I have to admit that I was writing this chapter while I was supposed to be working today, but I was having too much fun writing it to focus on my work! Oops!

Now, here's some more smut to start this chapter off right . . . Enjoy! ;)

Beth was restless in her sleep as Daryl watched her. The early morning light was still dim, but the sky was beginning to lighten, and he could see her eyes fluttering beneath their lids as she dreamed. Her expression began to form into a slight frown, and Daryl wondered what she was dreaming about. A small moan escaped her lips, soon followed by another, and Daryl got his answer. He felt himself immediately growing hard at the thought of Beth having a sex dream and exhaled slowly, trying to calm himself down. As much as he wanted to pull down her panties and thrust himself inside her from behind, the idea of fucking her while she was sleeping seemed a little creepy.

Things had started heating up the night before as they had laid down for bed, but Daryl had stopped things when Beth had given a small hiss of pain as he slid two fingers inside her. She admitted to being sore from their first encounter, which Daryl couldn't help immediately feeling guilty for. Regardless of how much Beth had insisted she was fine and still wanted to be intimate with him, he couldn't bring himself to do it when he knew it would hurt her, even if the pain wouldn't last. He cursed himself for being so stupid. Beth had only had sex with Zach a few times, how could he have been so rough with her? He felt that he had been so selfish taking his pleasure from her without regard for her lack of experience. But Beth had sternly reminded him that he had given her the first internal orgasm she had ever experienced, and to her, that had been worth a little soreness the next day. Daryl had tried his best to let his guilt about the matter go, but he still hadn't been able to bring himself to have sex with her.

Now, however, Daryl was struggling with his resolve. He wondered if Beth was still feeling sore, or if she would object to him touching her right now. She gave another whimper in her sleep and Daryl almost groaned aloud. The sounds she was making were driving him crazy. Her brow was furrowed in frustration, and Daryl couldn't help himself. He tentatively ran a hand along the smooth skin of her inner thigh, and Beth gave a shuddering breath in her sleep. Daryl brushed his fingertips against the fabric of her panties, exhaling slowly when he felt her wetness seeping through them. His touch traveled up her abdomen and under her sleep flannel, and he slipped his hand under the waistband of her panties, running his fingertips down her sex and along her incredibly slick opening. He began rubbing gentle circles on her clit, watching her frustrated expression ease into one of relaxation and bliss. She moaned again in her sleep, and Daryl increased the pace and pressure of his fingers. He could feel that she was growing wetter, if that was even possible, and his erection was straining against the confines of his pants. Suddenly Beth's eyes fluttered open, and Daryl stilled his hand, but didn't remove it from her panties.

"D'you want me to stop?" he asked, his voice low and rough.

Beth shook her head furiously, and Daryl quickly slid her panties down her legs and tossed them to the floor. Beth spread her legs for him and forced his lips to hers as his touch found her center again, picking up where he had left off. She was already close; Daryl could feel her legs trembling. Her fingers clutched the front of his shirt, her grip growing tighter as she got closer to her peak. It wasn't long before she was shuddering beneath him as her orgasm took hold of her body.

Daryl let her ride out her orgasm before slowly sliding his middle finger inside her, his gaze focused on her face for any signs of discomfort. When she didn't wince, he added a second finger and slowly moved them in and out. He was amazed by how wet she was; he had never known a woman who had gotten as wet as Beth did.

Her hands had found their way under his shirt and were raising it up his chest, and he allowed her to pull the shirt over his head. Her attentions then went to unfastening his pants, and she tugged them down enough to free his almost painful erection. He closed his eyes as her small hand took hold of him and slowly pumped him up and down. He continued to move his fingers inside her, hooking them toward her stomach with each stroke.

"I need you," Beth murmured as she gave his cock a squeeze.

Daryl withdrew his fingers from her and looked down at her.

"You still sore?"

Beth shook her head with an eager smile, and Daryl grinned back at her. He ran his hands under her flannel and lifted it over her head, leaving her completely naked before him. He kicked his pants off all the way and positioned himself between her legs.

"Wait," she said suddenly. Daryl frowned in confusion as she reached to the bedside table and opened the drawer, pulling out a box of condoms. Daryl arched an eyebrow at her.

"Where'd those come from?"

"I got them in the pharmacy in Greenville," Beth explained.

"You mischievous little minx," Daryl smirked at her. "You were plannin' to seduce me all along!"

Beth giggled and blushed a bit. "You caught me," she grinned, tearing off one of the condoms and handing the small packet to him.

Daryl shook his head at her in amused disbelief. He tore open the packet with his teeth and rolled the condom down over his still-erect shaft. He kissed Beth deeply before breaking away and holding her gaze, searching for signs of any discomfort as he slowly pushed inside her. She was just as tight as she'd been the first time, but her expression showed no signs of pain. Daryl slowly began to move, maintaining eye contact with her with each thrust. He focused hard on maintaining self-control; he wanted to take his time with her, rather than fucking her hard and fast as he'd done the first time. He kept his movements slow and deliberate, and Beth's eyes fluttered closed as the pleasure gradually began to build. Daryl felt as though each thrust into her was deeper than the one before, and he wanted to feel all of her, wanted to fill her completely and make her his and only his.

He reached his arms around Beth's back and pulled her up so that he was sitting with her straddling his lap. The new angle allowed him to penetrate her even deeper still, and Beth cried out as he hit the spot that had made her climax so hard the first time. Daryl held her as close as he could as he continued to grind into her. The friction of their bodies rubbed against her clit, and Daryl could tell from the sounds Beth was making that she was getting close.

"Look at me," Daryl ordered. Her eyes fluttered open and he was struck by how much they had darkened in her state of arousal. In the light of the morning he could see how wide her pupils had become with desire, and the sight turned him on even more. He thrust into her harder, and soon her eyes were squeezing shut again as her tight walls clenched around his cock as her orgasm hit her. She cried out his name as she came, and Daryl quickened his pace a little. He buried his cock as deep as he could within her as he reached his own climax soon after.

They stayed where they were for several long moments, holding each other tightly and him still inside her as they attempted to catch their breath. Finally Daryl pulled back from the embrace and kissed her tenderly before disentangling himself from her limbs. He pulled off the condom and quickly tied it off. He stood from the bed and went to toss the used condom in the small trashcan in the corner. He suddenly heard a sharp intake of breath from behind him and turned to see Beth staring at him wide-eyed.

"What?" he asked in confusion.

"Your back . . ." Beth trailed off, looking unsure of how to react.

Daryl sighed. He hadn't even thought about Beth seeing his scars. It wasn't as though their existence was a secret, but this was the first time he had had his bare back to her in the light of day. Before the turn, Daryl usually tried to keep the scars hidden from the women he hooked up with, which usually wasn't difficult since he never stuck around afterward. It wasn't that he was afraid of people knowing about them, but more that he despised the reactions he got when people saw them. Daryl had never wanted anyone's pity, and that's all that he saw on the faces of those who had seen the scars. He could see pity and sadness in Beth's eyes now, but strangely, he didn't feel angry about it like he usually did. Beth was different than anyone Daryl had ever known, and she already knew more about his life before the turn than anyone. Opening up about his past was difficult, but Beth made it easier.

He made his way back to the bed and sat on the edge with his back to her so that she could get a better look at his ruined skin.

"Dad was fond of the belt," he muttered, looking down at his hands. He felt Beth's small, delicate fingers tentatively touching one of the ugly purple scars, and surprisingly he didn't flinch at her touch.

"How could someone do this?" Beth murmured, her tone sounding heartbroken.

Daryl shrugged and turned his head so that he could see her.

"It was worse when he was drunk, which was a lot," he said. "His life was shit and he took it out on Merle and me. When Merle left, then it was just me and him, and things got pretty bad for a while. Sometimes I didn't know if he'd stop or if he'd end up beating me to death. He quit once I got old enough to fight back. Think he realized I could've killed him if I wanted, and I mighta if he'd kept up with it. Instead I just moved out to live with Merle and left him to rot by himself."

Beth looked as though she were about to cry, and Daryl sighed.

"Don't want you feelin' sorry for me," he said. "Besides, it's in the past now. I survived."

"No one should have to go through that," Beth said, shaking her head.

Daryl shrugged again. "Yeah, but people do. It sucks but that's life for some of us. And I'm startin' to let it go. Thanks to you."

"Thanks to me?"

"You told me I gotta stay who I am, not who I was. I'm tryin' to do that and not to think about the shitty stuff that happened a long time ago," Daryl said, starting to feel a little embarrassed. "I don't think you realize how much burnin' down that moonshine shack helped me."

Beth beamed at him, and Daryl felt his heart swell at the sight. Beth scooted closer to him and pressed her bare chest against his scarred back in a tight embrace. It reminded him of the hug she had given him outside the moonshine shack all those weeks ago. He exhaled a deep breath and clutched her arms that circled him. Beth was helping him to overcome so much; she really was his light and his world. He couldn't believe how much her beautiful positivity had helped him to grow in recent weeks, and he took comfort in the way her small arms wrapped around him and held him close.

After a few minutes, Daryl cleared his throat and Beth released him from her embrace. He turned to face her and gave her a partial smile.

"We better get up and get dressed if we're still gonna head to Hogansville today," he said, and Beth nodded in agreement. She stood from the bed and made her way to the dresser to grab some clothes, and Daryl began dressing himself.

"Do you wanna try to go through any other towns today?" Beth asked. "If I remember the map correctly, I think Luthersville is on the way. It's about the same size as Greenville though, so we may not find much there."

"Might as well check it out if it's on the way," Daryl shrugged. "Let's make Hogansville our priority and if we have time we can check out Luthersville on the way back."

"Okay," Beth agreed. She had pulled on a pair of jeans and a simple fitted black T-shirt and was quickly tying her hair up in a ponytail. Daryl watched her as she moved about, and even though the clothes she wore weren't anything special and her hair was messy, she was the most gorgeous thing he had ever seen. He could still hardly believe that she wanted him. She caught him staring as she moved to leave the room and arched an eyebrow at him.

"What?"

"Nothin," Daryl said, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "You're beautiful, that's all."

Beth gave a little scoff, but she was smiling. Daryl followed her out of the room and began gathering the things they would need for the run. Once they were ready, they made their way outside and to the truck. Beth climbed in the passenger seat and pulled out the map to navigate, and Daryl hotwired the truck to life before climbing in next to her.

As they began to drive down the dirt road, Daryl couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face. The morning had already turned out so well, and he was confident that they were going to have a successful, good day. He was determined that nothing would bring him down today.

"Hogansville, here we come," he said as he turned onto the paved road, and Beth grinned at him in return.

Thanks for reading and please review! :)