Chapter 10

Her hands were in his hair the second his mouth closed over her nipple and his teeth grazed her. She groaned, arching upward and pushing herself further into his mouth. His hand moved between her legs, stroking her slick heat and eliciting a whimper from her as she bit her lip and threw her head back on the pillow. He lay against her, skin to skin, his clothes but a distant memory in a pile on the floor. He began to move down her body, and she gasped when his hot tongue circled her belly button.

"Please," she whimpered. "Daryl…" Hs kissed her stomach, moving further, his hands spreading her thighs and his tongue darting out to circle her clit. She bit back her cries, and her hips lunged forward, knocking him in the chin. He chuckled and tasted her again, his mouth and fingers torturing her in the most delicious way.

Her heart thundered in her chest, and she looked down at him, seeing his eyes fixed on hers as she tasted her, and that was all it took to push her over the edge. She cried out, and Daryl placed his hand on her stomach to steady her as she trembled and came. He kissed the inside of her thigh before moving back up, settling his hips against hers and stroking her damp cheep.

Her breathing slowed a little, and her eyes fluttered open to stare up into his deep, blue ones. She smiled tiredly, and he kissed her. She moaned at the taste of herself on his lips, bringing her arms around his shoulders when she felt his erection pressing against her.

"So you wanted to see me?" she teased, leaning in to gently pull his lower lip with her teeth. He grunted when her hand moved between them and wrapped around his dick.

"Fuck," he grunted, burying his head against her shoulder. She grinned and stroked him, feeling him pulse in her hands.

"I missed you too," she murmured. He looked up at her, fire in his eyes, and she kissed him again. He buried his moans against her lips, and when she let go of his dick, he grunted and rolled off of her long enough to grab his jeans off the floor. He fished out a small square packet, opened it and rolled the condom into place. He looked at her, his cheeks flushed, and she gave him a little smile, caressing the side of his face. He settled down against her again, his hips pressed against hers, his dick pushing against her belly. "Tell me what you want, Daryl."

"You," he breathed, his lips lingering a breath apart from hers. She smiled, her eyes clouding with tears momentarily. "All of you."

"You've got me. I'm yours," she whispered, as he pressed his lips against hers in a searing, claiming kiss.

"Mine," he growled against her mouth, his hand caressing her hip and hooking behind her knee to bring her leg around his waist. He sunk into her, and she whimpered as he stretched her, her breaths hot against his mouth. "Fuck, Carol."

"Yeah," she murmured, her tongue dipping into his mouth, her hands moving down his back and over his ass as he thrust into her. Her walls stretched and spasmed as he moved inside of her, and the sounds coming out of her throat were almost enough to drive him over the edge.

They moved together, wrapped in one another, her taking him in, him taking her to places she'd only ever dreamed of, and when they came together, he collapsed against her, his body heavy and warm against hers, and her hands trembled as she dragged them up his back and into his shaggy hair.

Hey lay against her, his forehead pressed against her chest for the longest time, willing the breath back into his body as her hands moved over him. When he finally rolled off of her and got rid of the condom, he settled back against the bed and pulled her into his arms. She kissed his chest lovingly, her finger tracing lazy circles around his nipple. He moaned softly and squeezed her shoulder.

Neither of them spoke for several minutes, and finally, rational thought came back to Daryl. He cleared his throat and gave her shoulder a little nudge. She looked up at him.

"Hmm?" she asked, her eyelids heavy with exhaustion and satisfaction.

"You're in a hotel."

"Yeah," Carol said, a soft grin playing across her features. "I am."

"What's that mean?" he asked. She sat up in the bed, pulling the bed sheet up, tucking it under her arms to cover herself. Daryl sat up too, his head swimming from what they'd just done and the anticipation of what she was about to tell him.

Carol smiled and leaned in to kiss him, leaning her forehead against his for a moment. His hands were on her shoulders, and he brought her back for another tender kiss. When they finally broke apart, Carol stroked the side of his face.

"I did it, Daryl," she murmured. "I left Ed." She saw the hope behind his eyes as a happy but tentative smile slowly appeared on his face. "I told him everything. I told him about you. I told him I didn't love him the way I loved him when we got married. I just…I did it, Daryl. I told him it's over, and I told him everything. You showed me what it's like to feel happy again. You made me realize I could leave Ed and that everything would be ok." She saw the worry crease his brow, and she took his hand in hers.

"Carol, I don't wanna be the only reason you leave your husband. I don't want it to be like that between us."

"I left my husband a long time ago," she murmured, placing her hand over her heart. "In every way but one. Meeting you was like waking up from a bad dream. You gave me something I haven't had for a very long time." He raised an eyebrow, and she grinned. "Not that. Okay, well, that, but not just that." She blushed. "You made me feel wanted. You made me feel…" Her heart fluttered as her brain screamed at her not to say it, but it was too late. "Loved." His head snapped up, and he looked into her eyes. He saw the flush of red move into her cheeks, and he squeezed her hands.

"You are loved," he murmured, his own cheeks reddening. He leaned in and kissed her gently, hearing her gasp against his mouth. She moaned as he deepened the kiss, gently easing her back down on the bed. His heart was hammering against his chest like crazy, and he couldn't calm the jumble of nerves tangling up inside of him. When he pulled back, he saw the sparkle of tears in her eyes, and he brushed his thumb over her cheek. "I know we're gettin' to know each other. I know we ain't known each other very long, but I do, Carol." She felt his hands trembling against her shoulders, and she took a shaky breath and sniffled, holding back the tears. "I love you, Carol."

"I love you," she whispered, closing her eyes as he leaned in to kiss her once again. They made love again, taking their time, gently exploring one another as if it was the first time.

"Move in with me." The words came out of nowhere, and Carol flinched in surprise.

"What?"

"Move in with me," Daryl repeated, as he stood by the bed pulling his clothes on and getting ready to go back to work.

"Daryl," she said quietly. "I don't know. I just left Ed. I can't…I need time on my own." He sat down on the bed to pull his boots on, and Carol crawled over toward him, still completely naked, and she snaked her arms under his, wrapping herself around him, her chest pressed against his back. "Besides, you've got your daughter, and maybe it's not the best idea for me to be there yet. You need time with her."

"I got all the time in the world," he murmured, turning his head and capturing her lips. She let the kiss linger for a moment before pulling back.

"I would love to wake up with you every morning," she murmured, her hands stroking his chest. "But I need some time to myself. I need time to pick up whatever's left of who I used to be and figure out exactly who I am now."

"You're Carol," he said with a grin. "My Carol."

"You gonna mark your territory by peeing on me or something?" she asked with a laugh.

"If you're into that kinda thing," he teased. She playfully slapped his shoulder, and he turned, easing her back down onto the mattress, crawling over her, fully clothed. She moaned as he suckled her neck, his hand moving up her ribs and over her breast, giving her a gentle squeeze. Finally, he pulled back just a little.

"Don't know who you used to be. Don't know what kinda woman you were with Ed, but I know you now. You're beautiful. You got a fire inside you try and hold back 'til you can't no more. You feel so much, and sometimes ya can't handle it. You love with everything ya got, even if it tears you up." Carol choked back a sob when he kissed her, and he pulled back again. "I know leavin' Ed was somethin' ya had to do on your own."

"I know everybody's going to look at me like I'm the one that broke up our marriage," Carol said quietly. "Ed's the kinda guy that'll tell people I'm the one who hurt him, and that I'm some heartless bitch who cheated on her husband because she couldn't wait for him to finish grieving his daughter." Daryl squeezed her shoulder.

"But I know that ain't you. Anybody knows you, and they oughta know that ain't you." Carol sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

"Maybe it is."

"Stop," he urged. "Don't make it sound like that."

"I'm…I mean, maybe…what if that is how he sees it? What if…"

"You don't got nothin' to be sorry about, alright? If Ed's any kind of man, he oughta be able to own up to what he did wrong." Carol sighed and relaxed a little, letting him kiss her again. The alarm on his cell phone went off, and he groaned.

"Damn," he grumbled, pulling himself off of her. "I could call work and tell 'em I ain't comin' back in today."

"Don't do that," Carol said with a shake of her head, sitting up and pulling the sheet around herself again.

"Alright," he said uncertainly. "Can ya promise me somethin'?"

"I can try," she offered.

"Promise me you'll stay with me tonight. At my house."

"Daryl…"

"C'mon. I got a big, comfortable bed. It's gotta be better than this one."

"Oh, I dunno, we made it work today, didn't we?" she teased.

"Stop," he grunted, a grin sneaking onto his lips. "Tell me you'll stay with me tonight." Carol chewed her lip nervously before nodding her head a little.

"Alright, Daryl. I'll stay with you tonight."