Dead Days

Chapter Sixteen

Comforting Touch

This chapter has taken forever for me to upload simply because my life has gotten kind of out of hand. I don't even know how long its been because each week blends into the next and I feel like I only wake up briefly to realize the weekend is about to end.

But without further ado here is the next chapter!

As promised, there is smut! Currently its only between her and one of her men but I assure you they will all have their chances soon enough.

I'm hoping to have the next chapter out in two weeks like normal, but I have been going through a super hard time of not being able to write and I only have one full chapter prepared after this.

IMPORTANT PLEASE READ

Smut.

If you're the type that doesn't like the idea of sex out in the open where anyone could possibly stumble upon them then this scene is not for you.

Also, slight mention of someone having seen them do the do. XD

For everyone else please enjoy!

"'Cause every time we touch
I get this feeling
And every time we kiss
I swear I could fly
Can't you feel my heart beat fast
I want this to last
Need you by my side"

-Every time we touch by Cascada

Remington slid from the car, that heavy sensation making room for a bubbling excitement at the sight of Shane, and guilt at the realization that she was the reason he looked both worried and stressed. He was upon her within seconds, having not bothered to wait for her to meet him halfway, as his hands reached out, dragging her closer. They cocooned around her, embracing her in warmth, and safety, as her racing mind stuttered to a stop for one glorious moment, as all he did was hold her.

"What happened?" he asked, the words falling from his lips in a rush, he suddenly dragged her back so that his eyes could take in her form.

"We stumbled upon them right before the meeting time," she whispered, her voice refusing to go any higher. That worry engulfed his entire features, twisting them into something desperate, as his eyes searched for wounds that didn't exist. His hands trailed across her form, lightly pressing against cloth, and brushing against skin as he tried calming his racing thoughts. Guilt tugged at her, harsher than before, as Remington realized, not for the first time, that her actions had consequences. She had been the one to decide to stay, to push on, knowing that there would be those that worried about them back at the farm. It was a decision that she made to protect those she cared about, but it still found a way to harm them in the end.

"Are you okay?" He hadn't waited for an answer, still seeking it for himself, and Remi knew that he wouldn't be able to believe her word unless he saw it for himself. "Were you hurt?"

"I'm sorry." She gently moved to cup his cheek, not trying to stop him in his search of her person, as she shifted, and gave him easier access to see. "I'm fine." Physically she was, but mentally Remi wasn't so sure.

Behind them, a door closed, and she could hear the almost quiet footsteps of Jackson, as he retreated toward his tent, and away from them.

This apparently was enough of a reason for Shane to quit holding back, and Remi realized that he was indeed holding back for Jackson's sake, as once he was out of sight, Shane's hands began to tug at her shirt, lifting it as he checked for blood and wounds. Instinct had her initially moving to tug it back down. For one moment she forgot who she was with, and her hands went to snatch the material away, turning defensive, but then Shane was murmuring quiet words of apology as he tugged her top back down himself. His hand reached up to brush against her jaw as he leaned down, pressing a kiss to her forehead, her nose, her lips, each one lingering, caring, but igniting a fire under her skin that drove away any doubt that this was anyone but Shane standing in front of her, touching her.

"What happened?" he asked again, silently begging her to continue with her story, the need to know and understand driving him forward. He had gone back to lightly touching her, searching for anything she may have missed, or couldn't feel as he listened.

"We found them," she retold, trying to put off having to say aloud what she had ordered. "We surveyed them. I-I made a decision, which kept us there longer, there were women, who didn't want to be there, and a girl." His hands stilled, for just a moment, before he was urging her to continue as he began to soothingly run his hands along her arm, and down her sides. "They weren't good at all, and those women, I can still hear their screams before it just suddenly went quiet. I told Jackson that we were going to stay, and take care of them, so we did."

She shivered as his fingers dipped underneath the cloth of her shirt.

"One of them stumbled upon me after Jackson and I went our separate ways." She felt as the material was abruptly tugged, being yanked up, and over her head, as a frenzied Shane turned her this way, and that way, causing her to blush a deep red as she stood there in only her bra, and jeans. "Nothing happened, he never even managed to touch me, a couple of Walkers got to him." Remi had ended up being forced to take care of them before she had gone down to meet Jackson, Oliver, and Enid. She decided to leave out what Randall had been in the middle of doing before the Walkers had gotten to him, as she didn't want to agitate Shane any further than he already was.

He leaned closer, trying to view her skin, but growing frustrated with the lack of light that the moon gave him, and kept him from properly seeing her. Arms wound their way around her, hands rested on her thighs, a gasp escaping her lips as he suddenly lifted her up, causing her legs to automatically wrap around his waist to keep from falling. He shifted her, lifting her up higher, and when he was satisfied with how she fit in his arms he began to walk her back toward the truck.

"Shane?" Her voice came out softer than before, startled, and confused as to what he was doing. "What are you doing?"

"Just keep talking." He reached out to pull open the back passenger side door, shuffling closer, as he gently sat her on the seat, taking a step back to view her as the cab light bathed her in a glow that left her clear for him to see. "Tell me what else happened? I wanna know everything, darlin'."

"I wasn't hurt," she said gently, feeling the need to repeat what she had said before, to try to ease his concern. "No one got close enough. Jackson and I, we- we took care of them all. There's no way any one of them is ever going to hurt another person again."

Leaning forward Shane pressed their foreheads together, he had caught the flash of unease on her face as she relived the moment, and he wasn't so far gone in his own fear that he couldn't comfort her.

"Jackson had me far away, up in a tree to take care of anyone who was awake, so that he could quietly dispatch the rest." The words came easier than she had expected them to. Jackson had been right. She needed to share this with someone she trusted, someone who hadn't been there to witness, and see how they weren't going to run away and abandon her for the choices she made. Remi had done this to protect those who had placed themselves in her care. "There were two, not willingly there, we let them go, before I asked him to help me give those women a resting place. I couldn't just leave them there, not with those men, to be chewed on by animals, or the dead. They didn't deserve that."

"You did what you had to," Shane whispered softly, the words causing her to relax further, as he began to massage her shoulders, trailing a path down her arms, before moving back up again. "Those men don't deserve another thought from you. You did right by those women."

"I could have been back to you all a lot sooner, but I just couldn't- I just had to do it. I know it was dangerous, what we did, but it would have been more so allowing them to keep roaming around." Remington had gotten to the point that she truly needed to speak about. Her guilt over taking human lives and feeling as if she had done something that allowed a weight to be pulled from her shoulders. It wasn't morally right what she had done, but she still felt relieved regardless. "If they had stumbled upon us, I would have lost you, and the others, us women, we would be the entertainment, and I don't even want to think about what would have happened to the children." Remington shuddered in fear and revulsion as she tried forcing those thoughts out of her head. They would never come true. She wouldn't allow them to.

Shane buried his face in her neck, inhaling deeply, as he began to pepper the skin there with kisses.

"No," he comforted. "You did good. You protected us." He trailed his nose along the column of her neck, his eyes still closed, as he felt her shiver. Shane felt as if she wasn't really in front of him, that his mind was playing tricks, and all he could do was hold onto her, feel her, to constantly remind his brain that she was real. She needed him right now, so he grounded himself, his eyes opening as he tried to ease her mind. "You're so good, Rem."

He sought out her lips, drawing her into a kiss, as he leaned over her, his hands moving to grip the top of her thighs, gently squeezing, before suddenly pulling back, as a sticky, congealed, substance rubbed against his fingers. A confused noise escaped her lips when the kiss was broken.

"What?"

"You're covered in blood," Shane said, frowning, his voice tilting once more, regaining that frenzied edge to it, but Remington simply shook her head.

"Not my own." She could see it clearly in her head, that moment she had been helping drag one of the women over to the makeshift graves, and how her blood had coated the leg that her body had fallen against. "It's one of theirs. The women." She could see the spiral of worry that Shane was falling into, and without thinking about it, Remi was unbuttoning her pants, shoving them down her legs with a little bit of difficulty, as she thought solely on easing his mind. Shane reached forward, helping her pull them off, as he took in the unblemished skin. The embarrassment and shyness she had felt earlier had disappeared and all that was left was safety. Remi believed wholeheartedly in Shane not hurting her, he wouldn't do something she didn't want, and bearing herself to him like this, when he was so obliviously needing confirmation of her being all right, didn't cause doubt to flood her mind. Instead, Remi watched as he carefully ran his thumb over the top of her thigh, wiping away the blood that had seeped through her jeans, and dried on her skin, causing it to flake and fall off.

There was no wound, no sign that Remington had ever been near someone who could have harmed her, just clear skin, and a need for comfort. His thumb continued to brush over the spot, not stopping until everything had flaked away, and then he was dragging his hands comfortingly up and down her leg, causing her to shiver, and sigh, her eyes falling shut.

"You're fine," he whispered, more to himself than to her, who had never had any doubts on the subject. She reached up, gently caressing his jaw, as she arched closer to him, another sigh of bliss escaping from her as he continued touching her.

"I'm here, and not going anywhere." Remi leaned forward, pressing a kiss to where her hand had previously been touching, noticing the way he unconsciously leaned into it. Instead of stopping with just the one as she had planned, Remington began to press more, lingering kisses, to his jaw, down to his throat, as she felt the way his fingers dug firmly into her skin as they dragged across her legs, up toward her hips, and back down. She felt him grab her calf motioning for her to wrap it around him, as he scooted closer, an arm moving to hold her waist, his free hand prompted her to look up, and then his lips were on hers.

Her breathing hitched as he gripped at her hip, rocking her forward, igniting a flame in her lower stomach, and suddenly there was too much space between them, not enough skin-to-skin contact. He was wearing far too much clothing compared to her. She mentally decided to remedy that. Her hands smoothed down his chest, toying with the edge of his shirt, before slipping underneath to brush against the expanse of muscle, which coiled and shuddered as she familiarized herself with uncharted territory, an area she had admired through tight clothing, but never thinking she'd get to touch, and tease, all that she wanted.

He nipped at her lip in response to the unprepared action, welcoming it, and pulling a moan from her lips, as she was suddenly tugging and pulling at the T-shirt that clung to his skin. They broke apart, the cloth landing somewhere in the front of the truck before they were reconnected, and Remi wasted no time in touching, and feeling across his abdominal muscles, before courageously dipping lower. He groaned, leaning back, eyeing her with hazy eyes, as he took in her brilliant form, her own lust-filled gaze causing him to twitch in his pants.

"Rem, baby," he hissed as her fingers dipped past the waistband of his pants and derailing his thoughts. His head dropped, a hand pressed against her lower back, pulling her up, as his lips and tongue trailed across the skin of her chest, toward her breast, as he filled his thoughts with nothing but her, and the confirmation that they were both alive.

Remington tugged at the zipper of his pants, pushing his jeans down, and using her foot to hook around the denim to finish helping him remove the offending material. Shane made quick work of kicking his legs free as his fingers nimbly made to unhook her bra, as one hand moved to cup her breast as his mouth descended upon the other, suckling greedily through the cotton, darkening it, before hurriedly ridding her of it when the hook finally fell away. All thought of taking it slow, and being gentle fled his mind when an answering throaty moan escaped her lips. It drugged his mind, the sound rich, and tantalizing, drowning him within a sea of desire.

"I want you," she whispered into his ear, the words breathy, and heated. "I need you."

He answered her by dragging the last layer between them down her legs, allowing it to drop to the ground, as he stepped back between her thighs, his hands trailing up them, pulling them apart, as they sought after her dripping core. She shook with the pleasure that built in her stomach, his fingers needy, and unrelenting, as he whispered words of encouragement against the skin of her breast as he drew it back within his mouth, the cloth long gone, giving way to the clash of his teeth, and tongue against smooth flesh. It sparked a wave of need that pushed her over the edge as the first vicious orgasm rocked through her body, forcing a strangled moan from her throat, as all she could do was hold him tightly as he worked her through it. Her grip was bruising, as her body arched, and words of a prayer fell from her lips, incoherent, but begging for him not to stop. The broken sobs fell freely as he urged her body toward another release, and Remington felt as if her soul floated above them, before crashing back down, leaving her weightless, as her limbs turned to molten lava, a puddle of unacknowledging awareness.

She felt as he breathed heavily, mixing with her own sounds, as he lifted his head, caressing her hair, whispered words of adoration falling freely from his lips, as he drew her closer, taking in the way her cheeks had blossomed red, matching the shade that darkened her chest, and the wild look in her eyes.

"I need more," she urged. "Please- fuck, Shane-." The words slipped, catching in her throat, as Shane plunged inside of her, hard, and fast, a grunt catching on a moan, as he forced himself to hold on, to allow her to adjust, but Remington was cursing, urging him on, as she rocked into him, threatening him not to stop, as his name, all that formed, fell from her lips in torrents of blissful waves.

He barely felt as her nails dug into his back, his mind consumed only by Remington, her scent heady, her voice sultry, as their flesh burned, and pleasure built until they were both pushed over the edge, his hips pistoning, suddenly stuttering to a stop, as he called out her name, and she shook, tightening around him.

His lips brushed across her skin, lingering, as he whispered unintelligible thoughts, melting into her skin, before moving on to do the same elsewhere, until they finally crashed upon her own. He gently pulled away, grabbing for his shirt that had been carelessly discarded, using it to clean the both of them, before he was dragging her back into his arms. Remington nuzzled into his side, feeling deliciously tired, and warm, as any and all thoughts from before were firmly shut out from her mind, as she knew they would be for the rest of the night.

They lingered like that, basking in the afterglow, enjoying the comfort, and ease with which they could be with one another before Shane was dragging her shirt over her head with a warning of not wanting anyone to accidentally stumble upon them in such a state. He was quick to help her into her jeans, her underwear discarded, and though her mind had softened with the care he gave her, there was a brief nagging sensation of someone stumbling across it, before any, and all care fled her thoughts. How could she care when he warmed her soul and eased her mind? Did it even matter if someone were to find signs of what they had done?

Perhaps, in the morning, Remington would feel the embarrassment, but she could hardly care when Shane was standing in front of her, perfect, and wonderful as he tugged on pants of his own.

Thoughtlessly she pushed herself forward, limbs weak, as she dragged him down to kiss his lips. He returned the affection, gazing down at her, his eyes overwhelming, as her breath caught in her throat, and she simply smiled at him.

"Do you think anyone noticed?" she asked, her eyes roaming over the expanse of skin and muscle as he stood there shirtless.

"With the way you demanded, and begged, I'm surprised you didn't wake the whole farm up, darlin'," Shane teased. He pressed another kiss against her disgruntled, and amused lips. "I don't care. Let 'em know your mine. As long as they didn't catch sight of yah." His voice was thick with a renewed desire, as he nibbled at her lips, encouraging her to open up before she was giggling and lightly pushing against him.

"I was not that loud."

"You could wake the dead, but fuck, it sounded like music to my ears." He nipped playfully at her ear, causing her to laugh again, as she felt happiness rise and engulf her chest. Her hands came to rest against his chest, pretending to fend him off, as she allowed him to slip past her defenses over and over again.

A laugh stuck in her throat as she caught sight of movement behind them, recognizing the familiar form of Lori, as her long brown hair whipped past a tree, and she disappeared out of sight. Remington didn't open her mouth to tell Shane, not wanting to ruin the moment with the realization that they had been caught in the moment, and Remington found herself caring very little about what Lori thought of their actions. It wasn't any of her business whom Shane decided to sleep with, not anymore.

"If you're really worried about it, I'll tell Glenn, and T-Dog to keep their mouths shut," he whispered softly into her hair. "The two of 'em can gossip like a bunch of old ninnies."

"Who cares, let them know, all I care about is what we think. They'll all know before long whom I belong to now. If the news hasn't already spread like wildfire, what with how most of the camp witnessed me kissing you and Merle already."

"Does it bother you?" He didn't seem like this bothered him, her possibly feeling more comfortable keeping their relationship private, but Remi firmly shook her head. "We didn't talk about what your views were with public affection, or if you wanted people to know."

"No, of course, it doesn't bother me. If anything, I need to lay my claim on Daryl where all eyes can see. I don't see that going over well though, he seems the more private type, suppose I should talk to him about that-." Her voice wandered off as she thought about it before suddenly coming back to the moment, her eyes narrowing, as she reached out to grip his hands. "I am more than happy for people to know about us, all of us, and if you want to rain affection down on me in public it won't bother me. I'm proud of each and every one of you." She smiled brightly at him before it turned teasing. "I thought the tumble in the back of this truck, and me calling out your name made it pretty obvious. I could do it louder next time if you want?"

He growled, swatting at her, as she laughed and struggled to get away from his reaching hands.

Soon they were walking toward his tent, where he explained they had set up a sleeping place for all of them, and Remington allowed the warm happy feeling to surround her even more by that knowledge. She craved to be near Daryl and Merle as well, to know that her kids were right there with them, safe, and sound, as the dogs slept soundly, able to be alert at a moment's notice. They had barely made it before the opening was being pulled back and Merle slipped out.

He was instantly drawing her in, pulling her from Shane's arms, as he took in her unhurt form, noticing the lack of a bra as she pressed against him, and filing away the curiosity for its disappearance. When he settled his attention on the fact that Shane was still shirtless, and Merle caught the article of clothing dangling from his hands, he felt pretty certain of what had happened between the two. A smirk lit up his face as he pulled Remi back to grin wolfishly down at her.

"Ya'll have a good talk I take it?" his voice held his amusement, and Remi felt herself sink even further into the warmth that these men provided, upon realizing there wasn't a trace of jealousy in his voice. "Did yah at least spank her for worrying us like that?"

Remington felt heat blossom across her cheeks as she gasped and let out a little horrified squeak.

"Merle!" Remi laughed.

"He let yah off easy," he guffawed with a shake of his head. "Didn' even cross his mind. I would'va punished yah before givin' yah a reward. I think I remember a time where yah asked meh ta whoop yah."

"I- oh my god, stop." She was turning beat red, hiding her face in her hands, as she shook her head, and Merle let his concerned gaze sweep over her form to really make sure that she was okay.

"When you're the one taking care of her you can do what you feel is needed," Shane sighed, rolling his eyes good-naturedly, as he nodded, signifying that she would be fine and that they should talk about it later. Not needing to hear anymore, trusting that Shane had taken care of it for the time being, Merle guided Remington toward the tent.

"I jus' might," Merle answered, lightly swatting at her behind as she ducked to enter the tent. She jumped, diving in quicker than planned, as she turned to grab at his hands as he made to do it again.

Remington turned, smiling, as she froze mid-step, her eyes melting, the smile beaming brighter, as she caught sight of Maisie, and Landon, half lying on Daryl, who had an arm around each of them.

"They fell asleep like tat after a while of cryin'," Merle said. "Daryl took it like a champ." He seemed proud of his baby brother, and Remington couldn't help but feel the same. He had grown more comfortable with the kids over time but knowing that he had been the one to reach out, to comfort them, caused her to be incredibly happy. To know that he was willing to do that, not only for her, but for the fact that he adored, and cared about them.

"I'm sorry I worried you all like that." It upset her to know that her kids had cried, but this moment just reaffirmed in her mind that these three men would be there for her and her children.

She made quick work of changing her clothes, not bothered by the knowledge that Merle and Shane watched her, and just feeling happy to rid herself of the clothes she had been wearing tonight. Neither of them spoke again as she settled down where Merle motioned her to, Shane on one side, and Merle on the other, arms wrapping around her, neither bothered by the close quarters as they settled in for the night.

They were all safe.

They were together.

For tonight that was more than enough.

The banter in this was my absolute favorite. Getting to show how comfortable and how much she trusts them in this. I can't wait to show you guys more of what each of them bring to her. It's so exciting playing around with a dynamic like this.

Sorry it took so long! But I hope you enjoy, and I will try to be on time next time.