Perception (Club Destiny #6)(34)
Author: Nicole Edwards

He looked up, meeting her gaze head on.

He wanted to tell her that they had a deal. He wanted to tell her that he’d pretty much do anything for this chance. For him, it was so much more than getting her to submit to him. He’d wanted Mercedes for so long, had ignored that hunger and pretended he could handle merely friendship. But this woman was all he’d ever wanted in one magnificent, enticing package.

He had to have her.

And if it meant he’d have to submit in front of a crowd of people just to prove himself to her, then so be it.

“Please tell me we have a deal,” she whispered, her arms still hanging down to her sides.

“We do,” he finally conceded, unable to keep his hands off of her a moment longer.

Taking one step forward, he cupped both of her shoulders, skimming his hands down her arms and then back up. She was warm and soft. His self-restraint was being tested because as far as Xander was concerned, he hadn’t waited just a few minutes for her to get undressed, to stand before him completely and utterly vulnerable.

No, this certainly wasn’t something he’d come up with on the fly. He’d been waiting for this for years.

“Turn around.”

Mercedes turned to face away from him, giving Xander a perfect view of her back and her ass. He took a moment to skim over her soft skin, ensuring that there weren’t any marks left from their scene the night before. Although he’d double and triple checked prior to them leaving Devotion last night, he couldn’t help himself now.

She was flawless. Perfect in every way.

For a man his size, he was always conscientious about the women he was with. He didn’t pursue tiny women. He had no interest in being gentle which meant he needed a woman who could handle him. Mercedes was that woman.

Moving up against her, Xander reached for her hands, linking their fingers and lifting her arms. “Put your hands around my neck,” he advised, leaning forward which was the only way she’d be able to reach around him.

Her fingers were cool against the overheated skin of his neck. He closed his eyes briefly, enjoying the feel of her touch.

Pressing his lips to the curve of her neck and shoulder, Xander slid his hands over her hips, her waist, higher until he cupped her breasts in his hands.

“You have such beautiful breasts,” he mumbled as he lifted them. “Perfect pink nipples that will look so pretty clamped.”

Her body tensed briefly, but Xander didn’t allow it to throw him off course. Pinching her nipples, he kissed her neck again. “But not yet. First, I want you to look up into that mirror.”

Xander glanced up to meet her gaze in the oversized cheval mirror that his designer had picked out, saying something about suiting his personality. For him, it had always been just a mirror. But right now, it was a portal to ecstasy.

“For the next five days, I’m going to own you. Every part of you. Do you agree?”

Mercedes only nodded, but her eyes never left his.

“Answer me,” he insisted, keeping his tone low. “That’s one thing I won’t compromise on. You will tell me what you’re feeling. Especially when I ask.”

“Yes,” she whispered. “For five days, you’ll own me.”

Xander wasn’t a praying man, but right then and there, he sent up a silent plea that five days would turn into much, much longer.

~*~*~*~

Mercedes watched the images in the mirror closely. Xander’s body pressed up against her back, his face serious as he observed her in the reflective glass. What she saw wasn’t at all what she expected to see.

There, reflecting back at her, was a naked woman – her – but she saw more than just an abundantly curvy body that she knew was a far cry from perfect. Not that she’d ever cared about perfection. She liked who she was, how she looked, her inner strength. But right now, with Xander’s big hands grazing over her skin, the fire she saw in his gaze, well, it made her feel incredibly feminine and… powerful.

How could that possibly be the case when for the last ten minutes she’d undressed in front of him at his command. Could it be the way he was looking at her? Or possibly the way his hands drifted over her skin reverently, like he was cherishing every touch.

Whatever it was, it was heady. Enough to make her breath lodge in her throat.

He didn’t appear to be in a hurry, didn’t seem to need more than what they were sharing right at that moment and she felt an exhilarating rush of lust burst in her bloodstream.

She’d had a hard time admitting that he would own her for the next five days. In fact, she’d said the words while, at the same time, she was thinking that she’d never last that long. But the longer she stood there, the more Xander touched her, all while their eyes met briefly in the mirror, she knew he had won before the game ever even began.