Perception Read online

For a moment, he thought his heart would pound right out of his chest.

  Leaning back in his chair, he studied her. She didn’t look much different than she had earlier, although somewhere along the way she’d lost the blazer, which he considered a good thing.

  Her silky, onyx hair was flowing loosely down her back and over her shoulder, her crisp white shirt had two buttons opened, revealing just a hint of her gorgeous cleavage, and her black skirt was back to its original form before he had gruffly thrust his hands beneath it.

  She looked prim and proper and so fucking sexy it made his teeth hurt.

  “I’m here,” she told him.

  “I see that.” He made a point not to look pleased, but he definitely was. So much so that his cock was now straining against his slacks, begging for attention. On the flip side though, Xander was leaving what happened next up to her, so his dick was likely going to have to be patient.

  He’d asked her to come to him, and she had, which meant she was accepting his proposal. If she weren’t, Mercedes would’ve emailed him with the bad news. She wasn’t big on conflict, and she tended to avoid it whenever possible. So it was good news that she was standing there. Except he knew Mercedes, which meant she would have a few stipulations to go along with her acquiescence. Now he just had to wait to see what those were.

  She moved closer, her arms loose at her sides. Not only was she still mostly buttoned up like the business professional he knew her to be, she had also put on even taller heels. He happened to prefer the ones she’d had on earlier, but these were nice too. They’d come right out of her Domme wardrobe; he recognized that immediately.

  If Xander had to guess, the shoes were a power play. Being that she was roughly a foot shorter before the five inches added to her height, she probably felt less intimidated by his size now. Without her shoes on, he could easily rest his chin on the top of her head. With her shoes, her forehead would be level with his chin, but the woman would come eye to eye with most men she encountered.

  “So, how does this work?” she asked, looking around at anything but him.

  “How does what work?” he questioned, playing her game right along with her.

  Mercedes met his gaze head on, and he saw the frustration in her eyes. She was doing this, but she wasn’t exactly happy with her own decision.

  It was a start. That’s all he needed.

  He waited to see if she would clarify.

  She didn’t, which left him in charge.

  Pushing up from his chair, Xander didn’t waste time as he made his way over to her. Taking her hand, he pulled gently, encouraging her to come with him.

  If she wanted to know how this was going to work, he’d show her. In his opinion, talking was overrated when it came to certain things.

  Mercedes wasn’t new to this scene; she wasn’t naïve enough to think he’d be gentle with her just because they were venturing into the unknown together. Five days were barely enough time to convince her that this was the right thing to do so he couldn’t afford to take his time seducing her slowly.

  Just as he expected, Mercedes hesitated briefly, pulling against his hold on her hand, but then she gave in, following behind him.

  Taking his time, he led her through his office, then through the main floor of his condo before approaching the stairs. He didn’t look back at her, unwilling to give her an out just yet. Once they reached his bedroom, he’d give her another chance to change her mind, but the most important thing was to get her there first.

  A minute later, they were walking into his bedroom. Once inside, he shut the door with a gentle click and then turned to face her.

  Her face registered nothing of what she was feeling. Then again, Mercedes was good at masking emotions. Almost as good as he was.

  Xander figured he could credit her bastard of a father for the way she kept her emotions on lock down. According to the conversations they’d shared, Phillip Bryant was a fuckup of the worst order. Xander only prayed he never ran into the guy because he wasn’t sure he’d let the man walk away with his body intact. Hell, he wasn’t sure he’d let the man walk away period.

  Shaking off the thought, Xander focused on Mercedes. “Take off your shoes,” he commanded, ensuring she didn’t take the statement as a request.

  Her eyes widened only slightly, but then she did exactly what he asked, stepping out of her shoes and leaving them on the floor beside her.

  “Now your blou –” Before he could get his instructions out, she stopped him by holding her hand up.

  “Me first,” she said.

  Xander took a small step back, raising his eyebrow in interest, and pushing his hands into his pockets. He was aiming for casual, although he was having a damned hard time keeping his hunger for this woman under control. “Go ahead.”

  “We’re going to do this,” she began, glancing around his bedroom briefly before meeting his eyes once more. “I’ll agree to five days, no holds barred.”

  No holds barred? Oh, hell. He was definitely intrigued.

  Xander didn’t smile, but he wanted to. Victory was a sweet, sweet thing. He didn’t think Mercedes would appreciate his celebrating, so he forced a bored expression.

  “But, you have to agree to something first,” she informed him.

  To his surprise, she reached up and began to unhook one of the buttons on her blouse, this one just beneath her magnificent breasts.

  “You’ve got my attention,” he told her, trying to keep his eyes on her face. It wasn’t as easy as he hoped it looked.

  The single button came free from its mooring, the crisp white fabric separating slightly to reveal the generous swells of her breasts cupped in white lace beneath.

  “I’ll agree to play this game with you. You can do your best to make me submit,” she told him as she freed another button. “I’m not at all convinced that it’ll work, but I’ll give you a shot.”

  His first instinct was to tell her that this damn sure wasn’t a game he was playing, but he kept it to himself. “And?” he implored her, waiting to hear her stipulations.

  “You have to let me top you.”

  Xander laughed out loud. There was no fucking way.

  “I’m serious,” she told him, her hand working to reconnect the button on her blouse.

  Had he been any other man, he might’ve succumbed to her threat, but Xander didn’t take kindly to teasing. If she wanted to work out a deal, he was game, but he didn’t play that way.

  “Unbutton it,” he barked, standing up straight as his hands fell to his sides.

  Mercedes’s eyes flared with what he assumed was surprise, maybe mixed with an ounce of heat. The woman might believe she was dominant, but he could see the underlying submissive inside of her.

  What made him crazy was the fact that she truly believed she was more in control by being a Domme, as opposed to a submissive. He knew she was well aware of Xander and Shane’s views on Doms and subs, but she’d never embraced their way of thinking. Which was another reason he felt as though her reasons for becoming a Domme weren’t the same as most.

  She wanted control.

  Of herself.

  That’s where she’d failed along the way. That’s where so many people went astray.

  The Dom didn’t wield the power… the submissive did.

  Now, he was going to work on teaching her that very lesson.

  ~*~*~*~

  Mercedes’s fingers stilled on the button she’d just managed to hook back. The look in Xander’s eyes was fierce, and it sent a trickle of heat fluttering beneath her skin. She loved that look. Loved to watch him when he turned all of that masculine dominance on one of his subs. He was a sight to see.

  Had she been watching him do that to someone else, she would’ve applauded him for taking the reins. Being that he was taking what little control she had away, Mercedes wasn’t quite sure how she felt about it.

  As though they had a mind of their own, her fingers worked the button loose once again before sliding to the next
.

  “Now continue to remove your blouse while you tell me your requirements.”

  Mercedes complied, unable to stop herself. She wasn’t exactly sure how she was going to continue to think, much less talk, because she was distracted by the look in his eyes, the impassioned way he continued to watch her.

  “Tell me,” he ordered.

  “You have to agree to let me top you. Twice,” she said, her breaths betraying her as she began to gasp for air as she released the last button on her shirt.

  Moving on to release the buttons on the cuffs at her wrists, she continued. “I’ll agree to submit to you, however you see fit, for the next five days. But at least once during that time, I want to dominate you. In public. And then, after all the silliness is over, I get to dominate you again. In public. At a venue of my choosing.”

  She barely noticed the slight quirk of his eyebrow, but it was there.

  Honestly, Mercedes was stunned that he hadn’t laughed in her face or told her to get dressed because there was no way in hell he’d agree to her terms.

  “Drop the shirt,” he said, his words no longer holding a hint of the gentleness she’d sensed in him earlier. He’d gone into full Dom mode. Not that she believed he had another setting.

  Mercedes allowed her shirt to slide down her arms and fall to the floor behind her. Now practically naked from the waist up, Mercedes felt the overwhelming heat that had been simmering in her veins since the moment he had left her standing in his conference room.

  Twenty four hours ago, if someone had asked her if she would ever be in this position, she would’ve laughed her ass off.

  Now? Well, she certainly wasn’t laughing.

  “Now the skirt.”

  Mercedes knew she needed to stand her ground. He was clearly stalling, probably hoping she’d give in and retract her stipulations once she was naked. No chance.

  “Do we have a deal?” she asked him as she reached to her side and unhooked the clasp on her skirt before lowering the zipper.

  “In public, huh?” he asked, this time sounding amused.

  “Yes. Public. Once at Devotion,” she explained as she gripped her skirt, keeping it from falling to the floor. “And the other at a place and time of my choosing.”

  She knew exactly when she was going to call him to the carpet, but she couldn’t very well tell him that she’d reserve her date for the grand opening of Alluring Indulgence Resort, which they’d just recently heard would be happening sometime at the beginning of next year. It was a good thing she was a patient woman because it was going to be a long wait. But definitely worth it.

  “What’s required of me?” he asked, his eyes continuing to glance up and down her partially clad body.

  “Whatever I want,” she told him.

  He nodded, his eyes still scanning her from head to toe.

  “Hard limits?” he asked.

  Ok, so he had her there. If he had hard limits, she’d have to comply. It was the only way she worked. “Yes, you can tell me your hard limits,” she agreed.

  He chuckled. “I wasn’t talking about me. I was talking about you. What are your hard limits?” he asked, turning the question back on her.

  God, she’d given some thought to what her hard limits were while she’d been pacing her living room, trying to talk herself out of this. She knew she should have at least one, maybe two, but she hadn’t come up with any. Her rationale had been that if she was going to do this, then she wanted to go all in with this man. She wanted to give herself over to him completely, to let him take control. It was the only way to prove to them both that this was not what she wanted.

  She’d been unable to come up with anything she refused to do because ultimately, she trusted him; there was no doubt about that. They’d been friends for so long, she knew everything there was to know about him. He would never hurt her. Never.

  “I don’t have any,” she finally said, her breath coming out in a rush.

  “None at all?” he asked skeptically.

  “None,” she confirmed.

  “So you’re good with sex in public? Being naked at the club? Me using toys on you? Floggers, canes, whips?”

  Those were just a handful of things she knew he was really thinking about. “I have no hard limits,” she reiterated again.

  “Drop the skirt,” he commanded, his tone gruffer than before.

  Releasing the material from her fist, she allowed her skirt to slide down her legs. Once it pooled at her feet, she stepped out of it, moving closer to Xander.

  “Have I told you how fucking beautiful you are?” he asked.

  Mercedes wasn’t sure whether he’d meant to say the words out loud, but she answered him anyway. “No.”

  “Fuck,” he muttered. “You steal my breath, Mercedes.”

  Holy shit. The honesty in his tone nearly had her knees going weak beneath her. She’d never heard him talk like that. Not to anyone. Ever.

  Fearing that he was trying to distract her, Mercedes reminded herself that she was still waiting for an answer.

  “Do we have a deal?” she repeated as she waited for his next instruction.

  “Take off the bra,” he told her, his eyes locked with hers.

  Without hesitation, Mercedes reached up and unhooked the front clasp of her bra, promptly dropping it to the floor. Xander hadn’t answered her yet, not verbally anyway, but she could see his response in his eyes.

  They were going to do this. They were going to submit to one another.

  It was only a matter of time.

  Chapter Ten

  Xander was doing his best to focus on the conversation and less on the dazzling, nearly naked woman in front of him. It wasn’t easy. Even if he prided himself on his ability to keep his composure, there were still some temptations that weren’t easy to ignore. Mercedes was just such temptation.

  While he contemplated his answer to her question, he was busy grazing her incredible curves with his eyes, wanting to put his hands on her, to feel once again how soft her skin was. To cup her breasts in his hands. He wanted to put his mouth on her, to suck her nipples until she was writhing beneath him, begging for more.

  He would’ve assumed that just the idea of submitting to anyone, let alone in public, would’ve sent his dick into hiding, but truthfully that wasn’t the case. Or maybe it was the fact that Mercedes had told him she didn’t have any hard limits. That, in itself, was enough to make him damn near lose his mind.

  To know that she trusted him enough to know he’d only push her as far as he felt she could go, well, it was humbling.

  “Just to confirm,” he said as he took one step closer. “You’ll give yourself over to me for five full days. Starting now. No hard limits. And in return, I have to agree to submit to you on two occasions. Once at Devotion, the other at a time and place of your choosing?”

  He knew what she had up her sleeve. She was going to play her card in a public place that would put him fully on display. Somewhere that might intimidate him. If she believed he wasn’t on to her plan, she was sadly mistaken. He’d just recently asked her to join him at the opening of Alluring Indulgence Resort, and though it wasn’t planned for roughly six more months, it was clear she was thinking that would be her venue of choice.

  Not that he really gave a shit. He knew the Walkers would likely find it amusing, but that was the least of his worries.

  “That’s correct,” she said on a breath, her eyes still locked with his.

  “Remove your panties,” he instructed, not looking away.

  Without reservation, Mercedes reached down and slid the silky white panties down her legs, stepping out of them as well which put her a mere foot or so away from him.

  His eyes locked on the patch of dark hair between her legs, then he trailed up over her generous hips, admiring the small tattoo he’d only been privy to when he had seen her playing at the club. He continued upward, over gently rounded belly, past her bountiful breasts. He was distracted briefly by the ornate tattoo that e
ncircled her entire arm from her shoulder down to her elbow. He’d always loved that tattoo. She’d gotten it before he met her, and according to her, it was a reminder of all that she’d been through. The flower represented her, and the intricate detail around it was the chaos she’d lived in since she was younger. As with a lot of her personal details, whenever he would ask, she would shrug him off, telling him it wasn’t important. Little did she know, but everything about her was important to him. And she should know that by now because he’d never let her retreat from him before because he was her friend. He was in her corner, no matter what.

  He looked up, meeting her gaze head on.

  He wanted to tell her that they had a deal. He wanted to tell her that he’d pretty much do anything for this chance. For him, it was so much more than getting her to submit to him. He’d wanted Mercedes for so long, had ignored that hunger and pretended he could handle merely friendship. But this woman was all he’d ever wanted in one magnificent, enticing package.

  He had to have her.

  And if it meant he’d have to submit in front of a crowd of people just to prove himself to her, then so be it.

  “Please tell me we have a deal,” she whispered, her arms still hanging down to her sides.

  “We do,” he finally conceded, unable to keep his hands off of her a moment longer.

  Taking one step forward, he cupped both of her shoulders, skimming his hands down her arms and then back up. She was warm and soft. His self-restraint was being tested because as far as Xander was concerned, he hadn’t waited just a few minutes for her to get undressed, to stand before him completely and utterly vulnerable.

  No, this certainly wasn’t something he’d come up with on the fly. He’d been waiting for this for years.

  “Turn around.”

  Mercedes turned to face away from him, giving Xander a perfect view of her back and her ass. He took a moment to skim over her soft skin, ensuring that there weren’t any marks left from their scene the night before. Although he’d double and triple checked prior to them leaving Devotion last night, he couldn’t help himself now.