Ignoring the thrill of anxiety that coursed through her, Pepper nodded. "The moment," she repeated, mimicking his style. "I'll try to put aside my tendency to over-plan for every eventuality." Pepper smiled weakly.
Leveling a glare at him, she said, "No. There are many parts of both our lives that we share with everyone, and not always by choice. This is no one's business, and knowing is one thing, but they'll want to ask questions and speculate and judge." And when it was over, that was all she'd ever be: not Tony's P.A., or Pepper Potts, but the P.A. he'd fucked, or who slept her way to the top. "I just want this to be about us," she added softly.
Pepper's breath caught in her throat, a quiet gasp as his mouth touched hers. It was an electric reaction to a kiss that was almost chaste, but there was a reason Pepper had established boundaries between them about touching. She teetered for a moment on the precipice of a knee-jerk reaction to pull away, back into her comfort zone, until she remembered the course she'd just committed herself to and instead, carefully leaned in.
Electric had been the right word; he tasted like electricity, and something spicy, like ginger. Under the scent of sweat and ozone-sweet lake, she could smell the workshop and aftershave, and God, was she glad he'd never kissed her before because she never would have stopped. At some point her hand had found its way to his arm; with a soft whimper she pulled her mouth away. Opening darkened eyes she searched for his, curious to see what they looked like.