Season 1—Seduction—Episode 18
Shit.
Lily had no answers. Worse, the morning after was hardly the time to pose all these philosophical questions laced with the very insecure, Where is this headed?
Okay. There was her reality check.
She was getting way ahead of herself. It’d been one night. It wasn’t as though she’d fallen in love.
Right?
Hopefully.
No, no. Not love.
Just . . . Extreme appreciation for their talent, sexy smiles, and hot bods.
Yes. That was more accurate.
Right?
Hopefully.
With a dejected sigh because she really wasn’t solving her own dilemma, she stood and did what she’d originally come to do today. She extracted a small vial from her front pocket and removed the lid.
Lily sprinkled the tiny portion of her mother’s ashes in the water.
“Enjoy Bayfront, Mom.”
Then she returned to the mansion.
~ * * * ~
It wasn’t possible to turn off or even scale back the desire among Lily, Lex, and Jax, despite her reservations.
They wanted her. She wanted them.
And when it came to the two men, she apparently had zero willpower.
She forced herself to concentrate on her duties during the day. But the nights . . . ?
They were encore performances of their first time together.
Sometimes they’d sleep in Jax’s room. Sometimes Lex’s. Never hers, and she surmised that this was an alpha thing. They wanted her in their beds.
If Greta suspected anything, she wasn’t letting on. The other staff members weren’t around the three of them enough to pick up on any sexual vibes. Lily considered that all good and safe.
But she still had one lingering question rooted in her mind.
Was she falling in love?
Deep lust? Without doubt.
Deep like? Absolutely. It was unavoidable with these two.
But love?
It wouldn’t be a surprise.
Yet she forged on with her plans for the trip.
With her most recent paycheck, she could afford nice hotels, rather than the lower-budget ones. She booked her first-class seat on a flight. And felt a little thrill over it, not just because of the premium seating—but also because it’d be her first time on an airplane.
She perused the Internet when Lex and Jax were out of the mansion and found a travel group that arranged tours in the cities she intended to visit. So she wouldn’t have to be making the rounds all on her own.
Planning for Paris was incredibly fun and liberating. There was a dinner cruise down the Seine that she was interested in. A night tour of the palaces, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre—all the lights of Paris. And then there was Moulin Rouge. Lily and her mother had watched the movie with Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor and had decided it’d be a high point. So that was definitely a yes.
Her itinerary was solidly mapped out days later. And she was excited.
She was also excited about Lex’s and Jax’s hands and mouths on her every night when they weren’t off on business. Currently, they were in New York, nailing down studio time and booking musical venues. They were already scheduled for Carnegie Hall. That was basically mind boggling to Lily.
She was sleeping with two men who had played Carnegie Hall in the past and would be doing it again when the new CD released.
As Lily thought of this, she realized she’d come to accept that their time together was short-lived.
Perhaps fate had brought them together, for numerous reasons. Maybe for a little healing on Lex and Jax’s part. For hers, as well. Also as an eye-opener. Because Lily had been living her life with her head down and her nose to the grindstone. No distractions whatsoever.
But this distraction?
Priceless.
Though, inevitably . . . ?
Temporary.
~ * * * ~
Lex was in the music room the night after he and Jax returned from New York. They’d had a fantastic practice session at their recording studio of choice to ensure it was, indeed, the perfect facility for them. All good there. Then they’d wrapped up tour dates and venues. Everything was falling into place.
The only downside was that time was not on their side.
As it related to finishing the compositions, yes. Because they were now ahead of schedule.
As it related to Lily . . . ?
She’d be leaving the mansion soon. Spending the spring in Europe. They’d be off to New York, then playing all over the world.
He and Jax hadn’t really discussed this yet. But Lex sensed his friend struggled as much with the nights they spent away from her as Lex did.
He wasn’t sure what that meant.
Or . . . Maybe he actually did know. Deep down . . .
Joining him, Jax asked, “Where’s Lily?”
“Greta needed to borrow her.”
“Not all evening, I hope. We just got back.”
Lex grinned at his friend’s eagerness. “Not all evening. Only for a few minutes.”
“Good.” He went to his violins to tune them.
Lex revisited his earlier ruminations and said, “I need to talk to you about something.”
“Shoot.”
Lex stood, went for a scotch, then asked Jax, “Has it occurred to you that we’re writing music in tribute to Katarina, but it’s Lily who’s been providing the inspiration?”
Jax’s jaw tightened.
Lex pontificated further. “I watch you watch her, when you play. I watch her, too. And that’s when we have the ultimate harmony.”
Apparently, Jax needed a stiff drink for the conversation as well. Lex didn’t press him. Let him pour a brandy and take a few sips.
Jax appeared somewhat agitated with the subject matter. Or perhaps it was the answer he delivered that riled him.
Jax said, “Yes, it has occurred to me. More than that, though . . .” He let out a low groan.
Lex’s brow crooked. “I’m listening.”
Jax took a deep gulp, then continued. “There’s a bigger picture here. A much broader one. We should face the fact that we’re composing music for one woman while falling in love with another.”
He speared Lex with a look. One that dared him to deny it.
Lex couldn’t. Though he posed a very delicate question. “So what is this CD really about?”
Jax didn’t even hesitate. “Call it releasing the ghost.”
Lex set his cocktail aside. “Jax, we’re talking about—”
“I know what we’re talking about,” he asserted. “A woman who has haunted us for seven years. A woman who has pretty much made it impossible for us to move on romantically. Even separately from each other. Sure, we’ve both screwed around over the years, following Katarina. But it was just screwing around, Lex. Right?”
Shoving a hand through his hair, Lex concurred. “Yes. I became extremely good at one-night stands because I didn’t want any sort of commitment.”
“Well.” Jax gave him another steely stare. “What we have with Lily has gone beyond a one-night stand. What we have with Lily is—”
“Jax, she’s leaving,” he stressed. “Do I like it? No. But it’s a fact. And we can’t stop her. Not when it’s so important to her. Not when it’s been a part of her life plan since she was a kid. Not when it involves scattering her mother’s ashes. For fuck’s sake—who understands that better than two men paying tribute to the woman they once loved?”
Lex was tempted to reach for his scotch to help bring his blood pressure down a notch or two. But it might impair his good sense to the point that he changed his stance and convinced Jax they ought to talk Lily into staying.
The two men stared at each other. Neither one seemed to know what direction to take with this unexpected attraction.
No . . . this unexpected relationship.
Though Lex found himself saying, “We have to consider that—”
“Good evening, you two.”
Lily swept into the room.
And that changed the entire dynamic.