Perception (Club Destiny #6)(9)
Author: Nicole Edwards

Seriously. She was going to have to give more thought as to why his touch felt so good.

But obviously not right now.

“Then let’s get started,” he replied just as softly, the hint of a smile in his voice. “First, I want you naked,” he stated firmly, his voice louder this time, clearly for Samantha and Logan to hear.

Naked. Excellent.

That was the moment Mercedes realized she was about to take a step off of the high dive hovering precariously above the deep end, and she wasn’t even sure how far she had to fall before she took the plunge.

“You know your safe word?” he asked, again so that everyone could hear.

She fought the urge to roll her eyes.

“Red,” she responded easily, tightening her grip on the flogger handle. She’d never gotten into creative safe words, much preferring the straightforward red, yellow, and green. Red meant stop entirely, yellow meant to slow down, and green meant all systems go.

At the moment, she was stuck somewhere on orange.

“Good girl. If, at any time, you wish to stop, just say red and everything will stop,” he said, his tone encouraging.

A shiver danced along her spine.

Xander’s hands returned to her shoulders, lightly grazing her skin when he moved her hair out of his way. The warmth of his breath tickled her neck as he leaned in close. When she thought he would say something, he surprised her by placing a kiss to her right shoulder, his tongue briefly trailing along the intricate magnolia tattoo that extended down to her elbow. He didn’t linger, but it was enough to send an influx of heat percolating through her bloodstream.

Xander continued to touch her, the heat of his hands on her back made Mercedes bite her bottom lip as she dropped her head slightly, trying to peer down at her feet. Shit. This was not good.

Not good at all.

Xander unlaced her corset, slowly and efficiently, his fingers trailing over her naked skin as he revealed it. All she could do was attempt to keep her respiratory system from failing, not wanting to let Xander know just how much he was affecting her at the moment.

The leather corset fell away, and her nipples immediately puckered from the cool air that caressed her overheated skin. Right. Tell yourself that, and maybe it will be true.

Within minutes, Xander had her fully naked, save for the thigh high boots. Mercedes tried her hardest to act as though this were simply clinical, but her damned body was betraying her every thought.

Being naked, and being naked with Xander touching her, were two entirely different things. Granted, she was sure he’d seen her in various states of undress at the club, but she wasn’t sure he’d ever seen quite this much of her at one time.

“We’ll leave the boots on,” he informed her. “Because they’re sexy as fuck.”

More chills skated over her skin at his obvious approval.

“Spread your legs for me,” he instructed, his hands gliding down her thighs as he knelt behind her. The fact that his face was intimately close to her bottom had her squeezing her internal muscles tightly.

This was nerve wracking to say the least.

When he reached her ankles, she felt the leather straps being secured in place over her boots. Despite the temptation, Mercedes didn’t try to see how far she could move. It wouldn’t be far; she knew that much. And she wasn’t about to let Xander know she’d suddenly developed an overwhelming case of nerves.

Back to his full height, Xander took the flogger from her hand and trailed the long, leather strings down her right arm, then across her shoulders. Since he was left handed and wielding the flogger with his right hand, for now, she knew she had a moment’s reprieve.

When he lovingly slid the tails of the flogger over her left arm, she consciously fought the shiver that threatened to wrack her body. He was getting into position.

Xander was a big man, with a significant amount of power, and with him standing so close, holding a flogger, she felt a little light headed, and utterly consumed by him.

Refocusing her attention on her part in this scene now that she was an active participant, Mercedes sucked in a deep breath and stared forward, keeping her body loose but on alert. She only wished there wasn’t a mirror on the wall, because now she had no choice but to watch what Xander was doing to her as well as feel it.

“Have you been a good girl?” Xander asked as he pressed his chest up against her back once more, his eyes meeting hers in the floor to ceiling mirror.

Um… no.

But she didn’t say that. She couldn’t say anything at first. With his shirt unbuttoned, she felt the heat of his naked chest against her skin, and the only thing she could think about was how warm his body was against hers. And how… hard.