Always Rayne by Sierra Avalon Always Sometimes Never #1
Publication Date: June 11, 2014
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
ALWAYS RAYNE ONLY 99c (until October 16th)
Synopsis:
Would you spend ten days traveling the country with someone you despised if he promised to pay off your student loans?
Recent college graduate, Harper Leigh, can barely make ends meet working as the books editor for a new online entertainment magazine, Chatter. With $85,000 of student loan debt about to go into repayment, she has no idea how she'll get by.
Just when she thinks things couldn't get worse, Harper's boss decides to embed her in the North American tour for the hot rock band, Always Rayne. Ten days on the road with the band for her to get an exclusive story. But Harper's a homebody and the last thing she wants to do is go on the road with a rock band. And she definitely doesn't want to spend ten days with the notorious bad boy and band front man, Nic Rayne.
When Nic proves to be too much for Harper to handle and she threatens to quit the assignment, Nic decides to sweeten the pot. If she stays with the tour for all ten days, he'll pay off all of her student loan debt....but there's one small catch.
Harper also has to sleep in his bed every night.
Brooke and I are wearing those plastic
backstage passes around our necks and when two really big body guards standing
at the backstage entrance see them they let us pass right through the door.
As I glance around at all the other
people with backstage passes I notice they all look a lot more like Brooke than
I expected. All of the girls are wearing ultra-short, skin-tight skirts with
barely there tops.
The guys all look like they just
stepped out of the band themselves. They’re all young and hot and they seem to
know it.
There’s definitely no shortage of
arrogance in the room.
“I’m definitely going after Leo,”
Brooke whispers to me as we approach the band.
All three of the band members are
standing next to each other drinking beers and talking with a bevy of blondes.
Maybe this isn’t the best place for
Brooke to be hanging out. She hasn’t been sober very long and I don’t want her
to fall into temptation. I have a feeling if Leo handed her a beer she wouldn’t
say no.
“I’m getting tired,” I say and fake a
big yawn.
“You are not going to wimp out on me.”
Brooke gives me a cold glare. “We’re not leaving here until we meet Always
Rayne. All of them.”
Nic Rayne looks like he’s getting
bored with the blondes. He’s glancing around the room rather than paying
attention to what the girls are saying.
As soon as Nic’s eyes land on me I can
see his expression change. His brows are furrowed and he looks puzzled. I’m
sure he’s wondering what someone who looks like me is doing backstage.
Disappointment crosses over the faces
of the two girls vying for Nic’s attention when he walks away from them and
heads in my direction.
“You,” he points to me. At least I
think he’s pointing at me. When I look around and realize I’m standing alone, I
know he’s pointing at me.
Then I panic because I’m standing
alone. Where the hell is my roommate? The one who dragged me here in the first
place practically kicking and screaming. She completely abandoned me. I also
notice that one of Nic Rayne’s bandmates seems to have vanished just as
quickly.
It isn’t possible for Brooke to hook
up with someone that fast, is it?
This is Brooke we’re talking about.
Not only is it possible, it’s highly probable.
Nic Rayne is now glaring at me. It’s
like he can’t believe I didn’t jump as soon as he pointed to me. I can already
tell this guy is a piece of work. He’s probably used to getting any girl he
wants with the snap of his finger. Hell, he’s probably used to getting anything
he wants the second the demand comes out of this mouth.
I can see him let out an exasperated
breath and then head in my direction. I quickly scan the room to see if I can
spot an exit but by the time my eyes land on one, it’s too late. Nic Rayne has
already entered my personal space.
And he’s not just close to me; he’s
practically on top of me. And I don’t like it. He makes me extremely
uncomfortable. I’d rather be anywhere than standing next to Nic Rayne. I’d
rather be back in Economics class at the university and I hate Economics. It’s
the only class I ever got a C in.
“What’s up?” Nic says.
I’ve seen him in movies so I knew he
was tall and muscular. I guess it never occurred to me how tall and muscular he
really is. The guy is towering over me and I’m not that short. I’m five feet
six inches. Nic has got to be at least six inches taller than me.
“Did you see where my friend went?”
He nods but doesn’t say anything else.
“Okay. Would you mind telling me where
she went?”
“With Leo.”
I assume he means Leo Donovan, his
cousin and the guitar player in Always Rayne.
“Hey, Rayne.” Xander Donovan, Nic’s
other cousin, and the band’s drummer, places a hand on Nic’s shoulder. “Pick
the girl you want and let’s go. We’re all headed over to Troy.”
Troy is the trendiest club in the
city. I’ve heard a lot about it but haven’t been able to afford the stiff cover
charge and the fifteen dollar drinks.
“Come on,” Nic says and turns to leave
as if I’m supposed to follow him.
He takes a few steps before he
realizes that I’m not following him. Then he turns back around and gives me an
odd look. “Aren’t you coming?”
I shake my head.
“Why not?” He actually looks puzzled.
“Do you want a list?”
His eyes narrow and then he walks back
over to me. He gets so close I can smell his masculine scent and what’s left of
his spicy cologne. “What’s the list?”
I gulp. I wasn’t actually expecting
him to ask for the list. I thought he’d just get disgusted and find some other
girl to go with him.
“Well, you’re not my type. I don’t
find you remotely attractive. Or particularly interesting. I don’t like your
music at all. And you don’t seem very smart. And I don’t sleep with guys I
don’t know. So, maybe you should just find some other girl to take to Troy.”
He’s doing his best to bite back a
grin. The smug asshole actually finds what I’ve said funny. I didn’t think I
could dislike him more but he’s really pushing my buttons.
“I’m not your type, huh?” He leans in
even closer. So close, I can feel his breath on my neck. “I’m everybody’s
type.”
I try to swallow but I feel like
there’s a golf ball stuck in my throat.
“You don’t find me attractive, huh?
Then why are you sweating?” He places his hand right over my heart. “And your
heart is beating a mile a minute. Maybe you should listen to what your body
wants instead of what your brain is telling you.”
I take a step back and try to collect
myself. I wipe my brow and realize I really am sweating. And he’s right, my
heart is racing. What the hell is going on?
“I’m not some groupie who’s going to
do whatever you want because you snapped your fingers.”
He looks me up and down. “I can see
that.”
I place my hands on my hips. “What is
that supposed to mean?”
He actually has the audacity to laugh.
“No one would ever mistake you for a groupie that’s for sure.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Your clothes are like some crazy
mash-up between a hippie and a school librarian.”
I glance down at my flowered skirt and
strappy sandals. He has a point. I’m not exactly a fashion whore like my
roommate. Not that I have the money to update my wardrobe even if I wanted to.
He steps closer again. He’s got a
habit of getting right into my personal space and it makes me uncomfortable
every time he does it. When I look into his deep brown eyes, I have the feeling
that he’s doing it just to get a rise out of me.
“What are you doing here?” he asks.
For the first time since we’ve met, he actually sounds sincere.
“I came with my roommate. She won
tickets from the radio station. She wanted to see you. And your cousins.”
“I asked what you’re doing here.”
“I guess I’m here for moral support,”
I stammer. And I have a press pass.”
I’m not sure why I tell him that. I
guess I feel like I need some kind of excuse to be here because I’m definitely
not here for the music.
“Why am I not surprised? You look like
a writer. Or a librarian.”
I dig around in my purse and pull out
my press pass. To my surprise, he grabs it from my hand. “Chatter. Never heard
of it.”
“It’s an online magazine. A start up.”
He nods then hands me back my credentials.
“Do you like it?”
“Like what?” I’m surprised by the
question.
“Writing. Working for a magazine.”
I shrug. “I’ve never thought about
doing anything else. My parents named me Harper Leigh. I was kind of destined
to be a writer.”
He’s looking at me with a blank stare.
Maybe he really is as brainless as I think. And for some strange reason that
disappoints me.
“Harper Leigh,” I repeat. “I spell my
name differently but she was a writer.”
He’s still looking at me with a blank
expression.
“She won the Pulitzer Prize.”
Then he smiles. “I know who Harper Lee
is. To Kill a Mocking Bird. Won the
Pulitzer Prize in 1961. She was also good friends with Truman Capote. She
helped him with the research for In Cold
Blood.”
I can feel my jaw drop.
“I guess I’m smarter than you think.”
He leans in close again. “And I’m also a great actor apparently because I had
you fooled.”
I want to say something in response
but no words come out of my mouth.
“Rayne.” It’s Xander again. “Come on.
We’ve got to bounce.”
“Does everyone call you Rayne?”
“Always.”
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