When Scott pulled up in front of the diner, you placed a hand on Clint's arm to stop him before he got out. "You should know that this is my family in a way. They are more than a little overprotective and it kind of shifted into super mode when I quit. More because I told them my new boyfriend wanted me to focus on school which he was paying for. Just thought I should warn you."

His lips twitched and something mischievous twinkled in his eyes. "Don't be a creeper. Got it."

You rolled your eyes and shoved him. He laughed as he climbed out and offered you hand. You let him help you out of the car but were surprised when he wrapped an arm around your waist to keep you close to him. As you neared the door, you planted your feet, suddenly terrified. "Maybe we should go somewhere else."

Clint stopped and looked down at you with a furrow in his brow. After a moment, he said, "Why did you bring me here?"

"Because you'll love their food," you answered with no hesitation. "And because I don't want them thinking you're going to lock me up in a closet or something."

"Both are perfectly valid reasons for this visit, so relax. Besides, I'm starving so let's go."

With that he put more pressure on your hip and pulled you along with him to the door. Once the bell announced your presence, escape was no longer an option. Curtis looked up at the sound, grinning when he saw you. The smile faded as his gaze shifted from you to Clint.

His oldest son Matt was wiping down the counter and turned to follow his dad's glare. His own expression was soon an exact mirror of Curtis's. You weren't about to let them even start. "Maria, tell your men to quit scowling at my date."

"What are you doing here, baby?" came the woman's familiar voice, immediately putting you at ease. When she emerged from the kitchen her smile slipped for less than half a second before it was firmly back in place. She snapped her dish towel at both men as she passed by. "Back to work, you two."

She pulled you into a hug. "It is so good to see you."

You laughed as you hugged her back. "You literally saw me two days ago."

She huffed. "It's different now. There used to be a schedule so I knew exactly how long it would be between seeing you. Now, who knows?" Her hands moved through the air in an exaggerated gesture and you shook your head. "And who's this?" She smiled at Clint as though she hadn't been pointedly avoiding him up until that point.

"Everyone, this is Clint. Clint this is Maria, Curtis and Matt."

"And Josh!" came from the direction of the kitchen and your friend stuck his head out to wave.

Clint extended his hand to Maria. She took it but didn't shake. Instead, she just held it as she looked him over. "And Clint is who exactly?"

"Seriously?" you muttered loud enough for her to shoot a frown in your direction.

"Clint is the man fortunate enough to be dating beautiful here," he said.

"Good answer," Marie said, finally shaking his hand. She turned to you. "He's smart and pretty."

Your face heated and you groaned. "Thanks, Maria."

She nodded once. "You're welcome."

Clint was chuckling and you elbowed him gently in the side. "You wouldn't by any chance have any enchiladas, would you?" You couldn't keep the hope from your voice. Maria's enchiladas were an off-menu specialty so you never knew when they'd be available but they were your absolute favorite food on the planet.

She smiled and turned to head back to the kitchen. "Joshua, eighty-six the enchilada special."

"There's two trays here, ma," he responded.

Maria pushed through the swinging door. "I know what I said child, don't argue with me."

Curtis and Matt watched for another minute before returning to their work. You shook your head and led Clint to your favorite booth. The two of you settled across from each other and you could now see the pure amusement on Clint's face. "I see why you like them."

You shrugged. "It started as a job. A lot of people would have only seen a rich kid rebelling against their father. They know money's not as important family, so they gave me that."

He leaned back in his seat and tapped a finger on the table. "Has Rumlow met them?"

You turned away from him, briefly, embarrassed by what you were about to tell him. You took a breath and turned back. "He met Curtis and Maria once when he offered them money to fire me."

Clint's eyes widened and he licked his lips. "I can imagine how that went over. Of course, Rumlow never was very good at reading a room."

The corner of your mouth curled up in a grudging smile. "Curtis threatened to punch him in the mouth and Maria chased him out with a spatula."

He laughed. "I like these people more by the minute."

Before you could respond, Matt arrived with your food, placing a plate in front of each of you. Your mouth watered at the overfull plate. "Thank you, thank you."

He nodded before nudging you with his hip so you'd scoot over. You frowned but slid you and your plate over. He sat beside you and stared at your date. When Clint just stared back, Matt pointed at his plate. "Go ahead and try it. I'll wait."

Clint's eyes moved between you and the man next to you as he took a bite. His focus quickly shifted to the food as he hummed in pleasure. "Holy shit."

"Right?" you asked with a grin, trying to ignore Matt.

"This might be the best thing I've ever eaten," Clint continued his praises.

"How old are you exactly?" Matt asked, suddenly.

"Mattias Jones," you snapped, which caught the attention of Curtis at the counter.

"I'm just looking out for you, sis."

"Bullshit. You're being an ass. It is none of your business or concern how old he is."

He arched a brow at your tone but wasn't about to give in so easily. "The hell it isn't. You up and quit saying your new man is going to take care of everything and you expect us to just accept that?"

"Yes. That's exactly what I expect."

He snorted.

"That's enough, son." Curtis's deep voice surprised you and you realized he had moved over to the table while you were yelling at Matt.

"I'm just saying what we're all thinking." Your friend's pointed gaze turned back to you. "Does he make you call him 'daddy', too?"

"No. I call him sir," you replied without missing a beat.

There was moment of suspended silence before Curtis's deep laughter filled the room. He dropped his hand on Matt's shoulder. "She got you, boy. Always was quick this one."

Clint cleared his throat drawing the attention of the three of you. His gaze had darkened considerably and stayed locked on Matt. "I appreciate you looking out for my girl. But if you insult her again, we're going to have a problem. Is that understood?" His voice was low and rough.

Matt opened his mouth but Curtis squeezed his shoulder to silence him. "He didn't mean any offense. These two always did poke at each other, but you've been heard."

Clint shifted his eyes up to Curtis and the two exchanged a nod.

Curtis pulled Matt from the booth. "Leave these two alone," he said as he pushed him back toward the counter. "Go refill coffee."

"Sorry."

You shook your head. "He's a grown ass man, Curtis. Not your job to apologize for him, but thanks. Have Maria divide that to go bag she's making into three, would you?"

He nodded as he patted your shoulder and walked away.

You turned back to Clint and your food. The two of you ate in silence for a while until you broke it. "What was that, anyway?"

He glanced up in surprise. "What?"

You gestured toward Matt with your fork. "That subtle threat thing?"

Clint laughed and wiped his mouth with his napkin before leaning back to look you over. "There was nothing subtle about that conversation, sweetheart. He wants to question me, check me out, fine. But he doesn't get to insult you again. And yes, implying you're fucking me for money is an insult."

You glanced around to make certain no one overheard and leaned forward. "That's kind of what I'm doing though, isn't it?"

In a breath his eyes turned cold and his jaw set. His tongue ran along his bottom lip. "It's time to go."

You started to protest and he held up a hand to cut you off. "I don't think you want to have this conversation here. So, say goodbye and I'll meet you at the car." And with that, he was up and gone. Shit.

***

Clint stood beside the car with his arms crossed over his chest as he waited for you. This arrangement wasn't exactly typical but he wouldn't have you thinking of yourself as a whore. You'd try to pass it off as a joke, but he knew you better than that. As you came out of the diner, your steps faltered briefly when you found him waiting for you.

He sidestepped and opened the door for you. You climbed in without looking at him, though you were juggling three brown bags and were a bit distracted. As he climbed in behind you, he found you leaning forward to pass one of the bags to Scott.

"Maria's enchiladas," you told his driver with a grin.

"Yes! Thank you." Obviously Scott had been here before. With you. Irritation spiked through Clint but he shoved it down. Now wasn't the time.

"Just drive until I tell you different," Clint ordered before pushing the button to put the divider up between the front and the back so Scott couldn't hear your conversation.

You put the bags on the floor to the side before shifting in the seat so you were turned toward him. Your hands were folded together in your lap. He looked out the window as he tried to decide how to say what needed to be said without snapping at you.

"Are you angry with me?" Your voice was timid and Clint didn't like it at all.

His head snapped back in your direction. "I think I need to clarify a few things."

You nodded, keeping your gaze locked on your lap.

"I take care of you in exchange for your time and attention. Period. If you believe that makes you a whore, or gives other people permission to call you one, we can end this right here, because that's not what this is."

That got your attention. Your teeth dug into your bottom lip hard enough to bruise. He shoved aside the insane desire he had to kiss it better. That wouldn't really help him get his point across. He shifted his weight in the seat and silently prayed his cock would behave better than it had been lately in your presence. This was important. He needed to know that you understood this.

"I know that, Clint. I really do. I just..." You sighed. "This is new for me, letting someone take care of me." You turned and looked out the window. Clint ran his eyes over you, taking in the sudden tension in your posture. "My dad didn't even know I existed until I was ten years old. He found out when a lawyer contacted him to tell him my mother was dead and he was my only family. He wouldn't even admit it was a possibility until the DNA test came back, but he let me stay with him while we awaited the results."

The more you talked the more you curled into yourself. All Clint wanted to do was reach over and pull you into his lap to comfort you. He crossed his arms over his chest again to help him resist the urge.

You glanced back to him and gave a little smile. "He made certain I knew every time he spent money to get me something I needed. I was ten. I felt guilty as hell, like a burden and made the decision to take care of myself as much as I could. I realize now that he was telling me so I would know he was taking care of me, but that wasn't how I saw it at all."

Clint clenched his teeth and a muscle in his jaw ticked. God, he hated Brock Rumlow.

"It's just hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact you're paying me to spend time with you. Something I would gladly do for free. I don't feel like a whore, I promise. And I know you would never treat me like one or I never would have signed the contract."

Some of the tightness in Clint's shoulders faded with your words. "Good."

You moved closer to him and your smile shifted to something entirely too sultry. He shifted in his seat again and swallowed past the lump in his throat. "I do think we should discuss this tension between us though, don't you?" Your fingers trailed up his arm and his eyes followed them. His heart started to pound and his breathing grew shallow. Your hand found the side of his face and turned his head so your gazes met. "Sir."

Lust swamped him and his mouth gaped ever so slightly. "Fuck me," he muttered before he pulled you to him and crashed his lips into yours. God, you knew every single of his buttons and exactly how to push them. When the hell had this happened and why was he so damn thrilled that it had? His hands pushed into your hair to hold your head at the angle he desired while he fed at your mouth like a hungry man. And he was.

It had been years since he was intimate with someone he shared such an absolute attraction with. His large hands wrapped around your waist and shifted your position so you now straddled his lap. He swallowed the groan that fell from your lips. Your hands buried themselves in his hair and you tugged as you nipped at his lip. Fuck.

He shifted again so you were settled against the bulge in his pants. His cock was rock hard and begging to fill you, but Clint was still in charge and that wasn't happening. At least not tonight. You rolled your hips and he could feel the heat of your core even through all the clothes between the two of you. Dear god. Not tonight, Clint.

The two of you made out like teenagers after prom. As you continued to roll your hips against him, you started to whimper. The sound called to the most primal part of Clint and he began to move with you, making sure his length rubbed against your clit every time the two of you met. You arched your back and let your head fall backward. His arms moved to support you while you trembled in his arms.

"Please, Clint. Oh god. So close."

Pre-cum leaked from him with your words and he was pretty certain he was going to cum in his pants. Then it really would be like Junior prom. He increased his speed and you matched him. In a matter of moments, you were shaking as you came apart in his arms. His name coming from your lips as you did so was enough to have him following you.

His eyes near rolled back in his head as he pushed himself against you, his arms pulling you closer at the same time. Fucking hell. You collapsed against him as you struggled to catch your breath. He held you close and pressed kisses to the top of your head. His mind was trying to catch up with his dick. What the hell had just happened? He never lost control. Not like that. And he'd be surprised if this was normal for you. This connection the two of you had was amazing. And terrifying.

Clint stood on an edge he wasn't sure of and wondered what would happen when he fell. Whatever it was, he was taking you with him.