AUTHOR NOTE: Though I usually ship Deacon and Rayna, I've found myself churning out Rayna and Juliette (Jayna? Ruliette? Raynette?) stories a bit obsessively of late. This is a scene I pulled out of a story I've been working on; hopefully it stands on its own. Feedback/constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated.

Rayna was standing alone in her dressing room, doing one last check in front of her make-up mirror in the few minutes she had remaining before being called to the stage for her set. The Exes were just hitting the third-to-last song they'd scheduled in their opening for the show Rayna was headlining tonight—another fundraiser, but good publicity for her label. She had the audio feed in her room turned on low so she could hear how they were doing and keep track of how much time she had before her show.

And though most people knew better than to bother her as she collected her thoughts before heading out on stage, she heard the door knob turning on her dressing room door, and in the mirror she saw Juliette Barnes walk through that door, close, and lock it behind her. "Hey sexy lady" the blonde said with a mile-wide grin, confidently covering the distance between the two of them.

"I thought you didn't get back from Chicago until tomorrow."

"Got home early" Juliette was standing so close behind her now, Rayna could feel the heat of the sexy young blonde's body warming the bare skin of her arms. "And I missed you," Juliette said simply. "So I came by to say 'hi.' See your show."

"Well that was awfully sweet of you." Rayna said a bit absently, opting to flirt by pretending she had no idea what might be on Juliette's mind, which was just a tad disingenuous given the light kisses she was currently trailing up Rayna's left shoulder.

"Uh huh," Juliette mumbled through lips now tending to the back of Rayna's neck. Stopping her attentions only once she had thoroughly laid claim to the right shoulder as well, she rested her forehead at the top of Rayna's spine and placed her hands possessively on the older woman's hips, using her thumbs to softly massage her back right above the country music legend's deliciously curved ass. "I'm nothin' if not sweet."

"Mmmm…So, now that you're back in town, am I, uh, going to be seeing more of you? Maybe we can finish that album of yours Highway 65 is hopin' to release next month?" Rayna was trying to keep her voice neutral and uninterested, to stay focused for the show she needed to do in less than 10 minutes. But a thickness was settling into her throat as certain parts of her body were getting warmer and wetter.

Juliette picked her head up and put her face beside Rayna's, chin on the redhead's shoulder, meeting her eyes in the mirror. "Oh I'd say you're going to be seeing quite a lot of me," Juliette smirked as she slid her arms around Rayna's waist.

"Is that right, Ms. Barnes?" Rayna's knees betrayed her cool demeanor with a momentary weakness that pressed her even more firmly into Juliette's embrace.

"That's right, Ms. Jaymes. I'm planning to throw you one hell of an after party." The younger woman winked. "I really did miss you. Wanna make sure you know how much."

The tempation to kiss her former rival, current friend, and sometimes lover was tremendous, but Rayna didn't have time to reapply the stain, liner, two coats of lipstick, plus gloss and lipglass it took to get her mouth performance ready, so she just treated Juliette to her sultriest over-the shoulder-look. "Well now, I'll look forward to that. Meantime, watch the show. See if you can figure out which song's for you."

Juliette nipped at Rayna's neck lightly, brushing her teeth and lips again over what she knew was an exceptionally sensitive spot, and then slowly dragged her hands across Rayna's abdomen as she grinned, turned, and walked out of the dressing room while informing her still-secret lover: "Got myself a front row center ticket. Only $400. Worth it at twice the price."

The door had barely closed before there was a knock and one of Rayna's handler's peeked in: "Show time, Rayna." At that, the star's suddenly looser hips sashayed to the stage. Show time indeed. Rayna intended to give Juliette Barnes a performance she wouldn't soon forget.