The lights had gone out and Rayne Dylan was left alone with Cliff Stevens in a room she hadn't previously seen. She searched her mind for the location of the door, but it was a lost cause. The lights had been cut off before she had a chance to survey the room. Rayne stumbled foreword hoping to find a wall to support her battered body, but she was never lucky. Rayne Dylan had a curse on her head ever since the night of her conception. Her mind if not so hazy, would be racing, but she had just awoken from a drug induced slumber. She had only time enough to notice the numbingly white walls and her boyfriend's cruel eyes. She heard his hard breath far to the left. Rayne feared for her safety'�for her sanity. She had been doing progressively well in group therapy, finally after a painfully long year she had been able to admit what had happened this very night the previous year. For the entire length of the time she was under the care of the Clean Break Institution, Rayne had only just learned to accept that harsh fact. Every time she had lost control of her thoughts, she was forced to wander back to that intense June morning. It was her first time out of Montana.

'Just do it Ray! No ones ever gonna find out!'�

'Yeah Ray, we're all friends here, no ones gonna tell!'�

'I can't! It's uh'�too cold!'�

'Oh please you puss! California never gets cold!'�

'I won't do it!'� Rayne shrieked as Jackson seized her waist and forced her shirt off.

'Look! Now you're already half way there. You can either finish yourself'�or I'll hafta do it for ya.'�

Rayne noticed the ready-to-pounce look on Cliff's face and broke free of her friend's grasp. She shrugged off Cliff's heated stare and grabbed her oversized white tee from Jackson's hands started to unbutton her pants.

'Turn around you perves!'�

Her friends all had a laugh at Rayne's never ending shyness. She had the kind of beauty that made mature men grown in need of a taste of her entrancing body. That was her curse. Her body must have been constructed by only the finest of Gods. Her friends called her Jailbait, it was her nickname and she earned it. Her best-known quality, as said by her closest of friends, would have to be her intense modesty. The girl didn't even wear shorts, let alone tank tops. Rayne would rather tough-out the Montana heat than show more skin than necessary. It was as if she resented being so beautiful, but there was no hiding her natural grace and charm. Rayne screamed as her nude body hit the cold river water with a delicate splash. It was midnight, and officially her eighteenth birthday. She was legal and ripe for the picking.

'Well, Rayne, there's one to cross off your list!'� Maggy teased.

'Yes, and I've hardly even dented it! This whole trip was pointless, we should just go home before we get in any more trouble.'�

'Forget it Ray!'�

'Yeah, we're here now, there's no way in Hell I'm driving all the way back now!'�

'Face it kid, you're stuck with us!'� Alex winked at her.

'OK! OK! Leave her alone!'�

'Thank you Cliff!'� Rayne teased at her friends. There was no way any number of them would dare anger the lean six-foot-three monster.

'Ug! Let's get out of this bog and find us a hotel!'�

Rayne was the last to leave the water in hopes no one would see her, especially not Cliff. The cool night air clung to her wet body, even that couldn't be put off by the presence of her clothing. She was the first dressed and back in Cliff's Chevy. They drove over ten miles before finding a decent hotel. Check-in was unbearably awkward for Rayne. The bellboy's unwavering stare burned right through her. She could feel his eyes roaming all over her still-damp body. She had left her coat in the truck and desperately wished it were wrapped around her now extremely clingy white T-shirt. In an awkward attempt to avoid making eye contact with the man, she noticed a strikingly handsome man sitting in a dark corner slowly rise. She was amazed at the way the shadows seemed to follow his face. His long, masculine strides. His dark, rugged hair. He walked with such grace it almost alarmed her.

'Oh my God! He's coming this way!'� she thought as she dropped his stare and blushed.

The man blocked her from the bellboy's gaze. Rayne could feel his hot breath on her face. Maggy nudged her ribs as she locked eyes with the strange newcomer. He inclined his head to her as he wrapped his coat around her shivering shoulders. Rayne stood stupefied and oddly comforted as the man entered the lift. She hugged the coat to her body as if it were the most precious gift she had ever received. Cliff turned to show the sleepy group to their rooms. Rayne almost felt insulted that her boyfriend hadn't even noticed the change in her appearance, not to mention complete shock that he didn't notice the presence of the stranger that could give Cliff himself a good run for his money. She wrote it off as her first ounce of luck ' ever, and followed the others up the stairs.

'Alex and Jackson ' two-nineteen.'� Cliff tossed them the room key.

'Maggy and Jamie ' two-seventeen.'� Jamie, oblivious to the key flying through the air, was startled when it bounced off her chest. She sent a playful glare at Cliff before skipping off to her room.

'Oh no!'� Rayne thought. 'That means ill be alone'�with Cliff!'�

Cliff carried their bags down the hall to two-twenty four. Rayne looked back at her friends. Jamie only winked at her as she stumbled into her room, cursing the lump in the carpet. She lingered in the hall long enough to notice the stranger from the lobby round the corner with a bucket of ice. He stopped in front of two-twenty two and looked up to meet Rayne's warm stare. She reluctantly unwrapped herself from the man's coat and couldn't help but breath in the warm leathery scent. Rayne slowly made her way over to him and for the first time, she brushed her still damp hair away from her face. For some reason she didn't mind this man looking at her. She let his eyes explore her heavenly face.

'Thank you'� for before-'� she breathed. His smile seemed to melt the cold from her face and the sound of her words. It was as if she didn't need to speak, he knew.

Rayne jerked around as she heard Cliff's booming voice behind them.

'Rayne! What the hell are you doing?!'�

'Calm down! I was only returning the man's coat!'� for the kind man's sake, she decided to lie to her obnoxiously overprotective boy friend. ' He dropped it in the lobby.'�

He gave her a look that said he thought otherwise. She gave the man a half smile before returning to her room. Cliff said something to the man but Rayne was unable to make out the words. She walked into the bathroom and heard Cliff slam the door shortly after. She turned on the faucet and ran cool water over her face.

'Don't you ever do that to me again!'�

Rayne spun around, dropping the towel on the floor. Those eyes. Those furious eyes will haunt her for the rest of her life. Cliff raised his hand and crashed it against her damp face.

That was the turning point of their relationship. Rain lifted her stiff torso from the hard bathroom floor. The door was left slightly ajar. She pushed herself up on her hands and quietly closed the door. She noticed her hand slipping on the door handle and turned on the light. Her hands were covered in blood. Her blood. Rayne's eyes slowly lifted to the mirror where her horror peaked. She nearly fainted at the sight. Her face was a mess of colors. Across one side was a long cut where the blood had already dried. She felt sickness creep up her throat, it was the only thing keeping her from screaming. Her hand cringed at the feeling of dried blood in her hair. She let herself fall to the floor, careful not to land in any of the smeared blood puddles. She felt the agony and pain wash over her. She lay there, clutching herself, gasping for air. How could she have ever let it go this far? She didn't love Cliff, hell! She didn't even like him! Rayne squeezed her eyes tight in hopes that the mess would make itself disappear. She leaned over the edge of the tub as her vision cleared. Without thinking, she reached over and turned on the water. Rayne squirmed out of her stiff, bloodstained clothing and crawled into the bathtub. She slowly rose while watching the full extent of Cliff's wrath on her naked body. She eased herself under the hot water and watched the water beneath her turn red. Rayne unwrapped one of the two complimentary soaps and softly messaged it into her skin. She let the smell of the oatmeal soap soothe her and then she remembered. The flashes danced behind her horror-struck eyes. Cliff struck her face, sending her flying into the edge of the counter, splitting her face open. She knew he continued to empty his rage on her unconscious body. The marks were there, they told the rest of the story. Bruises on her face, throat, arms, and torso. Cliff must have kicked her from the shape of some. Rayne fell to the floor sobbing, and letting the water wash away her salty tears. She had always feared Cliff. There was no doubt about it. That was the only reason they had been together through high school. She was afraid to turn him down. Afraid of what he might do. Rayne watched as the water beneath her began to run clear. She reached up to turn the water off and slowly rose. Rayne watched her battered body in the mirror across the room. She couldn't brake her gaze. The very body that drove men insane with desire was now a mess of colors. She traced the outlines of the bruises on her stomach and chest. Caressed the deep gash along her left cheekbone. She lifted her leg to step over the side of the tub and doubled over, gasping in pain. She panicked as she saw the blood on her inner thighs.

'No'�'� she whined in pain.

Rayne turned the water back on and grabbed a washcloth from the side of the tub knocking the other soap to the floor.

'It didn't happen'�'� she repeated in an attempt to calm down while she washed herself off.

When she had finished, she picked her towel up from the floor and wrapped it around her battered body in shame. Rayne opened the door making no noise at all. She crept out to grab her bag and returned to her bathroom unnoticed. She quickly dressed and checked her cell phone. 4:13 A.M. Good. She wiped way the drip of blood from her cut and left the room with only the door softly clicking behind her. Rayne now felt something she never before had. Adrenaline. And damn it felt good. She turned to face the hallway and noticed the stranger from the lobby leaning on the wall beside his door with a half-smoked cigarette between his powerful lips. Rayne parted her own lips to speak, but before she could he gave her a knowing nod and led her down stairs. He took her bag and put it into the back seat of his black SUV then helped her into the front and they began their journey.

Rayne didn't know the man, and to be honest she didn't care. She felt the silent bond between them it was almost spooky. The second she realized how tired she was, he reached behind his seat and pulled out a pillow. She felt comfortable and whole. This man, who she didn't even know the name of, was her guardian angel.

'Tyran.'�

She let out a sigh of relief. The sound of his voice made her squirm.

'How do you know-'�

'It was a gift.'� He smiled.

He was quite aware of her confusion, but chose not to comment on it. She was much safer not knowing the truth about him. Tyran watched as she slowly drifted out of consciousness and into a painful dream, one that she would be forced to live in real life.

He continued south on I-5 until it was well into the night. Rayne was barely awake when she heard the car door slam.

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