Perception (Club Destiny #6)(118)
Author: Nicole Edwards

Apparently a full day to herself didn’t seem to be long enough if the way she was glancing around the room was any indication.

“They’re on the way,” he informed her. “I asked them to meet us at eight.” It was only half past seven, so they still had some time. He’d done that on purpose also. “Have a seat,” he said, keeping his tone firm as he pulled out the high-back barstool beside him.

Mercedes gracefully took a seat next to him, and when the bartender returned with his drink, Xander allowed her to order for herself. Although he could’ve easily made the selection for her. She ordered white wine, her usual M.O. at this particular establishment.

“How did things go today?” Mercedes asked the question, but she didn’t look at him.

“Could’ve been better.” He had no intention of going into detail about his day. He wanted to talk, but not about business. As it was, he would have to delve into business with Logan shortly.

Ever since last night, when they’d arrived back at his condo, Mercedes had been avoiding him. Well, not entirely, because they had spent more time together, mostly in the bath where he’d enjoyed running his hands over her curvy, wet body. But even as he made her come with his fingers, he had felt her retreating from him.

She probably hoped he wouldn’t notice.

He noticed.

It was hard not to when he had woken up just that morning at five o’clock – about an hour later than normal – to find Mercedes gone from his bed.

Needless to say, he hadn’t been happy. His mood had darkened even more when he found that she wasn’t even in his condo. Rather than calling her, Xander had pulled on a pair of shorts, didn’t bother with a shirt or shoes, which was very unlike him, and made his way down to her floor and beat on her front door until she answered.

She opened the door, her hair wet, her face scrubbed clean. Yes, she’d gone back to her place to shower, and that had been like a kick in the nuts. Mercedes had made the message very clear. Their time together had come to an end.

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.