Kahlan felt like she was melting under Rick's touch. She couldn't recall such gentleness by a man.
She slid her hands across his soft beard to the nape of his neck, plunging her fingers in his curly mane. Their tongues dueled as they pressed into each other.
Rick rolled her onto her back and broke the kiss, leaning back so he could see her face as if to seek permission to go further. Kahlan nodded.
He dipped his head to graze his mouth across her jaw where the scar was, traveling her neck and collarbone, causing her to arch into him. He deftly unbuttoned her shirt and pushed it open so he could blaze a trail down her chest bone.
"Rick," she breathed, her hands reaching for the hem of his T-shirt. He stopped long enough to shuck it before resuming his journey lower with his lips. He lifted his eyes to meet hers as his fingertips ran along her abdomen.
"You sure you want to do this?" Rick huskily asked, palming her bare ribcage before coming to a rest on his forearms as he hovered over her, his nose nearly touching hers.
Kahlan responded by sliding her hands down his bare back and inside the waistband of his jeans as she grinded her hips against his.
They made quick work of the rest of their clothes before he settled against the cradle of her thighs. They locked eyes one more time before he sank into her.
A low moan escaped his lips; she was so tight around him. She closed her eyes, letting out a sigh and wrapping her legs around him.
Rick dropped his head in the crook of her neck and slid his arms around her as he began a rocking rhythm.
"You feel so good," he groaned in her ear. They both knew it wouldn't last long.
Kahlan could feel herself getting close and tried to quiet her whimpering by biting on his shoulder. Rick thrust harder to drive them both over the edge.
When she came, he clenched his jaw and swiftly pulled out. He muffled his shout in her pillow as he spilled his seed on the sheets between her thighs.
He collapsed on her and Kahlan welcomed the weight, ghosting her hands up and down his sides and spine. Her body shook with aftershocks of pleasure.
Rick eventually rolled off her. He gathered her close and she laid her head on his shoulder, tangling her legs with his.
"Well, that's one way to thank a person," Kahlan drowsily commented. She felt Rick smile in her hair.
They both woke to the sound of Daryl clearing his throat, his back to them, blocking the sunlight in the doorway of her cell.
Kahlan was mortified when she realized they were still semi-naked (she still had her bra and open shirt on and his jeans and briefs were tangled around his knees). Rick couldn't stifle laughing out loud despite the awkwardness of the moment.
"Uh, Rick, we was gonna do a run and wanted ta know if ya wanted ta come," Daryl stuttered.
"Give me a minute and I'll meet you at the car," Rick replied. Kahlan kept her face buried in his neck until she heard Daryl leave.
"Lucky for us Daryl won't say anything to anyone, not even Carol," Rick calmly told her as they disengaged limbs. "He is likely to be the most embarrassed out of all three of us."
Kahlan tumbled out of the bunk and shimmied into her jeans while Rick yanked his own up and buckled his belt. He found his T-shirt, pulled it over his head and reached for his boots to drag them on. He then stood and reached for her as she buttoned her shirt.
"Hey," he said, cupping her flushed face. She covered his hands with her own, her hazel eyes meeting his blue ones.
"Be safe," she merely said, not wanting to linger and dwell on what had happened between them. He seemed to understand and briefly brushed her lips with his own then exited her cell without another word.