"God dammit." Cain hissed as the medic stitched up his wound. The bullet had just grazed his arm, but it burned like fire. "Stupid little sons of bitches." The medic quirked a brow at the curses dropping from Cain's lips like rain, but didn't say anything.
"I told you to duck." Jeb said, his face betraying none of his amusement. "Guess you're not as young as you used to be."
"If you weren't my son, I'd shoot you." Wyatt grumbled, snorting when Jeb chuckled. "Are those little bastards in a holding cell?"
"Yeah. You don't have to worry about them coming back to finish the job."
Jeb was having entirely too much fun with this, Wyatt decided as the medic finished patching him up. What had started out as a tense and frightening experience, his fear for DG a physical thing ended up being a nuisance.
They'd found them with relative quickness. Two men-boys-were hiding behind the trees toward the back of the gardens. Apparently they'd found some bravery in a bottle of whiskey and revolvers in their dad's closets. Never a good combination.
He'd have to have a severe talk with the royal couple about the security in the palace if two drunken teenage boys could scale the walls and start shooting at princesses.
The medic finished stitching him up and put a clean gauze pad over the wound. When he was done, Wyatt barely mumbled thanks and put his shirt on, ignoring the pain slicing up his arm due to the action.
"They'll be questioned, charged and hopefully have the piss scared out of them so they'll know better than to pretend to be men." Jeb continued as they fell into step together. Wyatt nodded and sighed. He hoped that would be all it took. But a glance at his son reminded him that not all soldiers started out over twenty.
"I need to go check on DG." He grumbled, more to himself than anything. He was worried, more so than before. This incident was a sad precursor to what could happen if war really did break out. And even though he knew that his princess was fine with Glitch, he needed to see for himself.
"I think I'll go with you." Jeb said casually, sliding his father a glance.
"Yeah. About that."
"What?"
"You looked kind of cozy there with Princess Azkadelia." Wyatt said, quirking a brow and watching his son's face turn red. Uh huh.
"I told you. We got friendly during that wedding fiasco."
"Just how friendly are we talking?"
"Father!" Jeb's eyes widened in embarrassment and his jaw dropped with his father's question.
"Don't get all prissy with me, Jeb. I'm not one of these fussy royals. I get what goes on with a man and woman. What I want to know is if my son is going to be my brother in law." That sounded even weirder out loud than in his head.
"I just had lunch with her and took her for a walk. Not a lot of people try to be nice to her or see past the witch. I like her." Jeb explained with a shrug.
"What kind of like?" Cain knew that the time for him to be a guiding force in his son's life was long past. But he couldn't help the worry he felt for his child getting involved with the damaged princess. Especially if that look Glitch had given the younger Cain had any merit.
"You're not going to let this go, are you?"
"Just doing my fatherly duty, and all."
"I don't know. I really don't. I like spending time with her, talking to her. But I don't know if it's more, or going to be more, than that. Right now I just think she needs a friend that isn't related to her." They had drawn to a stop in the middle of the hallway, their words hushed to keep any interested listeners from hearing them. Jeb smiled at his father, seeing the worry. "You have your own princess to keep you busy."
Wyatt huffed a laughed at that. Yeah, he did. "You could come for dinner. Maybe get to know her a little bit. She's not a bad cook." There was more hope in his voice than he cared for, but he couldn't help it.
"Uh, yeah. I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet." Jeb said with a smile. Wyatt saw the flash of pain followed swiftly by betrayal in his son's eyes. Both were quickly covered up, he saw them just the same.
"I better go find DG. Make sure she's not climbing out a window intent on saving me from snipers." Wyatt grasped his son's shoulder and squeezed gently, saying everything he couldn't. Jeb nodded, offering a smile then turned away, apparently changing his mind about going with his father. Cain watched him walk down the hall and sighed, hoping it wouldn't take too long for Jeb to come around. He could have seen DG and his son being friends…. hell, maybe even more if the circumstances had been different. And why did that little thought cause an uncomfortable tightening in Wyatt's chest?
"I'm getting too old for this."
"Mr. Cain." The Queen's voice had him turning around with a grimace.
"Ma'am, I think you can call me Wyatt." He said with a tight smile. He had a time remembering that this woman was his mother in law. She was so different than DG. Even Azkadelia, whom he'd only just gotten to know anything about. He felt a sense of disloyalty at that. She'd spent several years in a prison, not unlike him. It probably changed her as much as it had scarred him.
"Wyatt," The Queen acquiesced with a rare smile. "I wanted to make sure you were all right."
"I'm fine. Not the first time I've been shot. I'd like it to be the last, but I'm not holding my breath."
"We can hope. DG will be worried. I believe Glitch escorted her and her sister back to your rooms."
"Thank you." The Queen inclined her head in farewell and glided past him, her silent bodyguards drifting after her.
DG paced. She didn't know what else to do but pace. She was more used to doing something, anything. She was worried about Wyatt and Jeb. Those shots had been scary, if not precisely aimed. The shooters could get lucky and before you know it, DG was a widow.
That's cheerful.
Her stomach flopped and she knew it had nothing to do with the baby. Glitch and Az were sitting on the couches behind her, not talking. She walked the length of the sitting room, her eyes darting toward the door, her fingers twisting her wedding ring around and round. She wasn't even really conscious of doing it. Worry gnawed at her stomach and she tried hard not to bolt for the door.
Glitch might look like an addle-brained zipper head, but he'd catch her before she even had a hand on the doorknob.
She stopped, her heart in her throat when she heard the door open. When Wyatt walked through the door, she did the only thing she could. She launched at him. Luckily, his reflexes were quick and his hands immediately came up to grip her thighs to steady her. Her legs wrapped around his waist and her hands framed his face as she looked down at him.
"You're all right." She gasped, her voice nearly shaking with her relief. Then she kissed him, full and hard on the mouth. This was nothing like the soft, heat filled kisses they'd shared before. None of the teasing promises of longing not yet realized. This was fierce and hungry, full of fear, desire and relief. When their lips parted and tongues met, it was like a gate opened on a rushing torrent of water. Passion overtook them, staggering in its strength.
"AHEM."
Dazed, DG looked up from the feast of her husband's lips and stared glassy eyed at her sister. Wyatt buried his face against DG's neck, taking deep breaths to settle himself.
"Huh?"
"Do you mind if we leave first?" Az asked, quirking a perfectly shaped brow and trying hard to hide a smirk. Glitch was turning several shades of maroon and trying hard not to look at the couple.
"Nope." DG replied, popping the 'p'. Then she turned back to Wyatt and forgot Az and Glitch.
"DG, calm down." Wyatt evaded her second kiss by dropping her to her feet and resting his forehead against hers.
"Why?"
"Because my arm burns like fire and I need a second."
"Oh shit, you were shot." DG immediately set to pushing his duster away and looking for the wound. The sight of the blood stained sleeve made her blanch.
"It's all right, really. Just a scratch."
"This is so stupid." DG tried to pull away from him, to go start to throw and hit things. But his hand cuffed her arms, holding her in place. She let out an irritated huff.
"I'm all right." Cain insisted again, pulling back to look at her. His crystal eyes were swirling with emotion, desire and worry. He was edgy, tense; she could feel it under her fingers gripping his biceps. "Ok?"
"Ok." She nodded, reaching up to brush her fingers lightly over his jaw. "Who was it?"
"A couple of kids, liquored up and feeling like men."
"You're kidding?" DG shook her head and saw clearly that he wasn't. What was it with the male of the species? Get a little booze into them, and suddenly they can scale mountains.
"What will happen to them?" She knew what should happen. Those little punks shouldn't see the light of day for a month.
"They'll spend the night in a holding cell, hopefully scare the shit out of them. Then they'll be sent home for their parents to deal with."
DG rolled her eyes but nodded. Hot tears filled her eyes as she looked at him, her high emotion crashing around her as she let it sink in that he was fine. Concern narrowed his eyes and he reached up to brush a stray tear away. She nearly melted on the spot. She leaned into him, pressing her face into his shirt and taking in his scent, letting it comfort her.
"I was scared." She whispered against his chest. He pulled her back to look at her, a slight smile curving his full mouth. "I thought war had broken out in our back yard."
"Me too." He leaned down and kissed her, a gentle brush of his lips meant to soothe. All it did was re-ignite the fire that had been simmering since DG had attacked him. DG moaned as desire coursed through her. Her fingers fisted in his shirt, holding him too her as she opened her lips.
He growled. Actually growled when her tongue met his again. She found it difficult to breathe when he crushed her against him, his arms like bands of steel around her. She was in no mood to complain. Who needed to breathe when he was kissing her like that?
"DG, DG. Stop. Let's just calm down a minute."
She nearly screamed. Frustration cut a nasty wound through her arousal.
"Why?" She kissed him again, chasing his evading mouth like a dog a bone. He hadn't let her go yet, which was a good sign. But he wasn't letting her deepen the kiss, despite her best efforts.
"You have to be sure." Because there's no stopping. She heard his implied words and she grinned. Any reservations she might have had were buried under a landslide of lust and fear. She didn't think she'd hate herself later. Hell, this was her husband. Even though he was still grieving his first wife. And oh boy, was that thought better than a cold shower.
"Dammit. You really suck, Wyatt Cain." She pushed away from him, her hormones shifting her from aroused to angry quicker than a NASCAR driver taking a left turn. "How about this? When you're sure that you can sleep with me and not think of Adora, then we'll try this again. Ok?" Then, in pure annoyed wife fashion, DG stalked away and down the hall to their bedroom. The resounding slam echoed through the suite and made Cain flinch.
"Well…that could have gone better." He said aloud to himself. Wyatt stood there for a while, trying to figure out just what went wrong. Her parting words had him more bothered than he had expected. Is that what she thought? That she was a replacement for Adora?
Why wouldn't she? You all but told her that. Talking about second chances and all that.
Shit.
Before he could allow himself to take a step towards the bedroom, he forced himself to think. Is that what he thought of DG as? Really? Had he agreed to this marriage, thinking that he could somehow relive his life over? Was this more for himself, than her?
All excellent questions, he knew. Now, could he answer any of them?
Cain walked down the short hall and stopped outside their bedroom. He raised a hand to knock but laid it flat on the wood instead. Inside, he could hear her moving around. By the sound of it, she was picking things up off her dresser and putting them back down again. Hard. He wondered how long until she broke something.
Two fights in one day. And he got shot. Could his life get anymore messed up?
He pushed that thought away. After all, he knew it could.
"DG?" He waited. The only response he got was complete silence. "DG, I'm sorry."
He listened for several seconds, then just as he was about to turn away, he heard a soft "Me too."
"Open the door?"
"I don't think so. I'm too embarrassed." She sounded closer, like she was right next to the door. "You must think I'm a flake."
He didn't know what a 'flake' meant other than the snow kind, but he smiled. "No. You're pregnant."
"Like that's an excuse." She sounded miserable, but she wasn't opening the door.
"DG, I feel silly talking through the door."
"Too bad. I'm not opening it. Let me wallow in my humiliation for a little while longer."
"Fine." It came out short and clipped and he thought he heard her sniff in response. Great, now he was making her cry. "I'll be back." He didn't know where he was going or why, but her locking herself up was annoying him. It was probably best to get away from this for a little while. He was still strung out from the attack, her kiss and then her outburst afterwards. He probably just needed a few minutes.
And while he was in this mood was a good time to go find the new head of the Royal guard and let him know just what Cain thought of his security measures.