Beautiful Misery |1

20. CONDITIONS OF MISERY

The condition he'd confidently put forward, hung heavily in the air— joining the mix of tension and arousal. Sucking in a sharp breath, I held onto the oxygen that had filled my lungs, causing the organs to expand rapidly. "Rayne, I can't stay in here-"

"You wanna crash out there, fine by me." He interrupted. Confusion pricked at my last nerve, I couldn't comprehend this man when he was being straightforward let alone going back and forth with his conditions. His arms fastened around me the second I attempted to move and I slackened in his hold. Running low on energy to do much else I whispered a plea. As though having fallen on deaf ears my words remained ignored. "You sleep out there...I sleep out there." He finalised, gritting his teeth. My eyes widened, what the hell kind of condition was that?

"You have a perfectly good room, Rayne-"

"I know, utilise it." Drawing me closer, he reached a hand down to pull my hand away from the suitcase. Closing his eyes on a frustrated sigh he dropped his forehead against mine. "We sleep on shitty recliners or in here, your choice." Sounding as exhausted as I felt the large man leaned us up against the door frame.

I couldn't help but ask. "Why are you doing this?" I whispered, watching his tense body relax.

"I don't know, Skids." He answered softly and for the first time he made complete sense to me. Nodding, I cupped the side of his face.

"I'll stay in here till a room opens up, because I'm choosing to sleep in a comfortable bed as oppose to enduring you and those shitty recliners." Quickly defending my decision to surrender, I watched his mouth curve into a sexy smirk.

"I like that you believe that...I'm gunna go swallow about a dozen paracetamols, my fucking head is splitting." Groaning, he pressed a palm to his temple.

"I bet..." I mumbled, sliding my arm around his lower back. Guiding him towards the bed I told him to sit. His firm grip wrapped around my wrist the second I turned to leave. I caught myself before I smiled at the instinctive gesture...for some unknown reason it made me happy to know he feared my absence. "I'm just going to get two paracetamols." Emphasising the quantity he should be taking, I slipped my hand free. Bringing Rayne a glass of water and two tablets I told him to sleep a while longer.

Groaning he fell back into the mattress, throwing his brawny forearm over his eyes. Switching the light off, I left the door ajar and set up my textbooks on the kitchen island. Playing catch-up wasn't a game and there was still the small matter of my apology— to Mr Spark. I had to face him at some stage, or I wouldn't make it through this course. My past would never allow me to trust the man, but I had to put my trauma aside and respect his authority.

Hoping an early submission of the first essay I have due would make the exchange easier, I set to work on topic research. The lengthy process carried me into a gruelling three hour read of several peer reviewed articles. When I could no longer stand to see the words, according to, I decided to call it. I was confident that I'd addressed all the main points outlined in the rubric. My neglected stomach made a feeble growl, and I patted the area apologetically. Food was long overdue.

Noticing Rayne hadn't woken yet I grabbed my keys and hunted down the diner he'd taken me to, my first night in town. Greeted by the tall mahogany haired beauty, who'd served us last time, I placed my order. Pleasant as always the girl took down my order grudgingly. Before she left, I gently clasped her arm. "Just in case you're planing to spike my meal, one of those is for Rayne...something tells me he won't appreciate any surprises." Smiling sweetly I watched the grown arse woman actually stomp her foot before strutting away.