Tin Man: Not His Kink 8/12

[klcthebookworm]

Title: Tin Man: Not His Kink 8/12
Author: klcthebookworm
Rating: NC-17
Characters/Pairing: DG/Cain, Zero, Gulch, nearly everyone makes an appearance
Warning/Kinks:Story is set about an annual after the miniseries. Bondage, anal play, toys, BDSM, CBT, spanking, whipping, rape/non-con, oral play, threesome, dubcon (and if I missed listing one, point it out to me)
Summary: Zero knew her weakness. And he would make her help torture Cain. She wouldn't let herself cry. She had to get Cain out of this. This wasn't his kink.
This Chapter: And we finally get to the threesome bit that inspired my muse. DG/Cain/Gulch, bondage, spanking, anal play, CBT, oral play, domination, submission, emotional breakdown.
Word Count: This chapter: 5074 Totals: 14296/20,422
Disclaimer: Don't own Tin Man, but I'm willing to give it a good home. Second point, my muse got fed up with Faulkner and latched onto a threesome she hadn't read about in the fandom. And then when I wasn't finished with Faulkner, it turned into my first "porn with a plot." So please give me constructive criticism.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7


Part Eight

Gulch parked the car in a motor room and the wide door slid behind it. DG and Gulch climbed out, so Cain followed them. He felt the man's hazel eyes upon him. "DG, help Wyatt get ready." Gulch went into the two-story house first.

"Yes, sir," she answered meekly. She circled the vehicle, took Cain's hand, and led him into the house. He heard Gulch further inside, but DG turned them to a tiny bathroom on the right. "We leave our clothes here and put on the collars."

Cain put his back against the closed door. "Collars?"

DG stood on her tiptoes and pulled a square wicker basket down from a shelf. "It symbolizes of your submission. When you put it on yourself, you control when your submission ends." She turned, holding two black leather bands. "If you want to be a dominant's slave, you'd allow your master to collar you and then submit to their decision on how long the relationship lasts." He took the longer band. It looked like what you would put around a dog's neck with a metal buckle and a metal loop for the leash. "Wyatt, you don't have to do this."

He looked into her concerned blue eyes. "You trust him."

"Yes. It's not what Elmer will do that I'm worried about." She huffed, turned around, and pulled her T-shirt over her head. "Be sure to fold everything."

Cain watched the scars on her back shift with her movements. Seeing them made his apology back in the hospital room more inadequate. "Do you think I'm ashamed?" She dropped the folded shirt into the basket. "Or do you not want to share Gulch?"

She whirled and he kept his eyes on her reddening face. "Neither!" She jerked to face the sink and mirror, combing her fingers through her black hair. They wove a rough plait. "I'm not worried about me."

He stood behind her and tugged her hair free of her awkward hands, finishing the braid himself. "You're worried I'm gonna feel like you did when it was against your will."

"It's not your kink."

"I don't know what my kink is. And you were pretty adamant Zero wasn't the real thing." He saw her closed eyes in the mirror. "DG, if I can't take it, I'll use the safe word. Stop worrying."

She sighed and tied off her braid before facing him again. "Just remember this isn't about proving how macho you are."

"Gulch told me that too." He stepped back and focused on unbuttoning his borrowed shirt. This way he wouldn't see DG peeling off her pants. Though after everything they had been through and with what they were about to do, seeing DG naked again shouldn't be that arousing. He glanced up and saw the curve of her backside as she bent over to pick up her pants. Gods help me.

She turned as she buckled the black leather around her neck and made an impatient sound at his stunned state. "Put that on." She pushed the collar into his hands and his hands toward his throat while she went to the fastening of his pants. "Master does not like waiting."

"DG." His face flushed as she uncovered his erection.

"I'm aroused too, but only Master can relieve it now." She knelt to free his leg from the material. "Remember to call Elmer Master."

"Alright." His fingers fumbled with the metal clasp behind his neck. "Funny shaped buckle."

"It can hold a padlock." DG folded his clothes into the basket. "Don't worry, Master restrains but he doesn't lock down."

Cain finished buckling the collar and swallowed hard. He picked the basket off the toilet lid and put it back on the shelf. His chest brushed against her arm, but he managed to ignore the jolt through his body. "Let's get this over with."

DG smiled with a darkening blush. "Come down to the dungeon." She held his hand and led him from the bathroom. The stairs behind the next door descended into a windowless basement. A massive bed with four square posters dominated the space. Gulch wasn't much of a carpenter, Cain decided. The bed frame was rough framing lumber instead of carved and sanded into a smoother shape.

Shifting his eyes from the bed, he saw a human-sized wooden X against the wall, a padded sawhorse with straps to the right, a leather armchair in front of the bed, a metal stand, and wooden stocks just like Zero's to the left. DG didn't say anything as he turned and saw the sling hanging next to the stairs; the bathroom left open to the room; and the ropes, chains, belts, paddles, and whips hanging on the walls. He looked at DG again, trying hard not to dwell on how he had strained to get free in the darkness and had only heard the taunting laughter. "What now?"

"Kneel in front of the chair." She guided his knees further apart and he clasped his hands behind his back. "When you're told to present yourself, get into this position and look straight ahead."

"Okay." Cain ignored how nervous the stairs to his back made him. DG knelt next to him in the same position and he wished he had the view of her display from the chair. Thinking that stiffened his penis more. Why did he torture himself? She didn't want to do this with him; her arguments to talk him out of it proved that.

Heavy steps came down the stairs slowly so they could think about what was happening. Cain steeled himself and looked straight ahead. Gulch circled them, stopping in front of DG. He had changed into black leather pants and polished black boots. A pair of black leather straps crossed his bare chest.

He knelt on one knee before DG and ran his hand through the trimmed curls between her legs. "I will punish you for lying, DG."

"Yes, Master, I deserve it." Her voice went breathy.

Gulch squeezed her nipple. "What else do you deserve?"

Her chin dropped to her chest. "Does Master want a list of what I have done?" The despair in her tone made Cain turn to her. "Will Master punish me for all of it?"

"I'll see." Gulch raised her chin. "Get a set of cuffs for Wyatt."

"Yes, Master." She walked to the shelves on the wall. Cain jerked his head back to staring straight ahead.

Gulch chuckled. "It's alright, Wyatt." He ran his hands down Cain's chest. "I didn't blindfold DG her first night in here to see if her eyes would fall out of her head." He smirked as Cain struggled to not react to the reference of his past with DG. His hand wrapped around Cain's penis. "That's not for me." Gulch's smirk widened as Cain felt his face heat up.

"Sorry, Master." Cain survived the damn suit for eight annuals; he would survive this.

"You are catching on quick." Gulch squeezed. DG returned holding a mass of leather and fur. "Table," Gulch ordered as he took the mass with his free hand. She dropped to her hands and knees, and he set the items on her back. Her body trembled. "She doesn't realize what effect she can have." Gulch smacked her rump, but she didn't look up. "Give me your hands, Wyatt."

The fur-lined side went against Cain's skin as Gulch buckled the strap of leather with attached metal rings around Cain's wrists. "This is the cuff?" Cain blurted out before pressing his lips together. DG wasn't having a conversation.

"Handcuffs have their uses, but these are kinder to the skin." Gulch seized Cain's jaw. "You may ask questions, Wyatt, but addressed me when you do so."

Cain locked his gaze with the hazel eyes. "I will, Master."

Gulch buckled a matching set of leather cuffs around Cain's ankles before he went back to the shelves. He returned with another buckling leather strap, much smaller than the cuffs and adjustable. Cain's eyes widened as he recognized it. The flinch went through his whole body as Gulch reached for his penis again.

"Wyatt? What's wrong?" Gulch stroked Cain's penis, not bringing the leather ring any closer. Cain couldn't stop his muscles from spasming. "Talk to me, Wyatt."

Cain opened his mouth, but the words wouldn't surface. He closed his eyes. "They wouldn't take it off."

Gulch's hand ran through Cain's hair. "They sure messed you over." He squeezed Cain's neck. "Look at me." Gulch's face was sympathetic. "I will let you come; I just want to control when you come. Do you trust me?" Cain closed his eyes and jerked his head. "Tell me you trust me, Wyatt."

"I trust you, Master."

Gulch reached around Cain, attaching the wrist cuffs together. "DG, get your cuffs." He buckled the cock ring around the base of Cain's penis and tightened it. Cain breathed hard, but it wasn't painful yet. Gulch stroked his cheek. "You've done well, Wyatt. I'm going to reward you."

DG placed another set of leather cuffs next to Gulch and returned to her hands and knees. Gulch ran his hands over her arms and legs before he buckled on the cuffs. "Kneel in front of Wyatt facing the chair." Once she was in position, he hooked a wrist cuff to an ankle cuff and bent her over until her face was against the floor. Cain couldn't take his eyes off her ass spreading before him. Gulch grinned while he fingered her. "Your reward is to taste her. Make her scream."

"Yes, Master." He shouldn't sound so eager. With his hands bound, it was hard but he managed to stretch. Her clit was already engorged, and she moaned when his tongue rasped over it. Her sweet nectar coated his lips as he teased her. DG's moans turned to a scream when he sucked her clit.

Gulch helped him off her. "Did you enjoy DG?"

Cain felt his penis throb. "Yes, Master, thank you."

"And already polite." Gulch freed Cain's hands. "Crawl to the metal stockade." He pointed to the metal stand that Cain didn't recognize. It kept a person on their hands and knees once the collar and cuffs were attached to the metal rods. Gulch checked Cain's wounds before squeezing his ass. "Time to get you warmed up."

He stepped away and Cain saw DG had turned her head to watch. Before he could react, Gulch returned, swinging a flogger in his hands. Cain's backside muscles clenched anticipating the blow.

The stings weren't as hard as the ones Zero had lashed him with. These were shooting straight to his cock and he groaned. Cain lost count of how many had landed on his backside and thighs before Gulch stopped.

"I'm impressed, DG." Gulch hung the flogger on the wall. "Are all your bodyguards like Wyatt?"

"The rest of my bodyguards are dead, Master."

The man in the leather pants pulled her up so she was kneeling again. "I'm sorry. I was complimenting your taste." DG bowed her head. He returned to Cain, not revealing what he had in his hands this time.

Cain stared at the smooth concrete floor while Gulch inserted slick fingers into Cain's rectum. Cain jerked, but the cuffs kept him in a position slightly different from how he was vulnerable before. Gulch rubbed Cain's backside. "Calm down. This hurts more if you fight it." The fingers left, but something hard took their place. It reached further than fingers and the Longcoats' cocks had. His head reared back and he groaned as his body filled with the need to release.

Gulch moved DG. Cain couldn't turn his collared head, but he could hear them past the haze in his head. DG's cries were muffled; the slaps on skin were not. "You're ready now, aren't you?" Gulch sounded winded. "And I'm putting ear plugs in since you won't take the hood." He chuckled as he moved. "I'm so glad you agree. Refusal wasn't an option."

Gulch returned to the panting Cain and released him from the stockade, but didn't take whatever was in his ass out. "Crawl to the bed." Cain followed the directions, trying hard not to groan with the new sensations it caused. "On the bed, kneel between DG's legs."

DG's arms and legs were tied to the four posters of the bed. A blindfold covered her eyes and a pink ball on a strap was logged between her teeth. Gulch wrapped his arms around Cain's chest and propped his chin on Cain's shoulder. "You might want to remember, this is DG's favorite position. And her sense of touch is going wild since she can't see or hear."

Her glistening skin called to Cain, but he focused on Gulch. "Why are you telling me this, Master?"

"Because I'm not going with you two and she needs someone to take care of her." He pinched Cain's nipple. "Slide your cock in."

DG arched her body against the chains with a scream before Cain finished thrusting. He moaned as he moved his thighs under her backside and her contracting walls pulled him in further. Gulch bent Cain over her, trapping her head between Cain's forearms while Cain leaned on his elbows. A chain from the headboard attached to his wrist cuffs so he couldn't rise. DG's gasps pushed her breasts into his chest.

Gulch reached between Cain's legs and unbuckled the cock ring. "I told you you'd get to come."

Cain chuckled as he pulled back and thrust into DG. She moaned around the ball in her mouth and tried to meet his thrusts. He held back to bring her to the edge again, and almost missed Gulch pulling the foreign object from his ass. But he didn't miss the penis sliding into him and the extra thrust into DG. DG's squeal turned into a muffled scream when she orgasmed again, pulling both men with her. Cain leaned on his elbows as he panted, feeling his penis soften inside DG while Gulch's softened inside him.

"Damn," Gulch said. He stretched out on the bed between DG's arm and leg. "Damn, I need to get a pet or a wife and play more."

Cain looked into DG's flushed and sweaty face. Did she recognize that it was him above her or did she think it was Gulch? "Are we done now, Master?"

"We're just getting started, Wyatt." Gulch ran his finger along Cain's jaw before stroking DG's cheek. "Course you did get revved up early. But I want to fuck her a few times before bedtime." He released DG and pulled her out from under Cain. "Take a breather now."

Cain found enough slack in his restraints to stretch across the mattress and he watched Gulch guide DG to the padded sawhorse. It was wide enough for her torso to rest on with her backside and head hanging off the ends. It had rails on the sides for her forearms and calves to rest on, and Gulch attached her cuffs so she couldn't climb off. He pulled out her ear plugs. "Ready?" He slipped the ball out of her mouth.

"More, Master, please give me more." DG took a deep breath as Gulch tightened a strap like a saddle cinch across her torso.

His hands stroked her backside and thighs. "I'm turning your ass red. What do I start with?"

"The crop, Master."

Gulch pulled a riding crop off the wall along with a new head harness. He slipped it over her head and positioned it to keep her mouth open. "Make some noise." His arm rose and fell rhythmically. DG moaned with each blow. Cain stared because the sounds they made shouldn't be so alluring.

The crop hit between DG's thighs. She screamed, fighting the restraints. Gulch trailed the end of the crop over her back as he moved to her head. "Suck or no more." Her head bobbed and he moaned before bringing the crop down on each of her rump cheeks. He hit her clit again so she orgasmed with him.

DG slumped against the padding. Gulch stroked her dark hair as he regained his breath. "You are so good." He left her tied to the sawhorse, and detached Cain from the bed. "Go to the cross."

Cain looked around until Gulch shoved him toward the wooden X. "Face the room, hands up." This time his weight was on his feet even though they were attached to the wooden boards. His arms stretched above his head, but not as tightly as before.

Gulch unbuckled DG from the sawhorse, and helped her to her feet. "Let's put you in something pretty," he said as he untied her blindfold.

DG didn't move while he tightened a red and tan leather corset around her torso. It fit under her bust, and a belt covered her breasts. Wearing it excited her; Cain spotted the subtle shifts to her stance. No wonder DG steered clear of them in the Zone. She didn't want to act wanton where it would be noticed.

"What do you think, Wyatt?" Gulch pushed her shoulder and she turned so they could see all angles. "Do you like it?"

"DG is always beautiful." Cain couldn't lie with her twirling in front of him. "Black suits her better." He remembered how that black dress DeMilo had given her had clung to her curves and thanked the gods again she had been too bewildered to notice his eyes devouring her at the time.

Gulch raised his eyebrows, but didn't ask anything before slapping DG's backside. "Pleasure Wyatt."

Her blue eyes widened above the gag holding her mouth open. She made a distressed noise and shook her head.

Cain focused on the bed. She may not hate him for what Zero made him do, but she sure didn't want a repeat performance. Let her think it was Gulch on the bed. He wouldn't correct her.

"Are you refusing my order?" Gulch raised the crop and DG dropped to her knees, gesturing at her head. Gulch pulled the gag off. "This better be good or I'll deny you an orgasm."

"Consent!" DG planted her face on the floor.

"DG, he hasn't used the safeword."

"Master, please, let me ask him first. Then gag me if that is your pleasure."

"Watching is my pleasure. Go ask." Gulch turned the chair to watch them, and his expression told Cain not to tell DG no.

She crawled to Cain, and sat on her feet in front of him; all traces of her distress gone when she looked up with a small smile. "Wyatt, can I give you oral sex?"

He swallowed hard. "Yes." Her blue eyes looked so relived; did she expect him to tell her no? DG locked her eyes to his as she rose on her knees. His thighs trembled underneath her balancing hands.

Her lips pressed against his stomach while she watched his face. Cain almost stopped breathing as her mouth moved. Her tongue laved the bottom of his shaft. He groaned, and her fingers fondled his balls. Blood rushed to her touch. Her lips wrapped around the end of his penis.

His eyes closed as his head fell back. DG hummed, adding more sensation to the suckling. She took in more before bobbing off. Her teeth grazed his shaft while her hand pumped. "Gods, DG, don't stop."

"Only after you do." More pre-ejaculate beaded up after she licked the first pearl off. He looked down again and saw her mouth envelope him. It was too much to watch, so Cain moved his gaze. Gulch stroked himself along with the show. Then DG did something with her tongue that tightened Cain's sack and threw his head back again with a cry.

Cain panted as he recovered, staring at the ceiling. He jerked down his chin, not wanting DG to think it didn't matter. Her expression had a shy pride before she bowed her head.

"Come here, DG." She crawled to the leather armchair, and presented herself to Gulch. "I owe you punishment. What are your suggestions?"

Her head bowed. "You won't like it, Master."

"Out with it, DG. What do you think you deserve?"

"Bolt me to the post and flay me."

The brown-haired man sat up, his head jerking to confirm that Cain had heard the same thing. "DG, look at me." Her black head didn't move. "Jesus, I got rid of my whipping post after what happened to you!"

DG's head shot up. "I deserve it!" Her whole body shook as she looked at the floor again.

Gulch met Cain's eyes again, but didn't find any answers in Cain's confused face. "Pick out what you want to be hit with," he ordered DG. While she crawled to the supplies, he strode to Cain. "What the hell have you people done to her?" He demanded under his breath as he released Cain from the cross.

"I don't understand this either," Cain whispered.

"Wait at the chair." Cain crawled to it while Gulch lowered a bar from the ceiling joists. It had a cuff on each end.

DG brought to tools to the chair and laid them on the floor without looking at Cain. He didn't approve of her choices: the paddle had metal points nailed into it, every strand of the flogger had knots tied in it, the thin stick put the switches used on Cain's childhood bottom to shame, and the thick leather strap had metal studs covering it.

Gulch stepped up behind her. "Head up, DG." She trembled, but didn't move anything else but her head as he fastened on a blindfold. He stood her up, guided her to the bar, and locked her wrists into the bar's cuffs. He fastened her ankle cuffs together before walking back to the hoist chain. He pulled her up until her feet were off the floor. He returned, glared at DG's choices, and passed the stick to Cain. "Hold that." He took the rest back to their storage.

While Gulch unwrapped DG from the corset, Cain bent the stick in his hands. It had the potential to hurt as bad as the whip. He looked up when the hand stretched out for the stick. Gulch's expression was determined. "I won't break her skin, Wyatt. No matter how badly she thinks she deserves that." Cain silently handed him the switch.

Gulch pivoted to DG's dangling body. He flicked her braid over her shoulder so nothing was between her skin and the switch, and ran the end of it down her spine. "You defied me." The switch struck her legs above her knees.

DG cried out and inhaled sharply. "Forgive me, Master."

"You lied to me." The switch landed above the red whelp.

"Sorry, Master."

He lifted her chin with the handle on the switch. "What else have you done that deserves punishment?"

Her trembling swayed her whole body. "I killed my guards."

Gulch shook his head. "They were doing their jobs."

"I changed the plans! The Longcoats killed them because I gave them the chance to!"

Cain narrowed his eyes. What had Zero told her while she was alone with him? Gulch looked grimmer, but swung the switch again.

DG's cry had tears. "I didn't save Pete."

"Pete?" Gulch glanced at Cain.

"One of her guards, Master."

"Zero killed him right in front of me and I didn't do anything. I should've done something!"

Gulch hit her thighs again. "You can't take the blame for everything, DG."

A sob tore out of her. "Don't tell me I'm not guilty! I'm not the Princess of Light. I ruin everything I touch." She thrashed in the air. "Beat me!"

"DG, these things aren't your fault."

"I raped Cain!" Cain protested, but she continued. "They tortured him when I hesitated." She sobbed. "I got him shot, I destroyed his family, I stole eight years of his life. Multiply that by everyone in the Zone! Punish me!"

Cain stood and hugged her from the front. "No, DG. You are not responsible. Zero is and he paid for it." He pressed his cheek against hers, feeling the damp blindfold.

DG's body shook in his arms. "I let the witch out. I didn't listen to Az and let the witch out."

Cain squeezed her tighter. "The witch took advantage of a couple of children. You went after a call for help. Same thing you did for me, Glitch, and Raw."

Gulch struck DG across her backside. Her cry echoed in Cain's ear. "That's for not listening to your sister." Gulch tossed the switch onto the chair and wrapped his arms around her from behind. "You can't be punished for what you didn't do." She cried between them. "It's not your fault. Just like that sadistic bastard wasn't your fault."

"Drawn to the dark," she sobbed. "I don't want to hurt anyone else!"

"You won't, DG." Gulch's hand eased between Cain and DG, and squeezed her breast. "You won't let yourself hurt anyone."

Cain tucked his hand between her and Gulch and kneaded DG's bottom. "Trust your friends too."

She moaned, rubbing her head against Cain's. "You still want me?"

"Can't you feel that?" Gulch chuckled as he nipped her arm. "Guess we'll have to prove it to you. Wyatt, the lube is on the shelf behind you." Cain ran his nose against DG's chin before letting go and getting the substance. Gulch put him behind DG. "Lube her for anal sex."

Gulch unfastened her ankles and pulled her legs around his leather-clad hips. Cain eased his slicked fingers into her rectum. DG's head fell back as she moaned and he caught it with his shoulder. "I think she likes this, Master."

"She'll like it even more with you in her." Gulch held her thighs still so Cain could thrust his lubed erection into her. She was so tight with Gulch inside her vagina.

DG's head thrashed. "Fuck me, Wyatt, Master, please fuck me!"

"I love it when she begs." Gulch started the rhythm of their thrusting. Soon all they could do was groan and growl while DG keened.

Cain supported DG as Gulch released her from the bar. "That was a first," she said softly.

Gulch undid her blindfold. "Glad to add it to the list. Did we break you?"

She leaned against Cain's chest and wiped her eyes. "I think I can walk, Master."

"Go clean up." Cain let his hands drop as she moved toward the open bathroom. Gulch sprawled in the chair. "Wyatt, present." Cain dropped to his knees and raised his eyebrows when Gulch spread his leather-clad legs. "You know what you like, Wyatt. Do it to me."

Gulch's hands combed through Cain's short, blond hair while Cain's mouth coaxed another erection from Gulch. Cain milked out the last salty semen before Gulch continued. "You've seen DG in fetish wear? What kind of guarding do you do in this O.Z.?"

"It was a dress, Master. A short dress with straps, borrowed as a disguise, and nothing a Princess could wear."

Gulch stroked Cain's head. "Must have been some dress. Most people prefer stuff that shows more." Cain's ears burned. Gulch chuckled. "That's when you rescued her from the club. First time having dirty thoughts about her?"

Cain looked at the floor. "Yes, Master."

"I thought you'd be more defiant." He tugged Cain's head to look at him. "You aren't submissive. What's going on in your head?"

Cain smirked. "Went back to law enforcement training, Master."

His hazel eyes blinked before he laughed. "I like you, Wyatt Cain. DG could've done a lot worse."

DG returned. "You make it sound like I had an ulterior motive, Master."

"You have to think ahead to have an ulterior motive. We're done." Gulch stood, fastening the leather flap over his groin closed. Cain didn't wait to see if DG was taking off her collar before unbuckling his. "You two can have the guest bedroom. Good-night."

Cain followed DG to the second-floor of Gulch's house. The door off the landing led into a bedroom with a large bed. "The bathroom is there," she pointed ahead to the door on the left, "unless you'd rather go to sleep sticky."

He watched her slide her T-shirt back on and set the rest of their clothes on the dresser. "There's only one bed."

"Good, you can still count. Hurry up so I can check your bandage before passing out."

He snatched up his pants and marched into the bathroom for the quickest wash he had ever done. DG sat on the edge of the bed, yawning. "Where am I sleeping?" Cain asked when he returned.

"What?" She turned him to see his bandaged side.

"There's only one bed."

"Tell me we are not fighting over sleeping arrangements after everything that has happened."

All he wanted was crawl under the blankets and hold her, but was it acceptable? Was what she wanted? Did you ask permission for that too or was asking done when the collars came off? He growled. "I've never done this before."

"You managed it right on instinct. After all, you have a son." His expression must have gave away how her joke failed. "Fine, if it bothers you that much, I'll go crawl into bed with Elmer."

"Is that what you want?" His back stiffened with how much he would deny her picking Gulch made him feel.

"Not really. He kicks and steals the covers. But if you won't tell me what's wrong." She touched his arm with a sigh. "I know this is different, but I don't want it to be bad, Wyatt. And I'm also too tired to guess." He winced at her exhausted face. "So finish the sentence, you and Adora finished the night with?"

"Holding each other."

"Do you want that now?"

Her hand was hot on his arm and he swallowed hard. "Yes."

She squeezed. "Get the lights, Tin Man." He stretched out on the bed and DG nestled against his uninjured side. "I won't tell anyone big, bad Wyatt Cain is a cuddler."

"Much obliged." She could tease him as long as he could feel her heartbeat.

"I'm surprised you want to cuddle with me."

"I have never blamed anything that happened to the O.Z. on you, DG."

"But you blame yourself for what happened to Adora, Jeb, and the Mystic Man?"

His arm curled tighter around her back. "So come to me the next time."