Spiced Molasses

Chapter 21

Beth had hoped he'd kiss her again when he asked her to play along. She'd been a tiny bit disappointed when he hadn't. Until his mouth closed on her neck. It was just the whisper of a touch but it tightened her body in response. Beth was inexperienced but not so unfamiliar with herself not to recognise the reaction. She had encountered that warm weight that rested low in her body before.

The wicked softness of his lips was balanced by the facial hair on his face. There was no confusing Daryl with someone else. Jimmy had tried something like this before but Beth had never reacted in this way.

She hadn't been thinking too far ahead when she had made the spontaneous decision to kiss him. Daryl had been so insistent that they wouldn't have to but it seemed like the last tool available to them to convince the sceptical Merle that this relationship was legitimate. And his mouth had just been there.

Coherent thought didn't return to Beth until they were walking up the stairs to the apartment. Daryl had spirited her away from the party in a rush. Beth was awash with electricity, still dazed from where her actions had taken them.

She was struggling to read Daryl but from the curt hand on her back, she knew she was dealing with Agent Dixon right now.

The door closed behind them and the silence was overbearing after the party. Beth's ears were ringing. She wished Daryl would look at her properly. His eyes seemed to go everywhere but her. She desperately wanted him to say something about what had happened.

It was unscripted and, though it had helped them in their ultimate goal, Beth didn't feel impartial about it at all. She bit her lip and tried to keep a neutral face.

Daryl tugged his phone out. "I need to report to Grimes," he said briskly.

Beth nodded, teeth indenting harder on her bottom lip. What was she expecting him to say? This was a job to him. She recalled what Haley had said to her in the kitchen about his transgressions. This was a big thing to her; Beth didn't go around kissing people for just any reason. But Daryl was older than her. He was used to girls and kissing. No, not girls. Daryl was used to women.

That revelation struck her hard. She could have laughed at herself for being so ridiculous and pathetic. Her parents were dead, her siblings were scattered and here she was with a crush on her bodyguard. It was messed up and she felt stupid for caring what Daryl thought of her. He treated her kindly and allowed her a certain amount of freedom that wasn't strictly allowed. When had that stopped being enough for her?

She had shed enough tears to last a lifetime, Beth decided. She refused to make a huge deal out of it or lament Daryl's disinterest. There were bigger things to worry about. If he could be professional about the situation then so could she.

The next few days were easy. Daryl was busy with his job and he was barely home except to eat. He was a little more distant than usual but Beth put that down to his preoccupation. The nights were a little worse. She had taken to working with the boxing bag to wear herself out but even then she was still having dreams. Not nightmares of her parents' death like she once had, but dreams about a clever mouth working lower and lower on her body.

She ran the risk of slipping back into that dangerous boredom but Daryl produced a number of files one night. He passed them to her as he threw himself on the couch.

"Long day?" Beth asked, careful to keep her limbs to herself as she thumbed at the manila folders.

"Yeah. Martinez has recovered from his hangover and now wants to get back to work."

"And these?" Beth asked, flipping open the first page, expecting to find more on the Governor or her father. It was a list of phone numbers, names and addresses.