Nicole Edwards - Perception

She wanted nothing more than to hold onto him as she flew apart in his arms.

He made her groan in disappointment when he turned his attention to the bright artwork that decorated her shoulder. He used his tongue to trace the tattoo, but to her surprise, he didn’t linger long before he slid down between her thighs once more.

Ok, so maybe she wasn’t exactly disappointed, but her groans were certainly tinged with impatience.

His rough chuckle made her smile. Yes, the man was relentless, and he had a one track mind. Since she’d been the one to ask for it, she couldn’t be all that upset.

“Oh, fuck!” she moaned when Xander lifted her leg, bracing his palm beneath her thigh and opening her wide as he delved into her with his tongue over and over.

Mercedes knew she wouldn’t last. She couldn’t resist him, and when he turned the heat up, she didn’t stand a chance against him. “Yes,” she moaned. “Just like that, X. Suck my clit.”

Her entire body spasmed when he wrapped his lips around her clit, his tongue lashing as he pressed two fingers inside of her again. When he groaned against her, the vibration of his mouth sent her over the edge, her body fracturing from the inside out as her orgasm took her.

Xander didn’t allow much time to pass before he was hovering over her, staring down at her as he gave her a moment to catch her breath again. She welcomed the reprieve, but she prayed he wasn’t finished yet.

Sliding her hands around his neck, she pulled him against her. He was stronger than she was, which meant he didn’t fall on top of her, although she wouldn’t have minded.

She wanted to feel him against her. Everywhere. What was coursing through her had long surpassed mere desire and somewhere along the way morphed into a desperate, aching need.

“Beg me,” he said, his breaths ragged. She heard the urgency in his tone that time and she welcomed it. He might be the almighty Dom, but to know she got to him… it was empowering. “Beg me to make love to you.”

“Please,” she answered easily, her voice rough with her own desire. “I want to feel you.”

“No. Beg me to make love to you,” he said firmly.

Mercedes stilled. She stared back at him as her heart began a rebellious thump in her chest.

Make love.

She wasn’t sure she could handle hearing those words. She’d been thinking that’s what they’d done the night before and the night before that, but they both saw where that had gotten them. She’d run out of his office that morning like a scared child. Running from what she was already beginning to feel for this man.

As she looked into his eyes, she noticed that he wasn’t backing down. He didn’t seem in the least bit intimidated by her reaction.

Oh, Lord. This man knew her better than she knew herself. The moment she walked through his office door she’d felt more like herself than she had in years, even if she’d still been on the defensive. She’d spent too much time trying to hide her own needs in order to ensure she kept herself distanced. If she didn’t, she knew she would get hurt again.

But this man, her best friend, had read her easily, and his gentle, yet insistent, tone stole her breath.

He was breaking down her resistance, and she was too weak to deny him anymore. She wanted him, wanted every part of him.

“Tell me that’s what you want, Mercedes.”

“Yes,” she breathed out roughly. She was too tired to deal with the conflicting emotions. “I want you to make love to me. I need it. I need you.”

Xander growled, a rough, animalistic sound that sent shock waves of pleasure through her as he settled between her thighs. Digging her fingernails into his shoulders, Mercedes pressed her back into the sofa, pushing her hips forward as Xander held himself above her, rocking into her gently at first.

“Oh God, that feels so good.”

“You feel good,” he said. “You feel so fucking good, baby. When I’m inside of you, I don’t ever want to leave. I could spend the rest of my life right here.”

She wasn’t sure whether it was the heat of the moment that made him say the things he was saying, so she tried not to take them to heart, but it was so hard to do. He sounded so sincere, his eyes were a soft green as he stared back at her and for a moment, she felt as though he could see clear to her soul.

 His warm body surrounded her, consumed her. The way he thrust into her gently, his hips jerking at the last moment to send him deeper before he retreated had her body singing. The man knew how to please her. He knew just how to use his body to achieve maximum pleasure.

Sliding her hand into his hair, Mercedes held him to her, bringing his mouth down to hers briefly. But more than she wanted his kiss, she wanted to watch him, to see the ecstasy brewing in his beautiful eyes, to know that he was feeling the exact same thing she was feeling.

“Fuck,” he growled, thrusting deeper, every muscle in his big body taut.

She moaned, reveling in the glorious friction that ignited every pleasure receptor in her core.

He slid his forearm beneath her head, lifting her head so that she was closer to him as he hoisted her leg up, changing the angle as he penetrated her impossibly deeper.

“Xander.”

“Tell me, baby. Tell me how it feels.”

“It’s… Oh, God!” Mercedes didn’t think it could get any better, but then he ground his pelvis against hers, lodged to the hilt, filling her to bursting, before he pulled out and slid home once more. “It’s perfect.”

Mercedes bit her bottom lip as she watched him, waiting for that moment when she knew he’d reached the pinnacle and was ready to plummet into euphoric bliss right along with her.

Their bodies were slick with sweat as they moved together, the frantic pounding of her heart the only sound she heard.

“Come for me, Mercedes. Come with me.”

Mercedes latched onto his hair tighter, holding him to her as he buried his face in her neck. His pace intensified, his thrusts bottoming out inside of her, the delicious friction causing that ever growing tingle to start in her womb, making her insides glow.

“Harder,” she begged although she wasn’t sure she could handle much more. Apparently she could because her orgasm built to a crescendo as Xander mercilessly drove deep inside of her, penetrating her thoroughly.

“That’s it, baby,” Xander growled, his body going stone still as his cock pulsed inside of her. “Fuck.”

A sharp bolt of pain lanced her shoulder when Xander nipped her skin, but it didn’t hurt. Not in that way. No, this was a sensation that she felt clear to her soul.

Because Xander hadn’t just bitten her. He’d claimed her.

And there was no way in hell she could deny it. She was completely his. In every way.

Time stood still until they managed to catch their breaths, but Xander didn’t move from his position. She didn’t want him to.

Mercedes let her internal muscles milk him, enjoying the hungry growls that continued to rumble in his chest. For the first time in as long as she could remember, Mercedes felt herself falling for a man.

This man.

Day Three…

Saturday

On Saturday evening, Xander was tidying up the kitchen after tossing the remnants of their dinner into the trash. After a surprisingly leisurely day, one they’d spent together at his condo doing literally nothing for most of the day, Xander had finally given in and cooked dinner for Mercedes.

He wasn’t much of a cook, he would be the first to admit, but he was capable of working a stove. The sausage and vegetable risotto, a dish his mother had made quite often when he was a kid, wasn’t fancy, but it had been decent. Not as good as his mother’s, but edible. That’s all that mattered.

So, after he’d slaved over the stove for all of thirty minutes, they’d shared a meal while they talked about the upcoming week.

Mercedes had gone on to tell him about the official offer she’d put in on the Milton building yesterday, and how she was now waiting for the counteroffer, fully expecting it to come on Monday. There was no doubt about it, the seller would certainly counter. Not that Xander blamed them.

Now, as they made their way to the living room, he was falling into his normal evening routine, which for the next hour would consist of watching the news.

“I think I’m going to head to my place and take a bath,” Mercedes told him hesitantly.

“No,” he responded easily, keeping his voice soft. “You can take a bath here.” He wasn’t about to let her disappear on him again. After all, they had agreed that she would stay with him unless she was working, and he’d been impressed that she’d spent the entire day at his place, never once using an excuse to go home.

Progress, especially after the rocky day they’d had yesterday.

“But –”

Xander glared at her, effectively silencing her.

“My bath works just as well as yours does.”

To his surprise, Mercedes didn’t argue. Instead, she pinned him with a glare of her own before turning her attention on the stairs that led up to the master suite.

Neither of them said anything more and the next thing Xander knew, Mercedes was making her way upstairs. When she was halfway there, he called out to her. He waited until she turned to look down at him.

“I’ll be up in a little while to help you out. Don’t get out until I come get you.”

He could tell that his instructions weren’t exactly what she wanted to hear, but he’d give her props for not complaining. Xander didn’t budge until she’d made it to the top of the stairs.