Perception
Authors: Nicole Edwards
Tags: #Literature & Fiction, #Erotica, #Bdsm, #Romantic Erotica
Perception
By Nicole Edwards
The
Club Destiny Series:
Conviction
Temptation
Addicted
Seduction
Infatuation
Captivated
Devotion
Perception
The
Alluring Indulgence Series:
Kaleb
Zane
Travis
Holidays
with the Walker Brothers
Ethan
The
Devil’s Bend Series:
Chasing
Dreams
Perception
A
Club Destiny
Novel
Book 6
Nicole Edwards
Published
by SL Independent Publishing, LLC
PO
Box 806, Hutto, Texas 78634
Copyright
© Nicole Edwards, 2014
All
rights reserved
.
Kindle
Version
Cover
Images by: © Gabriel Moisa │123rf.com
Cover
Design by: Nicole Edwards Limited
Without
limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication
may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of
both the copyright owner and the above publisher of the is book.
Perception
–
A Club Destiny Novel
is a work of fiction. Names, characters,
businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the
author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual
persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is
entirely coincidental.
Erotic Romance
Mature Audiences
This book
contains elements of mild BDSM, and is meant for readers 18 and older.
To my family.
Thank you for putting up with me and my
crazy schedule.
I love you.
Author’s Note
Dear Reader,
First and foremost, the books that I
write are fiction. They are not intended in any way to be a reflection of real life.
In Perception, you will find mild BDSM practiced. This book is not intended to
be hardcore BDSM by any means. I did a lot of research for this book, and I
thank all of the wonderful people who have helped me through this. I will be
the first to admit that I am not an expert. I have used creative liberties at
times. But one thing I can assure you of is that all scenes within this book
are safe, sane and consensual, as they should be.
Much Love,
Nic
Per
·
cep
·
tion
\pər-ˈsep-shən\
noun -
physical sensation interpreted in the
light of experience
Table of Contents
Nine Years Ago…
Xander
exited the elevator on the third floor after a painfully long ride in what
could very easily be referred to as a death trap. Seriously, getting to the
third floor shouldn’t have taken that long. What the hell?
As he
stepped out into the dimly lit area, he glanced around at the well-kept, yet
drastically outdated furnishings of a small, two room office. Not only was it
drab and dark, it had a musty smell, like there was a water leak somewhere that
had never been fixed.
Why in
the hell did anyone work in a place like this? He wasn’t sure what he had been
expecting, but this certainly wasn’t it.
Less than
impressed, he tried to pretend not to notice. He was there to meet one of his
closest friends, Shane Gibson, who had been raving about a real estate agent
who was rapidly making a name for herself. He wasn’t going in for a design
consultation. Thank God.
Based on
the office that this up-and-comer worked out of, Xander was having difficulty
seeing her success, but he hadn’t met her yet, so he refrained from passing
judgment.
Xander
had no idea how Shane had come to meet Mercedes Bryant, the Realtor who clearly
needed a new office, but he didn’t necessarily need to know either. He was in
the market for property, his friend believed she could assist him, nothing else
really mattered.
According
to Shane, Mercedes specialized in commercial properties, and she’d been
referred to as aggressive and emphatic. Based on her office building, Xander
was inclined to believe that
wet behind the ears
could probably be added
to the list of adjectives used to describe her.
Following
the sound of voices coming from the only other room in the place, Xander
stopped just outside of the open door and waited for them to acknowledge him.
“What’s
up, man?” Shane greeted him pleasantly when he looked over from his seat across
from an incredibly beautiful woman. “Xander Boone, I’d like you to meet
Mercedes Bryant.”
Xander
ignored the strange smirk on the man’s lips.
“Very
nice to meet you, Mercedes,” Xander greeted the well-dressed woman who rose
from her chair and walked around her desk as he entered the office. A few steps
into the small room, he was standing directly in front of her, extending his
hand out for her to shake. “Shane,” he tacked on with a nod of his head toward
his friend.
No,
Xander wasn’t at all impressed with her choice of offices, but he certainly
approved of Mercedes’s appearance. Dressed in a pair of black slacks, a crisp
white shirt with the top two buttons left undone, her shiny black hair pulled
back in a tight ponytail while small gems twinkled in her ears, the woman
exuded professionalism. Not to mention sex appeal.
So maybe
she looked like she worked for the FBI with the fact that she lacked any color
in her wardrobe, but he had to admit that the contrast between that white shirt
and her black hair was striking. And her eyes. An intense gray that seemed to
peruse slowly over him, leaving a trail of heat in their wake.
When
Mercedes took his hand, he swore he felt an electrical current shoot through
his arm. Her grip was firm and confident, her hand soft and smooth. An
incredible combination, if you asked him.
There was
no denying he was physically attracted to the woman.
“Likewise,”
she responded in a smoky tone that Xander’s entire body responded to.
“Xander’s
looking to purchase that overhauled warehouse you were telling me about,” Shane
stated after clearing his throat.
“I
wouldn’t go that far just yet.” He glanced over at Shane and then back to
Mercedes. “However, I’d like to take a look at it, if you don’t mind,” Xander
added as he continued to watch her.
“Do you
have time now?” Mercedes asked, surprising him.
“I do.
Shall I follow you?”
“No, I’ll
drive. That way we can talk on the way.”
“I’ve,
uh… got a meeting to run to,” Shane interrupted, his eyes darting between the
two of them. “But I’ll catch up with you later,” he told Mercedes, his hand
gently touching her arm. “And
you
,” he said to Xander, “I’ll talk to you
this afternoon.”
Xander
nodded to Shane, not saying a word.
A minute
later, Xander was following Mercedes out into the brilliant morning sunshine.
Had he not been so drawn to the woman leading the way, he might’ve noticed
there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky. But as it was, he was mesmerized by the
way the sun shone off of her black hair, giving it a vibrant blue tint.
As they
made their way over to the fancy black BMW sitting in the parking lot, Xander
did his best to keep his eyes focused on where they were going, but he couldn’t
seem to look away from her.
Shitty
office. Nice clothes. Expensive car.
The
combination confused him.
“Shane
told me you’re a property developer,” Mercedes said, glancing over her shoulder
as she continued to walk, her heels clicking on the eroded asphalt of the
parking lot.
“I dabble
here and there,” he answered ruefully. He did more than that, but he didn’t
feel the need to explain himself.
Busted.
There was
no doubt she’d just noticed he was staring at her ass. If it had bothered her
in the least, he couldn’t tell.
“Yes,
that’s what I’ve heard,” she said with a mischievous smirk.
He liked
her already.
When
Mercedes unlocked the doors to the small car using the key fob she clutched
tightly in her hand, Xander climbed inside, ducking so that he didn’t hit his
head on the roof. He hated little cars. With a passion.
“How do
you know Shane?” he asked as she got situated, buckling her seat belt. Xander
was attempting to do the same. Attempt was a rather loose interpretation of it
too. As it was, he had to hunch over, crook his head sideways and then reach
for the buckle without looking down. Damn little cars.
“I met
him a couple of months ago. I’m in the market to rent a new office building. I
called on a listing, and he answered the phone,” she told him as she started
the car, put it in Reverse and began backing out of the parking space.
Xander
knew Shane was following in Xander’s footsteps as far as property development
went, but Shane was starting out slow. He was interested in residential, not so
much commercial. The man had recently purchased a couple of buildings and was
looking to rent them as office space. Xander, on the other hand, had taken the
fast track in both commercial development as well as venture capital
investments, and he attributed his success to his aggressiveness.
“This
place is not doing it for you anymore?” he asked, nodding toward the building
they were passing as she headed out of the parking lot.
Mercedes
glanced over at him, pinning him in place with her stare. “Everyone has to
start somewhere, Mr. Boone.”
True.
“I’m
sorry, I wasn’t implying –”
“Yes you
were.” She laughed gruffly. “And I happen to agree. But, I
did
have to
start somewhere.”
When
Mercedes turned her attention back on the road, Xander fought the urge to squirm
in his seat. Definitely time to change the subject.
“Tell me
more about the warehouse. Shane didn’t know much. Just that it’s somewhere
close to a hundred thousand square feet. True?”
“Yes,
give or take a few.” She drove the same way that she walked, with sexy
precision. He found himself transfixed by the way her hand maneuvered the stick
shift. “The building went up in 1967 and has seen quite a few tenants over the
years. The current owner’s been leasing it out for approximately fifteen years
now. The current asking price is two point four mil.”
Mercedes
glanced over at him briefly, and he had to wonder whether she was checking his
reaction to the price. If she were waiting for something, she wasn’t going to
get it. The price was incredibly low, even he knew that much.
“What did
the last tenant use it for?” he asked.
“From
what I understand, it was used as a call center.”
Xander
intended to lease the building out as soon as he acquired it. Maybe he’d hang
onto it for a few years then let it go for the right price. He knew without a
doubt that he could get a tenant in there rather quickly, but he decided to
question Mercedes. “If I need to find a tenant, can you handle that as well?”
“I
can’t,” she told him matter-of-factly. “However, I do have a friend who can get
me the name of a good leasing agent. I’ll get more information, and I’ll make
an introduction.”
Xander
definitely liked her. She wasn’t just looking to pass him along to someone
else. And maybe that was because he was ready to purchase a two million dollar
property, and she was more interested in the commission. He didn’t know for
sure. But he did get the feeling that he could trust her to follow through.
A solid
fifteen minutes later, Mercedes was pulling through an electronic gate that had
seen better days. Rusted and hanging by the hinges on one side, Xander didn’t
doubt that it was out of commission, which explained why it had been propped
open.
He noted
the eight foot stone wall that ran around the perimeter of the parking area and
then back around behind the building. Interesting. They were in a light
industrial area, but he knew the crime rate wasn’t high because he’d done some
preliminary research. He figured the original owner must’ve thought the wall
added something.
Aside
from making it look like a prison, it didn’t hold any appeal whatsoever.
But
Xander wasn’t going to say anything. He didn’t give a shit if the place were
surrounded by land mines. The price was right, and if the building wasn’t going
to fall in on itself, he knew it’d be a damn good investment.
And at
this point that was all that mattered.
~~*~~*~~
Mercedes
pulled into one of the partially striped parking spots right near the front
doors of the vacant building. She was doing her best to focus on the road and
not on the intimidating man crammed in her car.
She had
struggled to hold in her laugh when he somehow managed to squeeze his gigantic
body into her small car. And then again when he somehow managed to get the
seatbelt on. No wonder he’d offered to follow her. Then again, he had been a
good sport because if she’d been in his shoes, she wouldn’t have attempted to
fold herself into such a small space. As it was, his neck was at an odd angle.
Definitely
a good sport.
But,
despite his discomfort, they had made it. Thank God. She was about to get a
chance to breathe fresh air, rather than the subtle, sultry scent of what she
could only assume was expensive cologne. The man smelled amazing, but she damn
sure didn’t want him to know she thought so.
Xander
Boone was everything Shane had described him as being. Tall, confident,
straight-forward. And blunt, as she’d learned by his less than discreet
reference to the dilapidated building she currently worked out of. Too bad
Shane hadn’t bothered to add that Xander was also ruggedly handsome and a tad
on the intimidating side.
Not that
she was going to let the last bother her. She could hold her own.
Climbing
out of the car, she headed to the glass doors. Using the key she’d had to pick
up that morning, she gained entrance and held the door open for Xander. To her
surprise, he merely glared at her, placing his hand above her head and holding
the door open.
“Ladies
first,” he told her with a grin that gave her a glimpse of straight white
teeth.
“Thank
you,” she answered, trying not to smile back at him and failing.
Once
inside, Mercedes did her best to stay out of his way. There wasn’t much she
could show him, and he wouldn’t have to go far to see everything. The warehouse
was huge, without a lot of walls. Not to mention in desperate need of some
cosmetic surgery.
That was
an easy fix, and if what Shane had told her was true, Xander wouldn’t be
bothered by a few blemishes.
So, she
stood back, watching him move around the warehouse.
She was
drawn to him, just as she had been when he’d stepped through her office door.
But she realized after just one glimpse that she shouldn’t be drawn to him.
They were too much alike.
Just that
morning, while she had waited for Xander to arrive, she’d dared to ask Shane a
little more about the mystery client who was coming to see her.
“He’s a
Dom,” Shane had told her.
Interesting.
“Does he belong to the same club you do?” she had inquired, hoping to sound
casual. Shane had informed her that he was a member of Kink, an opulent BDSM
club she’d heard about, but had never visited.
Mercedes
belonged to a club, but she hadn’t bothered to mention that to Shane. She’d
been surprised to find out Shane was a Dom in the first place, and still hadn’t
produced the nerve to question him more even though she was intrigued.
“Yeah.
He’s the one who got me in there.”
Yep,
that’s about all she learned about Xander Boone. Well, other than what the
Google search had offered her. He wasn’t just a Dom. He was a rich Dom. A very
successful, rich, Dom.
Which
meant he was off limits.
And that
was a good thing because the man’s charisma was palpable, and when he turned
those sexy, moss green eyes on her, had she been any other woman, she might’ve
swooned.
She
wasn’t the swooning type.
“I want
to know how serious the owner is to sell,” Xander stated firmly as he made his
way toward her. “There’re quite a few things that have to be done to this place
to get it up to code.”
Ok, so
the man definitely wasn’t new to this.