This was meant to be the August Fan Fic challenge: Rayna and Deacon Date night. Fast forward 3 months and I have finally finished.
This is a stand alone story, but it also fits into the universe of my epic story (which is still being written - life just gets in the way).
I am trying something different with this story... rather than my usual smut, aiming for sweet. Let me know if I come close (and don't worry the smut won't disappear for long!)
Deacon double checked his pack, making sure that he had everything they needed.
"Ray, how are you doing? Are you ready?"
Smiling at the sound of her grumbling under her breath, Deacon quickly swallowed the grin on his face as she walked out of the bathroom. She stood in the doorway, her hands on her hips and a look of disgust on her face.
"I can't believe you are making me do this!"
"What! Ray, you lost fair and square. This is what I want"
Rayna gave him a snort of disagreement. She knew she was being unreasonable, because as he stated, she had lost their bet which meant that he got to choose what they did for their date. She had imagined that he would take her out somewhere nice, with maybe a night in a fancy hotel. She did not in her wildest dreams think he would make her go hiking with him. Over the years she had avoided joining him on any adventure that involved her being in the wilderness. Anything wilder than the cabin made her uncomfortable. She blamed it on being a child of the Belle Meade set, no one would even think about venturing beyond the comforts of their manicured gardens.
Pouting at him, her eyes gave him one final plead not to make her do this. Her mind was producing all sorts of scenarios that could go wrong. She knew logically that Deacon would never let anything happen to her, but that didn't stop her imagining what could happen to him, resulting in her being lost in the wilderness.
Deacon slipped his hand into hers, breaking her thoughts of impending doom. He lifted their combined hands to his lips. His lips gave her hand a soft kiss as he gave her a gentle squeeze.
"Ray trust me. You will enjoy today, we won't do anything that will make you uncomfortable, I promise."
The tenderness in his voice brought tears to her eyes. She loved him so much that it almost bordered on painful. She knew that he would sacrifice himself before allowing anything to happen to her. Squeezing his hand in return she gave him a small smile and a slight nod of her head.
His face broke in a huge smile. He had long wanted to introduce the love of his life to the one space that gave him sustenance. Being away from all the modern conveniences while walking in nature fuelled him. Growing up in a shack surrounded by forest he had often escaped the pain associated with his homelife, by losing himself in the wilderness. During the long years of Rayna's marriage, whenever being so close to her but being unable to touch her got too much for him, he would take himself off for a weekend away in the wild. No one could reach him as he worked through the painful feelings rushing through his body.