The Wolf You Feed

Chapter 34

Rowan sat on the edge of the thin mattress. Her arms wrapped around her knees as she hugged them to her body. She tried not to think about the last man that had been held capitve in the same space. She could almost still see him there if she squinted her eyes just right. She made herself stop. Jesus was not Derek.

Sensing the change in her emotional state, Tank moved towards the woman and nudged his giant head under her arm. Rowan tilted her head, pressing her forehead to his. The fur between Tank's eyes was soft and silky, a different texture from the rest of his body. The fishy smell of the lake still clung to him, diguising his normal musky dog scents. He licked Rowan and wet her cheek, pressing his warm muzzle against the skin of her neck. After a few pets he resumed his watchful stance at her side.

Rowan stared at the unconcious man lying on the mattress next to her. She concentrated on his aura, trying as she had in the brief time she had spent with him near the stolen truck to get a feel for the type of man that he was. His head injury and his unconcious state had dulled his color. But it had not made him unreadable. His aura was a sea of violet with a sprinkling of orange and green. The combination was unusual, which was part of the reason she had trouble deciding what to make of Jesus when he had approached them on the road.

Reaching down, Rowan picked up one of the man's hands and sandwiced it between her own. She closed her eyes and tried to let his energy flow through her.

"I'm almost done," she said, speaking quietly to Daryl. He hadn't spoken but he was hovering in the doorway of the room, eager to get her home and changed into dry clothes. Eager to get her alone so that he could finally release the strong emotions that came with nearly losing her to Poseidon earlier that day. She could taste his impatience like a peppery spice on the tip of her tounge. Daryl's presence was engulfing and in her eagerness to lose herself in his touch, for a moment the hand between Rowan's was just a hand again.

She didn't will those feelings away. Rowan tucked them away, just for a moment, and concentrated again on the man lying next to her. She took a long deep breath, feeling only the sensitive skin of her palm where Jesus's hand was touching hers. If he was dangerous, she couldn't sense it. The tightening of her nipples came on her like a flash grenade. Her visions were never something Rowan had been able to understand or control. But this one was more clear than most. She saw Morgan there. Sitting on the bed near Jesus's head. He was smiling.

"Yer shiverin'," Daryl said, unable to stay silent any longer. Rowan allowed her husband to help her up from the floor. Jesus's hand slipped from her grasp and landed on the mattress next to him with a soft thud. "Come on Roe," Daryl encouraged as he steered her towards the door, "Let's go home."

Lily and Morgan greeted them at the door. Morgan jumped up, unable to contain his excitement at having all his favorite friends arrive home at the same time. Tank barged between Rowan and the other dog, snapping and growling at him until the large white beast rolled on his back and bared his belly. Rowan shook her head and tried not to laugh. She had noticed that as her pregnancy progressed, Tank had been becoming more and more protective over her. It didn't help that Daryl was encouraging and rewarding the large dog's aggressive behavior. Even now he was petting Tank and telling him that he did a good job keeping Morgan from jumping on her. Rowan was starting to get a little worried about what the dog's reaction would be once her baby came. She appreciated the extra protection but she was also afraid someone who meant well or just wanted a peek at her infant might end up on the wrong side of the dog's powerful jaws.

Daryl disappeared into the kitchen. All three dogs went chasing after him with their giant tails wagging. Rowan could hear the rustle of a large dog food bag and then the clink of the dried commercial food being dumped into the large metal bowls that served as dog food dishes. Daryl popped back out of the kitchen a few moments later. Taking her hand in his he headed straight for the stairs, pulling Rowan along behind him. He had her still soaking wet messenger bag over his shoulder and it slapped against his hip as he mounted the steps. Pulling her inside their bedroom, Daryl shut and locked the door behind them. Rowan smiled. It was Daryl's habit to lock the door. But only if he planned on having some sort of private relations with her. The sound of the lock clicking into place had become a strange sort of aphrodisiac for her. The metallic clink immediately made her feel a delicious clench deep inside her body.

Rowan's pregnancy made everything in her life feel exaggerated. When she was sad she was desperately miserable. When she was happy she was so full of joy that she couldn't contain herself. And when she saw Daryl stripping off his damp shirt she felt like she might die if she couldn't have him right that moment. Pulling off her own shirt, Rowan closed the distance between them and pressed her body against his. The hard round swell of her belly smashed between them and she twisted her body left and right, trying to get at an angle where she could get her hips flush against his.

Her hands skimmed over the bare skin of his back as his lips found hers. Rowan kissed him with all the passion she felt inside. Her tounge parted his lips and dipped inside to taste him. His arms were around her, holding her close to him. He kissed her back, moaning his pleasant surprise at how aggressive she had suddenly become. Then he pulled back, putting his hands on her hips to keep her from lunging at him again.

"Yer ice cold," he said, his concern for her showing plainly in his voice. Rowan's skin was almost always warm to the touch. At the moment even her lips were cold when he kissed her and her creamy skin looked paler than normal under her freckles. The hard points of her nipples poked at the thin damp fabric of her bra. Her normally dark eyes had turned to liquid night with her desire for him. Daryl toed off his boots and lifted her up into his arms, hugging her close as he headed for the bathroom.

Setting Rowan down, Daryl turned and twisted the knob that made the shower kick on. He stuck his hand under the water as he adjusted the temperature, making it as hot as possible without being scalding. Though this process only took him a few seconds, when he turned back around Rowan was already naked. She was standing next to the sink, twisting a long lock of her hair between her fingers as her eyes roamed over him. Without clothes on her belly looked more pronounced. It was firm and perfectly round, like someone had cut a basketball in half and placed it under her skin. Her hips and breasts were fuller and he knew if she turned around he would see that the twin dimples on her lower back were slightly deeper.

She bit at her lower lip, moving forward to help Daryl rid himself of the rest of his clothes. Once his pants were unzipped she lost interest in getting them off and suddenly became far more eager to get at what was inside of them. The heavy romance of the moment was lost when she closed down around his erection with her freezing cold hands. Daryl gave a little yelp of surprise as he jerked back from her.

"Yer hands are cold," he complained. Rowan giggled out her apology as she eased herself under the stream of hot water, making sure to lift her hands up and place them directly under the spray to warm them. Seeing the water slide down over her naked body was enough cause an instant recovery in Daryl's groin. He quickly shed what remained of his clothing and stepped into the shower, pulling the curtain closed behind him.

The steam was curling up around them as it began to fill the room. Rowan slid to the side, making room for him to get under the shower next to her. Their kisses often started off soft and gentle leading up to something more substantial. But not this time. As soon as his lips touched hers, Daryl felt Rowan's lips part. She wanted as much of him inside her as she could get, starting with his tounge. When he slid it past her full lips she sucked at the tip of it. Her water warmed hands travelled down the length of his body, pausing on the firm round curve of his ass before slipping between their wet bodies.

"Better?," she asked. One of her slim hands was wrapped around the throbbing base of him while she reached under his erection with the other to fondle the parts of him that most women tended to neglect. Daryl's only response to her question was to moan softly into her mouth and deepen their kiss. He closed his eyes and held her close, one arm around her waist and the other fondling her breasts. When he realized he was already teetering on the verge of his climax Daryl caught Rowan by her wrists and pulled her arms up to wrap them around his neck.

"Jus' slow it down fer a second," he cautioned her. Rowan left her hands where he had put them but she didn't stop kissing him. Leaving a burning trail, she kissed a path from the sensitive spot behind his ear down his jawline leading to his parted lips. She moved her hips, lifting up on one pointed toe before trying to twist the other way. Her stomach felt like it had doubled in size since the last time they made love and her frustration at not being able to get his penis where she wanted it was becoming obvious. She felt like she was trying to have sex with a giant roadblock between her and the object of her desire.

Since Daryl was usually the one that was overeager to posess her, he found himself enjoying Rowan's frustration more than he thought he would. He leaned down to nibble at the sweet spot he knew was there on the cords of her neck. If they were having sex and he was afraid he might get off before she did, all he had to do was nibble or kiss on that spot and it would be enough to send her over the edge. Rowan groaned low in her throat. The noise was a new one for her and it reminded Daryl a bit of an angry kitten. She grabbed for his hand and pushed it between her legs, guiding one of his thick fingers inside her. He had been playing a little teasing game with her but as soon as he felt how wet the insides of her were Daryl started panting and moaning along with her.

He slipped one finger as deep inside her as it would go before adding a second one. Her arms went back up around his neck and she returned her lips to his. It only took three rough pumps of his fingers into her before she was collapsing in his arms. Pulling his hand out from between them, Daryl used his arms to hold her up. Rowan rested her head on his shoulder. Love you so much. He wasn't sure if she had spoken the words out loud or not. When they were intimate together thoughts and feelings seemed to flow between them with little effort.

"Love you too," he mumbled.

The hot steam in the bathroom was starting to get oppressive. So Daryl snaked one hand down and twisted the water off. He pulled the curtain back and stepped out, keeping ahold of Rowan while she did the same since she still didn't look too steady on her feet yet. Grabbing the colorful robe Rowan kept on the back of the bathroom door, Daryl draped it around her shoulders before taking a towel from the closet and wrapped it around his waist. Rowan pulled her robe shut and grabbed another towel for her hair. She pulled her wet braids loose and twisted the towel around her head like a turban.

Daryl opened the door, letting a large cloud of steam puff out into the bedroom. The cooler air came rushing at them and Rowan darted past him, heading straight for the bed to dive under the covers. Daryl followed her, shedding his towel on the floor next to the bed. He pulled her close, enjoying the shared body heat between them. Kissing her warm lips led him to thoughts of how wet and tight her insides had felt wrapped around his fingers. Their roles from under the hot spray of the water reversed. He became the hunter and she his prey as he reached under the heavy blankets to pull her robe open.

After some awkward rolling and a fumble of limbs and other assorted body parts Daryl ended up his back with his knees bent as Rowan lowered herself down onto his thick length. She used her hand to guide him inside before leaning slightly forward and bracing her hands against his chest. The moment he was buried inside her all the fear and despair he had felt watching that truck sink down under the water with Rowan inside it came rushing back. He grasped her hips, pulling her up and slightly onto her knees until he had her positioned where he wanted her.

Daryl lowered his hips to the mattress, pulling himself almost completely out of her before pushing back in. He felt her insides quiver in response to being so completely filled. Her tattooed fingers bent slightly, her nails digging into the flesh of his chest. Repeating the same motion, he pushed into her again even harder and faster than the time before. Her breasts bounced and the towel that was wrapped around her hair came flopping down onto the pillow next to his head. Rowan never had a problem speaking up if he did something that didn't feel good to her. It didn't happen often but it had happened enough times that he knew he ought to feel secure in the fact that if she wasn't complaining then he wasn't hurting her. Still he felt the same new fear invading his thoughts. Don't be too rough. You might hurt the baby.

"Don't stop," she sighed. This left Daryl wondering if he had spoken his fears out loud or if she had just guessed what he was thinking when he paused in hesitation before entering her again. To reinforce her desires and ease Daryl's worry she pushed down with her hips, her ass slapping hard against the meat of his thighs as she took his entire length in one fluid motion. Once he was deep inside her warm folds Rowan leaned down and planted a loving kiss on his lips, lifing back up to smile down at him. That was all the encouragement he needed. Daryl grabbed her hips, placing Rowan back where he wanted her to be. Then he began thrusting into her. Her cries got louder the harder and faster he went. But it was feeling her come undone from the inside out that put him over the edge. Her walls squeezed down so tight as she convulsed around him that he had no idea how what he was doing wasn't causing her intense pain. Daryl pushed her hips down onto his as he spilled himself inside her. He held her there for just a moment longer, enjoying the warmth and closeness of her body.

Rowan couldn't keep her body upright for one more second. Her arms felt like noodles and she flopped down onto the pillows. The warmth of Daryl's body was gone. But only for a moment. He cracked open the bedroom door so the dogs could come and go as they please before diving back under the covers with her.

"I wish my belly wasn't so big," Rowan mumbled as she rolled onto her side so Daryl could snuggle in behind her. His hand slid down to rest on the swollen belly in question.

"I like yer belly," he assured her, "Like what's inside of it too." Rowan had never been the type of woman that seemed insecure about her looks. But he just assumed that being pregnant had made her more sensitive than normal.

"I do too," she murmured. She reached down and placed her hand on top of Daryl's, guiding him to the part of her belly where he might be able to feel the baby inside her moving. "I just don't like how it gets in the way when we're anakitchi-sun." Rowan allowed her accent to thicken up as she spoke the sioux word for love making. Daryl chuckled, his breath warm against the skin of her back. He liked when she talked to him in the other language she knew, especially if it was dirty talk.

"Jus' going ta have ta get a little more creative," he suggested. His hand pressed in gently and Rowan could feel him holding his breath behind her as he felt little flutters of movement under her skin. The baby already knew and loved her father. Rowan could tell because her daughter always moved when Daryl had his hand on her stomach. Rowan smiled and snuggled a little closer, humming her appreciation to Daryl's suggestion about getting more creative in their lovemaking. The idea appealed to her. While sex between them was never boring, they had gotten to know the positions and motions that they liked best as a couple and tended to repeat them in the same pleasurable pattern. A little more adventure in the bedroom had the potential to be fun and exciting for both of them.

"I felt her again," Daryl gushed. Rowan let her eyes blink shut. She felt perfectly content and full of love. And while the events of the day had been frightening to say the least, she was relieved by the idea that the terrible event that had been predicted by her mother's tarot card had already come to pass. Wrapped safe in Daryl's arms and surrounded by a shining bubble of his love for her and their unborn child, it felt to Rowan in that moment that evil couldn't touch them. The bad event that had been predicted had come to pass and both she and Daryl had survived it. Little did Rowan know that being trapped in a sinking car was only the beginning. The events of that day had set not just her and Daryl but the entire population of Alexandria and everyone they held dear down the beginnings of a dark path that once taken there would be no turning back from.