Page 42 of Any Kind of Life
Oh, Juliet would always give Paige anything she wanted. If she needed more, she could have that. Paige spread her legs wider, gripping the back of the seat Juliet sat in. Juliet almost slipped out of her, only to add a third finger and thrust deep. Paige arched her back, moaning loudly, that sound exquisite. “Fuck, Paige.” Juliet could barely move inside Paige as her walls squeezed her fingers.
Back when she had first met Paige, she was timid and closed off. But now? Oh, she knew exactly what she wanted, and she wasn’t afraid to ask for it.
“C-close.” Paige buried her face in the side of Juliet’s neck, soaking wet as Juliet fucked her hard and fast. “Y-yes. Just like that.” With her arms wrapped around Juliet’s shoulders, Paige sunk her teeth into the nape of Juliet’s neck and released around her fingers. “O-oh, shit.” She trembled, riding and taking everything she could from Juliet. “D-don’t stop.”
Juliet wished she never had to stop. The idea of this morning coming to an end and going their separate ways only made her want to go again. And again. And again. “I love you,” Juliet said as Paige lifted her head and smiled back at her.
“I love you, too.”
Then came the knock at the door. “Room service!”
Juliet pulled out of Paige, only for Paige to take her by the wrist and suck her fingers into her mouth. “Oh, fuck. That’s incredibly hot.” She gazed up at Paige, enamoured by her. “O-one moment.” She called out, hoping they would just leave their food at the door. “Baby, we have to get the door.”
Paige licked her lips as she climbed off Juliet, fastening her robe as she sauntered towards the door. She looked back over her shoulder, smirking when Juliet remained in her seat, panting. Paige hadn’t even touched her, and she was close to coming. “Oh, by the way…morning, babe.”
Juliet laughed as she shook her head. “Get the door, Paige. I need to clean you up, and I need to do it very soon.”
Chapter 15
Juliet forced the lid on the tin of paint she’d been using, pushing it out of the way and folding the dust sheet from beneath it. She couldn’t believe the bar was finished, and she would see Paige this afternoon. She stood back and admired the work that had been carried out, impressed by how brilliant it looked. It wasn’t a huge addition space-wise, but there would be another seven tables added to the bar. She wanted to keep it as small as possible whilst making it bigger.
“I have to say, it looks way better than it looked on the plans.” Cara came from the back, drying her hands on some paper towel. “Are you happy with it?”
Juliet smiled. “I am. I’m very happy with it. I can’t wait for Paige to see it.”
“You two really do have it all, don’t you?” Cara rested back against the bar counter, laughing. “She’s on tour with bloody Soraya, and you’ve extended the bar… everything good just lands in your lap, doesn’t it?”
“I mean, we make our own luck,” Juliet said, shrugging as she pulled out a seat and rested for a few minutes. “You’ve excelled here, too. Don’t forget that. There was a time when I was ready to manhandle you out the door, but I gave you another chance, and look what it’s all turned into now.” Cara had been a nightmare in the beginning, but she had really changed her attitude in the last six months or so.
“Mm. I suppose.” Cara turned and moved behind the bar. “Glass of wine to celebrate?”
Juliet would usually wait for Paige, but a glass of wine was just what she needed right now. She’d worked hard; her day had started at seven this morning. “Go on. I’ll have a glass of red. Thanks for your help today. I appreciate it.”
“No problem.” Cara busied herself, carefully removing two of the new wine glasses where they hung on the rack above the bar. Juliet watched her, genuinely happy about how everything had turned out here.
“Tell me what you prefer. Putting people behind bars or working behind a bar?”
“Oh, that’s an easy one. While I loved my job back in the day, this is much more pleasant.”
“Did you ever feel bad when the people you represented went down for whatever they’d done?”
Juliet frowned. What a strange conversation to have today. “It’s difficult. Even though I was representing them, they were mostly terrible people. Still, everyone deserves representation, and I did what I could for them.”
“And…did you ever have any that you thought you should have tried harder for?”
“Are you planning to go into law, or do you always strike up random conversations?”
Cara lifted a shoulder as she carried two glasses of wine towards Juliet. “I guess I’m just intrigued. You were one of the best, and then you suddenly retire and end up owning a bar with a guy who sits outside watching your every move.”
“Mm. I’d prefer H to be watching my every move than the alternative.”
Cara’s brows drew together. “The alternative?”
Juliet didn’t particularly want to have this conversation. Her past was the past for a reason. She also didn’t go around telling people about the threat made against her just weeks before she decided on early retirement. Yet here she was…having the conversation. “There are people out there who aren’t happy with the hand life dealt them or what they dealt themselves. People on the inside who have people on the outside. They blame me.”
“You mean, they’re looking for you? To harm you?”
Juliet twisted her glass of wine on the table, nodding slowly. She had always hoped that it was nothing more than a simple threat to frighten her, but the thought of it being real always stuck with her. She wouldn’t have Henry watching her otherwise. There were times when she thought she was just being too paranoid, but it was better to be safe than sorry. “That’s the rumour.”