Chapter 26

"Morning," he murmured, kissing the back of her neck. She smiled, burying her face into the pillow as the morning light slipped through the slats in the blinds.

"Kids awake yet?" she whispered.

"Nope," he murmured, kissing her shoulder as she pulled her arm back to stroke the back of his head.

"Mmm," she hummed, rolling onto her back and biting her lip as she looked up into his sleepy eyes. "Time is it?"

"'Bout seven thirty."

"Oh, they let us sleep in today?"

"Guess they knew we needed a little time, huh?" Daryl asked, as Carol smiled up at him and leaned up for a kiss. She pulled back and brushed a strand of hair from his eyes.

"Ok, I need up."

"You ain't gotta get up yet."

"Yes I do," she laughed.

"Why?" He was almost pouting, and Carol laughed, gently pushing on his shoulders.

"I need to pee," she whispered. Daryl snorted then, burying his face against his neck for a moment, kissing her there, moving his hand down her stomach and between her legs. "I really have to pee."

"C'mon, just…"

"Nope!" she laughed, pushing on his shoulders and successfully wrenching herself away from him. She pulled on her robe and dashed to the bathroom. Daryl chuckled, grabbing his boxers off the floor and sliding them on.

He padded down the hallway, and just as he reached the bathroom, he heard the shower cut on and the toilet flush. He gently tapped with his knuckles, and when he didn't get a response, he pushed the door open. He could see her bare backside through the glass of the shower door, and he felt himself getting hard just thinking about being buried inside of her. He dropped his boxers then, kicking them to the side next to her robe on the floor.

He opened the shower door, and she paused for a moment but didn't turn around. His hands were on her hips now, and he stepped in behind her, kissing the back of her neck as the door shut behind him.

"Sneaky," she whispered, as he leaned into her, letting the hot water shower onto them both.

"Just savin' water," he offered, nibbling at her earlobe.

"Oh, so you're just being eco-friendly?"

"Hmm."

"Okay, I can get on board with that," she chuckled, as his hands moved up her waist, cupping her breasts. "You're playing with fire, Dixon."

"Know it," he mumbled, pressing his erection into the cleft of her ass. She sucked in a sharp breath, arching back against him as his hand disappeared between her legs, stroking her as the hot water rained down on them both. "This ok?"

"Oh yeah," she panted. "Keep going."

"Yeah?"

"Mmm," she moaned, gripping the handrail and leaning forward as Daryl kissed the back of her neck again, trailing his lips and tongue down her spine and back up until she was trembling in his hands. "Daryl…" She was panting, sighing as his hands worked her over, and then he was moving to his knees, and she turned, gripping the handrail with her other hand. She looked down at him, and he looked up at her, hands moving up to her hips, worshiping her skin with each gentle caress. She cried out softly when he buried his face between her legs, teasing her with his tongue, lapping at her center like a man starved. Her feet slipped against the shower floor, and she gripped the rail tighter, as Daryl draped one of her legs over his shoulders, opening her up to him. "Oh fuck. Oh…fuck." Her other hand snaked through his hair, gripping the back of his head as her blood boiled beneath the surface of her sensitive skin.

He took his time with her, slow and sensual, hands roaming over her ass and back and the backs of her thighs. She was shaking, standing there as he worshiped her, and when she cried out his name once more, he pulled back, replacing his tongue with his hand, stroking her until she was bracing herself against the shower wall, riding out the high of her climax. He stood then, watching as her eyes slowly fluttered open, barely giving her any time to recover before his lips were on hers, and he was draping her leg over his hip sliding his cock between her dripping folds. He knew they couldn't, knew they shouldn't, but fuck, it would have been so easy to slide home, no barrier between them.

"Better move this back to the bedroom," he growled against her ear, gasping as her hand curled around the base of his cock. "Fuck!" His mouth was on hers again, and her tongue slid against his, and everything was spinning for a moment as the water continued to rain down on them, hot and stinging.

"Daryl," she panted, rubbing her thumb along the head of his dick, squeezing him from base to tip again, as he thrust into her hand.

"Fuck, Carol," he panted, burying his face against her chest, gathering up his composure as her hand worked him over. "I…fuck…I need ya."

"It's ok," she panted. "It's ok." She was whimpering now, and she let go of him, bracing herself between him and the wall, her hands tight on his shoulders. "It's ok."

"You sure?" he groaned, pushing into her. "You sure?"

"Mmm," she nodded. "I trust you."

"Yeah?"

"Please," she panted. "Daryl…"

"A'right," he murmured, kissing her again, pulling her closer, pulling her leg tighter around his hips. He pushed into her then, quick and hard, and she cried out against his lips, smiling when he stilled and pulled back to look at her.

"God," she panted. "You…oh…" She closed her eyes then, biting into the inside of her bottom lip as he began to thrust up into her, stretching her in that delicious, addictive way. The feeling of him inside of her, nothing between them, it was a new. She knew it probably wasn't responsible, it probably wasn't smart, but hell if it didn't fell like fucking heaven.

Her knees were shaking, and she was losing control, each upward thrust rubbing his pelvis against her clit, making her whine against his mouth, hungry for more. And when he let go of her leg and slid out of her, she gasped at the sensation, opening her eyes to see his staring back at her, dark, hungry for her. His hands were on her hips then, spinning her around, and she bit her bottom lip, smiling as she bent over, grabbing the hand rail and feeling him hard against her backside. She spread her legs for him, feeling him sliding against her, and then he was pushing home again, and she couldn't stop the scream that left her lips when he was fully inside of her, pulsing inside of her as her walls clenched around him. His hand came down her stomach, between her legs, playing with her clit as he began to move, his hips slapping against her ass with each thrust, arm desperately curling around her middle to keep him grounded.

She moved with him, bringing her free hand back to caress his neck as he pressed kisses to her shoulder. Her hand trailed down her own body, down between her breasts, clasping over his hand that was pressed firmly at her stomach. She cried out, clenching around him as he pushed her over the edge again, and she leaned forward, pressing her forehead against the shower wall, crying out as Daryl's movements became faster, a little harder.

She felt him let go, felt him slump over her as he came, biting back his moans as the world spun around them. She sighed then, and he slid out of her, turning her to face him, meeting her with a sweet kiss and pulling her flush against him.

"You ok?" he murmured, as she panted against his mouth.

"Yeah," she whispered. "Yeah." She kissed him again, softly, slowly, and when she pulled back, the water began to run cool. "You wanna wash my back before we both freeze?" Daryl snorted then, and they fell into one another, laughing as the water went cold.

...

Carol blushed as she sat on the edge of the bed and tied her shoes. Daryl was staring at her as he did up the button on his jeans. She couldn't help but admire his body, the way the water dripped off of his hair and slid down his chest, getting caught in the fine smattering of chest hair. She bit her lip, feeling a rush of heat that was almost infuriating, because there was nothing they could do about it now, because the kids would be waking soon.

Daryl tugged a T-shirt over his head and moved to sit next to Carol on the bed.

"You sure you're ok?"

"Yeah," she promised. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You realize what that was, right?" Daryl asked. Carol blushed again.

"I'm not worried. I trust you," she promised. "And I know I'm clean."

"I know I am, too, but that ain't everything we got to worry about."

"I know," Carol promised. "I was married to Ed for five years and never got pregnant. I'm not even sure I can, honestly. But I went on the pill a couple of weeks ago."

"Oh," Daryl said slowly. "You didn't say anything?"

"No, I just…it's kind of a weird conversation to have, isn't it? Honey, I'm on the pill, so if you run out of condoms, it's ok. That's…" She shook her head. "That's a big step, though."

"Yeah," Daryl agreed. "If you ain't ready, we can go back to…"

"I liked it," she admitted. Her face felt hot, and she saw the blush creep onto his cheeks as well.

"So, we're not using condoms anymore?"

"We're not seeing other people."

"Hell no," Daryl muttered.

"We're together. We're staying at each other's places. I mean, we're good."

"We're good," he agreed.

"Ok," Carol said slowly, feeling her nerves slowly calming.

"Ok," he grunted, clearing his throat and tugging on his boots. "You hungry?"

"Starving," she chuckled, as Daryl leaned over to kiss her again, his breath minty fresh.

"C'mon. I'll make us some breakfast, and then we'll hit the trail."