The Wolf You Feed

Chapter 55

There were still several hours of good daylight left but the shadows were steadily growing longer. The smell of charcoal smoke and good barbecue food filled the air. Daryl was carrying a plate with a few slices of pie and a cookie on it. He had managed to snag the treats from the remainder of the picnic dessert table before everything was gone. Rowan was walking with him, but staying far enough away that Morgan wouldn't be able to jump on Daryl and make him drop their food. She had the dog on a short leash. He was getting a little better at minding her but she was keeping a close eye on him in case he decided to jerk her to the side in an attempt to free himself from his constraints.

They stopped for a moment, allowing Rosita and a small group of children to dash across the street in front of them. The group darted over to hide behind a trellis of bean plants in someone's front yard. Rowan could hear children's high pitched giggles and Rosita trying to quiet them down. They all had scraps of red fabric tied around their foreheads, so Rowan guessed they must be part of Michonne's team.

"Should we warn them they are about to get captured?," Rowan asked. She had seen Aaron and Sam cross the road just a few moments before. They were probably going to circle around the house and tag Rosita's group.

"Hell naw," Daryl scoffed, "I bet a tube of toothpaste on yer dad."

Rowan giggled and shook her head at him. Deanna usually discouraged gambling. But apparently capture the flag was her exception because even she and Reg had been wagering with each other. Her only rule had been that none of the children run off on their own during the game. Deanna found it unlikely that the woman who had escaped her home would capture and kill or hurt one of the town's children. But just in case, until they were sure she was gone or dead, she wanted the kids to be closely supervised by an adult at all times.

Tobin and Carol were sitting out on their front porch, sipping iced tea. Rowan gave them a wave and a smile as she passed. Behind her, she could hear squealing and laughter as the members of one team captured the other. Tobin rose from his porch swing and leaned over the railing, trying to see who had been captured.

"Dang it!," the man muttered. Daryl laughed a little to himself, assuming that Tobin must have bet on Michonne.

Everyone in town was in good spirits. Bellies were full. And now they were all having fun. Daryl hadn't realized it before but now he knew why Deanna allowed a party despite the looming danger of the saviors. People really needed this. They needed to feel human again. To feel like they still had lives worth living. Daryl glanced over at Rowan and Morgan. The large white dog was doing fairly well, trotting alongside Rowan and not pulling or yanking at his leash. Tank was walking on her other side, no leash needed. Lilly had taken off down the street when she heard the children's laughter.

Like Daryl guessed, it hadn't taken Rowan long to fess up as to why she and Eric had been sneaking around inside Jessie's house. Enid suspected that Ron was up to no good. She didn't go to Deanna because she had absolutely no proof. And because she was worried that if he knew they were on to him it would give him ample opportunity to hide or dispose of any evidence of his wrong doings that there was to find. Daryl hadn't been able to think of any way he could help. They were missing a savior hostage. Maybe they could say they were searching everyone's house and then look through Jessie's. But he doubted they would find anything more than the nothing Rowan and Eric had found. All they could really do was just keep a closer eye on Ron and wait for him to slip up. What to do about him when that happened was a problem for another day.

Once they reached the open area towards the back of town, Rowan began to laugh almost immediately. Daryl turned to see what had caught her attention.

"I think that might be cheating," he said, trying to hold in his laughter.

One of the rules of the game that had been agreed on was that the flags had to be placed in plain sight. And the one he could see was plainly visible. It was tied to a collar that had been secured around the neck of Rowan's giant white billy goat. The meanest of the mean when it came to goats. He was the reason that most of the residents of Alexandria refused to go inside the goat enclosure. The animal had two large grey horns that curled back off his head and he was not stingy when it came to using them. If anyone had the bright idea to control him by grabbing his horns he would start in with his teeth, biting or ripping at whatever he could get ahold of. Rowan's father must have been the one to tie the flag onto the animal. He was one of the only people not terrified of the fluffy white beast despite being rammed and bitten multiple times.

Daryl dragged two lounge chairs out from inside Rowan's trailer. He set them up side by side near the fire pit where he and Rowan would have a good view of the goat enclosure. He had been planning to scoop her up and head directly inside for some privacy. But the promise of watching people get chased by goats was too hilarious to pass up. Rowan turned Morgan loose and shooed him away from her. She sat down next to Daryl and they shared their plate of dessert snacks, passing it back and forth. He hadn't grabbed any utensils, so they ate using their fingers.

Rowan dapped the last drop of pie filling on her lower lip before she leaned over to kiss her husband. The kiss was deep and tasted like sugar and sweet cooked fruit. She rose from her chair and moved over to settle herself between Daryl's thighs, her back leaning against his chest. He stroked his hands up her bare arms to her shoulders. His thumbs gently pushed in, rubbing the muscles of her neck in slow circles until he felt her body relax fully against him. He could feel the bliss and contentment radiating off her body. It flowed over him in gentle waves.

He stroked back down, gently massaging the muscles of her arms. When he reached her elbows he pushed inwards, ghosting his calloused hands over her breasts. Her nipples pebbled up instantly under his touch. Rowan tilted body slightly, leaning back and turning her head to kiss him. Like his touch, their kiss was feather light at first. Her full lips parted as he deepened the kiss. Rowan reached behind her back, snaking her hand between their bodies. She tugged at his hard length through the fabric of his pants. Daryl grabbed her wrist, pulling her hand gently away.

"We gotta take this inside," he whispered, "there's fuckin' kids runnin' around every damn where."

Rowan giggled, nipping at his jawline and the cords of his neck a few times before she rose from the chair and pulled Daryl up to follow her. He slung his arm around her shoulders, holding her close as they walked. Outside the doorway to Rowan's trailer was a large round planter. There was purple curly kale growing tall in the center and around the edges were strawberry plants. Most of the fruit had been picked over but Daryl spotted one large firm red berry that had been missed. It was hidden behind a leaf, only the edge of it visible. He reached down and snagged it, snapping it from the vine but leaving the leafy top and a small stem.

"For me?," Rowan teased, her voice high and impish but still full of her desire for him. Daryl shook his head and stretched out his arm, holding the fruit away from her reach. He had grabbed it for her. But now her teasing had given him a much better idea.

Daryl ushered her inside the small trailer, not bothering to latch the door behind them in his hurry to get her onto the bed. She kicked her sandals off and sat on the edge, using her palms to scoot herself back. When she was positioned in the middle of the bed she flopped back onto her pillows. Now that she didn't live in her trailer anymore, people often borrowed it if they needed a little privacy from their housemates. Rowan tucked away a small reminder to find and thank whoever had used the space last. The bed was neatly made up with clean sheets and a quilt on top.

Rowan pulled at her long skirt and bent her knees. The fabric gathered and pooled around her waist, leaving her bare from toe to hip except for a small wispy pair of black panties. She laid back and watched the movement of Daryl's muscles as he undressed. Rowan couldn't remember exactly when the switch happened but at some point he stopped being self conscious about his body in front of her. Now she could stare as long as she liked at all his naked glory and he never seemed to mind. She enjoyed his body even more because it was only for her to see.

When Daryl had rid himself of all his clothes he turned to Rowan. He started at her calves and skimmed up, hooking his fingers under the sides of her panties and whisking them off and away. When he settled his body down next to her, Rowan realized he still had a ripe strawberry in one hand. She giggled and nipped at it.

"No biting," he scolded, trying not to laugh at her antics. Rowan was the only girl he had ever had fun with during sex. She lifted her head and kissed him, breaking his rule by nibbling at his bottom lip before she laid her head back down on the pillow. He brought the strawberry up to her mouth, tracing the outline of her mouth with the tip of the fruit. The hard seeds scraped just slightly against her soft skin. She parted her lips. Her tongue darted out and she licked the side of the fruit, closing her eyes and moving slowly. When she got to the tip she sucked the fruit between her lips and moaned. Daryl shifted his body, his dick practically punching against the smooth flesh of her hip. Her knees were bent and her legs were spread. Her arousal filled the air around them and he felt like he was getting drunk off just the smell of her skin.

Daryl held his breath for a moment. Once he felt in control of his body again he traced the strawberry down the cords of her long neck and between her breasts. Her hard nipples were visible through the thin fabric of her top. Her top had shifted when she scooted back on the bed. The dark pink skin of one nipple was peeking out through the lace that ran along the neckline of her tank top. Daryl pulled at the fabric just slightly, freeing the small hard nub. He stopped himself from sucking it into his mouth and rubbed the strawberry across it instead. Circling her nipple and then barely brushing it with the hard seeds of the fruit. Rowan was digging her heels into the bedspread. Her hips lifted slightly with the arch of her back. Her eyes were closed. Her hair was a wonderful mess around her head. Her lips slightly parted in another low moan. She was truly her most beautiful to him when she was on the edge of finding her pleasure.

Moving his hand lower, Daryl ran the tip of the strawberry along her labia. She was already soaked with her desire. This was a new pregnancy development. Not that Rowan hadn't gotten wet for him before. But what happened to her when she got aroused now was on a whole different level of hot. When she was tired she was exhausted. When she was hungry she was starving. And when she wanted him she was practically gushing.

Once the strawberry was wet with her juices, Daryl started rubbing it back and forth across her clit. Her hands fisted into the bed and the muscles in her legs were shaking. It only took a few more rotations around her swollen bud before Rowan was coming undone. Daryl pulled the fruit away from her and took a bite before he tossed it away to wherever her panties had gone. He flipped himself on top of her and entered her with his tongue and his hard length at the same time. Her legs and arms clamped down around him, her short nails digging into the skin of his back.

Rowan loved the taste of herself on his lips and combined with the tart tang of the fruit, his tongue was like heaven in her mouth. He slammed into her and she felt herself coming a second time. Her hands moved lower, grabbing the perfect round globes of his ass to pull him inside her even deeper. His aura exploded in a brilliant shower of red lightning as he exploded inside of her. They moved together a little longer, milking out the last few pulses of pleasure together. Daryl rolled off quickly, still worried about not putting all his weight on her for too long. Rowan smiled and rolled into him, wrapping her arms around him as she searched for another kiss.

Their bliss was short-lived. The door to the trailer was swung open. Rowan's head popped up as she prepared to yell at whichever dog had just barged in. Instead of a dog, Michonne was standing inside the door of the trailer with a red bandana tied around her wrist. She glanced over the mostly naked couple like she gave not one single shit that they were undressed or that she had interrupted their private time.

"Your dad tied the flag to that killer goat!," Michonne hollered, pointing out the door towards the goat enclosure. Rowan burst into hysterical laughter as she flopped back down on the bed. Daryl, however, did not find being startled by his friend as amusing as Rowan had.

"Whathafuck Michonne," he hollered back, "I thought someone was gettin' ate up by a walker fer fucks sake!" Rowan laughed harder, her body shaking the bed.

"Fuck that flag," Daryl added before he pointed towards the door. "Get the hell outta here!"

Instead of heading back out the way she had come in, now Michonne was laughing too. Daryl waited a moment before he sighed and sat up to pull his boxers on. He shoved Michonne out the door in front of him. She stumbled as her boots scuffed the dirt but didn't stop laughing. Daryl marched over to the fence of the goat run and hopped it.

The large white billy goat was already riled up and ready to charge. Several people had already made a grab for the flag on his back. He got Daryl in his sights and backed up a few feet. Then the animal lowered his head and charged. Daryl waited until the goat was almost on top of him before he stepped to the side and brought his closed fist down on top of the goat's furry head. The goat stopped short, shaking his head as he attempted to figure out what horrible atrocity had just been committed against him. Daryl grabbed him firmly by one horn and snatched the flag off. While the goat was still pondering his life choices, Daryl headed quickly for the closest section of fence and hopped back over it to safety. The goat slammed his horns into the fence just moments later.

"Mothafucker," Daryl swore at the animal.

"That's a BAD word," one of the kids announced. The boy was looking at Daryl with a mixture of awe and hesitancy.

"Hang around and you'll hear summore," Daryl informed the boy.

He shoved the flag at Michonne, and told her she owed him a tube of toothpaste. She was still laughing but managed to thank Daryl for his assistance between giggles. Rowan was lingering in the doorway of the trailer, only too eager to jump back into his arms.

"Let's pick up where we left off," she suggested, wrapping her arms around him. Daryl lifted her off her feet and carried her inside the trailer, slamming the door behind them and making her squeal.

"We will," he agreed, " but this time I'm lockin' the damn door."