Chapter Forty Eight

He wasn't sure what woke him. It was either the thunder and rain raging outside or the warm lips pressing against his chest. Either way his eyes snapped open. There was gray watery light leaking through the edges of the dark curtains but the bed was further in the room, bathed in shadows. Her hand boldly slid down his boxers.

"Are you awake?" She whispered right before her teeth caught his earlobe, tugging gently.

"Am now," he croaked as she started pushing the boxers down his hips. He needed to just sleep naked if she was going to make a habit of doing shit like this as soon as he woke up. Her hair and skin were damp and he could smell her soap. "How long you been up?" He asked, stripping quickly.

"Long enough. I realized when I woke up that you've been locked up for three months and I fell asleep on you on your first night out." She slid over him, straddling his hips, her lips meeting his fiercely. She was already naked and he had to wonder if she had came straight from the shower to the bed.

"That's alright," he groaned when she sat up and reached behind her, grabbing him firmly.

He shook his head and pulled her hand away. He owed her one and he was a man that paid his debts. If nothing else, he was efficient. He pushed her so she was on her knees and then pulled her up until she was straddling his chest.

"Daryl, what are you-

"Grab the headboard," he said in a rush.

"What?" She asked but when he looked up she had complied. He slid down quickly, heard her strangled gasp and then traced her with the very tip of his tongue before plunging it into her as deep as he could. His mouth was flooded with the taste of her and she shuddered, one hand reaching down, gripping the top of his head. He changed tactics, sucking gently. He was startled when she came, not expecting it to end this quickly but not complaining. Her thighs tightened spasmodically when he sucked harder. Broken words and whimpers left her as she struggled to keep quiet.

When she stilled he slid out from under her quickly, and came up on his knees behind her, hauling her up with a firm grip on her hips. She raised up, her back flat against his chest. With a groan he pushed into her as he ran the flat of his tongue up the back of her neck. His breath rushed out of him, never able to quite get used to how perfectly she gripped him. His hand shot out, needing the headboard himself this time. His other hand slid between her legs and her body trembled.

"This is so much better than doing it myself," she muttered as he started moving into her.

He faltered slightly, "You do that a lot?"

She leaned forward, pushing against him, matching his movements. "Two or three times a day for the last few weeks," she panted.

That left him with one hell of an image in his mind and he sped up slightly. Mother nature decided to do him a favor just then as a loud crack of thunder shook the windows just as she clenched around him and cried out. He reached up, clamping his hand over her mouth, knowing that there was a house full just outside the door and down the hall. He ground his teeth together and willed himself to hold off. If she'd been working herself for weeks then it was obvious that she needed more than this. When he was finally able to let go of her mouth he pulled out of her.

"Roll over," he managed to growl.

She did, making a startled sound when he grabbed her ankles and pulled her down further. As soon as he was braced between her legs they wrapped around him, her heels pushing his ass further into her, a silent demand. He was more than happy to oblige as his lips found hers and he drank in the small sounds of pleasure she made.

"Daryl," she gasped, pulling her face away from his.

"Hmm?"

"Fuck me harder."

He stuttered to a stop, his eyes widening. It wasn't like the words were so bad but coming out of her mouth they were just flat out fucking dirty. Vulgar. And he liked it. A lot actually. He came up on his knees, lifted her hips and slammed into her, doing exactly what she wanted him to do. He couldn't hold on. Not doing it like this but it seemed to be okay because again, her body came undone. Her hands came up, gripping the slats in the headboard and she raised her hips even higher. She kept her mouth clamped shut and breathed through it this time, keeping him from having to stop to cover her mouth. He let go with a shudder. Dropping over her, growling like an animal into her throat as the intensity of his own orgasm knocked the wind out of him. Her arms locked around his neck, anchoring him to her.

He was completely relaxed, sated, until a horrifying thought slammed into his mind, causing him to scurry off of her like a frightened squirrel.

She came up on her elbows. "What's wrong?"

He ran a hand through his hair, his eyes darting around the room. "Why the hell did you have me do that!" He barked loudly.

She sat up. "What are you talking about?"

"Jesus, I probably gave it a fuckin' concussion!" Fear had his hands shaking.

"Daryl, what are you-" Her voice trailed off once she realized what he was talking about and to his surprise she laughed.

"What the hell's so fuckin' funny, Carol? It ain't even born yet and I probably just beat it to death! Are you insane?"

"Daryl, it's fine. I-" She laughed even harder. "People can still do it when they're pregnant. It's perfectly normal, healthy. It's okay."

He yanked on his boxers and stood up. "Are you sure? Maybe you should go to the doctor or somethin'. And don't ever ask me to fuck you harder again, cause it ain't happein'." His heart was pounding out a panicked rhythm.

"I don't need to go to the doctor. I'm fine. It's fine. We're fine. I swear to God you are the most adorable man I've ever met."

He scowled and sat down on the edge of the bed, pulling her towards him by the ankle. "Laugh it up, Carol. That shit ain't funny."

"I'm sorry," she said, sounding sincere. "But really, it's fine. You don't have to handle me with kid gloves. They all handle me with kid gloves. Merle, Buck, Odin. All of them, and that was before they knew. I can handle them treating me that way. I can't handle you doing it too."

"I'm still not doing that again," he grumbled, letting her turn his head so she could kiss him.

"Fine. We can just do it slow and easy for the next six months." She stood up, turning to head over to the closet but he stopped her, with a gentle hand on her wrist. She turned and he hauled her towards him by the waist. "Last night I threw a fit over you two movin' into that house. I wasn't listening to a damn thing you were trying to say. Did you just agree to do it to shut me up?"

She pushed his hair back, her lips pressing against his forehead. "No, I didn't agree just to shut you up."

"I can't make you do something you don't wanna do. That ain't what I was doin'. I don't own you."

She laughed. "I thought one of the perks of being in a club was the fact that you can take what you want? You claim a woman and that woman is yours."

He shook his head. "You ain't the type of woman that a man can just take like that. Some of the chicks that hang around there, they want it. They're around for one reason and that's to do whatever they can to snag one of us. You might think it looks like a crap deal but the women, the real women, they're the bread and butter of this whole set up. The reason I couldn't get you out of my head to begin with was, you weren't like those girls that hang off any single, or sometimes not so single, member of the club. You came cause I brought you here, and you weren't fuckin' impressed with any of it, not the same way they are. I wasn't shit to you and I knew it. I fuckin' loved it. Well, not at first, but you know what I mean."

She shook her head. "I really don't."

He wasn't good at this kind of shit. He had to try to make her understand. "You're more than just some woman that I saw and then conquered, you know?"

"I know."

"And if you really didn't want to live there, I wouldn't try to force you to. You know that too, right?"

"Of course I know that."

"I don't want my kid growin' up in that apartment though."

"Daryl, what are you getting at?"

"If you're only doin' this because I said you had to then I don't want you doin' this. We can figure something else out. I don't own you. You ain't nobodies property. If you were the type to jump at the chance to be owned then I wouldn't want you. I..."

She grabbed his hands and pulled him up from the bed. He was very aware that she was still very naked. "I love you."

He blinked, his hands stilling on her hips. He loved her too but he'd never said it out loud. He had agreed when other people mentioned it. He had admitted it in his head thousands of times. But the words had yet to ever be uttered and he froze up at the thought of handing over that power to her. He opened his mouth but no words came out.

"I'm sorry," she said quickly, shifting on her feet. "I didn't mean that. I mean, I did mean it but I don't expect you to feel the same way. I just thought you needed to-"

"Shut up," he muttered, kissing her hard just to give himself a moment to calm his racing thoughts. When he pulled his face back she was gripping his wrists hard. "I love you too." There. That wasn't so hard. He didn't feel less manly for having voiced it. He just felt kind of stupid for stumbling over the words like he had.

"You don't have to say that."

"I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true."

She nodded and then jumped when thunder clapped loudly, the rumble seeming to vibrate between them. "I don't think we'll be moving my stuff today."

"We should just leave it. Fresh start and all."

"I at least need my clothes."

"I'll buy you knew clothes. Women are into shit like that, right?"

"Me and Sophia can go get our clothes, Daryl. I need to talk to her anyway. I need to make sure all of this is okay. She seemed happy but you never know. Everything happened fast."

He agreed but he had a strange feeling about letting her go on her own. Maybe it was the weather. Maybe he was just hyper sensitive because he had just gotten out of jail. Or maybe it was because of the look Ed had given her the night before. "Okay, but I'm gonna tail you just in case."

"You're paranoid," she laughed.

He shook his head. "Cautious. There's a difference. In my line of work, you learn to be."