Xander sat at his desk, staring out the office window overlooking downtown Dallas, his mind still reeling from what had just happened just a few short hours ago. With the phone pressed to his ear, he listened to the monotonous ringing while he sat patiently waiting for his friend to answer, doing his best to focus on something other than the memory of the way Mercedes tasted against his lips.
“What’s up?” Shane asked when he finally answered his phone.
Not in the mood to beat around the bush, Xander opted for getting right to the point. “Wanted to let you know that Mercedes won’t be going to Kink tonight,” Xander told Shane bluntly.
Mercedes had informed him that she had a call that she had to take and had disappeared back to her condo shortly after he had helped her to get dressed. Not wanting to let her go, Xander had resigned himself to doing just that. As much as he wanted to keep her at his side every single second for the next five days, he knew he couldn’t.
“Why not?” Shane asked curiously.
“I’m taking her to Devotion.”
“You’re taking her?”
“That’s what I said.”
“Mind if I meet you there?” Shane asked, a modicum of uncertainty in his tone.
Xander turned his chair to stare at his blank computer screen. “Not at all.”
“Cool. See you, what? At nine?”
“I’m taking her to dinner first, so yes, around then.”
Knowing he should hang up and let the call end on that note, Xander paused, fully expecting what came next.
“What’s going on, X?” Shane asked, his tone turning serious all of a sudden.
Xander sighed. He knew he needed to explain to Shane the deal that he’d made with Mercedes and the recent development that had already changed their friendship at least as far as Xander was concerned. Shane deserved that much because he cared about Mercedes, almost as much as Xander did. And on any given day, Xander would usually invite Shane to dinner with them.
Not tonight.
He’d already informed Mercedes that he was going to enlighten Shane as to what was happening between them, but he wasn’t quite sure how to spit it out. If he offered up too much information, Shane would quickly realize this was something more than just a few days of play time. He had absolutely no intention of anyone figuring out that what Xander wanted was a hell of a lot more than playtime. Not before he could convince Mercedes at least.
“Fuck,” Shane exhaled, clearly making his own assumptions based on Xander’s lack of answer. “Man, do you know what you’re doing?”
Ok, so clearly he didn’t need to explain, but Xander scrounged up a considerable amount of let’s-just-play-along and answered with a question of his own. “What are you talking about?”
“I always suspected you had your sights set on her, but seriously, X, she’s…”
“She’s what?” Xander asked, his frustration escaping.
“She’s not a submissive.”
That’s what you think, Xander thought to himself. Out loud, he said, “I never said she was.”
“No, but if you’re getting cozy with her, then you’re thinking you can change her. Man, that’s not gonna happen. You’re gonna ruin your friendship with her. Not to mention your business relationship.”
Xander had given that some serious consideration as well. However, he spent his life taking risks and this was one he couldn’t find it in himself to regret. At least not at this point. The alternate – sitting back and hoping Mercedes might pursue him – would probably have him waiting a lifetime.
Unacceptable.
“Let me worry about that,” Xander told Shane. He wanted to say he had it all under control, but he wasn’t sure that was the case, so he bit his tongue.
Shane sighed, clearly dropping the subject. “I’ll see you both tonight then.”
With that, they disconnected the call.
Shane was right, he’d be seeing them both. The remaining question was one only Mercedes could answer: how much of herself was she going to let people see?
~*~*~*~
When Mercedes stepped out of her condo a little before seven, she took a deep breath, trying to settle her unruly nerves. She was an absolute mess and had been ever since Xander had made her come… with his mouth.
Lord did the man have an amazing tongue. The memory sent a rush of heat shuddering through her.
Willing to do just about anything to put some much needed distance between them after that mind-blowing event, Mercedes hadn’t lied when she told him she had a call she couldn’t miss. It had been a well-timed saving grace. As to how well she’d handled that call, she didn’t know. Her mind had continued to wander back to Xander’s bedroom.
God, what a difference a day could make.
As she stood in the hall just outside of her front door, she wondered whether she should just go back into her condo and pretend none of this ever happened. The only reason she was out there was because she wasn’t sure she could resist jumping Xander if he took two steps inside.
However, it didn’t seem to matter whether she was out in the hall or safely tucked away in her condo, her thoughts still drifted to Xander and the deal they’d made. Part of her wanted to back out, the other part of her wanted to move full steam ahead.
If she pushed hard enough, she knew Xander would back off. He might not be happy about it, but he wasn’t the type of man to ever cross the line. Too bad she couldn’t even convince herself that she wanted him to, because if she didn’t even buy it, he definitely wouldn’t believe her if she tried to tell him.
The elevator dinged, drawing her attention down the hall.
Her breath halted in her chest as she watched Xander approach, looking devilishly handsome and positively intimidating with his hands thrust into the pockets of his expensive slacks, his dark, forest green tie a nice contrast against his crisp white shirt, and his hand tailored jacket accentuating his immense upper body.
In her opinion, there was nothing sexier than a self-confident, well-dressed man. And that was a more than befitting description of Xander Boone.
Watching him as he moved toward her, Mercedes recalled the very first time she’d met him. Upon first glance, he’d overwhelmed her with his sheer size. It hadn’t taken long before he’d overwhelmed her with his personality as well. And to this day, Xander was probably the one man she admired more than anyone else. And not just because of how incredibly striking he was.
“You look beautiful,” he said by way of greeting, invading her personal space and pulling her to him, his lips brushing against hers briefly.
“Thank you,” she managed to reply, suddenly feeling a little unsteady on her feet.
Definitely a good thing she’d decided to meet him in the hall.
“Are you ready?”
Mercedes wasn’t sure she’d ever be ready for this man, but she responded with a firm, “Yes."
“Perfect. Did you pack your things?”
Xander had called her to let her know he was taking her to dinner and that they would be making a presence at Devotion later for an invitation-only BDSM theme night. During that conversation, he’d asked her to pack enough to last her through the weekend.
“I did,” she confirmed.
“Good. Gerard will have your things delivered to my condo and Janelle has agreed to come by and put them away,” he informed her as he held out his arm, a signal for her to hold on to him.
Gerard was their beloved doorman who handled so much more than just a door in their building. And Janelle was Xander’s housekeeper. Well, if she’d had any inclination that Xander would be discreet in regard to their deal, she was wrong. It was obvious that her secret was going to be out soon.
Nestling her hand into the crook of his arm, she allowed him to lead her back to the elevator.
Lord. The man smelled incredible. Clearly he’d pulled out all the stops.
“You mean I’ll have room in your closet?” she asked, hoping to disguise the nerves that hadn’t settled at all since he’d stepped foot out of the elevator.
“And your own drawer in my dresser,” he told her with a wide grin.
Butterflies went on the attack immediately, making her belly flutter. She was not immune to this man, no matter how much she wished she was.
They rode the elevator to the ground floor and were met by Gerard, the doorman, who greeted them both by name. Once they stepped out into the humid night air, Mercedes noticed Xander’s limo waiting for them.
Xander took her hand from his arm and held on to it while he helped her into the back of the limo while the driver stood to the side holding the door open.
“We’ll be at our destination in under fifteen minutes, Mr. Boone,” Carson, Xander’s limo driver, informed them as Xander climbed in behind her.
“Where are we going?” she asked when the door was closed, and they were alone.
Xander moved to sit beside her, not leaving an inch of space between them, his big, warm hand resting on her thigh.
“Dakota’s,” Xander replied, referring to one of his favorite restaurants, a five star steakhouse no less.
As the limo pulled away from the curb, Mercedes made a last ditch effort to calm her nerves. It wasn’t like she hadn’t shared more than her fair share of dinners with Xander. They often would go together, especially when he wanted to go to Dakota’s because he knew she liked the place.
She knew she should feel comfortable with him because they were such close friends, but this felt decidedly different. Mostly because Xander was touching her. Constantly. Oddly, she found that she didn’t mind his touch. It was intimate, yet casual, but not at all innocent which left her a little rattled. She could practically feel the tension radiating beneath his skin, and that made her own skin tingle.
Thankfully, the drive was a short one, and it wasn’t long before Xander was leading her into the restaurant. After being greeted by name, Mercedes followed the host to a table in the back while Xander remained right behind her, his hand making her skin sizzle where he kept it at the small of her back.
Xander, ever the gentleman, pulled out her chair after waving off the host’s attempt and waited until she was seated comfortably before taking the chair across from her. She would’ve been surprised by the fact that he didn’t take the seat next to her, but if you’d ever been out to dinner with Xander, you’d realize that the broad expanse of his upper body left him little room to share at a small table such as the one they were now sitting at.
So, their seating arrangement wasn’t unusual.
What was different from normal was the fact Xander took her hand from across the table and caressed the backs of her fingers with his thumbs while the host detailed for them the wine list.
As usual, Xander nodded politely but didn’t order, rather waiting patiently for their waiter to arrive.
“Good evening, Ms. Bryant. Mr. Boone,” the familiar waiter said with a face splitting grin when he approached them less than a minute later.
“Good evening, Tony,” Mercedes greeted back, smiling up at the handsome young man. It didn’t seem to matter what time of day or night that they chose to go to the renowned steakhouse, Tony was always there to serve them. She had her suspicions that Tony was called in even on his days off if “Mr. Boone” chose to make a reservation.
“Tonight I’d like as little interruption as possible,” Xander informed him in that deep, booming tone that he used when speaking business. Strangely enough, Xander kept his eyes on her, not bothering to address Tony directly.
“Of course, sir,” Tony answered, not looking at all taken aback by the request. “I’ll bring the wine momentarily.”
“Thank you,” Mercedes said as Tony turned and disappeared across the restaurant. They would not be placing an order because for the last few years, whenever she accompanied Xander, they always had the same thing. Tony would no doubt ensure they had a perfect dining experience, without interruption.
Not bothering to pull her hand out from underneath Xander’s, she stared down at their hands, wondering if he felt the way she trembled. It was an involuntary reaction, one she wasn’t at all proud of.
“Shane called,” Xander informed her, drawing her attention back to him.
She raised her eyebrow, a silent acknowledgement that she was listening.
“He’s going to meet us at Devotion later.”
Mercedes swallowed hard, but her gaze didn’t waver from Xander’s. She’d already given herself a pep talk earlier. This was a commitment she’d made, and now she had to deal with the fallout. A deal was a deal and worst case, if she couldn’t survive this first test, she’d easily let Xander know at the end of the night.
For now, she was committed to the next few hours, no matter what was on the agenda. She had no idea how Shane was going to react to whatever Xander had planned for her at Devotion, but she couldn’t very well argue after she’d entered into this agreement with her eyes wide open.
“You don’t care to know what he said?” Xander asked, an indiscernible tilt to his full lips the only sign that he was amused by her reaction.
“Of course I care,” she said with a matching smile, trying to hide her reaction to his teasing.
When Xander didn’t offer more details, Mercedes laughed. “Quit playing with me, X. Just tell me what he said.”
“He said he’s looking forward to seeing us tonight.”
“He didn’t ask any questions about why I wasn’t going to Kink? Or about why you and I were going to Devotion together?” Although the notion of their going out to various places together wasn’t completely absurd, Mercedes knew Shane was rather perceptive. Not to mention suspicious.
“Of course he asked why,” Xander admitted, sitting back when Tony arrived to pour the wine.
Mercedes tasted the rich red that Tony offered and then signaled her approval before turning her attention back to Xander.
“And?”
“I told him that I was taking you to dinner and then taking you to Devotion. I didn’t feel the need to explain my reasoning to him.”
Mercedes knew his explanation hadn’t been accepted without more questions. Rather than push Xander, she sat back, waiting patiently.
He laughed. A brilliant, rich sound that made her insides jump to attention. She loved when he laughed. It was such an amazing sound, probably because it was so rare. At least like that anyway.
“I told him he’d be seeing a lot more of you tonight.”
“You did not!” Mercedes gasped.
Xander laughed again, which settled her somewhat. The man was incorrigible.
“No, I didn’t. But you and I both know that it’s going to happen.”
Mercedes wasn’t all that worried about Shane seeing more of her, as Xander put it. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen plenty of her before. When they played at Kink, the individual play rooms were all open to the public. The private rooms could be viewed if the participants chose so there were plenty of times Shane could’ve witnessed a scene between her and one of her subs.
What she was worried about was what Xander had planned.
“Are you going to use one of the main play rooms?” she asked, referring to the large glass rooms that were centered on the main floor.
“I haven’t thought that far ahead yet,” he told her, another devious smirk teasing his lips.
It was official, she was not going to survive the night.