Nicole Edwards - Perception

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.

It was a start. That’s all he needed.

He waited to see if she would clarify.

She didn’t, which left him in charge.

Pushing up from his chair, Xander didn’t waste time as he made his way over to her. Taking her hand, he pulled gently, encouraging her to come with him.

If she wanted to know how this was going to work, he’d show her. In his opinion, talking was overrated when it came to certain things.

Mercedes wasn’t new to this scene; she wasn’t naïve enough to think he’d be gentle with her just because they were venturing into the unknown together. Five days were barely enough time to convince her that this was the right thing to do so he couldn’t afford to take his time seducing her slowly.

Just as he expected, Mercedes hesitated briefly, pulling against his hold on her hand, but then she gave in, following behind him.

Taking his time, he led her through his office, then through the main floor of his condo before approaching the stairs. He didn’t look back at her, unwilling to give her an out just yet. Once they reached his bedroom, he’d give her another chance to change her mind, but the most important thing was to get her there first.

A minute later, they were walking into his bedroom. Once inside, he shut the door with a gentle click and then turned to face her.

Her face registered nothing of what she was feeling. Then again, Mercedes was good at masking emotions. Almost as good as he was.

Xander figured he could credit her bastard of a father for the way she kept her emotions on lock down. According to the conversations they’d shared, Phillip Bryant was a fuckup of the worst order. Xander only prayed he never ran into the guy because he wasn’t sure he’d let the man walk away with his body intact. Hell, he wasn’t sure he’d let the man walk away period.

Shaking off the thought, Xander focused on Mercedes. “Take off your shoes,” he commanded, ensuring she didn’t take the statement as a request.

Her eyes widened only slightly, but then she did exactly what he asked, stepping out of her shoes and leaving them on the floor beside her.

“Now your blou –” Before he could get his instructions out, she stopped him by holding her hand up.

“Me first,” she said.

Xander took a small step back, raising his eyebrow in interest, and pushing his hands into his pockets. He was aiming for casual, although he was having a damned hard time keeping his hunger for this woman under control. “Go ahead.”

“We’re going to do this,” she began, glancing around his bedroom briefly before meeting his eyes once more. “I’ll agree to five days, no holds barred.”

No holds barred? Oh, hell. He was definitely intrigued.

Xander didn’t smile, but he wanted to. Victory was a sweet, sweet thing. He didn’t think Mercedes would appreciate his celebrating, so he forced a bored expression.

“But, you have to agree to something first,” she informed him.

To his surprise, she reached up and began to unhook one of the buttons on her blouse, this one just beneath her magnificent breasts.

“You’ve got my attention,” he told her, trying to keep his eyes on her face. It wasn’t as easy as he hoped it looked.

The single button came free from its mooring, the crisp white fabric separating slightly to reveal the generous swells of her breasts cupped in white lace beneath.

“I’ll agree to play this game with you. You can do your best to make me submit,” she told him as she freed another button. “I’m not at all convinced that it’ll work, but I’ll give you a shot.”

His first instinct was to tell her that this damn sure wasn’t a game he was playing, but he kept it to himself. “And?” he implored her, waiting to hear her stipulations.