Perception (29 page)

And he
got a sinking feeling that was exactly what Mercedes intended to do tonight. It
might not have been her initial plan, but it was just something she would do.

Mercedes
turned her attention to Clarissa directly. “Do you understand what’s going on
here tonight?”

 “I’m
sorry?” Clarissa asked, clearly confused by Mercedes’s question.

“Tonight
isn’t what you think,” Mercedes stated clearly. “I know that you’ve always
known Xander to be a Dom.”

“Two
Doms?” Clarissa looked incredibly curious, and maybe a little confused.

“Not
tonight, no. Tonight Xander belongs to me.”

“I’m not
sure I understand.”

“We’ve
been,” Mercedes looked up at Xander with a mischievous gleam in her eyes,
“experimenting lately.”

Yeah,
experimenting his ass. The woman was submissive, even if she was in denial.

He kept
his mouth shut.

“What
does that mean?” Clarissa asked, biting her lower lip as she glanced between
him and Mercedes.

“It means
that tonight, I’m in charge.”

“Oh.”

“But, I’m
all for having you participate if it’s something you think you can handle.”

Clarissa
stared at Mercedes as though she’d just been tossed down a rabbit hole, and she
had no idea what was reality and what was fantasy.

“Can you
handle it, Rissa?”

Clarissa
glanced over at Shane, who was clearly amused by the situation. Xander did his
best not to fist his hands at his sides. He was here to play along. That was
the agreement and by God, if it fucking killed him, he would play along.

“I think
I can handle it,” she said, her attention back on Mercedes.

Xander
shook his head to let her know that was not the answer Mercedes would want, but
at this point, it didn’t matter. The statement was out there, and Mercedes
would likely inform her of her mistake.

“I’m
going to be lenient with you tonight, Rissa. Only because you’re not used to
seeing Xander like this.  For tonight, you’ll address me as your Domme.”

Clarissa
looked up at Shane, who nodded in response. So the man was willing to play
along. He’d loan out his temporary submissive just to watch Xander squirm.

And
Xander knew without a doubt that whatever was going on between Shane and
Clarissa was temporary. There was no way in hell Shane would share a sub if
he’d staked a claim on her.

But then
again, the woman Shane wanted wasn’t a sub, which meant for the time being, he
was still pretending he didn’t care.

“When I
ask a question, I expect a straight answer,” Mercedes continued. “Yes or no
would suffice. So, which will it be?”

Clarissa
looked completely taken aback by the stern tone of Mercedes’s voice. Yep, that
was her Domme side coming out in full force, something Clarissa probably wasn’t
at all used to. At least not having it directed at her. However, Xander was
familiar with it, even if he wasn’t used to being on the receiving end.

To his
astonishment, Clarissa responded. “Yes. I think I can handle it,” she said, her
voice quavering slightly.

Wrong
answer again. Xander fought the urge to smile.

“You can
refer to me as Mistress M or Ma’am. Say it, Rissa. Say ‘yes, Mistress M’.”

“Yes,
Mistress M,” Clarissa repeated, her eyes glued to the woman in front of her.
Thankfully Mercedes was facing away from him because he did grin.

He found
it amusing, the easy way Clarissa submitted. She was a natural. Even if she was
a little too agreeable most of the time. That was one of the main things that
drove him crazy about some of the trainees at Kink, they acted like whipping
posts. Then again, there were some on the opposite end of the spectrum who
wouldn’t know how to submit if they spent a year in the role.

Clarissa
was a natural submissive, one who enjoyed the role. Xander figured it had a lot
to do with her high powered career. She was always in control in the courtroom,
so in the bedroom, she’d easily hand over the reins, letting someone take over.

To each
his own and all that.

Xander
noticed the way Shane’s hand tightened on Clarissa’s hip, his eyes on Mercedes.
It surprised Xander somewhat. The man didn’t seem to have a problem handling
Clarissa, but it didn’t appear he was quite as excited as he let on about
letting Mercedes take control.

Welcome
to my world, Gibson.

Xander
couldn’t wait to see how that was going to work out.

~~*~~*~~

Mercedes
watched Clarissa, noticed the way her eyes dilated as the woman stood
motionless in front of her. This was her good friend. A woman she knew to be
submissive because she’d seen her interact with Shane and a couple of other
Doms at Kink in the years since she’d met her, but never had she been a part of
a scene with her.

Then
again, Mercedes didn’t act out scenes with female submissives. At least not
unless they’d done something that would earn them a punishment from her. And
that was very rare.

But this…
it was going to be interesting to say the least.

There was
excitement banked in Clarissa’s light brown eyes, but there was something else
as well. Trepidation, maybe? Figuring she’d leave Clarissa in suspense for a
minute, she turned her attention to Shane, who stood rigidly behind her.

“Do you
think you can handle this tonight?” She directed the question at him this time.

If his
posture were anything to go by, the man was going to take his sub and run as
fast as he possibly could away from her.

And that
was all right too. She wasn’t going to push them. Sometimes it was easier to
think that men could wield the power better than a woman. Then again, Shane had
seen her in action, which, quite possibly, might be the cause for his
uneasiness.

“If Rissa
is open to the idea, I’m game,” he answered easily, his tone belying the
tension she could see in his shoulders beneath that black button down.

Mercedes
hadn’t planned for this. After all, Xander was supposed to be her quest for the
night, but she had to admit, the idea of dominating Clarissa had a lot of
merit. For one, it would give her a chance to express her dominating side which
had laid dormant for too many days now. But it would ensure she didn’t have to
see that void she feared she would see in Xander’s eyes if she looked too
closely.

Not to
mention, it might help to put a little distance between her and the inconvenient
feelings she was beginning to develop for Xander. The ones that continued to
grow stronger with each passing minute.

Just like
Xander, Shane wasn’t in the least bit submissive and the worst part of all of
this, she knew at some point, she was probably going to have to hand over the
reins to him – at least where Clarissa was concerned. Mercedes wasn’t all that
fond of co-topping. She preferred to keep everything within her realm of
control.

But then
again, she hadn’t expected to enjoy being Xander’s submissive. And she did,
even if she wouldn’t admit it out loud. So maybe she would learn something else
about herself tonight.

Glancing
back at Clarissa, Mercedes decided right then and there that she was going to
keep an open mind about tonight. This was playtime. It was fun. She refused to
let her emotions lead her. Not tonight. To see this woman bend to her will was
going to be something. It was a challenge that she would grab hold of with both
hands.

A scene
from a few years ago came back to her. One she’d witnessed at Kink. Shane and
another Dom had dominated a sub – per the sub’s request. They’d sandwiched her
between them and made her come so loudly, Mercedes was surprised the windows
hadn’t rattled. At the time, she had been impressed.

The
thought gave her pause.

No, she
wouldn’t allow things to go that far. She certainly wasn’t going to share
Xander with Clarissa. Not like that anyway. A little touching, a little oral…
yeah, she could handle that.

So, sure,
maybe she was having doubts on her ability to dominate Xander, or even her
desire to, but she damn sure liked the idea of blowing Xander’s mind.

It would
be a true test – both hers and his.

Tonight
appeared to have taken on a new agenda and Mercedes was ok with that. This was
no longer about dominating Xander; it was about showing Clarissa exactly what
it meant to obey a Mistress, not just a Master. Mercedes had earned the respect
of her peers, and although Xander had effectively stripped her of her control
on more than one occasion, she needed a reminder that she was still in charge.

“X,
please take Rissa to the room, and Shane and I will be there shortly,” she
instructed, her eyes still fixated on Clarissa.

Her
friend nodded slightly, her utter and complete submission apparent. She was a
willing participant, which amped up Mercedes’s excitement. If nothing else, she
was going to have fun tonight.

When the
two of them walked away a moment later, Clarissa’s arm linked in Xander’s much
larger one, Mercedes turned her attention to Shane, but kept her eyes trained
on the couple as they retreated.

“Well,
this is a surprise,” Shane said with a gruff chuckle, sounding much more
relaxed than he had a moment ago.

Mercedes
smiled at him as she turned back to face him fully. “Not what you expected, I
take it?”

“In more
ways than one.” Shane laughed, a sexy rumble that made Mercedes understand just
what Clarissa saw in the man.

Although
she’d never had a personal attraction to him, she wouldn’t deny that he was one
damn fine looking man. Blond hair, blue eyes, great body. He was definitely
attractive. Way better than average in her opinion. And he clearly enjoyed
playtime with his submissives which told her a lot.

“How the
hell did this come about?” Shane asked.

“It’s
just temporary,” she explained, not sure how much she should share with him.
She wasn’t sure how much Xander had shared with him. “If you know Xander, you
know he’s always up for a challenge. Apparently this was his way of rattling
the cage if you will.”

“I’d say
he succeeded. I had no idea.” Shane laughed again.

“Does
that mean you’re good with this? You’re open to whatever I want to do?”

“If
Clarissa is, I’m game. I think she’s open to a lot of things. She wants to
learn more, to explore what all of this means.”

“Well, if
you don’t mind me saying, she couldn’t have better teachers. I’m sure you’ve
taught her plenty, but you have to admit, Xander’s something else,” Mercedes
told him. “But tonight, she’ll get to see it from two separate points of view.”

“Shit,
I’m interested in seeing it from your point of view.”

“Just
remember, tonight Xander is a full-fledged submissive, which means he’ll be
relinquishing all of his decision making to me. Don’t look to him as the Dom.”

“No
worries there,” he grinned. “Dressed like that, I’d never take him for anything
other than a submissive.”

Mercedes
smiled. Xander did look damn fine with her collar around his neck. “Trust me, I
don’t think it’ll be easy, but I assure you, I’ve got a plan. If everyone can
remember that this is all about pleasure, we won’t have any problems.”

“I don’t
think Rissa will have a problem understanding that.”

“Well, if
the look in her eyes is anything to go by, I think she’s going to do just fine.
And trust me, Shane, I’m going to go easy on her.” She didn’t bother to tell
him she was going to go light because she knew Xander wasn’t eager to
participate, or that she was beginning to doubt her desire to top him.

Shane
laughed, nodding his head as he peered over his shoulder to the glass room
where Xander and Clarissa now stood talking. Neither of them turned to look
their way and Mercedes could only guess that Xander was offering Clarissa some
guidance of his own. Smart boy.

“Consider
this an experiment, if you will. I’d like to see how she responds to him, as
well as to me” Mercedes said seriously as she looked directly at Shane. “I
think it might be just what we all need.”

What
she
needed was to put some space between her and Xander, but Mercedes didn’t add
that part.

Shane
nodded as though he understood, but his eyes didn’t reflect even a hint of
concern.

“Does she
have any issues with doing things in public?”

Shane
laughed. “No, no issues. Sometimes I wonder whether all of her inhibitions have
been destroyed.”

Mercedes
laughed, thinking about Clarissa and all of the ways she would be able to push
the other woman’s boundaries. “All right, then I say we give them a few minutes
to think this over. You’re welcome to join me, but I need to talk to someone
for a few minutes.”

“Go
ahead. I’ve got someone to catch up with and then I’ll meet you back in the
room,” Shane said with a grin.

Mercedes
walked away with a smile on her face that matched Shane’s. This was definitely
going to get very, very interesting before the night was over.

“What is
she going to do?” Clarissa asked Xander as they stood patiently – ok,
not
so patiently – in the room while Mercedes and Shane talked on the other side of
the club. Clarissa tried to keep her eyes from roaming over there, but she was
having a hard time.

“I
wouldn’t worry about it,” Xander replied, looking calm and cool and completely
unconcerned.

The exact
opposite of what she was feeling at the moment.

“Not
worry about it?”
Was this guy serious?
Clarissa watched Xander as he
stood rigidly straight in front of her, his enormous chest rising and falling
steadily as he peered down at her.

This man
intimidated her. He always had. He was a Dom, one all of the submissives
admired, but few had the gall to interact with.

Next to Shane,
Clarissa always felt small, but next to Xander she felt like a mouse beside an
elephant. He was massive. Like a Mack truck. Or a freight train.

“Exactly
what I said.”

Ok, so he
wasn’t going to be much help. Clarissa suddenly wished Shane was there. Just
his presence would give her more courage.

“This is
part of the plan, you know that right?” Xander asked as he stepped to the other
side of the room, his hulking shoulders and chest blocking her view of where
Shane had disappeared.

“What
plan?” Clarissa asked, not really hearing the question because she was suddenly
feeling a little intimidated. No. No, she was feeling
a lot
intimidated.

“The plan
for you to sit here and fret over what’s about to happen. It’s as much mental
as it is physical.”

Clarissa
jerked her eyes to meet his, her mouth hanging open. “She’s not going to do
something to me, is she?”

Clarissa
had been friends with Mercedes for a long time. But they were just that –
friends. Outside of the club, they rarely talked about things that happened at
the club. Probably because Mercedes was a Domme and Clarissa was a submissive.
Instead, they usually talked about work and shopping. Girl things.

Certainly
not about Mercedes dominating her.

Holy
crap. Had she really agreed to this?

Xander’s
grin was quite sexy, but Clarissa’s nerves were on edge and she couldn’t find
it in herself to admire him for long.

“Probably
not, little girl.”

“
Little
girl
?” Clarissa retorted, her hands flying to her hips as she faced off
with the behemoth. Her inner bitch was making its presence known.

“You’re
pretty fucking hot when you’re pissed, you know that?”

He was
doing this on purpose. Clarissa took a deep breath, exhaled. Another. She
continued the pattern until she regained some of her composure. He was purposely
riling her up.

“Don’t
worry, little girl. I’m sure all of the aggression will be directed at me
tonight.”

The words
didn’t make her feel any better. Part of her hoped she’d get to be a
participant in this, the other part of her was scared senseless.

“And I’m
not little,” she murmured under her breath.
And damn sure not a girl
,
she thought to herself.

The
enormous laugh that erupted from Xander reverberated through the room, his
deep, dark voice shook her to her core. Clarissa stared at him, his well sculpted
back to her as he paced across the small space.

“Little
girl, compared to me, you’re tiny.”

Ok, so he
had her there.

When he
turned to face her again, his face was serious, and Clarissa found herself
holding her breath.

“Can you
do this, Rissa?” His voice was much lower than before, and his bright green
eyes were so intently focused on her, Clarissa shuddered.

“Can
you
?”
she countered. “I thought you were a big, bad Dom. How the hell does that
happen? Are you a switch or something?”

Xander
laughed again. “Been reading up on terminology, I see.”

Clarissa
smiled at him then. Yes, during her time as a trainee – which hadn’t been all
that long – she had been doing her homework, thank you very much.

“And no,
I’m not a switch. In fact, if you want the honest truth, this is making me
fucking insane.”

Clarissa
was startled by his candidness. She didn’t know him well and yet here he was,
letting her know that he wasn’t all that fond of this situation.

“I can do
this,” she finally told him, adding as much steel into her tone as she could
muster. She figured if he could do this, be in a position that he clearly
wasn’t all that comfortable with, then she could too.

“Good,”
he said with a small smile. “I’m looking forward to seeing how this all plays
out.”

Well that
made two of them.

Clarissa
forced a smile, mentally asking the butterflies in her tummy to quiet down a
bit. She could feel the echo of her nerves deep in her chest, and she wasn’t
all that fond of the feeling.

Xander
moved past her again, this time going toward the wall that looked out over the
club and Clarissa followed the path of his gaze. She saw Mercedes talking to a
man, a very attractive man. He looked really familiar, but she knew she had
never met him before.

“Who is
that?” The question came out, sounding every bit as nosy as it was. She’d have
to learn to keep her mouth shut.

“Trent
Ramsey,” Xander answered, clearly amused.

Trent
Ramsey. Trent Ramsey. Why did she know that name?

“Oh, my
God!
The
Trent Ramsey? Like from the
Dillon Chronicles
?” Trent
Ramsey, the famous, and incredibly handsome actor of one of the most popular
movie series of her generation.

“That’d
be him,” Xander confirmed with a rumbling chuckle.

Clarissa
was grateful that Xander didn’t explain more. She had enough going on in her
brain to even worry about having a famous actor in the same building she was
in. No, she was more worried about what Mercedes had in store for her. And how
in the world she was going to remember to refer to the woman as Mistress M or
Ma’am. Holy crap. This wasn’t going to be easy.

Not that
Clarissa needed easy, but she felt like a jumbled mess when she was around the
woman. There was definitely something very intimidating about her.

And to
think Clarissa had been completely convinced that Xander was a Dom. Before
tonight anyway. Yet here he was, about to be dominated by Mercedes Bryant. Good
grief, this was confusing.

Needless
to say, since the very first time she’d met Mercedes years ago, Clarissa found
herself both in awe of her and terrified of her at the same time. And now this.
If she could dominate a man like Xander, there was no way she’d stand a chance
against the woman. But, deep down, she knew without a doubt that Mercedes
wouldn’t hurt her. At least not on purpose.

She
didn’t know Xander as well as she knew Shane and Mercedes, mainly because she
hadn’t had the opportunity to see him on a more casual level, outside of the
club very often. However, she did know that Mercedes was incredibly good
friends with both Xander and Shane. Always had been. She could sense there was
a level of trust between the three of them.

And she
knew without a doubt that Mercedes trusted Xander. She had always suspected the
two of them had a thing for one another, even if they wanted to pretend that
their dominant natures would be in direct opposition – yes, Clarissa had called
Mercedes on it once, and that was the answer she received.

All in
all, it shouldn’t matter who was the Dom and who was the sub, or if they were
interested in switching. They still trusted one another. That was all that
mattered.

But she
could definitely tell something was up with Xander. His usual easy going air
seemed to be disturbed, something more turbulent in his eyes. Based on the way
he was staring at Mercedes, Clarissa knew it had to be because of the
situation.

“Is it
really that hard for you to give up control?” she asked when the silence and
her own thoughts got to be too much.

Xander
peered over at her, a sinister grin on his face that made her body tremble
strangely. “I don’t know. I’ve never done it before.”

Oh. Well.
Clarissa had no idea what to say to that.

And then
coming up with a response was the last thing on her mind because Shane stepped
through the door, a smile on his handsome face as he glanced back and forth
between Clarissa and Xander. She had the urge to run into his arms, but she
didn’t want to give him the impression that she was scared. She wasn’t.

Nervous,
yes. Scared, no.

Ok, so
she was petrified.

She was
grateful when Shane walked over and wrapped her in his arms, his lips pressing
against her forehead. He smelled good, and she liked the easy way he folded her
against him. They were friends. It would never be anything more because neither
of them was looking for serious, but it was comfortable. And most importantly,
they had both accepted that.

“You good
with this?”

Why did
everyone keep asking her that? Surely Mercedes wasn’t as bad as they were
making her out to be. She’d seen her play at Kink, had heard a few of the male
subs talk about her. No one ever said anything bad about her. Ever.

Looking
up, Clarissa met his gaze and nodded confidently.

“That’s
good, pet. Is there anything you’re not willing to do tonight?”

Wait…
what?

Anything
she
wouldn’t do? Holy hell. What did Mercedes have planned for her? Her hands
started to tremble, but she clenched them into fists to still them. She could
do this. Anything they wanted from her.

Glancing
around Shane, she looked up at Xander’s ruggedly attractive face. Yes, she
could do this. As long as Shane was there with her, she could definitely do
this. Her body was responding to the idea nicely, warming from the inside out.
Shane must’ve noticed too because he reached around behind her and palmed her
butt with both of his hands.

“Mmmm, I
like when you get turned on,” he whispered in her ear although Clarissa knew
Xander could hear every word.

She was
just starting to relax when the door opened and in walked Mercedes.

Ok, so
much for her confidence. Now she just needed to focus on not letting the other
woman make her cry.

~~*~~*~~

Xander
could sense how tense Clarissa was. He also sensed the same about Mercedes when
she finally arrived.

And not
only was he attune with the emotions pouring from Mercedes, he also connected
with her the moment she walked in the room. She looked perfectly controlled on
the outside, but he could tell she was hesitant as well.

He wasn’t
sure whether it was because of him or if it had everything to do with Clarissa.

He had
noticed Mercedes and Shane talking, although he made a point not to look
directly at them. Whatever they had been talking about, Mercedes had been
entirely relaxed. The two of them were working together on this and what that
meant for him and Clarissa, he had no idea. But he was more than ready to get
on with it.

He was
already tense from having to mentally prepare for this little experiment. He
wasn’t interested in playing head games with any of them. And if truth be told,
he didn’t have any desire to be part of this game with Clarissa either. The
idea of the woman’s touch didn’t do it for him. And it had nothing to do with
the little brunette and everything to do with his feelings for Mercedes.

“X,”
Mercedes said his name softly, pulling him from his thoughts as his eyes darted
to hers. “Over here.”

Moving
slowly, he approached where she stood on the other side of the room. Letting
his thoughts flee, he fell into his role, reminding himself what this was
about. And yes, he fully considered it an experiment. He was putting himself in
her shoes for a minute. Trying to see things from her perspective. It would
only strengthen what they were building and for him, that was the most
important thing.

So, for
now, he would hand himself off to her and not worry about anything other than
the pleasure that was about to come. Sure, he expected there’d be some pain
associated, but he craved anything she was willing to dish out. She’d worked
hard to keep him in suspense tonight, and it had worked.

Standing
directly in front of her, he let his hands hang at his sides, forcing himself
to remain relaxed. He’d already defied her once, and she was probably looking
for more, something to shore up her nerve. She couldn’t hide from him, even if
she wanted to. He could see it in her eyes. There was hesitation he had never
seen from Mercedes the Domme before, and he knew it had everything to do with
him.

It only
made it that much easier to go along with this. Tonight.

From this
point on, she wouldn’t get that from him. She had enough to worry about with
Clarissa and her inexperience. It wasn’t necessary for him to do anything more
than endure tonight.

“Rissa.”

Xander
didn’t turn around to see where Clarissa was, but he felt her moving in the
small room. When she came up beside him, her arm brushed his and he fought the
urge to smile. She was nervous too. So much so that she was trembling.

Yes, he’d
tried to help her out earlier by getting her riled up. She was a strong woman;
he knew that much about her. But she seemed utterly unsure of herself when it
came to this side of Mercedes. Why that was, he had no idea. He was sure he’d
find out soon enough.

“Do you
have a safe word, Rissa?” Mercedes asked and this time Xander did look down at
her.

“Yes,
Ma’am,” she said promptly.

Xander
was impressed. She hadn’t followed up her answer with a bunch of rambling,
which he knew Mercedes would appreciate. As a Dom, he expected it.