Mercedes stood beside Xander, trying to appear casual and unconcerned. Truth was, her nerves had taken to breakdancing, and she wasn’t sure how much longer she could tolerate the tension that was building to a crescendo.
The look in his eyes, the one that said things were about to get real, wasn’t helping. The only positive, they were at Devotion and not Kink. She’d be mortified if they’d gone to their regular haunt because she was known there. Here, she was just another nameless face, and if Logan McCoy had mentioned anything, people were already believing she was a submissive.
Ha! The joke was on them.
Shit.
Mercedes’s gaze landed on Shane standing on the far side of the room. He looked up just in time to see her watching him. Without hesitation, he excused himself from the group he had been conversing with and was hastily heading their way.
She could do this.
That statement went on a constant loop in her head, and she held tightly to the imaginary repeat button to ensure she didn’t forget it. She only hoped that if she thought it enough times that she’d soon believe it because at the moment, she was worried that backing out of the whole thing was high on her priority list.
“You look incredible,” Shane said when he approached, leaning in and kissing her firmly on the lips.
She smiled up at him, hoping he didn’t realize just how terrified she was now that he was there.
The sound that came from behind her stopped her heart for a millisecond. She looked up to see Xander glaring at Shane, and that’s when Shane must have realized his faux pas.
“Shit,” he mumbled, staring back at Xander. “I’m… Shit.”
Shane was tongue tied, and Mercedes knew why. If she had to guess, Xander was currently burning a hole in Shane’s face with just a look. Shane had kissed her right on the lips, something that they did all the time. It meant nothing. They were friends.
But until tonight, she’d never been wearing a Dom’s collar.
“Sorry, man.”
Mercedes had known Shane longer than she’d known Xander, but not by much. They were good friends, possibly even closer than she and Xander. She spent a lot of time with Shane during her down time. It wasn’t strange for him to stop by her condo just to chat. Where Xander was the quiet, observant one, Shane was chatty and loud, the life of the party much of the time.
Shane’s gaze dropped to her neck again and then his eyes darted to Xander, who was now standing directly behind her. Just when she thought he wasn’t going to say anything more, he broke the silence.
“That was fast.”
Crap.
Xander’s body moved even closer to hers, his hand sliding to her hips as he pressed his front against her back. He was like a living, breathing security blanket and for a moment, she felt a measure of relief. With him standing there, she could almost envision herself absorbing some of his strength.
She would need it if she wanted to survive the night.
“You’re good with this?” Shane asked, his question directed to her.
There was another unmistakable growl that came from Xander, and she smiled. Territorial much?
“Of course,” she lied. She was committed because she’d made a deal. Didn’t necessarily mean she was good with it; however, she needed Shane to know that she was on board.
The expression on Shane’s face softened and then he laughed.
“M, I’m not sure how he managed to talk you into this, but darlin’, I fully intend to watch this one play out.”
Mercedes didn’t smile even when the Texas twang he worked so hard to disguise slipped out. In fact, another emotion took root. Mortification. She wasn’t sure how she would endure Shane watching a scene. Especially one where she was a submissive. It went against everything she’d worked so hard to build for herself and here, tonight, she got the impression Xander intended to strip her of all her control.
Because he could.
“Back off, Shane,” Xander growled from behind her.
“Yeah, what he said,” Mercedes said, trying to lighten the mood. “It’s fine. And if you want to watch, be my guest.”
Xander’s grip tightened on her hip, and that was when she realized she had overstepped. Tonight he was in the lead. He was in control, and she didn’t have a say in the matter. She knew that based on the way Xander played at the club.
Shane’s eyes darted back and forth between the two of them and then he laughed again. “Yeah, good luck with all of this. I’m still not sure how he talked you into it, but yeah…” Shane stopped talking, but his sparkling blue eyes were lit with amusement.
“Did you come here to play?” Xander questioned, his hand loosening somewhat.
“I did, actually.”
“Did you bring Clarissa?” Xander asked.
Mercedes’s gaze darted behind her. Clarissa? She turned her attention back to Shane while she waited for him to answer.
“Not tonight. She had something to take care of. I promised I’d bring her to the next one.”
“Clarissa? My Clarissa?” Mercedes asked, confused.
“Technically, she doesn’t belong to you, doll,” Shane said with a chuckle. “But, yes, we’re talking about your friend Clarissa.”
Holy shit. Clarissa and Shane. That was an interesting combination. Then again, Clarissa was an unattached submissive, and she had known that her friend thought rather highly of Shane.
“Are the two of you…?” Mercedes couldn’t get the words out.
“We’re just playing,” Shane assured her. “Nothing serious.”
Maybe not for him, Mercedes thought to herself. She made a mental note to call her friend first thing tomorrow. As much as she loved Shane, she wasn’t at all sure he was the best man for Clarissa to be playing with.
“So who’s your victim tonight?” Xander asked, his tone gruff.
When Shane looked over his shoulder, Mercedes glanced in that direction. There, on the other side of the room was a pretty blonde and an equally pretty brunette staring back at them.
Yep, that’s the way Shane played. It wasn’t surprising to see he’d set his sights on two women for the night. It took a lot to hold Shane’s interest, and although he was a fun loving, laid back charmer most of the time, when he went into full Dom mode, his entire demeanor changed.
He liked a challenge and subs loved him for it. He didn’t play around, didn’t entertain the notion of relationships any more than Xander did. In fact, he made that point clear up front, and surprisingly, women still flocked to him. No doubt hoping they would be that someone special who could change his take no prisoners approach.
God, she prayed Clarissa wasn’t thinking she might be the one to change him.
Mercedes would’ve warned them if she could. But it wasn’t her place. And honestly, she enjoyed watching Shane and his inane ability to bring even the most defiant of subs to heel.
Then again, she had more than enough to think about. Like her own submission, and how, if at all, she was going to pull that off.
She glanced around the room as she waited for Xander’s next command or for Shane to make another snide comment.
It seemed most of the people she’d been introduced to the night before were also there tonight.
Off in one corner, she caught a glimpse of the incredibly handsome Luke McCoy, his husband Cole Ackerley talking to Trent Ramsey, and Sierra, Luke and Cole’s wife, cozied up to Luke’s side. That wasn’t surprising, especially after the impromptu ceremony they’d had the night before.
While Xander and Shane’s conversation echoed around her, the memory of that ceremony came to the forefront, still having the ability to bring tears to her eyes. She hated that underneath it all she had a soft heart, but witnessing the three of them pledge their love for one another like that had been beyond anything she’d ever seen.
Before she had a chance to linger too long on the memory, Mercedes spotted Samantha and Logan McCoy making their way through the club. She glanced up over her shoulder to see Xander was watching them as well. Turning back, she noticed that they’d stopped to talk to a couple she didn’t recognize, but she purposely looked away, hoping they wouldn’t feel her eyes on them.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to interact with them, but if she was going to have to endure what she’d been through last night – although likely on a much grander scale – she wasn’t sure she wanted such an intimate audience this time. Because no matter what she tried to tell herself, this time wouldn’t be a demonstration.
Unable to help herself, her attention was drawn back their way, watching Samantha as she interacted with her husband and the other couple. Yes, Mercedes could definitely see the woman’s allure. Not to mention her very blatant submissive tendencies. That thought reminded her that she’d told Xander he should take on Sam as a submissive because she was clearly more his style.
She swallowed the rest of her drink in one gulp and then turned to set the empty glass on the bar behind them. She needed to get her head on straight and thinking about Xander with another woman, sub or otherwise, was so not helping.
“Are you ready?” Mercedes asked Xander abruptly, interrupting his conversation with Shane.
Shit.
His eyes landed on her, hard yet slightly amused, and she immediately realized her mistake.
This was not her show, and she’d promptly fallen into her usual routine of directing the evening to the way she expected it to go.
Without a word, Xander downed what was left of his drink and then placed the empty glass on the bar before turning to face her fully.
Damn. Damn. Damn.
She’d well and truly fucked up that time. She knew earlier that she’d pushed her boundaries with her sarcasm, but now she could see the retaliation in Xander’s glimmering gaze.
And the chill that raced down her spine didn’t have anything to do with the temperature in the room.