Nicole Edwards - Perception

God, she prayed Clarissa wasn’t thinking she might be the one to change him.

Mercedes would’ve warned them if she could. But it wasn’t her place. And honestly, she enjoyed watching Shane and his inane ability to bring even the most defiant of subs to heel.

Then again, she had more than enough to think about. Like her own submission, and how, if at all, she was going to pull that off.

She glanced around the room as she waited for Xander’s next command or for Shane to make another snide comment.

It seemed most of the people she’d been introduced to the night before were also there tonight.

Off in one corner, she caught a glimpse of the incredibly handsome Luke McCoy, his husband Cole Ackerley talking to Trent Ramsey, and Sierra, Luke and Cole’s wife, cozied up to Luke’s side. That wasn’t surprising, especially after the impromptu ceremony they’d had the night before.

While Xander and Shane’s conversation echoed around her, the memory of that ceremony came to the forefront, still having the ability to bring tears to her eyes. She hated that underneath it all she had a soft heart, but witnessing the three of them pledge their love for one another like that had been beyond anything she’d ever seen.

Before she had a chance to linger too long on the memory, Mercedes spotted Samantha and Logan McCoy making their way through the club. She glanced up over her shoulder to see Xander was watching them as well. Turning back, she noticed that they’d stopped to talk to a couple she didn’t recognize, but she purposely looked away, hoping they wouldn’t feel her eyes on them.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to interact with them, but if she was going to have to endure what she’d been through last night – although likely on a much grander scale – she wasn’t sure she wanted such an intimate audience this time. Because no matter what she tried to tell herself, this time wouldn’t be a demonstration.

Unable to help herself, her attention was drawn back their way, watching Samantha as she interacted with her husband and the other couple. Yes, Mercedes could definitely see the woman’s allure. Not to mention her very blatant submissive tendencies. That thought reminded her that she’d told Xander he should take on Sam as a submissive because she was clearly more his style.

She swallowed the rest of her drink in one gulp and then turned to set the empty glass on the bar behind them. She needed to get her head on straight and thinking about Xander with another woman, sub or otherwise, was so not helping.

“Are you ready?” Mercedes asked Xander abruptly, interrupting his conversation with Shane.

Shit.

His eyes landed on her, hard yet slightly amused, and she immediately realized her mistake.

This was not her show, and she’d promptly fallen into her usual routine of directing the evening to the way she expected it to go.

Without a word, Xander downed what was left of his drink and then placed the empty glass on the bar before turning to face her fully.

Damn. Damn. Damn.

She’d well and truly fucked up that time. She knew earlier that she’d pushed her boundaries with her sarcasm, but now she could see the retaliation in Xander’s glimmering gaze.

And the chill that raced down her spine didn’t have anything to do with the temperature in the room.

Xander was adept at controlling his reaction but even more so at expressing his thoughts with just a look. He hoped like hell Mercedes wasn’t having a problem reading his thoughts. The way her pretty gray eyes widened told him she was not far off on assuming what he was thinking.

Rather than address her transgression right there in the middle of the club, he opted to give her direction, a little foundation they could build on. They’d be moving this party somewhere else in the very near future, but until then, he wanted to make sure they were on the same page.

Based on her attitude thus far, they weren’t even reading from the same book.

Xander fully intended to change that.

Right fucking now.

“I want you at my side at all times. Not in front of me, not behind me,” he ordered, making sure his voice remained hard. “From this point on, I’ll make the decisions, understand?”

He shouldn’t have had to explain himself that much. Had she been one of his regular subs, he’d have bent her over his knee and spanked her ass, drawing any and all attention to her.

Apparently he was losing his fucking touch. This woman was getting to him more than he should be allowing, that was for damn sure.

Her reaction was exactly what he expected. She was likely trying to figure out what she could do to pull him back from the edge. What she didn’t seem to realize was that it was a little too late for that.

Undermining his authority as her Dom while in public was one violation he would not tolerate. It was a blatant sign of disrespect, and he deserved more than that.

Xander knew this wasn’t going to be easy and it damn sure wasn’t going to fall into that neat little box that he usually reserved for his subs. But it certainly was going to be worth it even if he had to remind himself that Mercedes wasn’t a sub. Well, technically, she was tonight.

But, he couldn’t be too lenient on her because the woman knew damn well what she was doing. She probably knew exactly what his response would be too. He’d seen her in action more times than he could count. She didn’t take this sort of attitude from the subs she played with. Ever.

No, Mercedes Bryant was hard core, demanding respect from anyone, especially from her subs.

Keeping his eyes trained on her, he waited for her to respond. She didn’t, and it pissed him off a little because he knew she was doing it on purpose. She was testing him.

Topping from the bottom.

Fuck. How had he not seen that?

“Do you understand me?” he asked, his voice echoing his frustration.

For a brief moment, he wondered whether Mercedes was going to lose every ounce of her gumption. He knew the way her mind worked, and if he had to guess, she was quickly rethinking this.

Mercedes had made it crystal clear by her actions that she absolutely detested feeling vulnerable and weak and at the moment, with the way Xander purposely glared at her, he was sure she was feeling exactly that.

Rather than use words like he’d instructed her to, she nodded, and his frustration flashed hot and bright.

Without hesitating, Xander smoothly reached around and fisted her hair firmly, but gently, pulling her flush against him. He wasn’t hurting her, not even a little bit, but he knew the aggressive action had certainly caught her attention.

She looked like she was ready to tell him to go to hell.

To his surprise, she didn’t move, and she didn’t say a word.

But he never said anything either, just continued to pin her with his eyes.

It must’ve dawned on her that he was waiting for a response. A verbal one, because she finally answered.

“Yes, Sir,” she responded breathlessly.

“That’s more like it,” he said, his tone fierce. He leaned down until his mouth brushed her ear before he continued. “Tonight, you belong to me, pet. All mine. I advise you get into the right frame of mind, or you really won’t like what I have in store for you.”

Or maybe she would. Maybe that’s what this was. She was pushing him. The idea made him laugh, except it made perfect sense.

Fuck.

Was she seriously anticipating punishment? Submitting to him by acting out and forcing him to take a harder stance?

“I’ll leave the two of you alone,” Shane told them and Mercedes did try to pull away from him then.

Xander didn’t allow her to move, he kept one arm banded around her waist, his other hand still fisted in her hair. “We’ll catch you later,” Xander told Shane firmly, never breaking eye contact with Mercedes.

Once Shane had retreated, he released his hold on her, holding on long enough to ensure she was steady on her feet before letting go completely.

“Don’t move,” he told her as he slipped back to the bar and retrieved the small bag that he’d stashed earlier. While he was there, he whispered instructions to the bartender. Once he received a nod of agreement, he went back to Mercedes.

“Since you’re clearly having problems understanding who is in control, we’re going to do this the hard way.”

Holding the bag out to her, he waited until she reached for it. When she looked back up at him, he gave her a wicked smile.

“Go change. I expect you back here in ten minutes. Not a minute longer. Understand?”

“Yes. Sir,” she said, tacking on the “Sir” at the last minute.

“Hurry up, your time starts now.”

Xander watched Mercedes, the bordering on indecent, yet fucking sexy as hell way her hips swayed, as she headed toward the changing rooms closer to the main doors. Part of him expected her to sneak out through the main entrance and never return. That’s probably why he kept an eye on her until she disappeared into the first room.

“Please tell me you know what the fuck you’re doing.”

Xander turned to see Shane glaring at him.

“I thought you were going to do your own thing,” Xander retorted, suddenly wishing he had another drink.

This was going to be a long night and as much as he anticipated it, he was already getting worked up.

“Do you really think she’s up for this?”

Xander stared back at his friend, irritated by the fact he was being questioned, but understanding Shane’s reason all the same. They’d both always looked out for Mercedes. Even if she was capable of taking care of herself, she’d come to mean so much to them that they made sure she was never hurt.