Chapter 40.

I'm speeding up the posting rate again for a little while. Want to get this finished by Christmas – and we really are not far from the end now, I'm currently writing the finale!

Jemma woke after a short sleep, curled in the warm comfort of Clint's arms and ravenously hungry. Her stomach let out an embarrassing gurgle and she heard Clint's low chuckle in response.

"Guess I better feed you, eh, love?"

"If you want me to have any energy for the rest of the weekend, yes," she stretched languorously, not missing the way Clint stared. "No," she patted away his seeking hand. "Food."

He pouted slightly, sighed and nodded. "All right."

Jemma decided she wanted a shower first, since she felt sticky, and Clint came in with her. She tried to fend him off but he was irresistible, and in the end she let him soap her all over and stroke her to a shuddering climax with his fingers. He refused the return favour, though, saying he preferred to save himself for later, so she got to watch the very sexy show of him soaping himself up again.

"I could watch that all day," Jemma sighed, staring at the soap suds sliding down his sculpted chest.

"You might starve, though," Clint grinned, rinsing off and reaching to turn off the shower at last. "Come on, beautiful girl." He gave her a lingering kiss before handing over a towel.

Clint had ordered Chinese food with JARVIS before they went into the shower, and it was delivered a few minutes later. They sat at the table in the living room, both wearing nothing more than towels, and ate together, Clint occasionally feeding Jemma a bit of something particularly delicious. She was so beautiful sitting there opposite him, her hair damp and curling, her hazel eyes laughing as she delicately took the morsel he offered from his chopsticks.

"I love you," he said suddenly. She swallowed, blinking at him in surprise. "I didn't want you to think that I'm one of those guys who only says that in the bedroom."

"Oh, Clint," Jemma gazed at him lovingly. "I didn't think that." She got up from her chair and rounded the table to him, plopping herself into his lap and winding her arms around his neck as he pushed his own chair back. "I love you too, you know," she kissed him, warm and slow, and smiled at him when the kiss ended, leaning her forehead against his.

"Beautiful, beautiful girl," he murmured. "What did I ever do to deserve you?"

"Well," she pretended to consider. "First you stalked me for years. Then you got yourself assigned to my team, ambushed me with the connivance of my superior officer, and banged me senseless."

"Oh," he grinned, playing along. "That's right, I remember."

"And then you kept on banging me until I lost my head entirely and fell in love with you too." She kissed him again. "Not that I hadn't been crushing on you for years, probably even longer than you noticed me," she confessed. "I remember you coming to collect your Taser arrows from Fitz at the Academy. There you were, so sexy and handsome and broad-shouldered – you were like a wolf among sheep there, and I couldn't stop staring at you. All the girls did. We giggled like silly kids and thought about ways to attract your attention."

"You already had it, sweetheart," Clint murmured, moved by her confession. She hadn't told him that before. "I saw you that day, all sweet and shy. You blushed when I smiled at you."

"I was only nineteen," Jemma defended herself.

"Yeah, which is why I didn't make a move. You blushed every time I smiled at you in the years since, too. Which kept me intrigued."

"I'm a little bit worried," Jemma confessed, "that you'll get bored and want to move on now the chase is over."

His arms tightened around her. "No." It was a flat, firm, emphatic denial that made Jemma feel a bit better. Still, Bobbi had been subtly dripping poison into her ear all week, suggesting that the thrill of the chase was the only thing that interested Clint. Why, after all, would Clint want someone like Jemma when Bobbi was available? The other woman was so stunning, after all, and had so much more in common with Clint than she did.

He didn't like her silence. "Jemma, what is it? I assure you I'm not going to get bored of you. You'll be the one who ends this, if it ends, because I sure won't. I know how damn lucky I am to have you, and I don't plan to throw what we have away, not for anything. Tell me what's bothering you."

When she still didn't say anything, he lifted her chin gently with his fingers, made her look him in the eyes, and finally said; "Bobbi and Lance."

"Are you psychic or something?" Jemma burst out, astonished.

"No, but I know them. Bobbi is insanely good at digging in under someone's skin, planting little seeds of doubt, twisting words and actions to make you believe whatever the hell she wants. And Lance – well, he's still mad with me. If he thought he could take away someone I cared about, he might well try it. Not that he'd hurt you, I don't believe that, but if he could turn you against me – or me against you – he might well do that."

"It's not him so much," Jemma admitted. "He seems quite nice, honestly. He's been kind of flirty but it's almost heavy-handed, and I could tell he was watching me really carefully to see how I'd react. I think he's been testing me, actually, to see how deep my feelings for you are."

Clint's mouth tightened at the revelation that Hunter had been flirting with Jemma. He'd have to ask May to keep an eye on that. "So it's Bobbi who's been the real problem. Why am I not surprised?"

"She's very good at being, well, catty," Jemma murmured. And finally, at Clint's gentle probing, she told him everything she could recall about her talks with the other woman, about Bobbi's seeming friendliness and kindly 'advice'. She'd even been trying to push Jemma at Fitz or Trip; but she and Fitz had long since agreed that was never going to happen and Trip, while he was friendly, also made it clear how much he respected Clint and would never even consider making a move on his girl.

"Bitch," Clint muttered. "Look – I'd say I'll have a talk with her, but the way you feel right now I daresay you don't want me within a hundred miles of her."

Cheeks pink, Jemma nodded. "I know I'm being silly and irrational, but I don't think I can help it when it comes to you."

He smiled at that. "I like you being silly and irrational over me. But listen," he framed her face in both his hands, making her meet his eyes. "I love you, Jemma Simmons. I want you, in my life, in my bed, in all ways. Bobbi Morse repulses me. Let her and Lance play their silly games and ignore anything she says to you about me. If you must listen to either of them, listen to Lance; at least he'll tell you the truth without twisting it, even if he probably will tell stories that don't paint me in a flattering light. You know what I am; I've told you a fair bit of my ugly past, the worst of it anyway, and you haven't flinched from me yet."

"And I never will, no matter what I hear," she promised him. He had indeed told her about some of the genuinely ugly things he'd done, whether as a S.H.I.E.L.D. assassin or the mercenary killer he was before Coulson picked him up. Even about Loki and what he'd done under the mad god's control. His past had shaped him, hardened him, but at the core, Clint was a good man. One who had found a place here with the Avengers that finally allowed him to choose his targets according to his own moral code.

"Just promise me you won't listen to Bobbi. Even if she tells you the truth, she's liable to twist it around. Lance always said she could get you believing black was white and up was down. It's what she does and she's one of the best at it. Don't try confronting her and telling her to back off, she'll use your own feelings against you and make it worse."

"I promise."

"And if she gives you too much trouble, I'll set Natasha on her," Clint grinned suddenly. "Natasha can tie even Bobbi in knots."

Jemma giggled at his suddenly light-hearted tone. "Now that I should like to see!"

"Maybe someday. Right now we need to finish our dinner before it's all cold," he grinned lasciviously, "and then I'm gonna take you back to bed and demonstrate that you have no need to worry about me wanting anyone but you." He grabbed a spring roll from his plate and made her take a bite. "Now eat! You're gonna need your energy."

Laughing, Jemma claimed the rest of the spring roll and returned to her seat. Clint changed the subject and they enjoyed the rest of their meal in comfortable companionship. Afterwards, though, Clint wasted no time in carrying Jemma back to his bed, taking his time about worshipping her body with his hands and mouth, showing her just how much she meant to him, whispering words of love against her skin as she thrashed under him and sobbed out his name.

Finally Clint took his own pleasure, rising above Jemma and burying himself deep within her welcoming heat. He managed to push her on to one final, shattering climax before letting go and pumping himself dry inside her, a low, triumphant roar coming from deep in his chest.

Limp and sated, Jemma fell asleep almost immediately. Clint, though, lay awake for a long time, staring at the ceiling, worrying. He hadn't really said anything about it because he wanted to assuage Jemma's own fears, but what if she was the one who got bored with him? She worried about him with other women, but honestly he rarely had an opportunity to meet any. Not that he would have been interested anyway.

Jemma, on the other hand, was embedded on a team with a number of single, attractive men, at least two of whom showed interest in her – Lance deliberately flirting with her worried him, and he hadn't missed Trip's affectionate glances, even though he knew Trip well enough to be confident the other man would never make a move on Clint's girl, not while he and Jemma were together.

It took a long time for Clint to fall asleep, and several times during the night he woke in a cold sweat from bad dreams of seeing Jemma with other men, Lance, Trip, Fitz, Steve, Sam – even Coulson! Jemma, though, had got used to him waking from nightmares when they lived in London, and each time moved closer, putting her arms around him, comforting him with her touch and her presence even in her sleep.

Next chapter; off to see what Steve and Skye are up to!