A little drama at the beginning, but some fun by the end.

Rayna was awake. She was laying on her stomach, her face turned away from Deacon. They were in a motel near the Texas Fairground. A slightly nicer than average place, which meant the sheets were reasonably soft and the pillows weren't flat and the room was clean and nicely decorated. Much better than the places where they'd stayed when they were first starting out. Tonight she was headlining at the Texas State Fair.

Deacon groaned and she turned her head, then rolled on her side facing him, reaching for his hand. He squeezed it and held on, his eyes tightly shut. She could see the pain on his face.

"How do you feel, babe?" she asked.

He opened his eyes and turned to look at her. His eyes were bloodshot and she could smell the stale smell of alcohol. "I feel like someone's beating me over the head with a hammer," he said quietly.

Rayna fought not to wince at the sour smell of his breath. "Can I get you some aspirin?"

"Yeah, that would work." He let go of her hand and ran his hands over his face, groaning again.

She got up and found two aspirin in her purse and got a cup of water. She brought them back and sat on the edge of the bed next to him and held them out. He pushed himself up on his elbows, wincing with the headache pain. He took the aspirin and popped them in his mouth, then took the water, drinking deeply. He handed the cup back to her and lay back on the pillow.

As she set the cup down on the bedside table, he slid his hand over her bare leg, rubbing the inside of her thigh. She looked back at him and he was smiling. "You're so beautiful, Ray," he said.

She frowned, although she didn't move away from him. She knew she should, but his touch was already sending little tingles of heat to her core. "And you're hung over, Deacon," she said. She was kind of pissed about that. Now, over a year after rehab, he was back in the same place he'd been before he went.

"That is true. And I'm sorry, baby. I didn't mean to get drunk." He moved his hand and pushed back the little baby doll nightgown she had on, until his fingers started to graze her between her legs. "Come here, baby, and let me love you. That'll help me feel better."

Rayna choked on a moan. "You shouldn't do this….," she said, not sure if she meant what he was doing to her right then or the drinking. He lifted himself slightly and, keeping his eyes on her, slid two fingers inside her to convince her otherwise.

Rayna twitched at the feeling his fingers swirling inside her. She moaned deep in her throat, then moved to straddle him, moving her hips over him as he grabbed her legs. She reached down between them and put her hand around his erection, then lifted herself slightly and lowered herself as she guided him in. She let out a long, low groan of satisfaction as she felt him fill her up. She leaned slightly forward, balancing herself with her hands on the bed on either side of him. He gripped her hips and helped her move in a way that got them both highly aroused.

"That's my girl, take it all. Come for me, Ray, come for me," he moaned, his hips bucking as he pushed in harder and harder. Her movements became more frantic as she sought to gain release. Suddenly they both hit the apex and finally came together, crying out in loud, long moans, Deacon pushing in as deeply as he could. Finally they collapsed against each other, Deacon still buried inside her, their breathing heavy and ragged. Deacon rolled them over, wrapping his arms around her, nuzzling her neck.

Damn him, she thought, as she lay there feeling him still inside her, feeling his skin on hers. Damn him for drinking and damn him for being so irresistible. She couldn't tell him no. She needed him so completely that, even when she was angry with him, she couldn't say no to this. He was her drug. She craved him and nothing made her feel more safe, secure, and loved than being joined with him. She loved him so much.

She was disappointed he was drinking again and she was worried that it seemed to be ratcheting up to more of a problem. He and Vince had gotten hammered last night but at least they'd made it back to the motel. She didn't like that this was happening again.

Rayna sighed as Deacon lay heavily on her. She ran her hands up and down his back, her head turned away as she lightly kissed him on the shoulder. "Babe, I need you to stay away from the booze today. We have a big set tonight and I need you there. Can you do that?"

Deacon moved his hips languidly and kissed her on the temple. "If you'll stay here in bed with me all day, Ray, I'll do anything for you."

She smiled in spite of her irritation. She didn't really care what it took to keep him sober and a day in bed with him was very appealing. She could feel herself beginning to get aroused again and she started moving her hips in tune with him. She moaned as she felt him getting hard again inside her. "It's a deal," she breathed, rocking her hips. "Make me come, Deacon Claybourne. Make me come all day long."

The only time they got out of bed that day was to shower. And even then, Deacon had captured Rayna's hands against the shower wall and made love to her as they stood letting the water run over them. By the time they headed over to the fairgrounds, they both felt sated from a day full of lovemaking and quiet talk. Deacon felt good as new and Rayna was relieved. She left him with Bucky and the rest of the band, getting their gear unloaded and ready. She pulled Bucky aside to ask him to keep an eye on Deacon and then she walked up to the side stage. She still had at least an hour before she needed to get dressed and get her hair and makeup done.

Mindy McCready was onstage when she got there. Mindy was just starting out and Rayna liked her sound. "Hey there, Rayna Jaymes." She looked over to see a tall, slender guy with a big cowboy hat approaching her. He looked familiar, but she couldn't quite place him. He must have seen the puzzled look on her face, because when he got closer, he extended his hand and said "Luke Wheeler."

She took his hand and nodded. "Right. Luke Wheeler. How are you?"

"I'm good. And it seems like you're really getting into the big time now. Your first album, first CMA nomination. Big time." His smile looked a little overdone. She withdrew her hand.

"I didn't remember your name from the artist list," she said. He was right on the edge of being a big deal, she knew. He was still opening for others, but Bucky said he'd have his own tour soon. He was the favorite of the beer and trucks crowd and was already known for his crowd pleasing shows and his rowdy fan base. That's why she didn't really remember him. His fan base was not at all the same as hers, so their paths had very rarely crossed.

He smiled broadly. "Oh, I'm a fill in. Mark Chestnutt got sick and I'm filling in. You might say I'm the fill-in guy."

Then Rayna remembered he'd filled in for Deacon a year or two back, when they'd been at the Oklahoma State Fair. Deacon had been MIA that day, a casualty of an afternoon at a local bar, and Rayna had been frantic. Luke had just finished his set and offered to fill in. She'd been very grateful and she remembered that he'd done a decent job of covering the lead guitar. After the show, he'd offered to walk her back to her bus and talked her into riding the Ferris wheel on the way back. She hadn't really wanted to, she wanted to get back and find Deacon, but he'd been so nice to help her out that she felt like she couldn't say no.

Riding a Ferris wheel with someone you didn't really know and didn't really have an interest in knowing was not fun, she recalled. They stopped every few feet as more people got into the Ferris wheel cars. He was a real talker, she remembered, a big talker, full of himself. She was too worried about Deacon to really be into the ride and she knew that she had babbled on about him the entire time. She felt a huge sense of relief when the ride was over. She had thanked him, but told him she really needed to get going, and she had rushed off to her bus. She'd been grateful to find Deacon there, passed out, but there, and she hadn't given Luke Wheeler another thought after that.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to find Deacon there. She smiled, then leaned in to kiss him. "Hey, babe, y'all all finished?" she asked, glad he was there. She had the odd sense of needing to be rescued.

"Yeah, we're good." He eyed Luke suspiciously. "Who's this?"

Luke leaned in, a big smile on his face, and extended his hand. "Luke Wheeler. I'm a big fan of Rayna's. You must be Deacon."

Deacon scowled and nodded. "Yeah." He ignored Luke's outstretched hand.

"Well, it's good to meet you. I don't know if Rayna told you but I filled in for you one night a while back when you were a little under the weather. I was happy to help her out."

Deacon stiffened and his hand slid down to wrap around Rayna's waist protectively. He turned towards her. "We need to get ready, baby," he said.

She smiled at him. "Okay." She turned back to Luke. "Good to see you again. Have a good set."

"You too," Luke said, as they turned to walk off. "Good to see you, Rayna. Deacon."

Deacon hurried Rayna towards the backstage area. "Deacon, slow down," she said.

He scowled at her. "When did that jackass 'fill in' for me, Ray?"

"I don't know, a year or so ago, maybe? It was one of the state fair shows." She frowned at him. "You were wasted in a bar and didn't show up, so don't get all pissy about it."

"That guy's an ass, Ray. The story on him is that he's a jerk to women. I don't want him around you."

Rayna frowned. "He seemed nice enough. What do you mean?"

"I mean, he treats women like they're a piece of meat. Like he's God's gift to women. Stay away from him."

Rayna stopped and grabbed him around the waist. Then she laughed. "Oh my God, babe, are you jealous?"

Deacon glared at her. "I'm not jealous. I'm just taking care of you."

She leaned into him and smiled. "I don't want anyone but you, babe." She kissed him lightly. "After the day we had today, there's nobody else I'd ever want." She winked at him. "Deacon, he's the kind of guy they call 'all hat, no cattle' around these parts. Don't you ever worry about him."

After a moment, he smiled back at her and then kissed her hard. "I love you, Ray."

She smiled up at him. "I love you too, babe."

Deacon hugged her to him, then took her hand and they walked slowly towards their dressing room backstage.