Take me with you the max.., p.1
Take Me With You (The Maxwells), page 1
Take Me With You
The Maxwells
By Cassie Verano
KINCAID
She’s young, inexperienced, and mystifying.
This two-week vacation to Alta, Utah is something that I look forward to every year with my brother and my friends. Fresh off a breakup and preparing to take the reins of my father’s company, The Maxwell Group, I need this respite to make peace with my current single status. Except she wasn’t a part of the plan, and now that she’s tagging along, as the only other single on the trip, I’m stuck babysitting her.
If we’re stuck with each other, we might as well make the most of it, so I suggest an arrangement. No strings. No promises. Just pleasure...and pain.
The only problem with our arrangement is that I want her to be completely mine when the two weeks are up.
Yesenia
I’ve been buried in work and grief for the last three years. Going on a trip cross country to Utah with my stepsister and her friends promises to be what I need to join the land of the living once more. However, it’s no fun being grudgingly welcomed into the group by the man paying for the trip who clearly resents my presence.
While everyone else is laughing and loving, I plan to spend lots of quiet time getting my mind back on track, except our host seems obligated to entertain me. The problem? I’m enjoying his company much more than I have the right to, and when he suggests a two-week arrangement, my heart says no, but my mind and body scream yes. Falling for this stranger wasn’t in the cards for me, and when I return home, I’m reminded why I can’t have all that my heart desires.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
This eBook is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and situations are complete creative works of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner.
Resemblance to actual events or persons is entirely coincidental.
Any unauthorized reprint or use of this book or any portion thereof is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author/publisher.
Copyright © 2023 Cassie Verano
All Rights Reserved
Contact Me:
cassiepensromance@gmail.com
Printed in the United States of America
Contents
1 – KINCAID
2 – YESENIA
3 – KINCAID
4 – YESENIA
5 – KINCAID
6 – YESENIA
7 – KINCAID
8 – YESENIA
9 – KINCAID
10 – YESENIA
11 – YESENIA
12 – KINCAID
13 – YESENIA
14 – KINCAID
15 – YESENIA
16 – KINCAID
17 – YESENIA
18 – YESENIA
19 – KINCAID
20 – YESENIA
21 – YESENIA
22 – KINCAID
23 – KINCAID
24 – YESENIA
25 – KINCAID
26 – YESENIA
27 – KINCAID
28 – YESENIA
29 – KINCAID
30 – KINCAID
31 – YESENIA
32 – KINCAID
33 – KINCAID
Keep reading for an excerpt from I Feel For You, the next book in the Maxwell Family series.
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1 – KINCAID
“It’s so cold!” Lauren says, hopping off the sky lift.
“What’d you expect? We’re in the mountains,” Denise giggles, lugging her bag further up her arm.
The rest of us hop off the sky lift behind the two of them and trudge through the snow.
“Oh, my God! Is this it? This is the place you rented?” Stacey shrieks.
“Yeah, babe. Cade’s been talking about this place all year,” my brother, Shepherd replies, wrapping his arm around one of his girlfriends.
“I’ve never stayed in a chalet before, Shep,” Stacey says.
“This is gonna be a blast,” my friend Andrew replies.
“Come on, Yaya! Let’s go,” Stacey shouts to her stepsister.
The original plan for this holiday getaway included my brother, Shepherd and his two companions, Kylie Wright and Stacey Hamilton and my four best friends, Andrew Grey, whom we call Drew, and his wife, Lauren Collins-Grey, and Tyler Pierce and his girlfriend, Denise Fuller, and me. The woman I’d been dating seriously for the last two years, Claire Maddox, accepted a job at a French magazine in Paris a few months ago, which was the end of us.
Finding a replacement wasn’t an option. Whereas Claire had wanted the position as the COO at Mondiaux Revue’s American office, it hadn’t become available. So, when the position opened at the French headquarters, she jumped on it immediately. It was a great career move for her, but she didn’t have much time to transition.
Although I often travel for business, a long-distance relationship wasn’t an option. The time I invest in a relationship is to find a wife.
I have no intentions of moving to France and having a wife who lives across the country from me, let alone across the globe.
Claire accepted the offer and was flying out within a month. We had little time to say our goodbyes, and while parting was hard on both of us, I always cautioned her to put her career first. I would.
I’d often considered not going on this vacation, but Andrew, Lauren, and Tyler would not hear of it.
Shep called me last night asking if Stacey could bring her stepsister along. I wasn’t in the mood for the company of my friends and family. I wasn’t interested in being bothered by someone I didn’t know.
Of course, I shared all that with my big brother, who didn’t listen. I sat in horrified silence as he told Stacey I would love some company.
Every name I could call him bounced off his ears and only made him laugh harder at me. Knowing I had lost the battle, I simply hung up on him.
I was stunned when I saw Yaya this morning at the airport. Yaya.
What kind of fucking name is that? It sounds like a baby’s first words. She looks like a baby...compared to the rest of us anyway. She’s young and looks as if she’s not even old enough to vote. Still, she didn’t deserve to be seated with that type of name.
Despite her youthful appearance, she is a striking beauty with freckles and soulful eyes that look like they can see your darkest secrets. Those were the first things that I noticed about her. The next was that she had the perfect, petite, tight little body that a man’s dreams are made of.
My final observation was that she’s quiet, a little too quiet. It’s been my experience that when people are that quiet, they usually have something to hide.
When I think about what we’ll get into, I’m not certain she needs to be on this trip. She’s not underage but the young, innocent type who hasn’t been broken in. A girl whose purity and innocence are still intact despite life’s brutality.
Something wet hits me in the back while a thud sounds in my ears. I slow my steps long enough to look over my shoulder and see Tyler throwing snowballs.
“Ty, quit that shit!” Lauren calls out.
“Grow up, dude,” Denise moans.
I chuckle under my breath. Tyler’s always been the big kid amongst us, initiating the shenanigans we participated in during our middle school years. Part of him has never grown up, and I envy that.
Out of the group, I’m the serious one. The one that always mapped out the plan for the adventurous ideas that Drew and Lauren, the creatives, came up with. It was no surprise when the two of them got married a few years after college. They’d been linked up since our senior year of college and were the most alike in our group.
Denise and Tyler never got along throughout our school years, so when they hooked up three years ago, that took us all by surprise. They’re still dating and haven’t announced any plans for marriage. I often wonder if Denise takes Tyler seriously enough because he’s such a big kid. I’ve warned him that he’ll push her away one day if he doesn’t mature.
The two women that my brother brought along are new to our group. We met Stacey a couple of months ago at Shepherd’s birthday bash and Kylie at our annual beach vacation earlier this summer. He sees both at once, and they seem okay with sharing him.
This annual holiday trip is the annual retreat we started ten years ago. The group always changes size depending on who is paired up and who isn’t. With our busy lives and schedules, we rarely have time to spend with each other other than a phone call or text. Sometimes we get together haphazardly at a bar, but it’s never the entire crew. Our December and annual beach vacations are two times when we all must show up.
No sooner than I open the door to the chalet, most of my friends rush upstairs like a horde of animals.
“I’m getting the room with the front view!” Tyler shouts.
“We’re getting the one with the fireplace I saw online!” Lauren hollers.
I stand still for a moment, close my eyes, and inhale the scent of fresh pine and something that smells hearty and herbal.
Everyone else clambers up the steps behind them, but Yaya remains behind with Andrew and me.
“M an, I’m tired as shit,” Andrew says, rubbing a hand over his eyes.
“Yeah, me, too,” I agree.
“Thought we’d arrive in the late afternoon.”
“Would have if it hadn’t been for flight delays.”
Andrew nods and then points at the steps, dragging his and a few of Lauren’s bags with him. “I’m heading up. I’m about to shower and grab some sleep.”
I glance at the text on my phone and say, “Oh, the chef left about twenty minutes ago, and he left a meal on the warmer if you want something to eat before going to bed.”
I head into the kitchen to see what he’d prepared.
I lift the lids of the warming dishes and stare inside at the roast, potatoes, carrots, Brussels sprouts, creamed corn, and bruschetta with tomato and basil.
Inhaling, I close my eyes and smirk at the rambunctious growl my stomach releases. I replace the lids, preparing to head upstairs, when I spot Yaya sitting on the couch, watching me with her bags at her feet.
Fuck! Does she need a babysitter too? I know what Stacey’s plans are, and I’m no fool. She shared it with Shep, too, but the asshole didn’t tell me.
They only shared that she’d been going through a lot lately and needed the getaway. If this is an attempt to set us up, they will be sorely disappointed. I don’t fuck minors.
Clenching my jaw, I drum up a smile.
“Oh, hey. Did you need help with your bags?”
“Um, no. I just wasn’t certain what room I should go into. I know I was a last-minute addition, so I will wait until everyone else is settled.”
“Come on,” I say as I head for the stairs. Thankfully, it’s a five-bedroom chalet, so she can have a room, and we won’t have to share.
She smiles and follows me, lugging two suitcases and a carry-on.
“Hey, let me carry those for you,” I say, reaching for the suitcase as she struggles with them and her carry-on.
“It’s okay. I’m fine. Really,” she insists when I raise an eyebrow at her.
My eyes return to her tiny frame and then the luggage. “I don’t mind.”
“I’m small but stronger than I look,” she replies shyly.
Nodding, I say, “Okay.”
I continue up the steps listening to her moving behind me with her suitcases thudding until we reach the top landing. I’ve already established which room is mine. The bedroom at the end of the hall has large windows overlooking the lake with a balcony, fireplace, and a sitting room.
Glancing at the other three bedrooms, I can see that they’re already occupied based either on the closed door or, in Tyler’s instance, his jumping up and down on the bed. Passing their doorway, I see that Denise is exasperated with his behavior.
You’d think we were still in college, scratch that, middle school, with how Tyler sometimes acts.
“You’re here,” I say, stopping at the bedroom outside mine.
“Thanks,” she says, smiling as she passes me by.
I’m holding the door open, so she brushes against me as she walks into the room. A strange electric current pass through my body, and I get a whiff of her vanilla and lavender scent.
“Good night,” I say, turning away quickly.
“Good night.”
Just before I close her door, she calls me.
It’s the softest, sweetest whisper and yet sensual simultaneously.
Turning around, I look back at her. “Yes?”
“I know me being here wasn’t a part of the plan, but thanks for allowing me to come.”
“It’s no problem, really,” I say, struggling with my internal reaction to her.
There’s more to her than meets the eye, and I think I may have been wrong about my initial impression of her. Only time will tell.
She bites her bottom lip coyly and nods her head.
I close the door before I can say or do anything I shouldn’t.
I head into my room and make quick work of stripping my clothes and showering. When I finish, I head back downstairs to the kitchen to grab something to eat.
“Two weeks in glorious paradise,” Lauren moans, pulling a spoon from her mouth.
I watch as she turns it over, licking the front and the back free of the remnants of the ice cream she’s eating. Almost everything Lauren does is sexual, always has been, and always will be. She’s harmless, and I doubt she can help how she is.
It’s why Drew couldn’t resist her when we were kids. Whatever she wanted, she got where Drew was concerned. Her long, dark hair, big brown eyes, large breasts and curves had all our hormones raging at various points, especially during puberty. I don’t think we ever really outgrew our fascination with her until we were well into our twenties, and she settled down with Drew.
“Yeah, unless it turns into a murder inn first.”
Rolling her eyes, she says, “Yeah, because if Denise doesn’t kill Ty, I promise I will.”
I laugh and grab a plate from the cabinet to appease the growl in my stomach.
“You’d think after twenty years, you guys would be used to him by now.”
“Cade, if Denise and I couldn’t put up with his bullshit after two decades, I don’t know how Denise thinks she’s going to survive a lifetime of it now.”
I turn to face Lauren. “Lifetime? So, she’s mentioned marriage to you?”
“She hasn’t, but he has.”
“Is she serious about him, Laur? I mean, the guy’s been following her around like a puppy since middle school. He constantly teased and aggravated her because he liked her so much.”
Lauren digs into her ice cream again, pauses with the spoon midway to her mouth, and stares thoughtfully at me. I don’t know what’s going through her mind because her face plays out a dozen displays of emotion. Typical Lauren.
Shrugging, she finally replies, “Explains all the arguing they did. I don’t know. I guess. I mean, as serious as you can be about someone like Ty.”
“Mm,” I say before heading to the large oak dining table on the other side of the open kitchen.
Lauren comes with me and plops down in a chair beside mine, and pulls one leg up to her, planting her foot firmly in the chair against her damn near bare ass. Her shorts are so tiny that when she positions herself like that, you can see a bit of her muff, and I know she’s not wearing panties.
Lauren and I have been friends since elementary school, but I’m still a man, and it’s no surprise that I catch a boner. Not that I’d ever get involved with her because...well, that would just be all kinds of fucked up. Besides that, she’s married to my other best friend, Drew. Lauren and I wouldn’t get along, and I cherish our friendship too much to screw it up over half an hour of pleasure and five seconds of nut. We’ve had enough issues in the past and it took a lot to get over them and get back where we belong.
“What’s going on with Yaya?” Lauren asks after we both sit eating our meals in silence for a while.
Shrugging, I ask, “What do you mean?”
“I’ve never known her and Stacey to be that close.”
“I don’t fucking know, but I want to kill Shep’s ass.”
“Why?”
“Told him that she couldn’t come.”
“Why not?” she asks before licking her spoon again.
“Come on. This looks like what it is. I’m not trying to be set up with anyone, especially a kid.”
She laughs.
“Yeah, that’s what it’s got to be. Because, as I said, the two have never been that close.”
“So, they don’t like each other?”
She shrugs again. “I guess. Which doesn’t make sense why she’d bring her along.”
“Yeah,” I agree before dishing another forkful of creamed corn into my mouth.
“She could be a potential fuck buddy,” Lauren suggests.
“I don’t do fuck buddies,” I reply sourly.
“I know,” she says around a mouthful of ice cream. “That’s your problem.”
“Why? That I don’t want to be like Shep?”
Laughing, Lauren whispers, “I can’t believe he brought both of them. They’re sharing the same room. You think the three of them will be fucking?”
“I put nothing past my big brother.”
“God! That’s fucking hot!” Lauren says, giggling.
“It’s childish, is what it is.”
Lauren turns her lips down. “Depends on who’s being done up.”
I shake my head.
