“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.