Perception (Club Destiny #6)(30)
Author: Nicole Edwards

Logan heard her shuddered breath, saw her force a smile.

“I need you to do something for me, Sam,” Logan said, waiting for her to acknowledge him before he continued. “You need to think long and hard about what you want. If you want to pursue this BDSM stuff, I’m game. If you’d prefer to find a third for the future, I’m open to that too. I just need to know which you want more.

“Unfortunately, I think you’re going to have to make a choice here. I don’t see you getting both. And definitely not with Xander.”

Logan knew his wife, knew she was going to do some serious thinking. And he’d wait. Patiently. Because, when Sam finally decided what it was she wanted, he knew she’d do what she felt would make them both happy. That’s just the way she worked. And that’s one of the main reasons he continued to fall in love with her a little more each day.

Chapter Nine

Xander hung up the phone and looked up from his desk. He had heard his front door open for the second time about three minutes ago, and there were only a handful of people who had a key to his house. The housekeeper, the cook, his assistant Leah, Shane, and yes, Mercedes.

Needless to say, he’d been only half paying attention to Hirsh’s incessant rambling on the other end of the phone because he’d been more interested about who was there, praying that Mercedes had come back.

His heart had pounded frantically in his chest when he heard her leave. If he hadn’t already been on the phone, he would’ve gone after her, but he wanted to get Hirsh off his back once and for all. Not that that’s what happened.

A quick glance at the clock on his computer and he noticed it was right at noon. It had to be Mercedes.

Fighting the urge to go in search of her, Xander remained where he was. The whole point was to make her come to him. If she didn’t, then that was his answer. It wasn’t the one he wanted, and he wasn’t certain he would stop pursuing her, but at least it would give him some idea of what he was up against.

Opening his email, he skimmed through the items in his inbox. There wasn’t anything pressing, and he knew his calendar was clear for the rest of the day, but he had to do something to keep him from jumping out of his seat and going to search for her.

If he had to guess, Mercedes was pacing the floor in his living room, trying to convince herself to turn around and go back home.

Looking up from his computer screen, Xander watched as Mercedes stepped into his office.

For a moment, he thought his heart would pound right out of his chest.

Leaning back in his chair, he studied her. She didn’t look much different than she had earlier, although somewhere along the way she’d lost the blazer, which he considered a good thing.

Her silky, onyx hair was flowing loosely down her back and over her shoulder, her crisp white shirt had two buttons opened, revealing just a hint of her gorgeous cleavage, and her black skirt was back to its original form before he had gruffly thrust his hands beneath it.

She looked prim and proper and so fucking sexy it made his teeth hurt.

“I’m here,” she told him.

“I see that.” He made a point not to look pleased, but he definitely was. So much so that his cock was now straining against his slacks, begging for attention. On the flip side though, Xander was leaving what happened next up to her, so his dick was likely going to have to be patient.

He’d asked her to come to him, and she had, which meant she was accepting his proposal. If she weren’t, Mercedes would’ve emailed him with the bad news. She wasn’t big on conflict, and she tended to avoid it whenever possible. So it was good news that she was standing there. Except he knew Mercedes, which meant she would have a few stipulations to go along with her acquiescence. Now he just had to wait to see what those were.

She moved closer, her arms loose at her sides. Not only was she still mostly buttoned up like the business professional he knew her to be, she had also put on even taller heels. He happened to prefer the ones she’d had on earlier, but these were nice too. They’d come right out of her Domme wardrobe; he recognized that immediately.

If Xander had to guess, the shoes were a power play. Being that she was roughly a foot shorter before the five inches added to her height, she probably felt less intimidated by his size now. Without her shoes on, he could easily rest his chin on the top of her head. With her shoes, her forehead would be level with his chin, but the woman would come eye to eye with most men she encountered.

“So, how does this work?” she asked, looking around at anything but him.

“How does what work?” he questioned, playing her game right along with her.

Mercedes met his gaze head on, and he saw the frustration in her eyes. She was doing this, but she wasn’t exactly happy with her own decision.