Perception

by Nicole Edwards

  She wanted nothing more than to hold onto him as she flew apart in his arms.

  He made her groan in disappointment when he turned his attention to the bright artwork that decorated her shoulder. He used his tongue to trace the tattoo, but to her surprise, he didn’t linger long before he slid down between her thighs once more.

  Ok, so maybe she wasn’t exactly disappointed, but her groans were certainly tinged with impatience.

  His rough chuckle made her smile. Yes, the man was relentless, and he had a one track mind. Since she’d been the one to ask for it, she couldn’t be all that upset.

  “Oh, fuck!” she moaned when Xander lifted her leg, bracing his palm beneath her thigh and opening her wide as he delved into her with his tongue over and over.

  Mercedes knew she wouldn’t last. She couldn’t resist him, and when he turned the heat up, she didn’t stand a chance against him. “Yes,” she moaned. “Just like that, X. Suck my clit.”

  Her entire body spasmed when he wrapped his lips around her clit, his tongue lashing as he pressed two fingers inside of her again. When he groaned against her, the vibration of his mouth sent her over the edge, her body fracturing from the inside out as her orgasm took her.

  Xander didn’t allow much time to pass before he was hovering over her, staring down at her as he gave her a moment to catch her breath again. She welcomed the reprieve, but she prayed he wasn’t finished yet.

  Sliding her hands around his neck, she pulled him against her. He was stronger than she was, which meant he didn’t fall on top of her, although she wouldn’t have minded.

  She wanted to feel him against her. Everywhere. What was coursing through her had long surpassed mere desire and somewhere along the way morphed into a desperate, aching need.

  “Beg me,” he said, his breaths ragged. She heard the urgency in his tone that time and she welcomed it. He might be the almighty Dom, but to know she got to him… it was empowering. “Beg me to make love to you.”

  “Please,” she answered easily, her voice rough with her own desire. “I want to feel you.”

  “No. Beg me to make love to you,” he said firmly.

  Mercedes stilled. She stared back at him as her heart began a rebellious thump in her chest.

  Make love.

  She wasn’t sure she could handle hearing those words. She’d been thinking that’s what they’d done the night before and the night before that, but they both saw where that had gotten them. She’d run out of his office that morning like a scared child. Running from what she was already beginning to feel for this man.

  As she looked into his eyes, she noticed that he wasn’t backing down. He didn’t seem in the least bit intimidated by her reaction.

  Oh, Lord. This man knew her better than she knew herself. The moment she walked through his office door she’d felt more like herself than she had in years, even if she’d still been on the defensive. She’d spent too much time trying to hide her own needs in order to ensure she kept herself distanced. If she didn’t, she knew she would get hurt again.

  But this man, her best friend, had read her easily, and his gentle, yet insistent, tone stole her breath.

  He was breaking down her resistance, and she was too weak to deny him anymore. She wanted him, wanted every part of him.

  “Tell me that’s what you want, Mercedes.”

  “Yes,” she breathed out roughly. She was too tired to deal with the conflicting emotions. “I want you to make love to me. I need it. I need you.”

  Xander growled, a rough, animalistic sound that sent shock waves of pleasure through her as he settled between her thighs. Digging her fingernails into his shoulders, Mercedes pressed her back into the sofa, pushing her hips forward as Xander held himself above her, rocking into her gently at first.

  “Oh God, that feels so good.”

  “You feel good,” he said. “You feel so fucking good, baby. When I’m inside of you, I don’t ever want to leave. I could spend the rest of my life right here.”

  She wasn’t sure whether it was the heat of the moment that made him say the things he was saying, so she tried not to take them to heart, but it was so hard to do. He sounded so sincere, his eyes were a soft green as he stared back at her and for a moment, she felt as though he could see clear to her soul.

  His warm body surrounded her, consumed her. The way he thrust into her gently, his hips jerking at the last moment to send him deeper before he retreated had her body singing. The man knew how to please her. He knew just how to use his body to achieve maximum pleasure.

  Sliding her hand into his hair, Mercedes held him to her, bringing his mouth down to hers briefly. But more than she wanted his kiss, she wanted to watch him, to see the ecstasy brewing in his beautiful eyes, to know that he was feeling the exact same thing she was feeling.

  “Fuck,” he growled, thrusting deeper, every muscle in his big body taut.

  She moaned, reveling in the glorious friction that ignited every pleasure receptor in her core.

  He slid his forearm beneath her head, lifting her head so that she was closer to him as he hoisted her leg up, changing the angle as he penetrated her impossibly deeper.

  “Xander.”

  “Tell me, baby. Tell me how it feels.”

  “It’s… Oh, God!” Mercedes didn’t think it could get any better, but then he ground his pelvis against hers, lodged to the hilt, filling her to bursting, before he pulled out and slid home once more. “It’s perfect.”

  Mercedes bit her bottom lip as she watched him, waiting for that moment when she knew he’d reached the pinnacle and was ready to plummet into euphoric bliss right along with her.

  Their bodies were slick with sweat as they moved together, the frantic pounding of her heart the only sound she heard.

  “Come for me, Mercedes. Come with me.”

  Mercedes latched onto his hair tighter, holding him to her as he buried his face in her neck. His pace intensified, his thrusts bottoming out inside of her, the delicious friction causing that ever growing tingle to start in her womb, making her insides glow.

  “Harder,” she begged although she wasn’t sure she could handle much more. Apparently she could because her orgasm built to a crescendo as Xander mercilessly drove deep inside of her, penetrating her thoroughly.

  “That’s it, baby,” Xander growled, his body going stone still as his cock pulsed inside of her. “Fuck.”

  A sharp bolt of pain lanced her shoulder when Xander nipped her skin, but it didn’t hurt. Not in that way. No, this was a sensation that she felt clear to her soul.

  Because Xander hadn’t just bitten her. He’d claimed her.

  And there was no way in hell she could deny it. She was completely his. In every way.

  Time stood still until they managed to catch their breaths, but Xander didn’t move from his position. She didn’t want him to.

  Mercedes let her internal muscles milk him, enjoying the hungry growls that continued to rumble in his chest. For the first time in as long as she could remember, Mercedes felt herself falling for a man.

  This man.

  Chapter Twenty Six

  Day Three…

  Saturday

  On Saturday evening, Xander was tidying up the kitchen after tossing the remnants of their dinner into the trash. After a surprisingly leisurely day, one they’d spent together at his condo doing literally nothing for most of the day, Xander had finally given in and cooked dinner for Mercedes.

  He wasn’t much of a cook, he would be the first to admit, but he was capable of working a stove. The sausage and vegetable risotto, a dish his mother had made quite often when he was a kid, wasn’t fancy, but it had been decent. Not as good as his mother’s, but edible. That’s all that mattered.

  So, after he’d slaved over the stove for all of thirty minutes, they’d shared a meal while they talked about the upcoming week.

  Mercedes had gone on to tell him about the official offer she’d put in on the Milton building yesterday, and how
she was now waiting for the counteroffer, fully expecting it to come on Monday. There was no doubt about it, the seller would certainly counter. Not that Xander blamed them.

  Now, as they made their way to the living room, he was falling into his normal evening routine, which for the next hour would consist of watching the news.

  “I think I’m going to head to my place and take a bath,” Mercedes told him hesitantly.

  “No,” he responded easily, keeping his voice soft. “You can take a bath here.” He wasn’t about to let her disappear on him again. After all, they had agreed that she would stay with him unless she was working, and he’d been impressed that she’d spent the entire day at his place, never once using an excuse to go home.

  Progress, especially after the rocky day they’d had yesterday.

  “But –”

  Xander glared at her, effectively silencing her.

  “My bath works just as well as yours does.”

  To his surprise, Mercedes didn’t argue. Instead, she pinned him with a glare of her own before turning her attention on the stairs that led up to the master suite.

  Neither of them said anything more and the next thing Xander knew, Mercedes was making her way upstairs. When she was halfway there, he called out to her. He waited until she turned to look down at him.

  “I’ll be up in a little while to help you out. Don’t get out until I come get you.”

  He could tell that his instructions weren’t exactly what she wanted to hear, but he’d give her props for not complaining. Xander didn’t budge until she’d made it to the top of the stairs.

  Once she was there, he reached for the remote and flipped on the television, dropping onto the sofa. As he sank into the cool leather, he immediately remembered the way Mercedes had looked perched atop him, riding him. And then yesterday in his office, when he had thrust inside of her on a very similar sofa… Shit. He wasn’t sure he’d ever look at black leather the same again.

  God, she’d come completely undone right there in his office. The memory was enough to heat his blood and send it pooling south. He wanted her.

  Then again, he was certain he was nearing sainthood since he’d refrained from taking her a million different ways throughout the day.

  As he stared at the television screen, not seeing anything other than the bright glow of the images, he thought back to the first time he’d asked Mercedes to dinner all those years ago. The setting hadn’t been exactly what he’d hoped for, but all in all, it’d been interesting to say the least.

  From the moment he met Mercedes, he’d been intrigued by her. Even if he had come to accept there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that there would ever be anything between them. Mainly for the fact that she was a Domme and he was in no way submissive.

  He wouldn’t lie, he had never really come to terms with it. It had just taken him a little while – nearly a decade – to find a way to show her just how he felt about the whole thing.

  If his memories served him correctly, it had been during their first dinner out – unfortunately that had been business, not pleasure – which he found himself seeking a way to get under her skin the same way she had him.

  They hadn’t been alone that night either. They’d been joined by the Realtor of one of the clients Xander had been working with and the man’s assistant. He hadn’t been happy to find out they had chaperones, but at the time, he figured Mercedes had invited them on purpose. To protect herself from him.

  He was right because that night she’d made her feelings on the subject crystal clear.

  “You don’t know what a submissive is?” Mercedes asked skeptically. She was speaking directly to Tim Johnson, a high profile Realtor who was working for the seller of a property Xander was in the process of acquiring.

  As they sat in the upscale restaurant, the waiter having just brought out baskets of bread for the foursome congregating at the table, Mercedes had apparently latched onto one little comment that Tim had said jokingly.

  “Nothing more than the glorified stuff I’ve seen on television,” Tim admitted, his full attention on Mercedes.

  Xander watched Mercedes, waiting to see what she’d say. How they’d gotten on the topic originally, he wasn’t sure, but it was interesting to see that Mercedes was completely open to the discussion.

  Mercedes seemed to study Tim for a moment before she continued. “Do you like to be in control, Mr. Johnson?”

  Xander grinned, hiding it behind his wine glass. He noticed the way Tim shivered outwardly, an obvious reaction to Mercedes’s very sexy voice. Xander could only imagine the fantasies the man was having where she was concerned. Hell, he’d had a few of his own in recent weeks.

  Tim glanced over at Xander, who was sitting beside Mercedes, but his gaze didn’t linger elsewhere for long. The man was probably trying to determine what he wanted to say.

  Xander leaned back in his chair and watched things play out between the two of them.

  “Depends,” Tim finally admitted, his voice lower than before. “If we’re talking business, I do. When it comes to other things, I could be persuaded to give up control.”

  “Persuaded?” Mercedes asked seriously, sipping her wine as she stared back at him. “Or is it something you prefer?”

  Xander had a feeling that the question was loaded. He got the impression there was only one correct answer where Mercedes was concerned.

  “It’s something I prefer,” Tim’s assistant stated firmly.

  Xander’s gaze darted to the pretty young woman sitting to Tim’s left. She wasn’t looking at her boss, which was probably a good thing because her open admission seemed to have shocked Tim somewhat.

  Based on Mercedes’s reaction, she hadn’t expected it either.

  “Do you play at a club?” Mercedes asked casually.

  “I have, yes,” Clarissa Tinsley admitted, her cheeks turning pink.

  “Well, Xander here,” Mercedes glanced over at him, “is a Dom.” He wasn’t sure why, but somehow she had successfully pulled him directly into the conversation. He fought the urge to laugh at that.

  “Is that right?” Clarissa asked sweetly, her eyes glazing over slightly.

  “Mercedes is being too kind. She’s a Domme herself, but she doesn’t like to brag,” he said with a smile. “I’m a member of Kink,” he admitted, sipping his wine and making sure they all noticed his casual disinterest in the conversation.

  What he wanted to do was to talk to Mercedes directly. Preferably about something other than business, but until today, she’d managed to keep their brief relationship on a steadfast professional level.

  He had hoped to change that tonight.

  She had successfully cock blocked him by inviting these two.

  “Is your husband a Dom?” Mercedes asked Clarissa, and Xander heard the subtle irritation in her tone. It seemed as though she hadn’t been looking to spread the word of her Domme status.

  Fair was fair, in his opinion.

  “I’m not married,” Clarissa admitted, her eyes immediately going down to the table.

  “Well, Mr. Boone might just be interested in showing you the ropes.”

  Lord, was she serious?

  Keeping his reaction to Mercedes’s very blatant assumption was difficult, but he prided himself on his ability to maintain his composure at all costs. He also thought she might’ve been testing him, so he decided to play into her hands.

  “If you’re interested in seeing the club, I’d be more than happy to have you as a guest,” he told Clarissa, watching Mercedes out of the corner of his eye.

  “What is it that you like about being a submissive?” Tim asked this time, surprising them all with his interest.

  When Clarissa seemed to be thinking things through, Xander added, “Don’t overthink it. Tell him the first thing that came to your mind. Why is it something you prefer?”

  “I don’t want to be in control all the time,” Clarissa offered easily.

  “I could never do that,” Tim
said, laughing. He appeared as though he were suddenly uncomfortable.

  “No?” Mercedes asked. “Is that because you want to be in control of your business?”

  “I would never give up control of my business.”

  “Who said you had to?” Mercedes asked.

  Xander wondered why she seemed to be pushing the issue.

  “I just assumed,” Tim said, glancing around to look at the three of them.

  “But aside from that, you’d give up all control?” Mercedes asked Tim, resting her elegant forearms on the table, her beautiful hands wrapped around the stem of her now empty wine glass.

  The waiter must’ve noticed her body language because he was immediately at her side, refilling her glass.

  “Thank you,” she told him with a brief glance.

  “I think it’s a possibility.”

  Xander’s attention jerked back to Tim. Had he been answering Mercedes’s question? Was this guy a submissive? Or was he just playing with Mercedes?

  There was only one way to tell.

  “So, you’d be interested in being dominated by a woman?” he asked, signaling for the waiter to refill his glass as well.

  “I think it would be fun,” Tim said.

  Xander could see that Tim was making every effort to keep from looking at his assistant.

  Yep, the conversation was definitely uncomfortable for the man, but at the same time, at least it wasn’t business.

  Xander focused on the television screen, noticing the words scrolling across the bottom for the first time. He didn’t pay them much attention even now, but as he watched the jumble of words, the memory of that first dinner date began to fade. He did his best not to think about the events that happened shortly after that dinner either.

  As it turned out, Tim was very interested in being dominated, and Mercedes had been all too kind by agreeing to show him the ropes. It was their introductory scene at Kink. Xander would never forget it either. If he were correct, Tim wouldn’t either. The man had been smitten, just like several of the unattached male subs that night. Needless to say, Mercedes had garnered a reputation at the club.

  If they could only see her now, he thought to himself.