Free Perception by Nicole Edwards Page A

who I am.”
    Xander
unlinked their fingers, but he kept her pinned with her arms still above her
head, one giant hand circling around her wrists while the other moved down to
cup her cheek. To her horror, she leaned into his touch.
    “But you
want to, don’t you?” he asked, his tone gentle.
    “No! I
don’t. I already told you that!” she yelled.
    When
Xander merely stared back at her, Mercedes fought the urge to scream at the top
of her lungs. It was either that, or to break down in tears because this man –
this Dom – was wearing down her resistance. Clearly she wasn’t as convincing as
she was trying to be.
    He didn’t
say anything for a long time, and Mercedes realized what he was doing. Damn it.
He was pulling that psychological, manipulative bullshit on her. Xander was
letting her think it through, giving her time to come to a decision on her own.
It’s the way he operated, how he handled all of his subs. He would never force
anything on anyone which meant if a woman wanted something from him, she’d have
to agree up front.
    Damn it.
    “Let me
go,” she ground out through gritted teeth. She was not going to give in to him.
No way in hell.
    Xander
didn’t budge. He just continued to pin her with his hand on her wrists and his
beautiful eyes peering down at her, probably reading her mind if she had to
guess.
    That
wasn’t good either. Especially considering the questions running loose through
her brain.
    If she
were so adamant that she didn’t want this, why was her body burning for him?
Why was she feeling things she hadn’t felt in… well, in years? Why was she
suddenly wanting to relive what she’d felt last night when he was touching her?
    God, this
was too confusing.
    Staring
back at him, she suddenly hated herself for allowing him to wear her down, but
she knew that she couldn’t lie to him. She wasn’t built that way. The truth was
the only way she knew, because without the truth, what was left?
    “Tell me,
Mercedes. Tell me that last night wasn’t just a demonstration. You felt more,
didn’t you?”
    “Maybe. I
don’t know,” she finally said, rationalizing her thoughts. She didn’t know
anything anymore. In the span of one night, he’d flipped her world upside down,
and she didn’t know which way she was going anymore. The emotions that churned
inside of her were unexpected and left her hovering on the brink of insanity.
    “Tell me
this,” he prompted. “Last night, what did you feel?”
    What did
she feel? An easier question would be what didn’t she feel. He’d made
her feel more in twenty minutes than she’d felt in years, and that scared the
shit out of her. She wasn’t looking for anything. She was content with her life
and what he represented was nothing more than danger to everything she’d
created for herself. And she knew that one wrong decision could very well
damage their friendship beyond repair.
    Was she
willing to risk it?
    Mercedes
looked away, breaking eye contact with him. He didn’t allow her to disengage
though. He just curled his finger beneath her chin, turning her head back so
that she was facing him, and she let him.
    “Tell
me,” he ordered as he dropped his hand to his side.
    “I’m used
to being in control. You know that.” He didn’t say anything, so she continued.
“I’m in control of every aspect of my life – business and personal. And that
includes my sex life. I control my destiny. I decide what and when. That’s who
I am, Xander. What we did last night goes against who I am.”
    “But you
enjoyed it.”
    It wasn’t
a question.
    This time
Mercedes didn’t look away. “Yes. I did. Are you happy now?” she bit out. “That
doesn’t change anything. I still crave the control.”
    Sort of.
    “Do you?”
    She hated
when he did that. She didn’t want to talk about this.
    “Yes,
dammit,” she snapped. “What happened last night…” Mercedes closed her eyes
briefly and then reopened them, a renewed sense of purpose filling