Chapter 1: Discovery

In the calm after the loving, she lay halfway over him, nestling into his side, his hand warming her ribs, her knee up on his hip. He reached for the small of her back, pulling her in closer. Carol squeaked a little and wriggled distractingly against him, making him roll his eyes and squeeze her even tighter.

"Ticklish?"

"No."

"Ah. Hot spot, then?" His knuckles grazed down her spine, landing just below her waist, and she gasped and involuntarily squirmed against his hip. He quirked an eyebrow down at her and deliberately ran his nails lightly over the spot again, grinning when it produced the same response

"Wow. Nice," he mused. "Hey, got a piece of paper and a pen? Need to make some notes for further study."

She actually giggled at that one, until he pulled his arm out from under her and sat up. "You're not serious."

"Deadly serious, woman. I consider this a challenge: to find and commit to memory all the spots on you that get your motor runnin'."

"That's apt to take quite a while, Daryl," she teased, "unless you think you can just plot them out without, hm, paying a toll?"

"'S okay, I got time, and I'm prepared to ante up whatever you got in mind for payment. Where's that paper?"

Her foot in his hands. His strong fingers pressing up into her instep, kneading firmly, his thumbs caressing the top of her foot. Bringing it up to his face, running his tongue between her toes. She can control neither her peals of laughter nor the reflexive darkening of her eyes, and tugs frantically against his grip. He solemnly sets down the foot and picks up the tiny notebook where he's been recording his findings, like he's charting a new world.

Sometimes it seemed as though he had a secret source of information, like he'd been consulting an advance scouting report. He came up behind her while she was washing her hair in the sink and moved to replace her hands with his own, massaging the warm rinse water over her scalp, digging his thumbs into the curve at the base of her skull, until she moaned under his touch and sighed in boneless surrender. He took note of her utter relaxation and the firm peaks her nipples made under the thin t-shirt. She leaned back against him, grinding her backside against the front of his pants, then grabbed her towel and spun away, shooting a hot-eyed glance back at him and strutting out the door before he could stop her. He had to stand around for a few minutes and let things cool down before he could follow. It wasn't clear who had the upper hand in the game, at this point.

She goes to turn the corner of the building, headed over to take down the dry laundry, and he's there, catching her wrist and swinging her into his arms, burying his mouth in the soft spot under her ear, nibbling at her neck. She swallows a shriek before it can leave her lips, finds herself clinging around his shoulders as her legs go rubbery under his assault. It's as if her entire body has turned into one giant erogenous zone, and he's playing Intrepid Explorer, investigating every inch of her he can in the infrequent snatches of time and out-of-the-way corridors they can find to be alone. She feels like she's a teenager again - the stealthy encounters, trying to maintain some semblance of decorum around the others, all the while her body is charged to a fever pitch of nerve endings and anticipation.

It was becoming almost impossible to get any work done. All she wanted to do was drag him into bed and never get out again. Time to go on the offensive.

"Rick, could I speak with you for a minute?" The bearded man turned and waited for Carol, pausing on his way out into the yard. "In private, please." The sunny courtyard was about as private a space as they were likely to find, as long as no one else was close by and they kept their voices down, and Carol had no intention of broadcasting her intimate matters.

She wasted no time getting down to business. "We need a night off, Daryl and I both. At least twelve hours of no watch duty, no chores, no interruptions for Jude, nothing that isn't strictly an emergency. You know I don't ask for much for myself, but I'm asking you now - we need some time alone."

Rick's eyes held his surprise at the sudden revelation that she and Daryl were now we, but he nodded readily, his hand coming up to clasp her arm warmly. "I have to say, I couldn't be more pleased. You both deserve some happiness."

"Happiness - and one blessed night without outside distractions?" she pressed.

Rick chuckled and shook his head, acknowledging how rare such a thing had become. "Of course, Carol. Whatever you need. We'll switch things up on the schedules and make it happen. I'm guessing you'd just as soon people not know exactly why?" She nodded; she had fully expected the man to understand how fragile this new thing still was, and she trusted his discretion. "It may take some doing, but I think we can arrange things without too much talk. My only concern is that keeping people from bothering you is going to be a bit of a challenge - everyone's so used to looking to you when they have questions. Daryl, too."

"I've got that part covered," Carol said, crooking a smile at him. "I don't plan to be anywhere people would think to look for me. For either of us," she amended.

"What night were you thinking? It might take a few days to wrangle this."

"Thursday should do it. I need a few days lead time myself."