So, my email is a mess again and I'm not sure if my beta got this chapter so I am posting it now. So, if you see a ton of mistakes that is why! Like I told you before, there is no story progression in this chapter so don't be disappointed. There is a little smut so that's your warning right there. I'm glad everyone enjoyed the last chapter so much! Thanks for reading and reviewing and I hope everyone had a good Monday!

Patience

Carol sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled her legs up. Her mind was spinning with the tale that Sophia and Carl had told her. This whole time she had suspected that this all had something to do with her and really it was Sophia. It still didn't make any sense. The group remembering her and then dreaming about it all only after meeting her. But Maggie had dreamed it before she had seen any of them at all and so did Hershel. She didn't understand any of it and it was making her head hurt to even try.

If the nights events hadn't been so stressful she would have laughed at the sight of Merle Dixon trying to have the sex talk with two preteens while Daryl stood idly by blushing like a child himself. But she had walked in right at the end and the only thing she had heard was something about her twelve year old daughter being pregnant. She had thought that she was going to pass out. And to think that Merle had accused her of not teaching Sophia any better!

She had talked to Sophia about that about a year or so ago. Of course, it had been uncomfortable and excruciating for them both but she had stuttered out the basics. She could only imagine what had come out of Merle's mouth. The looks on their faces was actually painful to look at. Daryl looked absolutely feverish and Sophia had looked like she was praying for someone to come and put her out of her misery and poor Carl. If he had been any closer to the curtains they would have caught fire. And there stood Merle, arms waving as he attempted to tell them all about the birds and the bees.

She actually did have to laugh then. It was horrible but their faces were something she would never forget.

"The hell is so funny?" Daryl asked as he came out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel wrapped low around his hips.

She drank in every inch of him with her eyes before finally meeting his. She swallowed, suddenly aware of how the sight of him had literally made her mouth water. She felt that overwhelming need for him overcome her just like it had in the barn the night before. She wanted to forget about all the strange things that she had heard tonight. She wanted to feel like she was alive. He could offer her that. But she wasn't going to say anything to him and she wasn't going to attack him again. He'd suffered a bit at the hands of Merle and the kids too and she didn't know where his head was at the moment.

"Well?" he asked as he flipped the bathroom light off and walked towards the bed. His hair was still dripping, droplets of water running down his neck, over his shoulder and then further. Her eyes followed and she found herself mesmerized. "Carol?"

She looked up. "What?"

"What was so damn funny?" He asked again.

She smiled and then reached over to pull the covers down, crawling under them before answering. "You. You should have seen your face."

He groaned. "That was goddamn embarrassin'. I don't know what the hell Merle was tryin' to do."

"He was trying to be a good man because that's what he is. Deep down Merle is always gonna do what has to be done for the people that he loves."

"Should I be jealous?" He smirked playfully as he tossed the towel and then slid in next to her.

"Very. You should really try to convince me that I chose the right brother," she grinned.

"That's dirty," he muttered as he raised up and looked at her.

She nodded. "It is." She bit her lip and watched as his eyes darkened and then narrowed. His bare thigh was pressed up against hers but they weren't touching anywhere else.

"Where's your phone?" He asked suddenly.

She reached over on the other nightstand, grabbing her cell and then pressed it into is hand. He took the back off and pulled out the battery before opening the drawer and dropping the pieces inside. Her heart started pounding when she thought about what had happened in this very room the last time that phone had interrupted them. He reached over and turned off the lamp, the only light in the room now was the soft glow of the nightlight in the bathroom, leaving most of the room in shadows.

He rolled over, pinning her under him and pressing her into the mattress. She moved her legs until she was able to wrap them around his waist but he grabbed her and pushed them back down until they were flush against his own. He shook his head and then his lips met hers, his tongue sweeping into her mouth and swirling around her own. Fire spiked her blood when she felt his hands at her hips but they lingered there, not doing anything else for the moment.

Her breathing was already becoming ragged, the heat in her veins pooling between her thighs, anticipation causing her to squirm under the weight of him. "Merle ain't got enough patience," he whispered into her neck just before he raised up onto his knees and pulled her panties down her thighs in one quick motion.

"Patience isn't all that important, really," she whispered.

"Take off your shirt." His voice was quietly firm and it wrapped around her like a blanket in the otherwise quiet room. She obliged quickly and he moved until he was hovering over her. She was about to pull him closer but he suddenly had her by the wrists, his lips right by her ear. "You're gonna learn the importance of patience now."

Once again that distracting voice in her ear overwhelmed her. She was paying no attention to what he was doing until his hands were running down her sides and her own hands were still locked above her head. He'd done it again and she hadn't even realized what he had been doing. She jerked but the binds held fast and all she wanted to do was touch him.

"You make one sound and I stop," he said, his lips next to her ear once more. She shivered when she felt his breath on her throat.

"What?" she asked once his words penetrated the haze that had taken over her brain.

"You make one sound and I stop," he repeated. That's what she had thought he said but she had been sure she had heard him wrong. She had a feeling that she was in for a hard lesson. She should have kept her fool mouth closed.

She clamped her mouth shut and nodded, her eyes wide open. His mouth drifted lower, his nose skimming across her collar bone, inhaling deeply. She squeezed her eyes shut and focused on her breathing. There was no way she was going to give him the satisfaction of tormenting her with stopping.

She stayed as still as she could as his head dipped lower, so slowly that she ground her teeth together to keep herself from uttering a sound. It was short lived however once his lips finally reached the peak of one breast, sucking deeply at the tender flesh there.

Her lips parted and a small moan escaped her. Suddenly the warm weight of him was gone, leaving her feeling chilled. She raised her head up sharply, her wide eyes incredulous. He was knelt between her legs and although she couldn't see his expression she had a feeling it would be quite smug. She clamped her mouth closed and glared at him. He could not be serious!

After a half a minute of silence that she was sure would kill her he returned. She tried to trap him between her legs but he raised his head and shook it slowly and didn't make another move until she unwound them. Only when her feet were planted firmly on the mattress did he continue. She wanted to scream at him but she knew that it would get her nowhere. She struggled with the binds again until she felt his hot breath ghost over her chest as he chuckled quietly. She glared up at the ceiling until his lips finally made their back to where they had been before he had abandoned her. She was silent as he bit her lightly.

This was ridiculous! And the thing that she hated the most about it was how much her body was responding to all of these new restrictions. That heat that had settled low in her body was more intense than it had ever been before and her body was actually throbbing with need. But she stayed still and she stayed very quiet as his lips made their slow journey downward. He was bracing himself on his arms as his teeth slid over her hipbones. She wanted to run her hands over the muscles there so much that she almost protested as she struggled against her binds but she refrained. She was terrified he would stop and then start all over from the top.

He raised back up and she was seriously about to say something until he lifted her leg and she felt his lips press lightly against the inside of her ankle. Compared to other things he had done to her this was not something she expected to be what nearly undid her. Such a simple gesture that strangely held a reservoir of emotion. He draped the leg he had lifted over his shoulder as his lips moved down. She wanted to struggle and she wanted to cry out when his teeth grazed the back of her thigh. She had never realized how sensitive the skin was there. But she didn't make a move and she didn't make a sound.

Her breathing, however, was a totally different story. There didn't seem to be enough oxygen in the room and the further down his lips traveled the thinner the air became until her chest was heaving. She felt his lips turn up in a smile against her skin once he finally made it all the way up to the juncture of her thighs. He had taken his time as he made his way down her leg and she was so close to demanding that he touch her where she needed to be touched that she was about to explode. She should have known that it wasn't going to be that easy though. That smile proved to be an evil one.

He sat back up and took her other leg and continued the whole process. The combination of this complete torment combined with the sweet anticipation of what was to come was maddening. She was completely under his control and he had the power to do whatever he wanted to do to her. The fact that she had lived under the brutal force of a man for many years didn't cross her mind at the moment. What she couldn't stop thinking about was how, although he did have complete control over her, he was using that strength and that control to pleasure her. This was a prime example of what a man really was. He had nothing to prove here and yet he wanted this for her. He wanted her to know that she was safe with him regardless of what the situation was. Even if he was being cruel at the moment. It would have it's payoff, she was sure of that.

He stopped once he reached the very top of her thigh and then drew his head back slightly, readjusting himself so his body was further down on the bed. When she felt his hot breath hit her center she bit down hard on her lip. She was balancing on the edge already and he hadn't even touched her yet. When the tip of his tongue made the barest contact with her it was enough to have her nearly lifting off of the bed. He reached up and gripped her hips to keep her still before he returned to what he was doing. She yanked hard on the binds, wondering what the hell he had used. She wanted to grab him by the hair and shove his face between her legs and then that made her feel embarrassed that she would even think that way. But he was driving her insane.

Again, his touch was light, just a quick flick of his tongue, but she was so close that her body jerked, her muscles seemed to spasm in her thighs and then he paused just like he had done before. She felt like she was wound so tight she was going to explode. Every nerve ending in her body was tingling, even in her fingertips and the deep throbbing in the center of her was growing unbearable. Every exhale that she felt against her skin was agonizing and those feather light strokes that were so few and far between had her out of her mind.

She lifted her head and glared down. She wanted to scream but she couldn't. She was almost to the point of begging though. Her breathing was embarrassing enough. She wouldn't humiliate herself further by begging him.

Or so she thought.

When she felt his lips on her inner thigh again that was all she could take. The pressure inside of her was too much and this couldn't go on anymore. "Daryl please," she choked out as she yanked hard on whatever it was holding her hands in place.

He made a sound like a low growl before he assaulted her with his mouth, his lips sucking greedily at the exact same time his hand shot up and clamped over her mouth, like he knew what was about to happen. It was hardly enough to cover the sound that ripped from her throat. Somehow she found her hands free and they went straight to his hair, holding him in place as white star bursts danced in her vision. Her back was arched off of the bed painfully but that minor pain was nothing compared to what else she was feeling. For every beat of her racing heart her body was assaulted with a pleasure that almost had her weeping. She thought that maybe something had happened and she was dying but she couldn't bring herself to care. What was it that the french called an orgasm? La patite mort? Little death.

Those crushing waves subsided eventually, leaving her feeling like she had been dragged through the ocean or something. Her throat hurt and the aftershocks of such an incredible experience had the muscles inside of her twitching, like her body knew there was more to come and it was anticipating it.

He lifted his head, breathing heavily, and then grabbed her hands roughly. He jerked her up quickly and she scrambled up on her knees. He dropped her hands and pulled her face towards his, still breathing heavily. He kissed her hard, rough, demanding. She felt the hard length of him pressing against her stomach and it didn't seem to matter to her now what had just happened. She needed this. She needed him and she needed him now. She pulled back just enough so it wasn't trapped between them and wrapped her hand around him firmly. If she lived to be one hundred it still wouldn't be enough time with him.

He tore his mouth away from hers and pressed his forehead against her own. His wide shoulders rising and falling as he tried to get his breathing under control. He felt even bigger than usual, throbbing against her palm and that ache started thrumming through the center of her once more because she knew exactly how it was going to feel once he...

"Turn around," he growled, causing her to jump in surprise.

She let go of him and did as he said, not really used to him being so much the aggressor. Her back was pressed against his chest and she could feel his heart hammering against her. His hands went to her hips, pulling her tighter against him, causing him to let loose with another growl as his fingertips dug into her skin. It hurt and there would be bruises there in the morning but at the moment it felt insanely good. Her perception of pain and pleasure was lost to her at the moment. Like when his teeth bit in to the back of her neck, not so lightly. It hurt but it hurt in such a way that had her squeezing her thighs together.

He reached around with one hand and pulled her legs apart and then slid it up her inner thigh. She only made a small sound at his touch this time, dropping her head back on his shoulder as his lips met the side of her throat.

He removed his hand from between her legs quickly and then started pushing her forward, his hand flat on her back before gripping her hip again. Although she was completely drunk with lust and wanted him inside her so bad that it almost hurt, she was still a little nervous as she felt him adjust himself behind her. That was, until she felt him right there at her entrance. He hesitated for a moment too long and it was too much for her. She slammed herself back against him, taking him all in with that one swift movement. She didn't need to give herself time to prepare or to adjust to the size of him, not as wet as she was. His breath hissed out of his lungs right before she heard another growl and then he was moving, rough hands digging into her hips again as he slammed into her from behind.

She reached up, dragging his pillow down and then burying her face in it to muffle her cries. It only turned her on even more because his scent was all over it. The pressure was already building quickly and every stroke he made fueled that blaze as he moved deep and heavy inside her. She knew he could feel her tightening even more around him because he started moving faster, driving into her with more purpose. That tidal wave hit her again, seeming to radiate from the center of her outward to her limbs. The pillow did a better job a muffling sound than his hand had before so she didn't try to hold back. He had forced her to hold back enough already.

She expected to feel him follow suit but he didn't. He had slowed down considerably as she came down from yet another high he had taken her too but he wasn't through with her yet. He grabbed her by the ankle once he stilled completely, and lifted her leg, causing her to have to roll over onto her side and slip her other leg between his own, and he somehow managed this without ever moving out of her. This was something else she had never done before, not even in the days before Ed had come along. He draped the leg he had lifted over his shoulder and then started moving again.

She gasped and her eyes grew wide in the dark. This put him at an angle that had her head swimming and she had no idea she was this flexible. His thrusts were more calculated this time, each movement he made serving a greater purpose and when his hand made it's way to the juncture of her thighs and his fingers started rubbing circles over her sensitive flesh she felt herself start to come again. This time she could feel him tensing along with her but he didn't break from the pace that he had set. His fingers, however, worked faster on her. She covered her face with the pillow again once she felt him let go with a barely audible whimper.

He dropped her leg and then shifted until he wasn't inside of her anymore. He eased himself back down between her thighs and then kissed her slow and deep. She was still trying to catch her breath when he slid down a little and laid his head on her chest. He didn't seem to be willing to move away from her just yet and that was fine with her. She ran her fingers through his hair, that was still damp from the shower and probably the sweat that he had worked up.

They stayed like that for a long time. She wished they could stay like that forever but they needed sleep and after all of that she probably needed another shower. She let her mind drift off though, not willing to move yet. Not wanting to be away from him. She thought about things that she had been through in her life. She looked back on the years she had spent believing that she was worthless and undesirable. She examined that aspect of her life in a different light now. All of the pain she had endured both physically and emotionally were still a part of her. They made up a big part of who she was now. She knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that it had all been worth it. If she hadn't had to live through what she had lived through then just maybe she wouldn't have been able to appreciate this man as much as she did now. Something as simple as him resting his head on her, just wanting to be close to her, was a precious thing.

Every smile he offered her, every kind word and every soft look was something that she filed away in her mind and truly appreciated for what it was. If not for Ed and the torment that was her life then, those small things Daryl offered her every day may have gone unnoticed. And he deserved to be appreciated, just like she did. And that was why they were the way they were. It took a person who truly understood hell to appreciate heaven.

"I love you," she muttered. Her fingers stopped moving through his hair when she realized that the words had actually been uttered out loud.

He moved his head just a little and she was terrified that what she had said to him, although true, would be too much for him. But he didn't pull away from her. She felt his eyelash barely brush her skin as he blinked and then he did something that shocked her more than anything else he had done the whole time she had known him.

"I love you too," he said right back like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Her fingers started moving again but she was certain that he could feel the acceleration of her heart as it nearly soared right out of her chest.