As though entranced, Lily sank into an armless chair, all the shimmering red material striking against the plush white furniture.
Tonight Jax wasn’t playing a composition for the CD. He was playing for her.
And it flowed effortlessly.
Something that had not happened from the time he and Lex had agreed to collaborate until she’d come to the estate. This wasn’t painstaking. Or agonizing. It was easy. Dramatic, yes, because that was what his music was all about. But it was just so damn intuitive to play for this captivated audience of one, who stirred his soul.
Still, Jax did notice when Lex quietly entered and sat at his piano—they were that instinctively connected to each other. He joined in. A simple complement to Jax’s stronger, poignant notes.
When they ended the piece, Jax was highly aroused.
And Lily was motionless, gazing up at him, her eyes misty.
Yes, there was definitely something to this muse idea of Lex’s.
Long drawn-out seconds stretched between them. Then Lily seemed to catch herself. She inhaled deeply, as though to get her emotions in check.
She pushed out of the chair and went directly to the wet bar to pour Lex a scotch.
Jax dragged his gaze from her and glanced over at Lex. Who looked pretty damn enrapt himself. Completely taken by her. As Jax was.
While Lily served the scotch, Lex said, “We have a proposition for you.”
“Oh?” Her brow crooked.
Lex told her, “We’d like to have more dresses ordered for you, if you enjoy wearing them.”
“I do,” she enthusiastically assured him. Though a heartbeat later, her tone dropped an octave and she more hesitantly said, “But I’m not sure why you had this one sent over earlier, since you’re not entertaining company this evening. It’s just the three of us.”
“Lex and I both agree that we need something to help us break through the musical block we’ve been experiencing,” Jax told her. “We both felt a surge of motivation when you arrived. Not just because of your natural response to the compositions—apparently we needed that sort of reaction from an impartial party we trusted. But also . . . there’s something very mysterious about you, Lily, that makes us both feel you can help us through the barriers that have kept us from elevating these particular arrangements to the next level.”
She glanced briefly at the crimson satin covering her. “So the gown isn’t just for eccentricity?”
Lex chuckled. “No.”
She frowned. More of a sexy pout, actually, that tempted Jax and made him burn to taste her lips. Not to mention other parts of her.
She said, “I’m not sure I fully understand what you’re getting at.”
“You seem to be the muse we’ve both been lacking,” Jax explained. “For years, to be perfectly honest.”
She contemplated this a moment before asking, “By wearing designer dresses and the jewels that came with security guards the other night?”
Jax grinned. “The store insisted we increase the insurance policy for the extended loan period and we were happy to do so. Not necessary, but if it keeps them from leaving their own people here twenty-four seven . . .”
Lily’s gaze lingered on him a few seconds more, then shifted to Lex. “I’m still not certain what you’re asking of me. Perform all my normal duties as butler, just at night, I’m to serve you all decked out?”
“Yes.”
“Well,” Jax int
erjected. “We’d be remiss, Lily, if we didn’t tell you that both Lex and I are attracted to you. Deeply attracted. And you should be aware of that before we proceed.”
“Proceed?” she cautiously inquired, though her eyes suddenly lit up. As though this was news she’d been hoping to receive. Still, there was no missing that she instantly weighed everything he and Lex had divulged thus far.
Lex gently told her, “You’re visually stimulating, Lily. In your uniform, yes. But all glamorous like this . . . you’re breathtaking. And that stimulation is what’s providing a renewed vigor for us. Inspiration, if you will.”
“Of course I’m happy to help you both, in any way I can,” she said in a slightly perplexed tone. “If it’s me in fancy gowns that sparks your creativity—”