And after the scene they’d shared at Devotion… that bothered him more than anything.

He knew she wouldn’t want to talk about what had happened last night when he had used his safe word just to call a halt to the nightmare that they were venturing closer and closer to. But he had wanted to talk about it.

Not just about that though. There were some other things he needed to say to her. Important things. Things he wasn’t willing to keep in any longer.

But he didn’t address the elephant in the room. There would be time later, and he intended to address the issue, but he also planned to do so in private. For now, he simply asked, “What did you do today?”

“I took a client out for a few hours.”

That wasn’t much of an explanation, but he hadn’t expected much more than that either. She wasn’t looking at him, seemingly fascinated with her wine glass and the people sitting around them. He ached to put his arms around her, to pull her close and to assure her that there was no reason for her to be freaked out.

If only it would help.

Knowing Mercedes, she would come up with another excuse to disappear on him and right now, he just wanted her to be close. It was enough.

For the moment.

“Your table is ready, sir.” A young man dressed in a suit, sans the jacket, stood to his left as he spoke.

Xander nodded his head and pushed to his feet, waiting for Mercedes to join him. When she did, he placed his hand low on her back and guided her toward the back of the restaurant.

To his surprise, Logan and Samantha arrived just a few minutes later. After a quick round of greetings, the four of them took their seats and proceeded to order drinks when the waiter approached.

A drink was all Xander cared about. His mind was elsewhere – namely back at Devotion, still chained to the wall while Mercedes did whatever she could to get a rise out of him. It had worked. Just not necessarily the way she thought it had.

What she didn’t seem to understand was that he had no interest in those scenes anymore. More importantly, he had connected with Mercedes in a way he hadn’t even known possible and as far as he was concerned, there was no one but her for him.

A woman’s submission was something he craved like a drug. He couldn’t explain it. Didn’t necessarily care to either, but what had transpired between him and Mercedes last night had defied reason. It had gone so far beyond submission, Xander didn’t even have a name for it.

He feared that’s what scared Mercedes the most. She’d been anticipating topping him from the very beginning. And yet, it seemed as though she had turned her sights on Clarissa after she had successfully secured him to the wall.

And then he had ended it all with one single word.

“You said you had a business proposition for me.” Logan’s deep voice broke through Xander’s thoughts, pulling him back to the moment.

He glanced over at Mercedes to see whether she was aware he’d been thinking about her. She still wasn’t looking at him, but her interest had peaked when Logan spoke up, so he knew she was paying attention.

“I do,” he told him, tossing back what was left of his drink. It was time to focus on the task at hand. There’d be time to address Mercedes later.

He hoped.

* * *

Mercedes spent two hours of her life hanging on to every word Xander, Logan and Samantha spoke while she picked at the food on her plate. She had purposely not made eye contact, hoping Samantha would catch on that she wasn’t in a particularly chatty mood.

While the three of them had chatted it up, Mercedes had only partially heard what they were saying, not because she wasn’t interested in the new business venture that Xander had proposed. No, she was having trouble focusing because she was doing her best to keep her thoughts from getting away from her. If that happened, she was pretty sure she would break down and cry.

The thought pissed her off.

She didn’t cry. Ever. It was easier to keep things bottled up, to never get her hopes up, to never anticipate anything other than what she could do for herself. Yet here she was, wishing like hell Xander would tell her he wanted more than five days. That he realized in that short amount of time that she was the one he wanted.

No, she didn’t like what that said about her either. But she couldn’t deny the hope that had flared deep inside of her when he’d used his safe word, saving them all from disaster.

But he hadn’t wanted to talk about it.

Sneaking out of Xander’s condo before dawn wasn’t the best idea, she had known that at the time. When he had arrived at her front door, insisting that she talk to him, she’d pushed him away yet again. It had been a test of sorts. One he failed miserably.

Or maybe she was the one who had failed.

Rather than stay and talk, rather than push her to open up to him, Xander had given in and walked away. Giving her the space she had asked for.

But why not? Their time was over. He didn’t owe her anything and vice versa.

After he left, she had spent the better part of the morning in her home office and the afternoon with a new client who seemed genuinely interested in purchasing one of the luxurious downtown condos she’d shown him. Even now, Mercedes had a hard time remembering which places she’d shown him.

Considering her state of mind after what had happened last night, Mercedes was grateful her client had been so agreeable. Had he not been, she wasn’t sure what she might’ve done.

Aside from that brief reprieve from her overwhelming thoughts, Mercedes had spent the day in a fog.

She blamed Xander.

The man had left her completely out of sorts. Especially after he’d taken her home from Devotion and cared for her so sweetly. They’d shared a bath and to her surprise, he hadn’t questioned her about what had happened during their scene. She’d appreciated that more than him soaping her up and then using his skilled fingers to make her come apart twice more before they finally fell into bed.

At least she hadn’t had the dream last night. The one that included the shell of a man she’d come to care about more than she was willing to admit. The same man that she had set out to dominate, to prove to both of them just who she was, and failed.

She figured she wouldn’t be having the dream again because she feared Xander had worn her down and her need to dominate was fading like print on old newspaper.

She was a fucking submissive. Wait. Scratch that.

She was his fucking submissive.

The notion was like a slap in the face and Mercedes wasn’t at all happy. Up until last night, she’d been able to tell herself that she just needed the opportunity to dominate Xander. To prove to him that she was merely acting when she submitted to him.

Yeah, well, they’d both learned the cold hard truth, hadn’t they?

Mercedes had submitted to him. Not just once, but many times. Including one time without any provocation on his part.

In fact, last night at Devotion, she had focused more of her attention on Clarissa and less on Xander. Because she knew deep in her heart that she didn’t want to dominate him.

She was in love with Xander Boone.

Head over heels in love with him.

Never in her life would she have thought herself capable of falling in love for real. And definitely not with a Dom.

Then again, it did explain the series of bad relationships she’d had over the years. She’d obviously been going about it all wrong for her entire life.

During the day, when she had been showing one condo after another to a man who had more money than sense, she had come to realize that she had been working diligently to be something she wasn’t. A Domme. She had wasted years of her life trying to dominate men because that kept them at a distance; it refrained them from having any power over her.

The way her father had when she was just a child.

And now she had no power whatsoever.

But worse than that, she feared that Xander thought less of her for it. If he were as interested in her as he acted, he was probably rethinking now that he knew she was weak.

Mercedes knew the type of women he dated. They were all strong willed, even if they submitted to him sexually. They weren’t the meek submissives he tended to play with from time to time at Kink. The women who held his interest wouldn’t just roll over and give up.

God, she hated this pity party she’d thrown herself. She wanted to get out of her funk, but the day had only continued to get worse when she realized Xander had never called. At least not until he needed a date to a business dinner with Logan and Samantha.

Oh, sure, she had tried to sound relieved, but the truth was, she had been disappointed. Xander hadn’t been planning a romantic dinner for just the two of them. He hadn’t had any intention of spending time with her.

Or maybe this was his way of letting her down gently. Moving their relationship back to a platonic – slash – business friendship. He probably hoped she wouldn’t even realize it.

“What do you think?”

Mercedes focused on the faces around her and realized Samantha had asked her a direct question. Since she had absolutely no idea what they were talking about, she felt like a fool sitting there staring at her.

“I’m sorry. If you’ll excuse me,” she muttered, reaching for her clutch and rising from her chair.

At the exact same time, both men stood, neither of them reclaiming their seats until she was several feet away.

Rather than run to the bathroom and break down in tears like she first intended, Mercedes did something worse.