by Anthology
www.julia-sykes.com
Also by Julia Sykes
The Impossible Series
Impossible: The Original Trilogy
Savior
Rogue
Knight
Mentor
Master
King
A Decadent Christmas
Czar
Crusader
Prey
Highlander
Centurion
The RENEGADE Series
TARGET
SPY
SUBJECT
ASSASSIN
AGENT
RENEGADE (The Complete Series)
Fire and Ice: An Excerpt From Knotted
The Manhattan Bound Series
Juliet Braddock
Book Description
What happens when a blizzard immobilizes Manhattan on Valentine’s Day…and a sassy little sub is stuck in her Dungeon with her beloved Dom? With candlelight and a roaring fire to keep them warm on this frigid afternoon, sparks fly between Maxine and Drew as he attempts to cool her down with a bit of tantalizing tenderness…
1
An eerie calm settled over the city as the snow fell steadily in fluffy flakes, layering upon the sidewalks, cars, and roadways. Central Park had transformed into a glacial wonderland. The bare tree branches, weighted by the blizzard, connected overhead like handmade lace. Frozen waterfalls had formed on the wall of boulders lining those famous grounds, accentuating Old Man Winter’s décor changes to the urban landscape.
Nothing, Maxine Kirk decided, paralleled the beauty of a snowstorm blanketing Manhattan on Valentine’s morning.
Panic set the city aflutter with the need to pick up provisions. While the forecasters warned that it was best to remain indoors, New Yorkers were a sturdy, if not stubborn, bunch. Pedestrian traffic was heavier that day than vehicular transit. Some inventive Manhattanites even chose to use their skis to maneuver through the mess on their way to pick up last-minute necessities from the now nearly empty store shelves.
“Now, do we have everything?” Lou asked from his perch behind the steering wheel.
Lou Correnzo was a large man, who sometimes doubled as Drew’s private security detail. With short black hair and dark brown eyes, he hailed from Brooklyn—Bay Ridge, to be precise—and he was a proud native to the city.
Poor Lou was often the reluctant middle-man in her relationship with, Drew McKenzie. And Maxine fully admitted to using Lou in her attempts to uncover details about surprises and dates and various other dalliances. Badgering him nearly blind, Maxine often drove Lou’s patience to the brink. However, since her engagement to Drew, they’d arrived at a happy medium. Now, Lou was a permanent fixture in her life, and she had to offer him a modicum of respect—regardless of how evasive he could be with her at times.
That morning, she’d spent a little more time at a shockingly packed Zabar's, one of the city’s top gourmet markets, than she’d anticipated that morning. Who the hell knew that everyone on the Upper West Side would be clamoring for caviar that snowy morning?
Rifling through her shopping bags, Maxine mentally checked off her list in her head. “I think I’ve got everything to make this a happy Valentine’s Day.”
“Keep the details to yourself, little lady…”
“Who’s your Valentine, Lou?”
“What’s it to yous?” he asked, his eyes glaring into the rearview mirror. Maxine loved to hear that thick Brooklyn accent emerge in his grouchiness.
“Just making conversation. You don’t have to say a word…”
To say that Maxine indulged in playing the brat was an understatement. In fact, she thrived upon defying Drew—but only within the realm of their sexual play.
As they pulled up to the curb in front of the apartment building, Maxine gathered up her purchases. From the corner of her eye, she thought she caught a glimpse of a familiar paparazzi that had been following them around town. Now that they were engaged, the press clamored for any bit of gossip that leaked on Drew and Maxine.
Although Drew was the heir to one of the greatest department store dynasties in the country, he’d also made a name for himself in the theater scene in New York. He hadn’t yet won the coveted Tony Award for excellence on the stage, but his presence in the theatrical community was well-respected. And the media stalked his every move—especially now that he’d removed himself as one of New York’s most eligible bachelors with his proposal to Maxine.
How her life had changed so drastically in the five months since she’d stepped off the bus from Pittsburgh, Maxine mused. A wide-eyed innocent with two suitcases and a few dreams in her pocket, Maxine never imagined they’d all come true within a matter of weeks.
Between the two of them, their lives revolved around the theater. Drew had just opened to rave reviews and his biggest hit yet on Broadway, and Maxine worked as a junior publicist for the theatrical public relations agency that represented him.
Throughout her teen years, Maxine harbored a crush on Drew McKenzie, a fledgling actor who won praise from fans and critics alike for his saxophonic tenor voice but couldn’t find a hit show to save his life. In fact, Drew had considered giving up on his Broadway dreams right before Maxine tumbled—quite literally—into his life. However, she managed to change his entire outlook on his world in a whirlwind.
Never on her second night in New York did she expect to trip over her own two feet and slam into Drew, spilling her champagne all over him. While she tried to hide from him that night—after making an awkward attempt to mop up his shirt—Drew saw something in Maxine that enraptured him, and he couldn’t let go. And Drew always got what he wanted.
She remembered how he found her on the terrace at that boring cocktail party and held her prisoner in his arms. Just as the rain began to fall, pounding and pelleting as they hovered above New York City, his lips found hers in a kiss that shattered the last of her wits and awakened all of her senses to pleasures she once thought unimaginable.
Neither one of them anticipated the depths into which they would fall, almost desperately discovering a love that neither one intended to find.
From the moment he hunted her down on that terrace, Maxine realized there was something different about Drew. He wasn’t that idealistic leading man she idolized on stage, but a dashingly dark fellow who carried a few secrets.
Maxine was an innocent, and Drew—a decade older than her twenty-two years—was her willing tutor. Throughout their first week, he dared her to explore her inhibitions, all the while challenging her standard perception of romance. Carefully, he unveiled his proclivities, allowing her a glimpse into the lifestyle he preferred. While Maxine fretted that he might grow bored with her inexperience, little did she know that Drew feared his fondness for all things kink might frighten her away forever.
He did, however, make his intentions very clear. In fact, he gave her a mere seven days to make her decision. As she peeled away the layers of his demands and dominance, she uncovered a hopelessly romantic man who was just as surprised as she was over their electrifying connection.
Beneath their molten attraction that had Drew sneaking into her apartment just to teach her a lesson in bondage, the anguish of their pasts emerged. Both, unwittingly to each other, had been battered emotionally. Perhaps he noticed the suffering in Maxine’s eyes, as well, and she was the first person in whom he could confide his ugly, inconceivable early childhood. Compounding her hurt, Maxine had recently lost her mother after a short battle with cancer, while memories of a boyhood that shouldn’t have been continued to haunt Drew.
Together, as they explored Maxine’s submissive side and revealed the secrets they were terrified to confide to anyone but each other, Maxine and Drew learned to trust on a level that neither thought possible. They made each other whole, and they brought each other stability.
While Drew enticed Maxine to delve into fetish and embrace the pain, Maxine discovered that a true masochist emerged from her initial qualms of straying fro
m conventional romance. She craved every crack of the whip and yearned for him to tighten the clamps around her nipples. The more they played, the more she wanted.
All the while, Drew never forced her into anything. In fact, he took his time with Maxine, encouraging her with every play session to tread a little deeper into the waters of her burgeoning sexuality. He allowed her to make decisions on how much sexual suffering she could handle, only to find that she’d blossomed into the perfect, albeit sassy, submissive. Ultimately, she’d embraced the lifestyle so fully that Drew had to be careful with her, minding her true limits while she languished in the depths of arousal.
In turn, Drew found himself at ease with Maxine. She was the one person in this world with whom he could be himself. Her giving heart and gentle ways brought him to a point of serenity he’d never reached before in his life. The constant battle with his unresolved inner conflicts seemed to disappear whenever they were together. And when his past returned to slug him in the gut, Maxine refused to turn away—even when Drew himself insisted that she go.
With a toss of her auburn hair and a blink to her emerald eyes, she took a deep breath, sighing in the calm before the real storm began.
Although they were now engaged and she’d been staying with Drew for a couple of months on a somewhat steady basis, Maxine couldn’t quite think of this place as their home yet—even though she’d officially moved in two weeks prior. Drew encouraged her to paint walls, hang pictures—even to invest in some new furniture. He hadn’t done much with the place since he’d bought it. However, she needed some time to figure out how to appropriately blend their varied tastes, just as she’d accomplished with the dungeon.
Not long before his Christmas Eve proposal, Drew had commissioned Maxine to design a studio apartment that he’d bought in the building with intentions to use the space for their kinky play. Armed with a sizeable budget and her imagination, she managed to complete the renovation within his tight deadline, just in time for Christmas. With the full social calendar they’d both kept, Maxine amazed herself by carving out just enough time to fulfill his fancy for a private playspace.
Looking back now, Maxine still sometimes felt as if she were living another young woman’s life. Never in a million years did she believe she’d be returning home to Drew on a snowy Valentine’s morning.
Moving in with Drew was the next logical step. Hell, his closets and drawers were filled with her clothes. Makeup, tampons, and other girlie things cluttered up the master bathroom.
In a matter of weeks, they’d be married.
In her heart, Maxine knew she was making all of the right decisions, but she could still feel the void of her mom’s absence every day. In fact, the one thing that troubled her most was planning her wedding without her mom.
The torrent of thoughts racing through her mind came to a sudden halt as Lou helped Maxine out of the car with all of her Valentine’s Day goodies. As she struggled to hold her poise on the slippery sidewalk, Maxine took a step back and nearly landed in a snowdrift.
“Careful there, little lady,” Lou warned. Maxine was about five feet tall, stretched out on her back with her toes pointed. Everyone around her felt as if they always had to protect her. However, she was one tough, tiny gal.
“Oh, I’m just fine, Lou,” she said and clutched her bags tighter as she pounded through the snow.
“Tell Mack I’ll be up in a bit,” Lou called out to her.
“Oh, I won’t be—” While the chill of that winter wind whipped across her face, she could feel herself blushing. “I’m not going right up…to that…to the penthouse yet…”
“You’re going to your little love den,” Lou spoke for her and watched her jaw drop in shock. “Don’t worry, Maxine. I already know. Secret’s safe with me. I’ll just text him instead.”
“You should leave early—go on your date!” she blubbered.
“I’m waiting on my lovely gal to get off work,” he explained. “She’s a nurse, so she can’t take a snow day. But her place isn’t far from here. Drew said I could crash in the penthouse for a bit. Said you two wouldn’t be around…”
Maxine saluted him, stumbling and nearly tumbling through the blizzard and toward the lobby. “Well…then…happy Valentine’s Day, Lou!”
* * *
Meanwhile, as Maxine traipsed around in the snow to piece together the perfect date for the most romantic holiday of the year, chaos ensued in the penthouse…
“Fuck…” Drew bellowed as he cracked his head against the chilly porcelain toilet bowl. The thunder of his voice echoed throughout the master bath and beyond. “Motherfucking, son of a fucking, holy fucking bitch!”
“You, uh, need some help there, bro?” Adam asked, passing Drew an open microbrew.
Adam McKenzie was Drew’s eccentric, and often mischievous younger brother. A serial entrepreneur with a love of white socks and Birkenstock sandals, Adam adored anything that brought shock value. Presently, he was on a break from work after founding several start-ups and socking away the cash as he sold them off. Although he was thirty-one, he needed time, he said, to cool his heels and relax on the beach with his craft beer and a stogie, before tackling grown-up life. When their father retired, Adam would take over the entire department store chain.
This hiatus from the workforce was a necessity, Adam insisted. He wanted to explore the world on his private jet with his new girlfriend whom he’d chased for years. Jillian McGee, who also happened to be Drew’s publicist and Maxine’s boss, fought Adam’s advances for years. Over the last few months, though, he’d managed to break her down. Although she still couldn’t accept his foot fashions or his love of Hawaiian shirts, she’d finally recognized the sweet guy beneath that ginger-haired manchild.
As their mother Maggie always said, her sons reminded her of Princes William and Harry, with Drew striving to become King while Adam already thought he was.
Pushing Adam's giant arm away, Drew muttered, “Get that fucking beer out of my face.” Lips smacking in disgust as if he’d just sucked on a lemon, he shook his head, and then ran his fingers through is rumpled blond curls. “How the hell can you drink beer at ten in the morning?”
“What?” Adam took a sip. “Besides, I'm just aiding and abetting here…”
“You're the one with the friggin know-how on assembling things!” As a teenager, while Drew spent his lazy days away at theater camp, Adam had spent more than a few summers working in the furniture department at McKenzie’s. Their father made sure that at least one of his boys knew how to assemble random household goods. “You get the hell down here and install this thing!”
“Oh, Dr. Drew, move aside…” As he waited for Drew to maneuver his way out of the somewhat tight space on the floor, Adam could only hope that he didn't get stuck. He was nearly-six-four, and his shoulders measured those of a linebacker. “You know, Maxine better appreciate this gift.”
“Trust me, it's something she's been making noises about for months.”
Adam took the wrench from Drew's hand and squeezed into the tiny corner, holding his breath all the while. It wasn't easy being a big guy sometimes.
As he twisted and squirmed, he cursed Drew under his breath. “You know, I’m the one who volunteered to take my private jet to Pennsylvania just to pick those two things up,” Adam reminded him.
True to his word, Adam had given up his leisure time the previous day to fly into Maxine’s hometown. Maxine’s father, Tom, met him at the airstrip with the two little bundles of gray furry joy in tow. In fact, the kittens were rescued by his girlfriend Vicki, who had a local vet practice, and Maxine had fallen in love with them on her last visit home. She had no idea that Drew had arranged an interstate adoption with Vicki.
Once Adam returned to New York with the precious cargo, Jillian sheltered the little ones throughout the night. Those kittens, however, cried for hours until they both passed out right on Jillian’s bed. Since she didn’t have the heart to move them, she and Adam slept on the sofa bed in
stead. Sore and cranky, he had only intended to make his special delivery and then return to Jillian’s apartment in Brooklyn—and take a much-needed nap. Drew, though, had other plans for him.
“Shelters in New York don’t have kittens for sale?”
“You don’t buy cats, Adam—you adopt them” Drew corrected. “And those are very special kittens. Maxine fed the boy at Vicki’s practice when he was just big enough to fit in the palm of her little hand. It was fate. And it took them off Vicki’s hands.”
Adam held the wrench to his mouth as if he were about to gag himself with it. “Sweet little Max with baby kittens in her hands…and you’re sucking up to the woman who will likely become your step-mother-in-law one day…”
“No, Adam, I just know a thing or two about romance,” Drew said. “Speaking of…what did you get Jillian?”
“I’m not enough of a gift?”
“Come on…” Drew begged. “What’s in store?”
“A few dozen roses should be arriving before I get back to her place,” Adam said. “And I’m gonna try to cook for her tonight. Mom gave me her meatloaf recipe—said it’s the easiest thing I could make without fucking up. I also bought her—a teddy bear.”
“Alright…” Drew nodded somewhat approvingly. “That’s showing her you’re making an effort.”
“Dude…” Adam began, “chicks love Teddy Bears…”
“Shit…” Drew hissed as he looked at his watch. “Will you just hurry up? With the snow out there today, Maxine won’t be out long. And I want you gone before she returns…”
“Really, bro, I know what you're trying to do here with those two little carpet cheetahs,” Adam began. “This is all a little scheme so that Mom will have something to focus on rather than human grandbabies. And you had to bring home a sick one, too! Mom thrives upon the wounded!”
