Disclosure:  Tin Man and such are all under the property of their respective owners and writers.  I just spend until 2am working out plot points with an awesome friend.

 Word count before editing:  4,892

Song I listened to for this chapter: Everything (Live in Studio) by Lifehouse I give up. This song is in every fic. Just the versions change.

Previously:

Glitch laughs. “That man? He’s nothing. The most dangerous person is that man upstairs with our sister.”

Jeb smirks, “And ain’t it a beautiful thing?”

Glitch and Jeb share a look. Both had known that Cain was it for DG, it had taken him all this to admit it. But that little situation? Cain will never let a man hurt his love. Neither of them will be shocked to find that the Mark had grown after tonight.

Az looks up at the house. “While you two men are over there smirking, think of who gets to sleep in a bed tonight, while we are sleeping on the ground.” Then she smirks at them, “Of course, there is a strong guarantee that there will be hardly any sleeping going on up there.”

With that, all the men groan as Az’s laughter carries up to the sun fading below the horizon.

Now:

Cain rushes into the house, his eyes meeting Raw’s. The viewer quickly comes up, lays his hands on her then sighs in relief. “DG physically not hurt.” Then his eyes snap to Cain’s. “DG feeling worse than with Spell.”

Cain nods. His anger is still there, DG and he will be talking about her safety. Then he shudders as all the possibilities run through his head. While nothing had happened, there had been so many possibilities that had been left to chance; one wrong move and he could have lost her just when he had gained her.

Raw put his hand on his shoulder and then leaves the house. Cain jerks his head to the windows as his eyes notice a flicker. Then he realizes that Az must have cast a spell.

Looking down at his DG, his face relaxes. He will find out what Gulch did, but he has a pretty good idea. In addition, with Gulch out of the way right now, he can tend to DG.

He carries her up to her room, gently placing her down on the bed. He was only going to stand to take his duster, hat and gun off, but DG sat up terrified.

DG feels Wyatt gather her back in his arms. She starts telling him, “I’m sorry, Wyatt. I am so sorry. I shouldn’t have-”

Wyatt holds her closer to him. He rebukes her softly, “No, you shouldn’t have, Darlin’. I am your guardian, remember? I keep you safe, DG. And never again will you separate from me when you are scared or worried or anything. I felt it all, love. I was stuck here, unable to help you other than sending you my love.”

His eyes close as he discloses to her, “I lost the last woman I loved, and it nearly broke me. Losing you will break me.” He pulls away and cups her face to look into her blue eyes. “DG, I love you. You’re my soul mate, my Life Mate. If anything were to happen to you, it would kill me.”

Cain softly and quickly kisses her. Drawing back, he states to her, “We need some ground rules, love.”

DG snorts. “A little late isn’t it?”

Cain lets his smile form. “Never too late to stop my heart from stopping. DG, you terrified me when you stepped around me.” He keeps staring in her eyes, letting her feel his feelings. “So the first rule is, never go around me.”

DG nods. Her eyes fill with tears as she remembers how his emotions felt when she did that.

Cain wipes the tears from her face. “None of that DG. In return, I promise to ask, to talk to you.”

This makes her smile. “Compromising, Cowboy?”

He grins at her, “Always. This is a relationship DG. If I set all the rules, then you will grow to hate me. Instead, we need to find a middle ground. There are only a few hard rules with me DG. One will always be your safety. I am sorry, Sweetheart, but I cannot compromise on that. I almost lost you in the Ice Palace, then when your father took you from me. I felt your terror before we found you afterwards; I drove everyone nuts trying to get to you. If that had not been enough, I almost lost you in the Tower. Then when I finally thought it was all over, you tried to kill yourself.” At that, his head drops onto her shoulder. He continues, “Then this, DG. I. Can’t. Lose. YOU.”

DG holds on to him tighter. “I don’t remember trying to kill myself. So much is a haze. I just remember you being threatened. That broke through and I made sure you were sent away, to be protected. I tried to send everyone away. No one else was going to get hurt.” She didn’t voice the obvious thought that she caused all the misery and she was going to stop it from happening again.

Cain lifts his head. “DG, I cannot tell you how much that hurt when I found out. I had admitted I loved you to myself, then I was separated from you. When I came back, I found you were the reason I was sent away.” He quickly cups her face with both of his hands tenderly, “DG. We are bound to each other, I am never going to leave you and you are mine. Always have been.”

DG stares back into his eyes. She nods, then she grins, “What are the other hard rules, Wyatt?”

He meets her grin. “Those are easy. You know, love only me, listen and talk to me. No secrets. Nothing much.”

“Oh, that’s all.”

Cain’s eyes grow dark. “Yes.” His eyes drop to her lips.

DG leans away from him. “What about my rules?”

His eyes snap back to hers, “What rules?”

She smirks, “Oh nothing much, just loving me, respecting me, and talking to me.”

He can’t help the slow grin coming across. “I can do those.”

Her face grows serious, “And Wyatt, don’t put me on a pedestal.”

His smile drops, his eyes watching her. “DG, I don’t want to be your father. I am your husband.” Then he smirks, “There are things I want to do to you that nobody but your husband should even think of doing.” He drops his head and nuzzles her neck.

DG gasps, her hand flying to his head, keeping it there.

Cain continues, only lifting his head when he remembers what happened today. He lays her on the bed, only pausing long enough to finally shed his duster, hat and gun belt. Then he lays down beside her, his arms supporting his upper body. “DG. Sweetheart. What happened today?”

DG closes her eyes. She doesn’t need the reminder that she just told him no secrets. Then she feels his hand on hers, their Marks flaring and her eyes fly open to meet his.

He just looks down at her. “DG, I love you, but I really need to learn what happened. Why you were so terrified. You faced down a Witch of incredible power, along with everything the O.Z. could throw at you, and you were fine. Sweetheart, you attacked an elite league of Longcoats with nothing more than a stick. You jumped into a river gorge, after rescuing Raw and facing the Papay. You have done so much and never flinched. But this one man has you terrified.” His hand drops hers, and moves to her face, caressing it. “I need to know, so I can work to have my wife never feel that. You don’t deserve to feel that. You are so strong.” The last is said so softly, reverently.

DG’s body relaxes. She searches his eyes, worrying that what she is going to tell him will make him regret their Bond.

Cain can feel the worry and he tells her, “Hey Princess, I am here for the rest of our lives. Nothing will make that change.” Then he just observes her, his blue eyes intently watching her, waiting.

She takes a deep breath. “When I graduated high school, I was eager to get out of here. To shake the dust of this place off my boots. However, I couldn’t leave my parents. Or at least who they were to me. We were barely making it every year, and if I left, there was no one to repair the machinery that was the difference between poverty and homelessness. That is what I thought, but who knows what the real situation was. Gulch had graduated two years before me and was a police officer. He decided at that time that I needed to be his girl. He pompously told me this the night of graduation. I told him no.”

Cain can’t help but smile. He can imagine her doing exactly that.

She smiles at him, feeling his amusement. “By the time he had asked me, I had heard stories on how he treated his girls. It was nothing pretty. And since he became a police officer, it had only grown worse. He blatantly used the power he had to cover up anything he did. There was no way I would even get involved with him.”

She bites her lower lip, chewing it lightly before continuing, “I got a job in the diner, and saved my money. I still wanted to leave. I wanted to go somewhere; I just felt so out of place here. Gulch started showing up, leaving flowers for me, presents. As well as warning away anyone that tried to get close. I ignored him, leaving everything wherever he placed it. Now, I wonder if life would of better not to ignore them.”

Cain can’t help himself. “Standing up for yourself, for what you believe, is never wrong, Sweetheart. But please continue I am saving up my questions for the end, love.” She needs the support, and he is sending it to her in spades.

DG looks up into his face, and drawing from him, she gets to the hard part. “I was stupid one night. I still had some friends; it was their last night in town before they left for college. We all went out that night, to the river. There was drinking involved, but I was designated driver. I hated the feeling of drinking and drugs, so often was the DD. We weren’t being wild, just reminiscing about everything. Saying goodbye in our own way. There was an old swing we had put up years ago, it was the thinking spot for us. I had wandered off and gone there to think of what direction my life was going. Basically having a pity party for one. But then Gulch appears out of nowhere, scaring me.” Her eyes lose focus, going back to that night.

(Flashback)

She had been swinging in the wind, thinking on how the last people who even kind of understood her were leaving her. They had been the ones who had supported her, even when her own parents hadn’t.

She sighed, then jumped as she heard a voice she had not wanted to hear tonight, “Well, well, well. DG all by herself for once. Why are you here and not with all your other friends?”

DG turned around, irritated. “Gulch. What are you doing here?”

Gulch just stood there, cocky. “Why do I need a reason to make sure my girl is ok?” He started to move closer.

DG shook her head. “How many times do I need to tell you I am not your girl?”

Gulch grinned as he stood in front of her. “And how many times have I told you that it was an honor. C’mon DG. You know that once these pathetic friends of yours leave, you will have no one left here except your parents. You need me.”

DG fought down her anger; it never did any good in the past. “Gulch, what is your point?”

His grin grew wider as he closed the last distance between them, stepping in between her legs. Before DG can do anything, he grabbed her chin and kissed it. When she tried to push away, he grabbed her and pulled her close. “Now, now DG. I am tired of these games. You’re mine and no one else’s. It’s time you just accept it. That is what you are going to do tonight.  Accept me.”

Feeling trapped, she tried to fight. Before she could scream for help, he covered her mouth. He pulled her close enough she could feel his hard on as he rubbed it on her. She had never felt so degraded or afraid before.

He leaned in close and whispered in her ear, “I have waited way too long for you. Tonight the games end, and I will make you mine.”

(End Flashback)

Cain’s face is pure fury as he hears this. He chokes out, “Did he?”

DG shakes her head. “No, luckily one of my friends had seen his car parked and raised the alarm. Everyone in town knew of him, and they all knew of how much he wanted me. I had told them where I was going, and they ran up there, interrupting him. I was so scared and mad. I made the biggest mistake of my life and slapped him. After that, he was relentless to get me alone. I told Momster and Popsicle a clean version of what had happened, and from then on, no one left me alone. As time passed, all he could do was ticket me for everything. The townspeople didn’t approve of his actions, and helped, incurring his wrath also. Overall, it made me more determined to leave. The day I left here for the O.Z., he had given me a ticket and Momster and I argued about it. She kept thinking I was getting the tickets on purpose. She told me no Tin Man would abuse his power.”

That last line makes Cain freeze. He stares down, his eyes growing cold. “That man is a Tin Man?”

Focusing her eyes on him, DG realizes he didn’t know. “He is a version of it on this side. Wyatt…”

Cain’s eyes flash as he grits his teeth. “A Tin Man is trying to take advantage of you.”

DG sits up, looking down at her Tin Man. “Wyatt, it doesn’t mean the same, but it is wrong. He is nothing like you.”

Cain stares up at her and she can feel his rage and worry. His face shows he is deep in thought. “You never shied away when you heard what I am.”

Smiling, DG reaches for him, touching his jaw tenderly, “Because you are nothing like him. Wyatt, I am smart. I know the difference and always have. You are nothing like him, never had been.”

He struggles with it. His mate has been assaulted by a Tin Man. The same man who had just been here earlier and he had done nothing. Granted, he’d had no knowledge of what had happened, but he really should have known better. DG is never terrified for no reason. Nevertheless, she is here reassuring him, she… “DG, how?”

Looking down at him, she tells him, “I, too, felt a pull towards you. I can never explain it, but I knew you would never hurt me. I felt…safe and that I belonged. I have never felt like that before. Ever. Cain. I only told you because you asked. I…”

Immediately sitting up, Cain pulls her to him. He holds her to him, murmuring, “Sweetheart. Thank you. I know it was not easy, but I needed to know. I needed to know why I felt like killing him earlier. DG, I know you still don’t understand the Bonding; shoot I don’t think anyone will understand our Bonding. The pictures we had of the Mark show it only on the hand, not like how ours is. There is a mention that there will be Bonds that are more, that grow, but not one is recorded as such. So what Emily told us is a guide only.”

DG cocks her head to the side and looks down at her arm. Both Cain and she are wearing long sleeves. She gets curious and moves to remove her shirt. As she unbuttons the shirt, Cain’s hand stops hers. “Sweetheart, what are you doing?”

Looking up at him, she grins. “No worries, Tin Man. I have another shirt underneath. I just want to see our Marks.”

He lets go of her hand, and watches as she unbuttons her shirt. When she reveals what she calls another shirt, he grunts. “Princess, that isn’t another shirt.”

DG looks down at the tank top she has on and then back up at him. “Sure it is.” She quickly shrugs out of it before he can stop her and then stops transfixed on her arm.

Cain is staring at the Mark that is reaching past her elbow. He reaches down to his sleeve, but stops when he sees DG’s small hands unbuttoning his shirt. She grins at him, but soon stops after she pushes his shirt off of him. He is not looking down at his Mark, but just stares at his wife.

DG moves her arm next to his, noticing the Mark is glowing lightly. She realizes that while the Marks extend around each of their arms, they match precisely when matched up to each other. She softly gasps as she plays with it, turning their arms.

Cain just watches as the wonder of it reflects on her face and eyes. It is a look he will always enjoy seeing on her face. He remembers when she saw the fairies for the first time, or when she discovers something else new on their world. It makes him look at the O.Z. with fresh eyes, not one jaded by a lifetime of loss.

Soon, DG looks up at his face, her smile fading slightly as she takes in the intent look on his face. Before she can say anything, he closes the distance between them and kisses her on the lips softly. He leans back slightly to make sure she is okay with it. When he notices her closed eyes, he smiles and closes the distance again to kiss her lips with more passion. He wants to make her his wife in every way, if she will allow him to.

Gasping, DG sucks in air as Cain kisses down her neck, his hands holding her gently to him. She can feel his love, his need for her. She tells him, “I love you, Wyatt.” With the words finally uttered, she sends him her love, her need for him.

Cain just smirks as she moans. He needs to feel her, hear her. Make her his for the rest of eternity, his wife, his Life Mate. She is his; he is hers. His hands caress her body down to her waist.

DG looks down at him, her body vibrating in his hands. She admires his chest, her hands running over it lightly, smiling as she can feel his pleasure at her hands on him.

Moving quickly, Cain removes her shirt, only to find her having another piece of clothing on. He grumbles, “How many layers do you wear on this side?”

Her peal of laughter lightens his heart. He looks at the blue lacey mini-corset and quickly comes to a conclusion. “Sweetheart, please tell me you have more of these.” His eyes flick up and meet hers, dark blue meeting sapphire blue. “The way it looks on you is indescribable, Sweetheart.” He smiles as he sees her blush, leaning up to capture her lips. He murmurs, “So beautiful, love. So very beautiful.” And his hands sweep up her body and fall to her back. His nimble fingers find the catch in the back of the corset, releasing her from its confines.

Never having felt this loved before in her life, DG’s head falls back as Cain’s lips find her throat. She whimpers as she feels them leave her skin, but she hears his voice tell her, “Shh DG.”

Cain supports her back, as he looks at the woman he loves. “Ozma’s blessings.” He murmurs reverently, “How can I be this lucky?” Unable to resist her, never able to resist the woman who has become his everything, his mouth soon resumes the worship of her body.

Feeling a burn inside her stomach start as Cain’s mouth teases her breasts, DG gasps his name.

Cain slowly lowers her to the bed, watching her face. “Sweetheart. Tell me if you want me to continue.” After hearing what she has already gone through, he has to make sure she is comfortable with this.

Looking up her husband, DG told him in a voice husky with need for him, “I swear Wyatt Cain, if you don’t finish what you started, you will have a very pissed off wife.”

Chuckling at her as he lowers his body over hers, his hands cage her face, his thumbs caressing her cheeks. He answers her, “Well, then, Mrs. Dorothi Gale Cain, I can’t be having that, can I?” He just stares into her eyes. “Great Wizard, I love you, DG.”

Their Marks pulse at the feelings flowing through both of them, becoming more intricate. Neither notice, being lost in each other.

Cain moves slowly down her body, bestowing kisses. As he reaches her pants, he kisses her stomach, as he unbuttons and then kneels back, removing her pants and underwear at once. He smirks when she gasps, but when she goes to cover her body, he quickly tells her, “None of that, Darlin’. I have never seen anything more beautiful in my entire life.” He looks deep in her eyes as he tells her, “Nor as beloved as you are to me.”

She smiles as she feels his love overwhelm her. There is something to this Life Mating. She can never doubt his feelings for her, nor he hers.

Cain frowns, as he thinks of something. “Love, is this your first time?” Then the answer flushes over him, all in her emotions.

DG is nervous, but then she feels his possessiveness right before he breathes out, “DG…”

He can’t believe it, that she is a virgin, his. He moves back up to her, looking down at her as he tells her, “Thank you, Darlin’.” He kisses her hard, his hands moving down her body. He will need to go more slowly, bring her pleasure so that he doesn’t hurt her as badly.

Arching her body into his, DG can’t wait. “Wyatt!” Hearing his chuckle, then feeling his mouth on her body as his hands caress, worship her. She brings her hands up to his shoulders, feeling the muscles flex as he moves his hands on her body. She sighs in pleasure as his mouth nips at her body and then laves the pain away with his tongue. She can feel him as he claims her body as his.

Feeling her pleasure, Cain closes his eyes as he follows her body down. He traces with his mouth the curve of her breasts, and then down to her flat stomach. He kisses her stomach, then a line between her hips. His hands caressing the parts he has not gotten to map yet, learning what pleases her, feeling what sets her body on fire.

DG gasps as she feels his tongue on her slit, arching her whole body up in pleasure. “Oh God!” Cain is relentless, sucking her clit when he goes up there, his fingers taking place of his tongue. Both are soon working to make the burn in her body flash into fire. Her hands grip the covers as she tries to grasp onto anything.

Cain groans. Feeling her pleasure is making it harder on him. He closes his eyes, gaining control over his body so he doesn’t react as an adolescent boy with his first crush. He looks up at her, telling her, “Let go, DG. Come for me, Darlin’.”

With that simple request, she lets go, letting the fire overcome her. “Wyatt!”

Cain watches her, enraptured with her body, face, emotions as they wash over him. As she comes down from her orgasm, he quickly removes his remaining clothing and moves to hover over her.

Opening her eyes to his, seeing the glow from Mark shining from their bodies and around his eyes. He grins down at her, “Sweetheart.”

She realizes she can feel his bare legs in between hers, and pushes him on his shoulder. He frowns, but lays on his side as she wants. She looks up, and her eyes look over the man that is hers. Her eyes and hands had explored his chest, admiring the muscles she had found there. Now she gets to look over all of him, the silvery blue glow of their Marks making a light unnecessary since the sun had died its nightly fiery death already.

Her hands slide lightly down his toned stomach, brushing past the abs that are defined, finding his treasure trail. She takes in his hips, defined by the v, leading her to his cock. Her hand reaches out, gripping it, fascinated by it. She had admired him in his well-fitted pants, but never had imagined that he would be this well-endowed.

Cain had closed his eyes when she had started to touch him, the sheer need for him to take her overwhelming him. But at the same time, he felt such pleasure at her hands on his body.

DG looks up at him, “Well, I guess being a Tin Man keeps you in shape.”

Cain can’t help it; he chuckles as he reaches out a hand and brings her face towards him. “It’s more the chasing after you, Sweetheart.”

Smiling as he kisses her, DG keeps pumping him, liking the way it feels, velvet skin over the hardness.

Cain moans and grabs her hand. “Keep that up, and this will be quickly over. I want to be inside you, deep inside you when I come for you.”

She gasps, rubbing her thighs together. Before she can do anything else, Cain is back over her, kissing her, his cock at her entrance. He draws back and tells her, “I’m so sorry, Sweetheart, but this will hurt. We will take all the time you need.” He waits until she nods, and slowly enters her.

DG moans as he slowly enters her, withdrawing then moving deeper as he enters back into her.

He does this and then stops. She opens her eyes to him, and he tells her, “I love you, DG.” And with that, he thrusts past her barrier and stills, waiting as he had promised.

Gasping at the pain, DG can feel Cain’s love and his own pain for causing hers. He is soon kissing her, staying still in her as he waits for her. Soon, she feels the need for him to move and rocks her hips.

Cain takes that as his signal and soon is thrusting in her, pushing his pleasure towards her as well as his love.

They both move together in a dance as old as time, bringing each other such pure pleasure that all that is heard is their bodies moving together along with their moans of pleasure. Neither noticing that the words they are hearing from the other are not uttered by their lips as they crash into each other. Their Marks are glowing brighter as they move to complete the Bonding.

No matter how much they wish otherwise, not wanting to end the feeling of completion they feel as they make love to each other, their bodies can only take so much. Soon they both fall off that slippery edge, coming with each other’s name on their lips and minds.

Cain shouts in pure pleasure as his soul and DG’s ignite with their orgasm, feeling as he releases deep in her as she comes with him. He works to continue their pleasure and then catches himself from collapsing on her. He rolls them so he is laying on his back, with her on top, held tightly in his arms.

When he catches his breath enough, he kisses wherever he can reach, his arms caressing her body. He tells her, “Great Wizard, DG, I love you.”

DG looks up at him, to find he is looking down at her, his eyes dark with love. She can feel his heart pounding underneath her, and she smiles at him, exhausted. “If it’s going to be like that every time, I don’t think we will survive.”

Cain smirks at her, “Oh, Darlin’, that’s just the beginning. It is just going to get better from here on out. You’re mine, DG; nothing is ever going to separate us, and I treasure what is mine.” He kisses her on her head, holding her to him. “You’re my everything, Sweetheart. And I will show you how much I thank you for that, every day for the rest of our lives.”

Both of them stare at each other, neither noticing that the glow is higher on their bodies than it had been when they started. They had more important things to notice as the night went on, Cain making good on his words that each time was better than the last. The following morning’s sun found them tangled in each other as they finally slept, their souls as entwined as their bodies.

Word count: after editing 4,968

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Fairfarren~