Perception (3 page)

Even
though she had some reservations about his intentions, or whether or not he had
the potential to be reformed, Mercedes had to admit that there was one positive
in this entirely screwed up situation: Looking at Xander was a treat for the
eyes.

She got
the feeling that if you looked up sexy, or sophisticated, or relentless, or
alpha male, and let’s not forget incorrigible, in the dictionary, there beside
the definition would be Xander’s picture.

At
six-foot-six-inches, two hundred seventy plus pounds, he was an exquisite male
specimen. His body was honed to perfection, from his chiseled jaw to his
sculpted muscles down to his routinely pedicured feet. His perfectly styled
dark hair was an intriguing contrast to his light green eyes, and it was no
wonder he’d been repeatedly categorized as one of Dallas’ most sought after
bachelors.

Not only
was Xander intimidating in a very physically provocative way, he was also
ridiculously successful and insanely wealthy.

Oh, and
he was Trouble with a capital T.

Ok, so
yes, saying a man was beautiful, especially a man like Xander, would probably
be an odd way to describe him, but in Xander’s case it was true. Beauty, at
least in his case, wasn’t just skin deep, and because of Xander’s strength of
character, his charm, and his sophistication, he wasn’t just the perfect
package on the outside. The man was so much more than that.

For the
record, no, she did not have a crush on her friend.

Ok, maybe
a little one.

Not that
she would ever even allude to it.

Fearful
that she was ogling him a little too much, Mercedes forced her attention away
from Xander and glanced over to Samantha and Logan, noticing they were both
watching her intently.

That
raised the question of what had Xander told them about her?

As much
as she wanted to ask, she was well aware that she wasn’t going to get that
answer tonight, so she opted to greet them rather than dwell on what he’d said
to entice them to join them tonight.

“Nice to
see you again,” Mercedes called from her spot several feet away. “If you need
me, I’ll be…” She turned to look at the St. Andrew’s cross, for the millionth
time wondering what the hell she was doing. Looking back at Samantha and Logan,
she followed up with, “Uh… yeah. I’ll just be… over here.”

Not
surprising, no one said a word in response. Mercedes could tell by the look on
Samantha’s lovely face that the woman was both confused and nervous. Definitely
an interesting combination of emotions.

If she
had no idea what to expect, exactly what was she nervous about? That was a
question Mercedes routinely asked of new subs who approached her with the same
trepidation in their eyes.

On the
other hand, Mercedes knew why
she
was nervous and confused. Unlike
Samantha, she
did
know what was about to happen. It had everything to do
with the damn “X” that was looming before her.

Both
the St. Andrew’s cross
and
the man
.

“Have a
seat,” Xander instructed Samantha and Logan from behind her.

Mercedes
glanced over her shoulder to look at Samantha once more, offering her a
tentative smile which was returned. And yes, maybe it was just confirmation
that she was a little sadistic because Mercedes was enjoying the hell out of
the bewildered expression on the pretty woman’s face.

Being a
Domme, long past her rookie stage, Mercedes was familiar with what was about to
take place. There was just one slight problem: she was on the wrong end of the
domination which wasn’t something she was at all comfortable with.

While
this particular situation was one she was familiar with, despite the fact that
she was on the receiving end, Mercedes was welcoming the twist in her very
mundane routine that she called life.

And this
was a three hundred sixty degree turn from what she was used to.

Being a
member of one of the most successful BDSM clubs in the Dallas area, Mercedes
was familiar with this scene as well as many others. Demonstrations were a
regular thing within the club she attended. No matter how skilled a Dominant
thought they were, the mindset in their club was that there was always room for
continuing education.

She could
easily say that being part of a demonstration wasn’t the issue. Nor did she
have a problem with an audience. It was a nightly occurrence for her when she
opted to play at Kink.

So when
Xander informed her of his master plan to introduce Logan and Samantha to a
little bondage and submission, Mercedes hadn’t thought anything of it. BDSM
wasn’t for the faint of heart, but she didn’t have to explain that to Xander.
When he’d invited her to the opening of Devotion, the new club that happened to
be in the exact same warehouse that had provided her original introduction to
Xander, she hadn’t questioned him either.

Nor did
she think to tie the two together and come up with her somehow becoming the
night’s attraction.

Shame on
her.

His last
and final request had been what sent her over the edge. Tonight, right here in
this very room, Xander Boone wanted to give Samantha a lesson in bondage and
submission. The kicker of it all was that he wanted to use Mercedes in his
demonstration.

“Why me?”
she had asked him that night at dinner, but he’d easily avoided her question,
in lieu of continuing to explain his reasons.

According
to Xander, Samantha was interested in threesomes, or so he’d been told by
Logan. And based on Samantha’s explanation as to why she enjoyed them, Xander
felt as though she was more turned on by Logan’s natural domination of the
situation than the actual inclusion of another man.

Made
sense. Sort of.

Her
understanding of the situation was that Xander had come to the conclusion that
Logan got off by watching Samantha pleasured. By another man. Mercedes
understood that.

And
Samantha had enjoyed being with two men at one time. No questions there either.

However,
Samantha was apparently hesitant because of her past experience and the
attachment she’d made with the two men who had been involved in her
relationship in the past. That part Mercedes understood, as well.

In order
to help them out, Xander had the brilliant idea to introduce them to BDSM
because it could provide the domination that Samantha seemed so fond of. Rather
than having to introduce a third person for her to get her fix.

Xander
had gone on to explain that, since Samantha obviously became attached, it made
sense that they might need to shy away from the threesomes and look at another
way to get her what she needed.

“Why me?”
Mercedes had asked him again after his lengthy explanation, still not
understanding why she had to be the one on the chopping block. There were a
number of subs who would graciously accept his invitation.

“Because
I don’t want to use anyone else,” he had told her.

Simple.
Straight forward. No, it still didn’t make sense, yet here she was, agreeing to
Xander’s plan to act out a scene.

With her
as his submissive.

Sometimes
she was just too damned nice.

Xander
had assured her that she would merely be there as an accessory for the evening,
so Mercedes had reluctantly agreed. He was her friend after all. She could help
him this one time. Or so she’d tried to convince herself.

She
wasn’t in an intimate relationship; therefore, she wasn’t stepping out on
anyone. Her time was her own. How she decided to spend it was up to her as
well. 

Not that
this would’ve been her first choice.

The sharp
gasp from Samantha had Mercedes turning to look in her direction again. Her
gaze stopped midway across the room where she noticed Xander absently caressing
the flogger in his hands.

Of course
he would pick that one.

Mercedes
had requested him to use a low-intensity flogger for tonight, and he had
laughed at her, then he’d followed his chuckle with, “What’s that?”

Ok, fine.
He didn’t use low-intensity floggers. Then again, neither did she. Most of the
time.

But
looking at the high-intensity, latigo flogger in his hand didn’t have her ass
singing a happy tune at the moment.

Not that
she would let him know that.

Mercedes
looked up to meet his intense, light green gaze and found her heart rate
kicking up another notch. His mouth was a straight line, but his eyes were
laughing at her.

Damn Dom.

“I’m
waiting,” he informed her as she stared back at him.

He could
wait all day as far as she was concerned.

For half
a second, she contemplated being a brat, something that she personally had
absolutely no tolerance for, but figured that wouldn’t fare well for her in the
long run. Instead, without argument, Mercedes moved closer to the giant “X”
securely positioned near the wall.

Pushing
everything to the back of her mind, she tried to fall into the mindset of a
sub. She’d spent enough time with them, knew what they expected of her as their
Domme, so she knew what the desired responses were from Xander’s perspective.

Easy,
right?

Um… no.

The next
thing she knew, Xander’s enormous body was directly behind her, his front to
her back, sandwiching her between him and the wooden cross in front of her.

The man
was the human equivalent of a Mack truck.

“Hold
this,” he instructed close to her ear in that sexy, rich baritone of his,
placing the well-worn, braided handle of the flogger in her right hand as he
crowded her up against the cross.

Mercedes
gripped the nine inch handle tightly, tempted to slip out from beneath him and
show him exactly how it should be used. Instead, she remained motionless,
gritting her teeth as she anticipated what was to come.

Xander’s
giant hands slid from her elbows up to her wrists, sending an unexpected,
blinding frisson of heat coursing through her.

Ok wait.

Back up a
minute.

That was
not
supposed to happen.

She wasn’t
sure whether she was surprised more by how good his touch felt, or by how
strange it was to have him now cuffing her to the cross. And the cuffing part
wasn’t what got to her. She’d been there before in other demonstrations. No, it
was actually Xander’s touch, or more accurately her own reaction to it, that
had caught her off guard.

Once her
hands were firmly secured in the padded leather cuffs, Xander slid his palms
down her arms, over the sides of her breasts then down to her waist, but that’s
where he stopped.

“You
ready for this?” She felt his breath against her cheek, his voice low enough so
only she could hear.

No.
“Yes,” she whispered, irritated at how breathless she sounded.

Seriously.
She was going to have to give more thought as to why his touch felt so good.

But
obviously not right now.

“Then
let’s get started,” he replied just as softly, the hint of a smile in his
voice. “First, I want you naked,” he stated firmly, his voice louder this time,
clearly for Samantha and Logan to hear.

Naked.
Excellent
.

That was
the moment Mercedes realized she was about to take a step off of the high dive
hovering precariously above the deep end, and she wasn’t even sure how far she
had to fall before she took the plunge.

“You know
your safe word?” he asked, again so that everyone could hear.

She
fought the urge to roll her eyes.

“Red,”
she responded easily, tightening her grip on the flogger handle. She’d never
gotten into creative safe words, much preferring the straightforward red,
yellow, and green. Red meant stop entirely, yellow meant to slow down, and
green meant all systems go.

At the
moment, she was stuck somewhere on orange.

“Good
girl. If, at any time, you wish to stop, just say red and everything will
stop,” he said, his tone encouraging.

A shiver
danced along her spine.

Xander’s
hands returned to her shoulders, lightly grazing her skin when he moved her
hair out of his way. The warmth of his breath tickled her neck as he leaned in
close. When she thought he would say something, he surprised her by placing a
kiss to her right shoulder, his tongue briefly trailing along the intricate
magnolia tattoo that extended down to her elbow. He didn’t linger, but it was
enough to send an influx of heat percolating through her bloodstream.

Xander
continued to touch her, the heat of his hands on her back made Mercedes bite
her bottom lip as she dropped her head slightly, trying to peer down at her
feet.
Shit.
This was not good.

Not good
at all.

Xander
unlaced her corset, slowly and efficiently, his fingers trailing over her naked
skin as he revealed it. All she could do was attempt to keep her respiratory
system from failing, not wanting to let Xander know just how much he was
affecting her at the moment.

The
leather corset fell away, and her nipples immediately puckered from the cool
air that caressed her overheated skin.
Right.
Tell yourself that, and
maybe it will be true.

Within
minutes, Xander had her fully naked, save for the thigh high boots. Mercedes
tried her hardest to act as though this were simply clinical, but her damned
body was betraying her every thought.

Being
naked, and being naked with Xander touching her, were two entirely different
things. Granted, she was sure he’d seen her in various states of undress at the
club, but she wasn’t sure he’d ever seen quite this much of her at one time.

“We’ll
leave the boots on,” he informed her. “Because they’re sexy as fuck.”

More
chills skated over her skin at his obvious approval.

“Spread
your legs for me,” he instructed, his hands gliding down her thighs as he knelt
behind her. The fact that his face was intimately close to her bottom had her
squeezing her internal muscles tightly.

This was
nerve wracking to say the least.

When he
reached her ankles, she felt the leather straps being secured in place over her
boots. Despite the temptation, Mercedes didn’t try to see how far she could
move. It wouldn’t be far; she knew that much. And she wasn’t about to let
Xander know she’d suddenly developed an overwhelming case of nerves.

Back to
his full height, Xander took the flogger from her hand and trailed the long,
leather strings down her right arm, then across her shoulders. Since he was
left handed and wielding the flogger with his right hand, for now, she knew she
had a moment’s reprieve.

When he
lovingly slid the tails of the flogger over her left arm, she consciously
fought the shiver that threatened to wrack her body. He was getting into
position.

Xander
was a big man, with a significant amount of power, and with him standing so
close, holding a flogger, she felt a little light headed, and utterly consumed
by him.

Refocusing
her attention on her part in this scene now that she was an active participant,
Mercedes sucked in a deep breath and stared forward, keeping her body loose but
on alert. She only wished there wasn’t a mirror on the wall, because now she
had no choice but to watch what Xander was doing to her as well as feel it.

“Have you
been a good girl?” Xander asked as he pressed his chest up against her back
once more, his eyes meeting hers in the floor to ceiling mirror.

Um…
no.

But she
didn’t say that. She couldn’t say anything at first. With his shirt unbuttoned,
she felt the heat of his naked chest against her skin, and the only thing she
could think about was how warm his body was against hers. And how… hard.

Oh,
shit.

The
knowledge that he was physically reacting to this –
to her
– made a zing
of pleasure ricochet through her. Never in all the time that she’d known him
had Xander shown any interest in her.

Or had he
and she just missed it?

No. No,
definitely not.

Seriously,
they were good enough friends that she could walk around her house half-naked
when he was there. Not that she did, but if she wanted to, she would’ve never
worried about offending or enticing him.

Considering
their dominating personalities were in direct conflict, Mercedes had considered
Xander off limits. After all, one plus one certainly did not equal two Doms.
That equation didn’t work in her lifestyle so she’d never worried about it
before.

She was
certainly worried about it now.

Remembering
Xander’s question, Mercedes swallowed hard. “Yes, Master X,” she answered
diligently, referring to him as he preferred to be called in the club – for
Samantha’s and Logan’s benefit only. Master was a sign of respect, and even
though she wasn’t his sub, Mercedes wouldn’t disagree that he’d earned that
respect.

When
Xander’s palm flattened on the inside of her thigh, slowly moving upward,
Mercedes bit the inside of her cheek. When the tips of his fingers grazed the
curls at the apex of her thighs, she sucked in a sharp breath.

“Are you
wet?” he asked, his tone authoritative, his gaze still locked with hers.

He was
putting on a show, and she knew it was her turn to flip the switch on her
acting skills. Not that she would be entirely acting.

Dammit.

“Yes,
Sir,” she said, proud of herself for getting the words out.

As though
he didn’t believe her, his hand continued to roam higher until he was reaching
between her legs, cupping her mound. He rested his hand there for a moment
before he curled one finger under and slid it through her folds.