Not Desperate

Chapter 20
An Owl in the Trees

Daryl felt that there weren’t many positive things people could say about him, except for one. He was a man of his word. After he made breakfast, scrambled eggs and toast, he drove Michael to school and spent the rest of the day taking care of Yvonne. He made sure she ate, stayed hydrated and put ointment on her cuts and bruises. When she slept, which was most of the day, he lay with his arms around her. Eventually, he called Merle. He told Daryl he had known what Joe was gonna ask him and just couldn’t be there; he was a coward. He didn’t know about what happened to the girl until Daryl called him. He had taken a risk and gone to Carol who had not turned him away. He poured his heart out to her about Daryl, the boys and her. Afraid of how this would end for him, he told her he loved her and had spent the night in her bed. Those things he kept to himself. Carol had volunteered to stay with Yvonne during the day so Daryl and Merle could go back to work. It would be for only one day, because Daryl and Yvonne were going camping this weekend.
When Friday morning arrived, Daryl was up before the sun, packing gear in his truck. He wasn’t sure if they should still go, but she had insisted. She told him that it would help get their minds off what had happened. He put Michael’s gear in along with theirs. They were dropping him off for his own trip, then driving to the cabin. As they got closer, Daryl stopped at a small grocery store located just off the dirt road that led to their destination. He was planning on going hunting tomorrow and had brought food supplies to sustain them until then, but he had come up with a plan for a special night and had to get some extras. He picked up hot dogs, buns, marshmallows and, of course, beer. Yvonne wasn’t sure of what she expected when she saw the cabin, but it certainly was not this. It was anything but a shack. It had two floors, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large kitchen and a living area with a fireplace. “This is incredible. It’s so big and beautiful. Did your grandfather build this himself?”
“Yeah, for the most part. He let Merle and I do some stuff to the bedrooms to make them our own. Let’s get the gear unloaded and I’ll show you around.” It took thirty minutes to get everything out of the truck because Daryl wouldn’t let her carry anything. After she had put the food away, he grabbed her bag and they went upstairs. He showed her all three bedrooms and let her choose the one she wanted. She looked at each one twice before picking the one at the far end of the hall. Daryl sat her bag down by the door and sat next to her on the bed. The room looked the same as it had the last time he had slept there. This had been the room he had stayed in all those summers. He had made it his own in so many ways that weren’t visible to the naked eye. This was the first place he could ever call his own, the first place he ever felt safe. There were still things hidden in this place that would never see the light of day. “Why’d ya pick this one?” he asked her.
“It seems the most comfortable. It feels safe, I just felt good when I came in here.” She answered him.
“This one was mine. The second one was Merle’s and the big one at the other end was grandpa’s. I felt the same way when I first came in here. Merle wanted it at first, but grandpa told him that as the youngest, I deserved to get what I wanted for once. “
“I can pick another room, if you want this one to yourself,” she told him.
“No. I want you to stay in here. It’s a special room and you need to be in it, okay?”
“Okay. Let’s go downstairs and eat a bite.” She said and went downstairs. She looked through all the food Daryl had picked up and chose to make ham and cheese sandwiches. Daryl told her that she should rest after lunch, maybe they could nap for a while. In a couple or three hours, they would take a walk down to the creek and have dinner over a fire. She was excited about that, but she knew she should rest. Her body was still sore, even though most of her injuries were almost completely healed, the pain medication was still in her system. They walked up the stairs together and went into Daryl’s old room. They lay in bed together, in each other’s arm and drifted off to sleep.
They woke a couple of hours later with the sun low in the sky. “Better get everything together. Need to get to the creek before dark.” Daryl said and kissed her on the forehead. He put the food and a couple other things in his backpack and let Yvonne carry the blanket. They arrived at the creek ten minutes later, the sun beginning to set. Daryl took the blanket from her and laid it on the ground, a few inches away from the creek bed. He put the backpack down on the corner and went to Yvonne, taking her hand in his. He let her to sit on the blanket and sat behind her. Wrapping his arms around her body, he nuzzled her neck and whispered in her ear, “I want to see this with you.” He pointed to the sky where the sun was falling, about to meet the horizon. “It’s beautiful,” Yvonne whispered. Soon the darkness surrounded them. Daryl sighed and stood up, “Gotta get the fire going. Why don’t you get the hot dogs out and ready while I do that.” Daryl said and went to gather firewood. She had never roasted hot dogs over a fire before. This was exciting. She was having such a good time, being way from civilization, being with Daryl. She had been doing a lot of thinking since her attack. Her relationship with him was not what she had expected it to be. He had given her more that she thought she deserved. He had stood up for her and protected her; more than her husband ever did. She realized that she was falling in love with him, but didn’t want to assume that he felt the same. The things he had done for her were nice things, done by a nice man. A nice man who couldn’t possibly love her.
After their meal and dessert of roasted marshmallow, they lay on their backs next to each other on the blanket, watching the stars. “Thank you Daryl. This has been one of the best and most exciting days of my life. I’m so glad we did this. I’m so glad you invited me.”
“I’m glad too. It’s nice to have someone to share this with. Nice to have somebody who can appreciate it like I do.” He said and turned on his side to face her. “You look so beautiful in the moonlight.” He could see her blushing at his words and leaned down to gently kiss her lips.
“Why, Daryl? Why do you do such nice, sweet things for me?” She asked shyly.
He leaned back to look at her, thinking carefully before he spoke. “Because I never had anyone to do these things for. Every woman I’ve ever know has been a one night stand. No one ever wanted to get to know me. No woman ever let me into her life before, made me a part of it. It means so much that you’ve done that. I want you to know how much that means to me. And because . . .” he took a deep breath, “because I love you. I’m in love with you Yvonne.”
She searched his eyes for any hint of deception and found none. Her eyes bean to glisten with tears. “Say it again, please.”
“I love you. Think I’ve loved you since the night we met. Dreamed about you almost every night since. You don’t have to say it back, I don’t expect that. I just can’t keep it to myself anymore.”
Yvonne was speechless. She put her hand on his cheek and brought him down for a desperate, passionate kiss. He climbed over her and settled between her legs. His lips moved from hers to her jawline, then beneath her ear. He put a hand in her hair and pulled her head to the side allowing access to her beautiful neck. “I’m ready Daryl. I need you. Please.” His lips continued their assault on her skin, moving to her collarbone, then her chest where he licked and sucked the swell of her breasts as they peeked out of her bra and tank. “Tell me baby.” His voice low and rough. “Tell me what you need. Say the words.”
“I need to feel you inside me,” she said breathlessly. “Make love to me.” He sat up on his knees and looked at her, lying there before him, his for the taking. He pulled her up to him and they looked into each other’s eyes. “I need you too.” He said and hissed her again. His hands went under her shirt to her stomach and as they moved higher, he pulled her shirt up and over her head. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. Her beautiful, full breasts enclosed in a lacey, purple bra. He brought his hands up and cupped them, feeling her nipples harden as he rubbed his thumbs over them. They moaned together and she brought her hands up and wrapped them around his neck. She began to unbutton his shirt and slipped her hands inside, touching him for the first time. She felt his breath hitch and he stopped touching her, dropping his hands to his side. “Daryl? What’s wrong? Are you okay? What did I do?” Yvonne asked him, scared that she had done something that would stop what was happening between them.
Daryl moved his hands away from her. He put his hand on her cheek and touched his forehead to hers. “Everything is okay. You didn’t do anything wrong, just gave me a reminder.”
“A reminder of what?” she whispered against his lips.
“You let me into your life,” he said. “You’ve let me see things that hurt you. I know about your past, the things that made you who you are. I need to do the same,” he said and stood before her. He unbuttoned his shirt and slowly let it slip from his shoulder and land on the blanket. In the moonlight, she could see faint white lines scattered across his chest, some small, some not. She moved closer and he allowed her to touch them. As she ran her fingers along the puckered white ropes of skin, she felt them surrounded by small circular ones. She knew exactly what this was. She’d seen it before, on her mother’s skin. He held her wrists away and turned around, his back being much worse. Some of the scars had been covered by an elaborate tattoo on his shoulder blade, but she could still feel them as she continued to caress his rough skin. She wrapped her arms around him and put her forehead on his shoulder. He could feel her tears on his skin and instead of getting angry over the pity he thought she would feel, he knew these were tears of empathy.
“How long did this go on for Daryl?” Yvonne asked, the sadness evident in her voice.
“First time I was six. Right after my ma died. Pa blamed me ‘cause I hadn’t been home at the time. I’d been down the street with some neighborhood kids. Should have been there to keep an eye on her. She drank and smoked a lot and fell asleep with a cigarette. Burned the house down to nothing. Not a trace of her left.” He began to weep. “Merle was in juvie most of the time, he never knew.” He turned in her arms to face her. “No one knows, ‘cept you. Rick and T always suspected, but I never told them. They’ve never seen my scars. You’re the only person who’s ever seen them. I was seventeen when he stopped. I was big enough and strong enough to fight back. He lost interest when I wouldn’t lie down for him anymore.”
“I don’t care about the scars, Daryl. I’ve seen them before, on my mom. There’s no reason to be ashamed of them either. You’re the most beautiful, amazing man I’ve ever known and I have a feeling it’s all because of those scars.”
“You still want me?” he asked with trepidation, looking at her through shaggy strands of hair.
“More than I’ve ever wanted anyone or anything in my entire life. I love you Daryl.” He placed one hand on her hip and grabbed the back of her head with the other. He pulled her roughly to him and devoured her mouth with his. He leaned forward, taking her to the ground beneath him, his lips never leaning hers. Reaching behind her, he unhooked her bra and slid the straps down her arms; it joined his shirt on the ground. As his mouth caressed her nipples his hands went to her waist; his thumbs dipping under the band of her jeans. With the button and zipper taken care of, he pushed them down her hips and legs exposing her matching purple lace panties. Once her jeans were disposed of, he hovered over her core and began kissing her stomach, working his way down. He pushed her panties aside and took a deep breath, breathing in her arousal. His already hard cock twitched in its confinement, begging to be released.
He dipped his head and slowly stated to lick and suck at her swollen clit. She whimpered and writhed, bucking her hips into his lavishing tongue. He rubbed her pussy with his fingers and slid two inside her. “Oh God, Daryl!” she cried. He thought his cock would burst out of his pants when he heard her say his name. “So perfect,” he mumbled into her heat, the vibration causing her to moan loudly. She was close, he could tell by the way her pussy contracted on his fingers. “Don’t stop! Please! Please don’t stop!” she begged. He lifted his head to look at her. Her face was flushed and there was a thin sheen of sweat forming on her skin. He continued to pump his fingers inside her. “Not gonna stop baby. Never gonna stop. Want to see you come. Come for me Yvonne.” He was panting now, his breathing shallow in anticipation of seeing that beautiful face in ecstasy. Suddenly she stilled, her mouth forming a perfect ‘O’ as her eyes shot wide open. Her back arched and her hands flew above her head. “I’m coming! Oh God Daryl!” He continued to pump his fingers inside her and began rubbing her clit with his thumb. He only stopped when she visibly relaxed, a smile on her face and tears in her eyes.
He moved up her body and kissed her hard. She tasted herself on his lips and tongue. She moaned into the kiss, her limp body motionless beneath him. He broke the kiss and looked at her. “Are you ready for me?” he asked. His eyes dark and half-lidded, his lust and desire shining through. “Yes, take me. Make me yours,” she begged. He sat up and left her laying there and went over to his backpack. Rooting around with one hand he pulled out a long, rectangular box. He looked at it for a moment then put it back. Not now, he thought. That was for later, after. He rooted around some more and found what he was looking for. He walked back to her and stood towering over her naked body. He took off his pants and boxers at once, letting his erection free. She looked up at him in awe. He was large, larger than any man she’d ever had before; certainly larger than David. He must have seen the surprise on her face, because after he rolled the condom on, he got on his knees before her. “We don’t have to go through with this if you don’t want to. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“It’ been over four years for me Daryl. It’s gonna hurt no matter what. The hurt will only last a moment, this will be worth any pain involved. Take me, however you want me.” He leaned down between her thighs and rubbed his head against her wet slit. He supported himself with one palm by her head and the other pumping himself, preparing to enter her. He whispered in her ear, “Let me know if it’s too much. I’ll stop if you need me to.” She nodded her head in the affirmative and he kissed her lips soft and gentle as he slid himself inside her. Her body stiffened and he stilled. “Just relax baby. I’m gonna take care of you.” He took one nipple between his lips and the other between his thumb and forefinger manipulating them masterfully. He continued to ease himself inside her until he was balls deep. He stilled again allowing her time to adjust to him. When she was ready, she began bucking her hips into him, wordlessly giving him consent to move. He pulled out of her and slammed back inside, making her scream his name into the sky. She wrapped her legs around him tighter trying to pull him into her closer. She put her arms around his neck and brought his lips down on hers. His teeth clinking against her in a fury of love and passion. He sucked at her bottom lip and went straight for her neck. He roughly sucked that spot where her neck met her shoulder. Her moaning and screaming got louder as he sucked harder.
“Harder, please.” She begged, barely able to speak. Her body was on fire. She could feel every thrust reverberate throughout her from head to toe. She had never felt so full in her life. She could feel her orgasm building in her again. As Daryl pumped himself inside her harder and faster she felt like she would lose consciousness. Daryl, meanwhile, was struggling to keep his own orgasm at bay. He had obeyed her command, taking her harder and rougher, making her his. “So perfect,” he was able to say. “So wet, so tight. All mine.” He growled, his voice deep and haggard, full of pure lust. He could feel her walls contract, squeezing his cock like a vise. “Please come baby. You’ve gotta come now. I can’t last much longer.” With those words, she dug her nails into his skin and dragged them down his back. “Daryl!” she screamed at the top of her lungs as she came harder than she ever had. He cradled her head in the crook of his neck as he released inside her, latching his teeth onto her neck as her pussy milked him for every ounce of cum in his body. They continued to move together as they both came down from their high. He lay on top of her, his head buried between her breasts as they waited for their breathing to calm. When his soft cock slid out of her, he moved to lay on his back, dragging her with him, his arm around her and her head on his chest.