"Besides," she added, "That was just round one."

"Izzat so?" His arms loosened around her waist and his hands found her ass, massaging and squeezing. His face never left her breasts, but now he nuzzled around, teasing her through the layers of fabric.

"Mmmmhmmm," she hummed in confirmation as she shivered under the attention.

"That should work out nice, then. Since now I can take my time with you." He bit at her playfully through her shirt and she gasped.

He held her by the hips and pushed her a step away from him. Looking her up and down, he squinched up one eye.

"Why the hell you got so many clothes on?"

"I guess I forgot to take them off."

"Well, you should get on that." He fingered the neckline of her shirt and peered down the gap he created.

She smiled down at him. "Guess so."

Grinning smugly, he scooted back on the bed until he was propped up against the headboard. He piled all the pillows behind him, crossed his feet at the ankles, and folded his arms behind his head. Another rush of heat washed through her seeing him on display like that. He really had a breathtakingly beautiful body.

"Well, go on," he said. "Start with your boots."

She stared at him as it registered what he wanted her to do. Flushing, she leaned over to unzip a boot and tugged it off her foot, then stripped off her sock. As she bent down again, she saw him peering down her shirt some more, so she arched her back a bit to maximize the show.

"That jacket's got to go. It's much too warm in here for a jacket."

She shrugged the jacket off her shoulders and let it slip straight down her arms, catching it at the last second before it fell to the ground. With a grin, she gave it a twirl and tossed it away.

"Now do the thing where you take off your bra without taking off your shirt."

"Really?" she asked with a sideward look.

"Yes, really."

So she reached behind her to unclasp it, then wiggled the straps off her arms, pulling the bra to freedom, shirt still in place. Ridiculous as it was, she was kind of glad he made her take it off first – it was a very practical bra for running away from things, but definitely not pretty. Meanwhile, her nipples made themselves quite apparent through the thin material of her shirt.

"Now what?" she asked, fingering the hem of her top.

"Pants next. But turn around first. And you don't get to bend your knees."

"What?"

"You heard me. Turn around." He made a twirling motion with one finger.

Color rising in her cheeks, she did as he asked. She turned her back to him. Peering over her shoulder, she unfastened her cargoes. She hooked her thumbs under the waistband and hesitated while she took a steadying breath. In one motion, she swept her pants to the floor without bending her knees, stepping carefully to each side out of them as she heard him take a strangled breath. She put her hands on her knees and looked behind her. Grinning wickedly, she took in his look of surprise and his swelling cock.

"What? You asked for it!"

"Devil woman! You didn't tell me you was goin' commando!"

She shrugged as she stood up and faced him. She was still wearing her little knit shirt, but nothing else. His eyes were riveted on her body, apparently having trouble choosing between her nipples pressing against her shirt and her naked crotch. She cocked one hip to the side.

"I'm waiting. What's next?"

"Next you gitcher bare ass over here."

She approached the end of the bed and climbed up on her hands and knees. She crawled her way up him, straddling his body as she went, never looking away from his face. The throbbing ache she felt was becoming unbearable.

When she was close enough, he grabbed as much of her ass as he could fit in his hands and pulled her flush against him. He rocked his hips and ground the length of his cock along her slick folds. She groaned and leaned her hands against the headboard. His hands moved from her ass to her breasts, teasing and rubbing them through her shirt. The sensation sent electric fire through her body.

He began moving against her – rubbing his length along her opening and clit without penetrating. Between his hands on her nipples and his dick sliding against her, pressure built quickly. Her moans came faster and shorter until they became high whimpers. And just when she was at the edge, he changed his angle beneath her and pushed his cock into her. She cried out and shook. He moved one hand to brush a thumb over her clit, and his mouth met her nipple through the shirt, biting down with his lips and tugging. And with that, she was gone.

She arched back, grinding herself onto him as hard as she could, letting the shuddering release take her. He let her move against him how she wanted, to extend the orgasm as long as she could make it. He rode it out with her, watching her, stroking her skin softly. As she finished, panting and twitching, she slumped her weight back onto the headboard. His hands skimmed over her until he finally pushed her knee back enough to slide out from under her. His hands didn't leave her body as he pressed in close behind her. Slipping his hands under her shirt, he lifted it up and over her head and tossed it on the floor with everything else.

His fingers raised goosebumps on her arms as he stroked her skin, guiding her hands back to the headboard. He leaned into her, and she whimpered as she felt his hardness against her.

He touched her everywhere. Places she didn't know she liked to be touched. He nibbled at the back of her neck where her silver hair curled and kissed her ear. He stroked the undersides of her arms and caressed her breasts, tweaking the nipples to make her gasp. He tickled her with callused fingers just below the curve of her ass. His hands massaged the flesh of her inner thighs. All the while, he rubbed his cock against her ass, growing even harder.

From behind, he reached to slip two fingers into her, then rubbed them to either side of her hyper-sensitive clit. She pushed back into him and moaned. Then he guided his cock to her and grunted as he entered her swollen heat. He put his hands on her hips and pulled her back against him, driving into her deeply. She closed her eyes and let her head hang as she met him stroke for stroke. He reached forward and fingered her clit with one hand as they moved.

"Oh!" She threw her head back as a second orgasm exploded through her with almost no warning at all. It was warm and smooth and sent champagne bubbles through her skin as she lost track of anything in the world except Daryl's hands on her and his cock moving hard and fast inside her. Behind her, he groaned her name as he followed her shuddering down the rabbit hole.

Afterward, sweating and quivering, they sprawled on the bed together, legs twined, hands softly smoothing trails on each other's skin. Eventually their breathing returned to normal and their sweat began cooling, so they climbed under the comforter together.

Carol couldn't remember sex ever feeling so fantastic. In a sleepy fog, she wondered if it was from the ridiculously long flirtation they'd shared or if he was just that fucking good.

They dozed together in the candlelight. Near dawn, Carol woke to find Daryl propped on an elbow, stroking her hair. She smiled up at him.

"We should have done this sooner," he murmured.

"I did offer," she said, brows raised and eyes narrowed.

He snorted and kissed her forehead before settling down next to her. She turned to face him, and they wrapped their arms around each other.

"I'm just glad I found you. It was mostly luck, but I'd've kept lookin' forever if that's what it took."

Carol frowned a little. "Daryl?"

"Hmm."

"Why did you come looking? Why were you trying to find me?"

"Why you keep askin' that? I told you already. After Rick said what he'd done-"

She interrupted, eying him warily in the dim pre-dawn light. "But why? He said why he left me, right? He told you what I did?"

He pulled away at her words, looking at her like she'd suddenly sprouted a second head. "He told me some bullshit story about you bein' the one killed Karen and David."

"Daryl, I did kill Karen and David."

His eyes closed and he twitched his head, thinking he hadn't heard her right. "What?"

"I killed Karen and David. Like I told Rick, they were dying already. They were suffering. And they were a threat to everyone at the prison. No one was willing to do anything, so I did. It could've worked. It didn't...but it could have."

Daryl moved away from her and sat at the edge of the bed.

"You didn't believe him? Is that why you came? You thought I didn't do it."

He turned to look at her with...something...in his face. She knew with certainty then that Rick had been right. When people found out, they wouldn't want her. Tears pricked at the back of her eyes.

"So now what?" she asked before her voice betrayed her hurt.

He scrubbed a hand through his hair, making it stick out on that side. Sighing heavily he asked, "You think what you did was right?"

"I don't think it was wrong. I was trying to save lives."

He looked at her a long moment. "OK."

"OK?"

"Yeah. I mean, we all done crazy shit since the world ended, sometimes for a lot less reason than that. In the future, you'd best be talkin' it out with somebody before doin', though."

She set her jaw at that.

He continued without noticing. "Once the sun's up we should head back to the prison. I'm pretty sure Rick was already feelin' like he'd made a mistake leavin' you out here before I made it real damn clear to him."

She sat up, pulling the comforter up to cover herself.

"I'm not going back there." Her voice sounded flat even in her own ears.

"'Course you are. You belong there, and I'm bringin' you back!"

She clambered to the edge of the bed, still keeping herself covered, and started gathering her clothes. "I'm not a lost puppy. I'm not going back, and you can't make me. Nobody wants me there. You can go back and tell Lizzie and Mika I'm fine. And I am fine. I'll be fine."

He stared at her in open disbelief. "Of course people want you there."

"Only because they don't know what I did yet. Just go back. Go on." She threw his pants at him in the middle of putting on her own.

"Carol, dammit, I ain't goin' back without you!" He stepped into the pants and buttoned them up.

"You have to. 'Cause I'm not going back, and you are. They need you there." She couldn't remember what she'd done with her bra after taking it off, and now she couldn't see it anywhere. Fuck it. She'd go without.

"If you ain't goin', I ain't goin'!"

"You have to. They need you!" she snapped.

He gripped her upper arm to pull her around to face him. "I need you!"

"Well, I don't need you!" She yanked her arm free and glared.

He stared at her, mouth open, looking as though he'd just taken a punch to the solar plexus. He took a step back, his face twisted in shock and hurt for a split second before he clamped down on it. His face went hard and expressionless and he nodded unnaturally.

"OK, then. Guess I had a different idea of things. I'll just go and let you get on with bein' fine." He snatched up the rest of his things and left the room leaving ice in his wake.

Shit.

"Daryl, wait! Please?"

His voice floated up the stairs along with the sounds of their furniture barricade being shoved aside. "Thanks for the Spam."

And he was gone.

Carol sank down onto the bed. She knew she should go after him, desperately wanted to go after him. Explain that she didn't mean she didn't want him – just that she was strong enough now to take care of herself. But she wouldn't go back to the prison. She couldn't. And she wouldn't take Daryl away from the rest of their family no matter what. They'd never make it without him.

Hurting him - losing him - was no different from killing Karen and David. A sacrifice for the good of the group. He would hurt for a while, but he'd get over her. Forget about her and move on. No one else wanted her, so why should he?

Everything would be fine. She had a reasonably safe place to be, and she knew how to take care of herself. She knew what she was doing.

She sat on the bed for a long time before heading home.

This is the last verse of the song that plays at the end of "Indifference".

Serpents (Demo version) – Sharon Van Etten

I was lost in the world.

You wanted me to run

and I climbed instead.

Searching for the answers

I will never find,

but that's OK,

I know what I'm doing this time.

Serpents in my mind.