Making Memories Of Us - Ch 7 - Holding On
Rating: R
Disclaimer: See first chapter
Pairing: Cain/DG
Note: Nobody dies despite the quote!
Previous Chapters: Ch 1 - Aftermath; Ch 2 - Whispers Of A Legend; Ch 3 - Stretched To The Limits; Ch 4 - Cariad; Ch 5 - Puzzle Pieces; Ch 6 - Falling Into Place
Making Memories Of Us
by
Lattelady
Ch 7 - Holding On
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I wanna sleep with your forever
And I wanna die in your arms - Making Memories Of Us by Keith Urban
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It had been eight annuals since Wyatt Cain had experienced carnal pleasures. When he’d first been released from his metal prison, that part of life hadn’t held any meaning for him. He’d been numb to everything but the need for revenge and he’d planned to stay that way. But in less than a day, feeling had begun to return and it had all centered on DG. First, he felt protective of her and then responsible in ways he didn’t understand. Once those small cracks in the armor around his emotions were breached, all the rest came flying back. He couldn’t have left her, even if he hadn’t promised the Mystic Man.
Now, for the third morning in a row he woke with his arms wrapped around a very desirable woman. It was sending his senses into overload and trying his patience beyond belief! He wanted to drag Deeg’s body closer to his and feel every inch of her pressed against him. His muscles tightened as he fought to keep from sliding his hands beneath her clothes to touch soft skin that was calling out to him.
Unaware of the battle that was raging in the man who held her as she slept; she moaned and snuggled closer, throwing her left leg over his thigh.
“Sweet Mother of Rainbows,” he muttered and ground his teeth. Was she trying to kill him? He blinked to clear the spots that were forming in front of his eyes due to sudden loss of blood to his head, as it rushed to other parts of his already uncomfortable anatomy.
What was happening to him? He was a cool calm tin man, always in control. Somehow his Princess seemed to be able to send him spinning on his axis even when she was asleep.
“By Glinda, she’s beautiful,” he whispered as he looked at her face resting on his shoulder. ‘And so damn young,’ the voice of reason reminded him. Cain concentrated on that thought and carefully tried to extract his body from under hers. He hadn’t gotten far when he noticed her bare foot lying against his pants. It was slim and small boned, but it was her toes that caused his head to flop back onto the ground and wonder what he’d done to piss off the gods so badly this time. The tips of those toes were painted a deep luminous color that was darker than pink but lighter than red.
Azkadellia had tinted her fingernails deep crimson when she’d been possessed by the Sorceress. He’d always thought it made them look as if they were dipped in blood. During his early days as a tin man, when he’d patrolled Sin District Square, he’d busted hookers whose talons were painted every shade of the rainbow. None of them had held any attraction for him. But seeing DG’s innocence streaked with an unexpected sensuality of color made him want her until he ached.
He couldn’t help it, his hand wrapped around her ankle of its own accord.
“Wyatt,” she murmured and blinked. “Everything okay?” She was vaguely aware that he was holding her foot, but she’d never been a morning person and nothing was making much sense to her.
“No-it's-not,” he spat out each word carefully and precisely, trying to rid himself of thoughts no decent man had about his woman. “You’ve practically crawled on top of me!” anger tinged his words, but he was upset with himself, not her.
“Oh, oh, sorry.” She sat-up half way and saw where her leg was. “I didn’t mean…I’d never…” She was assailed with guilt. Had she been making advances to him in her sleep? No wonder he was cranky. She had the utmost respect for him as a widower and would never trespass on his memories. Despite in her own personal dictionary, under the word hunk, was the definition Wyatt Cain.
“Don’t let it happen again,” he snapped and rolled out from under her, grabbing his duster and slipping into it as he sat up. The roomy coat kept his dignity intact as he got to his feet. But he needed to give himself some breathing room so he picked up the canteen and headed out of the cave, never saying another word.
He leaned against a tree and ignored the drizzle as the first sun rose. Looking at the sky he knew there would be rainbows again. The tactician in him nodded in approval. The more often those rainbows returned, the stronger the Queen’s position. The part of him who was a frustrated male, didn’t give damn.
He stood out in the early morning rain trying to get control of a body that burned with desire for a twenty annual-old Princess. He knew he’d been surly when he left as he did, but what else was he to do? The revelation he’d had the night before was his, not hers. He wasn’t fool enough to have missed that she liked him, and trusted him as a friend, but what he was feeling was so much more than that! It was confusing and convoluted and if he’d had less control over himself he would have thrown the canteen across the clearing.
Falling asleep with her curled in his arms was the sweetest thing he’d ever experienced, but he paid the price for it when he woke with desires that he was hardly able to curb. He had a very real fear that one of these mornings he’d take her before either of them knew what was happening.
Right then and there he decided that no matter what, he couldn’t sleep beside her.
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At first DG was pleased with the progress she was making with the weapon Cain gave her. She worked hard to follow his instructions. She found it interesting, a challenge to see if she could hit the mark he’d drawn on the tree, but as time went on it was hard to keep on going. He was an exacting teacher who expected one hundred and ten percent from her each time and she tried not to disappoint him. But nothing she did was quite good enough. He seemed to have woken up on the wrong side of the bed and had long since lost any semblance of patience. By the second hour, she was snarling right back at him.
“I’m doing my best, Cain!” She glared over her shoulder.
“You can snap at me all you want, but if you can’t hit the target without using magic, that weapon is going back in my pack and staying there.” He covered her hand, slipped his finger over the safety on the trigger guard and took the pistol away from her all the while scowling as if they were being chased by Papay runners.
“Damnit, Wyatt, I’m not using magic!” She fumed. Her hand was shaking and her wrist was sore. “But even if I did use it, what’s the big deal.” She threw her arms in the air in defeat. The man was being impossible.
“Because the time that gun is most likely to save your life is when your power is depleted and you’re shaking with cold and exhaustion.” He gripped her shoulder his eyes burning with something she didn’t quiet understand.
“Wait, wait…” She was getting a terrible picture of what he was expecting her to do. “I thought the whole idea of this was that if we were attacked, there would be two of us shooting instead of one.”
“Think again, Princess,” he spit the words out, not wanting to listen to her argument. It had been his original plan, along with the idea that two armed riders would be a less tempting mark for thieves. Seeing her actually use a firearm caused something in him to question putting her in such a vulnerable spot. “You start shooting and it automatically makes you a target.”
“From what you say, I’m already a target!” She glared and then her eyes grew large as comprehension dawned. “You’re teaching me to use this thing, so I can protect myself if you’ve already been shot?” She tilted her head so her chin jutted out, waiting for him to deny it. When he didn’t she shivered and had to fight to keep from being sick. “I won’t do it! I won’t stand by and let you…let you…”
“It’s my job. It’s what I’ve been doing since the beginning.” He pulled on the brim of his hat, a sure sign that the conversation was about over. “Hell it’s what I did for the Mystic Man.”
“I can use my magic and that gun, too,” she argued, not wanting to think about the Mystic Man and Cain’s promise to him. “Then you tell me, Mr. Man-With-The-Plan, what the hell am I doing while you’re busy taking a bullet for me!”
“You stay undercover and use whatever powers you’ve got to protect yourself. I’ll do the rest.”
“You expect me to cower behind a wall of white light while you defend us?” She gasped. “No--no deal. It doesn’t work that way Tin Man. You can keep your gun and your lessons. Either we both shoot together or I’m not going any further with this,” her words ran on top of one another until they overlapped and she didn’t know if he was understanding her, but the idea of simply letting him die made her hurt deep inside.
“Deeg, do you remember what happened to you the night you fought the Witch?” He gripped her shoulders and leaned close so he was inches away from her face. All of his earlier anger was gone, replaced by emotions just as deep and dark. “Do you remember?”
“I was tired and cold, but I don’t see what that has to do with this.” She glared at him, but it was hard to stay angry when she saw fear and pain in his eyes.
“Tired and cold don’t begin to describe it!” His was seeing her as she’d been that night, superimposed with images of attacking Longcoats. “You were helpless!”
“No, it wasn’t like that,” she whispered.
“I was there, remember. I saw what happened.”
“I’m sorry you did. As much as I needed you that night, I’d never worry you like that. You’ve been through too much.” DG caressed his cheek to bring him back to the present. “Please, Wyatt, look at me.”
“Princess--”
“Hush.” She covered his lips with her fingers. “I’m not Adora.” She knew she was taking a chance evoking his dead wife’s name, but he needed to understand that things were different this time. “I have ways to protect myself that she didn’t.”
“Don’t you think I already understand that!” his voice was rough and harsh with guilt. As much as he wanted DG, he knew that if his wife were alive, he would be back in the cabin with her, no matter what his heart said. He honored both women too much to betray one for the other.
“Tin Man,” she sighed and put her arms around him. “Please, please I can’t fight with you about this. It hurts too much,” she gasped.
“I know, Kiddo, believe me I know.” He held her close in the early morning sun, straining his body against her. Then because he was sick and tired of always being so proper and controlled, he ran his lips through her hair, leaving a feather light kiss on her forehead.
DG held on tightly to him, unsure if she dreamed the gentle touch of his mouth against her skin or not. She was out of her depths. Was he changing the parameters of their relationship, or was it her imagination run wild?
He didn’t know how long they stood there in the depths of the trees, holding on to each other, as if there was no one else left in the world. When he became aware of the passage of time he slowly loosened his arms and let them drop to his sides. “We have to get going if we’re to make any progress today.” He closed his eyes and shook his head to drive out what ever visions haunted him. “I need to think on this a bit. Either way, you should have more practice before you pack a weapon.”
Tin Man,” she whispered, looking up at him. “Just so you know, there are very few people left in my life who I…who I really care about. You’re one of them.” Everyone had been ripped from her. The man and woman, who she knew intellectually, were her parents, felt like quiet strangers. Everyone from her life in Kansas was forever out of reach. Now she only had Raw, Glitch, Cain, and maybe Azkadellia. Her heart knew that Wyatt Cain led all the rest, but it wasn’t something she could say to him. “I can’t stand to lose any one else.”
“Well, Princess, it looks like we’re in a similar situation.” His voice was rusty and harsh as if he was thinking things too painful to speak of. “As I said earlier, let me ponder this a bit.”
She frowned and tilted her head in wonder, suddenly sure that he had a lot more on his mind than whether she should be carrying a gun or not. Something had shifted between them and they both knew it.
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Late in the afternoon they came on a small cluster of dilapidated buildings huddled together in the foot hills of the Black Mountains.
“Are we going to stop?”
“Fraid so, we’ve been seen and it’d look suspicious if we just rode on by. You follow my lead and try to remember to call me by my fist name.” Cain remembered hearing talk of this place. It was a small trading and supply depot, but he’d never been there. It was in a sorry state of repairs and didn’t appear as if it was doing any business.
“Don’t come no closer!” An angry woman opened the door and held a shotgun on the approaching couple.
“Easy there ma’am, my wife and I are just passing through.” Cain held up his left hand and pushed back his duster with the right.
“Keep away from that shooter ‘a yours, boy” the woman warned. “I got ya both in my sights. These are perilous times and I’m not taking no chances.”
“Ma’am we mean you no harm.” He glanced at his Princess and wanted to tell her to run, to get out of the line of fire, but she only met his eyes and shook her head. It was like the argument from that morning, only this time it was taking place with a shotgun trained on them. “Heard tell this was a place to stop and freshen up supplies.”
“That was a long time past. What news ya got from Central City? The war really over, the Sorceress really dead?” she punctuated each question with a slight movement of her gun
Cain looked back at the woman, quickly taking in the surroundings. Nailed to one of the posts that supported the rundown old porch was a familiar wanted poster, but his picture and DG’s were almost unidentifiable. His hair was much darker and hers lighter but it was the changes to the basic bone structure of their faces that surprised him. The Queen had said she’d done something to those posters, but part of him hadn’t believed her. One look told him they wouldn’t be recognized
“We’re not from Central City--” He’d been tempted to use one of the resistance’s pass codes, but he had no idea where this woman’s sympathies lay.
“You’re wearing the outer garb of a tin man. That says Central City to me.” She pointed her gun at Cain’s chest. “Though t’ain’t been an honest one ‘a them ‘round in years.”
“Wait, please don’t shoot!” the Princess tried to nudge her horse forward but Cain was too quick for her. He grabbed her bridle before she could move in front of him. “He was a tin man, a long time ago.”
“Move away, Deeg,” he whispered.
“I can’t!” She knew there would be hell to pay later, but he’d fought a long lonely battle until she and Glitch had come along. She refused to ever let him do so again.
“He’s an ex-tin man and the most honest person I’ve ever known.” DG’s eyes filled, but she met the old woman’s distrustful gaze head on. “He spent the last eight annuals in a metal suit because of it.”
“Good try, Girly, you almost had me, but no one survives that long in one of those things!” the woman sputtered. She gave the large man another look. He had a square determined jaw and the harsh expression in his eyes was mean enough to freeze the air around them except when he looked at the girl at his side.
“DG, that’s enough!” he snapped clearly more worried about her safety than his own.
“He did. I’m telling the truth.” Deeg kept on arguing. “I know because I’m the one who set him free.” She could see his face as it had been when that metal door had opened. He’d appeared as corroded as the suit. His hair and beard long and dirty, only his eyes recognizable. Unbeknownst to her, she’d called on her magic and it broadcast that picture to the woman ten feet away.
“I…ah…ah…” The woman blinked and slowly lowered her shotgun. She’d seen some strange sights in her time, but the image that flashed into her mind left her no doubt what the tall man had been through. “Sorry folks, but ya can’t be too careful in these dark times.” She looked between the branches of the trees to the patches of sky that could be seen. “There’s rain a’ comin’ again tonight. You’re welcome to camp out in one ‘a the outbuildings in exchange for some news from the east.”
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Cain didn’t say a word until they’d bedded down the horses in the small back shed, where they were going to be sleeping too.
“Take this.” He handed DG the small weapon and a holster to go with it. “Put it on and wear it at all times.”
“I thought you didn’t want me to--”
“I hadn’t made up my mind yet, but you took the choice away from me when you used magic on her.”
“Wait…I didn’t…” She searched her memory for what he was talking about. “You’re right I did, but I didn’t mean to.”
“That’s part of the problem.” He leaned in close, refusing to let fear get the best of him. They were in an uncontrolled situation and he didn’t have the luxury of venting. “You use it without even thinking about it, a little here, and a little there, and then when you need it in a big way, it drains you!”
“You’re right, I’m sorry,” she sighed. “I’ll try and be more aware from here on in.” Unable to think of anything else to say, she fastened the gun around her waist and reached for their bag of supplies. “Do we offer to share with her?”
“It’s the neighborly thing to do.” He looked her up and down and nodded to the holster. “Does it fit?”
“Yes, thank you.” DG brushed past him, tired and hungry.
“What kind of spell did you put on her? I mean if it’s gonna wear off, I want to know about it and be ready in case I find myself facing that side-by-side again.”
“Oh please.” She rolled her eyes and glared at him. “I let her see that you’d really been in that suit for all that time, that’s all. I wanted her to trust us for real…not just fake.”
“Hhhmm,” he thought about it for a moment and decided that what she’d done wasn’t all that bad. Maybe it was an efficient use of her magic. “Here, take my hand.” He held out his left hand, always careful to keep his gun hand free. “We’re supposed to be in love, remember.”
“How can I forget?” She laid her palm against his and was surprised when he separated his fingers and intertwined them with hers. “Are you still upset about what happened?”
“Parts of it,” he answered cryptically. “But we’ll talk about it later.”
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“Looks ta me like your man’s takin' his anger out on that woodpile, not that I don’t appreciate it.” The older woman, who had introduced herself as Tillie Makepiece, glanced out her window as she worked on supper. Cain was splitting logs for all he was worth. “He didn’t like it none that you would ‘a put yourself at risk for him.”
“Well that’s just too darn bad. I’m not going to sit back passively and let him get shot.”
“Ya got a powerful love for that man, don’t ya?”
DG was caught by surprise. The observation made something clutch at her heart because it was true and for the first, and probably only, time she was free to admit it. “Yes, I do.” She shrugged. “I haven’t known him long, he’s older and there are a thousand reasons why I shouldn’t, but I do. I love him very much.”
“When love is right, that’s the way it.” Tillie commented. “You're newlyweds, aren’t ya?”
“I guess you’d call us that.” DG nervously twisted the unfamiliar wedding ring on her finger.
“You’ll get used ta the ring soon ‘nough.” She patted the girls arm. “It’s a Cariad ring, some say they take a bit more time to settle in but once they do you’ll feel it on your finger even if you’ve taken it off.” The woman gently touched the small piece of gold that adorned her own finger. “Mine is so worn ya can hardly see the markings ‘a the rainbow.” She sighed lost in though. “Since they came back ta the morning skies, it helps to remind a body about their meaning.”
Deeg had wondered about the three tiny wavy lines on the side of her ring. She’d thought that was what Wyatt meant when he’d said that couples in the OZ wore matching rings. But it seemed it was more than that. She would have loved to ask Tillie about it, but didn’t dare. It would be a dead give away that she hadn’t been raised here.
She and Cain had already told her the sketchy story that they were using for cover. They were travelers, looking to homestead and set up housekeeping since the Queen was back and the realm safe.
“So I guess you and the mister must ‘a been in on that big battle at the Tower?” Tillie was hungry for news.
“Battles are terrible things,” Deeg sighed, remembering the scores of wounded and dying.
“That I know, honey, that I know.” The older woman looked out her window to the left. “Back that way, behind that stand of trees, you’ll find four graves, well makers anyway. Only my husband, Mal, and our youngest are buried there. The twins died in a valley to the north, trying to prevent the Sorceress from cleansing some village or other. Resistance lost too many that day to bring any ‘a the bodies back.” She went back to fixing dinner, her mind still in the clearing behind the trees.
“I so sorry, Ma’am,” DG sniffed as tears filled her eyes. Once again she was faced with the death and destruction that was caused because she’d failed Az in that cave so many years earlier.
“I gave up the day I got the news.” Tillie shook her head. “My men fought for the resistance, but I blamed it for their deaths as much as I did the Longcoats. Now you and your man show up and I get me some new truths. The Queen is back on the throne. The Princess of Light fought the dark as predicted in the legends. The rainbows that have returned to our morning skies are here to stay.”
“‘The majestic Queen of the O.Z., Had two lovely daughters she, One to darkness she be drawn, And one to light she be shown. Double eclipse it is foreseen, Light meets dark and the stillness between, But only one and one alone, Shall hold the emerald and take the thrown,’” DG quoted the rhyme the Witch had tried to make her believe had no significance.
“Yup, that’s the one. Someone taught you well.” The older woman smiled. “It’s just a pity we didn’t know which Queen it would happen to. We should ‘a been ready, but we weren’t.”
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Later as DG bathed and washed her hair in Tillie’s little bathing room, Cain kept one hand on his weapon and one eye on the door as he waited.
“Have no worry she is safe and so ‘re you.” The old woman sat knitting by the fire.
“As you said earlier, ya can’t be too careful in these perilous times.”
“You need ta be sure she don’t tell that story ‘bout freein’ you from the Iron Maiden no more.” Her needles stopped clicking and she looked up into cool ice blue eyes. “Her legend is already growin’ and that’s a powerful part of it. The Princess of Light appeared and rescued her Tin Man from the dark of the metal that had held him prisoner for annuals. He became her protector and she his hope.”
“Nice little legend, but I thought they all had to rhyme.” He shrugged trying to look nonchalant.
“I’m sure once the scholars get a hold ‘a it, they’ll prettify it so it matches all them others.” Tillie turned serious and covered his hand with hers. “She’s given me hope and made me believe. My heart got torn ta bits in that damn war, but I can feel it beatin’ in my chest again. I’d never do or say anything that might hurt her.”
He stared at her refusing to either confirm or deny her suspicions.
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DG and Cain ran through the downpour to the shed. He held his coat over their heads and she held onto him.
“Wow, does it always rain like this?” She shook out her damp skirt and sat on her bedroll to pull off her wet boots. She had a towel around her shoulders to keep her clean blouse dry since her hair was still wet from washing it.
“Not in the annuals of the Witch.” He had his arms crossed over his chest and he leaned against the doorframe as he gazed out at the night. He wasn’t happy. He was still upset about the risk Deeg had taken that afternoon. He didn’t doubt for a minute that Tillie Makepiece new their true identities, though at least she’d warned them about what had given them away.
He glared at the rain one last time before he closed and barred the door the best he could, practically tripping over his bedroll in the process. Once again he was going to end up sleeping in a tiny space with his Princess, despite all good intentions to the contrary. No, Wyatt Cain was not a happy man.
“Deeg, we need to add this to your list of lessons.” He knelt beside her and reluctantly handed her his weapon.
“But that’s yours.” She turned around and stared at him. She’d just gotten her boots off and was sitting cross-legged on her bedroll toweling her hair dry.
“Yup, you were right this morning and I was wrong.”
“But my magic can protect both of us. I don’t have any need to learn to shoot that.” She shook her head gently in denial
“Now you’re thinking like I was. If things go bad, it’ll take both of us using everything we’ve got. Here, take it.” He shoved it into her hands. “We need to prepare for the worst. I didn’t do that once, and others paid the price right alone with me.” He thought of Adora being beaten and the years Jeb spent killing instead of playing.
“I don’t think I can do this.” She went up on her knees so they were inches apart and looked him in the eyes. “Not what you’re asking me to do.”
“Yes ya can, Deeg.” He pushed her bangs out of her eyes. “Try holding it like I showed you this morning. It’s half again as heavy as yours and takes a larger caliber of cartridge, so the recoil will be more than you’re used to.” He talked as she raised his pistol and pointed it toward the door. “Good girl, you remembered what I taught you about keeping the safety on unless firing it.”
“It’s not only heavier, it feels bulky.” She locked her wrist so muscles tired from practicing that morning wouldn’t shake.
“That’s because your hand is smaller than mine. Easy does it.” He wrapped one arm around her waist to steady her body and slid the fingers of his other one over her extended arm until he was supporting the weight she was holding. “Now sight down the barrel as I taught you. The thing to remember about this weapon is that it pulls just slightly to the left. It’ll take some practice to get used to that.”
“Tin Man,” she whispered. “If I ever have to use this gun it’ll mean you’re down, probably dead.”
“That’s about right.” He felt her body begin to shake and grabbed the pistol from her fingers before she dropped it. Once it was on the blanket, within easy reach he wrapped both arms around her and held her close.
“Weren’t you listening to what I told you this morning? I don’t want to lose you.” She buried her face against his neck as he picked her up and pulled her into his lap.
“I don’t want to lose you either, Kiddo, that’s why I want you to be proficient with both weapons.” He ran a hand through her freshly washed hair carefully untangling it and enjoying the excuse to touch her. “If I have to live with you jumping in to protect me, then you’re damn well going to know how to defend yourself if you’ve used up all your magic doing so and I’m down.”
She looked at him carefully gauging his words. “God, I almost wish this was some kind of twisted payback,” she whispered.
“I wouldn’t do that to you.”
“I know, ‘cause you’re Wyatt Freakin’ Cain, Ex-tin Man Extraordinaire.” She bit her lip to keep from giggling because there was nothing funny about what he needed her to learn and she was afraid that she’d end up crying instead.
“Tomorrow, before we get to the first Resistance camp, we’ll take some time and go over both weapons.” He swung her to the blanket beside him, unsure how much longer he could take holding her that close. The move caused her skirt to ride up almost to her knees and he noticed, for the first time since she’d taken off her boots that she was barefoot. A strange buzzing filled his head. He was aware she was talking to him, but didn’t hear a word she said.
“Tomorrow, I promise and I’ll do better than today.”
“Where the hell are your socks?” his voice was horse as he stared at ten brightly painted toes. The color reminded him of fantasizes he’d had as a young man, about sinful women and all the things they did with a man that couldn’t be done with a woman respectable enough to marry. Cain was no prude but even in his youth he’d been smart enough to stay away from whores.
“I washed them when I took my bath and haven’t had a chance to put on a clean pair yet. What’s the matter?” She didn’t understand what was wrong. He was looking at her as if she’d committed a crime. “Do you have a foot fetish or something?”
“Hardly.” He glared at her. “I’m trying to protect your virtue, Princess.”
“Don’t women in the Zone show their feet?” She was sure she’d seen women in sandals somewhere in their travels.
“It’s the color…don’t let anyone see that.” He pointed. “Polite women don’t…”
“But Az…oh right that was when she was the Sorceress,” she gasped.
“Yeah, pretty much.” He watched her scurry to her pack and dig through it for socks.
“I’m on a diplomatic mission for the Queen and because of this.” She pointed to her now covered toes. “People will think I’m evil too? I don’t have any polish remover with me…at all…it’s back in Kansas!”
“Not just evil, Princess, licentious and…a bit more.” It was the only way he could think to phrase it politely.
“In other words, I’m a whore who is a bit on the kinky side.” She buried her face in her hands, totally embarrassed. “I could magic it away, but I don’t want to. I like it.” She looked up at him her face filled with doubt. “You do understand that I’m not like that?” Her brow was furrowed in doubt. “It’s done all the time on the Other Side.”
“Yeah, I figured that out long before I was treated to your more risqué attributes.” He ran a hand gently down the contours of her face.
“You’re finding this entertaining aren’t you?” She lay down on her bedroll with her back to him. Her feelings were hurt. Here was a man she wanted to impress and he was having a hard time not laughing at her.
“Intriguing is a better way to describe it. We have the virtues Princess of the Light and she is sporting some very unusual decorations.” He found it sexy as hell, but didn’t dare tell her that. The idea of sweet innocence that sinned only with him was a siren’s call he’d always denied and here it was, right beside him.
“Just how do you know I’m so damn virtuous?” She stiffened her shoulders and pulled her blanket tight up around her neck. “I’d almost rather be thought of as a kinky whore.”
“No you wouldn’t,” he whispered as he lay down beside her and rubbed her back until he felt her muscles begin to relax. “And I know because I’ve spent the last three nights sleeping beside you.” Not once during those nights did she show the least bit of interest. It was obvious she trusted him and cared about him, but it wasn’t enough. He needed a sign from her that he was more than her platonic protector.
“Tin Man--” she rolled back until she was pressed against his chest.
“No more questions tonight.” He picked her up just enough so he could get his left arm under her head and then pulled her back until she was lying on his shoulder and wrapped his right arm around her waist. “Now go to sleep.” He kissed the top of her head before burying his nose her hair,
She held onto him as tightly as he was holding onto her as they both fell asleep.
To Ch 8 - Break On Through
Disclaimer: See first chapter
Pairing: Cain/DG
Note: Nobody dies despite the quote!
Previous Chapters: Ch 1 - Aftermath; Ch 2 - Whispers Of A Legend; Ch 3 - Stretched To The Limits; Ch 4 - Cariad; Ch 5 - Puzzle Pieces; Ch 6 - Falling Into Place
Making Memories Of Us
by
Lattelady
Ch 7 - Holding On
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I wanna sleep with your forever
And I wanna die in your arms - Making Memories Of Us by Keith Urban
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It had been eight annuals since Wyatt Cain had experienced carnal pleasures. When he’d first been released from his metal prison, that part of life hadn’t held any meaning for him. He’d been numb to everything but the need for revenge and he’d planned to stay that way. But in less than a day, feeling had begun to return and it had all centered on DG. First, he felt protective of her and then responsible in ways he didn’t understand. Once those small cracks in the armor around his emotions were breached, all the rest came flying back. He couldn’t have left her, even if he hadn’t promised the Mystic Man.
Now, for the third morning in a row he woke with his arms wrapped around a very desirable woman. It was sending his senses into overload and trying his patience beyond belief! He wanted to drag Deeg’s body closer to his and feel every inch of her pressed against him. His muscles tightened as he fought to keep from sliding his hands beneath her clothes to touch soft skin that was calling out to him.
Unaware of the battle that was raging in the man who held her as she slept; she moaned and snuggled closer, throwing her left leg over his thigh.
“Sweet Mother of Rainbows,” he muttered and ground his teeth. Was she trying to kill him? He blinked to clear the spots that were forming in front of his eyes due to sudden loss of blood to his head, as it rushed to other parts of his already uncomfortable anatomy.
What was happening to him? He was a cool calm tin man, always in control. Somehow his Princess seemed to be able to send him spinning on his axis even when she was asleep.
“By Glinda, she’s beautiful,” he whispered as he looked at her face resting on his shoulder. ‘And so damn young,’ the voice of reason reminded him. Cain concentrated on that thought and carefully tried to extract his body from under hers. He hadn’t gotten far when he noticed her bare foot lying against his pants. It was slim and small boned, but it was her toes that caused his head to flop back onto the ground and wonder what he’d done to piss off the gods so badly this time. The tips of those toes were painted a deep luminous color that was darker than pink but lighter than red.
Azkadellia had tinted her fingernails deep crimson when she’d been possessed by the Sorceress. He’d always thought it made them look as if they were dipped in blood. During his early days as a tin man, when he’d patrolled Sin District Square, he’d busted hookers whose talons were painted every shade of the rainbow. None of them had held any attraction for him. But seeing DG’s innocence streaked with an unexpected sensuality of color made him want her until he ached.
He couldn’t help it, his hand wrapped around her ankle of its own accord.
“Wyatt,” she murmured and blinked. “Everything okay?” She was vaguely aware that he was holding her foot, but she’d never been a morning person and nothing was making much sense to her.
“No-it's-not,” he spat out each word carefully and precisely, trying to rid himself of thoughts no decent man had about his woman. “You’ve practically crawled on top of me!” anger tinged his words, but he was upset with himself, not her.
“Oh, oh, sorry.” She sat-up half way and saw where her leg was. “I didn’t mean…I’d never…” She was assailed with guilt. Had she been making advances to him in her sleep? No wonder he was cranky. She had the utmost respect for him as a widower and would never trespass on his memories. Despite in her own personal dictionary, under the word hunk, was the definition Wyatt Cain.
“Don’t let it happen again,” he snapped and rolled out from under her, grabbing his duster and slipping into it as he sat up. The roomy coat kept his dignity intact as he got to his feet. But he needed to give himself some breathing room so he picked up the canteen and headed out of the cave, never saying another word.
He leaned against a tree and ignored the drizzle as the first sun rose. Looking at the sky he knew there would be rainbows again. The tactician in him nodded in approval. The more often those rainbows returned, the stronger the Queen’s position. The part of him who was a frustrated male, didn’t give damn.
He stood out in the early morning rain trying to get control of a body that burned with desire for a twenty annual-old Princess. He knew he’d been surly when he left as he did, but what else was he to do? The revelation he’d had the night before was his, not hers. He wasn’t fool enough to have missed that she liked him, and trusted him as a friend, but what he was feeling was so much more than that! It was confusing and convoluted and if he’d had less control over himself he would have thrown the canteen across the clearing.
Falling asleep with her curled in his arms was the sweetest thing he’d ever experienced, but he paid the price for it when he woke with desires that he was hardly able to curb. He had a very real fear that one of these mornings he’d take her before either of them knew what was happening.
Right then and there he decided that no matter what, he couldn’t sleep beside her.
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At first DG was pleased with the progress she was making with the weapon Cain gave her. She worked hard to follow his instructions. She found it interesting, a challenge to see if she could hit the mark he’d drawn on the tree, but as time went on it was hard to keep on going. He was an exacting teacher who expected one hundred and ten percent from her each time and she tried not to disappoint him. But nothing she did was quite good enough. He seemed to have woken up on the wrong side of the bed and had long since lost any semblance of patience. By the second hour, she was snarling right back at him.
“I’m doing my best, Cain!” She glared over her shoulder.
“You can snap at me all you want, but if you can’t hit the target without using magic, that weapon is going back in my pack and staying there.” He covered her hand, slipped his finger over the safety on the trigger guard and took the pistol away from her all the while scowling as if they were being chased by Papay runners.
“Damnit, Wyatt, I’m not using magic!” She fumed. Her hand was shaking and her wrist was sore. “But even if I did use it, what’s the big deal.” She threw her arms in the air in defeat. The man was being impossible.
“Because the time that gun is most likely to save your life is when your power is depleted and you’re shaking with cold and exhaustion.” He gripped her shoulder his eyes burning with something she didn’t quiet understand.
“Wait, wait…” She was getting a terrible picture of what he was expecting her to do. “I thought the whole idea of this was that if we were attacked, there would be two of us shooting instead of one.”
“Think again, Princess,” he spit the words out, not wanting to listen to her argument. It had been his original plan, along with the idea that two armed riders would be a less tempting mark for thieves. Seeing her actually use a firearm caused something in him to question putting her in such a vulnerable spot. “You start shooting and it automatically makes you a target.”
“From what you say, I’m already a target!” She glared and then her eyes grew large as comprehension dawned. “You’re teaching me to use this thing, so I can protect myself if you’ve already been shot?” She tilted her head so her chin jutted out, waiting for him to deny it. When he didn’t she shivered and had to fight to keep from being sick. “I won’t do it! I won’t stand by and let you…let you…”
“It’s my job. It’s what I’ve been doing since the beginning.” He pulled on the brim of his hat, a sure sign that the conversation was about over. “Hell it’s what I did for the Mystic Man.”
“I can use my magic and that gun, too,” she argued, not wanting to think about the Mystic Man and Cain’s promise to him. “Then you tell me, Mr. Man-With-The-Plan, what the hell am I doing while you’re busy taking a bullet for me!”
“You stay undercover and use whatever powers you’ve got to protect yourself. I’ll do the rest.”
“You expect me to cower behind a wall of white light while you defend us?” She gasped. “No--no deal. It doesn’t work that way Tin Man. You can keep your gun and your lessons. Either we both shoot together or I’m not going any further with this,” her words ran on top of one another until they overlapped and she didn’t know if he was understanding her, but the idea of simply letting him die made her hurt deep inside.
“Deeg, do you remember what happened to you the night you fought the Witch?” He gripped her shoulders and leaned close so he was inches away from her face. All of his earlier anger was gone, replaced by emotions just as deep and dark. “Do you remember?”
“I was tired and cold, but I don’t see what that has to do with this.” She glared at him, but it was hard to stay angry when she saw fear and pain in his eyes.
“Tired and cold don’t begin to describe it!” His was seeing her as she’d been that night, superimposed with images of attacking Longcoats. “You were helpless!”
“No, it wasn’t like that,” she whispered.
“I was there, remember. I saw what happened.”
“I’m sorry you did. As much as I needed you that night, I’d never worry you like that. You’ve been through too much.” DG caressed his cheek to bring him back to the present. “Please, Wyatt, look at me.”
“Princess--”
“Hush.” She covered his lips with her fingers. “I’m not Adora.” She knew she was taking a chance evoking his dead wife’s name, but he needed to understand that things were different this time. “I have ways to protect myself that she didn’t.”
“Don’t you think I already understand that!” his voice was rough and harsh with guilt. As much as he wanted DG, he knew that if his wife were alive, he would be back in the cabin with her, no matter what his heart said. He honored both women too much to betray one for the other.
“Tin Man,” she sighed and put her arms around him. “Please, please I can’t fight with you about this. It hurts too much,” she gasped.
“I know, Kiddo, believe me I know.” He held her close in the early morning sun, straining his body against her. Then because he was sick and tired of always being so proper and controlled, he ran his lips through her hair, leaving a feather light kiss on her forehead.
DG held on tightly to him, unsure if she dreamed the gentle touch of his mouth against her skin or not. She was out of her depths. Was he changing the parameters of their relationship, or was it her imagination run wild?
He didn’t know how long they stood there in the depths of the trees, holding on to each other, as if there was no one else left in the world. When he became aware of the passage of time he slowly loosened his arms and let them drop to his sides. “We have to get going if we’re to make any progress today.” He closed his eyes and shook his head to drive out what ever visions haunted him. “I need to think on this a bit. Either way, you should have more practice before you pack a weapon.”
Tin Man,” she whispered, looking up at him. “Just so you know, there are very few people left in my life who I…who I really care about. You’re one of them.” Everyone had been ripped from her. The man and woman, who she knew intellectually, were her parents, felt like quiet strangers. Everyone from her life in Kansas was forever out of reach. Now she only had Raw, Glitch, Cain, and maybe Azkadellia. Her heart knew that Wyatt Cain led all the rest, but it wasn’t something she could say to him. “I can’t stand to lose any one else.”
“Well, Princess, it looks like we’re in a similar situation.” His voice was rusty and harsh as if he was thinking things too painful to speak of. “As I said earlier, let me ponder this a bit.”
She frowned and tilted her head in wonder, suddenly sure that he had a lot more on his mind than whether she should be carrying a gun or not. Something had shifted between them and they both knew it.
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Late in the afternoon they came on a small cluster of dilapidated buildings huddled together in the foot hills of the Black Mountains.
“Are we going to stop?”
“Fraid so, we’ve been seen and it’d look suspicious if we just rode on by. You follow my lead and try to remember to call me by my fist name.” Cain remembered hearing talk of this place. It was a small trading and supply depot, but he’d never been there. It was in a sorry state of repairs and didn’t appear as if it was doing any business.
“Don’t come no closer!” An angry woman opened the door and held a shotgun on the approaching couple.
“Easy there ma’am, my wife and I are just passing through.” Cain held up his left hand and pushed back his duster with the right.
“Keep away from that shooter ‘a yours, boy” the woman warned. “I got ya both in my sights. These are perilous times and I’m not taking no chances.”
“Ma’am we mean you no harm.” He glanced at his Princess and wanted to tell her to run, to get out of the line of fire, but she only met his eyes and shook her head. It was like the argument from that morning, only this time it was taking place with a shotgun trained on them. “Heard tell this was a place to stop and freshen up supplies.”
“That was a long time past. What news ya got from Central City? The war really over, the Sorceress really dead?” she punctuated each question with a slight movement of her gun
Cain looked back at the woman, quickly taking in the surroundings. Nailed to one of the posts that supported the rundown old porch was a familiar wanted poster, but his picture and DG’s were almost unidentifiable. His hair was much darker and hers lighter but it was the changes to the basic bone structure of their faces that surprised him. The Queen had said she’d done something to those posters, but part of him hadn’t believed her. One look told him they wouldn’t be recognized
“We’re not from Central City--” He’d been tempted to use one of the resistance’s pass codes, but he had no idea where this woman’s sympathies lay.
“You’re wearing the outer garb of a tin man. That says Central City to me.” She pointed her gun at Cain’s chest. “Though t’ain’t been an honest one ‘a them ‘round in years.”
“Wait, please don’t shoot!” the Princess tried to nudge her horse forward but Cain was too quick for her. He grabbed her bridle before she could move in front of him. “He was a tin man, a long time ago.”
“Move away, Deeg,” he whispered.
“I can’t!” She knew there would be hell to pay later, but he’d fought a long lonely battle until she and Glitch had come along. She refused to ever let him do so again.
“He’s an ex-tin man and the most honest person I’ve ever known.” DG’s eyes filled, but she met the old woman’s distrustful gaze head on. “He spent the last eight annuals in a metal suit because of it.”
“Good try, Girly, you almost had me, but no one survives that long in one of those things!” the woman sputtered. She gave the large man another look. He had a square determined jaw and the harsh expression in his eyes was mean enough to freeze the air around them except when he looked at the girl at his side.
“DG, that’s enough!” he snapped clearly more worried about her safety than his own.
“He did. I’m telling the truth.” Deeg kept on arguing. “I know because I’m the one who set him free.” She could see his face as it had been when that metal door had opened. He’d appeared as corroded as the suit. His hair and beard long and dirty, only his eyes recognizable. Unbeknownst to her, she’d called on her magic and it broadcast that picture to the woman ten feet away.
“I…ah…ah…” The woman blinked and slowly lowered her shotgun. She’d seen some strange sights in her time, but the image that flashed into her mind left her no doubt what the tall man had been through. “Sorry folks, but ya can’t be too careful in these dark times.” She looked between the branches of the trees to the patches of sky that could be seen. “There’s rain a’ comin’ again tonight. You’re welcome to camp out in one ‘a the outbuildings in exchange for some news from the east.”
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Cain didn’t say a word until they’d bedded down the horses in the small back shed, where they were going to be sleeping too.
“Take this.” He handed DG the small weapon and a holster to go with it. “Put it on and wear it at all times.”
“I thought you didn’t want me to--”
“I hadn’t made up my mind yet, but you took the choice away from me when you used magic on her.”
“Wait…I didn’t…” She searched her memory for what he was talking about. “You’re right I did, but I didn’t mean to.”
“That’s part of the problem.” He leaned in close, refusing to let fear get the best of him. They were in an uncontrolled situation and he didn’t have the luxury of venting. “You use it without even thinking about it, a little here, and a little there, and then when you need it in a big way, it drains you!”
“You’re right, I’m sorry,” she sighed. “I’ll try and be more aware from here on in.” Unable to think of anything else to say, she fastened the gun around her waist and reached for their bag of supplies. “Do we offer to share with her?”
“It’s the neighborly thing to do.” He looked her up and down and nodded to the holster. “Does it fit?”
“Yes, thank you.” DG brushed past him, tired and hungry.
“What kind of spell did you put on her? I mean if it’s gonna wear off, I want to know about it and be ready in case I find myself facing that side-by-side again.”
“Oh please.” She rolled her eyes and glared at him. “I let her see that you’d really been in that suit for all that time, that’s all. I wanted her to trust us for real…not just fake.”
“Hhhmm,” he thought about it for a moment and decided that what she’d done wasn’t all that bad. Maybe it was an efficient use of her magic. “Here, take my hand.” He held out his left hand, always careful to keep his gun hand free. “We’re supposed to be in love, remember.”
“How can I forget?” She laid her palm against his and was surprised when he separated his fingers and intertwined them with hers. “Are you still upset about what happened?”
“Parts of it,” he answered cryptically. “But we’ll talk about it later.”
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“Looks ta me like your man’s takin' his anger out on that woodpile, not that I don’t appreciate it.” The older woman, who had introduced herself as Tillie Makepiece, glanced out her window as she worked on supper. Cain was splitting logs for all he was worth. “He didn’t like it none that you would ‘a put yourself at risk for him.”
“Well that’s just too darn bad. I’m not going to sit back passively and let him get shot.”
“Ya got a powerful love for that man, don’t ya?”
DG was caught by surprise. The observation made something clutch at her heart because it was true and for the first, and probably only, time she was free to admit it. “Yes, I do.” She shrugged. “I haven’t known him long, he’s older and there are a thousand reasons why I shouldn’t, but I do. I love him very much.”
“When love is right, that’s the way it.” Tillie commented. “You're newlyweds, aren’t ya?”
“I guess you’d call us that.” DG nervously twisted the unfamiliar wedding ring on her finger.
“You’ll get used ta the ring soon ‘nough.” She patted the girls arm. “It’s a Cariad ring, some say they take a bit more time to settle in but once they do you’ll feel it on your finger even if you’ve taken it off.” The woman gently touched the small piece of gold that adorned her own finger. “Mine is so worn ya can hardly see the markings ‘a the rainbow.” She sighed lost in though. “Since they came back ta the morning skies, it helps to remind a body about their meaning.”
Deeg had wondered about the three tiny wavy lines on the side of her ring. She’d thought that was what Wyatt meant when he’d said that couples in the OZ wore matching rings. But it seemed it was more than that. She would have loved to ask Tillie about it, but didn’t dare. It would be a dead give away that she hadn’t been raised here.
She and Cain had already told her the sketchy story that they were using for cover. They were travelers, looking to homestead and set up housekeeping since the Queen was back and the realm safe.
“So I guess you and the mister must ‘a been in on that big battle at the Tower?” Tillie was hungry for news.
“Battles are terrible things,” Deeg sighed, remembering the scores of wounded and dying.
“That I know, honey, that I know.” The older woman looked out her window to the left. “Back that way, behind that stand of trees, you’ll find four graves, well makers anyway. Only my husband, Mal, and our youngest are buried there. The twins died in a valley to the north, trying to prevent the Sorceress from cleansing some village or other. Resistance lost too many that day to bring any ‘a the bodies back.” She went back to fixing dinner, her mind still in the clearing behind the trees.
“I so sorry, Ma’am,” DG sniffed as tears filled her eyes. Once again she was faced with the death and destruction that was caused because she’d failed Az in that cave so many years earlier.
“I gave up the day I got the news.” Tillie shook her head. “My men fought for the resistance, but I blamed it for their deaths as much as I did the Longcoats. Now you and your man show up and I get me some new truths. The Queen is back on the throne. The Princess of Light fought the dark as predicted in the legends. The rainbows that have returned to our morning skies are here to stay.”
“‘The majestic Queen of the O.Z., Had two lovely daughters she, One to darkness she be drawn, And one to light she be shown. Double eclipse it is foreseen, Light meets dark and the stillness between, But only one and one alone, Shall hold the emerald and take the thrown,’” DG quoted the rhyme the Witch had tried to make her believe had no significance.
“Yup, that’s the one. Someone taught you well.” The older woman smiled. “It’s just a pity we didn’t know which Queen it would happen to. We should ‘a been ready, but we weren’t.”
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Later as DG bathed and washed her hair in Tillie’s little bathing room, Cain kept one hand on his weapon and one eye on the door as he waited.
“Have no worry she is safe and so ‘re you.” The old woman sat knitting by the fire.
“As you said earlier, ya can’t be too careful in these perilous times.”
“You need ta be sure she don’t tell that story ‘bout freein’ you from the Iron Maiden no more.” Her needles stopped clicking and she looked up into cool ice blue eyes. “Her legend is already growin’ and that’s a powerful part of it. The Princess of Light appeared and rescued her Tin Man from the dark of the metal that had held him prisoner for annuals. He became her protector and she his hope.”
“Nice little legend, but I thought they all had to rhyme.” He shrugged trying to look nonchalant.
“I’m sure once the scholars get a hold ‘a it, they’ll prettify it so it matches all them others.” Tillie turned serious and covered his hand with hers. “She’s given me hope and made me believe. My heart got torn ta bits in that damn war, but I can feel it beatin’ in my chest again. I’d never do or say anything that might hurt her.”
He stared at her refusing to either confirm or deny her suspicions.
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DG and Cain ran through the downpour to the shed. He held his coat over their heads and she held onto him.
“Wow, does it always rain like this?” She shook out her damp skirt and sat on her bedroll to pull off her wet boots. She had a towel around her shoulders to keep her clean blouse dry since her hair was still wet from washing it.
“Not in the annuals of the Witch.” He had his arms crossed over his chest and he leaned against the doorframe as he gazed out at the night. He wasn’t happy. He was still upset about the risk Deeg had taken that afternoon. He didn’t doubt for a minute that Tillie Makepiece new their true identities, though at least she’d warned them about what had given them away.
He glared at the rain one last time before he closed and barred the door the best he could, practically tripping over his bedroll in the process. Once again he was going to end up sleeping in a tiny space with his Princess, despite all good intentions to the contrary. No, Wyatt Cain was not a happy man.
“Deeg, we need to add this to your list of lessons.” He knelt beside her and reluctantly handed her his weapon.
“But that’s yours.” She turned around and stared at him. She’d just gotten her boots off and was sitting cross-legged on her bedroll toweling her hair dry.
“Yup, you were right this morning and I was wrong.”
“But my magic can protect both of us. I don’t have any need to learn to shoot that.” She shook her head gently in denial
“Now you’re thinking like I was. If things go bad, it’ll take both of us using everything we’ve got. Here, take it.” He shoved it into her hands. “We need to prepare for the worst. I didn’t do that once, and others paid the price right alone with me.” He thought of Adora being beaten and the years Jeb spent killing instead of playing.
“I don’t think I can do this.” She went up on her knees so they were inches apart and looked him in the eyes. “Not what you’re asking me to do.”
“Yes ya can, Deeg.” He pushed her bangs out of her eyes. “Try holding it like I showed you this morning. It’s half again as heavy as yours and takes a larger caliber of cartridge, so the recoil will be more than you’re used to.” He talked as she raised his pistol and pointed it toward the door. “Good girl, you remembered what I taught you about keeping the safety on unless firing it.”
“It’s not only heavier, it feels bulky.” She locked her wrist so muscles tired from practicing that morning wouldn’t shake.
“That’s because your hand is smaller than mine. Easy does it.” He wrapped one arm around her waist to steady her body and slid the fingers of his other one over her extended arm until he was supporting the weight she was holding. “Now sight down the barrel as I taught you. The thing to remember about this weapon is that it pulls just slightly to the left. It’ll take some practice to get used to that.”
“Tin Man,” she whispered. “If I ever have to use this gun it’ll mean you’re down, probably dead.”
“That’s about right.” He felt her body begin to shake and grabbed the pistol from her fingers before she dropped it. Once it was on the blanket, within easy reach he wrapped both arms around her and held her close.
“Weren’t you listening to what I told you this morning? I don’t want to lose you.” She buried her face against his neck as he picked her up and pulled her into his lap.
“I don’t want to lose you either, Kiddo, that’s why I want you to be proficient with both weapons.” He ran a hand through her freshly washed hair carefully untangling it and enjoying the excuse to touch her. “If I have to live with you jumping in to protect me, then you’re damn well going to know how to defend yourself if you’ve used up all your magic doing so and I’m down.”
She looked at him carefully gauging his words. “God, I almost wish this was some kind of twisted payback,” she whispered.
“I wouldn’t do that to you.”
“I know, ‘cause you’re Wyatt Freakin’ Cain, Ex-tin Man Extraordinaire.” She bit her lip to keep from giggling because there was nothing funny about what he needed her to learn and she was afraid that she’d end up crying instead.
“Tomorrow, before we get to the first Resistance camp, we’ll take some time and go over both weapons.” He swung her to the blanket beside him, unsure how much longer he could take holding her that close. The move caused her skirt to ride up almost to her knees and he noticed, for the first time since she’d taken off her boots that she was barefoot. A strange buzzing filled his head. He was aware she was talking to him, but didn’t hear a word she said.
“Tomorrow, I promise and I’ll do better than today.”
“Where the hell are your socks?” his voice was horse as he stared at ten brightly painted toes. The color reminded him of fantasizes he’d had as a young man, about sinful women and all the things they did with a man that couldn’t be done with a woman respectable enough to marry. Cain was no prude but even in his youth he’d been smart enough to stay away from whores.
“I washed them when I took my bath and haven’t had a chance to put on a clean pair yet. What’s the matter?” She didn’t understand what was wrong. He was looking at her as if she’d committed a crime. “Do you have a foot fetish or something?”
“Hardly.” He glared at her. “I’m trying to protect your virtue, Princess.”
“Don’t women in the Zone show their feet?” She was sure she’d seen women in sandals somewhere in their travels.
“It’s the color…don’t let anyone see that.” He pointed. “Polite women don’t…”
“But Az…oh right that was when she was the Sorceress,” she gasped.
“Yeah, pretty much.” He watched her scurry to her pack and dig through it for socks.
“I’m on a diplomatic mission for the Queen and because of this.” She pointed to her now covered toes. “People will think I’m evil too? I don’t have any polish remover with me…at all…it’s back in Kansas!”
“Not just evil, Princess, licentious and…a bit more.” It was the only way he could think to phrase it politely.
“In other words, I’m a whore who is a bit on the kinky side.” She buried her face in her hands, totally embarrassed. “I could magic it away, but I don’t want to. I like it.” She looked up at him her face filled with doubt. “You do understand that I’m not like that?” Her brow was furrowed in doubt. “It’s done all the time on the Other Side.”
“Yeah, I figured that out long before I was treated to your more risqué attributes.” He ran a hand gently down the contours of her face.
“You’re finding this entertaining aren’t you?” She lay down on her bedroll with her back to him. Her feelings were hurt. Here was a man she wanted to impress and he was having a hard time not laughing at her.
“Intriguing is a better way to describe it. We have the virtues Princess of the Light and she is sporting some very unusual decorations.” He found it sexy as hell, but didn’t dare tell her that. The idea of sweet innocence that sinned only with him was a siren’s call he’d always denied and here it was, right beside him.
“Just how do you know I’m so damn virtuous?” She stiffened her shoulders and pulled her blanket tight up around her neck. “I’d almost rather be thought of as a kinky whore.”
“No you wouldn’t,” he whispered as he lay down beside her and rubbed her back until he felt her muscles begin to relax. “And I know because I’ve spent the last three nights sleeping beside you.” Not once during those nights did she show the least bit of interest. It was obvious she trusted him and cared about him, but it wasn’t enough. He needed a sign from her that he was more than her platonic protector.
“Tin Man--” she rolled back until she was pressed against his chest.
“No more questions tonight.” He picked her up just enough so he could get his left arm under her head and then pulled her back until she was lying on his shoulder and wrapped his right arm around her waist. “Now go to sleep.” He kissed the top of her head before burying his nose her hair,
She held onto him as tightly as he was holding onto her as they both fell asleep.
To Ch 8 - Break On Through