Wow, another chapter in less than a week. Hope you enjoy it. Let me know.
Thanks for reading!
It was three more days before they could leave. She, with the help of Beta, boarded up windows and the front door as well as the door to the root cellar. The cabin was so well tucked into the woods, and she wasn't planning on being gone very long, the chances of someone coming across it and breaking in were slim. Or, at least she hoped.
The need to get Chubs and Lydia to the community outweighed her anxiety about leaving the cabin unattended. She was tempted to ask them to stay. She'd become quite smitten with little Thomas and Lydia had become a fast friend. The community would probably be a better option for them. More people. More opportunities. The last time she was there they had enough children to start a school. It was continuing to grow. Selfishly she wanted them to stay and Lydia didn't seem too keen on leaving either.
She made a deal with Lydia, if they got there and she or Lydia was uncomfortable for any reason they'd come back to the cabin with her. Lydia agreed. She was nervous, afraid they won't accept her or Beta. Beta was tough and tall. His grumpy demeanor put people off. It was a package deal, Lydia had said. She wouldn't stay without him. Her loyalty to him was perplexing, however, as time went on Beth understood it more. Beta was a good man. Not a perfect man, a good man and he took good care of Lydia and Chubs. As it was a 'package deal', Beth decided she would let Beta stay too if it came to that.
Beth organized her pack with food and filled the cantine with water. She'd carry the tent rolled up at the bottom of her pack, some items to barter with, a couple of changes of clothes in case something happened. In case she got wet or muddy or it was colder than expected. Her mother used to refer to spring as mud season and she wasn't wrong. The path they'd be taking was near the stream and would no doubt be covered in mud.
Everyone would carry their own supplies and items they deemed essential; should they be separated they'd be able to survive on their own.
The nights had been awkward at best. Daryl kept his distance, only coming in right before bed and then falling onto his place on the couch without so much as a word to Beth. Not that she tried to talk to him.
They hardly spoke at all, definitely didn't touch and she was so busy preparing to leave for the community that she didn't have the time or the inclination to seek him out. Did he expect her to stay at the cabin? She wasn't even sure he was coming with them. He helped prepare the cabin, it was obvious he wasn't planning on staying there.
She felt his eyes on her when he thought she wasn't paying attention. She ignored him because she knew the second she faced him he'd turn away.
Their stalemate broke late the night before they were set to leave. His voice rumbling through the darkened room, "Ya sure this is a good idea?"
She wasn't sure how he knew she was still awake, she had her back to him. She contemplated ignoring him, pretending to be asleep anyway. In the end, she answered. Keeping her mouth shut had never been her strong suit. "What isn't a good idea?"
"Takin' Beta, Lydia 'n the baby to the community. Might not be safe."
She scoffed, "Nothing is safe. I know people there. I know what I'm doin', Daryl ."
"Didn't say ya' didn't know what you're doing."
"It's more dangerous for them to go by themselves," she remarked.
"And what about the way back, ain't that dangerous?"
She flipped over angrily, facing him. "What do you want me to do? Stay here? Send them on their own. They have Thomas," she reminded him needlessly.
He sat up, kicked his blanket off of him and stood, the padding of his socked feet on the hardwood floor. Soon he was sitting in the chair at the end of the mattress. Close enough but feeling a million miles away. His face was shadowed by the fire. She couldn't read his expression.
"I don't mean to make you mad. I …" he began.
Beth sat up and ran her hands through her wild hair, pulling at it in frustration. She'd been too tired to brush it that evening and it was a mess. "I swear if you apologize one more time…" she threatened. The word was on the tip of his tongue, she was almost certain of it.
Surprisingly he chuckled quietly. "Fine. I won't apologize." He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "I just want you to be safe."
"Why? Why does it matter to you so much?" It had been a long time since anyone cared about her.
He ran a hand through his shaggy hair, sighed heavily. "I dunno. I barely been surviving for so long it's like I don't know how to be a human anymore."
She wasn't expecting him to say what he actually felt and she had a feeling he wasn't only talking about the last few years. Survival was a mainstay of his whole life. She sat up and kneeled in front of the chair, reaching for his hand, hoping like hell he wouldn't pull away. "We're a different breed of humans now. It's a different world."
"Maybe for you. But I been fightin' my whole life. And now the world is still fighting, just for different reasons. I don't know how to make this work," he said pointing from himself to her.
"Yes, the world is fighting. Everything was burned to the ground, but it gives us a chance to start over. Gotta find out who you are. Gotta stay who you are, not who you were." She rolled a shoulder easily. "Best I can guess, we figure it out as we go."
"How do we do that?" He questioned, reaching out, smoothing her long hair down the side of her head.
"We find a way to make a life with what we have now. With who are now. A lot of others have managed to find a semblance of a new normalcy. Lydia and Beta are trying. People at the community have built a whole new society. If we don't change, we'll just remain stagnant. Stuck in our past when this is our chance to find a new beginning."
Daryl definitely was stuck in survival mode.
"What's all that mean for us?" He dared to ask. He had no idea if there was even a chance of there being an us after the last couple of days.
"I don't know," she answered honestly. "What do you want it to mean for us?"
He thought for a moment. Uncomfortable speaking so honestly but he did it anyway. Beth had become the most important person to him and he didn't want to fuck that up - more than he already had. "Maybe we can make it work for us if you'll give me another chance."
Beth smiled, her face a bright spot in the darkness. A beacon of hope and change. She slid onto his lap straddling him as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She tentatively kissed him. Without alcohol fueling them, they took their time.
Before things got too heated, he stood with her in his arms and carried her to the mattress, setting her down lightly. He stood looking over her a moment as though he was deciding what to do.
Finally, Beth whispered, "Lay with me."
He obliged her request by sliding in next to her, pulling the quilt over them. She turned onto her side, her back to his front, his arm draping over her hip. He slid her hair away from her neck and ran his lips over her warm skin where the neck slopped into the shoulder.
His lips tingled when he pulled back. "Night, Beth," he whispered.
Except neither wanted to sleep.
Beth's rolled over to face him. Her hand splayed on his chest, tracing a button of his flannel with a finger. It took her a few minutes to find the courage to begin to unbutton it. And then the next and the next till his chest was exposed. Like when he first came to her and she rubbed the coughing salve over his skin, she traced the tattoo above the right nipple and then over the crooked collarbone.
He sucked in his breath and grasped her hand all at once. A reaction. A byproduct of being on edge all of the time. She peered at him, questioning. He tightened his grip on her hand, his slitted eyes watched her with curiosity. When he released her hand, it drifted down his chest, over his stomach, and came to rest there, the starchy line of hair disappearing into the waist of his jeans. He shuddered, his eyes closing.
Exploring him, her hand drifted back to the tattoo above his nipple. "Who's this?" She asked, having already seen it, she knew what the name scrolled in ink was without having to read it right then in the dark.
His voice was rough like he hadn't talked in ages. He replied, "My Dad."
"Where's he now?" She asked.
"Dead. He died about five years ago."
"Oh, I'm sorry," she said.
He rolled a shoulder, "Don't be. I wished I felt something for him. But there's just nothing there. I got that tattoo when me and my brother were drunk. It sounded like a good idea at the time. Until we sobered up."
Manners suggested she ask him more about his father. She got the feeling he didn't want it. So her fingertips went back to the collar bone. "What about this? Did you break it?"
He nodded. "Fell out of a tree. Not very impressive," he decided with a small chuckle. "Shoulda' told you I broke it fighting off a motorcycle gang or something."
Beth laughed quietly. Just as he'd done with the scar on her forehead she placed her lips on the protruding collarbone. She felt the breath slip from his lungs in a long exhale. Her lips moved over his collarbone up his neck, sliding her tongue up to his ear.
Need stirred from deep within. The act of touch felt so far off like it was something made up in a dream, something that had never really existed. It never felt like this with anyone else. Maybe it was because she, and everyone, took it for granted. Or maybe because it actually means more now. There was more at stake, less ambivalence to be proven.
She pulled back, wondering if she should continue. If he wanted her to continue. His hand, warm and rough, cupped her cheek sweetly. Affectionately. Big, tough Daryl has a soft side and it made her melt. She turned her head and placed a kiss to the center of his palm.
He'd never been kissed on his palm before. That simple innocent kiss made him ache in a way he never felt before. Never had a reaction to a kiss like his body was currently having. His skin felt hot and flushed and pulsating. Coherent thought slowly slid from his mind, almost disappearing completely.
He leaned into her, taking her mouth, shifting so she lay beneath him. It was a strange thing to want something so much you know you have no business wanting. Knowing you should probably stop but there was no way he could make himself.
The way she sighed and leaned into him gave him a bit of confidence. She was warm and her skin was silky smooth. Beautifully feminine. Softness in a hard world. He angled his head, parting her lips with his tongue. His hand slid down over the mound of her firm breasts, the nipple already protruding against the thin cotton shirt she wore. Drifting further down past her hip, he cupped her ass, pressing her into him. His hardened cock was evident.
She pulled back slightly and he froze, thinking he did something wrong. Instead of telling him to back off, and he wouldn't blame her if she did, she leaned up and grasped the back of his neck, pulling his mouth back to hers. His body came to life, for maybe the first time ever, with each matching thrust of their tongues.
He pulled the back of her leg up around his hip. As though by instinct she hooked her leg around his waist, pulling him closer between her legs. She pushed his shirt off his shoulders and he managed to wiggle out of it without releasing her mouth. Her fingers floated down his torso again. This time she didn't stop, flipping the button open. She traced the skin just inside the waistband, the sensation sending a shiver through his body.
He reached for the hem of her shirt, feeling it between his fingers before thinking, what the hell, it was obvious he wanted her and he prayed to anyone listening that she wanted him. He lifted the shirt up over her head.
He leaned up on his knees to take her in. She lay before him, her hair haloed around her head, skin like porcelain. Her tits were small but firm, nipples forming tight peaks. Her torso synched to a tiny waist, her hips swelled into smooth curves. God, she was beautiful.
She leaned up and he bent his head to claim her lips again. Her hands landed at the fly of his jeans and this time, she unzipped them. She pushed the fabric at his hips and he helped her shove the jeans down his thighs, past his knees, and off, shoved to the bottom of the mattress.
Was this really happening? It had to be a dream. But Beth's hands on him, her lips hot as fire on his, it all felt too good, too real to be a dream.
He in turn helped Beth out of the leggings she wore. They were going too fast now. When he imagined this, and he had more than once, they took their time. There was maybe a candle lit. Something romantic. Something that showed he'd made an effort. The fire was a nice touch still, he imagined this wasn't how Beth would want it.
Yet, she didn't seem put off by the lack of romanticism and it's not like he'd ever been interested in that bullshit anyway. To do those things, wasn't who he was. He bent, placing wet kisses to her stomach, reaching out his hand to cup her breast, massaging strongly. She arched her back, offering herself to him.
They didn't speak. Words weren't necessary.
He took her nipple into his mouth, sucking gently and then more firmly when she gasped and dug her fingers into his hair, pulling tightly. "Daryl," she whispered an ache in her voice. A need.
When she took his dick into her hand without any warning, he almost jumped. She grasped it, jerking slowly up and down. Her thumb rubbed over the bulbous tip, massaging precome over it. Before he ended up embarrassing himself, he took her hand by the wrist, placing it on the mattress near her head. He held her down for a moment as he settle himself between her legs again.
Rising up on his elbows, he studied her face for any sign of uncertainty. All he noted was bliss, her face the picture of serenity. "Ya' sure about this?" He asked anyway, just in case.
She nodded, closing her eyes, licking her passion-swollen lips. She took his hand and guided it down to her center, pressing two fingers to her soaked slit.
"Jesus, Beth," he whispered, almost exploding right then and there.
"Yes, I'm sure," she said needlessly.
He circled her clit, once. Then twice. Her eyes rolled back and she sighed in ecstasy. Whispered his name again. His fucking name. He sipped his middle finger lower bringing it back up, rubbing her clit again. Friction increasing.
Her breath was coming quicker with every second. She was close to coming. He'd never made anyone come like this before. For him, sex had been sex. It didn't have feelings attached to it. He was ashamed to think he never cared if the girl got off.
Until now. Until Beth.
Even though his dick was so hard it ached, he wanted to spend the rest of his life making her feel good.
"Wait. Stop," she said, her eyes suddenly opening. He froze. But then she smiled and he relaxed… to an extent. "I don't wanna come yet. I want…" she looked away, bit her lip in exotic innocence. "I want you inside of me." She spoke so quietly that he was sure he wouldn't hear her if his face wasn't right next to hers.
He nodded, couldn't speak. He settled in better in between her legs and lined himself up with her body.
"But," she placed her hands on his hips, stalling him." I just think you should know I've only done this once. I'm not sure what to do."
She didn't need to tell him that, he probably wouldn't have been able to tell. He saw it for what it was. It was her way of telling him she trusted him. Wholly. Utterly. She felt completely safe in his arms.
"Well, there's not much to it," he chuckled. "You do whatever feels good for you and let me know if I'm doin' something you don't like."
She nodded, smiling shyly.
"And I'll go slow." He would, even if it killed him.
He took his cock in his hand and slowly guided himself into Beth. Just the tip at first, then achingly slow, deeper. She was wet and hot. So tight. Her pussy grasped him like a fist. He removed himself fully before entering a little further each time.
He rested his forehead to hers, pumping in and out. In and out. Speed picking up by the minute. Beth tightened her legs around his waist, pushing him further inside of her. His hands were all over. Grasping her ass, squeezing hard. On her tits, pinching the nipples into firm points. In her hair, tugging lightly. It felt chaotically wonderful and meant to be all at the same time.
"You okay, baby?" He asked breathlessly. If it was the least bit painful she wasn't letting on. There was no way in hell he wanted to stop but he would. All she had to do was say so.
"Yes, feels so good," she purred.
Reaching between them he planted a palm on her jutting hip bone, his thumb angled downward. The calloused pad of his thumb brushed over her clit.
"Mmm, Daryl." Her breath hitched. "Don't stop." He didn't. He picked up speed, his thumb keeping time. His mouth covered hers to stifle the moans that were getting louder. He didn't mind if they were heard, but she might.
Her hands grasped tightly to his biceps as he worked her body. It felt good everywhere, every square inch was in sensory overload. He watched her eyes solely focused on his, sky blue wild in intensity. Her legs tightly wound around him, her breasts bouncing with every thrust that wasn't so gentle anymore. Her cheeks were pink, brow furrowed with concentration.
Unexpectedly, or not really, Beth froze, and then her body jerked, again and again, her innermost walls quivering, milking him with tiny spasms. Her legs relaxed, her eyes drifted closed, her hands clung his shoulders, digging her nails dug into his skin, hanging on.
There was no stopping, no holding back as he came hard and long deep inside her. A grunt escaped his throat as there seemed to be no end. This was it, this was how he would die and he was perfectly fine with it.