Nicole Edwards - Perception

He didn’t care if she came quietly or if she screamed so that the fucking neighbors came running to help her. Either way, he was going to make her come again. Very, very soon.

When she finally relaxed, Xander pulled her to him, ignoring the hard on that was now pounding incessantly between his legs. She might not want to be close to him at the moment, but he couldn’t seem to let her go.

~*~*~*~

Mercedes wasn’t sure how much more of this she could handle. Xander had somehow found a direct link to her pleasure receptors, and he could set her off faster than anything, including her favorite vibrator.

Now that she was boneless from another intense climax at this man’s hands, she wasn’t sure how she was going to be able to continue to deny him.

Eventually, he was going to realize she was on the verge of giving in.

Oh, hell, he already knew that much. She was the only one who believed otherwise.

When she finally caught her breath, Mercedes pulled out of Xander’s arms and looked up at him. She reached down to readjust her skirt but realized he’d already done that.

“I’ve got to take a call in a few minutes,” Xander said, still hovering above her. “It’ll be over at noon.” He paused long enough to tip her head back so that she was looking at him. “I want you to seriously think about what I’ve requested. If you choose to give me the five days, I expect to see you in my office at that time.”

“A little quick, don’t you think?” she retorted, suddenly unsure of herself.

“No, I don’t. If I had my way, I’d be inside you right here. Right now.”

A tremor of need shook her from the inside out. The raspy tone of his voice said he was on the edge too.

“Five days, Mercedes. I want you for five solid days.”

“I don’t think I’ll last five hours,” she told him honestly. She wasn’t a submissive. It wasn’t like she could flip a switch and become something she wasn’t. That’s what happened in romance novels, not in real life. And this damn sure wasn’t…

“Give me five days to prove you wrong.”

… a romance.

Could he read her mind? She hoped not.

Regardless, Mercedes wasn’t going to give him an answer right then. She had until noon, which was… shit. It was only a little more than thirty minutes away. Not nearly enough time to make a life altering decision like that one.

Xander leaned down, pressing his lips to hers gently and then he pulled back. As soon as he stepped away, she feared she might just slide down to the floor. Had it not been for the windows at her back, she would’ve done just that.

She watched as his impressive form walked right out of the conference room without looking back.

Dropping into the chair closest to her, Mercedes spun around and stared out the window. How was she supposed to make a decision like this?

Five freaking days. Was the man serious?

And when the hell had she even decided she might possibly be able to do this?

What was she supposed to do now? Did she write out a list of pros and cons? Probably wouldn’t help because she knew good and damn well the pros list would be significantly longer than the cons.

After all, this was Xander Boone she was talking about.

The man was infuriating, he was sexy, he was intimidating in a crazy provocative way, and he was downright relentless when he wanted something. She’d seen it on a recurring basis with the properties he wanted. He didn’t take no for an answer, and he didn’t even have to resort to threats to get what he wanted.

He just got it.

People rolled over for the man. He had such a persuasive personality; he could get someone to agree, and they would somehow think that the idea had been theirs in the first place.

And now he’d put her in his sights.

Mercedes knew what her answer was going to be. It wasn’t an easy decision, but she didn’t have a choice. As much as she wanted to tell him no, she knew she wouldn’t. Giving him five days to prove himself wrong seemed the lesser of two evils. She wasn’t going to be able to give up control. Not even to him.

Now she just had to come up with a plan to come out a winner at the end of all this. Because being a loser, which meant she’d give her heart and soul to this man, wasn’t even an option.

Logan held Sam’s hand as he led her around to the passenger side of his truck. They’d worked from home for most of the morning and were just now heading into XTX for an impromptu, not to mention highly inconvenient, Wednesday afternoon meeting with Xavier Thomas, President and CEO of XTX Industries. Not by choice, mind you. If he had his way, Logan would push the meeting to tomorrow and crawl back in bed with his beautiful wife.

Preferably with Sam naked and riding him. Reverse cowgirl style.

Logan shifted as his cock stirred at the mental image.

Holy shit, if he didn’t get his mind out of the gutter, he was going to go caveman and haul her back in the house without thinking twice.

If it weren’t for that damn meeting…

“You ok?” he asked her as they neared his truck, hoping she didn’t hear the need in his voice. For whatever reason, he wasn’t all that interested in tackling any major obstacles today, unless of course, one of them was Sam naked.

Shit.

“Fine, why?” Based on her startled response, she was clearly off somewhere else in her head. At least he wasn’t the only one.

“You seem distracted.”

Sam turned and smiled up at him, and Logan stopped before reaching for the door handle. He waited for her to talk because obviously she had something on her mind.

“Can we go to Devotion tonight?”

How had he known she was going to ask that?

Logan fought the urge to smile. It was true, Sam had come into her own. Sexually speaking, of course.

The woman was a force to be reckoned with when it came to business, but it wasn’t until a few months into their relationship when she really opened up to her sexual desires. And yes, with Devotion now open, he suspected she would want to experiment at his twin brother’s new club, especially after last night.

“Tonight?” he asked, pretending he wasn’t all that interested. He wasn’t particular about where they went tonight just as long as he could relax a little.

“Yes,” she said, clearly catching on to the game he was playing. “You know you want to,” she whispered, leaning into him and up on her toes, her mouth brushing his.

“What’s in it for me?” he asked, knowing full well what was in it for him.

“Anything you want.”

“That right?”

“Mmm hmm,” she murmured, her lips pressing to his when he leaned down closer for her kiss.

“Anything?”

Sam’s eyes opened wide as she stared up at him. “What’d you have in mind?”

He could see the anticipation in her gaze, knew she’d be begging him to take her back to Devotion so she could relive last night over again. Purposely not answering her question, Logan redirected, wanting to understand what she was hoping to get out of tonight. “What if Xander isn’t there tonight?”

“What if he is?” she countered, feigning innocence.

Leaning over, he swatted her on the butt and then gently urged her toward the truck. They could easily resume this conversation on the way to work. After all, if she continued teasing him like this, he had no qualms about throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her right back into the house. Xavier would just have to get over it.

After she had settled inside, Logan made his way around to the driver’s side, his mind now going in an entirely different direction. What if Xander were at the club? He hadn’t had the chance to talk to him after the scene last night. There hadn’t been time that morning, though he had sent Mercedes an email after scrounging up her contact info, but she had yet to answer him.

Once he pulled out of the driveway, Logan glanced over at his wife then turned his eyes back on the road. “Are you interested in what you saw last night, baby?”

He had asked the same question on their way home from the club, but as far as he was concerned, Sam hadn’t answered him as honestly as he would’ve liked. He figured she was holding back for whatever reason and he wanted to understand before they moved in that direction. He had firsthand experience in what the aftermath did to her when these extracurricular activities didn’t go the way she hoped.

“Are you referring to the watching? Or are you asking if I’d like to try something like that?” she asked.

“Participating,” he clarified. He already knew his wife was a voyeur. He happened to like that particular trait of hers.

“I think it would be interesting to try.”

“Interesting?” Her use of the word confused him.

Sam was quiet for a while, and Logan didn’t press her to talk. He knew her. When she was ready, she would answer him.

They were halfway to the office before she finally spoke.

“Is this BDSM stuff something you’re interested in?”

Logan glanced sideways at her. “Depends. I could be persuaded into trying.” Hell, tying her to the bed was one of his favorite pastimes. He damn sure didn’t have any desire to be tied up himself, but she’d already managed that once. He had never let her do it again.

He felt her eyes on him when she turned to face him. He could sense her mind working, she was going to overthink this again. Not that he didn’t want her to. There were times when Sam needed to think things through, and this was one of them.

Logan wasn’t much into the BDSM scene, never had been interested, but he knew from her reaction last night that Sam had enjoyed herself immensely. She’d told him so – in explicit, cock-hardening detail after they’d fallen into bed last night.