Hey y'all! Sorry this one took a little bit to get out! I've been like crazy busy and it's only going to get worse through the weekend I'm afraid. Ugh! It sucks because I want to just keep writing this fic, but duty calls!
Just a side note about this chapter: I listened to "Sail," by Awolnation while writing this and I often visit that song for this fic. It just seems to...fit. I can't describe it, but if you haven't listened to it, I recommend it. The beats are awesome and it totally gets me in "Merle" mood.
I want to take a moment and sincerely thank those of you who reviewed that last chapter. Some of you genuinely made me blush and you really know how to stroke a gal's ego! I'm floored and totally honored. I know I say it a lot, but I really don't think I say it enough so, THANK YOU! :-) Reviews make me happy and happy keeps me writing!
Last note(I promise): I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations as it took a while and lots of shuffling in my schedule to get it all down even though it isn't my longest chapter. I don't like to take breaks when writing a chapter so I always worry that it isn't going to be as good as I want it to be. Enjoy!
After Hershel had checked over Merle and declared there wasn't much they could do at this point but to wait for him to wake up, Beth settled in next to him and waited. Around her, the others moved about cleaning up and killing off any stray walkers that lingered. They were gathering them all into a pile outside to burn later. Exhaustion marred everyone's face, but determination and pure adrenaline pushed them all to keep going even when all they wanted to do was sleep. It had been a long night and they were all running off of fumes.
It had only been thirty minutes or so since Merle had been moved into her cell and he had been twitching every few minutes. She reached over and smoothed her hand over his cheek trying to smooth the creases of tension and worry that spanned his face. Strong fingers shot out and wrapped around her wrist tightly and she found herself pinned beneath him, the icy coldness in his eyes startling her. His fingers were crushing the delicate bones of her wrist and she realized that he must still be trapped back into the events of earlier. She winced slightly and lifted her other hand to his face.
"It's okay Merle. It's me. It's Beth," She whispered.
Something flickered in his eyes and he let out a deep breath, his fingers instantly releasing her wrist and she hissed as she experimentally rotated it. He blinked several times and she saw him slowly come to realization. He shifted off of her immediately and she turned so that she could look at him.
"What's goin' on?" He asked gruffly. "Where is he?"
She knew he was referring to the Governor, "He's dead. Michonne killed him," She stated and she proceeded to tell him everything that had happened that he had probably missed in the midst of all of the action and chaos that had ensued. His jaw clenched tightly when she told him how the Governor had grabbed her and Martinez had saved her before Michonne had delivered the fatal blow that had ended the Governor's life. She skirted over the fact that the Governor had grabbed her by the throat, but Merle never missed anything and eventually his eyes drifted to the bruises that she knew marred her skin. She instinctively lifted a hand to cover them, but his hand reached up and pulled hers away as he stared at her. She could see his eye twitch slightly and then he focused in on the bruise that had left a colorful rainbow on one side of her face. The tension radiated off of him in waves and his jaw was set more tightly than she thought she had ever seen.
He rolled over her and lifted himself off of the bed, looking around for his blade before grabbing it off of the table and sliding it back into its slot on his prosthetic. He didn't say anything to her, but he did stare at her for a moment before he left the room, the thud of his boots sounding out the warning of his anger. She swallowed hard and walked out of her cell, but he had already left the block and she didn't know whether she should go to him or leave him be.
"Let him go. He needs to work out his anger," A voice called softly from the doorway of one of the cells.
She glanced over and into the slightly disfigured face of Martinez. He had several bandages covering him and she knew that her daddy had already been doctoring him. The man was clearly in pain though and he was swaying slightly as he struggled to remain on his feet. She hurried over to him and grabbed his arm to steady him.
"You should be lying down," She chided.
He chuckled and she realized that he was also slightly out of it, probably the effect of the pain meds he had been dosed with already. "No time to rest. I gotta earn my keep. Don't want no redneck's shooting me in my sleep," He murmured.
He managed to keep most of his weight off of her as she helped ease him onto the bunk. He closed his eyes on a sigh and she turned to leave the room when his voice called to her again. She turned and saw that his eyes were barely open and struggling to focus on her.
"He'll come around. Seen him rage before and it's best if you give him this time to work through it," He said.
She lowered her eyes to the floor and kicked at the fine layer of dirt that had gathered there, "I think he's mad at me," She said softly.
Martinez grunted and shifted slightly in the bed, "No. He's mad that he wasn't the one," He replied.
She frowned, "The one what?" She asked.
He was silent for several minutes and she started to leave, assuming he had fallen into a deep sleep when he responded, "The one to kill him."
Merle brushed his way past several people in the group and grabbed onto the foot of one of the walkers lying in the kitchen. He dragged the body out behind him and rolled it over onto the pile that some of the others had started. He saw Rick and his brother both glance up at him and the two of them exchanged a look. Merle stalked off before either of them could approach him and headed over to where they kept a couple of cars that were used for spare parts. He tightened his fist as he paced back and forth in front of the car and then he slammed his fist into the front bumper. He felt the impact split his skin, but instead of pain he only felt minor relief and he repeated the action several times until he finally collapsed on his ass next to it.
"Getcha shit all worked out?" Daryl commented from somewhere behind him.
Merle huffed, "Maybe. Ya gotta problem with it?"
Daryl sauntered into his view and took a draw from his cigarette, slowly blowing smoke into the air, "Figured you ta be a lil' more happy considerin'," He commented.
Merle grunted and ran the tip of his blade slowly back and forth across the concrete. He felt cheated. Here he had been, taking a fucking nap while the rest of the prison took care of business. He hadn't even been able to protect the girl. She probably felt sorry for him and that thought made his chest tight. He could take a lot of things, but never pity.
"Somebody's lookin' for ya," Daryl said suddenly and Merle glanced at his brother to see that he was looking off in the distance past the cars.
Merle sighed and stretched his legs out in front of him, "Ain't in tha mood fer company so why don'tcha jus' tell 'er ya don't know where I am?" He grumbled.
Daryl cleared his throat, "Alright. I don't know where he is," Daryl said.
Merle frowned and glanced up to see Daryl talking to Beth. He rolled his eyes at his brother, "Tha fuck didn't ya tell me she was standin' there!" He cried.
Daryl smirked at him and merely began heading back in the direction of the others. He paused next to Beth, "Careful. He's like a bear. Get too close an' he might bite," Daryl said as he walked away.
Merle shifted his eyes to the ground and sucked his teeth as she walked over to him. The girl had guts; he would give her that. Every time she was around his body seemed to smell her and it reacted to her scent every time. As much as he wanted her to just leave him alone to his own thoughts, he didn't want her to leave at the same time. He knew that he was in a dangerous mood right now and he was doing his best to close himself off from everyone. She kneeled down in front of him and he stared at her silently, his eyes coasting over her bruises again.
"What can I do to help?" She asked. She shifted closer and placed a hand on his leg.
"Ya wanna help?" He asked gruffly.
She nodded, "Yes. I don't like seeing you like this," She said and she bit her lip.
Merle sucked in a breath. He was pretty sure she didn't know exactly what that gesture did to him or maybe she did and she was doing it intentionally. Either way, he knew he had to have her. He had to have her now. He needed to bury himself inside of her and make her cry out his name. His pride wouldn't allow him anything less and he needed the release of being inside of her. He climbed to his feet and silently grabbed her hand, pulling her along behind him. He knew there was a storage room behind one of these doors that had a window that might allow them some light. He pulled her behind him until he spotted the door and the light from outside was just enough for him to see that it was empty save for a few cardboard boxes and a couple of wooden crates.
Beth tugged on his hand, "What are we doing?" She asked.
He pulled her inside and shut the door, backing her up against it roughly.
"Helpin' me," He responded.
Beth felt the fluttering of warmth pool in her belly as Merle backed her against the wall so roughly that it almost stole her breath. She was torn between feeling a little scared of his current mood and a little excited all at the same time. He didn't speak, but she could hear his heavy breathing and he suddenly buried his nose in her neck against her shoulder and breathed in deeply.
"I can smell ya," He said as he shifted his leg between her legs and pressed it against her sex.
She sucked in a breath at his blatant words and she knew her panties were wet with her arousal. His tongue licked a trail from her neck to her collarbone where he nipped at her with his teeth. She let out a low gutteral moan and her arms twined around his neck. Spinning her around, he pinned her against the door so that her back was to his chest and he pressed himself against her. She could feel his hard length pressing against her ass and she shimmied backwards against him a little.
He sucked in a breath, "Ya shoulda jus' left me out there by myself. Now ya done started somethin'. I ain't gonna be gentle darlin'," He ground out, his breath warm on the back of her neck.
She shivered, "Then don't."
He groaned aloud at her words and she heard him move away from her for a few minutes. She stayed where she was, waiting. Her skin felt flush and she was so turned on that her legs wouldn't quit shaking beneath her. She felt him behind her, quiet as a panther he had come back to her and his hand tugged at the hem of her shirt.
"Take it off," He commanded shortly.
Beth swallowed and silently obeyed. She tossed it to the side and with trembling fingers she worked at the clasp of her bra. Except she was shaking so badly that she couldn't get the clasp undone and he growled impatiently behind her before pushing her hands out of the way. Beth felt the heat of his arm against her back and then his hand pulled at the clasp until it popped and her bra fell loose on her shoulders. She started to protest but his mouth was on her shoulder, his hand snaking around her to tug on her nipple. He bit down lightly on her shoulder and she moaned softly against him.
He pulled back again, "Pants," He ordered.
She unzipped her jeans and slid them down her legs, but when she went back for her panties he reached out a hand stopping her. He moved her hand back to its position against the door and then slid his finger over the damp center of her panties. Breathing harshly, Beth tried to hold it together, but she couldn't resist moaning again at his touch. The sound of his zipper sliding down filled the room and then he pushed on her back gently so that her ass stuck out. She jumped as he smacked her ass with his hand and he chuckled softly. He slid the material of her panties aside and then paused with the tip of his cock just outside her entrance.
"Ain't got no condom, but I'll pull out," He rasped.
She nodded, barely registering his words in her eagerness to have him inside of her. When he pushed inside of her, she cried out at the feel of him. He slid in deeply and then paused before pulling back out and beginning a steady rhythm that had her pushing her hips back to meet him.
She pulsed with sensation with each thrust and she moaned out his name, "Merle."
He grunted, "Fuck yeah," He replied.
Merle reached a hand around to her belly and splayed his fingers there to hold her in place as he pounded into her with more force than he had ever used with her. Beth felt like her body was stretched taut like the strings on a violin and each thrust stretched her just a little bit farther.
When she knew she was on the verge of her orgasm she turned her face to the side, "I love you Merle," She panted as her body exploded into a thousand pieces with the force of her orgasm. She shifted her legs in an effort to remain standing as the aftershocks passed through her core. Merle grunted and she knew by the tension in his body he was on the verge of cumming inside of her. She felt him begin to withdraw and she clenched her legs together, "I want you to cum inside of me," She said.
"Fuck me," Merle ground out and then he was spilling himself inside of her and she let him thrust until he had nothing left. His arm never leaving her, they both made their way to the floor, breathing heavily. They sat twined together for several minutes in silence as they both fought to come back down from their sexual high.
Then Merle did something Beth had never seen nor thought that he would do. He tightened his hold on her and nuzzled his face into her neck, "I...Yer mine, ya know that?" He asked.
She shifted so that she could look into his face. His expression was serious and there wasn't a trace of any of the anger he had shown earlier. She lifted her hand and pressed it against his scruffy cheek, "Always," She whispered.
Okay y'all, it may be a bit before I get to update! Don't freak out, but it may be Monday or so before I get another chapter out so I hope this holds you over for a bit ;)
Review me?