Perception (Club Destiny #6)(48)
Author: Nicole Edwards

He was surprised to see that the attendees had embraced the concept. At least they had if their state of dress was any indication. Last night’s attire had been formal, tonight was all about play. He noticed that, without explicit direction, some people came up with some rather interesting ideas.

Most of the early arrivals donned leather, some not so appealing, some rather intriguing, all having one thing in common: an apparent effort to reflect the glorified, often stereo-typed lifestyle many were just now exploring.

Overall, Xander liked the feel of the place. Everyone was into it, from novices to experts and varying degrees in between.

As was usual, the shutters over the windows were closed, the lights were dimmed which left the club backlit by the red lights that surrounded the bars. The music was loud, a sexy bass beat thumping through the cavernous space. There were lines of people around the bars, others sitting at the scattered tables, some on couches and even some against the wall.

Because of the theme, they’d added some scenery, which included a St. Andrew’s cross, a very interesting Sybian saddle machine that Trent Ramsey, the somewhat obnoxious actor turned club owner and one of Xander’s longtime acquaintances, had found necessary to include. Off to the far side, Xander noticed someone had brought out a swing as well.

Of course, those pieces of equipment were already reserved in advance for the night, as were the glass enclosed playrooms. Mistress Serena was in one, but only one of the other three was occupied at the moment.

Xander had originally intended to use one of them for tonight, but after careful consideration, he was leaning toward utilizing one of the more private areas. Then again, that all depended on the way Mercedes responded to him.

Tonight he intended to test her again.

He was the Dom, – her Dom – and she was his submissive, and he fully expected her full cooperation and attention throughout the night. If she could manage to rein in some of her defiance, he’d gracefully reward her by keeping her out of the public eye.

However, if she chose to defy him, which up to this point he wasn’t sure she would do, he would easily lay claim to one of the glass rooms as punishment. Because of the latter, he had first dibs on the third room just in case.

Either way, he fully intended to make tonight interesting.

After all, he didn’t have a minute to waste. Five days weren’t nearly enough time for all the things he had planned for her. But for now, he’d proceed with that timeframe in mind.

Retrieving the drinks that the bartender handed over, Xander turned to Mercedes, offering hers to her first.

“Thank you,” she said with a smile when he handed her a glass filled with a clear liquid.

“You’re welcome,” he replied, studying her as she sipped from the glass. Figuring it was as good a time as any to lay out the ground rules, Xander continued. “Tonight, I want you to refer to me as Master or Sir,” he told her boldly, wanting to set the boundaries immediately.

Up to this point, they’d merely been on a casual date, something Xander found himself hoping for more of in the near future. Well, the only difference might’ve been him placing the nipple clamps on her and collaring her in the limo.

“Can you do that?” he asked when she didn’t answer immediately, needing her verbal confirmation that she was on board.

“Yes, Sir,” she mumbled.

He noted the sarcasm in her tone. She was adept at the rules of this game, so he didn’t feel it necessary to call out her transgressions as they were made. If she wanted to play that way, he’d gladly dole out his punishment accordingly. On the other hand, she knew what would please him because she knew him so well, so she had the option of playing by the rules.

The choice was completely up to her.

“One drink limit tonight,” he informed her as he sipped his Glenlivet. That was a hard and fast rule that they were both used to. Anytime he planned for a scene, he knew that alcohol didn’t mix well. The safety of his sub was, above all else, his utmost priority.

And tonight, he fully intended to focus all of his attention on the beautiful pet he planned to stake his claim on in every way possible.

~~*~~*~~

Luke McCoy was doing his best to keep his eye on everything that was going on around him as he stood near the bar. It wasn’t that hard to do considering he knew he had a second set of eyes doing the same not far away. Cole was less than ten feet away talking to Sierra, but Luke knew he was well aware of everything that was going on.

As he waited for the bartender to hand over the three drinks he’d ordered, Luke scanned the room, noticing that Xander and Mercedes had just arrived. Good thing too since tonight had been his new business partner’s suggestion in the first place. If he were completely honest, the whole BDSM thing didn’t do much for him. Well, that wasn’t completely true. He did find it rather tempting to tie Cole or Sierra to the bed whenever the opportunity arose. But that didn’t mean he was into all the shit that was going on around him tonight.