Everyone inside the walls were clean shaved and quite naive but this man’s eyes had a darker side, he had seen things. It made you nervous but it also excited you. 

The twang of his voice made your heart skip a beat, you heard him speak in passing since that day but you hadn’t mustered up the confidence to speak to him alone. 

So you don’t, continuing to watch from the sidelines as he navigates his way around the group. Some of them are not giving him a warm welcome. 

This didn’t seem to phase him, you began to notice who he was closest to in his own group. Carol had been friendly towards you, briefly introducing you to Daryl who grunted in your direction.  

He made you nervous in a different way to Rick. You were intrigued by Rick, the way he didn’t instantly accept his role as the town’s police officer but he looked so good doing it. 

How he quietly observed everyone, just as you were watching him. His eyes flickered onto yours, holding your gaze which made your cheeks flush red as you tried to hold your composure. 

You secretly hoped you weren’t holding your emotions on your face as you tried to ignore the pull towards him. 

It was only a crush, right? 

You weren’t imagining how his lips would feel on yours, how his rough hands felt grazing your soft skin. Over your breasts—

Legs trembling as you bent down to lift up the basket of fruit, heavily exhaled as your composure was clearly ruined simply by your dirty thoughts.

 A single word hadn’t shifted between you both and yet, the crush was blossoming in your chest. Every glance made your stomach flutter. 

Since he had shaved his beard, there was a hidden glow where the thickness had once been. 

He patrolled the streets cautiously, still observing the town you Iived in. He didn't approach him and you noticed that people didn’t approach him, everything was still rather hostile.

Even though a few weeks had passed, you still didn't have the nerve to speak to him. 

Today your shift at the pantry was in the evening rather than the morning, feeling off kilter as you organised the stock. Between you and Olivia, it was run like a tight ship. 

The evening shifts were easier, the quietest with a few people popping in for their dinner prep or breakfast prep. You often focused on stock take and rotation during this type of shift, it was shorter than the morning as the demand was higher so more items needed replacing after lunch.

You hadn’t seen Rick in a few days even though you haven’t spoken, the scenarios didn’t disappear from your mind. The glances exchanged between you, from that first meeting. 

The way the sun glistened against his blue eyes, how he tipped his hat when he walked past the pantry. Not directly at you but his eyes lingered longer than necessary. 

This made your stomach flip whenever you saw those brown cowboy boots. 

That familiar sound of the heel against the concrete flooring, your back was turned holding onto a can of peaches. Breathing shakily as you tried to contain your excitement. 

“Hi darlin’ ” his voice was quiet, hovering behind you. 

This made you nervous, it took you a few moments to place the can back on the shelf and turn around. 

“Didn’t mean to make ya jump” he chuckled, hands on his hips as you looked at him. 

Cheeks flushed red at the twang in his voice, his eyes boring into yours. The light blue reflecting off the evening sun, matching the faint colouring of his uniform. 

You smiled politely, glancing down at his fingers which were gripping onto his gun holster by his hips. 

“Oh hi” you squeaked, redness tinting your ears. 

“So? You work here?” His question was curious, picking up one of the cans. 

He studied the contents for a brief second before his eyes landed back on yours. 

“Uh huh” you nodded, suddenly realising that you were at a loss for words. 

This was rare, you weren’t the chattiest of people but you usually kept basic small talk. 

And then Rick said something that made you quiver, 

In a low husky voice, stepping even closer to you. His eyes burnt into you, setting fire to the emotions in your stomach. 

“Use your words, little one’’ 

You let out a gasp, a mixture of shock and minor arousal. If you struggled before to compose yourself with just your thoughts, this was a whole different ball game. 

He seemed to like that your reaction to his comment was somewhat nonexistent, the edge of his lips turning in delight. 

“Yes, Rick. I do work here” your voice shuddered as his attention didn’t falter. 

Leaning forward once more, his lips inches away from your ear and your jawline. His breath hot on your skin, goosebumps shot across your skin. 

“See, that wasn’t so hard now was it?” His eyes releveling in his pleasure at making you squirm. 

Shaking your head in response, your eyes snapping towards movement outside. His demeanour changed instantly, a flicker of a smile lingering on his lips as he took a step backwards. 

‘’Well, I’ll see you around. Darlin’ ” the twang hitting a little harder than the first time he spoke. 

As you tucked the key into your pocket, double checking the locks before heading back to your house. It was dark now, the pantry was never open long during the evenings so not much time had passed since Rick had been standing with you. 

The reoccurring flutter in your lower stomach as your mind drifted to him, the chunk of the keys hitting the inside of your trousers as you walked. 

It was quiet in the streets of Alexandria, the guards in the tower had slowly changed since the group’s arrival but you didn’t enquire much into that. 

Secretly hoping for Rick to appear as you rounded the corner towards the row of houses, a few lights flickered along the terraces and in the bedrooms. 

You had overheard that Rick had yet to move into his own house, the group still shared the living room of one of the acquired houses. This made you curious, it had been a long time since you had experienced the proper feel of family. 

The next day came quickly, finally a Saturday you weren’t required to work. Noise from outside awoke you as light bellowed through the thin curtains of your bedroom, groaning as you tried to roll over and ignore it. 

But the noise was more persistent, realising you wouldn’t get more sleep than you had. You peered out the window, Rick’s group were discussing loudly together in front of the houses. 

Your window ajar, you pressed your ear as close as you could get without being caught and listened. 

“Look Daryl, Michonne is right. I want to give this place a try, for the sake of Judith and Carl. I want Carl to experience peace and I’d like Judith to grow up like her brother did” his voice was low but firm. 

As Daryl grunted a reply that was barely legible for your hearing at this distance, you stupidly decided to take a peek. Instantly meeting those blue eyes, his hands tucked into his pocket and a flicker of a smirk. 

He had seen you. 

With a eek, you pushed the curtains closed and pressed your back against the wall. Heart racing as you tried to hide away from view. 

The sound of feet moving downstairs made you relax for a second, peeling yourself away from the wall as their figures were no longer facing your house. 

As you pattered sleepily downstairs, coffee on the brain. You were startled to hear a soft rattle against the door, gasping in shock. 

Only dressed in skimpy shorts and a loose white tank top, you froze. Holding your breath as the sound of the kettle boiling filled the large kitchen. 

It was too late to ignore them now. 

You still hovered at the door as you looked at their frame, instantly recognising his build and his thick hands clutching his holster. And if you were expecting anyone, it definitely wasn’t him. 

“Hi Rick, I’ve just made coffee if you fancied some?” You smiled innocently. 

A twinkle of amusement in his eyes as he accepted your invitation and stepped inside, taking in your decor. You had tried to make the place homey, through innovative ideas with what you had to hand. It wasn’t perfect but you liked it. 

As you let the hot water on the instant coffee, everytime you made your coffee all you could think of was the espresso coffee you used to enjoy. It felt like an age ago, your back pressed against the counter to face Rick. 

Rick was clearly impressed by it, your cheeks flushing as you noticed him examining the items on the kitchen counter. You had some perks from working in Alexandria’s pantry, Olivia allowed you to take a little extra than others especially it was a slow evening. Sometimes the items had been sitting there for too long. 

‘Sugar?’’ you asked, wanting to break the silence with something easy. 

Feeling slightly curious about the foreign topic of how Rick used to take his coffee, it was something that you once used to die to know about when you fancied someone. The word ‘fancied’ rolling around in your mind, there it was. The thing that you didn’t dare to admit to yourself but it was true. 

As he nodded, mumbling a thank you as you emptied a little bit of milk into both cups and the metal vibrations of the teaspoon hitting the ceramic mug and turning back to face him. He was closer now, his hand grazing yours when you passed the mug between your hands/ 

You tried to deny the sparks that flew between the light touch, you cleared your throat and blew on your coffee. Rick not taking a step back, not giving you the space that you weren’t even sure you truly wanted. It had taken you weeks to even be in the same room as him and now you were overthinking if he fancied you back. 

His comments from the other night had replayed continuously as you laid in bed, sending flutters to your low region. As you looked up at him through your eyelashes now, you felt your breath was taken away by his teasing blue eyes staring back at you. Holding your gaze longer than necessary. 

‘’I can’t remember the last time I had a cup of coffee’’ he mumbled into his mug, the sip of coffee evidently burning his tongue.

Water briefly filled his eyes as he swallowed the hot liquid without a noise, it was hot. How he could act so nonchalantly about the coffee burning the inside of his mouth and not take his eyes off you. 

You wondered what he’d be like if his tongue was elsewhere, licking the inside of your thighs. 

Would his eye contact be so strong? Would he moan or shudder louder than he did with the coffee? 

Clearing your throat once more, Rick’s eyebrows narrowed at the noise. You were aware that it had been twice you had done that, secretly hoping that Rick didn’t notice but it appeared that his focus had never lingered away from you. 

‘Something on your mind? Little one?’ he asked curiously, there was a playful expression on his face after he spoke. 

Yes, the idea of him eating you out in the middle of this kitchen. The coffee went cold on the counter whilst your ass was perched on the edge, his nails digging into your skin as his teeth bit down your thighs until he reached your trembling core. Begging for him to touch you, taste you. 

But you didn’t dare speak a word of that, 

‘’Just how nice the sun looks in the morning’’ you lied into the corner of the mug, pushing it in between your lips. 

‘’Liar’’ his voice was deep, his eyes twinkling as he placed the mug next to your side. 

Heart hammering into your chest, your eyes fluttering at his words. How could he tell you were lying, just by looking at you? 

‘’No--No’’ you stumbled on your words, the mug still held tightly between your hands. 

‘’I think it’s cute, how shy you get around me’’ his lips were inches away from your ear, hovering just below the side of your neck. 

Your body trembled as he was even closer now, your eyes flickered down to his lip. Chapped and raw, he probably hasn’t kissed someone in a very long time and that made you weak to the knees. 

‘’Rick’’ you felt yourself whine, his hands were pinching under your chin. 

Lifting your face up towards his, his lips were inches away from kissing you. Your mug was clutching tightly between your chest, the pain was slightly hurting as it dug into your soft skin but that didn’t matter. 

Not when you were this close to kissing someone you really, really wanted to kiss.  

You felt his body shake against yours, he still hadn’t kissed you. It was painful to be this close to his lip without any solid action. The only person you had kissed was Spencer and that was on a drunken night when you felt sorry for him, this was different. 

The fire burning in your lower stomach was making your thighs sticky, his rough touch against your soft cheeks was making you melt. And yet, you heard him groan, his eyes tightly closed before he released you from his grip and slowly took a step away. 

Leaning over you to pour the contents of his mug into the sink, lingering his body inches away from yours but he didn’t lean any closer and he definitely didn’t kiss you. 

You visibly sighed, feeling rather disappointed. The heat building up inside that you was slowly being doused and put out by his dismissal. You weren’t one to beg for a man to kiss you. 

It was only a kiss and he wasn’t the only man in Alexandria. He just happened to be the one that made you nervous and the one who had started this fire inside you. The one who you kept your thoughts racing throughout the day and met you in your filthy and disgusting dreams. 

Sighing to yourself, your mind began to wonder. Maybe he wasn’t as attracted to you as you thought. 

‘’Hope you enjoyed your coffee’’ you spat out, biting your lip after you spoke. 

Feeling bitter at the situation unfolding both in your mind and in reality, you fancied him from the moment you saw him so the mixed signals were driving you insane. 

His back was facing you, his mug was sitting in the sink with no remainder of coffee. His palms were pressed against the counter, there was clearly something on his mind that he wasn’t sharing but you weren’t the one to deal with baggage. Spencer had a lot of that and from day one you had let your intentions clear but this felt different with Rick. 

Surprising you, he spun around. The mug clattering against the floor, between your feet as his hands clutched onto your cheeks and pushed your lips onto his and he kissed you. 

It was passionate and rough, his tongue slipping through the gap between your lips. Your back was pressed harder against the counter, the broken mug was stepped on by Rick’s cowboy boots as you melted into the kiss. 

A soft moan escaped from your mouth, it met Rick’s deeper moan as your shaking hands lifted up to the gap between his stomach and his skirt. 

Breathless, pink cheeked and grinning like two teenagers. His forehead resting onto yours, the morning sun highlighting the brown flecks of his curls as he stared into your eyes. 

‘’I hope you enjoyed your coffee’’ he mocked you with a teasing smile, his hands sliding down your cheeks and gripping onto your neck. 

You laughed at his attempt at impersonating you, still close together until he kissed you once more. Softer this time and his attention flickered down to the shards of china scattering at your feet. 

‘’We gotta tidy this up, we don’t want you to hurt yourself now. Do we, little one?’’ his voice was slightly condescending, dropping to his knees in an instant. 

You shuddered quietly as you watched him, his eyes looked up at you from between your legs. He seemed to fit perfectly in that position as he carefully picked up each individual shard, knocking against your thighs. A silent order for you to separate your legs, your eyes unmoving from his. It was hot to see him slowly pick each item up so close to your throbbing core. 

You had a feeling that he wasn’t the type of guy who had been on his knees often but he took on the role easily. With a smirk, he clutched the broken shards with his left hand and as he slowly began to stand up, his right hand slid up your thigh until he stopped just above your soaked panties. 

Leaning again to empty the pieces into the sink, his hand in the same place and his lips brushing your jaw as you felt yourself shudder. And it was as if the universe was doing everything in its power to stop you and Rick, there was a loud knock on the door. 

That playful smirk on his face as Rick studied you, he could feel the heat just with his fingers. Licking his lips as he turned to look at the door, they were definitely not looking for you. 

‘’Duty calls darlin’ I’ll come and find you later’’ he teased, his pupils pulsating as he painfully peeled himself away from you. 

Just to tease you further, he positioned his fingers above your pajamas shorts and flicked your clit. Watching as you whimpered, pushing your body towards him for more but all he did was shake his head with a wink. 

At the door, he loudly spoke into the kitchen. 

“Thanks for the report” his eyes lingered on your collarbones. 

A subtle wink in your direction before switching it up with a nod and he swung the door open, pushing whoever at the door out of your house and left you alone. 

Letting out a breath, his words echoed in your mind as you were left with the remnants in the kitchen sink and the promise of more later on in the day. 

Smiling to yourself, you tried to hide your excitement as you collected the shards that had brushed his fingers. Maybe your mind was playing with you,

Rick Grimes did in fact want you.