Paint by Becca Jameson and Paige Michaels

keep things simple, and that seemed like the best way. And here he was again doing it with Luke, though this time his offer came with a hundred misgivings. Luke wasn’t nearly as open or as easy to read as his Livi. Luke didn’t share his life story with anyone who cared to listen the way Olivia did. But Nathan knew the out clause would make Luke feel more secure. And he wanted that for his boy.
    “What’s the out clause word?”
    Olivia put her hands over her ears and said, “Moisture.”
    Nathan laughed, and Luke gave him a curious look. “Livi thinks the word is gross. She’d never use it. I’d never use it. Things are damp or wet. She uses lotion on her skin. The M-word is for the out clause use only.”
    Luke tipped his head back and laughed, and Nathan was struck again by how beautiful he could be when his face opened up with honest emotion, not guarded like he most often was. Luke would be a project for both of them. Sure, they could pull the realness out of him in bed, but to capture that authenticity outside of it. To get his pure and honest emotions to live on the surface of him, that would take a lot of coaxing.
    “Okay,” Luke said finally. “We have an out clause. Anything else? Do you need to know my hard limits or anything?”
    Nathan grinned. “Do you know what your hard limits are?”
    Luke blushed and looked down. “Not exactly.”
    Olivia walked to him and put her arms around his waist, tucking herself in beautifully. The two of them were gorgeous together, and Nathan couldn’t wait to have at them both.
    “Don’t worry, little Jedi, we’ll figure it out together.”

Chapter Seven
    Luke took a deep breath and pulled away from Olivia’s hug, his heart tight and uncertain as to the next steps of this relationship. He glanced around their apartment. It was much more colorful and hodge-podge than Julian and Morgan’s. Full of bright Frida Kahlo prints and walls painted red and purple and deep gold. He’d been so nervous last night with them, he hadn’t really processed how much of the apartment screamed Olivia. Like walking inside her brain. There was a bookshelf along one wall with several pictures of Nathan and Olivia. Luke squinted his eyes at a framed set of four photo-booth pictures, realizing Olivia was in an increasing state of dishevelment with each picture, Nathan’s hands pulling at her clothes. They had an open kitchen, and Luke noticed a stack of dishes in the sink and Chinese stir-fry boxes left out. His instinct made him want to go put them away. Seal them up for lunch for the rest of the week. Takeout was such an indulgence on his budget.
    The apartment was mostly hardwood flooring, but Nathan and Olivia had covered it with bright rugs. The whole place was cozy, and for a second, he imagined himself there, part of it, making dinner with them, leaving for work together. God, he wanted that. But he couldn’t let himself hope. Not so soon. Not with so many questions swirling around his brain. He’d just met them. This could all blow up in smoke.
    His hands shook as he moved to undo the zipper on his coat before Nathan stopped him.
    “Keep your coat on. Livi, go get dressed. The red dress with the short, flowy skirt, thigh-high stockings, no panties, and those black fuck-me boots.”
    Olivia nodded and pranced toward the bedroom, humming “Sexy Back” as she went.
    “Are we going somewhere?”
    Nathan studied him again. The way the sexy man kept doing that was unnerving, almost as if he could crawl inside Luke’s mind and see everything he was thinking and feeling. “You’re going to church tomorrow? For the first time in a while?”
    Luke nodded.
    “Okay, well then, we need to have some fun tonight. Outside of the house. Give you something really good to confess.”
    Heat flared on Luke’s cheeks. Of course. He should have expected Nathan to understand why he wanted to go to St. Jude’s, why he needed to go.
    Nathan tipped Luke’s chin up and kissed him softly, his