Perception (Club Destiny #6)(104)
Author: Nicole Edwards

And she knew without a doubt that Mercedes trusted Xander. She had always suspected the two of them had a thing for one another, even if they wanted to pretend that their dominant natures would be in direct opposition – yes, Clarissa had called Mercedes on it once, and that was the answer she received.

All in all, it shouldn’t matter who was the Dom and who was the sub, or if they were interested in switching. They still trusted one another. That was all that mattered.

But she could definitely tell something was up with Xander. His usual easy going air seemed to be disturbed, something more turbulent in his eyes. Based on the way he was staring at Mercedes, Clarissa knew it had to be because of the situation.

“Is it really that hard for you to give up control?” she asked when the silence and her own thoughts got to be too much.

Xander peered over at her, a sinister grin on his face that made her body tremble strangely. “I don’t know. I’ve never done it before.”

Oh. Well. Clarissa had no idea what to say to that.

And then coming up with a response was the last thing on her mind because Shane stepped through the door, a smile on his handsome face as he glanced back and forth between Clarissa and Xander. She had the urge to run into his arms, but she didn’t want to give him the impression that she was scared. She wasn’t.

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.