Phoenix Rising I (22 page)

Juliana didn’t move right away. What a strange week it had been. She had started it in one life and was now in a completely different one.

“A better one,” she assured herself. “This is the hard part, starting over, but it’s for the best.”

She lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling in the dim light. The sound of water running invaded her thoughts. Did Maverick have an old water shower? She had been expecting the warm laser lights of a decontaminator, not water.

“What?” Maverick asked. His naked, perfect body was silhouetted by the bathroom light. He was gorgeous. “I didn’t hear what you said.”

“Nothing. I was just talking to myself,” she answered, moving to get up off the bed. She never was one for marathon sex, but somehow, she felt her body stirring to go again. Maybe it was just Jeff who didn’t turn her on anymore. Maybe he never really had. Juliana had never felt this comfortable with him.

“Mmm,” was all he said, as he pulled her to his mouth. Crushing his lips to hers, he kissed her deeply, walking her with him toward the shower.

Steam filled the bathroom, inviting them to the stream of warm water. Maverick opened the stall door and reached in, testing the temperature before letting go long enough to let her step into the shower. Juliana hesitated as she looked inside. “I’ve never been in a water shower before.”

He chuckled. “You’ll never get into a decontaminator again. I promise, you’ll love it.”

Juliana reached in, touching the warm water. She’d been wet before, so wasn’t frightened. Slowly, she stepped into the stall, only to moan as the water hit her flesh. It felt good, massaging over her entire length. Maverick shut the stall door and grabbed a small container off a shelf along the side. Dipping his fingers into the pot, he took out some white gel. Juliana watched, curious as he lathered it in his hands.

“Soap,” he said, moving to touch her. It glided over her flesh as he took his time washing her. It felt wicked and wonderful at the same time, a slow arousal all on its own. The lather made his fingers glide as he teased her flesh, taking his time to rub every inch.

“You know,” she said, caught between a pant and a moan. “I can honestly say I’ve never had a man bathe me before. Mmm, have I been missing out.”

“Now, that is a real shame,” Maverick answered, moving her so the water hit her skin and rinsed away the suds. “You should have men begging to bathe you.”

Not to be outdone, Juliana lathered up her hands and scrubbed him, as well, exploring the tight peaks of his body down to his stiff arousal. Soon they were kissing, their slick bodies pressed tightly together as they made love in the shower. Her hair stuck to her flesh and the taste of water invaded their kiss as he turned her into the stream.

Maverick continued to bathe her, reaching for shampoo. He ran it into her locks, pressing the soapy length against her back as he kept kissing her. Letting her go so she could rinse, he ran his soapy hands through his shorter hair and then did the same. He followed the shampoo with conditioner, though more got on her backside than her hair. Juliana didn’t mind. She was too busy running conditioner over his hair and neck. The erotic feel of flesh sliding against wet flesh became too much. She needed to feel him insider her once more.

“I can’t wait any longer,” she breathed heavily. “I need you.”

“Mmm,” he agreed, crushing her against the wall. The water hit his back as he grabbed her hips. Juliana wrapped her arms around his neck. Maverick groaned, thrusting up so he was imbedded completely inside her welcoming sex.

Their bodies strained as Maverick took her slowly, conquering every inch of her with his hands. He toyed with her nipples, pinching them, moving only to find the sensitive bud hidden in her wet folds to give it the same torturous treatment.

Tension built inside her, making it hard to breathe. Maverick didn’t stop as he rocked her higher and higher, grabbing her hips to hold her steady. His movements became more rushed. He thrust harder and faster, grunting as he drove her over the edge of passion. Juliana cried out as her whole body shook. Maverick’s groan joined hers, echoing in the bathroom as he stiffened inside of her. His body jerked and she knew he was coming hard.

Weak, she fell limp, pinned between Maverick and the hard wall. The shower continued to beat down, the water cooler than before. Or was it that her body was hot from their lovemaking?

“I don’t want to let you go,” he whispered. “I feel like I could do this forever.”

Juliana didn’t say a word. She couldn’t. Too much was going on in her life to make any promises or declarations and she refused to lead Maverick on. He said he didn’t want a commitment and she wouldn’t do anything to try and change his mind. She had to get her life in order first. Then, and only then, could she start to plan her future.

“I love the feel of you. You’re so soft, just as a woman should be.” He kissed her neck. “And the sounds you make,
mmm
, perfect. You’re perfect.”

“Let’s go to bed,” she said, yawning. “I don’t think I can stand much longer.”

Maverick instantly turned off the shower and stepped out. When she joined him,

the cooler air hit her wet skin and she shivered in response. “Here,” Maverick said, quickly drying her with a giant cut of material. After he’d done himself, he swept her up into his arms and carried her off to bed. * * * *

Juliana was hesitant as she watched Sean and, who she could only assume was an off duty cop, carry a plastic box of her clothes up toward the guest bedroom. When Maverick said he was going to go get help to move her, she hadn’t expected them to come back with a load already in hand.

“Hey,” Maverick said, walking in with his own box. “We just went ahead and grabbed it all. We’ll put it upstairs for you and you can unpack later.”

“Oh, okay.” She started to nod, but more men followed behind him with even more boxes. There were nearly a dozen helpers carting boxes. After she got over her stunned moment of complete and utter appreciation, she hurried to the kitchen, quickly preparing refreshments for them--small pastry puffs filled with cream and dried sweet flower petals. Putting them on a dish, she carried it out.

She was still holding it when the first mover walked by. He paused, looked at the food, grinned and grabbed one. She didn’t mind, but the other man helping him carry the box protested loudly. “Hey, Tym, carry your own weight.”

Tym laughed, grabbed a puff and threw it at the man’s face. He opened his mouth and caught it, chewing as he began to back up the stairs.

Maverick walked past and she made a weak noise in an effort to stop him. He did, smiling at her. His eyes went to her mouth as if he’d kiss her, but he held back.

“Do you want me to hire droids to do this?” she asked

“Not a problem, ma’am,” one of the men said behind Maverick, having overheard her. “Mav, here, promised to let us sample something called cord and blue.”

Maverick laughed. “Cordon bleu.”

“Yeah,” the guy repeated taking a handful of the dried flowers. “Cord and blue.”

Juliana laughed, passing the dish of refreshments to Maverick as she hurried back to the food simulator. It didn’t take long before the men where done, armed with plates and standing on the front step of Maverick’s home moaning in appreciation while they ate. Maverick introduced her to his friends, who were indeed all off duty police officers. All of them were nice, making jokes about work, about family, about life in general.

“You have got to give this program to my wife,” Tym said, as she took his empty plate. “Stars know I love her, but she can’t program her way out of a plastic crate full of air.”

Juliana chuckled. “I’d be glad to.”

“So, ah, Mav, you need help moving anything tomorrow?” Faul asked, turning hopeful eyes to Juliana. “I’m not doing anything for lunch, or dinner, or breakfast for that matter.”

“Ah, you’re on shift during lunch and dinner,” his partner, Jim corrected.

“Exactly, I’m not going to be doing anything tomorrow,” Faul teased.

“You are all welcome to stop by anytime and I’ll materialize something for you to eat,” Juliana promised.

“Ah,” Maverick held up his hand. “I don’t think you want to do that. You’ll never get rid of them.”

The men laughed.

“We should go,” one of them announced.

“Yeah, it was a pleasure, Juliana,” another said.

“See you tomorrow for breakfast,” Faul teased, “and lunch.”

The men left and Juliana sighed, moving to wash their dishes. A small smile crossed her face as she worked. Maverick joined her, pulling her hand. “Why don’t you let the cleaning droids do that today?”

“I really don’t mind the work,” she said. “I like having something to do.”

“I know, but come relax and talk to me before I have to go in to work.”

“Don’t they give you a day off?” she asked. “You’ve worked every day since I’ve been here.”

“They were short handed and I agreed to picking up the shifts. It won’t be so much on the next schedule.” Maverick sighed, plopping down on his couch. He looked at the window. “You changed the landscape.”

Juliana glanced at the red, barren hills. Dust looked as if it blew across them. “I was flipping through, and I swear an alien head popped up. I’m trying to catch it again.”

Maverick laughed, lying down on the couch. “Come here. We’ll watch together.”

He patted the space next to him and she nestled against his side, laying her head on his bent arm. His arm slid over her waist and he kissed her neck. Being with Maverick was so comfortable. After a few minutes, he said, “Are you sure there was an alien?”

“Yes. I know it was something,” she insisted. Suddenly, a face popped up, as if jumping up to peek inside. Juliana giggled. “Did you see it?”

“Mmm, no, missed it,” he said. “I was too busy looking at you.”

Turning so she faced him, she threaded her legs into his. “I guess we’ll just have to stay here until it comes around again.”

She closed her eyes, completely happy. Nothing else seemed to matter in this moment, not the outside world, not court dates or Assets Distribution forms. There was only Maverick and her and the holographic alien peeping in the window.

Chapter Seven

Three months later …

Juliana took a deep and calming breath, reaching down to smooth her business suit. The black of the tunic-like top went well with the loose, sheer black over dark gray slacks. She held it together with a thick sash. The slacks flowed as she again started to walk, swishing around her legs. She paused at the door leading to the courthouse. Behind her, the sound of hover vehicles landing and taking off sounded. The landing pads were busy in this part of Baida Proper since it was the main district.

The wind had a cold chill to it, fitting for what she was at the courthouse to do. Maverick had offered to come with her, but she refused. This was her mess to straighten. Whatever happened was between her and Jeff. She reached for the door, only to hear a giggle behind her.

No.
Not her.

Juliana ran her hand over the scanner. The door dissipated and she went through the empty space into the courthouse. She walked faster, not wanting to get caught in conversation with Jeff’s girlfriend, San de.

The courthouse was nearly seventy stories tall. The main floor was separated into two equal parts, one half offices and the other half lobby. The lobby’s ceiling was nearly forty stories high with a crystal chandelier in the center that reflected the outside light and made little rainbow patterns on the higher walls. When someone first entered the rainbows spelled, ‘Baida Proper Courthouse and Earthbase Law Offices’. But, when one continued walking, the words disappeared and the little rainbows seemed to spread over the ceiling in random patterns.

Large columns supported the higher floors, which allowed them to stretch across the building’s full length. A transparent, force field elevator was on one of the columns, which would take one up to any floor. Past the elevator was a reception droid and a variety of stores and food pavilions. Above the pavilions, office space was stacked all forty floors up, then only switching to the full building length the rest of the way to the top.

“Yoo-hoo, Juliana, wait,” San de called, her voice an annoying trill.

If Juliana walked any faster, she’d be running.

Be nice. Be nice,
she thought, hoping to make it to the elevator before being stopped by the woman. She heard heels clicking behind her.
Don’t turn around. No matter what you do, do not turn around. You don’t want to be forced to talk to the woman.

“Julie, Julie, wait, I need to talk to you. Wait.” With each word, San de’s voice got louder. “Julie!”

Juliana stopped, waiting a few seconds until she turned around. The woman was screaming her name, drawing attention from the few people in the lobby. She didn’t want a scene and she most assuredly didn’t want to talk to the woman.

Juliana really tried not to look down, but San de’s very round, very prominent breasts drew her attention. They were like two planets orbiting a twit. The fact that she wore a bright yellow jumpsuit with lime green pin striping down the tight sleeves didn’t help matters. The neckline dipped low, showing an indecent amount of cleavage. No less repulsive was the woman’s short, bizarrely yellow hair. It was done in large curls that fell to her chin. Juliana blinked, almost blinded by all the yellow.

“Sandy Valley,” she acknowledged, her tone flat. “Can I help you?”

“Oh, no, no, Julie. It’s pronounced San de Val le,” she said, stressing her name. “
San de Val le
.”

“It’s pronounced Ms. Harrison,” Juliana said. The woman looked shocked at the tone, blinked several times and then giggled and waved her hand. “Was there something you needed? I’m due for an appointment.”

“Oh, I know. Me, too. I’ll walk with you,” San de said.

“Oh?” Juliana asked.

“We’re going to the same place,” San de continued, motioning that Juliana should go. “The Assets Distribution Hearing.”

Jeff was bringing a date to the hearing to divide their belongings? And why was she surprised by it?