Perception (Club Destiny #6)(36)
Author: Nicole Edwards

Mercedes clamped her lips shut, not trusting herself not to argue. It was in her nature. She was the one who was generally in control. This was the exact reason she didn’t submit. It went against everything in her because she didn’t want someone to order her around.

“Five full days. Four nights. My bed,” he restated. “You’ll live under my roof during that time. You’ll be permitted to go to your condo to handle your business dealings. When you aren’t working, you’ll be here with me.”

“Tell me I’m going to cook and clean for you and we’re done,” Mercedes argued, venom injected in her tone. He was pushing her to her limit.

Xander glared at her, his eyes hard. She was so transfixed in his gaze that she didn’t see him move. When his hand slapped her pussy once again, she screamed. An intense, pain filled pleasure jolted her system. Before she could think or breathe, Mercedes found herself laying across Xander’s huge thighs, her breasts crushed against his leg.

“Five,” he told her. “Count them out.”

There wasn’t a pause before his hand came down on her bare ass, and she knew instantly that he wasn’t going to go easy on her.

Oh, God. The humiliation was unbearable, but somehow she dug deep, grasping every ounce of her pride as she lay motionless across his lap.

“One,” she groaned through clenched teeth, her breath rushing out of her.

Another slap followed immediately on the same ass cheek and this time she swallowed her scream. “Two.”

“Three more,” he said, the heat of his hand caressing the sting on her ass.

The warmth disappeared, and she braced herself for the impact, but it didn’t come immediately. It was exactly what she would’ve done, leaving her sub anticipating the next move.

Oh, fuck! Mercedes screamed when his hand landed on the crease where her ass met her thigh, the pain excruciating, yet strangely erotic at the same time. “Three.”

There was no way she was going to last through two more. Her ass was burning, and the heat had engulfed her entire body. She felt like she would implode at any second.

He spanked her again, this time on the opposite cheek. “Four.”

Tears slipped from her eyes, and she blinked, wanting to take them back. There was no way she’d break right now. She refused. Sucking in a deep breath, she held it as she waited for him to finish.

The last one came in the same spot as the one before, and she choked on a gasp that ripped from her chest, the pain lancing through her nerve endings.

“Five.”

“I’m proud of you,” he said, his voice steady and calm.

Mercedes knew that Xander didn’t overreact. He never punished a sub out of anger. That’s not what it was about. Too bad, in her current position, she wasn’t feeling all that calm, or seeing any rationale behind the punishment.

Biting her tongue to keep from yelling at him, Mercedes waited for him to move, wanting desperately to get off of him, but at the same time, she wanted to feel the safety and security of his body against hers.

Not to mention, she was pretty sure she wouldn’t be sitting for at least a good half hour. Her ass was on fire.

Chapter Eleven

Xander had to take a moment to breathe, to try to rein himself in. To ignore the overwhelming urge to sink his cock into this amazing woman, to make her beg and plead while he plowed her over and over until they were both barely able to breathe from the desperate need for release.

Watching as Mercedes’s beautiful bare ass blushed a pretty red beneath his hand had nearly been his undoing. And the way she’d reacted had been more than he could’ve asked for. She’d taken every swat, counting them out as he instructed, without squirming or trying to pull away.

And when he said he was proud of her… that was an understatement.

She slayed him with her trust. If she ever thought he was in total control just because she was the one submitting, she was definitely wrong. He might own her body for the next few days, but this woman was rapidly taking ownership of his soul. It was inevitable, he knew. And it was a risk he was willing to take because God willing, by the time their five days came to an end, she’d belong to him in every way that mattered.

Xander shifted, helping Mercedes to her feet. Once she was standing, he leaned forward and pressed his mouth to her reddened ass, the skin warm beneath his lips.

Taking her hand, he eased her back toward the cedar chest, motioning with his head for her to sit. He knew it was going to be uncomfortable now that her ass was reddened by his hand, but it was part of the punishment.

“Feet up,” he instructed again, wanting her back in the same position she’d been in earlier. He liked her splayed out for him. He knew that by insisting she was naked and on display, it took away her sense of control.