Perception (14 page)

“Don’t
let it go,” he warned her as he continued to admire the jewelry now in place.

Gripping
her waist, Xander once again tormented her other nipple, lingering longer than
he intended when she began to moan in earnest. Once he was satisfied, he pulled
back and just as diligently attached the other clamp, tightening that one, as
well. A small crystal dangled from each clamp while the chain looped down
between her breasts.

“Beautiful,”
he said as he admired her puckered nipples. “Do they hurt?”

“A
little,” she admitted, her breaths ragged and choppy.

“Have
you ever had your nipples clamped?”

“Not
by a man, no,” she told him.

Xander
cocked his eyebrow, waiting for her to explain.

“I
own a pair because I wanted to know what they felt like. I happen to like
them.” She grinned.

“I
happen to like them as well.” Quite a bit.

With
his hands on her hips, he pulled her closer, nestling the hard length of his
erection between her thighs, wishing like hell he could bury himself inside of
her right then.

He
would’ve too if it hadn’t been for the fact that the first time he took her, it
damn sure wouldn’t be in the backseat of a limo. No, he was reserving his first
feel of her pussy sheathing him for later that night. It was a damn good thing
he had an endless supply of patience because Mercedes had the potential to push
him to the breaking point.

Unable
to keep from enjoying how pretty her nipples looked with the rose colored gold
dangling from them, he admired her a while longer, reaching into his pocket
once again and retrieving a much smaller box.

“More?”
she asked, her chest rising and falling as though she were anticipating his
next step.

This
one was going to take a little finesse on his part, he knew. The nipple clamps
were one thing because they were for her pleasure as well as his. The next
thing he wanted to give her was more than that. It was a symbol.

One
he fully expected her to balk at.

~*~*~*~

The weight
of the nipple clamps was making her crazy. The sensation was both tantalizing
and a little painful, all at the same time, but the pain was a good one. An
erotic one that heightened her awareness and left her hungry for more.

In
truth, she hadn’t expected it. At least not tonight.

Why,
she didn’t know.

This
was Xander. A man who liked to keep people on their toes. And he didn’t work on
anyone else’s timetable. Ever. This was his show, and she had fully accepted
she was just along for the ride.

Mercedes
fought the urge to cup her breasts, to squeeze them to release some of the
pressure. It was a good thing she had a tremendous amount of control. Not that
she was showing much of it tonight.

As
she watched, Xander held out the other box, not moving to open it or have her
do the honors. In fact, he looked worried. Studying his reaction caused her to
forget all about the consistent throb in her nipples. For the time being.

“What’s
that?” she asked, suddenly incredibly nervous.

“Don’t
panic on me yet, pet,” Xander said reassuringly, his eyes never leaving her
face.

She
watched, anticipation and dread doing a number on her already frayed nerves. In
truth, she hadn’t been all that surprised by the nipple clamps. They were an expected
adornment with Xander. Maybe not tonight, but she’d definitely anticipated
them. Xander was quite fond of them, she knew. But now that they were in place,
she couldn’t imagine what other torture devices he might be hiding.

Xander
flipped the box open to reveal an exquisite diamond rose on what looked to be a
white gold chain.

Her
heart stuttered in her chest when he lifted it from the box, and she realized
exactly what it was. Her first instinct was to move away from him, to get as
far away as possible. He must’ve known because his one hand snaked around to
her back, holding her firmly in place.

“If
you absolutely refuse to wear it tonight, I will understand,” he told her.

Mercedes
met his eyes for the first time since he’d retrieved the chain and what she saw
staring back at her certainly wasn’t what she expected. He had said the words,
but she knew without a doubt that if she refused, he’d be more hurt than angry.
And that bothered her more than anything.

“Just
for tonight?” she asked, her hands trembling.

“Tonight,
and any night we’re at Devotion.”

“Xander…”
she couldn’t even finish her sentence.

There
was absolutely no way she was ready for this. Although the jewelry was delicate
and beautiful, what it symbolized was something she wasn’t ready for. Shit, it
had only been a few hours since she’d agreed to this deal, and now he wanted
to…

God,
she couldn’t even think it.

“Why?”
she asked, bewildered by what he was offering.

Xander
reached up and cupped her chin, forcing her to look at him when she couldn’t
tear her gaze away from the chain dangling from his fingers.

“It’s
not permanent and it doesn’t mean anything unless you want it to. It’s more so
that there are no questions from anyone else, M. I don’t want any questions as
to who you belong to.”

“It’s
a collar,” she said, as though that could possibly be news to him. More
accurately, it was what she’d refer to as a day collar, one designed to show
ownership, but not used in play.

“It
is,” he confirmed. “One I had designed for you today. Like I said, it’s not
permanent, but I do want to ensure that there are no questions. For the next
few days, you belong to me. Completely to me.”

Shit.
She knew what it symbolized, and she understood his reasoning. It still
bothered her.

Mercedes
had taken plenty of subs over the years. Only once had she ever collared one.
And that had come back to bite her in the ass hard.

A
little over two years ago, Mercedes had let herself get just a little too
attached to a man. A sub. Or at least she’d thought he was submissive. In the
club, he’d played the part to perfection. And for the months leading up to her
collaring him, she had thought she loved him.

But
in the light of day, Mitchell hadn’t been anything that he proclaimed to be.
Oh, sure, for the six months they dated exclusively, he’d pretended rather
well. It hadn’t been until she had officially collared him that he’d shown his
true colors. He had even gone so far as to propose to her. When she’d told him
she wasn’t quite ready to go that far yet, he’d shown her who he really was.

That
one devastating night, she learned his true nature. He was a submissive when
people were watching. He was an asshole when they weren’t. The first time he
laid a hand on her, she’d kicked his ass out. Well, technically Xander had
kicked his ass out because Mitchell had refused to leave her condo, while he
tried to convince her that he was sorry.

How
she’d been so blind, she truly had no clue, but it had been a rough few months
for her.

Regardless,
she didn’t take the notion of collaring a submissive lightly, and she knew by
the way Xander stared back at her, not moving as he waited for her response
that he did too. Now that she thought about it, in all the years that she’d
known Xander, never had he collared one of his pets, even a few he’d coveted
for longer than just a couple of days.

“Oh,
God,” she breathed. “I don’t…”

“It’s
all right, pet,” he said soothingly, lowering his hand.

No
holds barred.

The
thought fluttered through her mind, reminding her of why she was here and what
she’d agreed to.

Before
he could return the necklace to the box, she reached out and grabbed his wrist.
She’d signed on for this, and she wouldn’t go back on her word. If this would
please him, Mercedes was willing to give it a shot. No matter how uncomfortable
it made her.

“I’ll
wear it,” she whispered, shocked by her agreement.

Obviously
Xander was shocked as well because he just stared back at her as though she’d
lost her mind.

She
had. She truly had.

“Lift
up your hair,” he instructed long seconds later, his voice not as steady as it
had been previously.

He
was just as affected by her concurrence, and that sent a torrent of courage
flooding through her. That and a sense of empowerment that she hadn’t expected.

Raising
her arms, Mercedes caught her breath when the nipple clamps pulled, the weight
of the chain pulling tighter. She moaned, but managed to lift her hair up.

Xander
reached behind her, his large fingers moving deftly and then a moment later he
was finished. How he could hook something so small with such precision was
beyond her, but clearly he knew what he was doing.

Dropping
her hair, she looked directly at him and noticed he was staring at her neck.
She reached up, her fingertips brushing across the small rose that settled
comfortably against her throat. When she swallowed, she could feel it, which
meant she would constantly be reminded that it was there.

Probably
exactly how he wanted it.

“Fuck,”
Xander growled. “M.”

The
next thing she knew, Mercedes was crushed against him, Xander’s powerful arms
flexing as he held her close, his mouth fused to hers as he devoured her whole.

She
didn’t hesitate, fully engulfed by the flames that ignited when his mouth met
hers. The deep rumble in his chest didn’t subside as he thrust his tongue
against hers. She was going to disintegrate into ash if he kept this up. The
passion that smoldered between them was more powerful than a wildfire fanned by
high winds.

“I’m
not sure how much longer I can wait,” he said when they came up for air.

“For
what?” she asked, confused and more than a little breathless from that
mind-blowing kiss.

“To
be inside you. I want to feel the heat of your pussy surrounding me,” he breathed,
his lips brushing against the skin of her neck while his hips jerked beneath
her.

She
wanted it too. She wanted nothing more than to remove the barriers between them
and sate the ever intensifying ache that was continuing to grow more painful
with every passing second.

“What
are you waiting for?” she asked him, cupping the back of his head and holding
him close to her.

Xander
must’ve taken hold of the chain that connected the nipple clamps because
suddenly there was an influx of pleasure/pain that bolted through her nipples,
making her cry out from the sheer ecstasy of it.

“For
that reason,” he said on a rush. “Because I want to make you come a million
different ways before I bury myself inside of you.”

She
wanted to tell him that the only thing he needed to do was to continue talking
like that, and she’d come from his voice and his words alone.

And
she feared it would be the honest to God truth.

After
Xander had signaled for Carson to make it to their final destination, he helped
Mercedes right her dress, effectively hiding the nipple clamps. He hadn’t
particularly wanted to, but he’d been under the impression she needed a minute.

As
soon as the limo came to a stop in front of Devotion, Xander eased out into the
stifling evening air and then helped Mercedes out behind him once she slipped
her shoes back on. Carson came around to handle the door, handing him a small
bag as he did.

“Thank
you,” he told the man. “I’ll text you when we’re ready.”

“Yes,
sir. I’ll be waiting.”

Taking
Mercedes’s hand, he led her to the main doors of Devotion and then held one
open for her.

With
a quick nod of his head, he greeted the woman who was manning the desk and the
security guard who was standing off to the side. The woman didn’t have much work
to do tonight because the club still hadn’t officially opened to new members
and tonight’s festivities were by invitation only. And he could only hope
security wasn’t necessary, but one could never be too careful.

With
his fingers still linked with Mercedes’s, he made his way through the next set
of double doors that led to the actual club.

At that
point, Xander released her hand, and placed his at the small of her back,
directing her toward the first bar. He noticed she was suspiciously eyeing the
small bag that he was carrying, but he refused to share the details with her
just yet.

Xander
had a plan and every time he eyed the collar around her neck, he became more
and more anxious to get the night started. Only he wasn’t looking to rush her
and being that Mercedes was the one who was going to be in the uncomfortable
spot tonight, he knew he needed to give her a little time to get acclimated to
their surroundings. Figuring out of sight, out of mind was the best option,
Xander stowed the bag underneath the first bar that they came to. He then
grabbed the attention of the bartender and ordered them drinks.

While
they waited, he took the opportunity to observe the goings-on of the club.

It was
still fairly early, but the place was jumping, more people than he was
expecting considering this was a test run of what they hoped would become a
regular theme night.

Tonight’s
theme… BDSM.

He was
surprised to see that the attendees had embraced the concept. At least they had
if their state of dress was any indication. Last night’s attire had been
formal, tonight was all about play. He noticed that, without explicit
direction, some people came up with some rather interesting ideas.

Most of
the early arrivals donned leather, some not so appealing, some rather intriguing,
all having one thing in common:  an apparent effort to reflect the
glorified, often stereo-typed lifestyle many were just now exploring.

Overall,
Xander liked the feel of the place. Everyone was into it, from novices to
experts and varying degrees in between.

As was
usual, the shutters over the windows were closed, the lights were dimmed which
left the club backlit by the red lights that surrounded the bars. The music was
loud, a sexy bass beat thumping through the cavernous space. There were lines of
people around the bars, others sitting at the scattered tables, some on couches
and even some against the wall.

Because
of the theme, they’d added some scenery, which included a St. Andrew’s cross, a
very interesting Sybian saddle machine that Trent Ramsey, the somewhat
obnoxious actor turned club owner and one of Xander’s longtime acquaintances,
had found necessary to include. Off to the far side, Xander noticed someone had
brought out a swing as well.

Of
course, those pieces of equipment were already reserved in advance for the
night, as were the glass enclosed playrooms. Mistress Serena was in one, but
only one of the other three was occupied at the moment.

Xander
had originally intended to use one of them for tonight, but after careful
consideration, he was leaning toward utilizing one of the more private areas.
Then again, that all depended on the way Mercedes responded to him.

Tonight
he intended to test her again.

He was
the Dom, –
her
Dom – and she was his submissive, and he fully expected
her full cooperation and attention throughout the night. If she could manage to
rein in some of her defiance, he’d gracefully reward her by keeping her out of
the public eye.

However,
if she chose to defy him, which up to this point he wasn’t sure she would do,
he would easily lay claim to one of the glass rooms as punishment. Because of
the latter, he had first dibs on the third room just in case.

Either
way, he fully intended to make tonight interesting.

After
all, he didn’t have a minute to waste. Five days weren’t nearly enough time for
all the things he had planned for her. But for now, he’d proceed with that
timeframe in mind.

Retrieving
the drinks that the bartender handed over, Xander turned to Mercedes, offering
hers to her first.

 “Thank
you,” she said with a smile when he handed her a glass filled with a clear
liquid.

“You’re
welcome,” he replied, studying her as she sipped from the glass. Figuring it
was as good a time as any to lay out the ground rules, Xander continued.
“Tonight, I want you to refer to me as Master or Sir,” he told her boldly,
wanting to set the boundaries immediately.

Up to
this point, they’d merely been on a casual date, something Xander found himself
hoping for more of in the near future. Well, the only difference might’ve been
him placing the nipple clamps on her and collaring her in the limo.

“Can you
do that?” he asked when she didn’t answer immediately, needing her verbal
confirmation that she was on board.

“Yes,
Sir,” she mumbled.

He noted
the sarcasm in her tone. She was adept at the rules of this game, so he didn’t
feel it necessary to call out her transgressions as they were made. If she
wanted to play that way, he’d gladly dole out his punishment accordingly. On
the other hand, she knew what would please him because she knew him so well, so
she had the option of playing by the rules.

The
choice was completely up to her.

“One
drink limit tonight,” he informed her as he sipped his Glenlivet. That was a
hard and fast rule that they were both used to. Anytime he planned for a scene,
he knew that alcohol didn’t mix well. The safety of his sub was, above all
else, his utmost priority.

And
tonight, he fully intended to focus all of his attention on the beautiful pet
he planned to stake his claim on in every way possible.

~~*~~*~~

Luke
McCoy was doing his best to keep his eye on everything that was going on around
him as he stood near the bar. It wasn’t that hard to do considering he knew he
had a second set of eyes doing the same not far away. Cole was less than ten
feet away talking to Sierra, but Luke knew he was well aware of everything that
was going on.

As he
waited for the bartender to hand over the three drinks he’d ordered, Luke
scanned the room, noticing that Xander and Mercedes had just arrived. Good
thing too since tonight had been his new business partner’s suggestion in the
first place. If he were completely honest, the whole BDSM thing didn’t do much
for him. Well, that wasn’t completely true. He did find it rather tempting to
tie Cole or Sierra to the bed whenever the opportunity arose. But that didn’t
mean he was into all the shit that was going on around him tonight.

In fact,
he was tempted to rush Cole and Sierra out the door and haul them home as fast
as possible. From there, he’d be more than happy to show them his version of
BDSM, which would involve a pair of handcuffs, some scarves, and him being
buried to the hilt in one or the other of them as soon as fucking possible.

“You all
right?”

Luke
glanced over to see Trent Ramsey standing next to him, giving him one of his
infamous smirks.

“Never
better. You?” he answered easily, turning his attention back to the groups
congregating around the wide open space.

“Just
fucking dandy,” Trent said with a grin. “Looks like those Walker boys are gonna
have to work extra hard to compete with this place, don’t you think?”

Luke
fought the urge to roll his eyes. “Last I checked, it wasn’t a competition.”
Then again, he’d been telling Trent that for months. The guy didn’t get it. He
was hell-bent on ensuring that Devotion was above and beyond anything the
Walkers could come up with. Had Luke not been a silent partner in the up and
coming resort that the Walker brothers were building, he might’ve cared more
than he did.

“Try
telling them that,” Trent said, nodding his head toward the far side of the
room.

Luke
followed his gaze and noticed Travis Walker had made an appearance. Son of a
bitch. Wasn’t that interesting? He was going to have to head over and talk to
him. At least that would give him an excuse if he found he needed one.

“Has
Xander been introduced to Travis?” Trent asked when Luke didn’t say anything
more.

“Yeah,”
Luke answered. He wasn’t going to let Trent know that Xander’s name had also
been added to the long list of financial backers for the Alluring Indulgence
Resort. It would likely make his head explode and for the time being, Luke was
content with not having to deal with Trent being in a panic. At least tonight
he seemed to be in a good mood.

Then
again, with plenty of half-naked women sending looks his way, the man really
shouldn’t have a care in the world.

“Everything
ok over here?”

Saved by
a beautiful woman.

Luke
smiled down at his wife, putting his arm around her and pulling her closer to
him while he glanced over to see where Cole was. His husband moved up against
his other side and immediately picked up the conversation with Trent. God, he
loved that man. Cole always knew when Luke needed rescuing, and he would always
need to be saved from Trent. The man had the ability to drive him absolutely
fucking crazy. But thanks to Cole, it looked like he’d be able to hang on to
his sanity for a little while longer.

“Couldn’t
be better,” he told Sierra, turning his full attention to her. “I thought you’d
be talking to Sam.”

“I was.
For a couple of minutes. I plan to meet up with her again once they get
settled.”

“Problems?”
Luke asked, glancing around to see if he could locate his twin. He hadn’t had a
chance to talk to him.

“Not that
I know of,” she said, pulling his attention back down to her. “So, what’s on
the agenda tonight?”

Luke
retrieved a drink from the bartender and handed it over to her before pulling
her close once more. “That’s completely up to you,” he told her as he smiled.

“Really?
I get to choose?” she asked sweetly.

Oh, hell.
The woman had that devious grin that had the hair on the back of his neck
rising. In a good way. “Did you have something in mind?”

“I’ve
always got something in mind,” she assured him.

After
last night, and the impromptu ceremony that Sierra had sprung on him and Cole,
Luke wasn’t sure he’d be able to keep his hands off of her even if she’d asked.
By the expression on her pretty face, she definitely wasn’t thinking about
retreating to a quiet room all by her lonesome.

And for
that, he loved her all the more.

“Baby,
just say the word,” Luke told her.

Looking
around the room once more, Luke found himself smiling. It wasn’t just the club,
or the success of the previous night, or even tonight. It was all of it
combined. His wife, his husband, and their daughter. Life was looking up for
them, he knew that much.

And if
anyone who knew him from before were to see him now, they’d probably wonder
just what had happened to him. That was easy. Love. That’s what had happened to
him.

And now
it was time to celebrate.