An MM contemporary romantic suspense story of an abusive
relationship, lost love, crime, trauma healing, and a HEA.
Bitter Honey
by Yona Katz
Genre: MM Romantic Suspense
Christopher, a young yet well-regarded deputy district
attorney, has seen his dream come true. With loving parents, an ideal job, a
thriving career, and a flawless boyfriend, his life feels like a perfect fairy
tale.
However, Christopher’s impeccable world is not as immaculate as it seems from
the outside.
Worse, his paradise is shattered when he agrees to take over a colleague’s
case. The past he long buried resurfaces, and the pieces of himself he
carefully rebuilt begin to fall apart.
Faced with the toughest decisions that could change his life forever, he must
choose his path without endangering himself and his loved ones.
Christopher couldn’t fall asleep. His mind was racing around in circles, and he was unable to break this infinite madness. He should’ve given in and let Julian go ahead with sex. What good did it do to stop him? By now, they would’ve been asleep, cuddling, Julian’s insecurities forgotten. Worse than stopping him was starting the argument in the first place. Especially when Julian had been drunk. What had Christopher even achieved? Julian had come home with him. Nothing had happened with that woman. There was no proof there had ever been any intention beyond harmless flirting and stupid alcohol-fuelled attention seeking. Julian was beautiful, charming, magnetic. People gravitated toward him naturally. Christopher knew that. He always knew that.
Julian was right. Christopher did have trust issues.
The thought settled heavily inside him, painful because of how true it felt. He couldn’t deny how much Julian loved him and cared for him. Christopher had to manage his jealousy, put a hold on it. He needed to learn how to stop feeling this way before his accusations and complaints totally poisoned their relationship.
His heart ached to the point where he wanted to simply curl up and cry. He wanted to go to the guest room. He wanted to quietly slip under the blanket beside Julian and press himself against his back. He wanted to bury his face into Julian’s neck and breathe him in until the panic eased. He wanted warm hands cupping his face. He wanted everything to be okay again. But he knew what he would find instead. An icy wall.
After their arguments, Julian always withdrew completely, retreating somewhere unreachable deep inside himself. Christopher had learned that trying to force his way through only made things worse. Julian needed time. He needed distance.
Sometimes, Christopher wanted to grab him by the shoulders and shake him until all those walls cracked apart. He wanted to drag the emotions out of him and force them into the open. To bring back Julian’s warmth, his softness, and his fire. To hear him laugh again and to know things were forgiven.
But it never worked that way.
Forgiveness existed entirely on Julian’s terms.
And Christopher always waited for it like a man dying of thirst.
A citizen of the universe, Yona Katz is a financial director
during the day. But as soon as night falls, numbers and reports are chased away
by the stories that live in the stars. One day, Yona decided that she was brave
enough to share these stories with the world. Yona loves exploring the themes
of diversity and inclusivity. She wants to reach her readers to show them that
love is universal, that even heroes are flawed, and that everyone has the right
to make mistakes. Yona is Canadian but Antigua and Barbuda is her current home.
