A/N Thank you all again, you keep me going! This chapter is, well, you'll just have to read it cuz I don't want to give anything away xo
They held hands and slowly walked back to the cabin.
The now cold dinner didn't look too appetizing, but it had been a long and emotional day and they were both starving.
Daryl lightened the mood, "This wine is s'posed to pair really well with cold mashed potatoes and gravy, wanna find out for sure?"
And she smiled at him and answered, "Oh yes please, I've always wanted to try that pairing."
And the wine did seem to help that cold, and pretty nasty, food go down.
They stayed up most of the night drinking wine and talking. She wanted to know all about how Daryl had started his business. This time he was more honest with her. He told her about Dale catching him siphoning gas. And although he didn't go into detail, hell she'd seen the scars he didn't think he needed to, he did tell her a little about what life had been like at home and why he moved into the shop when he was 16, how Dale had taught him the business end of the business, and how he'd ended up buying it from Dale.
"Wow Daryl, you're a really strong person, and you obviously had a huge will to survive and to succeed. What a combination."
He looked down and shrugged his shoulders, as though he was embarrassed. "I don't know 'bout that. I's lucky enough ta get caught stealing by a man who could see through my tough guy attitude. And I was real lucky ta fall into a job I turned out loving. I could easily have ended up a nobody, nuthin'"
"Well I happen to think you're remarkable. Heck, I feel like I haven't done much of anything. I was awkward in school, I didn't seem to fit in with any particular group of kids." Like him, she shrugged her shoulders.
He furrowed his brow, "Did ya get picked on?"
"No, I never had those kinds of problems. I don't think it was the other kids, I think it was just me. I was so shy. I was more comfortable just being at home on the ranch with my horse and my family or playing my guitar. Maybe I became a smart ass to hide my shyness and awkwardness, who knows?" She laughed.
They'd consumed enough wine that the conversation turned to that subject they both had so much apprehension about, the elephant that was always in the room, what would happen at the end of their trip.
Daryl got serious, "I ain't gonna ask ya ta make a decision right now, just want ya ta be thinkin' about it. I want ya ta come home with me ta Georgia. I'd treat ya good Beth, you wouldn't ever have ta worry 'bout that. You could come back ta Wyoming and see yer folks as much as ya wanted," and then he lightened things up a little when he laughed softly and said, "Hell, I'll even buy ya a damn horse if ya want."
And she laughed a little and said, "I'm thinking about it Daryl, I am, but I want to feel sure, for me and for you. Okay?"
And he nodded, chewed that thumb a little and replied, "That's all I'm askin' right now Beth, think about it."
They finally went to bed at 4:00a.m. buzzed and exhausted. Things got a little more passionate than they had been. They were holding each other, rubbing each others backs and kissing like they'd been craving the intimacy. This time when Daryl caressed her breast she didn't tense, she responded with a low moan. He moved his hand down to softly rub her belly and then slid his hand under her shirt, she let out a small gasp and he immediately stopped and whispered, "Sorry." And she put her hand to his cheek and said, "No, don't stop Daryl."
He began to fondle her breasts and slowly lifted the t-shirt over her head. In the moonlight he could see the bruising from her fall, on her arms, abdomen and chest. He assumed her whole body must be bruised. "I'm so sorry ya got hurt Beth, wish I could have done more." And he lightly kissed a few of those bruises.
And she whispered, "You were perfect."
He circled his thumb over her nipples until they were taut, and then started to gently kiss and suck on them. She was responding with low moans and running her fingers through his hair and up and down his back, so he increased the intensity of the touching, then slid his hand down to her bottom and pulled her lower body into his so she could feel his hardness, and he asked her softly, "How far we gonna take this Beth? I don't wanna cross that line if you ain't ready." And he looked in her beautiful eyes and he knew he never wanted anything more.
And as much as she wanted this, she didn't think she could. "I'm sorry Daryl, I want to, but I don't think I can yet."
And he rolled over on his back, and heaved a low sigh, but he had his arm around her shoulders and he pulled her over to him, so that her head rested on his chest, and said, "Don't be sorry Beth, I told ya before it's yer call. If ya ain't ready, ya ain't ready."
"It's not that I don't want to, with you, but my whole body hurts so much and I don't think I can. I don't want it to be too painful. And besides that Daryl, there's the other thing, my monthly thing," She almost whispered.
"Ah shit Beth, I'm so sorry girl. I ain't worried 'bout that monthly thing, but I shoulda thought about the injuries. When I saw all a those bruises, I shoulda worried more for ya," And he bent down and kissed the top of her head.
"You're not mad?" She whispered again.
"No, damn, I want ya ta enjoy it and that ain't gonna happen if yer in pain. Am I disappointed? Hell yeah. But Baby, don't worry 'bout it, I can be patient. I can wait 'til it's right for you."
And again he bent down and kissed the top of her head. "Go ta sleep now Beth, been a long day and night, ya need yer rest ta heal up."
She drifted off, and she continued to sleep through most of the next day and evening. He was relieved, he knew it would help her heal. He gotten them something to eat in the afternoon, she woke briefly and ate a little, then she took one of her pain pills and went back to sleep.
He texted Merle, "Beth had an accident, fell down a 20 foot rise and got busted up pretty good but she's okay. And damn brother, this girl is a hell of a shot with a pistol."
"Glad she's okay brother, and stay outta the line a fire. You bringing her home?"
"Don't know, want to, she ain't decided."
"If she's smart she'll come with you little brother."
Daryl spent the day polishing his bike, getting the saddle bags repacked, and taking walks through the area.
That evening she wanted soup and he walked down to the nearest café, picked her up a large carton to go, and himself a Buffalo burger. She thanked him, took a pain pill, and she was back out. He showered, checked his map, crawled into bed next to her and just held on tight.
The next morning she was up and at 'em, showered and ready to go. She smiled at him, took his hand and gave it a squeeze, "Thanks so much for taking such good care of me Daryl, I guess I really needed that day to heal, just like you said. But I'm feeling so much better now, where are we off to?"
"I thought we'd go check out Devil's Tower and then maybe just head on into South Dakota and stay in Deadwood. It ain't a bad trip, except for veering off a little to see the Tower and again just before we get to Deadwood. It's I-90 all the rest a the way, so it should be fast going, and smooth. We'll make up our lost time. It's only 6:30 now, if we wanted, we could just eat a granola or sumthin', and wait 'til we pulled into Sheridan ta eat breakfast. I'd like ta have a look around there. Sound alright?" He'd been lightly rubbing an open palm up and down her bare arm as he spoke.
"That sounds perfect Daryl, I can wait to eat. I'm excited to get started again. I've always wanted to see Devil's Tower, and I've heard from friends that Deadwood is a fun little town," And she impulsively gave him a hug, which made them both smile.
The travel was easy, mostly open country. The only real town they went through in almost two and a half hours of travel was Greybull, and it was small. There were some steep hills through the Big Horn National Forest, but he liked riding the bike up and down them. They saw plenty of other bikes heading the same way, and quite a few trailers pulling bikes.
They dropped down into Sheridan, it was beautiful, green and wide open horse country. The town's main drag was lined with motorcycles and pick-up trucks. It was obviously a popular stop for folks headed to the rally.
Daryl pulled into a little place called the Silver Spur Café. It sure as hell wasn't anything fancy, but by then they were both plenty hungry and the food did not disappoint.
He reached across the table and rested his hand on hers, "Ya feelin' okay Beth, not getting' too jostled around on the back a the bike?" He was always so concerned about her.
She smiled at him, "No it's just fine. Please don't worry about me. This is such a great trip and I'm having a wonderful time. The country around here is really beautiful, so different than the other side of the mountains. And I feel good, nothing like a day in bed to get well. Thanks again for just letting me rest, it made all the difference."
He smiled back at her thinking, damn she is so sweet and so beautiful.
From Sheridan they continued on I-90 through the small town of Buffalo and the larger coal town of Gillette. Daryl had never seen mining operations like the way they did it in Gillette. He was impressed.
They continued to Moorcroft where they turned off onto highway 14 and took that two lane right to Devil's Tower.
The 5,100 foot tall monolith looked like a giant heavily scarred rock reaching out of the ground. It was nearly flat on top. Daryl had seen it in that old movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, it was where the spaceship loaded all the people aboard.
There were several Indian legends of how the iconic monument had been formed, but he and Beth both liked the Kiowa and Lakota that told of some girls who went out to play and were spotted by several giant bears that began to chase them. The girls climbed atop a rock to try and escape, fell to their knees, and prayed to the Great Spirit to save them. Hearing their prayers, the Great Spirit made the rock rise from the ground towards the heavens so the bears couldn't reach the girls. The bears left deep claw marks in the sides of the rock, which was too steep for them to climb. When the girls reached the sky, they were turned into the star constellation Pleiades.
They took some time to walk around and stretch their legs, enjoying the warm weather and calm of the area. Beth loved the way he took her hand. Her feelings for him continued to grow stronger each day. She knew he was the best of the best, full of concern and kindness. He was gentle but not weak. Not to mention incredibly handsome and sexy. He was everything she'd always wanted in a man, but she still could not see herself going to Georgia. It made her almost panic just to think about it.
It wasn't that she was sure she just going to hate it, everything he'd told her about Georgia and his place there, it sounded perfect. She was afraid though, afraid of the change and afraid of the commitment.
What she'd come to understand about this man was, once he made the commitment, it was going to be forever, and she felt like she couldn't make a promise to him she wasn't sure she could keep. What if she got there and felt she just couldn't stay, for whatever reason, then what? She'd break his heart for sure. It was better if she just didn't go at all and he'd find a woman back in Georgia. There had to be plenty there that would give their right arm to be Daryl Dixon's woman.
Before they got back on the bike he impulsively reached to the back of her head and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her, "I'm so glad you're here with me Beth, I wouldn't have enjoyed all this like I have if you weren't here."
She hugged him back and she was so conflicted, he was so good to her, and she was pretty sure she was in love with him, it just made everything so much harder.
They road through Sundance, which was surrounded by more beautiful horse country, then they crossed the border into South Dakota and the first town they hit was Spearfish. They were seeing more and more bikes, and Daryl was getting excited for the start of the big rally.
He'd gotten them a room for two nights at an historic downtown Deadwood hotel, right on the main drag. He'd spent extra money to get the room with the Jacuzzi. He figured that would help Beth's aching body.
The rooms were just above the hotel's casino and bar/restaurant. They were definitely old school western. All the doors and windows were trimmed in oak, and the furniture, although in great condition, looked like the original furnishings from 1902.
As he figured she would be, Beth was excited about the Jacuzzi tub, "I'll be crawling in there when we get back tonight," she smiled at him. "Thank you Daryl, this is all just so beautiful."
After hitting a few of the local drinking holes, Mustang Sally's, The Midnight Star, and a couple of casinos, they ended up at Saloon #10. It seemed well populated with bikers headed to Sturgis. There were some good people, but also a few less than savory types. Daryl wasn't sure he thought it was a good place to bring Beth, but she told him not to worry, she could handle it.
And it did turn out okay, in fact they had a lot of fun talking and trading travel stories with these kindred spirits all headed to Sturgis.
They decided to bypass a restaurant dinner, and eat off the bar menu.
They returned to the room happy, full and ready for a good night's sleep.
She let him use the bathroom first, and then she filled the tub. She slid down in the almost too hot water and turned on the jets. It felt so good, and so relaxing, and her mind wandered to thoughts of Daryl. She couldn't stop thinking about Daryl and how perfect he was, and how sad she would be to say goodbye to him.
She came back in the bedroom with just a towel wrapped around her. He was in the bed reading his book, which he quickly stuffed in his backpack beside the bed when he saw her. She switched the bedside lamp to dim, dropped the towel and crawled in bed next to him.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and started kissing him intensely, he responded at first, but then pulled back just a little. "Beth?" she knew what he was asking.
"Yes Daryl, I want this with you." She smiled shyly.
He was stunned, he hadn't expected this even a little bit, but he certainly wasn't complaining.
He knew she was inexperienced, and he wanted to take his time with her. He began kissing her with a new passion, and was thrilled when she responded in kind. He moved to her neck and she moaned when he sucked the soft skin there, while slowly and softly running his fingers up and down her arm and then through her hair. He slowly slid that hand down to her breast while continuing to kiss her neck and lips. He gently pulled at her hardened nipples, and she responded by wrapping a leg around him and making soft whimpering noises. Then he moved his mouth to suck on one breast as his hand fondled the other. He could tell she was liking it all and her arousal aroused him.
He began to slide his hand lower, but then paused, looked in her eyes and asked, "Ya sure Baby? We can stop if ya want."
"I don't want you to stop Daryl. There's no one I would want to have be my first but you." And he kissed her more passionately than ever before as he slid a hand down. He started slow, just softly rubbing her curls and the insides of her thighs, then he slowly slid his finger in her, she gasped at first, but then as he moved his finger inside her, subtly increasing the pressure and pace, she whispered, "Oh that feels so good Daryl."
With that encouragement he began to gently rub her clit with his thumb, with his finger still moving in her pussy, while using his mouth to suck hungrily on her breast. Again, she whispered to him, "Oh Daryl, oh it feels o good, I, I…" and then she came.
And he held her tightly and whispered to her, "Feel good Baby?"
"Oh my gawd Daryl, yes, so good."
And he smiled as he reached to get a condom from his backpack. While he opened the package she quietly asked, "Do you just carry those around with you?"
He smiled, "I's hoping sooner or later you'd say yes, and I wanted to be sure I could protect ya."
He entered her with his finger to again peak her arousal, while sucking intently on her breast. When he knew she was ready he slowly began to enter her, when he hit that spot she gasped loudly, and he paused his movement for just a moment, but continued to play with her nipples and kiss her neck. By her responsiveness, he knew she ready for more. He slowly began to pump within her, going deeper and harder as she continued to react with a passion of her own. Her fingers were in his hair, then rubbing his chest and his back, while she softly whispered his name. And he quietly said to her, "Oh Beth Baby, you feel so good, so good Baby." And as he worked himself inside her, he moved his fingers to her clit and began to rub it with just a little pressure and when she started to react he increased the speed of his pumping, and also the pressure on her clit and she came with more intensity than the first time. He slowed his movement in her, giving her that moment to fully enjoy her orgasm, and then he quickened his pace and soon he could hold back no more and his own orgasm was unleashed.
He wrapped his arms around her waist, and rolled onto his back taking her with him. He looked up to her face with a smile and said, "Ya happy Beth, was it okay?"
"No Daryl, it wasn't just okay, it was the best thing I ever felt," and she leaned down and kissed him.
He kissed her deeply, then got up and went in the bathroom for a minute. He'd disposed of his condom, but also brought back a warm washcloth, and he cleaned her womanhood while he kissed her lips.
They fell asleep in each others arms with him thinking she cared for him and she might really come back to Georgia, and her thinking how badly it was going to hurt them both when she didn't go to Georgia with him.
A/N Well, I didn't see all of that coming either. Don't ask me what's wrong with Beth, I'd be going with him in a heartbeat. I hope you enjoyed. Thank you so much for reading, please review xo
