Nicole Edwards - Perception

Clarissa was a natural submissive, one who enjoyed the role. Xander figured it had a lot to do with her high powered career. She was always in control in the courtroom, so in the bedroom, she’d easily hand over the reins, letting someone take over.

To each his own and all that.

Xander noticed the way Shane’s hand tightened on Clarissa’s hip, his eyes on Mercedes. It surprised Xander somewhat. The man didn’t seem to have a problem handling Clarissa, but it didn’t appear he was quite as excited as he let on about letting Mercedes take control.

Welcome to my world, Gibson.

Xander couldn’t wait to see how that was going to work out.

Mercedes watched Clarissa, noticed the way her eyes dilated as the woman stood motionless in front of her. This was her good friend. A woman she knew to be submissive because she’d seen her interact with Shane and a couple of other Doms at Kink in the years since she’d met her, but never had she been a part of a scene with her.

Then again, Mercedes didn’t act out scenes with female submissives. At least not unless they’d done something that would earn them a punishment from her. And that was very rare.

But this… it was going to be interesting to say the least.

There was excitement banked in Clarissa’s light brown eyes, but there was something else as well. Trepidation, maybe? Figuring she’d leave Clarissa in suspense for a minute, she turned her attention to Shane, who stood rigidly behind her.

“Do you think you can handle this tonight?” She directed the question at him this time.

If his posture were anything to go by, the man was going to take his sub and run as fast as he possibly could away from her.

And that was all right too. She wasn’t going to push them. Sometimes it was easier to think that men could wield the power better than a woman. Then again, Shane had seen her in action, which, quite possibly, might be the cause for his uneasiness.

“If Rissa is open to the idea, I’m game,” he answered easily, his tone belying the tension she could see in his shoulders beneath that black button down.

Mercedes hadn’t planned for this. After all, Xander was supposed to be her quest for the night, but she had to admit, the idea of dominating Clarissa had a lot of merit. For one, it would give her a chance to express her dominating side which had laid dormant for too many days now. But it would ensure she didn’t have to see that void she feared she would see in Xander’s eyes if she looked too closely.

Not to mention, it might help to put a little distance between her and the inconvenient feelings she was beginning to develop for Xander. The ones that continued to grow stronger with each passing minute.

Just like Xander, Shane wasn’t in the least bit submissive and the worst part of all of this, she knew at some point, she was probably going to have to hand over the reins to him – at least where Clarissa was concerned. Mercedes wasn’t all that fond of co-topping. She preferred to keep everything within her realm of control.

But then again, she hadn’t expected to enjoy being Xander’s submissive. And she did, even if she wouldn’t admit it out loud. So maybe she would learn something else about herself tonight.

Glancing back at Clarissa, Mercedes decided right then and there that she was going to keep an open mind about tonight. This was playtime. It was fun. She refused to let her emotions lead her. Not tonight. To see this woman bend to her will was going to be something. It was a challenge that she would grab hold of with both hands.

A scene from a few years ago came back to her. One she’d witnessed at Kink. Shane and another Dom had dominated a sub – per the sub’s request. They’d sandwiched her between them and made her come so loudly, Mercedes was surprised the windows hadn’t rattled. At the time, she had been impressed.

The thought gave her pause.

No, she wouldn’t allow things to go that far. She certainly wasn’t going to share Xander with Clarissa. Not like that anyway. A little touching, a little oral… yeah, she could handle that.

So, sure, maybe she was having doubts on her ability to dominate Xander, or even her desire to, but she damn sure liked the idea of blowing Xander’s mind.

It would be a true test – both hers and his.

Tonight appeared to have taken on a new agenda and Mercedes was ok with that. This was no longer about dominating Xander; it was about showing Clarissa exactly what it meant to obey a Mistress, not just a Master. Mercedes had earned the respect of her peers, and although Xander had effectively stripped her of her control on more than one occasion, she needed a reminder that she was still in charge.

“X, please take Rissa to the room, and Shane and I will be there shortly,” she instructed, her eyes still fixated on Clarissa.

Her friend nodded slightly, her utter and complete submission apparent. She was a willing participant, which amped up Mercedes’s excitement. If nothing else, she was going to have fun tonight.

When the two of them walked away a moment later, Clarissa’s arm linked in Xander’s much larger one, Mercedes turned her attention to Shane, but kept her eyes trained on the couple as they retreated.

“Well, this is a surprise,” Shane said with a gruff chuckle, sounding much more relaxed than he had a moment ago.

Mercedes smiled at him as she turned back to face him fully. “Not what you expected, I take it?”

“In more ways than one.” Shane laughed, a sexy rumble that made Mercedes understand just what Clarissa saw in the man.

Although she’d never had a personal attraction to him, she wouldn’t deny that he was one damn fine looking man. Blond hair, blue eyes, great body. He was definitely attractive. Way better than average in her opinion. And he clearly enjoyed playtime with his submissives which told her a lot.

“How the hell did this come about?” Shane asked.

“It’s just temporary,” she explained, not sure how much she should share with him. She wasn’t sure how much Xander had shared with him. “If you know Xander, you know he’s always up for a challenge. Apparently this was his way of rattling the cage if you will.”

“I’d say he succeeded. I had no idea.” Shane laughed again.

“Does that mean you’re good with this? You’re open to whatever I want to do?”

“If Clarissa is, I’m game. I think she’s open to a lot of things. She wants to learn more, to explore what all of this means.”

“Well, if you don’t mind me saying, she couldn’t have better teachers. I’m sure you’ve taught her plenty, but you have to admit, Xander’s something else,” Mercedes told him. “But tonight, she’ll get to see it from two separate points of view.”

“Shit, I’m interested in seeing it from your point of view.”

“Just remember, tonight Xander is a full-fledged submissive, which means he’ll be relinquishing all of his decision making to me. Don’t look to him as the Dom.”

“No worries there,” he grinned. “Dressed like that, I’d never take him for anything other than a submissive.”

Mercedes smiled. Xander did look damn fine with her collar around his neck. “Trust me, I don’t think it’ll be easy, but I assure you, I’ve got a plan. If everyone can remember that this is all about pleasure, we won’t have any problems.”

“I don’t think Rissa will have a problem understanding that.”

“Well, if the look in her eyes is anything to go by, I think she’s going to do just fine. And trust me, Shane, I’m going to go easy on her.” She didn’t bother to tell him she was going to go light because she knew Xander wasn’t eager to participate, or that she was beginning to doubt her desire to top him.