Perception (32 page)

Xander
knew exactly what was about to happen, and he was finding it hard to continue
to play along.

With
Clarissa standing less than a few inches in front of him, he could feel the
heat of her body and see the evidence of her arousal in her beaded nipples
protruding through the thin silk sheath she wore. He also noticed that, for the
last few minutes, she’d started glancing outside into the club.

Who
was she looking at?

He
had tried to follow her gaze, but there were just enough people to make it
futile to try and guess. Xander was having a difficult enough time trying to
keep his head in the game, much less trying to find whom Clarissa had just set
her sights on.

Clarissa
was a beautiful woman, but no matter how hard he tried, the only way he could
keep his erection was to think of the things Mercedes had just done to him. The
way her soft, smooth hands felt against his skin, the way her eyes met his even
briefly, heat and passion lingering there for him to see.

And
he didn’t have anything against Clarissa. In fact, had it been five days ago,
he wouldn’t have balked at the idea of a scene such as this one. Well, almost
like this one – never would he willingly sign up to be a submissive.

But
that wasn’t the point.

He
just knew that he couldn’t go through with this.

He
didn’t want to play with anyone else. He didn’t want to
be
with anyone
else.

It
was just a damn good thing he was restrained because he knew without a doubt that
he would defy Mercedes if she insisted that he touch Clarissa. He just didn’t
have it in him.

He
tried to keep himself distanced, tried to figure out what Mercedes was up to
but he had a hard time getting into it.

How
far was she willing to go before she figured out she’d pushed too far? How far
was Clarissa going to go before she realized what Mercedes was up to?

Because,
without a doubt, Xander knew that Mercedes was trying to prove something
through Clarissa.

And
it wasn’t fucking working.

“Lift
your dress to your hips,” Mercedes commanded Clarissa as the two women stood
before him.

Holy
fuck.

Ok,
he was definitely on the right track. Mercedes was in rare form tonight. Maybe
because she’d had to repress her dominant side for the last few days, or maybe
because she was trying to prove something. Hell, he had no idea.

The
brief moment of hesitation was Clarissa’s next mistake, and Xander noticed the
moment Mercedes decided on her punishment. “Wait. Scratch that. Take the dress
off
.”

Clarissa’s
eyes widened, and her gaze locked with Mercedes’s as her breathing became
labored.

“Remember
your safe word, Rissa. Unless you intend to use it, I expect you to do as I
say.”

“Yes,
m-Ma’am,” Clarissa stuttered as she slowly lifted the hem of her short dress
up, the emerald silk sliding slowly up over her hips, exposing her bare pussy
to Xander’s gaze and her ass to the group of people who’d gathered outside of
the glass enclosed room.

Movement
out of the corner of his eye had Xander briefly looking over to see that Shane
was moving. He wasn’t moving closer to Clarissa, rather he was staying along
the perimeter of the glass wall but he was obviously getting into a better
position.

It
was while he had been watching Shane that he noticed exactly who Clarissa had
been looking at.

Trent
Ramsey.

Shit.

Xander
knew for a fact that she didn’t know him. Based on her earlier reaction, the
two hadn’t even been introduced briefly. You wouldn’t know it by the heated
look on Trent’s face. He was watching Clarissa intently. Almost as though he
had staked his claim on her in the last few minutes.

As
Clarissa’s body came into full view, Xander volleyed between watching her and
watching Trent. The man was riveted, but he looked pretty damn pissed all the
same. It was a fucking strange reaction from a man who had never met this
woman.

Glancing
back at Clarissa, Xander watched as her flat belly and the pebbled tips of her
dusky pink nipples came into view.

Clarissa
wasn’t a short woman, but she wasn’t tall either. A little less than average
probably. Her slender body was outlined with subtle curves that… Trent Ramsey
was all but consuming with his eyes.

“Beautiful,”
Mercedes said approvingly, drawing Xander’s attention back to the two women.

Clarissa’s
nipples hardened even more, the pink tips darkening with arousal, her stomach
muscles clenching and her gaze was now transfixed on Trent again.

Fuck.

This
scene was sinking like a ship and fast. When he met Mercedes’s gaze, he noticed
that even she had realized it.

She
was pushing, trying to hold onto the control, but there were too many factors
that she wasn’t taking into consideration.

“Stand
directly in front of X and then lower yourself to your knees,” Mercedes
instructed in detail.

Xander
watched intently as Clarissa took a tentative step closer and then lowered her
naked self to her knees in front of him. He noticed that she was careful to
keep her legs tightly locked together, but her gaze never travelled outside of
the room.

The
woman had no idea that she’d just invited Mercedes’s own personal brand of
torture. The kind he thoroughly enjoyed watching when Mercedes was doing a
scene at Kink, but tonight he didn’t much care for.

“Spread
your legs wide.”

Clarissa
sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, but she spread her knees. Xander wouldn’t
consider that wide, but he had to give her props for trying.

From
where he stood, even if her legs were spread completely apart, he wouldn’t be
able to see the glistening folds of her pussy. He also knew that due to the way
she was angled, the audience that had now gathered outside the glass window
wouldn’t be able to see clearly either. That included Trent. Maybe a couple of
people along the side walls, but the majority would be denied that pleasure.
Undoubtedly he knew that was Mercedes’s intention, but he figured Clarissa
hadn’t realized it yet.

“Are
you wet, Rissa?”

“Yes,
Mis- Mistress M,” Clarissa said, her entire body trembling slightly.

“Show
us,” Mercedes said and Xander glanced over at her.

She
was standing with her feet apart, those fuck me boots making her sexy legs look
hotter than fucking hell. Her corset was cinched tight enough that her breasts
spilled over the top, but her sweet nipples were still hidden from view.

He
fully intended to clamp her nipples as punishment for putting him through this.
He remembered how much she’d enjoyed both the pleasure and the pain the last
time he’d done it.

His
dick throbbed at the memory.

Fuck,
could they just get on with this?

He
wanted out of these fucking restraints. Out of this fucking room. He’d much
prefer somewhere that they could be alone, and he could get Mercedes naked and
beneath him.

Going
forward, he was not going to take his eyes off of her. He couldn’t. And if he
couldn’t admire her naked, he’d soothe himself with an eyeful of her glorious
ass encased in that sinfully short leather mini-skirt. If she bent just right,
he’d get a nice glimpse of her smooth cunt because he knew she wasn’t wearing
panties either.

“Show
us, Clarissa.” Mercedes’s tone sharpened as she took a step closer to Clarissa,
who was kneeling on the floor at Xander’s feet.

Xander
forced his eyes to Clarissa, wondering if this was the moment she would safe
word out. For the first time in his life, he wished like hell a sub would use
their safe word.

Please
use your fucking safe word.

But
no, that’s not what happened because life was just that cruel sometimes. Rather
than calling out whatever goddamn flower she had used as her safe word,
Clarissa dipped her hand down between her legs and pulled back two fingers
glistening with her juices.

“Lick
your fingers clean.”

Xander
glanced out into the club, watching Trent. The man was watching Clarissa, his
tongue damn near hanging out of his mouth.

Fuck,
maybe Trent would interrupt the scene. The man seemed to have a hard on for
Clarissa. If they were all lucky, maybe the arrogant actor would waltz right in
and claim the damsel in distress as his own, just like they did in the movies.
If he didn’t, Xander wasn’t sure he was going to survive this scene.

In
all honesty, it wasn’t going anything like he expected. Well, aside from him
being tied up and naked. That was something he would expect from Mercedes. But
she wasn’t focused on him. Somewhere along the way, she’d made this about
Clarissa.

Was
she scared?

Knowing
she would never admit to it, Xander forced the question away, looking back down
at Clarissa kneeling in front of him. She was using her tongue to clean her
fingers had Xander looked up at Shane, noticing the man was on the verge of
swallowing his own tongue.

Oh,
fuck. That wasn’t going to end well. Trent, Clarissa and Shane.

Right.

“Very
nice.” Mercedes’s voice echoed in the small room. “Now I want to watch you suck
X’s big, beautiful cock,” Mercedes told Clarissa.

Fuck
no. No, no, no. This was not going to happen.

Mercedes
turned away and retrieved something from the counter behind her. When she came
back, she handed a foil packet to Clarissa.

“Put
this on him,” she instructed. “I think you’ll like this one. It tastes like
grapes.”

At
least Mercedes had the good sense to remember protection.

Oh,
fuck. Please let her use her safe word.

Clarissa
reached for the condom, but her hands were no longer trembling, they were shaking
like a leaf in hurricane force winds. As soon as she plucked the condom from
Mercedes’s long, slender fingers, Clarissa dropped it on the floor.

Clarissa
reached for it, her eyes darting up to Xander and then Mercedes and back once
again. He wanted to shake his head, to encourage her not to go through with it.
Before he had the option, the end of the riding crop came up to rest beneath
his chin, and Xander lifted his eyes to meet Mercedes’s glowing gray gaze.

“I
want you to watch the pretty little sub’s mouth wrapped around your cock.”

The
only sound that could be heard was Clarissa’s rapid gasps and the rustle of
Shane’s clothing as he moved somewhere in the background.

Xander
stared back at Mercedes, praying like hell she’d realize just what was going on
here, stop before the damage could be undone. Or maybe that’s what she wanted.
Maybe she wanted Xander to be with Clarissa so that she could use it against
him.

He
saw the battle in her eyes, saw that she was just as tormented as he felt, but
she wasn’t going to cave. She was trying to prove something here, but fuck it
all. He didn’t give a good goddamn about proving anything.

Not
when it came to his love for Mercedes.

The
instant she looked away, Xander said, “Red.”

Her
eyes darted up to meet his.

“What
did you say?”

“Red.”
There was absolutely no mistaking the fact that he was using his safe word.

He
saw the relief that flooded her face before she quickly masked it, doing her
best to cover it up with something else. But no matter what she wanted him to
believe, Xander knew the truth.

Xander
didn’t see Shane move, but he noticed Clarissa getting to her feet. He looked
up at his friend just in time to see the realization on Shane’s face.

Yeah,
I went there
, he
thought to himself.
I fucking love her.

Xander
was pretty sure Shane knew everything he was feeling.

Without
a sound, Shane helped Clarissa slip back into her dress, and the two of them
disappeared out of the room.

When
the door closed behind them, Mercedes moved over to the wall. She hit a button
that released the chains and then another that flipped the glass from clear to
opaque, sealing them somewhat from prying eyes. It wasn’t until she hit the
button to turn off the microphones that she finally spoke.

“Why?”

“Why
what?” he asked, pretending to be oblivious to what she was referring to.

“Why
did you use your safe word?”

Xander
didn’t answer immediately. He waited for her to come over to release him from
the chains that still restrained his arms and legs.

He wasn’t
about to make the biggest admission of his life while he was in a fucking
playroom at the club, chained to the wall. Knowing that Mercedes would likely
flee the room and leave him there, he decided to wait.