Perception Read online

  “So what do you say? We’ll go back to your office and get things started?”

  Although he’d kindly phrased it as a question, Mercedes got the distinct impression that he was informing her, not asking.

  Mercedes was speechless.

  For the first time in her entire life, she didn’t know what to say. And that was saying something because not only was she a damn good real estate agent, she was also a formidable Domme.

  One who, from this moment on, knew she could easily like this man.

  As a friend. And nothing more.

  Chapter One

  Soft opening of Devotion…

  Tuesday

  Xander Boone couldn’t take his eyes off of the dazzling blonde walking through the door of the private room he had reserved at Devotion. The beauty he was currently eyeing was none other than Samantha McCoy, the alluring wife of Logan McCoy, a man Xander considered a friend and potentially a future business partner.

  Tonight at the soft opening of Devotion, just like almost any night from what he’d heard, Logan’s wife had certainly garnered some attention. Xander’s was no exception. He might not know her all that well, aside from what her husband had mentioned, but Samantha had a way about her that drew people. It was in her eyes.

  Considering she’d set her sights on him specifically, according to Logan, Xander knew she was making an honest effort to get his attention.

  It had worked.

  Then again, thanks to his conversation with Logan, Xander had been expecting it. The fact that he was always interested in shaking things up a little, he had committed to playing along, hence the reason they were there.

  Making no attempt to conceal his appreciation for Samantha’s physical appeal, Xander continued to eye her as she made her way closer.

  He offered the hint of a smile when she tentatively walked into the room, allowing the door to close behind her as she stared up at him. There was curiosity gleaming in her celadon green eyes, along with what he sensed was something akin to nervousness as she glanced down to the toy in his hand and then back up to meet his gaze.

  Mission accomplished.

  Sure, Xander had purposely untucked and unbuttoned his shirt and carried the mini flogger with him to answer the door, but that was for effect. Mostly. He wanted to see her reaction, and he got exactly what he was expecting. Samantha was walking into a situation that she was not all that familiar with, but he’d already known that thanks to his conversation with Logan.

  Sue him for wanting to have a little fun with her.

  As Sam and Logan moved slowly into the room, Xander continued to study her, his eyes perusing her lean, slight build. There was no denying the fact that the woman was gorgeous with her long blonde hair, glowing green eyes and tons of curves. However, the way she carried herself, – strong and confident – despite her reluctance to the situation, was far more enticing than just her mere physical beauty.

  Xander was immensely drawn to a woman’s inner strength. More so than any physical characteristic. In fact, it was a prerequisite of his.

  And he’d met a number of submissives who didn’t quite understand the concept. He’d played with many who were under the incorrect notion that a Dom was looking for a woman who would just roll over and submit.

  They were wrong. Dead wrong.

  At least as far as Xander was concerned.

  The stronger a woman was, the more he admired her. Regardless if she would easily submit or not.

  Looking at Samantha now, Xander noticed the way she was clinging to Logan, holding on as though he were her lifeline. In his opinion, her response to his presence was somewhat deceiving in the sense that it gave the distinct impression she was unaware of what might happen tonight. But from what Xander knew of her, he wasn’t fooled. Samantha McCoy was anything but oblivious.

  Xander’d had the pleasure of talking to Logan on more than one occasion about this scenario specifically, and the little adventure they were about to embark upon had been in the works for a couple of weeks, ever since they had a definite date determined for the opening of Devotion.

  His first impression of Sam? Quite the opposite of what he’d seen of her tonight, he’d have to say. During his first and only encounter with her outside of the club, he’d pegged her for all business, all the time. But then he’d seen her with Logan a few minutes ago in the hallway, and she’d definitely been getting down to business, but not the way Xander figured her to.

  Seeing her standing there, her hands gripping the iron rails that surrounded the second floor with Logan’s hand hidden beneath her skirt had been gratifying. If he’d had any concerns about what she wanted, he was eased somewhat by seeing her pleasured by her husband right there for anyone and everyone to see.

  She had certainly passed his initial test.

  Nodding his head toward the opposite side of the dimly lit room, Xander urged Logan and Samantha farther inside. Since Logan was already up to speed on how this session would go, Xander didn’t feel the need to give him guidance. Watching as Logan took Sam’s hand and led her over to the lone chair that sat in a corner on the opposite side, he waited.

  Knowing that he didn’t have time to waste, as soon as Sam had her back to him, Xander tossed the small flogger away and moved to the other side of the room to retrieve the one he intended to use.

  His hand had barely wrapped around the braided handle before his slacks were getting a tad uncomfortable. Just the thought of what was about to happen had his cock rigid and anxious.

  Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to pay attention to Samantha and do what he needed to do, Xander turned his full attention back to the woman who’d been his main focus for the last few hours. Mercedes Bryant. The mouthwatering woman standing on the opposite side of the room.

  Xander wouldn’t deny the fact that there were plenty of beautiful women in the world; he’d had the pleasure of being with plenty himself. But truth be told, not a single woman held a candle to Mercedes. As far as he was concerned, she easily outshined every other woman in the world.

  He’d thought so ever since the first time he met her nearly a decade ago.

  Mercedes was breathtaking. Mile long legs that would wrap around a man perfectly, luscious curves that he could easily fill his palms with, jet black hair that fell to her waist, exotic steel gray eyes that saw everything, and alabaster skin that just begged for a man’s touch.

  She was riveting.

  And those were just a few things Xander found so fucking desirable about the woman standing there, waiting for him.

  In all of his thirty-five years, he had never met a woman who had captured his attention the way she did.

  But he knew firsthand that there was more to Mercedes than just a pretty face and a tantalizing body. Truthfully, through the years that they had been friends, he’d been more captivated by her intelligence, her strength, and her wit than anything else.

  And she had enamored him. He just had never let her know.

  Without a doubt, she was the most tempting woman he’d ever laid his eyes on. And he could guarantee she had absolutely no idea he felt that way.

  Because if she did, he knew she wouldn’t have agreed to this.

  Xander was a pro at keeping his true feelings to himself. After all, he’d spent years doing so. In his business, it didn’t benefit him to show his hand too soon. His poker face was without flaw. He prided himself on his ability to hide any and all reaction. And in his defense, he’d been attempting to lure Mercedes to him for longer than he cared to admit. However, as it turned out, subtlety wasn’t exactly his specialty. Not where Mercedes was concerned.

  He was tired of being subtle. He was also tired of waiting. So, just like everything else, it was time he took control. In the one way that he was intimately familiar with.

  Mercedes moved, drawing his attention to her outfit. When he picked her up that evening, they’d both been dressed for the formal affair that they were attending. Over dinner, she’d stolen his breath with
the sexy black dress that had highlighted her voluptuous figure incredibly well, giving a sexy glimpse at her more than impressive cleavage.

  However, since they’d entered the play room, she had changed her clothing. At his request. The black corset with its fiery red ribbons, the short black skirt and knee high black boots with the four inch heels was one of the sexiest outfits he’d ever seen her wear and yes, he’d seen her wear plenty, not to mention less.

  After all, this wasn’t the first time he’d watched her closely.

  Torn between eyeing the woman whose gaze was boring into him and doing what needed to be done, Xander glanced between her and the St. Andrew’s cross.

  He met her eyes again and nodded slightly.

  “Over to the wall.” His instruction was gentle yet firm, not offering any room for confusion or argument, which, of course, was the intention.

  Time to begin.

  ~~*~~*~~

  Mercedes crossed paths with Xander as she moved to the far side of the room as instructed. She met his gaze as she did and noticed the sexy smirk tipping the corner of his lips.

  Arrogant bastard.

  He seemed to be getting a huge kick out of this. Then again, it wasn’t often – translated to never – that anyone would get Mercedes to agree to something like this.

  Then again – her hesitancy notwithstanding – she had to admit, she was both nervous and excited about what was going on here tonight.

  Since the day she’d been introduced to Xander Boone many years ago, they had spent a lot of time together. In the simplest of terms, they were business associates, not to mention, friends.

  Close, yet very platonic, friends.

  When they weren’t dealing with the ins and outs of the real estate market, they would often spend time together outside of work, as well. A lot of that time was spent at one of Dallas’ most exclusive BDSM clubs – appropriately named Kink – where they were both now members.

  Their friendship had started almost instantly, and they had grown close through the years. It didn’t hurt that they had several things in common which had strengthened their friendship from the start: they both believed that business was business, play was play, and when it came to the latter they were both looking for something, and nothing, at the same time.

  Namely, fun with no strings attached.

  Simple.

  Uncomplicated.

  Just the way Mercedes preferred everything in her life to be.

  Only there was one problem… Xander had recently presented her with a proposition that was neither simple nor easy.

  Their lives consisted of both work and play, and they went to the extreme on both counts. It’s just who they were. Within the category of play, they were both intimately familiar with domination and submission. However, if she didn’t know better, she’d have thought Xander had recently received a blow to the head that had clearly warped his good sense.

  If Mercedes weren’t mistaken, Xander Boone wanted her submission.

  And that was where the problem lay. Mercedes couldn’t give him that because she was not a submissive. Key word being not.

  She was a Domme, and her reputation was well established and highly respected in their circles and he knew it. So how the hell he’d talked her into this said a lot about his powers of persuasion.

  His request had come one night, about two weeks ago, when they had met for dinner after work. Prefaced with, “Because neither of us has a pet (as Xander liked to refer to his submissives), I’d like to call in a favor.”

  A freaking favor.

  First of all, for the record, Xander never asked for favors. Hell, he didn’t usually ask for anything. So, not only was he low maintenance as far as friends went, it was hard to refuse to help a friend when they looked at her the way Xander had.

  That was when things started to go downhill.

  Based on his explanation at the time, and his rebuttal to every one of her suggestions – What about finding a sub or a trainee from Kink? What about that one woman… yeah, he hadn’t even let her finish that sentence – Mercedes was under the distinct impression that Xander was playing a dangerous game with her, trying to get her to submit when there was no way in hell it was going to happen.

  Except for tonight.

  Somehow he had convinced her to come here, and she had no choice but to deal with it – because a promise was a promise and Mercedes didn’t go back on her word.

  Now, as she fought the urge to sneak out when he wasn’t looking, Mercedes divided her attention between the power couple and the sexy as sin man who was waiting for her to do as he instructed.

  It was apparent that Xander’s request had something to do with the beautiful couple who had made their way into the room. From what Xander had told her, Logan had been the one to approach him in the beginning. Logan and Samantha weren’t vanilla by any means, but according to Logan, they had never experimented with BDSM. Xander came up with the idea for giving them a little taste of his lifestyle.

  Strange request, huh? Actually, it wasn’t all that uncommon.

  Only, somewhere along the way, Xander had turned the tables on her. Something she would certainly pay him back for at a later date.

  It was just a shame that she considered Xander so damned attractive, and strangely irresistible – in a very platonic sort of way – because she certainly wouldn’t have hesitated to tell him to fuck off with his invitation. But, in her defense, she wasn’t the only one who found Xander physically appealing. Most women did, and just like them, she wasn’t immune to his charm. Unfortunately.

  At the moment, Mercedes could think of a more apt word to express what she thought about him: Incorrigible. Yes, that certainly described him nicely.

  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.

  Chapter Two

  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.