As we hit the two week mark until Walking Dead's return, let's get back to the Caryl smut with some Brooks and Dunn! YAY!
Disclaimer: Not mine!
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Chapter Thirty-Seven: Ain't Nothing 'Bout You
Once I thought that love was something I could never do
Never knew that I could feel this much
But this yearning in the deep part of my heart for you
Is more than a reaction to your touch
It's a perfect passion
And I can't get enough
-Brooks and Dunn, Ain't Nothing 'Bout You
"Yes, Daryl. Yes…"
The soft, breathy sighs emerging from Carol's lips twisted Daryl Dixon's heart in a way he had never imagined possible. Just two years ago, he had been firmly in the mindset that he would be alone forever. What woman in her right mind would want to tie herself down to a Dixon for the rest of her life? He had resigned himself to a lifetime of hard work interrupted intermediately by the touch of a paid professional or some barfly too drunk to know better or care. He didn't have it in his blood to love someone for the long haul, or at least Merle had beat the thought into his head.
No one would want him. No one could ever need him or love him. No one but Merle.
Then the world ended and he met a woman with soft blue eyes and a sadness so heavy, he felt compelled to bear some of the burden for her. At the beginning, she was a little mouse, bruised and terrified of every sound and noise. After the loss of her daughter, she transformed into a person capable of defending and protecting those around her, and her care extended to him.
"Daryl…"
His hand settled over her hip and gripped it tightly before covering her lips with his. This amazing creature beneath him defied everything that should have defined her, from the abuse she suffered at the hands of her husband to the loss of her daughter to having someone like him fall in love with her.
He hesitated for just the briefest of moments at the last thought.
Love?
The way you look, the way you laugh
The way you love with all you have
There ain't nothing 'bout you
That don't do something for me
The way you kiss, the way you cry
The way you move when you walk by
There ain't nothing 'bout you
That don't do something for me
Her eyes flew open when he hesitated. "Daryl?"
He shook his head lightly, his damp hair falling across his forehead. "S'kay," he breathed, his entire body shuddering from the effort he took to hold himself back.
To his surprise, she reached up and cradled his face in her small hands. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as he slid his hand under the small of her back and moved deeper into her. Being with her was like coming to a home he had never known. He wasn't a romantic by any stretch, but for her, he wanted to be anything and everything she had ever wanted but never had. He wanted to be the kind of man who knew exactly what to say and how to react in every situation because she deserved nothing less than the best after the hell she had suffered through and survived.
Her body trembled beneath his and she cried out again, muffling the sound by lifting her head and burying it in his shoulder. He kissed her head and rocked against her before collapsing into her open arms.
The things she did to him!
Panting hard and lacking any real strength, he shifted his body just enough so that he wasn't smothering her. Then he nuzzled his face into her neck and draped a possessive arm over her and closed his eyes.
"Daryl?"
He grunted softly and held onto her more tightly in response.
"I… I can't lose you." Her voice was so soft, so fragile that it scared him.
Tomorrow wasn't a promise. Anything could happen. Either of them could be ripped apart by the outside world. But in that moment, lying tangled together on his perch, he could promise her anything.
"Ain't gonna lose me."
She let out a relieved sigh and nestled closer to him, clearly comforted by his rough words. He patted her back and listened as her breathing evened out and she slept in his arms.
"Never gonna let you go."
In my life, I've been hammered by some heavy blows
That never knocked me off my feet
All you gotta do is smile at me and down I go
And baby, it's no mystery
Why I surrender
Girl, you've got everything
The End.