A/N: Sorry guys. I was distracted by lovely wonderful things and adventures and stuff. But I'm finally back and here's another chapter for you. There's only one more after this. Wow, it's been a while since I have written anything. I hope this works. Here we go…

*Surprise, E! This one is all for you. Thanks for…well, everything.*

Little Shop of Pleasures

Chapter 5

Daryl was lounging in the warm sun, slacking and dozing lazily without a care in the world. It was a bright afternoon and the sunlight was stunningly vivid even with his eyes shut. Somewhere nearby he could hear water running and the trickling wet sound reminded him just how thirsty he was. Daryl could hear Merle's harassing voice in his head, breaking through his peace and restful solitude… "Damn, Darylina. You're 'bout as useless as tits on a tom cat, ain'tcha? Best grab a root an' growl lil' brother, 'fore it's too late. Get yer ass up!"

Daryl figured imaginary Merle was right. There was no use in lounging around. There was something he was supposed to be getting on with, wasn't there? What was it though? Daryl reluctantly sat up and ran his hands across his face in an attempt to revive himself. However, before he could get his eyes properly open Daryl was startled by a splashing in front of him. When he quickly looked to assess a threat, the sight that met him instead was exquisite. Beth was just emerging from a little pool a few feet away. She had apparently just swam out to the waterfall on the other side and back – that must have been the water that he had heard running.

"Hey sleepyhead. You awake? You wanna come in here with me?"

Daryl was speechless to answer Beth's question as he stared at the blonde beauty in front of him. She was naked as a jaybird and gorgeous in the warm golden glow of the sun. Her wet hair draped alluringly across her shoulders as water dripped down her breasts and ran in rivulets down her tight stomach and back into the water…that was just covering the part of her Daryl most longed to see…

"Daryl? ... Daryl!" Beth laughed at him and Daryl could have sworn that sound was the most beautiful thing he'd heard in a long time. He couldn't remember the last time, if ever, he'd actually heard Beth laugh, come to think of it…not really. "Daryl, you gotta get awake. Come on. Get up!" Then she splashed him. And again. The water didn't reach him completely, but it was enough to get some directly in his face.

"Girl! Yer askin' for it! You got any idea what I'm gonna…" Daryl paused. The sound of his own voice was wrong. "Beth?" Beth suddenly stopped smiling. "Time to get up, Daryl. Get movin'. You're gonna need to get water. Aren't ya thirsty?"

Water hit him in the face again and Daryl's lovely dream came to an abrupt end.

The dream was gone, but the water wasn't. More of it hit him directly in the eyes right about the time he opened them. The only thing Daryl registered in the moment was light and water. When he finally wiped the water away and cleared his vision, he realized that he was still laying in the makeshift bed…Beth's makeshift bed. The skylight above was muted, but still bright to Daryl's sleep-laden eyes. It was raining out, though, and the skylight was leaking and dripping down. Most of it was coming from the other end of the pane, but there were a few drops escaping right over Daryl's face.

He could hear water running off the roof and down the side of the metal building and he suddenly remembered again how thirsty he was. By the looks of it, he and Beth had been sleeping for a good long while. It was hard to tell, just judging by the rainy-day light filtering through the filthy glass panes, but Daryl's best guess was that it was now somewhere around noonday.

Beth was draped cozily over Daryl's lower half, her head resting on his rib cage and her golden hair splayed across his chest. Daryl had thought to cover them with a throw before dozing to sleep last night but that was long gone, dislodged by one or both of them during the night. Now it was just the two of them laid together naked in the light of day. Daryl let the water continue to drip on him for a moment longer as he took in the sight of the beautiful woman laid over him.

Beth's porcelain skin was flawless and smooth. Her pale naked breast, laying against his side, was a fine silken weight caressing him ever so gently as Beth breathed in and out in peaceful sleep. Daryl watched, entranced, at the slight movement of her delicate chest rising and falling. He took it all in; the shape of Beth's body, the gentle feminine way her arm and wrist draped across his chest, the arc of her hip against his own, and the tilt of her knee as it bent forward against his now-stiffening groin.

Daryl promised that Beth Greene was God's most beautiful masterpiece. And he couldn't help thinking that it didn't seem right, a beautiful ethereal angel displayed aside a scarred ugly beast of a man like himself.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Daryl moved his hand down and ran one calloused finger against the soft delicate curve of Beth's thigh down toward her knee. He gently shifted her leg from there just enough to give himself a little space in that area. His other fingers were still where they had been when he woke…entangled in the warm soft hair at the nape of Beth's long graceful neck. Daryl flexed his fingers just to feel the soft silky caress of the gold locks against his skin.

Gentle caresses were something that Daryl had always craved but never received, so he allowed himself the stolen luxury of the moment. It might be his only chance after all, he thought. Surely once Beth woke she would realize what a mistake she had made. She'd be embarrassed and probably disgusted at the thought of Daryl Dixon touching her like this. He was nothing but a dirty old redneck anyhow, and she was a perfect stunning young woman who was way out of his league.

The annoying dripping continued on, maybe even getting worse by the minute, and it was certainly ruining Daryl's peaceful escape into fantasy-land and fueling the frustrated deprecating thoughts that had started to seep in to Daryl's mind. So after a few final seconds of gawking at his sleeping beauty, Daryl finally sighed and went to work. He attempted to dislodge himself without waking Beth. It didn't work though. Those brilliant blue eyes were on him before he could slip away. Beth wasn't bashful or reluctant as she took in the sight of Daryl's toned body in all its naked glory in the light of day. Daryl blushed, in spite of himself, at her hungry approving glare. It wasn't what he had been expecting. He had just known rejection was coming, but Beth surprised him. Again.

Beth grinned and gasped. "Are you telling me that Daryl Dixon blushes? And so pretty-like, too." Beth reached out one delicate hand and ran her soft fingertips from Daryl's cheek, down his neck, chest… then slowly continued farther down…and down...

While Daryl enjoyed that caress immensely…and was now showing it rather obviously…he had to stop her before she went any farther. He caught Beth's hand just before she reached her goal. Her precious little pout in response was almost too much for Daryl to deny, but he did anyway.

"Stop." He grinned in some attempt to let her know he wasn't displeased with her interest…or her teasing. But they did actually have to stop. "Come on. We gotta find something to catch this water in. We're gonna need it."

Once dressed, they both went in search of water collection devices. A few other leaks had sprouted, so they were going to need more than one. Beth found a bucket and few other items suitable to catch the liquid. Daryl, though, had gotten an even better idea.

He had found a ladder and set it up under one of the skylights. He had even climbed the first few rungs before Beth appeared again. "You goin' up?"

"Naw. I'm just trying to reach the top shelf dildos. Here's your sign. Pfft."

It elicited a wry grin from the blonde, as Daryl had hoped. "Ok, Mr. Dixon. One point to you for the quippy one-liner. And how'd I know you'd be a Jeff Foxworthy fan?" Beth's eye-roll did nothing to disguise the happy amusement on her face. "What I meant was, 'What are you gonna do once you're up there?'"

Daryl's signature half shrug was all the answer Beth got for a moment. Daryl knew what his plan was for going up there, but he still hesitated to state it in case his idea was…lame? Useless? Stupid? All the words his daddy used to beat into him came to mind in moments like this.

As if she could read his thoughts, Daryl watched Beth's eyes darken and the smile fade from her face. But she didn't comment, for which he was immensely grateful. "Ok. Be careful. The ladder's already wet from the leaking. Getting out on the roof is gonna be messy."

Daryl thought of Beth as he climbed the ladder. Little Beth Greene stood below quietly holding the ladder to give him some stability – as if a tiny thing like her could hold him up if he started to sway or fall. Or maybe she could, Daryl thought, she'd surprised him a dozen times already since yesterday. He was quickly learning just how underappreciated and overlooked the youngest Greene actually was. His thoughts then went back to the plan he was quickly devising.

Daryl's only concern now was getting Beth out of that building and back home. To her family. To safety. The prison. Home. He figured if he could find a way to get down from the roof and make it to a vehicle, preferably the truck they came in yesterday, he could create a diversion for the herd of walkers. It might give Beth an opening to slip away. Daryl wasn't going to place any hope in driving them both out of there. There were too many undead – he could still hear them banging around outside. Daryl feared they would swarm before he could get the truck far enough out of the crowd. If so, they would trap Daryl and Beth inside and eventually break the windows to get to them. But it might be possible, with a diversion in place, for one tiny blonde to slip away into the shadows undetected. She was tough. Daryl knew she could make it back without him. She might not like the plan, but Daryl needed Beth to survive.

It didn't take much to loosen the corroded skylight and lift it upward and out onto the roof. Years of rot and decay without any human intervention had done its job well enough. Water splashed down onto Daryl as he pushed aside the pane and it didn't take long until he was soaking wet through and through from the heavenly deluge. It didn't bother him much. Daryl figured he could use a shower right about now and this would do.

Beth watched with fascination as the water dripped down Daryl's toned bare arms as he flexed and worked at opening the skylight and then proceeded to lift and pull himself through the ceiling with ease. She didn't even care that the rain was soaking her, as well, as she stood gawking under the opening in the ceiling. The rain poured in, creating a mini waterfall as it cascaded off the roof and right down onto her head. Beth was lost in thoughts of last night, replaying the hot little escapades that she had enjoyed with Daryl Dixon, of all people.

As she had watched the water soak through Daryl's shirt, her mind had gone back to the sight that had greeted her when she opened her eyes earlier. For a moment she had been sure that she was still at the prison having another dream. She had been fantasizing about Daryl for a while, after all. But it had been real this time - a feted reality Beth Greene never would have imagined she would be lucky enough to recognize. But he was there in the flesh. She had felt the heat of his skin as she touched him, felt the throbbing beat as she passed her fingers over his heart. She had longed to feel the weighted throb of him lower, but he had stopped her from indulging that want.

That had made her furious somewhere in the back of her mind. She hadn't wanted to be stopped as if she were a child reaching for candy. She hadn't been able to rebuke Daryl for it, though. She had been too awestruck in the moment by a subtlety. Beth remembered the softening of Daryl's features as she caressed him so lovingly. The way he looked at her with such tender emotion had melted Beth's heart, even if it had confused her at the same time. Beth wondered what that emotion was, truly. Could it have been love, simple contentment, or maybe sated bliss? Beth considered that she might never understand since Daryl was so guarded with his emotions and words. She wouldn't even know how to go about asking him something like that and she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to learn the answer in any case.

During that moment when they woke together, Beth had also seen the twinge of embarrassment or fear, as well. More emotions not normally shown by the virile hunter. Beth wondered about that - how Daryl Dixon could be embarrassed with or fear someone like her...Beth Greene, who was nothing more than Hershel's daughter, a babysitter, little kid sister. She was nothing in comparison to Daryl Dixon - the brave, selfless, and self-sufficient super-survivor of the zombie apocalypse.

The self-conscious side of her personality emerged suddenly and Beth blushed as she stood in the rain. She felt disgraced even thinking about what she had done yesterday with a man like Daryl Dixon. She was so unworthy and inept. She was certain then that the emotions she had seen this morning on Daryl's face had been pity and regret, not love and fear. How stupid was she, anyway, to think he could see her like that? Her thoughts continued on, only getting worse as the seconds ticked by.

While Beth was deep in thought at the bottom of the ladder, Daryl checked out the roof. It was in good shape except for the areas around the skylights. There were two fire escape ladders on either side of the building. But Daryl figured they were less for escaping fires and more for better access to the grow-lab someone had once installed on the roof of the building. The pot plants were long gone, dried out and cooked in the Georgia heat. But there were water barrels set up next to a portion of raised roof with collection units attached to aid in the filling of them.

With the rain coming down, Daryl could easily change the spout on the units to make a nice working shower. Not that he and Beth needed any help getting wet in this weather, but it would make it easier for Beth to wash soap out of her hair at least. There were also some small storage units on the roof, the kind in which fancy people usually store cushions on their porches. Considering someone took the time to lock them, Daryl thought they might hold some useful tools. He'd need something to break the locks, though.

When Daryl had gone back to the ladder to call Beth up, he had looked down and spotted her waiting patiently where he had left her. She was at the bottom of the ladder chewing furiously on her lip and frowning for some unknown reason. Beth was oblivious to the fact that the rain was soaking her just as much as it was Daryl himself. From his vantage point up top, Daryl could see straight down Beth's clingy V-neck t-shirt. Not that he needed to see down it. It was white and she was soaked wet from the rain. She had also obviously failed to put a bra on when she dressed a few minutes ago. Why wouldn't she have put one on – she was in a damn bra store for Christ's sake! Not that Daryl really cared why. It made for a tantalizing show for a love-sick lustful man who had barely been holding himself back since he woke this morning. Now all he wanted to do was get her up close and very very personal.

Beth snapped out of her self-deprecating thoughts when she finally realized that Daryl was calling down to her quietly. "Hey, you'll wanna come on up here. Check this out." Beth looked up into the rain and thought her heart might stop at the sight of Daryl. He was now totally drenched from head to toe. His clothes clung to every toned muscle, accentuating each delectable nuance of his perfectly chiseled body. His hair dripped down around his piercing blue eyes, making them almost seem to glow. It took Beth a second to realize that he had his hand reached out to her, encouraging her to climb the ladder…

"Right. Oh, wait. I need to get something. I'll be right up."

Daryl couldn't help rolling his eyes at the young blonde. Of course she had to get something. Of course he had to wait. When all he really wanted to do was get her ass up those steps as quickly as possible so he could ogle her more closely, run his hands down the curves of her body, and rip that wet white t-shirt clean off her body.

When she finally did get to the top of the ladder, Daryl noted she was carrying a plastic bag around one wrist. It looked like it contained some liquid soap. Smart. He just hoped it didn't smell too much like peonies or frilly lilies or some other girly kind of scent because he was certain that Beth was going to insist he wash with it, too. He reached down and grasped her outstretched hand, pulling her up to safety with ease and pulling her close to his chest as he guided her away from the opening.

Beth dropped the bag at her feet and for a moment both of them froze, suddenly realizing the state of their clothing and their close proximity. Just as Daryl had almost decided to lower his lips to hers, Beth crossed her arms over her chest and stepped around him. As Daryl watched her in confusion, she feigned intense interest in the objects on the roof – the make-shift shower Daryl had adjusted, the fire escapes, the rotting skylights…anything to redirect her attention from the man she didn't deserve to have feelings for.

She walked over to the edge of the building and looked down on the lingering mass of undead standing between them and the safety of home. Beth suddenly felt homesick and heartbroken. She didn't want to think on Daryl anymore and try to figure out what he was feeling toward her and why. She just wanted to go home to the safety of her Daddy's arms or to cuddle up with her sister while she felt sorry for herself. It wasn't her normal hopeful cheery outlook, but Beth was exhausted and certain that she was wanting something she could never have.

"Think we'll be able to find a way past them to get home?" Her voice sounded small and quiet even to her own ears.

The answer to Beth's question came right against her neck before Daryl pressed a gentle kiss underneath her earlobe. "Yeah we will. You'll be ok. I promise, Beth." Daryl's hot breath and even hotter lips on her cool wet skin were shockingly erotic.

The wet gasp of pleasure that his kiss elicited from the blonde was well worth the risk Daryl had taken. He had realized Beth was pouting when he saw her at the ladder, but didn't understand why. When she turned from him, Daryl knew exactly what was happening. Beth was shying away, distancing herself. It was a characteristic Daryl was more than familiar with. Damn, it was practically his own signature move. He couldn't claim to understand why she was pulling away now, but Daryl was going to be damned if he would let her go without a fight. He had a surge of want that simply overrode the lingering deprecating thoughts that he wasn't good enough for her.

He wanted her. He wanted to feel her softness against him. He wanted her gentle caresses, her bashful glances, her kind eyes seeing through his gruff exterior. He selfishly wanted all the good that was Beth Greene. And more than anything he never wanted to allow the sadness he had just heard in her voice to exist. When he had heard that, he had understood clearly. She didn't want to pull away, she thought she had to. But he would show her otherwise. If she needed him to be strong and take the lead, he would…for her. He would let all his reluctance go and give in to his instinct to love her, protect her, and pleasure her. Until she told him to stop.

Daryl trailed his mouth down Beth's long neck, tasting the sweetness of her skin as it mixed with the rain. He hardly heard her gentle moan over the steady rainfall around them. It soaked them both to the bone as it pattered against their skin, hair, and clothes. Daryl paid no mind, though. He continued on, licking and sucking gently on Beth's pulse point, the nape of her neck, her earlobe, everywhere he could reach, until he finally felt Beth give in and set her sadness aside. As soon as she relaxed into his arms, Daryl grabbed her hips and drug her ass backward against him. He wanted her to feel exactly how much he truly wanted her.

Through their layers of wet clothing, Beth definitely felt it. What little bit of reluctance in her that lingered dissipated quickly with the knowledge that, for whatever reason, Daryl Dixon wanted her. He wanted her right now, in this moment. And it was her, little ol' Beth Greene - not anyone else, who was turning him on like that. It was empowering and provocative. Beth just let herself give in to the instinct to give him everything. All of her. Whatever he wanted. However and as long as he wanted. Until he said stop.

As soon as she relaxed back into him, Daryl pushed his hands forward around Beth's waist to her stomach then upwards in slow circles. He took his time, feeling her through her wet clothes. Enticing her with slow wet friction. Her breasts were perfectly displayed through her now-transparent shirt and Daryl brought his hands farther up to cup them. He lifted the two perfect peaks slightly, gently running his thumbs over her nipples through the wet shirt.

The rain continued to fall hard and steady. As it ran down Beth's face and slid in tiny streams down her throat and chest and between her breasts, Daryl remembered his dream from last night. The one where Beth was beckoning him into the pond. If he wasn't already hard enough, that added vision intensified Daryl's lust and almost blew his mind. In a way, he felt like he was living some erotic dream there on the roof with Beth. A wet dream. Daryl's mind twisted slightly and he suddenly wasn't sure what was fantasy and what was reality.

Beth instinctively rolled her hips and pressed her ass into Daryl's raging hardness, creating a blissful friction at just the right moment to incite the beast inside him. She gasped in shock and pleasure as Daryl, without warning, grabbed the t-shirt and ripped it clean down the front and off her. He spun her around to face him and Beth was shocked at the sight of Daryl's blown pupils, the concentrated set of his jaw, and the tightness of his muscles. It was as if he were trying to hold himself back. If Beth hadn't known Daryl so well, she might have been frightened by his intensity. But she did know him and she could clearly see that there was no rage in this amazing man, not right now. There was only wanton lust written all over Daryl Dixon and it was more than thrilling to Beth to feel desired so passionately.

Beth's jeans were quickly stripped from her body, as well. Then she was being lifted. She wrapped her legs around Daryl's waist, letting the bulge in his pants scrape alluringly against her soaked panties as he moved them from the edge of the building. He pressed Beth against the wall where the roof was raised, conveniently below where he had adjusted the makeshift "shower". Now water cascaded down over them in a torrent, inspired by the waterfall in Daryl's dream. He kissed her with abandon and she returned his efforts while she clumsily pulled at his clothes.

Daryl was so lost in the feel of Beth's wet skin that he hadn't even been concerned with his own clothes. She was just so smooth and slick and hot. He couldn't stop running his hands all over Beth's skin. Her breasts, her abs, legs, her ass. The pretty panties she had picked had to go. They were ripped unapologetically from her body the same way her shirt had been.

That action inflamed Beth and she wasn't sorry when she ripped the buttons clean off Daryl's shirt to get at him in return. Well, she wasn't sorry at all, but Beth was surprised and a bit shy of her own lusty exploit. What would Daryl think of her for doing that? They both paused in the rain and just looked at each other for a moment before breaking down in laughter; Beth's humorous but embarrassed, Daryl's amazed and adoring. "Guess that means ya want me to take this shit off, huh?" He saw the bashfulness in Beth and he tried to kiss it away. Would she ever stop being so endearing, so amazingly pure and beautiful in her gentleness? Daryl hoped not.

He complied with her silent desire and stripped bare. When he looked back to her, Beth was standing under the shower. Her back was to the wall and she was offering herself to the hunter. The sight of Beth Greene completely bare, wet in the light of day, her legs open to him was too much to handle.

He went to her. There was no more foreplay and that was fine. Beth didn't want or need any more preparation. She just wanted him. However he wanted to do it, it didn't matter. Beth just wanted him inside her, grinding into her with abandon. And she got her wish. As gentle as her nature was, Beth had to admit to herself that her sexual desires must run on the rough side. She was new at this but she had to admit that she didn't like it gentle. Well, she did like it gentle, but she much preferred when Daryl lost himself in her and took what he needed as she held on tight. And that's what happened now.

Daryl approached her with a look that screamed 'I hope you're ready for this.' He pressed his hard wet body against her in the rain, running both hands around Beth's back and down to grasp her ass. He lifted her that way against him, dragging her upward to align himself as her breasts slid against his chest alluringly, her rock hard nipples scraping against him. They stared into each other's eyes as they came together.

When he slid his cock all the way into her in one thrust, they both gasped in pleasure and relief. Beth didn't feel the shock of pain this time, just a tight satisfying stretching sensation all the way deep inside. She could feel every inch of him. He was hot and huge inside her. She came with his first deep stroke, burning with desire, and she couldn't have said whether she screamed or cried or both. She was completely lost in Daryl Dixon's tight embrace. She was only vaguely aware of the slick sliding sensation as their bodies stroked against each other rhythmically under the downpour of the rain.

Daryl knew he was probably bruising Beth as he took her forcefully against the wall. He couldn't bring himself to care much for now, though. He was an animal, rutting into her. There was nothing else but the sensation of tight and wet. And the color blue. The intense blue of Beth's loving gentle eyes as he stared down into the aqua pools that threatened to drown him. And there was heat. Not the heat of their bodies, but the heat in the pit of his own chest. It was a burning in his heart for her, threatening to torch him down to the core. A flaming inferno that no amount of water could extinguish. That part wasn't lust, he realized, it was much too deep for that. Lost in blissful intense thought, Daryl came inside Beth intensely, unwilling to pull away despite any potential consequences.

They were quiet after. Contemplative, both of them. They clung to each other in the pouring rain and just existed for a while in each other's comforting presence. They didn't speak. Beth held Daryl tight to her, stroked his wet hair gently, and kissed his heart over and over as she felt for the pounding beat to slow to normal.

When their lust had calmed, Beth guided Daryl to sit on one of the storage units. Then she went about washing his hair. It was a simple moment. One tiny, seemingly inconsequential, twinkling of normalcy. But for Daryl it was so much more. No one had ever cared for him with such gentle love. No one bothered to wash or cut his hair – or even suggest he get it done elsewhere. Not even his own mother. Merle would shove him toward the shower with some snide remark on occasion, but that was it as far as Daryl's experience with 'being kept'.

But now Beth was humming contently as she rinsed the soap from his hair and gently swiped her delicate fingers across his face to clear the suds away. Daryl hoped she would think the moisture in his eyes was from the rain or maybe from irritation from the soap. Really, though, it was Beth's kind smile as she looked down on him that did it. She seemed happy. Pleased to be here with him. And satisfied to care for him like this. It made Daryl…happy? But also ashamed. He realized that he would never be able to communicate to Beth the complicated feelings he had for her because he was incompetent in such things as feelings and emotions…love. He didn't know how to explain the things he felt or wanted. With her. He was also sad because he knew their time together was limited.

In a few short hours he was going to have to move forward with his plan to get her out of this place. Alone. Daryl wished it could be any other way, but it seemed their options were few. They simply couldn't stay here forever. The walker herd wasn't moving on and they had no food. If Daryl waited too long, they'd both be too weak from lack of nourishment to make a move. He also thought of their family back at the prison. They'd need Beth with them. She was a shining light in the darkness that the world had become. He wanted them to have her peaceful presence. They had only just begun to make a home of the prison and Beth needed to be there to guide them. What was a home without Beth Greene, after all? Daryl wouldn't be able to be there to help protect and feed them, but they would have her to encourage and care for them. He knew now what that meant, what it was worth. Beth Greene was worth everything. Now he just needed to figure out how to tell her…

A/N: Oh, kind of a cliffhanger. Sorry. I will try to do up the next chapter more quickly than three months. Like I said at the beginning, there's just one more chapter. How will Daryl's plan go? Will he make it? Maybe he won't even make it out of the building – Beth might kick his ass for even thinking of doing such a stupid thing. Tune in next time.

Oh, and thanks for the reviews and follows/favorites. They do spur me on, tempt me to post faster!