I could have sworn I already posted this chapter. Apologies from your friendly fanfiction flake. Hope you enjoy it, even if it's super late, and thanks for reading!

Chapter Thirty Five

When Daryl woke up he was a little bit disoriented. At first he couldn't figure out where his clothes had gone. Then he realized that there was a warm body pressed against his and it felt pretty damn naked too. Naked from the waist down anyway.

He rolled over onto his back and felt around on the floor until he felt his pants. As soon as he had them Carol rolled over, her bare thigh sliding over his and her head sliding onto his chest. He could tell by her even breathing that she was still asleep. He dropped his pants and folded his arm under his head. He stared up at the ceiling and let the events from last night tumble through his mind.

He was in serious trouble.

He'd fallen flat on his ass for this woman. He hadn't meant to. He hadn't even wanted to. He never even thought he had it in him to fall if he was being completely honest with himself. He knew when it had happened. A lot of people couldn't pinpoint the exact moment something like that happened but he could. He could recall the moment easily. The moment she went from nothing to everything in ten seconds flat. It was when her hand had gripped his that night they watched Atlanta burn.

He had watched as the flames lit up the sky and he had never felt more alone, more afraid, in his whole life. And then suddenly she was right there next to him, her hand in his, and he hadn't felt so alone anymore. There had still been a point to his life. In that moment, even though they were basically stranger, he knew that he would keep himself alive and he would keep pushing because she needed him to. And that was when it had happened. After that it was only a matter of time before he couldn't deny it anymore.

They needed to get up. They had to block off the entrance to the drive and they needed to talk about what should be done about Richard and his son taking off like they did. He hated not knowing if they were thinking about retaliating. He remembered what the man had said in the car when they had gone on their run. He was calculating and he hadn't gotten to where he was in the old world by being stupid. He was also the type that wasn't used to getting his toes stepped on. He was used to having power. Here he had had none. Daryl had a feeling that they would see the man and the kid again. Right now the only thing Daryl and the others could count on was the fact that there was a good chance the man and the boy would die out there. And if they didn't then it would take them a while to gather up enough people that would be willing to come up here and fight. At least they had time before the real worrying would start.

She mumbled something and then looked up, her eyes still heavy with sleep. "Morning," she half whispered, her voice hoarse. She rested her chin on his chest, watching him closely.

"Mornin'," he grumbled right back.

She narrowed her eyes, studying him closely and not moving.

"What?" He asked, forcing himself not to squirm under her scrutiny.

"I'm looking for something," she said, keeping her eyes on his.

He sighed. "Well, if you ain't found it yet, I doubt you're going to. Maybe you should look somewhere else. What are you lookin' for?"

"Regret," she deadpanned.

He scowled, shaking his head. "I regret you wakin' up and fuckin' up my good mood. That's about it."

She grinned. "Have I ruined your morning?"

He nodded, keeping his eyes narrowed on hers. After they had gone into the shack last night they were at it again before they could even make it to the bed. They couldn't have been asleep for more than four hours but already, he wanted her again. He'd never woken up, naked, with a woman that he knew wanted him just as bad. Hell, he had never woken up naked with a woman in his life.

She smiled and then her lips pressed against his chest. He still watched her, waiting to see what she wanted to do. "I guess we should get to work, huh?"

He nodded and then grinned when she slid over him. His hands shot out, catching her hips before she could get up. She sat up then, bracing her hands on his chest. One eyebrow shot up when he ran his hands down her thighs and then back up to her hips.

"Last night you said we needed to get an early start and get that driveway blocked off," she said, fighting a smile.

"Yeah, we'll get to that." His voice was low, rough and he felt her tremble slightly.

She bit her lip and then raised up on her knees. His breath was coming faster, anticipation causing the grip he had on her to tighten. His eyes flicked down as she lowered herself onto him slowly. He clenched his jaw and forced himself to stay still and let her go at her own pace. But it was painfully slow. Her hips rolled over him fluidly and his breath stuttered out when he met her eyes again.

He sat up quickly, locking his arms around her and turning so he could put his feet on the floor. Her nails dug into his shoulders and her lips pressed against his throat, his jaw, and then finally met his. If it was physically possible he could spend the rest of his life with her like this. In here there were no worries. There were no dead wanting to rip them apart. No dangerous men out for revenge. No insecurities, no pain, no fear. Just her.

He felt like he wasn't close enough to her and that didn't make any sense because they were pretty much as close as humanly possibly. He cursed himself for not taking her shirt off before this. The material between them was too much. He ran his hands up her back, his blunt nails dragging over the silken skin there, eliciting a gasp from her. They both moved slow, their movements deliberate and calculated. They weren't racing to an end. That was how it had been both times last night. Now was different.

She whispered his name and then her hands slid up, cupping his neck, her lips softening on his. He felt it building. The heat from her body enveloping him and causing a growl to crawl up his throat. She deepened the kiss, the only indication that she was right there on the brink. Her breath hitched, she tore her mouth away from his and buried her face into the crook of his neck.

One hard thrust was the only push he needed to join her. He growled out a curse and kept moving until he knew that she was finished. He realized then that that was important and that was strange. He'd never cared before her. He'd make it a point to get off and then get out as fast as he could.

Man, he'd been a real shit stick.

He leaned back on his elbows and she sat up, running her hands over his chest. She was a toucher. She was always touching him and he didn't mind. More than that, he wanted it. She grinned down at him and shook her head.

"What?" he asked.

She shrugged. "You surprise me, that's all."

He quirked a brow. "What the hell are you talkin' about?"

She shrugged and the slid off of him, reaching down to scoop up her pants. He grabbed his and followed suit. "I thought, if this ever happened, that you would be a lot... rougher."

He snorted and shoved his feet in his boots. "Sorry to disappoint."

She laughed. "Trust me, it was a pleasant surprise. Especially when I woke up to find that you weren't glaring at me."

He shook his head. "I ain't that damn bad."

She met his eyes. "It doesn't take much to set you off. You've yelled at me many times since we've been up here." She had a mischievous gleam in her eye.

"So. You're a big girl. You can handle it."

Suddenly she was right in front of him, her arms around his neck. He grunted when she kissed him quickly. "I can handle it," she said, pulling back with a grin. "Now that I know that under all that hard exterior is a man that..." she shook her head and tried to step around him but he grabbed her hand.

"A man that what?" He asked, eyes narrowed on her.

"A man that's very sweet on the inside and shows it in bed."

He felt heat rise from his neck all the way to his face and he slipped his shirt over his head to buy some time. He glared at her as he shouldered his bow but she didn't look very intimidated. They headed towards the cabin in silence. He had no intentions of acting like they were some kind of couple once they got in there. For one, he didn't know if that was what they were and he sure as fuck wasn't going to ask her. And for two, Merle. He would torment him even more than he had been and he didn't want to deal with that. And June would fuss over them and he would hate that just as much.

What sucked was, pretending like nothing was going on was going to be hard. He already wanted to touch her and he couldn't do that in the cabin in front of everyone else. Before they made it all the way to the front of the cabin he stopped abruptly and shoved her gently against the wall. She smiled, her eyes bright as she wound her arms around his neck. He kissed her hard, keeping himself pressed right up against her.

"I'm not going to be getting any of this once we go back inside, am I?" She asked once he finally pulled his face away.

He shook his head. "You've met Merle. No chance in hell am I gonna deal with that."

"So, I'm like you're dirty little secret?" She raised one brow at him.

He scowled. "No! That ain't how it is and you know it."

"But you won't touch me in front of your brother?"

"Are you gonna touch me in front of Sophia?" He countered, easing her away from the wall.

She bit her lip and then shook her head.

"So now who's the dirty secret?" He asked.

"You are." She grinned. "Actually, that makes this a lot more fun."

He shook his head and forced himself not to smile at that.