This is set in time frame of 'National No Clothes Day' but is a lead up to future events!

I am about to go on holidays, but hopefully will have the next chapter finished before I fly out *fingers crossed*, but there might be a delay in the next couple of chapters (what's new right? *LOL*)

Untangling herself from the arms that held her against the warm body she laid on, Rayna gingerly made her way to the bathroom. Squinting against the harsh light, she sniggered at the image in the mirror. Her hair was creating a crazed halo around her head, the result of Deacon running his hands through it repeatedly. Pushing the strands back away from her face, she rubbed her eyes as she struggled to wake. Yawning widely, her eyes skimmed over her body taking in the effects gravity, age and two children had had on her. Rolling her eyes at herself, she knew she was being silly even giving into the thought that she needed to compete against younger artists. She never had been a woman who gave her looks much thought. She knew, unfortunately, that her industry expected women to look a certain way, especially when she was first starting out. She had never been one who pandered to the demands to adopt a sexier look. Maybe it was the traditional environment that she grew up in, where the prestige of old money meant that the children of the old families were expect to be respectable and dress accordingly. Or maybe it was the fact that she had had the love of Deacon from such a young age, so she never had to navigate the single dating world. She had never felt the need to try and become someone else to sell her music.

Peering closer at her reflection, her fingers traced the mark Deacon left on her shoulder. A delicate pink flush engulfed her body as she thought back to their activities of the night before. Looking down she grinned as she took in the marks on the inside of her thighs. Both herself and Deacon liked to leave marks on each other's bodies. Deacon was always so good to ensure that the marks were hidden, making it easier for her to hide them from Bucky and her publicity team.

Turning the shower on, she spun back to the vanity searching for something to pin her hair up. Twisting her hair up, she sucked in her bottom lip as she smothered a grin. The faint purple blemish towards the back of her neck meant that she wouldn't be wearing her hair up today. Stepping into the hot stream, she let the water soothe her tired muscles. Softly humming under her breath, she refused to let thoughts of returning to the tour interrupt her happiness. She knew she couldn't ignore her responsibilities for much longer, but she was determined to cling to every minute she got to spend with Deacon today.

A gust of cool air, replaced by a warm body melding against her bought her thoughts back to the present. Tipping her head back, her lips sought his. Murmuring a good morning against his lips, she smiled as his large hands skimmed over her wet body. Spinning around in his arms, she linked her fingers behind his neck, pulling him down and kissed him. Basking in the feel of being in each other's arms, their kisses nevertheless didn't deepen. They both knew that this couldn't lead anywhere. They had to work out how they were going to get to Austin, while maximising the time they got to spend together away from the demands of a tour.

Releasing her lips, Deacon rested his forehead against her. His thumbs stroked her cheek as he gave her lips a few quick pecks, before stepping back under the stream of warm water. Handing him the soap, she turned her back to him while he wordlessly began to lather the fragrant liquid over her skin. Tipping her head forward, giving him more access to her back, Rayna asked,

"So, what are your plans to get us to Austin?"

Murmuring non-committedly at her comment, he patted her buttocks, indicating she needed to wash the suds off her body. Squirting her expensive body wash into his hands, he lathered the liquid through his hair as he contemplated her question. His closed eyes prevented him from seeing her roll her eyes at him using her body wash as his shampoo. Shaking her head at his behaviour she had long given up calling him out on it. She used to get annoyed at him using it but when he confessed during an argument about him crossing her personal boundaries, that the lingering scent reminded him of her and that it was comforting, she felt her annoyance dissipate. While to a degree it still annoyed her, as she had to buy replacement bottles sooner, she knew that it was something he only did with her. Teddy had certainly never used her beauty products, though as she sadly reflected Teddy probably had never missed her as deeply as Deacon had. She understood the comfort he felt. Throughout her marriage, whenever she needed the security of Deacon, she wound up wearing one of his old tour t-shirts. She would breathe in the scent of the material deeply, clinging to the faint scent that was uniquely Deacon. That lingering smell would wrap her up in the phantom warmth of Deacon's arms.

Poking his chest, Rayna silently asked her question again. She knew she had to be ready for sound check at five, but it had been years since she had travelled between Dallas and Austin. Normally when she was this close to home, she would schedule down time between concerts and return to Nashville. She would end up flying to and from the Texan cities from Nashville. But with this smaller tour, and with the high risk of the album not making a profit, she didn't have that luxury this time. The worry about selling this album, and being away from Deacon had resulted in many a sleepless night while on the road. While in the past when she used tour buses to get between venues, she would always have Deacon and others around to fill the silence. The intimate staging of this tour meant that they were operating on minimum crew. She missed the noise of the roadies, her back-up singers softly singing, and her wardrobe and make up people gossiping. Mostly the tour bus felt so lonely without Deacon.

Even when they weren't together, they would gravitate to each other, and would spend every moment off stage together writing new songs and rearranging the old ones. The familiarity that existed between them created a sphere of intimacy between them, that excluded all the chaos swirling around them. This intimacy often resulted in them working through the night. The growing frustration as the perfect word or key would elude them, would see them push through until exhaustion took over and they would find themselves sleeping next to each other on her couch. Waking up due to the sound of the bus slowing as it edged its way closer to the next destination, they would slowly untangle their limbs and observed the site before them. Signs of their collaboration would litter the floor of the bus competing for space with the empty junk food wrappers, while Deacon's guitars would be randomly scattered throughout the bus. Smiling sheepishly at each other, Deacon would wordlessly move to the other side of the couch and silently watched as she made her way to the back of the bus to get ready for the day. Sitting on the edge of her bed, her head in her hands she would take a few deep breaths trying to settle the butterflies fluttering in her stomach. Catching her reflection in the bedside mirror, she would watch as tears silently trickled down her face. She knew she should stop this torture of her emotions, but she knew that she was powerless to stop. Every tour she vowed that she would keep her distance from Deacon, that she would draw that line firmly between them and enforce it when they got close to crossing it. But she was helpless when it came to Deacon. She knew that she would never cheat on Teddy, but she craved the intimacy she had with Deacon. Being around Deacon gave her the illusion that everything was going to be fine, he eased her worries about album sales, her marriage and the guilt she felt leaving her girls.

Shaking her head to rid her mind of the cobwebs of the past that had crept into her thinking, she ran shaky hands lightly over the wet skin of Deacon's muscular back. Seeking to reassure herself that she wasn't dreaming, she placed a soft kiss against his shoulder before wrapping her arms around his chest and resting her cheek against his back. Sensing her need for reassurance, Deacon stroked the skin of her arms lightly while exclaiming,

"What do you say, we hire a car and drive down to Austin. What is it, something like five hours from Dallas to Austin?"

Humming in agreement, she gave his warm skin a final kiss before releasing her grip on him. Stepping out of the shower stall, she made her way over to the bathroom cabinet. Picking up the watch that he laid on the edge of the sink, she noted that it was still relatively early. Poking his head out of the shower stall, he asked,

"What time is it?"

Turning to lean against the sink, she began to rub moisturiser into her damp skin while stating the time. A noticeable silence permeated the room, causing Rayna to look up.

"What?"

Deacon shook his head, his eyes caressing her naked body, and smiled at her.

"Nothing. Nothing at all. I am just one lucky SOB"

Grinning at his comment, she wrapped a towel around herself. Giving him a kiss as she walked pass into the bedroom, she called over her shoulder,

"You are going to be a pruned SOB soon if you don't get out of that shower!"