Nervous, yes. Scared, no.

Ok, so she was petrified.

She was grateful when Shane walked over and wrapped her in his arms, his lips pressing against her forehead. He smelled good, and she liked the easy way he folded her against him. They were friends. It would never be anything more because neither of them was looking for serious, but it was comfortable. And most importantly, they had both accepted that.

“You good with this?”

Why did everyone keep asking her that? Surely Mercedes wasn’t as bad as they were making her out to be. She’d seen her play at Kink, had heard a few of the male subs talk about her. No one ever said anything bad about her. Ever.

Looking up, Clarissa met his gaze and nodded confidently.

“That’s good, pet. Is there anything you’re not willing to do tonight?”

Wait… what?

Anything she wouldn’t do? Holy hell. What did Mercedes have planned for her? Her hands started to tremble, but she clenched them into fists to still them. She could do this. Anything they wanted from her.

Glancing around Shane, she looked up at Xander’s ruggedly attractive face. Yes, she could do this. As long as Shane was there with her, she could definitely do this. Her body was responding to the idea nicely, warming from the inside out. Shane must’ve noticed too because he reached around behind her and palmed her butt with both of his hands.

“Mmmm, I like when you get turned on,” he whispered in her ear although Clarissa knew Xander could hear every word.

She was just starting to relax when the door opened and in walked Mercedes.

Ok, so much for her confidence. Now she just needed to focus on not letting the other woman make her cry.

* * *

Xander could sense how tense Clarissa was. He also sensed the same about Mercedes when she finally arrived.

And not only was he attune with the emotions pouring from Mercedes, he also connected with her the moment she walked in the room. She looked perfectly controlled on the outside, but he could tell she was hesitant as well.

He wasn’t sure whether it was because of him or if it had everything to do with Clarissa.

He had noticed Mercedes and Shane talking, although he made a point not to look directly at them. Whatever they had been talking about, Mercedes had been entirely relaxed. The two of them were working together on this and what that meant for him and Clarissa, he had no idea. But he was more than ready to get on with it.

He was already tense from having to mentally prepare for this little experiment. He wasn’t interested in playing head games with any of them. And if truth be told, he didn’t have any desire to be part of this game with Clarissa either. The idea of the woman’s touch didn’t do it for him. And it had nothing to do with the little brunette and everything to do with his feelings for Mercedes.

“X,” Mercedes said his name softly, pulling him from his thoughts as his eyes darted to hers. “Over here.”

Moving slowly, he approached where she stood on the other side of the room. Letting his thoughts flee, he fell into his role, reminding himself what this was about. And yes, he fully considered it an experiment. He was putting himself in her shoes for a minute. Trying to see things from her perspective. It would only strengthen what they were building and for him, that was the most important thing.

So, for now, he would hand himself off to her and not worry about anything other than the pleasure that was about to come. Sure, he expected there’d be some pain associated, but he craved anything she was willing to dish out. She’d worked hard to keep him in suspense tonight, and it had worked.

Standing directly in front of her, he let his hands hang at his sides, forcing himself to remain relaxed. He’d already defied her once, and she was probably looking for more, something to shore up her nerve. She couldn’t hide from him, even if she wanted to. He could see it in her eyes. There was hesitation he had never seen from Mercedes the Domme before, and he knew it had everything to do with him.

It only made it that much easier to go along with this. Tonight.

From this point on, she wouldn’t get that from him. She had enough to worry about with Clarissa and her inexperience. It wasn’t necessary for him to do anything more than endure tonight.

“Rissa.”

Xander didn’t turn around to see where Clarissa was, but he felt her moving in the small room. When she came up beside him, her arm brushed his and he fought the urge to smile. She was nervous too. So much so that she was trembling.

Yes, he’d tried to help her out earlier by getting her riled up. She was a strong woman; he knew that much about her. But she seemed utterly unsure of herself when it came to this side of Mercedes. Why that was, he had no idea. He was sure he’d find out soon enough.

“Do you have a safe word, Rissa?” Mercedes asked and this time Xander did look down at her.

“Yes, Ma’am,” she said promptly.

Xander was impressed. She hadn’t followed up her answer with a bunch of rambling, which he knew Mercedes would appreciate. As a Dom, he expected it.

“Good girl,” Mercedes responded, taking a step closer and cupping Clarissa’s face gently with her long, slender fingers. “What is your safe word?”

“Magnolia,” Clarissa whispered.

Mercedes smiled. “I like it. Will you have trouble remembering it?”

“No, Mistress,” Clarissa said, her voice husky.

Most of the subs at Kink used the house safe word, which was red. Obviously Clarissa had some experience if she came readily prepared with her own safe word. And from the way she answered, Clarissa hadn’t just come up with it either.

“Very good.” Mercedes turned to look at Xander, and he suddenly ached for her to touch him. He didn’t care how she did it, he just wanted her hands on him. “And you?”

His safe word was much simpler. He went with the norm like Mercedes. Because Mercedes didn’t ask him what his safe word was directly, he just stared down at her, locking his eyes with hers as he waited for her next question.

“What is your safe word, Xander?” There was a hint of exasperation in her tone.

He knew she was asking more for Clarissa’s benefit than anything else. “Red,” he answered easily.

“Good boy,” Mercedes answered but she didn’t touch him which was somewhat of a disappointment.

Then again, he made a mental note to punish her later for calling him “boy”. Especially after Shane chuckled from the corner.

“Tonight, I’m going to introduce you to Xander,” Mercedes explained to Clarissa. “I’m not going to push your boundaries yet.”

Introduce her? Holy fuck. He doubted Clarissa understood just what the meant, but he damn sure did. And it surprised him on all counts.

Xander noticed the relief on Clarissa’s face.

Just wait, little girl.

“If, at any time, you’re uncomfortable, use your safe word. Everything will stop at that time, and you and Shane will be free to leave.”

Xander watched Clarissa’s face closely which is why he saw her immediate reaction. Concern?

“Talk to me, Rissa,” Mercedes encouraged.

“If I have to use my safe word, does that mean we will never engage with the two of you again?”

That was a good question. In his experience, when a sub used a safe word, he would end the scene and let it end there. Due to his expectations, which he admitted were quite high, he expected his subs to endure what he would give them. He fully respected them if they couldn’t, but he often found that given a repeat opportunity, that same sub would safe word out again. He was more than willing to teach a sub how to endure what they needed, but those were discussions he had up front.

He knew with Mercedes, she wasn’t quite as cut and dried as he was. She was strict, not leaving much room for error, but she would generally allow second chances if a sub opted to use their safe word. Sometimes a third. So, needless to say, he was quite interested in knowing as well.

Although she would always respect a subs reason for safe wording, Mercedes usually wasn’t a forgiving Domme. If something didn’t go the way she felt it should, she’d be the first to shut things down, and she’d move on. He’d seen her do it before.

“No, it doesn’t mean we can’t pick up in the future at some point,” Mercedes explained gripping Clarissa’s chin more forcefully this time. “But I want you to know who I am, Rissa. You have to understand that I’m not a pushover, and it’s my job to push my subs as far as they can handle and then some.”

“I understand, Mistress M,” Clarissa answered, her eyes locked on Mercedes, her tongue darting out to lick her lower lip.

“I will say this,” Mercedes began, inching just a little closer to Clarissa. “If I feel as though you’re holding back, not using your safe word if it is too much for you, then that’ll be the end. I won’t engage with you ever again like this. This is something I take very seriously. Do you understand?”

“I understand, Mistress M.”

“Very good,” Mercedes said, her head tilted slightly as though she were trying to read something in Clarissa’s gaze.

Xander hoped like hell she found what she was looking for because he was rapidly losing his patience. His mind was already halfway home and Mercedes was naked. Beneath him.

“I want you to undress Xander,” Mercedes instructed Clarissa and Xander’s gaze slammed into Mercedes’s.

Really?

She was going there?

Instead of speaking out, he swallowed his retort.

If Mercedes thought she could put distance between them by using Clarissa, the woman had another thing coming.