Perception (Club Destiny #6)(100)
Author: Nicole Edwards

Yeah, experimenting his ass. The woman was submissive, even if she was in denial.

He kept his mouth shut.

“What does that mean?” Clarissa asked, biting her lower lip as she glanced between him and Mercedes.

“It means that tonight, I’m in charge.”

“Oh.”

“But, I’m all for having you participate if it’s something you think you can handle.”

Clarissa stared at Mercedes as though she’d just been tossed down a rabbit hole, and she had no idea what was reality and what was fantasy.

“Can you handle it, Rissa?”

Clarissa glanced over at Shane, who was clearly amused by the situation. Xander did his best not to fist his hands at his sides. He was here to play along. That was the agreement and by God, if it fucking killed him, he would play along.

“I think I can handle it,” she said, her attention back on Mercedes.

Xander shook his head to let her know that was not the answer Mercedes would want, but at this point, it didn’t matter. The statement was out there, and Mercedes would likely inform her of her mistake.

“I’m going to be lenient with you tonight, Rissa. Only because you’re not used to seeing Xander like this. For tonight, you’ll address me as your Domme.”

Clarissa looked up at Shane, who nodded in response. So the man was willing to play along. He’d loan out his temporary submissive just to watch Xander squirm.

And Xander knew without a doubt that whatever was going on between Shane and Clarissa was temporary. There was no way in hell Shane would share a sub if he’d staked a claim on her.

But then again, the woman Shane wanted wasn’t a sub, which meant for the time being, he was still pretending he didn’t care.

“When I ask a question, I expect a straight answer,” Mercedes continued. “Yes or no would suffice. So, which will it be?”

Clarissa looked completely taken aback by the stern tone of Mercedes’s voice. Yep, that was her Domme side coming out in full force, something Clarissa probably wasn’t at all used to. At least not having it directed at her. However, Xander was familiar with it, even if he wasn’t used to being on the receiving end.

To his astonishment, Clarissa responded. “Yes. I think I can handle it,” she said, her voice quavering slightly.

Wrong answer again. Xander fought the urge to smile.

“You can refer to me as Mistress M or Ma’am. Say it, Rissa. Say ‘yes, Mistress M’.”

“Yes, Mistress M,” Clarissa repeated, her eyes glued to the woman in front of her. Thankfully Mercedes was facing away from him because he did grin.

He found it amusing, the easy way Clarissa submitted. She was a natural. Even if she was a little too agreeable most of the time. That was one of the main things that drove him crazy about some of the trainees at Kink, they acted like whipping posts. Then again, there were some on the opposite end of the spectrum who wouldn’t know how to submit if they spent a year in the role.

Clarissa was a natural submissive, one who enjoyed the role. Xander figured it had a lot to do with her high powered career. She was always in control in the courtroom, so in the bedroom, she’d easily hand over the reins, letting someone take over.

To each his own and all that.

Xander noticed the way Shane’s hand tightened on Clarissa’s hip, his eyes on Mercedes. It surprised Xander somewhat. The man didn’t seem to have a problem handling Clarissa, but it didn’t appear he was quite as excited as he let on about letting Mercedes take control.

Welcome to my world, Gibson.

Xander couldn’t wait to see how that was going to work out.

~~*~~*~~

Mercedes watched Clarissa, noticed the way her eyes dilated as the woman stood motionless in front of her. This was her good friend. A woman she knew to be submissive because she’d seen her interact with Shane and a couple of other Doms at Kink in the years since she’d met her, but never had she been a part of a scene with her.

Then again, Mercedes didn’t act out scenes with female submissives. At least not unless they’d done something that would earn them a punishment from her. And that was very rare.

But this… it was going to be interesting to say the least.

There was excitement banked in Clarissa’s light brown eyes, but there was something else as well. Trepidation, maybe? Figuring she’d leave Clarissa in suspense for a minute, she turned her attention to Shane, who stood rigidly behind her.

“Do you think you can handle this tonight?” She directed the question at him this time.

If his posture were anything to go by, the man was going to take his sub and run as fast as he possibly could away from her.