Chapter 3: Whisky and McGuinnis

Rayna slammed the door of her hotel room, and grabbed at her temples. What the hell was going on? Such a muddle of feelings rose in her chest and was making it hard for her to breathe.

Deacon goddamn Claybourne!

That kiss yesterday, then the damn molten lava between them this morning. She'd half expected someone to shout out 'get a room!'

How could one kiss from Deacon open up this barrage of emotion inside her? It was something that she'd been sure had been dead and buried long ago. Sure, to some extent she knew she'd always have love for Deacon, he was her first true and intense love, but his addiction had put an end to that, and they'd both moved on. Ok, well she at least had moved on, and Deacon had never given her any clear indication that he hadn't.

Rayna felt shocked and betrayed by her body. She had been living in a perfectly content bubble of marriage, and now one kiss had tipped her entire world sideways, and everything was slipping dangerously close to the edge. Every cell in her body was screaming out for Deacon, and she couldn't seem to quiet them down. It was like something had awakened inside her and was rattling furiously at its cage as she desperately tried to stop it breaking through the bars.

She didn't have experience with a wide breadth of men, that much was true. There was Deacon, and there was Teddy. The teenage fumbling in the back of a car prior to them with Joe or Joel - she could barely remember - hardly counted in her opinion. She knew that what she had with Deacon was exceptional, that not every love was that intense, but part of her had also put that down to youth and enthusiasm. Of course things were never that intense with Teddy - she was pregnant from the beginning of their relationship - so the pregnancy, and then motherhood meant that their sex life was always somewhat muted, but she explained that away as being simply due to circumstance. Had she and Teddy had a few selfish years where they could christen every surface in the house, sleep in, have lazy days in bed when all they had to think about was themselves, then sure, of course they'd be firing on a different level.

Wouldn't they?

Sex with Teddy was good, even great some of the time. Not electric, of course, but how could it be with a newborn in the house. And then a few years later, another newborn. And tours, and getting older, and life in general. This was what she had believed all of these years, but the fire burning in her belly from one kiss with Deacon was starting to make all that look like a very convenient cover story. She didn't even realise she still had that level of excitement in her – long assuming that was something that was carried on the waves of youthful hormones and exhilaration, and had naturally faded with age.

Seemingly not.

But then what did that mean for the past decade? She loved Teddy, or at least, used to. He wasn't Deacon, but that had always been a good thing. But after the chasm of fire that had opened up that morning, she couldn't just go back to her marriage and bury her head in the sand. God, her head was so messed up right now she couldn't think straight anyway.

Diving onto the bed, she screamed into the pillow, punching it a few times for good measure. Jumping up, she grabbed the pile of magazines on the coffee table and tossed them into the air. Next, her hand reached for a glass from the sidebar and brandished it above her head, mimicking throwing it at the door - but she couldn't go through with that. She wasn't a destructive person, so couldn't bring herself to actually smash anything, and gently placed it back down on the bar.

"Dammit!" she shouted, stomping her foot instead, feeling like a petulant child. She shouted again, dropping to her knees, and slammed a fist on the floor.

A light tapping on her hotel door stopped her short, and she lifted her head, red hair hanging over her face.

"Rayna?" came a low voice from the other side. "Rayna? Can I come in?"

The knock again, and soft repetition of her name. "I'm coming in."

Stock still on her knees, save the heaving of her chest, she watched as the door slowly opened, and a mop of dark hair appeared.

"Rayna?"

"Liam?"

He shut the door behind him, scanned the room, noted the mess of magazines, and his eyes came to rest back on Rayna, upon her knees.

"Uh, are you…?" he bit back the word 'ok', because clearly, she wasn't ok.

She met his stare, and there was a long moment of silence punctuated only by her laboured breathing. Her eyes narrowed and darkened, and fierce determination seemed to wash over her. Liam jumped as Rayna suddenly launched herself to her feet, then strode towards him with such ferocity, that he only just managed to resist the urge to shield his face with his hands. In seconds, she was in front of him, grabbing handfuls of his shirt, pulling him into her.

"Kiss me."

"I -"

He had no time to respond before her mouth was on his, hard and feverish. He pulled back for a second, searching her eyes for a clue as to what was going on in her head, and then she'd tugged him straight back in. He was responding to her before he even knew it, his hands running up her back, clutching her against him, while her fingers were on his neck, in his hair, scratching and tangling. With barely any time to register what was happening, he found himself being dragged towards the sofa, where she fell backwards, pulling him down on top on her, her fingers fumbling at the buttons on his shirt.

Liam was certainly not one to question the reasons why someone might want to sleep with him, he didn't usually care. But even for him, as much as he wanted to, he could see that sex with Rayna right now was definitely not a good idea.

He summoned every inch of self-control, and murmured "Woah, woah, woah." against her lips, catching her hands in his, and holding them against her chest. With a soft thud, Rayna let her head fall back against the cushion, and shut her eyes as he gently kissed her cheek, her forehead, drawing back from her slightly and softly kissing her trembling fingers. He breathed out in relief, knowing that with one more minute of that there'd be no way he'd have been able to stop himself.

Slowly he extricated himself from her, and headed to the mini bar, cracking open a couple of whisky miniatures and pouring them both a drink. By this time, she'd pushed herself up to seated on the couch and was rubbing a hand over her flushed lips. She took the proffered glass, a big gulp, and stared down at the amber liquid.

"Sorry."

He laughed softly. "Don't be! I can't say I didn't enjoy what just happened right now."

Rayna flushed and downed the rest of her whisky.

"So, you wanna talk about it, Ms. J.?

Rayna paused. "I… don't."

Her bottom lip started to tremble, and hot tears stung her eyes. Liam put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his chest, where she buried her head in his shirt and sobbed silently. Stroking her hair, he held her quietly, and sipped on the rest of his drink. Eventually he felt her breathing calm, and the shaking of her shoulders subside.

"God I'm a mess." she muttered, and peeked up at him through mascara-run eyes.

"A damned hot mess, Rayna Jaymes." He grinned as he got up to pour them another drink, and tossed a box of tissues onto her lap.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Rayna questioned, blowing her nose and dabbing at her cheeks.

He shrugged. "I ran into Bucky in the lobby, he said you'd had a… a tough morning. So he gave me your spare hotel room key so I could check on you."

"What?" Rayna wasn't sure if she should feel slighted that Bucky had just handed a key to her room over like that, or grateful for the foresight.

"Well, since you're here - do you wanna hang out with me for the afternoon? I could really use the company."

Liam grinned, flashing his boyish dimples. "I'm all yours."

They chatted about their music and the tour while skirting any subject that might touch on what was going on, and drank all the beers in the mini bar. When Rayna excused herself to go to the bathroom at one point, she let out a horrified squeal.

"Why didn't ya tell me my makeup was all down my face?!" She popped her head back around the door. "I can't believe you've just let me sit here looking like a damn clown for the past hour!"

Liam grinned again. She was beautiful to him no matter what she looked like, and if he were honest, he kind of preferred this uncomposed, messy side of her.

Rayna sighed. "If you don't mind, I'm just gonna freshen up a little."

She decided to shower, trying to scrub away the memory of Deacon's touch that morning, and put him out of her head. After donning a clean shirt and a fresh face of makeup she felt somewhat in control again. When she emerged, Liam had ordered a selection of food from room service, and was sprawled on the couch, averting his eyes from the tv for a long second to rake them appreciatively over her, before turning back to a gruesome slasher flick on the tv.

"Coffee? Food?" he offered as she sat next to him, tucking her feet underneath her.

"Oh yeah, I'm starving! Thank you."

They ate and drank in easy silence, both enjoying the ridiculous grisly movie, needing the distraction for a while.

When it ended, Liam sat up and faced her, "Right, Ms Jaymes. Get your dancing boots on. We're going out."

Rayna groaned. "Aw noooooo. I don't think I can face the world today. Plus, it's still the middle of the afternoon! Where can we possibly go at this time?"

He dragged her to her feet. "There's always a party somewhere, honey."

Ten minutes later they were crossing the lobby, Rayna giggling as Liam grabbed her hand, spun her around, and with his other hand, placed his hat on her head. She steadied the hat and peeked up at him, loving the way he made her feel relaxed and light, no heavy emotional baggage weighing her down. It was exactly what she needed right now. He hailed a cab, and opened the door for her, following her in.

At Liam's instruction, the cab dropped them next to a narrow side street, and Rayna paused for a second.

"Do I really want to follow Liam McGuinnis down a dark alleyway?" she mused.

Liam laughed and tugged on her hand. "Don't you trust me?"

Rayna, reminded of his recent underhanded dealings with her record offer which had culminated in him being fired, gave him a pointed stare. "I certainly do not!"

"Then that just makes it all the more exciting." he smirked as he led her to a doorway, the muted sound of loud bass thumping from the other side.

They tripped down a flight of stairs, the music growing louder and louder, until Rayna found herself standing in the middle of a decently packed club, bodies twisting on the dance floor, punters at the bar, and plenty of darkness to keep her from being recognised. Although, this was so far from her music scene she'd be pretty surprised if anyone here had even heard of her.

Liam was already at the bar, buying them shots and beer chasers.

"What is this place?" Rayna nearly had to shout to be heard over the heavy bass.

He shrugged. "Like a day rave place. Somewhere to go to dance off the night before." He wound his way through the throng of bodies past the bar, and found a small secluded table. "Here. Start with this."

Rayna nearly protested at the drinks handed to her, but looking over at Liam, with the perpetual mischievous glint in his eye and his laidback manner, she figured she would just go with it. Anything had to be better than screaming in her hotel room.

Several drinks, and laughs and chat later, he grabbed both her hands and pulled her to the dance floor.

Rayna shook her head, "Oh my Lord, Liam no, I don't think so. This is not my kind of music at all!"

Liam leaned in so close she could feel his stubble on her cheek. "I think you'll find that this is exactly what you need."

And then she was pressed in amongst bodies all moving together on the dance floor, the bass vibrating in her chest, her boots sticking to the dirty floor, and a big smile on her face. They alternated between the dance floor and the bar, getting dangerously close at one and dangerously drunk at the other, and somehow, in this dingy club, between the noise, the smell of sweat and stale booze, and blissful anonymity, she managed to lose herself for a sweet, liberating while.

Rayna had no idea what time it was, but a drowsiness started to settle over her, sinking deep down into her bones. She didn't even have to say anything to Liam, all of sudden he'd gathered their things and was leading her through the crowd, back up the stairs, into the dark alley, the cold night air biting at her skin, a welcome relief. He bundled her into a cab, and she curled gratefully against him in the back seat.

"Thank you." she murmured. "You were right, that was exactly what I needed."

When they arrived back at the hotel, Liam half dragged Rayna out of the cab, and tangled together they weaved and giggled their way across the hotel lobby and into the elevator.

Out on the street in the growing darkness, Deacon was waiting with Stacey at the bus stop, ready to see her off as she caught the last bus back to Nashville. A shriek and a giggle at the hotel's revolving doors caught his attention, and his heart sank and stopped and shattered all at the same time.

Rayna, his Rayna, who, only hours earlier had been pressed up against him in a silent declaration that confirmed there was absolutely still something undeniable and momentous between them, was now cosied up to another man. Bitterly, Deacon watched as she and Liam, entwined in one another, entered the hotel together, Rayna tipping her head back and resting it on Liam's shoulder in a gesture of absolute comfort and familiarity. The large glass-walled entrance afforded him a perfect view of the two of them as they laughed and hugged their way across the lobby and into the elevator, Rayna then turning into Liam, winding her arms around his neck and tilting her face up to his before the doors closed, snatching them from Deacon's view.

"Oh, that was Rayna." remarked Stacey, watching on. "Is that her husband?"

"Nope." Deacon's jaw clenched so hard he almost fractured a tooth. "It ain't."

Liam hadn't planned on going up to her room with her, but he didn't have much choice now, given the state she was in. After she practically collapsed against him in the elevator, he ended up scooping her into his arms and carrying her the rest of the way to her room. Laying her carefully on the bed, he unzipped her boots, gently pulling them off her feet.

"Don't need to puke first, do ya?" he checked.

Rayna giggled as she fumbled with the buttons on her jeans. "Everything is spinning but it feels kinda nice. Liam, honey, please can you…" she gestured to the offending button. "I gotta get these things off!"

More than happy to oblige, Liam chuckled to himself. He'd fantasised about removing Rayna Jaymes' pants for quite sometime, but never quite under these circumstances. Dragging her jeans off, he couldn't help letting his eyes roam unashamedly over her black panties and her long, smooth legs. Damn, she was beautiful – in all senses of the word. Fetching her a glass of water, he propped her up for a moment and made her take a drink, then, reluctantly, pulled a blanket over her, kissed her forehead, then her hand, and left her to sleep.