herself now. It was a little awkward, but the heat of his mouth and the grind of his torso against hers shoved all other considerations aside.

Belatedly Pepper realized the door wasn't locked and that anyone could waltz in on them. She gave a groan, but apparently Tony's mind-reading ability manifested itself. He raised his head and called out in a raspy voice, "Stark one, private conference."

The door lock clicked and the window panels dimmed slightly. Pepper felt herself grow annoyed for a second, but when Tony added, "No projector, no table," she relaxed.

Relaxing was a mistake; Tony licked her neck, and the sensations made her wriggle like mad. "Tony!"

"Trying to se-DUCE you here," he snorted, kissing her lightly. "Maybe I'm wrong, but YOU started this . . ."

""So DO it," Pepper ordered in giggly exasperation. "Patience was never your strong suit anyway . . ." this trailed off in a yodel as Tony slid a hand up under her blouse, his fingers guided by some magical heat-seeking system.

"On it, oh my Pepper of the jungle," he snickered happily against the little hollow at the base of her throat. "Oh God . . ."

Pepper wasn't really sure of anything coherent beyond that as rational thought vanished for both of them. She moved on instinct from that point, breathing in the warm tang of Tony's skin, tasting the hint of salt along the rims of his ears, and trembling under the calluses on his fingertips. Tony refused to rush, exploring her body with an awed intensity that had Pepper alternating between restless joy and a growing sense of vulnerable need. When he finally smoothed a palm down through the damp curls between her thighs, Pepper gave a squeaky growl.

"NOW, Tony!"

From the look on his face he was on the edge himself, and the rush of lustful love in Tony's eyes made her pulse beat with a painful intensity.

"We sort of talked about it, but—" he fumbled, nudging her knees apart and blinking hard at the sight. It would have been flattering as hell if she wasn't so . . . needy at the moment.

Pepper curved her palms along his furry jaw line. "Pill. WANT you, Mr. Stark!"

"Christ YES, Miss Potts," he groaned and thrust as he slid his body against hers.

Pepper cried out softly, feeling her entire body tense. The feel of Tony—hot, thick, and definitely BIG—made every inch of her skin ache with pleasure. The little jolts of lust that countered each of his strokes had her rocking against him, hungry for more and Pepper breathlessly told him so in a string of barely coherent words.

"More, mooorrrrre, oooh yesss, Tony . . . T-T-Tony!"

She wrapped her hands around his shoulders clinging as her slender body shuddered under his, strong and quick. He arched more deeply into her, and Pepper dimly felt the hot pulses of his own orgasm surging deep within her body in throbbing waves.

For a long time, moving after that was impossible; instead, Pepper drowsily cradled Tony's head against her breasts and wondered if she still had a spare suit and panty hose in her office. Cedric could bring it in while she hid in the private bathroom, she thought, and her executive case was big enough to smuggle her ruined things home . . .

"Love you," Tony mumbled, breaking into her thoughts. "For the record, I've never done it in this office before. At least, never with someone else, which is probably TMI but the truth, all told."

Pepper loved the sight of him rumpled, relaxed and mischievous as he shifted on the sofa and pulled her to lie against his side. This was the Tony that was and always had been all hers, this personal Puck.

"I . . . I love you too, Tony." It felt good and silly and right to say, and she buried her face against his shoulder, smiling.

"Damned right," he rumbled. "So . . . now my entire company has seen you pose nude. I think the best PR spin we can do to counterbalance that situation might be to get engaged."

"Not the entire company," Pepper automatically protested, although a nagging sense of fatality within her agreed with Tony. Then she processed the rest of his words and sat up, astonished. "What?"

"Affianced, betrothed, that sort of thing," Tony smirked at her. "My reputation is shaky at times, and landing a babe who poses nude with a cheetah can only bring me up you know."

"That's an enormous step, Tony! We're just starting to re-build Stark Industries, and . . . and . . . "she trailed off as he took her left hand, kissing her knuckles.

"We DO enormous things around here, Miss Potts; it's what makes this company great. I want you with me, so please, please, say yes. My heart's been damaged enough," he murmured, eyes soulfully locked on hers.

Pepper couldn't breathe for a long moment.

She surged up and kissed him, and he smiled against her mouth. When Pepper pulled back, her face was wet, but she couldn't be sure she was the only one who'd teared up.

"All right. Will that be all, Mr. Stark?" She impishly asked, settling down against his chest once more.

This was good, and right, and Pepper relaxed until he spoke.

"Actually no," Tony chuckled. "See, now I have this idea for next year. A really cool idea, and one that will really shake things up. See, I'm thinking about doing a couples calendar . . . ."

END