Page 16 of Swamp Kings 2

“Oh God, you’re not helping,” she gasped on a laugh, wiping her eyes. “Go deliver the nuts and bolts while I use the bathroom.”

Beth shot out for the hall when her hormonesand emotions converged for a big public ugly cry. Like hell was she lettingthathappen.

****

“I really like her,” Mary whispered, concerned for the Belle Eveque as she left the room and her husband started passing out workbooks.

“Hmm,” was all he said, seeming very distracted.

“Are you okay?” she whispered, glancing around then at him, finding his eyes right on her. They were still as terrifying as the first time they’d devoured her. Maybe more terrifying. Before, she suspected the worst in them and now she knew for a fact her suspicions were correct. His gaze was a heart, mind and soul eater. A vortex of darkness that strangled the lies out of you, stripped you to the bare bone, forced you to be things you never dared imagine.

With the Belle Eveque’s return to the class, she turned her focus away from Kult’s seeking hot stare. “Now, no matter how long you’ve been married,” she announced at the front. “Whether it’s been a day, a year, or twenty—what you have together is something that cannot be replicated. Twounique fingerprints converging into a third unique fingerprint. I want to teach you how to hold onto that, no matter what’s going on in your life, or in the world. We’re all facing this new reality together, and we may not have direct control of that storm,” she said, pointing to the outside world, “but in your marriage, between you and your partner, the power of control belongs solely to both of you.”

Mary leaned in closer to look at the book they were sharing, the smell of that amazing soap Kult used reaching her. Moss and hints of cypress wood. It reminded her of the forest after a rain, clean yet grounded in the bayou. There was a trace of something fresh, like crushed leaves, but with a darker undertone, as if the soap had been steeped in the very roots of the swamp itself. If his sexual essence were a soap, that scent was it.

“Turn to the table of contents please,” Beth said, holding up the workbook titled ‘Building Unbreakable Bonds’. “This workbook is structured to build on the basics and tackle the deeper challenges of marriage. I’ll quickly walk you through the topics before we dive into the first chapter.”

Mary read along, fascinated and excited by everything that had been said so far while dying to know what Kult was thinking. Didhe still think it was all silly and unnecessary? Who else had thought that? Surely several for it to make it through the swamp vine. What a cute term.

“Chapter one,” Beth began. “Foundations and Emotional Awareness. This chapter focuses on how you and your partner understand and connect emotionally. Chapter two isCommunication & Conflict. Here, we’ll work on how to handle communication breakdowns and resolve conflicts in a way that strengthens your relationship.”

Mary really wanted to learn that one.

“Chapter three—Physical Affection and Intimacy. This will guide you through ways to connect or reconnect physically, and show affection in ways that feel authentic to both of you.”

She mentally marked that one too.

“Chapter four—Facing Crisis Together. This chapter prepares couples to work as a team during stressful times, emphasizing that you are stronger together, no matter what comes your way. Now, I’m not expecting you to memorize everything, this is a guide for the next few weeks, maybe even months. Maybe even years,” she stressed. “For today, I want to focus on chapter one. So, let’s go through the first few pages together.”

Mary glanced at Kult with only her eyeballs, finding his gaze on the page. But was his mind? A classic Kult mystery. Seemed like it was all she had. Mystery after mystery after cryptic mystery.

“Exercise one: Identifying Your Love Languages. In this exercise, you’re going to answer a few questions to determine your love language and that of your partner. Once you’ve identified your languages, take some time to reflect on how well you’ve been speaking them to each other. The five love languages help us understand how we give and receive love. They are: Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, Receiving Gifts, Quality Time, and Physical Touch.” She looked around the room. “It’s easy to assume we know our partner’s love language, but more times than not, we’re wrong.”

Mary peeked over at Kult when he shifted in his seat. Was he bored? Frustrated? Annoyed?

“For instance,” Beth continued, “I was showing Bishop love in my own love language, not his. I was giving him words of affirmation because I thought that was the most important, but what hereallywanted was physical touch.”

“You don’t say,” the man named Seerchuckled along with the rest of them. Even Kult gave a single laugh, making her wonder. It was clearly an inside male joke or rule. All men wanted physical touch? That was surely Kult’s love language. “Is that your love language too?” she decided to ask while wondering what hers was.

“I think the exercise requires you to figure that out.”

Her gaze moved up to the instructions for a re-read. Of course he was right. She considered him again, and what his love language might be.

“It’s sex,” he offered.

“That was my guess,” she whispered.

“And yours is multilingual.”

Multilingual. “What do you mean?”

“You speak all five.”

She wanted to deny it but was sure he was right since he knew her better than she knew herself. “Then... that makes it easy.”

His low laugh tickled her tummy. “Or so much more complicated. Lots of work.”

She sensed he was joking but that didn’t stop the worry about being too much trouble for him. She didn’t need all five languages but yes, she would absolutely love all five coming from him.

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