Perception (20 page)

“That is
not what happened, and you know it,” Shane argued with a choked laugh. “She
was… Shit. I don’t even know what she was after. I could see it in her eyes,
she wanted me laid out like a platter, and I got the feeling she wanted to
feast on my blood.”

Xander
laughed. The stories Shane told about the subs he encountered never ceased to
entertain him and the others. He was pretty sure that Trent hung on to every
single word Shane spoke, like he was some sort of Dom god or something.

“Did she?
Lay you out like a meal?” Tag Murphy asked from where he relaxed in one of the
leather chairs, a glass of Hennessy in his hand.

“Not a
chance,” Shane bolstered. “I didn’t run,” he said, glaring at Xander before
turning back to Tag, “no matter what anyone might tell you. However, I did walk
fast. That woman scared the shit out of me.”

A round
of laughter echoed in the small area.

They’d
gathered at
X-hale
as was their ritual on the third Thursday of every
month. Xander owned the upscale cigar bar, but he didn’t run it. He left that
to John Rhinehart. And he didn’t regret it either.

He’d much
rather enjoy his time there, not worried about whether it was being run the way
it should. In turn, he paid John well to manage the place.

John was
adamant that their clientele was high class, which meant their membership fees
were astronomical to ensure they kept it that way. And in turn, they stayed
relatively busy with the upper crust males who sought just a few hours of time
to themselves. Usually during the week.

This
specific night was closed to the public because Xander reserved the place. The
entire bar didn’t hold many people, catering to a maximum of thirty at any
given time. And that was if the poker room in the back was at capacity.

Tonight,
they weren’t playing poker. Instead, the entire group, including a new face
Xander hadn’t seen before had gathered just to chat. Luke and Logan McCoy had
arrived, along with Cole Ackerley, Alex McDermott, Tag Murphy, Trent Ramsey,
Shane Gibson, and the newcomer, Elijah Penn.

Pretty
much the same core group that gathered every month to enjoy cigars and a little
top shelf liquor. Because Xander had wanted to discuss some business, he’d
informed Trent to limit his monthly guests. The man knew more people than the
rest of them put together, and he was bringing someone else into the fold.

Tonight,
Trent had introduced Elijah Penn, Senior Vice President of Global Sales for a
company that boasted to be the industry leader in storage and server
virtualization. Logan McCoy’s ears had perked up at the title; that was for
damn sure. Xander didn’t doubt that Elijah was some big wig at a Fortune 500
company. The people Trent knew were usually at the top of their industry,
whatever that might be.

After the
initial introductions were made, Xander had noticed that Logan and Elijah had
sparked up a conversation. Apparently they knew of one another because of their
close business ties. They’d never officially met, or so Xander had overheard.
Up until Shane started telling his latest tale, the two men had been engrossed
in a rather animated conversation, clearly having hit it off.

At the
moment, everyone had migrated to the lounge area, filling the chairs that
formed a wide circle. Luke and Cole were the only two standing, and they were
propped near the wall closest to the group. There were a couple of side
conversations, but for the most part, the discussion had eased back as a whole.

“So, are
you a member of Devotion?” Alex McDermott asked, his question seemingly
directed at Elijah. It had to be since Alex would know that the rest of them
were members, if not financial backers.

“I am,”
Elijah confirmed. “As of a week ago, they accepted my application and I was
able to attend opening night. I was not, however, able to make it last night.”
He went on to explain in the slightest hint of a British accent.

According
to Trent’s earlier introduction, Elijah had been in the United States for
roughly two decades. At forty-two years old, Elijah Penn spent the majority of
his time working, which involved a significant amount of travelling all over
the world. He had enlightened them with a little of his history, also informing
them that he routinely went back to visit his aging parents. He had, however,
assured them that he considered Dallas his home. That had been his excuse for
many of his “American-isms” anyway.

“Are you
planning to attend later this week?” It was Logan’s turn to ask a question and
Xander glanced over at him, then peered at Elijah for a response.

Xander
wasn’t privy to the applications that were submitted, but he knew if he wanted
to he could get his hands on them. Based on Logan’s sudden interest in Elijah’s
attendance, he figured Logan was interested in getting his hands on it as well.

“I’ll be
out of the country until early Sunday,” Elijah informed them. “However, I hope
to make it there on Monday.”

Logan
nodded. “I’d like to introduce you to my wife.”

“I’d like
that very much.”

Elijah
and
Samantha
? It was obvious which direction Logan was heading, but
Xander tossed around the idea in his head for a moment. “Are you into
threesomes?” Xander asked Elijah bluntly.

Elijah
didn’t seem at all put off by the question. “As a matter of fact, I am,” he
answered easily. “Why? Are you offering to include me?”

Xander
laughed stiffly. “Not a chance.” Xander had no intention of sharing Mercedes,
but he knew for a fact that Logan was interested in pursuing something that
might have some lasting benefits. He’d known from the beginning that suggesting
Logan and Sam might find some interest in BDSM was a gamble. But it had
provided him an opportunity to get cozy with Mercedes, and he’d taken it. Yes,
he was a manipulative bastard when he needed to be. “But definitely good
information to have.”

“Are you
married?” Shane asked casually.

“Thirteen
years this month,” Elijah confirmed.

Everyone’s
attention turned to him. That would’ve had Elijah married sometime in his late
twenties if Xander’s math were correct. But what Xander couldn’t wrap his head
around was that he was married, but he was interested in a threesome with other
couples? There was no way Logan had understood Elijah’s situation correctly if
he wanted to introduce this guy to Sam.

“I met
Beth through a business conference when I was fresh out of college. She stole
my breath the moment I saw her. I pursued her for three years before I finally
wore her down and convinced her to marry me,” Elijah explained with a huge
grin. “Of course, she wasn’t the type of woman to ever jump into anything, so
she insisted on a long engagement. Two years later we were married.”

Everyone’s
attention was focused on Elijah. Xander watched him carefully. The man wasn’t
disguising just how much he loved his wife.

“My Beth
passed away four years ago,” Elijah told them when no one said a word, anguish
dripping from every word. “As far as I’m concerned, we’re still married. We
always will be.”

You
could’ve heard a pin drop.

“I’m
sorry for your loss,” Cole added, taking a step closer to Luke as he did.

“Thank
you. We were together for a very long time. As you can imagine, you don’t get
over the love of your life. And I have no intention of replacing her.”

Shane
nodded as though he understood. Xander didn’t. Nod that is. He had a good idea
of what Elijah was saying. He wasn’t sure he’d ever get over Mercedes if
something were to happen to her. God willing, he would never have to.

He didn’t
care if they were together for five days or fifty years. The woman was seared
into his soul at this point, even if she didn’t know it.

But after
last night…

“How’s
Dylan?” Luke asked, gently changing the subject and directing his question at
Alex, who was standing nearby.

While the
others picked up the conversation, Xander watched Elijah for a moment longer.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t fathom what the man must’ve gone
through or the pain he must’ve suffered from losing the one person who would
forever hold his heart.

Xander
shook off the thought and then turned his attention to the explanation Alex was
giving. Dylan Thomas was doing better. Not great, but better, Alex said.

The
depression he’d been living under since his wife passed away from cancer nine
years ago had taken a drastic turn after his son graduated from high school
last year.

From what
Xander understood, Dylan felt as though he wasn’t needed anymore now that his
children were practically grown, despite the fact that everyone, including his
children, tried to convince him otherwise.

Xander
knew that people handled grief in many different ways. Such as Elijah
continuing to celebrate his anniversary every year and still wearing what
appeared to be his wedding band on his left hand. Or Dylan, who had never
managed to find himself after spending so many years taking care of others.

“She died
from cancer,” Alex was saying.

“My Beth
did as well. Brain cancer. She battled for two very long years before the good
Lord decided it was time.”

“Dylan
hasn’t been able to move forward. We all understand that he’ll never let her
go. We don’t expect him to,” Alex told Elijah. “But we want him to accept that
he has to keep on living. His sister Ashleigh, my fiancé, tries to get him to
talk, but he doesn’t open up much.”

“It’s
difficult to move forward. I understand where he’s coming from. But, in the
same regard, we each have to find something that will keep us content in the
meantime,” Elijah agreed.

Xander
felt all eyes on him. Apparently the conversation had taken a turn they weren’t
all comfortable with, so they were probably looking to him to save them all.

“So,
Logan,” Xander began, realizing it was time to liven things up, “do you know
anyone seeking a CEO position?”

And just
like that, the conversation moved to business.

~~**~~**~~

“Oh. My.
God. Do people really buy this stuff?” Ashleigh exclaimed as they perused the
aisle of the sex shop that Mercedes considered the “less than desirables”. The
particular item Ashleigh was referring to was known as an anal toss ring. And
it was exactly what you would expect it to be. An anal plug with a stem that
would… yeah. Needless to say, if you want to stand across the room and toss
rings, you now have a target to hit.

“That’s
funny,” McKenna said with a laugh.

Mercedes
had had the pleasure of talking to McKenna in depth at the bar they’d met at an
hour before. They had only been talking for five minutes when they hit it off.

“But I
happen to like this one,” McKenna told them, picking up a large box. “It’s an
Area 51 blow up doll.”

“A what?”
Ashleigh asked incredulously.

“It’s an
alien blow up doll,” Samantha informed Ashleigh.

Mercedes
laughed at the outrageous expression on the pregnant woman’s face. She kind of
found it difficult to believe that the woman wrote erotic romance and had
absolutely no idea about stuff like this.

These
were tame compared to some of the things Mercedes had seen, but she didn’t say
as much. For the time being, she was just enjoying their enthusiasm.

When she
had arrived at the bar, Mercedes hadn’t been sure what to expect. She’d met
Sam, and she’d had a brief introduction to Sierra at the opening of Devotion,
but tonight was the first time she had been introduced to McKenna and Ashleigh.
Her stomach had been in a knot when she first arrived, but it hadn’t taken long
before they loosened her up with the banter between them. It was clear that
this group of women were close to one another.

They’d
practically absorbed Mercedes right into the fold without question.

“It has
three boobs,” Ashleigh told them.

“And
don’t forget the three love holes,” McKenna added with a snicker.

“Look at
this,” Samantha called from a few feet away. “It’s called a happy hopper.”

“Oh, God.
That’s hilarious,” Sierra said as she broke out into giggles and moved past
them.

“What do
you do with it?” Ashleigh asked.

“You sit
on it. And… hop.”

McKenna
laughed outrageously as Ashleigh stared in disbelief at the giant blow up ball
that was equipped with three different size dildos attached to the top.

“Hey,
you’ve got to see this stuff,” Sierra called from the next aisle over.

Mercedes
followed the rest of them as they maneuvered through the store, picking up and
giggling at several more of the items on the shelf before making their way over
to Sierra.

Ahh, yes.
The BDSM aisle.

Sam
glanced over at Mercedes, their eyes connecting briefly before Sam looked away,
trying to hide a smile.

“This is
some serious stuff,” Sierra said as she picked up a box. “It’s called The
Humiliator.”

“Do
people really use this stuff?” Ashleigh asked again.

“They
do,” Mercedes assured them. Granted, she didn’t know anyone who used a ball gag
with a toilet brush attached to the end, but to each his own. “As for that, I’m
sure someone has had endless hours of pleasure.”

They all
laughed, just as she expected they would.

“Have you
used any of these things?” Sam asked, her tone more serious than before.

“All the
time. I’m frequently encouraging my subs to think outside of the box.”

“Your
subs?” Sam asked, her eyes wide. “But I thought –”

“That’s what
Xander wanted you to think,” Mercedes said before Sam finished.

“So
you’re not a submissive?”

“No, not
by a long shot.”