This chapter went a different direction than what I had originally planned, but I like this way better. I hope you all enjoy!

Chapter Eighteen

They kissed for what seemed like forever to Carol. She couldn't remember the last time she had made out with a man on a couch, and in semi-darkness. Maybe it had been before Ed had gotten abusive, but Carol knew that she had never enjoyed kissing Ed as mach as she did Daryl. Eventually, she didn't know when exactly, she had wound up in Daryl's lap, straddling his hips and gasping when their hips were flush against one another. Daryl leaned back, detaching their lips, mistaking the noise as a sign of protest, but before he could say anything, Carol leaned forward and kissed the words away.

Daryl's lips move down to her jaw, kissing along the edge, and then moves down to her neck where he leaves kisses and tiny nips that cause her blood to heat up. "Can we just do this all night?" He asked, the words mumbled into her skin, and continued to kiss down to her collarbone, which was on display over her shirt, before he leaned back and met her eyes. His eyes were almost impossibly black. Only a sliver of blue could be seen around the blown blackness of his pupils.

"Yes. Please." Carol cupped his cheeks and brought his mouth back to hers. Daryl's hand moved to her hips, to press her more firmly into his lap, and when his fingers touched the bare skin of her waist, she shivered with unexpected pleasure. What would those calloused fingertips feel like on the rest of her body? With a mind of its own, Carol's left hand grasped Daryl's right wrist, and slowly began to ease his hand under her shirt. Clenching her other hand in a fist, she willed herself to not tremble at his touch. It was almost impossible.

"Carol, what are y-?" She cut him off with another heated kiss, and finally brought his hand up to cup her breast. Through the material of her bra, she could feel the heat of his hand, and when he squeezed, experimentally, she moaned into his mouth. Never had a touch from a man felt this good. How would things feel when they finally joined on their wedding night? Carol moaned, again, and ignored how wanton she must have sounded. This man had the ability to destroy her with his kind words and pleasurable touch.

Reaching behind her, she unclasped the bra and took it off without taking off a shirt, a trick every woman knew how to do. Daryl stared at her in wide-eyed wonder. She wasn't ready to bare all to him, not yet, but she was ready to feel his touch. At her nod, he slid his hand back under her shirt, and they both groaned when his warm hand made contact with her bare skin. Carol threw her head back, and Daryl leaned forward to kiss her throat. These were by far, the hottest kisses they had given one another.

As Daryl continued to explore the supple flesh on her chest, and kiss the soft skin of her throat, Carol felt something stirring underneath her in Daryl's pants. She wasn't naive, and knew exactly what it was. Without even thinking, she found her hips ground against his. It had been a long time since she had been with a man.

Immediately his hand stopped exploring, and what sounded like a growl, vibrated in his throat. "We should probably stop," he said, reluctantly and detangled his hand from her shirt. "It's not that I want to, but..."

Carol smiled at how bashful he looked as he spoke, looking up at her through the fringe of his bangs. "It's all right. I understand. Plus, it is getting late, and I did promise that I wouldn't keep you up." She climbed out of his lap, and his hands reached out, as if to tug her back to him.

"Uh, yeah, you did." His hands came together and settled over his lap, and very obvious arousal. The only source of light in the living room was coming from the kitchen, but even in the dim light, Carol could see how flushed his face was. "Um, can I take a shower, first?"

Carol knew that the shower would not be a hot one, and inwardly winced. "Of course. You go on and take one while I clean up our mess."

"You sure? I can help." He stood up, and moved to pick up the plate on the table in front of them, but Carol waved him off, and picked them up herself. Any extra movement would probably be very uncomfortable in his situation, anyway.

"It'll only take me a few minutes. Now, go take your shower, so I don't fall asleep waiting for you."

"Yes ma'am." Carol giggled when he gave her a little salute before walking to the bathroom.

It took longer than Daryl would have liked to get his little problem under control. It had gone away pretty quickly when he first ducked under the cold spray, but when he turned it to warmer temperatures, he began to think of Carol and how she had been in the same shower a few hours earlier. And just like that, his problem was back.

Finally, he stepped out of the shower and dried himself before walking toward Carol's room. The door was slightly a jar, and rosy light spilled into the hallway. Opening the door, he saw Carol sitting up on the left side of the bed (which he noticed was the side she always slept on), reading a book. Beside her, on the night table, was a steaming mug of...coffee?

Shutting the door, completely, he walked over to his side of the bed (he was going to call it his, now) and climbed under the covers. "Isn't it a little late for that?" He asked, and pointed at the aqua green mug, which looked to be covered in Cherokee Roses.

Carol shrugged. "It's never too late for coffee." She reached for the mug, and took a sip. "What some?" She held it out to him.

"Sure." He took the cup, and took a drink. Surprisingly, it had the perfect amount of sugar and creamer. Daryl liked his coffee on the sweet side, and apparently, so did Carol. "This is good." He handed it back.

"You better get use to my late night coffee drinking."

"We could turn it into an 'us' thing. I don't mind drinking coffee this late. As long as its not an espresso, we'd be bouncing off the walls, then."

"Hm, I'll remember that when I'm feeling a little frisky." Daryl jerked his head to look at her, not quite believing what she had said, and saw the flush creeping up her neck. Quickly, she hid her face behind her book.

"What are you readin'?" He decided to change the subject, so not to prolong her embarrassment, and saw that her hand covered up the title.

"Nothing." Just like that, her flushed face was in full display and the book was in her lap.

"Oh, come on." He reached for it, and she jerked it out of his reach. "I bet its one of those lady porn books." He lunged another time, but Carol was too quick.

"No, it's not."

"Then, how come you're hidin' it from me?" Daryl moved to reach for it, again, Carol raised her arm, but instead of moving to grab it, Daryl tickled Carol's side, she jerked at the unexpected touch with a giggle and the book was in any easy reach. Daryl plucked it right out of her hand.

"Hey, no fair." Carol pouted, but didn't move to take it back.

"Pride and Prejudice. That's it?"

Carol shrugged, and stuck her tongue out at him.

"And here I thought you were reading one of them Harlequin romances, and takin' notes for us to go over Friday night."

"Daryl Dixon!" She gasped with a hint of smile.

"You got to make a sex joke, earlier, why can't I?"

Carol took her book back and placed it on the table. "You can. Now, help me finish this, so we can go to bed." Daryl took the mug from her and finished the rest of the contents in three large gulps.

"There you go." He handed her the now empty mug and moved to lie down on the bed.

"I didn't mean for you to finish it." She looked mournfully at the bottom of the cup before placing it on the table, and turning off the light.

"Shouldn't have handed it to me, then." Daryl waited until she settled into the bed before turning on his side and wrapping an arm around her body. "This is all right?" Carol answered by scooting back more until her back hit his chest.

They fell into silence, but neither one was asleep.

"Carol?" Daryl broke the silence. "What we did earlier, uh, did you...did you enjoy it?"

"Did I not sound like I was enjoying it?" He knew Carol was teasing, but remained silent as he recalled the events from earlier. Which may not have been a good idea, because he felt blood rushing to a certain place, again. Carol must have taken his silence as him taking offense at her tone, and she turned her body to face him fully.

Cupping his cheek, she said, "I did enjoy it, Daryl. Very much. I haven't felt like that in a long time."

"I'm glad I could make you feel that way." He leaned forward, hoping to kiss her lips, but got her nose instead. Carol giggled, leaned up and kissed his chin.

"Let's get some sleep, so you're not dragging your feet all day at work." She turned on her other side. "Goodnight, Daryl."

"Night, Carol. I love you." He was met with silence, and he tried to not let it bother him that she still hadn't said the words back.

The next morning, Daryl woke up, warm, comfortable...and late. He had forgotten to set his alarm the night before, and looking at the clock, he was supposed to have been up a half hour ago. Careful as he could, he detangled Carol from his body (she was practically lying on top of him), and slid out of bed.

Going to his bag of clothes, which he hadn't put in Carol's drawer yet, he quickly took out a pair of old, holey jeans and a ratty shirt. He got dressed in the room, knowing that Carol was still sound asleep, and she had already seen the few scars on his chest. His back, however, was another story. So, he made sure to change with his back to the door.

"There's cereal in the kitchen," Carol's sleepy voice mumbled from the bed. Daryl startled and looked up to see that her eyes were still closed. Had she even spoken to begin with?

"What?"

This time her eyes opened into little slits. "If you're hungry, there's cereal on top of the fridge. You can make yourself a quick bowl before you head out."

"I'm already runnin' late, so I'm goin' to pass." He crossed the room and placed a kiss to her cheek. "Thanks, anyway. I'll see you later."

Carol leaned up on her elbow, still looking blurry eyed. "Wait. Do you plan on coming back here after work or to your house?"

"Well, I still need to bring stuff over. So, I'll stop by at my house, gather some more of my things and come back. If you want?"

"I do want, but you can't come over at all on Thursday."

He blinked. "Why not?"

"Its bad luck for the groom sees the bride twenty-fours before the wedding. You can go a whole day without seeing me, right?" She teased.

"It's goin' to be one of the hardest things I'll ever have to do." He was deadly serious. "Now, I really need to get goin'. I'll be by around seven. Stay safe. I love you." And with that, he was racing out the door and to his truck.

Daryl walked into work twenty minutes late. Luckily, he had never been late before, and his boss didn't seem to mind. Jim walked over and pressed a clipboard into his hand. "There's only three of us in, today, and already have our hands full. Here's your first car of the day." Daryl looked down at the board, which had the year and model of the car he'd be working on

"What? No first name?" He looked up at Jim. Usually, they required a name and number so that when the car was finished they would be able to call the person up and let them know to come get their vehicle.

"Nope. I handed the guy the paperwork, and when he was done, he handed me his keys and paperwork, and left. He was gone before I even noticed that he'd only put his last name. Its whatever, I guess." Jim walked away to work on his own car.

Daryl shrugged and scanned the garage to find the black Dodge Charger. It was an older model. 2005. "All right, Mr. Peletier, let's see what's wrong with your car."

Uh oh. We all know who that is! It's about time he made another appearance in this story, right?

Thanks for reading!