The general store was finally quiet. She'd heard Rick settling Judith back to sleep upstairs about half an hour ago and Carol had long since run out of chores in the small kitchen at the back of the shop. Carl and the girls had gone to sleep hours ago in the main bedroom upstairs, Rick and Judith were in the front room and Michonne was on watch up on the roof, having managed to grab a few hours sleep during the drive. She could just make out Tyresse's snores coming faintly from the bathroom behind her - the big man having stuffed the bath tub with blankets for a makeshift bed.
She unnecessarily wiped down the table they would be leaving behind tomorrow and sighed. The nerves in her stomach had prevented her from eating more than a few bites of the meal they'd scrapped together that evening but she still felt far too full of energy - adrenaline still coursing through her whenever she thought of her reunion with Daryl. It was also the reason she was still cleaning and tidying - the apprehension about what was actually happening between them keeping her restless.
"Are ya coming or what?" Daryl called quietly from the emptied store from where he'd been watching her through the half open door. Carol jumped and felt her face flush, realising he'd been watching her at work and wasn't asleep on the narrow camp bed jammed behind the counter as she'd assumed. Closing the door behind her and walking into the dark of the tiny store, she perched herself at the end of the bed he was reclining on, her eyes cast down to the floor and her heart pounding.
She'd been so happy after their reunion at the farmstead, but as they'd driven he'd told her a little what he'd been through at the hands of the hunter group - the murders he'd witnessed and the women he'd seen dragged screaming from room to room at the depot - the brutality of which left them both unable to speak of what was happening between them.
Finally she stole a glance up at his face, stifling a small gasp when she saw he was staring intently back at her.
"Oh Daryl..." she whispered softly, placing one hand affectionately onto his boot and raising the other to wipe at her eyes which were threatening to spill over again.
"Don't" he replied quietly, leaning forward and quickly catching her hand, pulling it to his own cheek.
"Don't cry no more - we're ok ain't we?" he questioned, the double meaning evident as he turned her palm and began gently kissing down her wrist, his eyes never leaving hers as he checked for her reaction.
Carol gasped as his soft breath sent shivers all over her body and she found herself smiling slightly at the sensations his touch was beginning to build inside her. Encouraged by her response Daryl pulled her firmly towards him, causing her to slide up into his arms, her body crushed beside him as he encircled her waist and bent his head to nuzzle into her neck.
Carol could feel his whole body become hard as he inhaled her scent, brushing his lips lightly across her collar bone. He was almost trembling with tension and she knew that instigating the embrace had taken every ounce of his courage. Shivers raced across her from every touch of his lips and she stroked her fingers across his chest, feeling the heat from his body pressing through the thin material covering her breasts. He pulled back from her neck to look up into her eyes, the mixture of nerves and lust on his face making him look like a teenager.
"Daryl" she moaned into his mouth as she bent to kiss him, his lips opening to meet hers and causing her stomach to flip as he gently licked and sucked at her mouth. He slid his hand behind her neck, pulling her in more deeply, their kisses becoming fierce, his other hand sliding shakily down her side before firmly grasping onto her hip.
Carol could feel the heat building between her legs and her mind reeled - thinking of all the times she'd fantasised about this happening, all the times late at night she'd touched herself and imagined that it was his rough hands exploring her. She pressed into him further, sliding her leg up and across his hips, pushing her pelvis against him.
Daryl sucked in breath sharply and looked down at their bodies crushed together, not believing Carol actually seemed to be enjoying his clumsy petting - he didn't have a damn clue what he was doing and was terrified he would mess this up somehow.
Sensing his reticence, Carol reigned back the pressure she'd unconsciously been increasing through her hips and softly butterflied a string of light closed-mouth kisses along his jaw towards his ear. "We don't have to rush, Pookie" she said reassuringly, a playful smile growing across her face as he looked back into her eyes. "It's just me here" she continued quietly. "It's just us..."
Daryl felt a rush of love crash over him - of course it would be ok, this was Carol; the one person who actually understood his fucked-up weirdness. The person who always knew what he was feeling, sometimes even before he understood it himself. She wasn't gonna hurt him. She had told him that she loved him damnit! Feeling more certain, he gripped her against him tighter and moved his lips onto her neck, unable to stop himself from biting and sucking her as he slipped his hand from her hip, under her shirt and up to cup her breast. "So soft..." he murmured, using his thumb to rub firmly across the thin fabric of her bra before slipping his slightly shaking fingers beneath and pinching her nipple with an almost unbearable pressure.
Letting out a soft moan, and unable to stop herself, pressed her body harder into his, pushing him onto his back and straddling his lap. She flushed deeply as she felt the hard bulge of his cock through his jeans, pressing deliciously into her damp centre. Grinding herself slowly up and down his crotch, she looked wantonly into his eyes and whispered "You're driving me wild, Daryl Dixon", letting him know that she wanted this as much as he obviously did.
"Jesus, woman..." he growled, emboldened by her lust for him. He gripped the hem of her shirt and slipped it off over her head. A second later, before she could give herself a chance to think about it too much, Carol reached behind her back to unhook her bra and let it fall away from her, exposing her breasts to Daryl's intense gaze. He groaned appreciatively at the sight of her and she leaned forward to kiss him again. Daryl rose to meet her, finding her breast with his hot mouth and devouring her flesh. His hands roamed across her body, pinching and caressing her, his tongue lapping at her nipples.
"Oh yeah.." he moaned as he gripped her ass and pulled her down onto him, grinding into her before easing his thumbs into the waistband of her trousers. He rubbed them back and forth across her hip bones impatiently, pushing the material down as he growled "Take them off". Carol trembled as he rubbed against her, the insistent pressure coupled with the force of his desire for her was making her throb. She put her arms either side of his torso and kicked her legs behind her, about to stand up so she could obey his command to strip. But as her head dipped towards him, she glimpsed a small section of his hard stomach, his shirt ridden up by their movements and she slid the material up his body, breathing "You too" across the bulge tantalisingly near her mouth.
Thanks for reading. Please review and let me know what you think - also if you have thoughts re style and form I would be grateful to hear them. All the good bits to follow in next chapters ;-)