WRAPPED: The Manhattan Bound Series, Book Two

by Juliet Braddock

  Within seconds, however, she transcended from the epitome of elegance—wearing a simple pair of beige trousers and matching blouse with a taupe duster to cover her from the chill in the air—to an angry mother, placing her fists on her hips. Even in the darkness, Maxine could see the disdain in her eyes, glaring toward Adam.

  “Darling, you must be Maxine!” she said and crossed the patio to bridge the space between them. Opening her arms, she brushed her lips against Maxine’s cheek and gave her a gentle squeeze in her embrace. “I am so sorry we had to meet like this…you must excuse my younger son. We tried in vain, but he just never understood proper manners.”

  Drew’s nervous smile that flecked with relief just made Maxine adore him all the more. Their families were of great importance to both of them. Meeting the parents was a huge deal, if not a sign of a greater commitment. Now, she fully understood his own hesitation to meet her dad. He worried over the repercussions.

  “Same rule applies as with Dad,” Drew said. “First names only. She’ll have none of that ‘Mrs.’ stuff.”

  Extending her hand, she followed Drew’s lead. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you…Maggie.”

  “Likewise, dear,” she returned Maxine’s shake. “Welcome to our home, and we hope you have a wonderful time this weekend.”

  “You’re just gonna stand there and play huggy-kissy with his girlfriend?” Aunt Frannie asked suddenly, poking at the toe of Maggie’s shoe with her cane. “When this character you call a son has a wife and three children at home?”

  Covering her mouth, Maggie stood in absolute horror before them all. “Oh, no, she thinks you’re married to…someone else, Drew…? Oh. Dear…”

  “Mother…” Drew admonished with a nod toward Aunt Frannie.

  “She said it in her bad ear, Mack,” Adam said, reaching for his glass. “It’s all good, dude.”

  “Max, darling, why don’t you come with me…” she placed her arm around Maxine’s back to guide her away. “We’ll have a drink and leave these two boys to care for their elderly auntie—whom they both love so very much…”

  “Mom…”

  “Yo! Mumsy! Ma! Mommy…?”

  “Don’t judge Drew by his brother,” Maggie warned playfully as she escorted Maxine through the dining room, where the table was already set for dinner, then on into the open living room.

  While the house itself bore the fine architectural elements of an era gone by—crown moldings, a delicately carved scrolled mantle, bay windows, wide-planked floors—Maggie kept the décor rather simple. The soft yellow walls accentuated the overall cheerfulness. Overstuffed sofas and armchairs in a lovely shade of pale blue filled most of the room, encouraging a giant circle of conversation. Art books and antique novels lined the bookshelves. Drew certainly didn’t inherit his mother’s classic tastes in home décor, but perhaps there was hope for him yet.

  “Max!” Declan called out from the front foyer, then hurried into the living room to plant one kiss on Maxine’s cheek. “How are ya? Glad to see you…”

  “I’m great,” she smiled. Oh, it was hard not to grin from ear-to-ear in the presence of the McKenzies. “And you, Declan?”

  “Couldn’t be better now that everyone is here!”

  “Almost everyone—Jeffrey and Ben should be here shortly,” Maggie said. “Dec, would you mind getting us two glasses of wine? Max, what do you drink?”

  “Uhhh…Pinot Grigio would be great…” Yes, something light. She could certainly handle one glass of wine with her medications. However, Maxine couldn’t ignore the irony that just three weeks ago, she had spilled a drink on this woman’s son! “And thank you…”

  “So, Max, Drew’s told me quite a bit about you already,” Maggie said. “You’re new to the city, and you met at an Equity party?”

  “Yes, I’m from Pittsburgh,” Maxine said.

  “Steelers fan?” Declan asked.

  With a sly glance to the side, Maxine shrugged. “Um, not really. I’m not into sports.”

  “There’s hope for you—just as long as you root for New York now,” he said.

  “Oh, Declan!” Maggie waved her hand in the air. “Why don’t you go check on our sons out there and see how they’re faring with Aunt Frannie. She probably needs her coat.”

  “I know when I’m being shooed,” he winked at Maxine. “I’ll see you ladies in a bit.”

  “So…” Maggie began once they were alone, “Drew said you’re working with Jeff now? I think that’s wonderful. Drew needs someone in his life who appreciates the arts the way he does.”

  “Theater has been a passion of mine for quite a while now…” And so has your son!

  “He’s just so anxious about this show, but I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that,” Maggie said, her smile relaxing a bit as her forehead wrinkled with worry. “I just hope he doesn’t take his cranky mood out on you!”

  “No,” Maxine assured her. “Not once.”

  “Good—let him take it out on Adam!” Maggie laughed then took a sip from her glass. “So is this your first time to the Hamptons?”

  “It is,” Maxine said. “I had spent quite a bit of time in the city before I moved—I interned with Jeffrey a couple of summers back and vacations over the years—but I never ventured outside Manhattan.”

  “You know, Drew’s got his knickers in a twist over his set tomorrow,” she said. “Maybe we could do a little exploring, have some lunch in town while he’s doing his sound check. Would you like that, Max?”

  “That would be delightful!”

  “Wonderful, darling. Now…getting back…tell me all about what you’re doing with Jeffrey…”

  Much to her own shock, she found her nerves dissipating with every passing second she spent with Maggie. In fact, Maxine found it a bit amusing that while she believed that she’d have to campaign to the McKenzies for Drew’s affections, Maggie actually seemed to be doing some politicking of her own.

  By the time Ben and Jeffrey finally arrived—both cranky after having to call Roadside Assistance to replace a flat tire on their rental car—Maxine didn’t want her conversation with Maggie to end. While Adam teased Jeff relentlessly because he couldn’t change his own damn tire, Ben wondered not so silently if Maxine had found a new best friend in Maggie.

  All kidding aside, though, Declan finally called everyone to the table just after eight for a lovely meal of salmon grilled to perfection by their private chef, along with wine, beer and cocktails upon demand. Now, Drew and Adam had already had a couple adult beverages on the patio with Aunt Frannie. As Adam reasoned, she had her sherry—there was no reason for the two of them to remain sober.

  The jabs continued throughout dinner, as Adam sat directly in between Jeffrey and Aunt Frannie. However, taking a cue from his big brother, Adam entertained her tall tales of high society and brought Jeffrey into the conversation. Between the two of them, they kept Frannie chatting about some of the wealthiest families around the world. Whether her stories were true or not, left them both wondering.

  Before long, Maxine decided that she needed a second glass of wine just to follow the conversations as Adam returned his attention to Drew. She’d nearly doubled over with the creative insults flying back and forth across the table between brothers. She thought that she and Ben could be cruel. They were kind to each other by comparison to the Brothers McKenzie.

  When the meal—elongated by the dubious babbling to which both Declan and Maggie appeared to be immune—came to a close, Maxine took a moment to chat with Ben while Drew and Adam continued negotiating their wager.

  “Your ass shows up,” Drew pointed his finger upward into his little brother’s face, “and two things are gonna happen. I’ll call the police and insist there’s a trespasser on the premises…and I get use of the jet for a year…”

  “You think so?” Adam challenged. “Is that the way you city boys work things?”

  “No, Adam, this is what is called payback.” As Maxine hunkered up to his side, he slipped h
is arm around her. “Do you remember when you dared me to stick my finger in that lamp socket...when there was no bulb in it...but it was still plugged in?”

  Ben had to fold his lips together to stop himself from laughing while Maxine looked on in revulsion.

  “Or how about the time Dad found your cigarettes, Adam, and you said they were mine?”

  “Hey, now…you bought them for me at the deli!”

  However, Drew wasn’t anywhere near finished with his tirade of leftover anguish from their boyhood guerilla warfare.

  “All the times you put pepper in my pillowcases...dropped my birthday cake off the terrace...set fire to my GI Joe...” With a simulated air of drama, Drew covered his heart. “I loved Joe...and that bastard took him away from me. I can still smell the plastic burning...”

  Both Maxine and Ben nearly collapsed in hilarity as Drew recounted the horrors of his youth at Adam McKenzie’s hands.

  “See what you missed as an only child, little one?” Drew teased Maxine.

  “Yeah, well, that’s what I’m here for now…Captain…”

  “Captain?” Adam raised an eyebrow.

  “Captain Kirk,” Drew told him rather haughtily, even though he’d initially missed the joke himself. “Get with the program!”

  “That is brilliance, my friend,” he said, giving Ben’s hand a pump. “Just brill—”

  But heads all sharply whipped around when Aunt Frannie, who was about to turn in for the night with the last of her bottle of sherry, pointed to Maxine and shouted out, “That slut!”

  “Oh, fuck…I need to go…I need air…” Drew swiveled on his heels and nudged Maxine toward the door. “Little one…please don’t leave me…please, I beg you. They’re only family. We can just see them on holidays. I promise you, my darling…but just…”

  Nearly somersaulting down the stone steps to the yard, Maxine somehow managed to catch her balance, only to collapse against Drew, almost fainting from her laughter.

  “Maxine…oh, Maxine…I am so sor—”

  “Drew?” she said when her breath finally leveled, enabling her to speak.

  “Yes…?”

  “I adore your family!” she said. “I haven’t had so much fun…in a very long time. And I’ve literally teared up from laughing so hard…”

  “You’re serious?” He took her face in his hands just to look into her eyes. “You do like my crazy family!”

  “Your mother and I are going to lunch tomorrow—just us girls,” Maxine said. “Which is a good thing. I think I need a break from the testosterone overload in my life as of late.”

  Starting down the hill, he tucked her under his arm and snuggled her close. “You have no idea how thrilled that makes me.”

  “Drew, I had no idea how much you’d told them about me,” she admitted softly. Preparations for the party were winding down on the lawn, and soon, all would be quiet at Maison McKenzie for the evening.

  “Are you angry?” he turned suddenly, his feet nearly slipping on the dewy grass.

  “No, I’m touched…” she said and placed her hand on his chest, just over his beating heart. “I didn’t know, Drew…had no idea what you revealed to them about your relationships.”

  Covering her hand with his, he whispered, “Not much unless I’m serious, Maxine. And I hope you realize that I am with you…”

  Tongue twisting into a knot, she had no idea how to respond. If she allowed her grip on her consciousness to slip, she would have said something to him that would have sent him running to the guest house and locking her outside.

  “Come on, little one,” he said and took her hand has he hurried his way over to the steps of their little weekend love nest. “I believe we have a pumpkin to carve…”

  “Dude, for fuck’s sake!” Adam shouted from the couch, covering his eyes as Drew flicked the light switch just inside the door. “Turn that shit out!”

  “What the…how the fuck did you get here?”

  “Golf cart. Took it from the front of the house and made my way down the opposite side of the hill while you and The Captain here kissed your way down the Great Lawn…”

  Pulling his little—albeit much bigger—brother up from the couch by the back of his shirt, Drew said, “Out. Now. Or I’m calling the police. Here…I just hit 9. You have thirty seconds before I dial 11.”

  “Now, wait. Max, you seriously can’t let him kick me out,” Adam begged and pouted his lip. “I wanna carve the pumpkin with you!”

  “Adam, you know…I have to abide by what your brother suggests, as I am his guest for the weekend…”

  “You just want laid. Both of you. That’s all that matters. You could care less about the feelings and emotions of your own family!”

  “Yeah, in your little dirty mind,” Drew said eyeing the stopwatch on his phone. He was using that app quite a bit lately. He made a mental note to find out if an indiscretion tracker for Maxine was available—there had to be an app for that! “Twenty-two…twenty-one…and the jet is mine!”

  “You shall not win this war, Mack,” Adam bellowed as he hovered near the door, his entire body filling its frame. In a contest of strength, Drew knew, Adam would always win. However, when it came down to cleverness, Drew always claimed victory over his younger sibling.

  “Weekend is still very young…eleven…ten…” Drew counted. “You are like the proverbial annoying little brother who won’t go the fuck away.”

  “I am the annoying little brother. And no, I won’t go away. Especially not when you have a chick here. It pisses you off to no end.”

  “Three…two…”

  “Motherfucker…”

  “Lovely to see you…” Drew said, essentially shoving Adam toward the porch and closing the door with his hip at the same time. “Now, go the fuck away!”

  His fingers worked the locks quicker than he could unhook Maxine’s bra, and when he finished, Drew turned and opened his arms to her. “We’re alone at last, little one…”

  However, rather than rushing to his embrace, Maxine turned and scooted off to the kitchen to find their pumpkin, her giggles filling the hallway with the thunder of her pounding feet. For such a tiny little gal, she could certainly stomp.

  “Excuse me…” Drew caught her waist in his hands as Maxine shuffled through the kitchen drawers to find a carving knife. “Did you just run from me?”

  Yes, he clearly needed to find that app—and soon.

  “You bet I did. This will be our first Halloween together—we should celebrate it!” she said, then added softly. “If you’re thinking of keeping me around for another month…”

  “Oh, little one…I think we can manage that, but not without penalties.”

  Raising both brows, Maxine puckered her full lips in a rather unrepentant smile. “You said no punishments would be issued this weekend.”

  “This weekend…” he answered her. “But I said nothing about next weekend.”

  “Please don’t tease me, Kind Sir,” she beseeched him. “You just got me all excited for nothing. And…I have a weapon in my hand…” She raised her arm with a butter knife stuck in her fist.

  “Shucks, little one,” he said and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Cutting is on my hard limits list.”

  “Fine, then,” she turned around to face the counter again. “I’ll take it out on my pumpkin here…”

  Reaching around, he carefully lifted a proper cutting knife from the butcher block on the marble countertop. “You should probably start with something that you can actually cut with.”

  “Picking on me…” she muttered, stabbing into the pumpkin to carve out a lid. “I’ll show you, Kind Sir. Gonna make the seeds, too!”

  “Pumpkin seeds?” he protested. “You’re only delaying your own pleasure tonight…”

  “Or yours…” she countered.

  While she held her breath, Drew sighed with delight. She was truly learning how to play her role. There was nothing he found more entertaining than a bratty sub who loved to push hi
s limits. In a short time, Maxine discovered this subtle nuance that other submissives might take years to embrace.

  Everything just seemed to be falling seamlessly into place that evening. Most importantly, his family adored her. While Drew wasn’t surprised by quick bond she formed with Maggie, he couldn’t help but wonder if maybe Maxine sought a bit of Judy’s nurturing nature in his mother. Declan seemed rather taken, too, by Maxine’s subdued charm. And Adam…well, Maxine was a woman.

  Things were almost too perfect. And that frightened Drew.

  “You know I can deny my own pleasure, Maxine,” he reminded her, nudging his cock right against her ass. “It doesn’t bother me. Unlike some people I know.”

  “Gonna take me a while, Sir…like forty-five minutes…” she said, pressing back against him. “Ooops! Sorry.”

  “Maxine…”

  Gathering up the gooey orange mush from within the pumpkin, Maxine dumped the contents into a bowl that Drew had set beside her. “Got a colander? I’m kinda stuck here at the moment between your cock and the counter.”

  “One colander…coming up…”

  Humming some horrible pop song she’d heard earlier that day, she took her sweet time separating the seeds from the pulp, careful not to drop a single one on the floor. Then she had to clean them…prepare the saltwater boil…clean up the mess…

  “Alright, little one, get the fucking seeds in the oven. I’m losing my patience.”

  “Ah, Patience and Fortitude!” she said as she returned her attention to the pumpkin and passed the carving knife to Drew. “Do we need a visit to the library?”

  “If you weren’t so damn cute…” he snarled. “Shouldn’t we…draw on it or something?”

  Draining the seeds from their boil, Maxine then patted them down with a paper towel and drizzled them with oil. “My mom always just freehanded it.”

  “Your mother was also an artist, Maxine,” he noted.

  Drew dared to slice into the orange wall while Maxine popped the seeds into the oven. From his side, Maxine watched as Drew continued on to form a triangle for the nose, then two more for the eyes. She didn’t reach for the knife until he’d moved in to carve the mouth.