As soon as he’d gone into business with Michael and Patrick, it was like they’d decided—as a whole—that he was part of them. Well, everyone except Olivia, but even she didn’t try to remove him. She just wasn’t as warmly welcoming as everyone else.

His phone started to buzz in his hand and loudly blare Papa Roach’s version of Alien Ant Farm, making him jump a little, scattering some of his handful of popcorn. Still, he couldn’t help smiling as he pressed the green ‘accept call’ button.

“Hey asshole.”

“Hey bitch.” His brother’s deep voice was cheerful. “How’s tricks?”

Luke groaned, leaning his head back. He’d told his brother what was going on. Nick was basically his best friend as well as being his sibling. “It backfired. Sort of. I don’t know.” He paused. “Instead of pairing herself with me for the class, she put me with a bisexual male Dom.”

“I cannot wait to meet this woman.” Nick chuckled, sounding almost gleeful. He was going to be the executive chef at Marquis (not because Luke was an owner; Nick had earned the position on his own) but so far had yet to actually be in the building at the same time as Olivia. Of course, now that the upstairs was complete, Olivia would be on the premises a lot more, and even though she wasn’t going to have much to do with the first floor where the restaurant was, a meeting was inevitable.

The smile on Luke’s face turned into a grin. “She’s pretty amazing.”

Upsetting each other’s expectations was fun. He definitely hadn’t seen Kincaid coming. But she hadn’t seen him choosing to submit to Kincaid so easily either. Granted, she made it easy for him. He honestly wasn’t sure what he would have done if she’d asked for an actual spanking demonstration. Taken it, probably, to prove to her he would... but he couldn’t imagine it being particularly enjoyable.

Instead, she’d backed off.

Although, he didn’t feel like she’d retreated. Just that she wasn’t going to push for something he might actually be uncomfortable with. Everyone knew Olivia took care of the people under her care, and that now included him. Which was a nice feeling. He liked the idea of being under her care just as much as he liked the idea of taking care of her needs.

Symbiosis was sexy.