Between the Thorns
Chapter 55
Despite the fact that he'd won the battle, bested Negan, killed Simon, and was returning to Hilltop with not only his life but an entire army at his back, Daryl felt his stomach sinking more and more the closer he got. By the time he saw the tall walls looking up in front of him, he felt like he was going to puke. Squaring up his shoulders, he steeled himself against the heartbreak of what he knew he had to do. Now that Negan was dead and Jean was safe, he had to let her go. As badly as he might want to, it wasn't right for him to continue to force her to be his wife.
All the moments they shared together flashed through his mind. And for a moment he almost convinced himself that there was a chance she actually wanted to be with him. But Daryl pushed those feelings down. He had to at least give her the chance to decide for herself what she wanted. He would make sure she and the girls were safe no matter what. But he wanted to make sure she knew he wasn't going to expect her body as payment for his protection. He wasn't Simon. Or Negan.
Jean and her daughters were staying in adjoining rooms inside Hilltop's large historic mansion. And Daryl was not surprised to see that a guard had been stationed outside. After he heard about the stunt Rose pulled releasing the prisoners, he didn't really blame them for keeping an eye on her. But that was no longer necessary. The war was over. Daryl dismissed the man, instructing him to go check with Maggie if he wanted to ensure that she was fine with him leaving his post.
Daryl eased the door open. Jean was leaning over the playpen, gently pulling the blanket up over Gracie's shoulder. Her long dark hair was down and falling forward, nearly obscuring her face. When she rose and smiled down at the small sleeping child, Daryl almost lost his resolve. Her dark doe eyes and the soft loving expression on her face were nearly his undoing. And he took a step forward, intent on sweeping her up into his arms and carrying her to the large four poster bed so he could have his way with her.
"Daryl," Jean gasped, her face lighting up in surprise and excitement. She rushed him, throwing her arms around his neck and peppering his face with kisses. "Thank god you're alright! It is over? Is he dead?"
"He's dead," Daryl confirmed with a stiff nod.
Jean slowly released her grip on him, her excitement turning to confusion when she realized that Daryl wasn't hugging her back.
"What's wrong?," she asked. She took a step back, biting her bottom lip to stop it from quivering.
"Negan's dead," Daryl repeated. "It's over. We… I mean… Ya don't hafta do this anymore."
Jean took another step back, hugging her arms around her body. She blinked away the tears that were already forming in her eyes. She knew that getting married so quickly wasn't something either of them chose, but she was under the impression that Daryl's feelings for her were still sincere. Despite the strange beginning to their relationship, she knew she'd fallen for him. Completely. The realization that maybe he didn't feel that way for her was coming as a bit of a shock.
"I'll never let anythin' happen to ya. Or the girls. But ya don't hafta be married ta me fer that," he explained. "Not anymore."
Jean nodded her head, unable to even speak for fear of the emotions that were about to come bubbling out of her. She turned her back, burying her face in her hands. One ragged breath after the next. And the moment she heard the door click shut behind her, she burst into tears. Her mind was spinning and her body was racked with raw painful sobs. The last time she cried that hard was when she found out John was dead. But somehow, this felt worse. Because Daryl wasn't dead. He just didn't want to be with her. Jean cried into her hands for another minute before she realized that Daryl never said that. He never said he didn't want to be with her. He said she didn't have to be with him. He was only giving her a choice. Jean popped her head up, wiping up the snot and the river of tears with the hem of her shirt. Before she could overthink what she was about to do she ran for the door. Flinging it open, she dashed out into the hallway, screaming for Daryl to wait.
He was at the end of the hallway, looking even more miserable than her, if that was even possible. And he stopped, turning in her direction the moment he heard her voice.
"Daryl! Wait! Please!" Jean rushed into his arms, clinging to him as she buried her face into his neck. And this time his arms went around her, crushing her against his chest. "I wanna be with you," she sobbed. "I love you and I want to be your wife."
Jean felt the wall against her back. And then Daryl's mouth was pressing down on hers. She parted her lips, eager for his tongue and the feel of his hard body pressed against hers. Jean wasn't sure how far the kissing might have gone right there in the hallway if the girls hadn't come barreling out of the room, screaming for Daryl even louder than she just did. Jean's crying must have woken Gracie back up. Because Rose had the little girl in her arms when she and Lily rushed Daryl and started hugging all over him.
"Come on," Daryl said, grabbing Jean's hand and leading the whole little group of them towards the large staircase at the end of the hall.
Maggie was sitting behind what used to be Gregory's desk. Jesus was hovering behind her. Gavin and one of the other lower ranked lieutenants were on the other side, sitting in two matching chairs. They were all involved in a rather serious discussion when Daryl barged in without knocking.
"I need a priest," he announced. "Or a minister. Or… someone that can marry us."
Gavin barked out a laugh while his companion looked on in confusion. Maggie rose from her seat, looking at Daryl like he'd lost his damn mind.
"Marry you?," she asked, gesturing between Jean and Daryl. "Aren't you already married?" Daryl paused, looking for a moment like he was thinking about explaining the situation. But he quickly changed his mind.
"Sorta," he said. "...but we need ta get married again. Right now."
Jean took one look around the room and started laughing. Then she grabbed the back of Daryl's neck and pulled him down so she could kiss him. She would have been perfectly happy without another ceremony. But she could tell this was important to Daryl for whatever reason he had. So she decided she might as well just go with it.
"I got ordained online before the outbreak," Jesus offered with a shrug. "For my friend's wedding."
"That'll do," Daryl said, gesturing for him to step out from behind the large wooden desk. Gavin and the other lieutenant rose awkwardly from their seats, having suddenly been transformed from tense merger negotiation participants into wedding guests in under thirty seconds. The small group gathered in a rough circle in front of the desk. Jean could only take one of Daryl's hands. Because she was balancing Gracie on her slim hip with the other. But that didn't seem to matter to them any more than the fact that Jesus really had no memory of what he was supposed to say as the officiant of their sudden wedding. They both said their I do's again. And kissed. Daryl seemed perfectly satisfied with that.
When Daryl pulled back, he lifted Gracie from Jean's arms and handed her to Gavin. The man took her, handing the baby like she was a nuclear bomb instead of a child with only a slightly damp diaper.
"Watch all these kids for me, will ya?," Daryl asked, though he didn't wait for an answer before he lifted Jean up into his arms. He paused in the doorway of the office, spinning around and almost knocking Jean's ankles into the doorframe. "Behave. And uh... Watch yer sisters," Daryl instructed the oldest of the three girls before turning back around and dipping out through the doorway. By the time they got halfway down the hall, Jean could hear laughter tinkling out of the open doorway behind them. She tightened her grip around Daryl's neck, kissing the sensitive skin behind his ear and pulling his earlobe between her teeth.
When they finally entered her bedroom, Daryl kicked the door shut behind him. But he didn't set her down until he made it to the bed. Jean flopped back onto the bed and laughed as Daryl yanked at her legs in his attempts to pull her tennis shoes off without untying them first. Since this was technically their second wedding night, it was hard not to compare it to the first. This time, her laughter filled the awkward silence. And since no one was recording them, they were both more than eager to strip off all their clothes and stay on top of the blankets.
Jean ran her hands up and down the length of his body, grabbing his ass and rocking her hips against him. The heat was already building between her thighs. And she would have been perfectly happy if Daryl bypassed any more foreplay and simply took her. His skin was warm against hers. And she could feel his dick pressing against her thigh. He sucked on her neck hard enough to leave a mark as she wriggled and shifted her hips under the weight of his body, trying to get his dick inside her.
It wasn't until she slipped her small hand between them and gripped him that he grabbed both her hands and pinned them to the bed. Moving down from her neck, he buried his face in her heated breasts. Her small pink nipples were already hard, poking against his lips as he sucked on one and then the other. Releasing his grip on her hands, Daryl cupped her breasts, massaging them as he moved his mouth back and forth between them. When he pinched down, she arched her back, rising slightly off the bed and gasping his name.
Daryl slid further down her body, kissing the insides of her hips and flicking his tongue across the little tattoo she had there. Her hands tangled into his hair, tugging at the roots as he ran his tongue over her everywhere but the spot she wanted it most. He could feel the heat radiating off her core. Which is why he pulled his head back in surprise when she suddenly told him to stop.
"I've got a better idea," she said, the corners of her mouth quirking up into a naughty little smile. Daryl grinned back as he allowed her to guide him onto his back in the center of the bed. He wasn't sure what she had in mind. But he was more than happy to take her any way she wanted.
Once Daryl was lying back on the bed, Jean turned and placed one knee on either side of his head. Then she leaned forward until her lips were brushing against the head of his dick. His hips bucked slightly, his dick twitching at the sudden contact. She flicked her tongue across the tip of him, licking up the drop of precum that had already formed there. Then she leaned further forward, massaging his balls as she sucked and kissed them. A low groan issued from his throat as she felt his hands grip her hips and pull her pussy down onto his face.
Jean could feel his tongue on her clit. And since Daryl was lying on his back, both his hands were free to explore her. He began to slide his fingers in and out of her, taking her in both holes at once. With all that going in, it was hard for her to concentrate on what she was doing to him. She spit on his dick and took it into her mouth, gripping the base of him with the other hand and moaning when he began to thrust between her lips. He hit the back of her throat and she came, gagging on his dick as the force of her orgasm shook her body. Daryl pushed further in, forcing her to swallow his entire dick before he withdrew and flipped her onto her back.
He grabbed her by the hips and pulled her towards the edge of the bed where he was now standing. Her legs weren't long enough for her knees to bend over his shoulders. So they ended up spread and hooked over his elbows as he lined the head of his dick up with her slick heated entrance.
Jean cried out when he forced his full length inside her with one hard thrust. He found her clit again, rubbing circles around it with his thumb as he fucked her. His balls bumped against her ass with the force of his movements. Her dark hair was spread out under her head in a wild tangle. And she clawed at the blanket under her as she felt her body tighten. She came hard, her insides squeezing down around Daryl's dick as he kept up his brutal assault on her pussy. He forced himself to stop, leaving his dick buried to the hilt as he leaned forward and kissed her.
"Yer mine," he whispered. "Say yer mine."
Jean's walls were still spasming around his hard length. And she wasn't even sure if she could get it together enough to form the words. But she did manage some approximation of I'm yours before he kissed her again. She could taste herself on his lips when his tongue tangled up with hers.
He pulled himself back up, looking down at her as he gripped his dick and gently withdrew. She thought he might have already found his release. Even though she didn't feel it as she came. But glancing down, she could see that he clearly wasn't finished yet. His dick was still rigid in his hand, the head slightly darker than the shaft. The entire length was slick and glistening with her fluids. But there was still resistance as he pushed the flared head of his cock into her tight back entrance. Her muscles were clenching from her orgasm. And she gasped and arched her back as he forced his way into the tight ring of muscle.
With the head of his dick inside her, he didn't need his hand to guide it. Both hands slipped lower, gripping the rounded cheeks of her ass and spreading them wide. She was forced open, her muscles burning and fighting against the sudden intrusion. One of his hands moved up, teasing her clit until she began to buck against him and he was able to slip the head of his dick past her tight ring of muscle. Her knees were still hooked over his elbows. And he folded her nearly in half when he leaned forward and began tweaking and pulling at her hardened nipples. She cried out when he pinched down on them, burying his dick completely inside her. Daryl continued to toy with her nipples as he fucked her ass, forcing wave after wave of pleasure out of her until she finally felt his body shudder as he found his own release deep inside her.
Jean was halfway to blacked out when Daryl pulled the covers back and moved her gently across the bed so that her head was resting on the pillows. She snuggled into him, loving the feeling of his warm strong body against hers. She smiled when he asked her the same question he asked her after the first time they made love.
"How does it feel ta be Mrs. Dixon?," he teased. The last time he asked her, she was still unsure of her answer. But this time she was certain of how it felt to be Daryl's wife.
"Perfect."
