by Max Henry
I blame my premature lapse of confidence on three things. One, I have a child at home that, as much as I’d like to say it hasn’t, leaves me looking less than stellar at the end of a long day. Two, I’ve had this happen to me before, which has left me touchy on the subject. And three, life has been less than pleasant for us lately.
I couldn’t blame the guy for wanting to find happiness elsewhere. Lord knows, there are days I fantasise about what it was like not so long ago to be unshackled and carefree.
You don’t know tired until you’re bone-weary nodding off in your cornflakes of a morning.
Wrist-deep in his clothes drawers, I snap out of my manic fever and realise just how ridiculous I’m being. Sera is in bed—half an hour early. I haven’t eaten, and here I am riffling through my other half’s things in the hopes of what? Finding something that’ll break my heart?
I flop on the end of the bed; hands slung limply between my knees. Is it better to know, or maintain a level of ignorance? I should know after my experience with Damien. But then again, I always knew with him, deep down, didn’t I?
Time passes, an irrelevant fact as I sit and stare at our floor, replaying everything I’ve done, everything we’ve said the past year. Could I have acted differently? Do I have a legitimate reason to be worried?
I lunge from the mattress and latch on to the nearest thing of his I can find—a T-shirt he wore under his work clothes yesterday. Bringing the cotton to my nose, I inhale deeply, only to find the musty smell of sweat and muted undertones of his deodorant.
What the fuck are you doing, Belle?
I’ve lost the goddamn plot. I’d know if Zeus was unfaithful.
As though staging an intervention, the Universe decides now would be the opportune time for him to arrive home. I drop the T-shirt back in the laundry pile as he kills the bike outside the garage and then check the time. Seven-fifteen. I’d been in a daze looking for justification on why he’d cheat on me for over an hour.
The garage door rolls up, ready for him to push the bike inside, so he doesn’t wake Sera. I duck into our adjoining bathroom and check myself, straightening my wayward strands of hair and tucking one side of my baggy T-shirt in so that my waist is showcased.
He emerges through the internal door at the same time as I step out into the hallway. We hesitate, each frozen as we stare the other down.
He moves his mouth as though to say something and then glances toward Sera’s half-shut door.
Hand to my shoulder, Zeus pushes me back inside our room and kicks the door closed. I rub the spot where he touched me, wondering what the hell has him in such a mood.
“Where the hell have you been?” I ask at the same time as he says, “I don’t want to drive diggers the rest of my life.”
“What?” I tip my head, unsure I heard him right.
“Huh?” He frowns. “You first.”
“No.” I stamp my hands on my hips. “What did you just say?”
He sighs, running a hand over his head as he steps over to set his helmet on our drawers. “I don’t want to drive machinery until I retire, dove.” He jerks the band from his hair, letting it fall free around his shoulders. “The tippers got stuck on the ring road this afternoon after there was an accident on the motorway, and we ended up waiting an hour before they got through the backlog.”
I swivel on the spot, following him as he moves around the room, shedding his work clothes and pulling on sweats.
“I had time to think while we waited, and I realised there’s a big difference between what you do and what I wanted to.”
“Well, yeah.” No duh. I draw on people, and he digs holes in the ground: chalk and cheese.
Zeus smirks on his way past to wash his face and hands in the bathroom. “You love what you do, dove.” He eyes me in the reflection of the mirror. “Setting up the studio shows that you don’t care where you do your art, as long as you can.”
“I still don’t get where you’re going with this.”
He sighs, shoulders slumping as he hangs his head. “I wanted to start my contracting gig because that’s what I know. It’s what I’m good at.”
“And?” I still don’t get how this came around to what he stated when he stepped in the room.
“And that’s it.” Zeus turns, leaning back on the counter and holding his weight with his hands braced on the edge. “Tell me this. When you’re at work, time flies, right? You lose track of how long you’ve been at it.”
“I guess.” I shrug one shoulder, using the motion to mask how intently I was checking out his corded arms.
“Because you love it.” He chews his bottom lip a second before continuing. “When I’m at work, I count down the hours until I get my lunch break, and then I count down the hours until I go home. I don’t lose myself in it. If anything, I lose myself in you.” He steps forward. “Thinking of you.”
His hands find the hem of the shirt when he reaches me, pulling the fabric free of my jeans.
“So …”
“So,” I mimic.
His lips curl in a devilish grin. “I’ll keep doing what I am until you’re comfortable enough to take over while I retrain.” Zeus quietly undresses me as he speaks, removing my T-shirt with reverent care. “If that takes a year, three, or ten—whatever.”
“What will you retrain for?” I lift my arms, assisting his plight.
He tosses the top aside, pausing to run his eye across the swell of my breasts. “Not sure yet.” Strong hands find the clasp of my bra, flicking the ends apart. “I’ve got a few ideas.” He edges the straps off my shoulders. “But I’m in no hurry to figure it out.”
The lingerie falls to the floor, giving him licence to start on my jeans.
“Why the sudden revelation?” I ask as he unbuttons the clasp. “I mean you were so upset at the idea of missing out on starting a contracting business a few weeks ago.”
He slides the zipper down; eyes fixed on mine. “I still am. But it’s the opportunity to work for myself that I want, not the job digging channels and dozing surfaces.”
I tug the bottom of his tank top, letting the fabric pop over his torso. “If you could do anything in the world.” I slide my jeans over my hips while he sheds his tank. “What would it be?”
Zeus drops a deep huff. “You know that.”
“Cars.”
He nods, pushing the denim down my thighs, then using his foot to get them to my ankles.
I step free while he keeps his weight on them.
“Just don’t know if I want to build them or fix them.” He sends my panties in the same direction.
“Isn’t that the same thing?” I tease.
Rough hands find my waist, and he lifts me clean off the floor. I reserve my squeal, not to disturb Sera when my back hits the bed.
“You know it isn’t.” Zeus joins me on the bed, prowling his half-dressed body over top of mine.
I can’t say I complain when he looks that good in a pair of old sweats and nothing else.
“You’re still dressed.”
“You better fix that,” he taunts.
I’ve missed this. Us. Teasing and playing.
No tension. No unspoken grievances. Just love.
“We should do this more often,” I jest.
His lips dip to my collarbone. “I agree.” Butterflies tickle my flesh, searching and eager. “I don’t see you naked nearly as much as I should anymore.”
“Not sex.” I swat at his shoulder. “I mean, being honest.”
Zeus pulls back, his brow furrowed. “Am I not?”
I grab hold of his hair in both hands, using the lengths tat fall over each shoulder like handles as I tug his face inches from mine. “Where were you tonight?”
His gaze hoods. “Work.”
I have him wrapped around my little finger. He may be rough and tough, but my man loves it when I bend him to my will with a bit of pain.
I fist his hair tighter, making him hiss. “Liar.”
“I’m not.�
�� He grimaces, yet his hardening length tells the truth.
“You weren’t at the yard. There were no lights on.”
His eyes shoot open, and to my surprise, he jerks back, using my grip in his hair to pull me up too. “How would you know that?”
I slide my fists free, opting to rake my nails down his thick arms instead. “I drove past.”
Most men would be frustrated at their missus spying on them. But not mine.
Zeus grins, his eyes alive. “Did you now?” One eyebrow lifts. “Why would you do that, dove?”
I’m jolted onto his lap, secured by his firm hands against my lower back. “You’re gone late every night with no proper explanation.”
“You want me to tell you where I’ve been?” One hand moves to my jaw, his thumb tracing a path across my bottom lip.
I nod, jerking forward to bite the tip.
His pupils flare, irises darkening. “I’ve been doing extra hours for Eric.”
“Really?” I’m completely thrown, wide-eyed and shocked.
Of all the answers he’d give, I didn’t think working for the guy who ruined his marriage would be it.
“Why?”
Chin high, he peers out at me from beneath his lashes. “You.”
“I don’t get it.”
“I want everything you earn from that studio to be poured back into it, dove. This is your dream, your baby to nurture. And if I’m going to give you the best chance at that, I need to earn enough to cover the house expenses without your input.”
I’ve never wanted to fuck his brains out more than I do now.
His belief in me is what fuels my fire.
“Babe.” I wrap my palm around his nape and destroy the distance between us.
Our kiss unearths the passion we’d buried these past weeks under misunderstandings and half-truths. Zeus’s fingertips bruise my flesh, my elbows smashed against his chest as I try in vain to match every inch of our exposed bodies.
I fell in love with him at a time when Zeus being my protector was what I craved. I relished the way his massive body against my small one made me feel cherished, fragile, and special.
But now. As he rolls to his back and lets me take charge, I realise that there’s no shame in flipping the tables.
At times he’ll need me to be there for him, to give him strength while he figures things out for himself.
And I’ll be there to do that whenever he needs me to.
I’d do anything for this man.
Anything and more.
Because that’s what relationships are about; the give and take. The push and pull.
The trust and the fall.
In and out of love, but always, always back to love.
Thank you for reading the conclusion to Belle and Zeus’s story!
I hope you enjoyed their tale of love against the odds as much as I enjoyed writing it.
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JONESING FOR MORE NEW ADULT ANGST?
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A popular girl at a prestigious school, Lacey led a good life... until her father is jailed for fraud. Starting anew in the country without the wealth she took for granted presents its own problems, but when the kids of Arcadia High take notice, she becomes fresh meat for the starved. Lacey's about to find out how cruel jealous teenagers can be.
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ALSO BY MAX
STANDALONE
Malaise
Tough Love
Echoes in the Storm
ARCADIA HIGH ANARCHISTS (Mature YA)
Good Girls
Bad Boys
Rich Riot
Loyal Love
COMING SOON
Done Deal
DARK TIDE (Rock Star) SERIES
Down Beat
Amplifier
COMING SOON
Bottleneck
TWISTED HEARTS (Age Gap) DUET
Desire
Regret
BUTCHER BOYS (Suspense) SERIES
Devil You Know
Devil on Your Back
Devil May Care
Devil in the Detail
Devil Smoke
FALLEN ACES MC SERIES
Unrequited
Unbreakable
Tormented
Existential
Misguided
YET TO RELEASE
Redundant
RED HOT READ
One More Night
Playing with the Boss
Lady Killer
Physical Therapy
THE MUSIC
Listen to the songs that inspired the book here: https://open.spotify.com/TwistedHearts
“Angel” – Massive Attack
“Crawl Inside” – Evans Blue
“Crazy” – ICEHOUSE
“Huggin’ & Kissin’” – Big Black Delta
“Judas” – Fozzy
“Not Just A Girl” – She Wants Revenge
“Paradise Circus” – Massive Attack
“Perpetual” – VNV Nation
“Roots” – In this Moment
“Song #3” – Stone Sour
“Sorry” – Meg Myers
“Take the World” – She Wants Revenge
“Teardrop” – Massive Attack
“Tear You Apart” – She Wants Revenge
“These Things” – She Wants Revenge
“Undisclosed Desires” – Muse
“Until It’s Gone” – Linkin Park
“Waking Lions” – Pop Evil
“You & Me” – Disclosure, ELIZA, Flume
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Born and bred in Canterbury, New Zealand, Max now resides with her family in beautiful and sunny Queensland, Australia.
Life with two young children can be hectic at times and, although she may not write as often as she would like, Max wouldn’t change a thing.
An avid lover of stories from a young age, she enjoys nothing more than to get lost in the pages while the characters dictate what direction she takes. Her favourite genre to write is young/new adult and the events in her stories may or may not be related to real life experiences (only she will ever know for sure).
In her down time, Max can be found at her local gym brainstorming through a session with the weights. If not, she’s probably out drooling over one of many classic cars on show that she wishes she owned.
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