Chapter Three: Fan the Flame
AN: This was going to be a 4 part story but part 3 was a long time coming and part 4 ran away. Life got in the way and I lost all desire to finishing writing. I hope it doesn't suck too much but I couldn't have it lingering. I'm trying to concentrate of my original stuff for a while. I also intended for this to be more…detailed but then remembered 's rules. I hope you all enjoy this.
Cain crouched low over the neck of his racing mount. Dark clouds were whipping up behind him with ominous peals of thunder. The horse's eyes were white with fear but Cain spurred him on. He didn't know what force was directing him; he only prayed that it was taking him in the right direction. There was no way of knowing which direction DG had chosen to travel. The horse spooked as lighting pierced the sky overhead but Cain stayed firmly planted in the saddle until the animal calmed enough to continue traveling. The rain came fast and furious then blurring the familiar landscape into foreign territory. He was almost to the tree line when a riderless horse surged past him into the plain. His eyes sought out the familiar tack of the royal stablery and he moved on quickly. He was going in the right direction, he knew it.
The trees may have reduced the rain but the forest floor was dark and treacherous to even an experience rider. It could only be called divine providence that allowed Cain to find DG in the endless forest. Lighting flashed in that moment pale skin was illuminated in the dark. He wheeled the horse and prayed for another flash of light. It came not seconds later and Cain vaulted to the ground.
DG was crumpled at the base of a tree. Mud was scattered across unearthly pale cheeks and the rain had turned silky hair to heavy, wet ropes. With the exception of a gash across her forehead and what would turn into a nasty bruise, she appeared uninjured. He hovered over her inert body, shielding her from the brunt of the rain. He had enough training to know that this wasn't good and he had to get her warm, dry, awake and fast. Cain racked his brain for nearby shelter but he only knew the Oz of eight years ago. He offered up another silent prayer and after wrestling DG's limp body onto the horse, he headed off towards a place he hoped still existed. He wanted to urge the horse to a faster pace but the darkened forest was no place for two injured people, so he allowed it to carefully pick it's away through the forest.
The small cottage stood alone in the forest clearing. It seemed solid though the forest was trying relentlessly to reclaim it. Though the steps sagged and the windows were boarded over, as he nudged the door open with a booted toe, the roof appeared solid and the floor was dry. Cain settled DG gently on the floor near the empty fireplace and hurried to start a blaze. He struggled to concentrate on the tinder he was lighting as his eyes strayed to DG's pale, still form. Finally, the fire caught and the bright flames did something to lift the darkness from the room. Carefully piling wood until he was certain the flames would not die out, Cain shrugged out of his duster. Thankful that the leather was dry on the inside, he positioned it in front of the flames. He knew he had to get DG out of the wet clothes. The cold would only make things worse. Despite the commands from his head to pull the wet canvas shoes off her feet, his hands stayed firmly in his pockets. This is the princess, this is the princess, this is the princess became his mantra. The heavy denim was the worst. As he managed to slip the material past her his, his brain traitorously remarked that this was not how he had hoped this would go. He snarled to himself and quickly stripped the remained of her clothes off DG's unresponsive body. Her lips were blue but her chest continued to rise and fall in the appropriate rhythm. His eyes lingered on the thin lace covering her breasts. No, no, no, Cain scolded himself. Get her warm, get her home, then work out your sordid little fantasies with someone else. Efficiently bundling DG into his coat, Cain settled before the fire with DG in his lap.
"Ok, kiddo, enough sleeping. Time to wake up." Cain said gruffly as he briskly rubbed her cheeks. "Come on, you've scared me enough for one day, wake up now." The rubbing seemed to be working as he watched darkly lashed eyes flutter open. "That the way," he said encouragingly. "Rejoin the land of the living, princess." DG groaned as consciousness reacquainted itself with pain.
"Cain?" DG said in a trembling voice. Her throat ached and her body was hot and tingled. It was the weirdest feeling. If it weren't for feeling like she'd been thrown from a horse, DG would've sworn she was having another of her dreams. The one last week had started like this, waking up in Cain's arms.
Cain noticed her eyes drooping shut, "No, no sleeping. Stay awake for me now." Cain jostled her into a further upright position. "You took a nasty fall. Care to explain why you ran off on me…us." DG tried to shake the cobwebs from her mind while not shaking anything else important loose.
"Cain, I had to get out. You don't understand. I don't know who I am there. I certainly don't know anything about being a princess. I was going slowly crazy cooped up in that castle." DG said voice growing more panicked with each phrase. "I didn't have anyone to talk to."
"Are you kidding? You have your whole family there. The Queen, Ahamo, your sister, and Raw and Glitch. You had plenty of people."
"You weren't there. You haven't been for a while." DG's eyes dropped to a middle distance and she shivered. Cain absently began to rub at her arms. The coat provided a warm friction on her skin. "Nobody understood what it was like in the crypt." He couldn't look in her eyes. He would give in if he did. The last thing he needed with her all but naked and vulnerable in his arms was to give in.
"Look, kid, I was just in the way. And I had things I had to take care of, eight years worth of things." His voice was gruff and his hand stilled to clench firmly at her shoulders. "The last thing anyone needs is a rusty, old tin man." DG struggled against his hold until she was sitting upright, the jacket starting to slide around her shoulders. Glimpses of pale skin catching his wandering eyes and holding them hostage. Her eyes flashed dangerously in the firelight. She was getting angry and for the life of him Cain couldn't understand why.
"You, Wyatt Cain, are an idiot." Her nose flared as she stared him down. "I needed you. I've needed you this whole time. How could you not get that!"
"I, DG.." Cain started, trying to appease the angry young woman in his arms.
"No, you get to listen. I have no one to talk to, no one who will listen without trying to help. I don't know my mother and father or at least can't remember much. The only life I remember completely is being a famer's daughter in Kansas. My sister, who I abandoned to be possessed by an evil witch tried to kill me. Glitch has enough issues to deal with. What kind of person would I be to put Raw through dealing with all this? And then you, the one person who I counted on to see reason and treat me like a normal person, walks out." Her face crumpled and she sagged against him. The jacket fell unnoticed to her lap. Indecision seized Cain in a deathly grip. All instinct said that this girl, no, woman was hurting and he was part of the reason why. Protocol's razor-sharp voice said that it was not his place and he was delaying the inevitable. He couldn't deny the shaking woman in his arms and so pulled her closer, his hands rubbing soft circles onto the warm skin of her back.
He couldn't tell you how long he sat there with the fire warming them both as DG cried out her frustration and loneliness. Eventually, the sobs subsided and the path of his hands took on a decidedly less comforting path as they trailed slowly up and down her spine. When DG finally pulled away to look him in the eyes, the dark depths of her eyes made his groin leap in desire. Calloused hands slid up her back, smoothed over soft shoulders to cup her face.
"I couldn't stay. I couldn't stay and be what I was supposed to be. It is very hard to be your friend, Princess." Cain whispered. Her forehead furrowed in confusion until his hands travelled down her neck and along her collarbones. It was a simple touch really but the sensitive skin responded immediately to the rough pads of skin.
"Maybe I don't want you to be my friend." DG replied breathily. One quick surge of confidence had her slithering out of the remains of the jacket and across his lap. They were almost nose to nose. She could feel his breath fan across her lips and his pupils dilate. Strong muscles jumped beneath her bare thighs, his thin pants doing nothing to conceal his growing arousal. Her delicate hands were fingering the buttons of his shirt and restraint managed to rear its cool head enough to grasp her wrists and pin them behind her back. This brought two heated bodies even closer together and DG squirmed in captivity.
"I can't be anything other than your friend." Cain growled.
"Says who?" DG said defiantly and leaned in to give a quick lick up his pale throat.
"Says convention, propriety, the rules of monarchy." Cain replied and tried not to imagine nipping his way down the curve of shoulder that was closest to his mouth.
"Screw the rules." DG smirked before covering his mouth with hers. There was an instant where his lips remained impassive before he groaned and released her hands to grasp her head. The dance of lips, teeth, and tongue continued until both parted to pant for breath. Hands continued to pet, painting hot trails across hotter flesh. "Are you going to have your way with me now?" DG asked as Cain's hands kneaded their way up her thighs. The hands stilled and serious, blue eyes held hers.
"Is that what you want? It has to be what you want." The plea was painfully desperate. The whispered yes went almost unheard in the tumble of bodies to the floor. The leather duster, warmed by the fire, shielded naked skin from the rough wooden floor. Buttons popped and scattered and DG was finally able to get to touch skin. Muscles corded and stretched under her hands as Cain shrugged his shirt off and lowered himself onto her. The feeling of skin on skin sent cascades of feeling until there was a hot pull at her center. His lips coursed across hers then down. He gave in to the earlier desire and nipped her shoulder the kissed his way back across to soothe the skin. He moved down, further down, searing hot against her skin. Lips sought out tight nipples through lace until DG bucked against him and moaned. Long fingers traced intricate designs on ribs and pale, flat stomach. DG whimpered as the same fingers skirted dangerously close to the edge of her panties. One long digit slipped under the edge and dipped a long path to her center. Her hands clenched as his shoulder as he assaulted with lips and tongue. She was almost to the edge and he'd barely touched her. She wriggled and he pulled the swatch of fabric from her hips and down long, shapely legs. DG leaned up on her elbows to unclasp her bra. Cain sat back on his heels, gazing at her in light provided by the dancing flames.
A pout appeared on her lips and DG rose up to mirror Cain's pose, her knees bracketing his. "You seem slightly overdressed for this particular occasion." Nimble fingers reached for the belt and button of his pants but his hands stopped her movement.
"DG, I haven't…I haven't done this for a long time." His eyes couldn't meet hers as he hoped she understood his meaning. DG freed one hand to firmly cup him through his pants.
"Everything appears to be in working order but I think a closer inspection might be appropriate. Don't you think?" She grinned and he couldn't help but laugh at her impudence. He let her undo the belt and button until the pants hung loose about his hips. Cain shrugged off his pants and boots and joined her on the floor, kneeling between her legs. That first feeling of flesh pressed to flesh, no barriers, nothing keeping them apart silenced them both. Then in that first slide of skin, that instant of joining the world around them stopped spinning. Eyes locked on one another, mouths open in a silent gasp of wonder, then moving in an age old dance.
Later, with Cain collapsed across her; both breathing heavily, DG couldn't help but giggle. The sound brought narrowed pale blue eyes up to meet hers.
"It's rude to laugh, you know." Cain grumbled and rolled them both over. This only made DG laughed harder.
"Oh, I'm not laughing at you, well, not completely. I just never though this would be how it happened. I've got a pretty vivid imagination and I hadn't come up with this."
"So, you are telling me that…this was something you've been wanting for a while." His tone was incredulous.
"Do you have any idea how hot you looked crawling out of that river? Those pants of yours leave nothing to the imagination." She licked her lips in appreciation. "It was kinda all down hill from there. The gruff hero rescuing the princess, reuniting with lost family. You were there through all of that and then suddenly you were gone. I didn't realize how much I would miss you, how much I needed you." She looked away shyly. "I got so close to you, so quickly, I didn't know how to handle it. Then I didn't know what to do without you."
"You shouldn't want an old, dried up, Tin Man."
"That's just too bad isn't it? You're not old and certainly not dried up by any measure. And I do want you. I have a feeling I'm going to want you for a long time to come."
"DG…"
"Nope, I might as well say it." She gulped for air, never imagining that she would get this far. "I love you, there, now you know. You've got to deal with it."
"DG, I very much want to love you. I think I've forgotten how. My heart's been locked away for a long time. You are perfect and beautiful and I don't want to ruin that. I know I will."
"We won't know until we try. And I am far from perfect, as you well know. We'll just have to learn together. I've never felt like this before, for anyone. I don't know what to do anymore than you do." She leaned in to gently kiss away the frowning marring his features. Cain captured her lips with his and proceeded to thoroughly kiss her. He broke away starting to chuckle. "Now who's laughing?" DG taunted.
"I just don't know what I did to luck out like this." He sobered then pulling DG closer, nestling her head under his chin. "I never though I'd make it out of that tin suit. I was sure I would have to spend the rest of my days watching my family die over and over again. Then you came in, brandishing a stick and setting me free. And nothing seemed to faze you. I tried so hard not to feel. I didn't think I would be able to. I was sure I wouldn't know how but there is was. When Ahamo took you, that's when I knew. I knew I wouldn't be able to rest until you were safe with me. After everything, I figured you'd never want me. I couldn't just stand there and watch you. That's why I left. I realized I had fallen in love with you and was scared to death." DG's hand made soothing circles on his bare chest.
"To be fair, I didn't think you'd want me either. What with kid and Princess being the only two names you called me. What a pair of idiots we are." DG slid up to kiss him again, reveling in the warmth of his mouth. DG's stomach grumbled obtrusively at that point. She smiled sheepishly.
"I'll make a deal with you," Cain said pulling them both to their feet. "I'll call you DG, if you call me Wyatt. And the next time you decide to run away, you give me fair warning so I can bring supplies."
"Next time?" DG asked arching her brows.
"Oh yes, next time. But right now, let's go home. The storm has stopped."
"Home. Do we have to?"
"We can't exactly stay here forever."
"I know but God, what will my mother say!" Cain pulled her close.
"You're not backing out are you?" He teased. DG shook her head, a resolute no. "Good, cause it's not the Queen that I'm worried about, it's Ahamo." DG blanched. Cain laughed at her reaction before scooping up her shirt and pulling it over her head.
"I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there." DG said sighing but then snorted to herself. "Well, making things up as I go along is what I do. We'll be fine." Cain caught her hand and kissed the top of it, eyes twinkling.
"We'll be just fine." He dropped her hand and turned to pull on his pants. He turned to find her staring. "Hurry up, no point in delaying the inevitable." They dressed in silence, gathering lost items and putting the dwindling fire out. Thankfully, the horse had wandered back to the little cottage and was munching on the wet grass. Cain turned to DG, hands spanning her waist to lift her up.
"Cain, I love you." DG said softly, not wanting to leave their refuge.
"I love you too, DG" Cain replied and boosted her up. He jumped smoothly behind her and pulled her close. "Now, let's go home. There is no place like home."
THE END
AN: I'm sorry, I just couldn't help myself. ;)