Always Rayne (The ALWAYS SOMETIMES NEVER Rock Star Romance Series) (4 page)

“A few books?
It feels like you packed a library.”

I try to grab the suitcase from him but he pulls it away. “Why didn’t Brad put this in your room?”

“I wasn’t sure which bedroom was mine.” And I have a feeling he didn’t want to be the one to tell me I was staying in Nic’s suite.

“You know you can ask him for anything. He’s your assistant too while we’re on the road.”

I nod.

He smirks. “Even tampons.”

I can feel my face getting hot and I’m sure it’s beet red. “He told you.”

“I wanted to make sure you got in safely. He was on his way to the store.”

“You can have this room.” Nic opens the door to one of the bedrooms and places my suitcase on the stand set up near the bed.

“I’ll be right next door.” He points to the adjoining room.

Great. I wonder how soundproof the walls are. I really don’t want to hear his escapades through the night. And if it’s true what they say about him in the tabloids, there will be a lot of nightly escapades.

“
The guys will be here in a few minutes. I’ll introduce you to the rest of the band.”

“Maybe it’s a good time to talk about some of your expectations. B
efore the other guys get here.”

He nods and slides his hands in the pockets of his well-worn jeans. He’s also wearing an old Always Rayne T-shirt. It’s kind of funny
seeing Nic Rayne wearing a T-shirt with a drawing of himself on the front of his shirt. I can see tattoos peeking out from his shirt sleeves.

Nic’s got a great body. There’s no doubt about that. He’s tall and muscular. He fills out everything he wears very nicely.

But he’s really not my type. He’s just so dark. And brooding. Maybe even slightly dangerous. Obviously rebellious. Not that I have much basis for comparison. I didn’t date much in high school. I dated Jackson all through college. If Nic had an opposite it would be Jackson.

Jackson has blonde hair and blues eyes. He’s tall but thin.
A runner. Very health conscious. Does everything he’s supposed to and is perfect in every way. Jackson was born to go to Harvard Law School and his parents made sure he never once deviated from that path. He never does anything to stray from his narrow upper middle-class upbringing.

Something tells me
Nic Rayne was not raised in the same way Jackson was. I’m not sure why but it’s a feeling I get when I’m around him. He’s got an edge to him that you don’t find in guys like Jackson. It makes me think that his upbringing was anything but typical.

“If you really want to know what it’s like to be on the road with A
lways Rayne—to be one of us—to know what our life is like, I expect you to be with me all day, every day.”

I gulp. I guess that wasn’t really what I was expecting.

“What wrong?”

I shake my head.
“Nothing.”

“Don’t lie.”

Nic’s expression is serious. How can he tell I’m lying? And it’s not really a lie. Just a little white one.

“I’m not sure I’m the person for this job. I mean. Look at you.” I point at him. “And look at me.” I point to myself. “We’re so different.”

He bites back a grin. I hate it when he does that. He comes across as so smug and arrogant. “At least you’re not wearing your hippy librarian clothes. This is definitely an improvement. Even if it is a little mismatched.”

I look down at my ensemble. A beige and white checkered top paired with a blue mini skirt. The color combo might be a little off.

“These aren’t even my own clothes,” I admit. “I borrowed then from my roommate.”

“It’ll be fine.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“You want to be a writer, don’t you?”

I nod.

“Then you’ve got to broaden your horizons a bit.
Experience new things. Take risks. Be adventurous. Be like Nellie Bly.”

“She took a seventy-two day trip around the world. I can bare
ly wrap my head around this ten-day tour with the band. And she faked insanity in order to do an exposé on the treatment of patients in mental institutions. Being on tour with a band is insane enough for me. I’m definitely no Nellie Bly.”

“She was a pioneer in investigative journalism. And you’ll be a pi
oneer too. By embedding yourself with a rock band.”

“It’s not exactly breaking new ground. Cameron Crowe wrote a mo
vie about it.
Almost Famous
. It’s about a teenager who goes on the road with a rock band and writes about it for
Rolling Stone
.”

“You’ll be the first reporter to ever go on the road with Always Rayne.”

I roll my eyes at him. “That makes me feel a whole lot better.”

“I aim to please,” he teases.

The sounds of laughter are coming from the other room. We both turn towards to door. “The guys must be here.”

I can feel myself getting nervous again.

“Ready to meet them?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

As I follow Nic into the living room, I can feel three sets of eyes on me. Leo, Xander and a dark-haired girl I’ve never seen before.

“Leo, this is our reporter, Harper Leigh. Harper, this is Leo D
onovan.”

I shake Leo’s hand. It feels rough. I assume it’s from playing the gu
itar so much. Brooke was right when she said Leo is sexy. He’s not quite as tall as Nic and Xander but he’s muscular. He’s also heavily tattooed. He’s got dark hair that almost looks like its dyed black and coal dark eyes to match.

“And this is
Xander Donovan.”

Xander
smiles and puts out a hand. I shake his as well. He is taller than his brother, even a little bit taller than Nic, but he’s not quite as built. His frame is more like a runner’s body. He’s got light brown hair and stunning hazel eyes that look almost more catlike than human.

“And this is Raven Woods,”
Nic announces.

The girl looks about my age, mid-twenties, but that’s where any sim
ilarity ends. She’s model tall, rail thin and everything about her is dark. She’s got jet black hair that’s long and straight with deep, dark eyes. Raven is a fitting name for her.

Raven is looking at me like I’m a dead bird the cat just dragged into the house. Her nose is scrunched up and her face doesn’t hide her complete disgust for me.

“Raven, this is Harper. Our journalist.” Nic is frowning at Raven like he’s not pleased with her attitude. She gives him a look like she doesn’t care.

I extend a hand for her to shake but she just stares at it like it’s di
seased.

“Raven sleeps with the band.”

I blink a few times and shake my head because I’m not sure I heard the words correctly. Did Nic just say that she sleeps with the band? Like all of them?

“I’m sorry. What was that?”

Nic gives me a smug little smile. I hate that smile even more than I hate the ones that his fans love so much. I actually want to slap it right off his smug face.

This time he speaks slo
wly and loudly like I’m a three-year-old. “Raven sleeps with the band.”

“All of you?” I squeak out before I have a chance to censor myself.

Raven just laughs like I’m a complete moron. Maybe I am. This—lifestyle—is all new to me.

“All of us,”
Nic assures me.

“At the same time?”
Now I’m sure I sound like a complete idiot. I’ve read about ménage but it’s not something I ever thought about happening in real life.

“Sometimes,”
he states matter-of-factly.

Raven looks me up and down.
“Whatever the guys want. I’m along for the ride.”

I can feel my face getting hot and I’m sure I’m turning completely red again. It’s already becoming a habit and we’re not even on the road yet. Where is that giant rock for me to crawl under when I need it?

“Okay, then,” I mutter. “Maybe I’d better get back to my bedroom.”

My roommate says that I have this weird half-walk half-run that I employ when I’m trying to hurry. It’s because I’m not really a runner at all. The only way I’d probably ever run is if someone was chasing me with a very large knife.
Or maybe if I was being chased by a bear. Either one of those scenarios would probably cause me to run.

I can feel a hand grab my elbow and I freeze in my tracks.

When I spin around, I say, “Let go of me,” a lot louder than I anticipate.

But
Nic doesn’t let me go. He stares down at me with his big brown eyes. I want to slap myself for even having the thought of them being sexy.

Now all I can think about is him having sex with Raven.
All three of them having sex with Raven. And me being in the bedroom right next door. Oh, God. What am I doing here? I’m not sure I ever want horizons that broad.

“I said let go of me.”

He removes his hand from my arm and puts both of his hands up in a semi-defensive gesture. “Where are you going?”

“I wish I was going home.”

“Why?”

I actually let out a laugh. “Do you really have to ask that question?”

“Apparently,” he replies. I can tell that he’s not joking.

I heave a sigh. “Isn’t it obvious? I don’t belong here. This is so far from my world it would almost be comical if it wasn’t so pathetic.”

“Why?” he asks again.

“Why do you keep saying why?” I can hear the frustration building in my voice but part of me really doesn’t care. I have a feeling
Nic knows he’s pushing my buttons and that he enjoys every minute of it.

“What was so awful about what Raven said that you feel like you have to run away?”

I’m not sure how to respond. I don’t want Nic to think I’m totally naïve, but in some ways I guess I am. “It’s just—I guess I’m not used to the idea of all of you sleeping with the same girl.”

He laughs. “We don’t do any sleeping. We do a lot of fucking but we definitely don’t sleep.”

I can feel my face getting hot again. I’m sure I’m already beet red.

Nic
gets closer to me. So close I can feel the heat radiating from his body. And there’s a lot of heat. It’s so hot I feel like I could pass out. Or maybe my knees are getting weak. Actually I think it’s both.

“Is all this talk about fucking making you uncomfortable?”

“A little,” I manage to squeak out.

I want so badly for him to take a few steps back. His close proximity is doing strange things to my body. It’s like I’m getting all tingly and fluttery all at the same time. It makes me want to scream.

Or get naked and do exactly what he’s suggesting.

Where the hell did that thought come from? I try to erase it from my mind. I’m not promiscuous. I’m no Raven. I’m not even a Brooke. Oh, who am I kidding? Everything about me screams Good Girl. My picture is probably right there with the definition if you look up Good Girl in the dictionary.

“Maybe you need to do it a little more often so it doesn’t make you so uncomfortable.”

Now Nic’s
looking at me like he wants to do exactly what he’s talking about doing. But I know he can’t actually want to have sex with someone like me. The very idea is ridiculous. He’s clearly just trying to push my buttons again. He seems to take great pleasure in getting a rise out of me.

“I do it plenty,” I fire back although the truth
be told I haven’t actually done it in two months. Not since I broke up with Jackson. Or should I say Jackson broke up with me?

Nic
eyes me suspiciously and I can tell he doesn’t believe me. “Have you ever even been fucked?”

I gulp. “I’m not sure this is something I want to discuss with you.”

“A hot, heavy mind-blowing fuck.”

I never thought about sex being mind-blowing before. Sex with Jac
kson was always sweet and tender. I would never describe it as hot or heavy though. Jackson was the type of guy who made love. He wasn’t the type of guy who—well—did the other thing.

“Have you ever even had sex?”

I cross my arms over my chest. “Of course I’ve had sex. I had a boyfriend all through college.”

Nic
gets close to my ear. So close I can feel his breath on my neck. It sends a wave of shivers through my body that’s so intense I feel faint.

“You may have had sex but I can tell that you’ve never been fucked. I think that’s your problem.”

“I don’t think it’s a problem.”

I can actually feel droplets of sweat running from my templ
es down the sides of my face. I need to get away from Nic as quickly as I can. I don’t like how I feel when I’m around him. Or maybe I do like it. A little too much. Either way is dangerous.

He
stares at me as he takes a small step back. I get the feeling that he’s trying to look right through me. It’s unnerving. “Where is he?”