KNOTTED: The Manhattan Bound Series, Book Three

by Juliet Braddock

  She’d chosen one of her favorite ensembles from Agent Provocateur—a simple black bra, garter belt and French cut panties—all of fine lace and fishnet, delicately framing her body from the cup of her breasts down to her hip. Tiny satin bows finished off the ensemble. And she’d paired seamed black stockings with black patent stilettos.

  After she’d fastened the last of her garters, she took a look at herself in the full mirror. Grasping the underside of her breasts, she pushed them up just a bit higher and tightened her bra straps, enhancing the view of her hardened nipples that peeked through the filmy lace.

  Maxine added one final touch with her collar. As always, she took a step back to remind herself of its significance—her submission, their commitment to each other and her undying love for her husband. It was so very important for her to reflect before they scened. That gentle reiteration of how their relationship continued to flourish over time brought her to the proper frame of mind for play.

  Just for fun, she pranced around the room in her heels, posing—and listening for Drew’s return. Their suite was indeed royal, with a fourteen foot tall, oak canopy bed that nearly touched the beamed ceilings. With its dark wood accents, crimson damask wallpaper and silk rugs covering the herringbone floors, Maxine almost felt as if she’d stepped back into their beloved Dungeon.

  Slinking down into the armchair next to the fireplace, Maxine thought she should probably just wait there, rather than chancing a fall in those heels.

  When Drew finally emerged from wherever he’d been hiding, he was dressed in a pair of jeans and his usual Polo shirt, his hair still wet from his earlier shower. A nearly sinful look played in those sharp navy blue eyes as he ran his fingers through his damp curls. However, nothing could break his concentration on Maxine.

  “Fuck’s sake,” he began. “Look at you.”

  Uncrossing her legs to give him a better view, Maxine asked, “You like it?”

  “Indeed, I do,” he was quick to say.

  Pressing her shoulders into the back of the chair, Maxine sat up straight and dug her nails into the armrests. “Kinky and comfortable,” she reminded him of his own edict. “Just following orders, dearest kindest Sir…”

  “My, we’ve been on our almost-best behavior since we left Paris today, Maxine,” he smiled. “Don’t think that just because you’ve been so obedient for a few hours that I’ve forgotten the rest of your indiscretions that have inundated my phone…”

  “Tonight, Sir?” she asked and scooted to edge of the chair.

  “You’ve got to eat your dinner first,” he said. “And then I’ll consider your request. But I have a very busy night planned for you.”

  “Oh, yay, Sir!” she squealed in delight.

  “You’re cheering now,” he mumbled as he took her hand to help her to stand. “Let’s see what your reaction is later…”

  Appetizers had already arrived in the small salon off the master bedroom, where a fire had been lit and a small table had been set elegantly beside the hearth. After assisting Maxine to her seat, Drew took his own across from her, his eyes glazing over her porcelain skin.

  “I think we need a little re-group tonight,” he suggested. “I’d like to have a little discussion on your submission—your progress…and how far you’d like to take it next…”

  Drawing in a deep breath, she met his eyes, questioning. She almost felt as if she were the naughty girl, held for a discussion after school with her displeased teacher. “I thought you understood where I stand on that matter.”

  “Maxine, I’m speaking to you as my wife—not as your Dominant,” he said, his voice suddenly filling with tenderness. “My greatest insecurity in life still remains our sexual play. You’ve so come into your own with this. Just in these last couple of weeks, you’ve truly blossomed in your submission. And I think you’re ready for a bit more, but I need to be certain. I need to hear it directly from you…”

  His admission left her so touched by his emotion and his fears. Now that they were married, the intensity between them had heightened exponentially, and his past worries began to resurface. He would never give her more than she could manage, and she needed to assuage his doubts.

  “You, my love,” Maxine whispered and entwined her fingers with his on the table top, “have been the perfect tutor…Master…partner. I knew nothing when we began this journey together. But you awakened this other side of myself that I didn’t know existed.”

  That night, he needed to push her. In fact, Drew had plans that would take her so much deeper into their brand of tough love, and he needed that certainty before he dared to make a move.

  “Drew, I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t fully enjoy our play,” she continued. “I discovered that with you, I can seek and find pleasure in pain. You respect my feelings, my responses—and my limits. You’ve proven to me that we share an equal partnership here, even in power play.”

  “I’m still worried that I’ll hurt you,” he admitted. “Unintentionally…”

  “And that scares you?” Maxine gave his hand a squeeze.

  Smiling serenely, he caressed her cheek. “It did in the beginning.”

  “Little one still has a lot to learn. But she loves you unconditionally. Need she remind you?”

  “Not at all. Emotionally, we are completely compatible,” he said, then hesitated. He had so many quandaries racing through his thoughts. “But what about the pain? The humiliation and degradation?”

  In the dim candlelight, Maxine smiled somewhat devilishly. “You know…” She opened her mouth to taste the sampling of foie gras that he’d held to her lips. “I love to piss you off just so you’ll punish me.”

  “And that’s what makes this so pleasurable for me—the fact that you enjoy this so much,” he said, propping his hand on the table and settling his chin upon his palm. “But how far are you willing to go, Maxine? How far can I push you right now?”

  “Want the truth?” she whispered. “I can’t even answer that. I just know that I have this trust in you—this confidence that you’ll continue to expand upon what we’ve already done…and that it’s fine with you if I decide upon a hard limit.”

  “Sometimes, I fear that I expect too much from you.”

  “And sometimes, when I’m so lost in subspace, I want to test my own limits,” she said. “But you hold me in check—keep me safe. You save me from my own self-destruction. I have my fantasies, but I trust you to decide what we’ll do next. You know my body better than I do, Drew…”

  As he rubbed the stubble on his chin, he paused for a moment, so caught up in his own thoughts. “But how rough, Maxine? How hard? How much pain?”

  “Honestly, I can take a little more,” she said softly, bowing her head timidly. “I’m not so sick anymore—like I was in the beginning.”

  Her underlying awkwardness left him lost in adoration. He brushed her hair back behind her ear, and when he spoke, his voice was almost inaudible. “You’re doing so well. You’re stronger than you realize…”

  “Thank you, Drew…”

  “What about tonight? You think you’re ready to take it a little further?”

  Thoughtfully, but with full confidence, Maxine nodded with that shy smile. “Yes,” she whispered. “Please, Kind Sir?”

  The rather sudden knock on the door left them both startled, but Drew knew it was the chef arriving with their dinner. Beneath the table, Maxine kicked off her shoes and then slipped into the master bedroom to hide while Drew dealt with their meal. Her ear pressed to the adjoining door all the while, she waited until he bade adieu to the chef, then returned to him at the table.

  With a rather wicked grin, Drew lifted the silver lid over her platter with another.

  “A ham and cheese crepe?”

  He just shrugged. “You seem to love them—that’s all you’ve been craving. Thought that would be the easiest way to get you to eat tonight…”

  “What’s the midnight snack?” her eyes teased as she picked up her fork and knife. �
�A croissant?”

  “At midnight, little one,” he winked, “I think food will be the last thing on your mind…”

  “It’s sort of the last thing on my mind right now…”

  Retrieving her utensils from her hand, he sliced into the crepe, then held a mouthful up to her lips. “Are we going to have to play like we did that very first weekend, Maxine?” he asked. “Ten bites and you’d get a reward?”

  “I’ve already won my reward for today,” she was quick to note. “Fair and square!”

  “Yes, I’m aware of that, Sassypants, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t have to eat your dinner,” he said sliding a forkful of ham and gruyere between her lips.

  Maxine took her time to chew almost methodically, and she watched her husband’s impatience intensify with each second. “Yum…”

  “Don’t talk with your mouth full,” he spat. “There’s no room left on my app for another punishment, Maxine…”

  “I say that it’s time to clear some of the memory on that damn thing,” Maxine suggested, optimistic if not expectant.

  “You know, that’s actually a good idea,” he said, returning to his own plate for a moment for a few bites of salmon before he pulled his phone from his back pocket. “Dammit, this thing is taking forever to load. Because you’ve been so rotten!”

  “Spoiled,” Maxine smiled smugly, “rotten…”

  “Damn right,” he said. “Now…thirteen seems to be your lucky number!”

  “Thirteen?”

  “Thirteen misdemeanors, Sassypants,” he said, his eyes never leaving his phone.

  “You’ve already punished me for one.”

  At last he raised an eyebrow and glowered over his phone. “You don’t think I remember that, Maxine?”

  “Sorry, Sir…”

  “Well, let’s get moving with this,” he said. “I promised you a reward tonight, so we need to get through these punishments first…”

  Excitedly, she rubbed her hands together. “Oooh! Pick one! Pick one!”

  “Maxine, you know that isn’t how this all works,” he told her. “First, you need to be reminded of all your faults.”

  Rubbing her hands together mischievously, she cackled. “Naughty Sassy Maxine’s lucky thirteen…”

  “And atone for them.” Settling back in his own chair, Drew minded her over the table. “Let’s start here—last we played in our Dungeon of Desire…you got snippy with me over our abstinence wager, and I believe the exact words you used were ‘Wicked Evil Mean Sir.’ Remember?”

  With a nod and a little pout of her lips, she said, “Yes, Sir.”

  “And then the following evening—with your father and Vicki just down the hallway—you stripped and then toyed with my cock!” his voice thundered. “And you left your fucking clothes all over the floor…”

  “I did do that, too, Sir…”

  Utterly exasperated by her somewhat insolent tone, he stood up and began to pace with his phone in his hand.

  “You stuck your hand in my back pocket to squeeze my ass,” he rattled on. “Tickled my thigh while I was driving—and yes, I know I already spanked you for that one!”

  “Thank you, Sir, for acknowledging my fulfillment of my penalty.”

  His breath hissed through his teeth and lips and he rolled his eyes at her. “How about when you tried to get in my pants—yet again—when I was simply there to tuck you in before I returned to the guest cottage?” he asked.

  “I was merely trying to win the wager against you, Sir…”

  “Didn’t work, did it, Maxine?”

  “No, Sir…” she said. “But it was—”

  Waving his hand in the air to silence her, he said, “We are reviewing here—I need no further explanations…” He pivoted on his heels to face her. “And…here’s a biggie…wiggling your ass against my cock in front of the priest who married us!”

  Placing her tiny fists on her hips, she smiled but continued to defend herself. “You and Adam swore like two drunken sailors in front of him!”

  “Watch it with the fucking accusations there,” he warned. “And what’s my name?”

  Her eyes defied him. “Mr. Mack.”

  “Moving on…” Drew returned to the table, ignoring her humor as he continued to tick off his list upon the small screen. “Toying with me at Smith’s Bar. Calling me ‘Groomzilla.’ Taunting me on the emergency stairs during a blackout. Initiating a snowball fight. Reminding me that I put the ring on the wrong finger—shit, we’re going back to last year here!”

  “Uh-oh!” she covered her mouth.

  “And the worst?” Drew opened his eyes wide. “You forgot my fucking birthday!”

  “And again, I was already punish—”

  Waving his phone in the air like Sweeney Todd with his knife in his hand, Drew hissed, “Silence!” Dropping his phone to the table with a thud, he shook his head. “I can’t believe I put up with all of this disrespect from you. And there are more...”

  With his verbal evisceration, her frivolous state dissipated quickly with the little brush fire burning against those skimpy black panties she wore. Punishment, pain and pleasure—Maxine’s three greatest weaknesses in her continuing sexual education.

  “Not even Paris could stop you,” he forged ahead. “You unbuttoned your blouse in the middle of one of the biggest fucking gardens in the city.”

  “It was only the top button, Sir,” she defended herself.

  “Maxine, you’re being Sassypants again.”

  “You bet your ass I am, Mr. Mack.”

  Drew stretched his hand across his eyes and rubbed his temples. Fuck, he loved her bratitidue. “Do you want to sit in the corner for the rest of the night?” Drew threatened.

  “No, Sir!” she answered quickly and sat up in her seat with a start. “Please, no…”

  “Whining is so unattractive, Maxine…”

  The silk of her thigh highs made the glide of her restless legs so easy and slippery. Oh, she wished he’d just carry on with that damn application already. “Sorry, Sir…”

  “You’ve got to learn to control that mouth of yours. Obviously, I don’t gag you nearly enough.”

  “Bad Naughty Sassy Maxine,” she muttered, then sniffled for just for good measure.

  Shit…he was in trouble. Now, she was adding fake tears to her role play. Oh, Cock…don’t fail me tonight! Drew had to stop overthinking everything.

  “Yes, Maxine,” he agreed. “Now, we need to address your punishment regimen this evening…”

  “Before my reward…”

  “I have a linen napkin in my lap that’s just waiting to be wrapped around your mouth tonight,” he snapped. “Now…if we could move ahead without further interruptions…I’m going to allow the app to randomly select your punishments. Understand?”

  “Yes, Sir!” she answered, her voice full of anticipation.

  “Now, I will remind you—safewords apply,” he continued. “I have no idea what the hell this app is going to tell me to do to you. And quite honestly, Maxine, if I think it’s a hard limit for you, we’ll skip it and move on.”

  “That’s why you’re my Kind Sir,” she said softly, her smile suddenly sweet, as her eyes caught his in the light from the fire.

  “So…punishment number one…” he said, his thumb clicking away. “Hmmm…”

  “Yes, Sir?”

  “No eye contact from your submissive is permitted for a designated timeframe,” he read. “I designate until I’m finished with this app.”

  Without question, Maxine averted her eyes, downcast in deference to him. This small chastisement, while by no means humiliating or painful, left her feeling a bit anxious.

  “Ahh, now this one, I’m going to amend.”

  Head bowed, Maxine raised an eyebrow. She admired how Drew always loved to break the rules, only to create his own.

  “Submissive must crawl to her Master on all fours,” he continued. “But since we’re sitting so closely, I’d like you to crawl to the oth
er end of the room then back again to my side. It’s good practice for you.”

  With the utmost leisure, Maxine slipped back into her stilettos, slunk toward the floor and purposely slid her palms down her thighs then over the silk rug to put herself into position. She made sure she gave her ass an extra little shake as she moved forward on her hands and knees and turned her backside toward Drew.

  Suddenly, she became acutely aware of the dam about to burst between her legs. She couldn’t look at him. And she could only reach him via the long road home.

  Maxine circled to turn herself around and scuttled toward Drew with the floorboards creaking beneath her. Lost in her own desires, she decided to hurry up a bit. These punishments made her feel so isolated. She needed his comfort during their traverses into kink.

  Still on all fours, she stopped just short of his denim-clad leg, right along his thigh. She could hear the intake of his breath and the hiss of air through his nostrils. She knew that he was pleased just from the sounds alone.

  “Good girl…”

  While she expected a pat on the head, he refused to touch her. This was indeed what reparation was all about.

  “Oh, I like this next one,” he said. “Sub poses for a photo in any position the Master chooses.”

  Those fingers fluttered over his phone, clicking into the camera. “I think you look so lovely just as you are right now, Maxine…”

  Snap. Photo taken.

  “Oh, Mrs. McKenzie, you are going to hate the next one,” he said, almost gleefully.

  “Uh-oh, Sir…” She could feel her heart thundering. He promised her no hard limits, so she knew it couldn’t be that bad...however…

  “Tickle your submissive for two minutes…”

  “Fuckballs…” she nearly choked.

  “Let me set my timer here,” he said, then bent down to be closer to her. “On your mark, Maxine…”

  “Sir, I—”

  “Get set…” his voice warned her.

  “Owwwww…”

  Drew loved how he hadn’t even touched her and she was already crying out in pain!

  “Go…!”

  Oh, those damn fingers that had brought her so much fucking pleasure could also torture her with their slightest traces. Playing right against her ribcage—her most delicate spot for those soft hands to excite her skin so delicately yet devilishly—he watched her with amusement as she squirmed against him on the floor.