Disclaimer: I do not own anything Tin Man. However, I am optioning to buy the pants.
DG crept down the hallway. It was imperative that she not be discovered. Two guards turned the corner. DG drew deeper into the shadows of a nearby niche. That was too close.
The Queen and Prince Consort Ahamo had left Finaqua for Central City, leaving behind the two princesses. Both girls knew that the couple needed time alone to mend the separation of fifteen years. So, both promised to stay out of trouble and follow the instructions of Tutor, who had been left in charge.
DG was a little put out by this. She was 24 years old, for God's sake. She hadn't had a babysitter in years. She had given Az a brief run-down of her life on the Other Side. Needless to say, Az was amazed by the leeway DG had been given. She quickly informed her slipper sister that the freedom she had experienced in Kansas was a thing of the past.
This revelation, while not unexpected, had led to DG's current predicament. She had informed Az that if she could not have freedom to go where she wanted in the OZ, then she would at least have freedom to move around the castle. Az then quickly challenged DG to prove her stealth. DG was to make it from the Royal Chambers, down the spiral stairs, and spend the night in an unused bedroom on the second floor. Az would find her in the morning to determine if she had indeed made it all night without being discovered.
DG smirked and accepted the challenge. The winner would be allowed to pick out the ball gown for the next series of balls. So, here was DG acting out scenes from Mission Impossible in the hallway of the second floor. The poor, unsuspecting guards had no idea that their wayward princess was just inches from them. Her blue eyes danced with delight.
As they passed, DG slipped out of her hiding place to continue her journey. Too bad she didn't account for Jeb Cain. He was definitely not supposed to be here at this time of night. He was not as oblivious as the guards; it must be that Cain gene. He would surely spot her unless…
DG spun around and jiggled the door knob closest to her. Luckily it opened for her and she snuck inside. The room was mostly dark, except for a thin rim of light peeking out beneath a door on the other side. It was quiet in the room, save for DG's breathing. She listened intently for the sound of Jeb's feet to walk away. Instead, he entered a room a few feet away. DG's stomach sank in horror. She was on the wrong goddamn floor. This was not the second floor, but rather the third floor, which, to DG's chagrin, housed one Wyatt Cain.
It would be just her luck that his room was close by. That man was a bloody bloodhound. It didn't matter what, when, or where she was; he could find her. She had once asked him if he had a tracking device on her. He appeared very interested in the idea of a device to track DG and set off to speak with Glitch.
DG slunk back further into the room. She was potentially trapped. Maybe that other door could get her out. She gently opened the door a fraction to peer around the side. She then stopped cold, dead in her tracks.
Relaxing in an old fashioned claw-footed tub was Wyatt Cain, with that fedora still on. She knew he loved his hat, but this was ridiculous. Her mind was trying to process the image of Cain taking a bath with his hat, when it hit her.
Cain was in a bath tub…naked…as in no clothes…as in all those nice tight muscles just waiting for her to sculpt with her hands. DG fought with her conscience for a few minutes. Oh, hell. Who was she kidding? When it came to Cain, she didn't have conscience.
Now to plan her attack, because there was no way she was passing up this opportunity to convince Wyatt that the term "body guard" could mean soooo much more.
This would have to be done delicately. She could not allow Cain to rebuild his defenses once she had him in hand, so to speak. So, what to do?
DG paced the room, then stopped and chuckled quietly to herself. It was perfect. Going over to the outer door, DG locked the door and then, to ensure double privacy, magicked the lock. She then proceeded to undress in the darkened, locked room.
When she was ready, hair fluffed to perfection, skin flushed with anticipation, eyes gleaming with lust, DG prepared to open the door. Once he heard the door, Wyatt would open his eyes, feast upon the nubile young princess, and then go on to demonstrate the underlying meaning of "ride a cowboy" to her.
Sadly, things did not go as planned. DG opened the door all right, but Wyatt didn't even move a muscle. She paused for moment, then posed by the opened door seductively. Still no movement. Was he dead? No, she could see Wyatt's chest moving.
A snort of disgust came from DG. He was asleep. The freaking man had been Mr. Safety Alert during their trek through the OZ. She had figured he was a light sleeper. You know, one ear always listening for trouble. Now she was finding that he was just a regular guy who had fallen asleep in the tub because he had been burning the candle at both ends.
Now, what was she to do? Stay, wake him up, leave before this turned into a farce, zap him a few times for just the sheer hell of it? Hmm. He did look really nice and comfy there. If he wasn't careful, he might drown. It was her civic and Christian duty to ensure that her body guard was all right. Plus, it was just too evil to pass up.
DG touched the top of the water. It was the perfect temperature. Now, it was time for one small spell to keep it that way. She concentrated and let a small spark flow from her hands down to the water. She then dipped one small foot and another into the water opposite Cain and sank into the delicious heat.
No wonder the man was asleep. This was heaven. The warmth seeped into DG's body, relaxing her infinitely. She eased her legs out to brush lightly against Cain's. Her head found a niche in the tub's side. A sigh of pure pleasure escaped her.
While it was titillating to be in the tub with a naked Tin Man, she could not resist the lure of warmth and closed her eyes. Before she knew it, DG was fast asleep in the tub.
Slowly, Cain's awareness of the room came into his conscience. He registered the warmth of the water, still lapping against his tired, sore muscles. Then he registered the silence of the room, except for the soft sounds of breathing. He contemplated it faintly, just keeping his eyes closed and dozing back off when something new registered with him. A foot. A small delicate foot.
It was resting in the curve of his knee. Now Cain knew he needed to open his eyes and see who was attached to said foot, but he really didn't want to know. Really, he didn't want to know because knowing his luck the owner of said foot would be Geraldine, the downstairs maid, or Magnolia, the upstairs maid, her sister. Both had waylaid the Tin Man at various points in the castle. He had made it an art form at slipping through their nefarious traps.
'Damn' he thought. 'I bet I forgot to lock the door. How the hell am I going to get out of this one?'
Deciding he had to at least pretend to be manly about the whole affair (why did he choose to use those exact words), Wyatt slyly opened one eye. Both eyes quickly popped out of his head.
His mind's images of Geraldine and Magnolia had been replaced with the dark tresses of the youngest princess. Her creamy white shoulders, dotted with water droplets, glistened above the water. Her dark, long eyelashes lay delicately across her cheeks. She was sound asleep.
She was also very naked. Cain's eyes immediately shot skyward. Well, except the left one. It had a tendency to stray down and a bit left. Hey. hot princess at five o'clock. He was honorable, not dead.
About now, Cain had a very good idea that he was not dead since long-dormant parts of his body decided to join the land of the living. Deciding that sitting in the tub with DG was not a good idea, Cain began to rise from the tub. The movement of the water, of course, woke up the sleeping princess.
DG was disoriented for a moment. 'Why am I in the tub?' She thought sleepily. As images of Wyatt in the tub assaulted her mind, DG's eyes popped open, capturing the aforementioned Tin Man raising his upper body out of the water. Both froze as their eyes connected. Whole novels of romantic declarations flew wordlessly between the two. Each knew at that moment they had met their soul mate.
Nah, it didn't happen like that at all. Instead, two lonely people who cared for each other very much finally allowed themselves to admit how much they cared for each other. Holding DG's eyes, Cain lowered himself back down into the water. It was time to stop pretending.
Scene Change:
Glitch touched the viewing globe and the scene faded into black. He settled back into his chair and looked at his companion. Az wrapped her arms around herself and smiled. She then turned to royal advisor,
"Mission accomplished."