Paint

by Becca Jameson

  Drinks in hand, they made their way through the crowded bar to the dance floor. They set their glasses on the ledge beside the floor and squeezed into the throng.

  Ava immediately wrapped her arms around Luke’s neck and hauled him in close. “You’re cute.”

  He tried not to wince. Cute was not a word he found to be a compliment. Unless it came out of Olivia’s lips.

  The music was loud, and even when it switched to a slower song, it was still obnoxious.

  Ava pressed her body into his. Her hands lowered from his shoulders to his lower back until the tips of her fingers toyed with his ass. She let her eyes close halfway, swaying to the song as though it was her favorite.

  Luke held her stiffly. She didn’t do it for him. She was young. Sweet. Cute. Too cute. She wasn’t Olivia. She didn’t have that spark. She didn’t make his cock jump to attention and take notice like Nathan did. Nathan… God, Luke missed the way the man looked at him, as though he wanted to eat him.

  When the song ended, Luke made an excuse about needing to use the restroom and slipped away. He didn’t even take his drink. He headed toward the entrance and stepped outside.

  The second he emerged into the fresh outdoor air, a hand landed on his forearm.

  Luke turned around to find a guy several inches taller than him eyeing him speculatively. “Sorry. I was watching you.”

  Luke opened his mouth, but he couldn’t think of anything to say.

  “You’re gay, right?” The guy shuffled his feet and released Luke’s arm. “I mean, forgive me if I’m wrong. I’m not usually this bold, but I saw you with those women. They don’t do it for you.”

  Luke shook his head. He had no idea why.

  The man smiled. He was maybe a few years older than Luke. He was slim and fit and…green. He glanced at the ground. “You want to get a coffee or something? I’ve had more than my share of alcohol to drink.” He lifted his gaze.

  Luke nodded.

  “I’ll drive.” The guy nodded toward the parking lot, and Luke found himself following the man. He was certainly more drawn to this tall man than either of the women he’d spoken to. He relaxed marginally.

  “I’m Jesse,” he said as he pushed the button on his key fob. The older blue Honda Accord in front of Luke lit up with flashing rear lights as the doors unlocked.

  “Mark.” Luke continued with the fake identification. Why not?

  When they were both inside the car, Jesse turned to Luke and twisted his body. “I can’t really drink caffeine at this hour. Can you?”

  Luke shook his head.

  Jesse leaned forward slowly, eyeing Luke speculatively.

  When their lips were inches apart, Luke took the initiative and closed the distance. The only man Luke had ever kissed was Nathan.

  Jesse reached with his left hand and grabbed Luke’s neck. He immediately deepened the kiss, his lips rough, his tongue sloppy as though he were desperate.

  Luke closed his eyes and fought the urge to flee. Give this a chance.

  The kiss intensified, at least for Jesse, whose breathing was loud and distinct. When Jesse reached across the center console and set his hand on Luke’s thigh, Luke flinched.

  He set his own palm on top of Jesse’s, unwilling to let the man run his hand up to grasp Luke’s cock. He wasn’t hard like he immediately was every time he was with Nathan and Olivia. His dick was flaccid and uninterested.

  The kiss was okay, but there were no sparks.

  Luke broke the connection. He met Jesse’s confused gaze and then sat back, flopping his head against the headrest and sighing. “Sorry, man. I guess I’m just tired.”

  Jesse hesitated, and then he shrugged, probably out of embarrassment. “It’s okay. I hear ya. It’s been a long week.” He turned to face the windshield. “Maybe I’ll see you here next weekend?”

  Luke turned toward Jesse and forced a smile. “Yeah. Sounds good.” He twisted toward his side of the car and opened the door. When he climbed out of the car, he couldn’t bring himself to lean back inside to say goodbye. He simply shut the door and nearly jogged across the parking lot.

  He didn’t live far away. He’d walked. He simply wanted to go home and lick his wounds. Dammit. All he could think about was Olivia and Nathan.

  What the hell was wrong with him?

  Chapter Ten

  The knock on his studio apartment door startled Luke out of his half-ass nap. He’d shut his eyes because exhaustion weighed heavily on his lids, but like every time he’d tried to sleep in the three days since Olivia and Nathan walked away from him at the Loft, his head buzzed in worry.

  He stumbled to the door and pulled it open, dropping his mouth in shock to see Father George in front of him. Oh crap. This is it.

  “Father George?”

  “Luke, I was wondering if the two of us might talk.”

  Luke held open his door and gestured for the Father to come inside. “Can I get you some tea or water?”

  Father George shook his head and took a seat. “I’ve been hoping this thing between you and those two people I saw you with would be a passing phase. You’ve returned to church, and I’d hoped that perhaps you would find your way again. But from your confessions, I’m gathering it’s not going away so easily.”

  Luke remained silent.

  “It’s a sin, as you know. I know you know because I hear it in your voice every week at confession. This isn’t something God intended for you.”

  Luke nodded his head numbly. “Of course.” Was it really a sin, though? Just because the Catholic Church had filled him with a lifetime of guilt by providing him with a long list of sins… Was it possible the church didn’t have all the answers? Could something feel this right to a person and still be a sin? He wasn’t hurting anyone. He didn’t kill, steal, commit adultery… He was in a consensual relationship with two adults. How was that so wrong?

  Father George exhaled a long breath. “How much do you know about these people?”

  Luke swallowed past the thick lump in his throat. “Enough.”

  Father George studied Luke for too long. Luke glanced away. “There’s temptation everywhere, Luke. Around every corner. We’re constantly being given choices to alter our paths, go the wrong way, step away from God. This fellow and his girlfriend, they are temptation, but they aren’t good for you.”

  “How do you know?” Luke asked, suddenly finding his voice. “Maybe God put them in front of me because he knew I needed them. That they were meant for me.”

  Father George scoffed. “Certainly not. They’re temptation. They’re sins of the flesh personified. They’re your test.”

  Luke couldn’t feel his hands now. The cold numbness had moved upward from his feet and was almost at his neck. “I think you should go, Father.”

  “Luke,” Father George said, reaching a hand out. “Pray about this. Come to church. Think about this choice of yours and open yourself up for an honest discussion about it. I’ve known you since you were an infant. They have known you a month. My concern comes from a place of deep affection.”

  Luke nodded and stood, holding open the door so Father George understood he needed to leave. When the Father squeezed his shoulder, Luke almost brushed his hand away. But he didn’t. Father George had known him a long time. And he’d always looked after him and steered him right.

  So why did it feel so incredibly wrong not to be with Nathan and Olivia?

  •●•

  “It’s been five days,” Olivia pouted from her perch on the velvet couch next to Nathan. “Five fucking days. I can’t take it anymore, mi amor. We’re going to get him.”

  She rose, but Nathan swooped his arm around her waist and pulled her back down. “Calm down. He needs to come to us. We’ve agreed to that.”

  She sighed in exasperation. “More like we’ve taken turns holding each other to that. I’m tired of waiting. Maybe we got this all wrong. Maybe he needs to talk everything out with us, not have us distract him from his problems. This week has been
horrible. I’ve been a huge asshole to everyone at work. Yesterday, I snapped at a customer because she couldn’t decide between hats. Hats, for fuck’s sake!”

  “I hope she went with the red one…”

  “Don’t joke. This is unbearable. We need Luke. Both of us do. It’s affecting everything; you know we’re both not all there in bed.”

  Nathan curled a strand of her hair around his finger and rubbed her neck with his other hand. She let herself relax a small amount. “I know, Livi baby, I know. I miss him too. We both aren’t great with patience, but this needs to be his decision.”

  She leaned her head back into his shoulder, blinking away tears of frustration. “Do you think we screwed it up by pushing him too hard too fast with the sex stuff?”

  Nathan shrugged. “I’m not sure. But I don’t think that’s it. I think he’s just conflicted. He has a lot on his plate.”

  “Are you really certain? About him being the right third for us, I mean? He seemed so angry when we showed up at the Loft.”

  “Of course I’m certain. He needs us. We need him. He’s being ridiculous, but he hasn’t used his out clause so I don’t think we need to throw in the towel yet.”

  “What if he does?”

  “Don’t do that, Livi. It’s very unlike you. Since I’ve known you, you’ve made life happen on your terms. You’re like me. You don’t take no for an answer. It’s half of why I fell in love with you.”

  She leaned forward and gave him a kiss, his mouth opening to her immediately. “What’s the other half?” she asked when she pulled away.

  Nathan slipped his hands down her back. “Your incredible ass and cursed tits.”

  She laughed loud and straddled his hips, grinding against him. “Well, my incredible ass and cursed tits think you should…”

  She was interrupted by a knock at the door. She and Nathan exchanged a glance, and then Olivia got up to answer it. Luke stood in the hall, his head bowed like it had been the first night he came over.

  “Luke,” she whispered—a plea and a blessing at the same time. “You’ve come back to us.”

  Luke stepped into the room and looked at Nathan. “I need something from you, Sir.”

  Nathan’s eyebrows winged up. “I take it this has to do with you calling me Sir?”

  Luke nodded.

  “Do you think we should talk first?” Olivia asked, knowing they still had so much to figure out.

  “After…” Luke answered, and the desperate note in his voice was enough to dispel Olivia’s misgivings about their lack of communication.

  “Please,” he whispered and the raw need made Olivia ache down low in the bottom of her stomach.

  Nathan caught Olivia’s gaze and grinned. They’d talk later. Luke needed them now. She winked at Nathan and dropped to her knees.

  “What are you waiting for, boy? Join our girl on the floor.”

  •●•

  Luke kneeled next to Olivia. He needed this. Needed what these two could offer him. Needed everything they would give him. And he was scared out of his mind. It had taken every ounce of courage he had to ask Nathan for this, and even then, he hadn’t used precise words.

  Nathan circled slowly around them, his hand trailing across Luke’s shoulders and then Olivia’s.

  Olivia opened her mouth. Luke had begun to recognize the sound she made just before she spoke.

  Nathan stopped her. “Not now, Livi. This is my show, baby. Hold your tongue for once. Safe word or nothing, I mean it.”

  Olivia’s shoulders slumped next to Luke, making him glance her way.

  “I want to make this good for all three of us. We’ve been on edge for days. I want a scene none of us will soon forget.”

  “Yes, Sir. Please. I’d like that. I need—”

  Nathan leaned in front of Luke and cut him off, his face inches away. “I’ll decide what you need, Luke. You keep your mouth shut too. The amount of chatter while we’re having sex has begun to wear on my nerves.” He righted himself. “Both of you. Zip it.”

  Luke inhaled sharply. His cock stiffened at the commanding voice. Nathan had always been in charge. But this time he held a higher voice of authority than usual. Luke’s heart beat so hard he could feel it against his chest.

  “I want both of you to go to the bedroom and strip naked. Olivia, I want you on your back, spread open wide. Luke, I want you on your back next to Livi. No talking. This isn’t up for discussion.”

  Luke rose to his feet and followed Olivia from the room. The two exchanged a glance when they entered the bedroom, but surprisingly Olivia shed her clothes without a word and climbed onto the bed to spread out on one side, leaving room for Luke.

  Luke followed right behind her, his cock bouncing up and down as he settled on his back next to Olivia. His entire frame shook. Whatever Nathan had in mind, Luke was sure he intended to control their every move this time.

  Nathan stepped in the room and shed his clothes also, dropping them on the ground in a dramatic fashion, not rushing in the same manner Olivia and Luke had. This was Nathan’s game, his rules, his pace.

  When he finished getting undressed, he climbed onto the bed and kneeled between Luke and Olivia, his tall frame shoving them both a few inches farther apart.

  The first contact he made was to drag a hand down each of their faces and across their chests simultaneously until his fingers danced around each of their nipples. “Ah, Luke’s nipples are sensitive too, Livi. The tips are tight buds under my fingers.”

  Luke fought against a moan. They’d just started, and already he wanted more.

  Nathan didn’t oblige. Instead he extended his reach, tweaking Luke’s other nipple. He did the same to Olivia. She was the first to moan. But Luke had to give her credit for not speaking. He knew that task was nearly insurmountable for her.

  When Nathan’s fingers finally trailed down to stroke Luke’s cock, he gasped at the contact. He was so sensitive even the gentle graze of the tips of Nathan’s fingers made him want on a new level.

  Olivia squirmed at his side. Undoubtedly Nathan had used the same glancing touch to her pussy.

  “You’re both so obedient today. I’m proud of you.” His fingers continued to work their maddening magic until Luke wasn’t sure he could hold his tongue. And then Nathan’s hands disappeared.

  Before Luke knew what was happening, Nathan leaned across his body and opened the drawer of the bedside table. Nathan’s cock bobbed in front of Luke’s face, making him lick his lips. Nathan ignored him, grabbed several things from the drawer, and then set them one by one on the bed above Luke’s head where he couldn’t see them.

  He could imagine, though. The usual. Lube. Condoms. Dildos. Plugs. Any manner of objects seemed to emerge from that drawer.

  When he finished, Nathan finally dipped his head to meet Luke’s gaze. “You want a taste, baby?”

  Luke shivered at the endearment. Nathan called Olivia baby, but he hadn’t given Luke a nickname as yet. Luke felt the control over him in the one word, and he liked it. He nodded.

  Nathan gripped his cock in one hand and offered it to Luke, guiding the shaft to Luke’s lips and letting the head rub back and forth across Luke’s mouth.

  Luke reached out instinctively with his tongue, but he only got one swipe of Nathan’s come before Nathan pulled back.

  “Naughty boy. Tsk tsk.” Nathan shook his head. He turned toward Olivia next. “What about you? Think you can control yourself if I give you a taste?”

  Olivia didn’t make a sound. Amazingly.

  Nathan leaned over her next and repeated the action. When he sat back, he chuckled. “Neither of my submissives can control their tongues today.” He rested on his heels and immediately set his hand on Luke’s cock. Luke flinched at the sudden contact, his dick once again jumping to new stiffness. Nathan wrapped his palm around the shaft and lightly stroked, barely touching the skin, not enough to give Luke the relief he needed.

  He must have been doing something similar to Olivia, bec
ause she squirmed at Luke’s side.

  “Luke, baby, I want you desperate for me.”

  Luke didn’t see how he could be any needier.

  “Sit up and watch me fuck Livi.”

  Except that would do it. Luke struggled to pull himself to sitting, shifting his gaze to the dazed expression clouding Olivia’s face, her eyes glazed over, her mouth hanging open.

  “You may touch yourself, but don’t come. Just enjoy the show.” Nathan crawled between Olivia’s thighs, spread them wider, and slammed home, his cock imbedding itself deep inside her pussy in one thrust.

  Olivia screamed at the sudden intrusion.

  Luke stared at her face, so blatantly enjoying everything she got. He had begun to love the way Olivia was so wanton. She never held back. Her reactions were so genuine.

  Nathan thrust hard and fast, his brow tight as he fucked his woman.

  Luke could only watch, his own cock needy and stiff. He grabbed the shaft to jerk himself off, but found he preferred the touch of Olivia or Nathan. He didn’t want to come at his own hand. Instead he worked himself to the brink of frenzy as he watched.

  Olivia lifted and lowered her torso, meeting Nathan’s thrusts. She grabbed Nathan’s shoulders and squeezed so tight her knuckles turned white. She would leave marks on Nathan’s back from her nails. And Nathan wouldn’t care. Would Luke leave with marks all over him too? He wanted it, this one time. He needed it.

  Suddenly, Nathan pulled out just as fast as he’d entered.

  Olivia gasped. “No.” She shook her head, her eyes wide.

  “Ah ah ah,” Nathan admonished. “No talking.”

  He turned his gaze toward Luke who also couldn’t believe the change in events.

  “You’re turn, Luke. I want you to fuck our girl.” Nathan climbed to Olivia’s other side, handed Luke a condom, and nodded to the space left between her legs.

  Luke scrambled to take up where Nathan had left off, ripping into the foil pack and donning the rubber in record time. They’d offered for him to go bare. Olivia was on the pill and they all were STD-free, but every time Luke considered it, he thought of the ‘what ifs’ and couldn’t stomach the idea of getting Olivia pregnant. He wasn’t ready to be a father. Didn’t know if he ever would be.