Perception (12 page)

And
that was probably what she feared most.

When
he pulled back, not moving, just staring down at her, Mercedes reached up and
touched his face with the tips of her fingers. “Thank you.”

“No,
baby, thank you.”

Xander sat at his desk, staring out
the office window overlooking downtown Dallas, his mind still reeling from what
had just happened just a few short hours ago. With the phone pressed to his
ear, he listened to the monotonous ringing while he sat patiently waiting for
his friend to answer, doing his best to focus on something other than the
memory of the way Mercedes tasted against his lips.

“What’s up?” Shane asked when he
finally answered his phone.

Not in the mood to beat around the
bush, Xander opted for getting right to the point. “Wanted to let you know that
Mercedes won’t be going to Kink tonight,” Xander told Shane bluntly.

Mercedes had informed him that she
had a call that she had to take and had disappeared back to her condo shortly
after he had helped her to get dressed. Not wanting to let her go, Xander had
resigned himself to doing just that. As much as he wanted to keep her at his
side every single second for the next five days, he knew he couldn’t.

“Why not?” Shane asked curiously.

“I’m taking her to Devotion.”

“
You’re
taking her?”

“That’s what I said.”

“Mind if I meet you there?” Shane
asked, a modicum of uncertainty in his tone.

Xander turned his chair to stare at
his blank computer screen. “Not at all.”

“Cool. See you, what? At nine?”

“I’m taking her to dinner first, so
yes, around then.”

Knowing he should hang up and let
the call end on that note, Xander paused, fully expecting what came next.

“What’s going on, X?” Shane asked,
his tone turning serious all of a sudden.

Xander sighed. He knew he needed to
explain to Shane the deal that he’d made with Mercedes and the recent
development that had already changed their friendship at least as far as Xander
was concerned. Shane deserved that much because he cared about Mercedes, almost
as much as Xander did. And on any given day, Xander would usually invite Shane
to dinner with them.

Not tonight.

He’d already informed Mercedes that
he was going to enlighten Shane as to what was happening between them, but he
wasn’t quite sure how to spit it out. If he offered up too much information,
Shane would quickly realize this was something more than just a few days of
play time. He had absolutely no intention of anyone figuring out that what
Xander wanted was a hell of a lot more than playtime. Not before he could
convince Mercedes at least.

“Fuck,” Shane exhaled, clearly
making his own assumptions based on Xander’s lack of answer. “Man, do you know
what you’re doing?”

Ok, so clearly he didn’t need to
explain, but Xander scrounged up a considerable amount of
let’s-just-play-along
and answered with a question of his own. “What are you talking about?”

“I always suspected you had your
sights set on her, but seriously, X, she’s…”

“She’s what?” Xander asked, his
frustration escaping.

“She’s not a submissive.”

That’s what you think,
Xander thought to himself. Out
loud, he said, “I never said she was.”

“No, but if you’re getting cozy with
her, then you’re thinking you can change her. Man, that’s not gonna happen.
You’re gonna ruin your friendship with her. Not to mention your business relationship.”

Xander had given that some serious
consideration as well. However, he spent his life taking risks and this was one
he couldn’t find it in himself to regret. At least not at this point. The
alternate – sitting back and hoping Mercedes might pursue him – would probably
have him waiting a lifetime.

Unacceptable.

“Let me worry about that,” Xander
told Shane. He wanted to say he had it all under control, but he wasn’t sure
that was the case, so he bit his tongue.

Shane sighed, clearly dropping the
subject. “I’ll see you both tonight then.”

With that, they disconnected the
call.

Shane was right, he’d be seeing them
both. The remaining question was one only Mercedes could answer: how much of
herself was she going to let people see?

~*~*~*~

When
Mercedes stepped out of her condo a little before seven, she took a deep
breath, trying to settle her unruly nerves. She was an absolute mess and had
been ever since Xander had made her come… with his mouth.

Lord
did the man have an amazing tongue. The memory sent a rush of heat shuddering
through her.

Willing
to do just about anything to put some much needed distance between them after
that mind-blowing event, Mercedes hadn’t lied when she told him she had a call
she couldn’t miss. It had been a well-timed saving grace. As to how well she’d
handled that call, she didn’t know. Her mind had continued to wander back to
Xander’s bedroom.

God,
what a difference a day could make.

As
she stood in the hall just outside of her front door, she wondered whether she
should just go back into her condo and pretend none of this ever happened. The
only reason she was out there was because she wasn’t sure she could resist
jumping Xander if he took two steps inside.

However,
it didn’t seem to matter whether she was out in the hall or safely tucked away
in her condo, her thoughts still drifted to Xander and the deal they’d made.
Part of her wanted to back out, the other part of her wanted to move full steam
ahead.

If
she pushed hard enough, she knew Xander would back off. He might not be happy
about it, but he wasn’t the type of man to ever cross the line. Too bad she
couldn’t even convince herself that she wanted him to, because if she didn’t
even buy it, he definitely wouldn’t believe her if she tried to tell him.

The
elevator dinged, drawing her attention down the hall.

Her
breath halted in her chest as she watched Xander approach, looking devilishly
handsome and positively intimidating with his hands thrust into the pockets of
his expensive slacks, his dark, forest green tie a nice contrast against his
crisp white shirt, and his hand tailored jacket accentuating his immense upper
body.

In
her opinion, there was nothing sexier than a self-confident, well-dressed man.
And that was a more than befitting description of Xander Boone.

Watching
him as he moved toward her, Mercedes recalled the very first time she’d met
him. Upon first glance, he’d overwhelmed her with his sheer size. It hadn’t
taken long before he’d overwhelmed her with his personality as well. And to
this day, Xander was probably the one man she admired more than anyone else.
And not just because of how incredibly striking he was.

“You
look beautiful,” he said by way of greeting, invading her personal space and
pulling her to him, his lips brushing against hers briefly.

“Thank
you,” she managed to reply, suddenly feeling a little unsteady on her feet.

Definitely
a good thing she’d decided to meet him in the hall.

“Are
you ready?”

Mercedes
wasn’t sure she’d ever be ready for this man, but she responded with a firm,
“Yes."

“Perfect.
Did you pack your things?”

Xander
had called her to let her know he was taking her to dinner and that they would
be making a presence at Devotion later for an invitation-only BDSM theme night.
During that conversation, he’d asked her to pack enough to last her through the
weekend.

“I
did,” she confirmed.

“Good.
Gerard will have your things delivered to my condo and Janelle has agreed to come
by and put them away,” he informed her as he held out his arm, a signal for her
to hold on to him.

Gerard
was their beloved doorman who handled so much more than just a door in their
building. And Janelle was Xander’s housekeeper. Well, if she’d had any
inclination that Xander would be discreet in regard to their deal, she was
wrong. It was obvious that her secret was going to be out soon.

Nestling
her hand into the crook of his arm, she allowed him to lead her back to the
elevator.

Lord.
The man smelled incredible. Clearly he’d pulled out all the stops.

“You
mean I’ll have room in your closet?” she asked, hoping to disguise the nerves
that hadn’t settled at all since he’d stepped foot out of the elevator.

“And
your own drawer in my dresser,” he told her with a wide grin.

Butterflies
went on the attack immediately, making her belly flutter. She was not immune to
this man, no matter how much she wished she was.

They
rode the elevator to the ground floor and were met by Gerard, the doorman, who
greeted them both by name. Once they stepped out into the humid night air,
Mercedes noticed Xander’s limo waiting for them.

Xander
took her hand from his arm and held on to it while he helped her into the back
of the limo while the driver stood to the side holding the door open.

“We’ll
be at our destination in under fifteen minutes, Mr. Boone,” Carson, Xander’s
limo driver, informed them as Xander climbed in behind her.

“Where
are we going?” she asked when the door was closed, and they were alone.

Xander
moved to sit beside her, not leaving an inch of space between them, his big,
warm hand resting on her thigh.

“Dakota’s,”
Xander replied, referring to one of his favorite restaurants, a five star
steakhouse no less.

As
the limo pulled away from the curb, Mercedes made a last ditch effort to calm
her nerves. It wasn’t like she hadn’t shared more than her fair share of
dinners with Xander. They often would go together, especially when he wanted to
go to Dakota’s because he knew she liked the place.

She knew
she should feel comfortable with him because they were such close friends, but
this felt decidedly different. Mostly because Xander was touching her.
Constantly. Oddly, she found that she didn’t mind his touch. It was intimate,
yet casual, but not at all innocent which left her a little rattled. She could
practically feel the tension radiating beneath his skin, and that made her own
skin tingle.

Thankfully,
the drive was a short one, and it wasn’t long before Xander was leading her
into the restaurant. After being greeted by name, Mercedes followed the host to
a table in the back while Xander remained right behind her, his hand making her
skin sizzle where he kept it at the small of her back.

Xander,
ever the gentleman, pulled out her chair after waving off the host’s attempt
and waited until she was seated comfortably before taking the chair across from
her. She would’ve been surprised by the fact that he didn’t take the seat next
to her, but if you’d ever been out to dinner with Xander, you’d realize that
the broad expanse of his upper body left him little room to share at a small
table such as the one they were now sitting at.

So,
their seating arrangement wasn’t unusual.

What
was different from normal was the fact Xander took her hand from across the
table and caressed the backs of her fingers with his thumbs while the host
detailed for them the wine list.

As
usual, Xander nodded politely but didn’t order, rather waiting patiently for
their waiter to arrive.

“Good
evening, Ms. Bryant. Mr. Boone,” the familiar waiter said with a face splitting
grin when he approached them less than a minute later.

“Good
evening, Tony,” Mercedes greeted back, smiling up at the handsome young man. It
didn’t seem to matter what time of day or night that they chose to go to the
renowned steakhouse, Tony was always there to serve them. She had her
suspicions that Tony was called in even on his days off if “Mr. Boone” chose to
make a reservation.

“Tonight
I’d like as little interruption as possible,” Xander informed him in that deep,
booming tone that he used when speaking business. Strangely enough, Xander kept
his eyes on her, not bothering to address Tony directly.

“Of
course, sir,” Tony answered, not looking at all taken aback by the request.
“I’ll bring the wine momentarily.”

“Thank
you,” Mercedes said as Tony turned and disappeared across the restaurant. They
would not be placing an order because for the last few years, whenever she
accompanied Xander, they always had the same thing. Tony would no doubt ensure
they had a perfect dining experience, without interruption.

Not
bothering to pull her hand out from underneath Xander’s, she stared down at
their hands, wondering if he felt the way she trembled. It was an involuntary
reaction, one she wasn’t at all proud of.

“Shane
called,” Xander informed her, drawing her attention back to him.

She
raised her eyebrow, a silent acknowledgement that she was listening.

“He’s
going to meet us at Devotion later.”

Mercedes
swallowed hard, but her gaze didn’t waver from Xander’s. She’d already given
herself a pep talk earlier. This was a commitment she’d made, and now she had
to deal with the fallout. A deal was a deal and worst case, if she couldn’t
survive this first test, she’d easily let Xander know at the end of the night.