Chapter 39: Thankful

Carol's fingers twisted and tugged the cotton bed sheets. She was rounding third toward her fourth orgasm, and he hadn't even fucked her yet. When his tongue flicked over her clit again, she bucked against his chin, and he chuckled. The vibration alone was enough to send her closer to the edge.

"Daryl, please," she panted. "Please. Oh God." She bit her lip and arched her back, and moments later, she shuddered with a powerful orgasm, and he came up for air, licking his lips in a way that always drove her crazy.

He crawled up to press kisses along her neck and jaw line, and when he kissed her, she tasted herself against his lips and tongue. A moan fell from her lips, and her fingers lazily trailed patterns down his back and over his ass as he reached to grab the condom off of the bedside table. Carol teased him by nipping and sucking at his neck, and he nearly dropped the slippery condom before he rolled it onto his dick. Carol giggled at his fumble, and Daryl growled, burying his face against her neck when he finally rolled it over his dick. He spread her legs and lined up before pushing in nice and slow. She cried out, squeezing her eyes shut and clenching her thighs around his hips. No matter how wet and aroused she was, his size always made her wince a little when he pushed in. But he was still for a moment, waiting for her to give him a little nod to go ahead, and when she finally did, he began to move, and he kissed her again.

Every nerve in Carol's body felt like it was on fire, and as his hands and mouth caressed her and loved her, she whispered soft words against his lips. He took his time with her, rocking his hips against hers in a gentle rhythm, relishing the way she felt so tight around him, the way her walls fluttered and pulsed around him with each stroke.

Each breath was quick and raspy against his ear, and he nuzzled his nose against her cheek before pressing a tender kiss to her lips. She muted her cries against his lips until he broke away to press kisses down her throat and over her chest. She sighed, biting her bottom lip and throwing her head back when he tugged a nipple between his teeth.

He took his time, a desperate attempt to make it last as long as possible. As much as they both liked it hard and fast, slow and steady was just as thrilling and often left them both weak in the knees.

When her nails bit into his shoulders, and she let out a shuddering gasp, he buried his face against her neck and braced his arms against the mattress. Her walls clenched and fluttered around him, and she cried out against his chest until he finally couldn't hold on any longer.

Carol let out a slow breath when Daryl pulled out of her and collapsed with a bounce on the bed beside her. She grinned and brought her hand over to caress his shoulder, and he turned his head against the pillow to look at her. His skin was warm and damp with sweat, and he grinned sleepily at her through his shaggy hair. Carol reached up and pushed the hair from his face, and she leaned in to press her lips against his forehead.

"Morning," she grinned. Daryl snorted, and Carol let out a little laugh. "Gotta say that's the best wakeup call I've ever had."

"Really?" Daryl asked, raising an eyebrow and rolling onto his side to face her. "Best not tell me that or else I'm gonna have to try to best myself next time."

"Oh, by all means," Carol giggled, leaning into kiss him. Daryl groaned softly, rolling onto his back and tugging Carol on top of him. She straddled his hips and fell into the kiss, letting her hands tease and caress his chest and stomach.

A creak from the hallway stopped Daryl in his tracks. He went rigid beneath her, and not in a good way. Carol paused and pulled back from the kiss.

"What's wrong?"

"You hear that?"

"What?"

"I think Sophia's awake." Carol glanced at the clock.

"It's five in the morning. She'll be asleep at least for another two hours," Carol insisted.

"I heard somethin'."

"Houses make noise. Probably the heat kicking on. It's getting colder, you know." Daryl sighed and leaned his head back on the pillow, and Carol knew the moment was over. She grinned at him and kissed the tip of his nose. "You're adorable."

"Stop," he blushed. Carol grinned and pulled herself off of him, grabbing her bathrobe from where it was draped over the foot of the bed. She pulled it over herself and stepped out of the room. Daryl tugged the covers up over himself lest little eyes were waiting to peer into the room. Carol, however, shut the door, and he heard her feet retreating down the hall. Minutes later, she returned and flashed Daryl a little grin.

"She's still out cold."

"Shit," Daryl muttered. "I blew it."

"That's okay." She shut the door and shrugged her bathrobe back off. Daryl watched the way her hips moved as she stepped across the room, the way her breasts bounced and swayed with each step. His gaze traveled down to the apex of her thighs. He was already starting to get hard again just thinking about how fucking good she tasted.

He'd been orally fixated for a long time. Smoking, biting his nails, all that kind of shit. He'd done oral on women before, but he'd never experienced anything like he did when he was with Carol. He loved the way she rocked her hips against his face, the way her back curved and the way her chest heaved with labored breaths when she got close to her orgasm. Hearing her moans and feeling her body respond to his touches was his favorite thing in the world. He couldn't get enough of her.

"Where you going?" he asked, as she started pulling her socks and underwear out of her dresser drawer. Carol peeked over her shoulder and flashed him a smile.

"I need a shower. I have to start cooking."

"Thought we weren't eatin' 'til four."

"We're not, but Thanksgiving's kind of an all-day cooking thing." She watched him pick at a loose string on the quilt. She stopped what she was doing and came around to sit on the bed. She reached out to him, sliding her hand up his bare chest. "You haven't done this before."

"When I was real little, maybe two or three, I remember standin' in front of the oven watchin' the turkey bake. Pressed my nose up against the glass, and my mama came and scooped me up and told me I'd bake my nose if I wasn't careful." A little smile quirked at the corner of his mouth.

"None of your foster families ever did Thanksgiving?" Carol asked gently.

"Nah. Not really. I mean, one year we ordered pizza, 'cause my foster dad burnt the turkey. Another year, another family, we had Thanksgiving at a hospital cafeteria, 'cause my foster mom worked there and got a discount." Carol's shoulders slumped, and her lower lip poked out. "Me and Lucy would go to her dad's sometimes, but her dad was always three sheets to the wind 'fore we even showed up, and we'd just sit around watching him stumble over shit all night."

"I'm sorry, Daryl." He shrugged.

"So, what do you do on Thanksgiving?" he asked.

"Well," Carol said with a little smile, "I guess it started when I lived with my grandmother. We always got up really early and got the turkey in the oven and started baking the desserts. When the pies were cooling, we'd start peeling potatoes and watch the parade on TV."

"Sounds like a good time."

"It was," Carol said with a little smile. "And when I got married and Sophia came along, it was usually just me and Rick, the kids, and sometimes even Lori would join us if she wasn't at her parents' house. I think this is the first year I've ever cooked for a bunch of people. I hope I do it right."

"I'll help," Daryl offered.

"Yeah?"

"Sure. Don't know how to cook, but you can point me in the right direction. I'll help ya get it done."

"You're sweet," Carol smiled. She leaned in to kiss him, and he reached up to stroke the back of her neck gently with his fingertips. He leaned his forehead against hers.

"Feels like this is the first year I got a family of my own, and I'm thankful for that." Carol smiled and kissed him again.

"You do have a family of your own," Carol murmured, gently pushing back on his shoulders and crawling over him to straddle him.

"Yeah?" he asked, gripping her hips as she smiled down at him sweetly.

"Yeah," she grinned. "I'm yours and you're mine. This is our family's first Thanksgiving. The first of many." Daryl smiled up at her, and his fingers flexed against her hips.

"You're mine?"

"Mmmhmm."

"This mine?" he asked, leaning up to kiss her collarbone.

"Yeah," she chuckled, letting him pull her down. He flipped her on her back, and she giggled when he buried his face against her neck.

"This mine?" he asked, licking a trail down her throat and sucking at the hollow.

"Oh, yeah," she whispered.

"These?" he murmured, bringing one hand up to caress her breast as he pressed and open-mouthed kiss to the other, teasing her nipple with his teeth and tongue.

"Fuck," she panted. "Daryl…"

"And this?" He flatted his hand between her legs, gently stroking her soaking folds until she was squirming on the bed under him. She nodded her head, and Daryl pressed a soft kiss to her mouth again.

"I'm yours," he whispered between kisses. "And you're mine?" He pulled back and watched her eyelids flutter open. She brought her hand to his chest and managed a coy smile before she nodded.

"I'm yours. Every little bit of me," she whispered. "Now come here." A chuckle fell from Daryl's lips, and he nodded his head. Without words, he kissed her breathless and made sure he showed her just how thankful he was to have her.

Author's Note: Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know your thoughts!