The chilly January wind drying the thin layer of sweat on her skin made Carol shiver, her heart was still racing, her body and her mind worn out and tired in the best way possible.

"You okay?"

Daryl's raspy voice in her ear and his calloused but gentle fingers trailing a path over her lower abdomen to her hip till they came to a stop on her pubic mound, made her heart beat even faster and despite the aftershocks of her orgasm still pulsating through her body she wanted to feel him inside her again, needed to feel his arms wrapped around her.

She guided his hand lower while her other hand started stroking his length, trying to let him know he did everything right.

"Round two?" she breathed against his neck as his finger delved into her folds and gathered up some of the wetness from their previous lovemaking and used it to draw lazy circles around her clit.

"You in a rush?" he chuckled, "We got all night, don't have ta be back anytime soon..."

The people in their communities knew that they were on a supply run together, as they'd done many times before.

What they didn't know was that those runs, which often lasted up to a week, sometimes led them to this remote, rustic but cozy cabin around 25 miles away from the Kingdom, before they went back home.

The first night they spent there, they'd been seeking shelter from a storm. They found a bottle of whiskey and shared it while she told him about an argument she and Ezekiel had gotten into because he thought she was spending too much time with Daryl.

Daryl comforted her, one thing led to another and eventually they did end up in bed together…

That was 5 months ago, they'd gone on numerous supply runs since then and despite trying to avoid it after that initial mishap, they couldn't stay apart for very long.

Every time she wanted to talk to her husband about what she'd done, she remembered how he'd accused her of being unfaithful before anything even happened between her and Daryl. Ever since he'd found out about Carol secretly visiting Daryl for years without telling him, he'd been unreasonably jealous.

She tensed and it wasn't because of what his fingers were doing to her.

"What's wrong?"

She shook her head and wordlessly climbed on top of him, hugging him as close as possible the side of her face pressed to his chest.

"Sorry...Didn't wanna make ya sad," he whispered, soothingly running his hands over her back.

"It's not your fault, I just...Sometimes I forget that I shouldn't be here...And I feel good, this feels so good. Until I remember... Then I feel like Ed was right all along when he-"

"Hey, don't say that! That fucker never was right about shit!"

When another shiver ran through her body, Daryl reached for the thick, dark red throw blanket which had somehow found its way crumpled up next to him on the bed, and covered them both with it before his hands resumed their place on the silky soft skin on her back. He couldn't see her face but her erratic breathing pattern told him she was crying.

"Carol...this is eating ya up inside...Maybe we should stop-"

"I'm going to talk to him when l get back to the kingdom." her voice was shaky but determined and the weight of her words made his breath hitch.

"Don't fuck up your marriage because of me...Ya know it's not worth it."

At this Carol lifted her head to look him in the eye.

"Not worth it? This isn't just the easy way to scratch an itch to me," Carol's voice turned into a sad whisper, hit by the realization that she might've misunderstood his feelings for her all along, "...Is that all it is for you?" she pulled away but before she got too far, Daryl's arms wrapped around, her holding her close.

"'Course not, I love you...But what happens if you break up with him, what about your boy?"

There, he'd said it. Quick and almost hidden in between his question but he'd finally admitted what he'd been too afraid to tell her all those years.

"I've told you things between Ezekiel and me have been tense long before we...started seeing each other like this...And Henry's hardly a little boy anymore, he'll understand. I'm still his mom, nothing's going to change that..."

Daryl nodded, if that's what she wanted to do, he'd gladly accept and support her decision.

"We'll figure something out," he told her reassuringly.

They always did, no matter what obstacle life threw at them, they always got through it. Found each other, against all odds. Their bond never breaking.

She dreaded the conversation she was going to have with Ezekiel but she knew she should've done it a long time ago, sometimes she wondered why she agreed to marry him in the first place. Sure, he wasn't abusive like Ed but since when was that a good enough reason to get married?! Especially when she knew deep down she fell in love with Daryl the moment he went out there and looked for Sophia, all those years ago.

They were always close and at some point, she was sure their relationship was going somewhere until one tragedy followed the next and the time just never seemed right for them. And then this little boy, who reminded her so much of her own daughter, came along and she wanted to protect him, couldn't risk losing him.

In the past 5 years, she'd done everything she could to help him grow into the independent, clever, strong young man he was today and she was so proud of him.

They were just laying there for a while, in comfortable silence, letting everything that had been said sink in, his fingers still drawing gentle patterns on her back.

"I love you too, you know..." she said and gave him the sweetest little smile before kissing his chest right above where his heart fluttered in his ribcage, her heart beating just as wildly.

"Ya smell like pumpkin pie." he noticed when he kissed the top her head.

Carol chuckled at his unexpected observation, "Nabila taught herself how to make soap, pumpkin pie spice is my favorite."

"Mhm ya smell good enough to eat" he grinned and surprised her by suddenly gripping her waist and flipping them over without a warning.

He loved the sweet sound of her laughter and the way she looked up at him now, breathless and flushed.

"What are you doing?" she giggled and brushed his bangs behind his ears so she could look him in the eyes.

Daryl flashed her a devilish grin before he lowered his head to her breast and circled her nipple with his tongue, keeping the touch light and teasing.

"Oh, now you're ready for round 2, huh?" she breathed as he gave her other rosy nipple the same attention.

"I just told ya I wanted to eat ya, didn't I?" he chuckled, which earned him a wide-eyed look of surprise.

"Now? After we've had sex?!... You really don't have to-"

"I don't mind, if you don't" he shrugged and closed his lips around her nipple again.

Carol thought about it for a moment, as much as his distracting tongue and his wandering hands allowed her to, and almost felt ashamed for it but it turned her on beyond belief.

When she bit her lip and quickly nodded, he crawled down her body in a flash, peppering her belly with kisses,

She gasped when he lifted her legs onto his shoulders and started lightly blowing onto her heated flesh; God, he loved seeing her like this, naked and trembling, wantonly spread open just for him.

"Please..." she whimpered and Daryl knew exactly what she needed.

He licked her once, from her opening, up to her little bundle of nerves, before he slid his tongue into her as deep as he could.

Carol's hips arched off the bed, both of her hands buried in his hair, she was pretty quiet during sex most of the times, a remnant of her time with Ed, but the way Daryl was holding her hips down while he fucked her with his tongue, drove her wild.

He knew it was childish but if his mouth hadn't been busy, he would've had the biggest gloating smile on his face, as her reaction earlier made it seem like her 'husband' was too squeamish to do this for her; Which was a shame because she seemed to enjoy this even more than usual.

He replaced his tongue with two of his fingers, sliding them easily into her, exploring and massaging her slippery walls as he started licking and sucking her sensitive little nub until she took hold of the sheets and gripped them so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

Her breathy moans and whimpers, as well as the way she clenched around his fingers, told him she was close.

Without changing the pace he added a third finger and within seconds he pushed her over the edge.

Carol was still breathing hard when he slowly crawled back up to lay beside her, his fingers still gently stroking her.

When she opened her eyes again he was lounging next to her, with a smug grin, naked, completely shameless and absolutely perfect to her.

"You're really into this, huh?" He looked her right in the eyes when he brought his fingers to his mouth and nonchalantly licked them clean.

She embarrassedly ran a hand over her face but there was still a little smile playing on her lips. Daryl leaned closer and kissed her hard and deep yet unbelievably tender.

"Hey, don't be embarrassed, it's real hot, I like it," he whispered against her lips.

He really loved learning new things about her, whether it was in the passionate moments when he found out new ways to make her gasp and moan or in those quiet moments afterward when they were wrapped in each other's arms and talked in a hushed tone.

Daryl caught Carol's soft hand on her way over his abs and linked their fingers together.

Her brows furrowed, "Is something wrong?"

He lifted their connected hands up to his lips and kissed her knuckles.

"Nah, I'm just tired, ya wore my ass out."

The way they were laying, facing one another, the fire in the hearth burning low and the moon shining through the curtains, she could see the smirk on his face.

Being with Daryl was comfortable, it was easy, she never had to worry about him playing mind games, he never tried to manipulate her, or talk her into doing anything she didn't really want to do.

He made her feel safe and loved, made her heart flutter in a way it only did when she was with him; She felt like a teenager in love, she wanted him, desired him, couldn't get enough of him.

„Good night…I love ya." Daryl whispered sleepily while brushing a strand of silvery hair behind her ear.

„Night, love you too." she leaned in for one last goodnight kiss before snuggling up to him and falling asleep.

They completed each other and this was going to be the start of a new chapter in their lives.