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Chapter 18 – Don’t Say His Name
FT rolled down his sleeves, straightened his clothes, and sucked on his teeth just as out of breath as Magnum. The room was filled with a lingering scent of paint, but all he could feel was the dark soul sucking pull from his brother – a stark reminder of the past. The low light cast shadows on the walls, emphasizing the tension in the air. Magnum could make out his brother wearing a plain dark shirt and dark jeans. Very out of style for FT, but would fit right in if anyone made the mistake of thinking it was Magnum.
Coolly, FT spoke, “If you had answered my calls, I wouldn’t be here.”
FT was putting all the blame on Magnum, but they were grown, and Magnum knew better than to get caught up in his brother’s toxic web. “Crawl back under whatever rock you came from, brother,” Magnum snarled. “I want nothing to do with whatever dragged your ass back in town.”
“You’d like me to leave so that you can crawl back in a bottle.” FT sucked on his teeth again. “But you aren’t drunk yet, and it’s the afternoon. What’s the deal, Mag?”
“Fuck you. Whatever you want, FUCK… YOU, FT.”
There was a moment of quiet before his brother almost whispered, “Who is she?”
Magnum gritted his teeth and turned slightly away, trying to gather his wits and his head, because he knew, without speaking, FT could almost read his thoughts if he let him. They were no longer children, and Magnum wasn’t going to let his brother manipulate him like in the past, which was why he didn’t turn his back entirely on the bastard. “She’s none of your business.”
FT raged, “You don’t fucking think I was coming to find you when I couldn’t feel you anymore. I fucking thought those gotdamn Knights had finally killed you for that stupid ass business you won’t let go.”
“Feel me?”
“You know what the fuck I’m talking about. Don’t play dumb, Mag. You crawl your ass in that bottle not only to escape the past, but you try to ignore what that is. Now what pussy has got you twisted enough to draw up a contract by that asshole of a lawyer and has you sober at fucking six in the afternoon?!” FT demanded to know.
Magnum finally convinced himself he was sober and stepped farther away from his brother. His mouth felt dry, and he could feel his hand begin to tighten up. Stretching out his fingers, throwing his shoulders back to elongate his spine, he took a deep breath. “Your concern is almost touching if I didn’t think you were here for something else.”
The room was silent, but the soul-sucking feeling was coming back. Magnum knew FT was keeping something, something that might be the key to his deepest desires: freedom and redemption. But he also sensed that refusing to break the contract could seal his fate. If he didn’t sever ties with King, there was more at stake than Magnum’s own aspirations. Zuri’s safety hung in the balance, and she could become collateral damage in the dangerous games they were forced to play. Losing her wasn’t an option he was willing to entertain. The thought twisted inside him, heightening the urgency of the situation.
FT ordered, “Break the contract with King. Don’t do that shit for him. You know what will happen. You don’t owe him anything. You paid the motherfucking price for what he did. He’ll keep you chained to this godforsaken town, trapped in your own regrets.”
Magnum faced his brother. “I know I don’t, but I ‘m not giving up the project.”
FT threatened, “You don’t know what you’re starting, Mag. That shits going to come back and bite you again, just like it did before, and maybe this time you won’t live, and I’ll be identifying your body instead of coming for a hospital visit.”
“You really think I’m going to listen to you, FT? You really think I’m still some innocent snot-nose virgin who’s easily manipulated?
“You wanted to be manipulated, Mag. What does he hold over you?”
“Why do you need me to break it?”
“No one wants King Heart back in Detroit, and you know this.”
“Who are you protecting, FT?”
“No one. I’m working with someone who wants to destroy his chance to get his paradise. Not until they find paradise first. That first script you sent already started a hot mess of chaos, just like King likes it. So quit what you’re working on, or you’ll be sorry.”
Magnum snorted. “As I said, FT, Fuck You.”
FT cracked his knuckles, sizing up Magnum. “Instincts can’t beat anger.”
“But I can last longer, so you can try.” Magnum started for the door, needing to get away from his brother as fast as possible. As he reached for the handle, he noticed his hands trembling. A testament to the chaos that churned within him. The past was bubbling inside him, making his head hurt and his mouth even drier. He could feel the light tremor in his fingers, the subtle betrayals of his body’s craving. Damn, he’d need several bottles.
“It’s that pussy. He’s dangling her over you.”
Magnum stopped from leaving out all the way, but FT didn’t approach him.
Instead, he heard FT sucking on his teeth like he was drooling over a snack.
“You know you can’t do shit. You’ve never done shit. You lined them up, and I knocked them down.” A snarling, greedy smile graced his lips. “You want me to help with her? Just like old times, Mag?”
“I fucking said stay away from her!” Magnum bellowed, balling his hands in fists, fighting the urge to lunge at his brother.
FT chuckled. For a brief second, a wistful look appeared on his face as he walked to Magnum, standing so close that Magnum could feel the chill his brother seemed always to bring. Leaning close to Magnum, FT whispered, letting the silence stretch a moment too long, making Magnum’s skin crawl. “I’ll still help you, Mag,” he finally murmured, the words hanging heavily in the air. “If you don’t clean this up, I will.” He paused again, the menace in his quiet tone palpable. “Starting with the trash crawling around her life. And then I’ll clean up her because I know you don’t know what the fuck you’re doing.”
Magnum couldn’t stop himself as he tried to get his hands around FT’s neck to choke the shit out of him.
He’d almost succeeded, but FT was able to elbow hard in the rib to make Magnum release him and then tackle Magnum to the ground. They rolled around until finally, Magnum was able to shove away from FT’s death grip again, disgusted at the wicked laughter coming from his brother.
“You’re staying the fuck away from her,” Magnum warned, standing up and backing away from his brother.
“Until you need me,” FT challenged. “And you’re going to need me, Mag. When you do, I’ll be there. I can feel she’s different, and maybe I’ll help you for once.”
“You’d only be helping yourself.”
FT sucked on his teeth, straightened his clothes again, and walked out the door.
Magnum leaned over and wanted to throw up. Damn, he needed a drink desperately. He’d go back down to the bar after he straightened up, get a drink, and then get to the roof.
It was a private access, and FT couldn’t follow him up there.
Fuck! His brother was close, and that threw everything off. His past emotional trauma only intensified in his head.
Without alcohol, all Magnum could do was hunch over and heave, feeling the tremors about to take over and the heaving begin.
He needed something, anything, to take his mind off the swirling disaster going on with him emotionally and mentally before he lost all control again. Images of Zuri flickered through his mind, her laughter like a soothing balm, her scent a calming breath of jasmine and vanilla. Yet the turmoil inside him continued to spiral.
“Zuri!” he whispered, as if calling her name would make her appear. Mirage-like flashes of her smile and the warmth of her touch came and went, colliding with the bile building up in his gut. He needed a tether, something to hold on to beneath this avalanche of turmoil.
“Zuri!” he called again, her name echoing like a plea, a buoy in the tempestuous sea of his emotions. Taking a deep breath, as saliva gurled from his lips while he gripped his knees, praying he didn’t fall over because he knew he was going to pass out if he touched the floor. He vociferated her name like a curse, filled with pleading, “ZURI!”
His whole psyche slowed, and he could fucking see straight.
Fuck he was sober! But for the first time in a long time, he was okay. Other than alcohol, nothing had ever calmed the manic attacks until now, until her.
With the back of his hand, Magnum wiped the spittle still dripping off his lips at the same time realizing his pristine white shirt was all messed up, and he wasn’t date-ready anymore.
The effect of calling her name in his mind scared him, yet emboldened him to get his shit together, head down to the lobby to buy a new fucking shirt, and then get to the roof to see Zuri. The nervousness was gone. Now there was just a need.
FT knew all about Zuri. His Zuri. FT had not gone into detail, but Magnum knew FT knew more about her than he did. Unfortunately, Magnum was going to have to play catch-up when it came to FT, just like old times.
“You want me to help with her? Just like old times, Mag?”
Seeing her standing there, obediently waiting for him, focused him; the uncertainty left him. Just as he had seen her on the first day, Magnum loved the curve of her full backside. He could remember her melodious voice mixed with gasps and shudders. And the other night, he recalled she had given access to her body and how she trusted his touch and relaxed under his massage.
Stepping to her, the air whished around her, and her scent assailed his nose. Magnum closed his eyes, drinking in her sweet aroma like a drug, filling his lungs and feeling the oxytocin surge through his spine and brain.
And as Magnum walked toward Zuri, getting closer and closer, her scent encompassed him, pulling his core and uncovering what he had been hiding for so long.
His nature. His true nature rose to the surface.
Before his drinking, this would have terrified him. A woman in his presence with no protection, all his. FT would have come in and stopped him, but this time, Magnum refused his brother’s help.
FT was right. Zuri was different.
Hurting her was Magnum’s last thought, but protecting her was his only need.
Pressing his face to the side of hers, as his arms came around her body, feeling her rest hers against his, he swore he could do this despite hearing FT’s voice saying, “You know you can’t do shit. You’ve never done shit.”
Magnum knew how to bring Zuri’s body to fulfillment. His fingers could strum her to orgasm, loving the breathy sighs, deep moans, and cries of thanks. Music to his ears. Yet underneath this symphony of pleasure, a shadow loomed, a fear of losing himself to the bottle once more. Would these moments of ecstasy be enough to overshadow the darkness threatening to creep back into his life? As his fingers danced on her skin, he couldn’t shake the thought: keeping her safe might be the only thing keeping him sober.
“You know you can’t do shit.“
The need was there, but physically, Magnum hated that his brother was right.
But she wanted this.
She wanted this situation with him. Magnum knew this by the way her body coated his fingers as she moaned in praise – thick like syrup, and he bet it was so sweet.
Zuri had agreed to be with him for four months without hesitation; four months for him to heal, and he was determined to do it… sober.
It took her a long moment to come back to reality. This time, he had taken his time, cultivated her orgasm, drawing her pleasure out like he was enjoying her culmination more than her, and the longer he kept her heightened, the more he seemed to enjoy hearing her cries and pleas to take her.
And now, when it was over, Magnum held her waiting patiently for her to recover. His hand tenderly caressed her face, and his thumb gently rubbed over her bottom lip. Zuri closed her eyes, luxuriating in the pleasure she had just received.
When Zuri attempted to turn around to him, he held her tighter as if to prevent her. He held her like that for a moment before he finally released her and stepped several feet away.
She turned to face him, drinking him visually in under the rooftop’s candlelight. Magnum wore a dark blue bow tie to match her dress, with dark blue pants and dress shoes. The shirt was pristine white, but without a jacket, she could deny he was well-built, just as she remembered him on the bus, but now she could see the lean waist and long legs. He must’ve changed from when she saw him in the elevator earlier.
“Are you still hungry?” he asked, as if reprimanding her.
Despite the resignation in his tone, she admitted. “Yes, I am famished.”
A disappointed swarthy look set over his already glum glare. Still, Zuri was feeling the stimulating effects from the orgasm he’d just given her and didn’t take his sourness to heart.
Zuri started toward him, but he turned away and went to a silver cart she had not noticed on the other side of the table.
There was a mobile sink where they could wash their hands; he did, then turned to her as if to offer her a turn.
One thing she noticed was that Magnum never made prolonged eye contact. Was he shy? Or did he need to avoid looking at her?
As she wondered this while she washed her hands, she glanced up at him and watched him push the glasses on his face with that middle finger before moving away from her.
When she finished drying her hands, he pulled the chair out for her at the dining table, and after she sat down, he moved his chair, which was right beside hers, across from her chair and then situated himself, but more at an angle away from her.
They’d yet to directly speak to each other, but all the while, he could see on his face that he was concentrated on her and what she was doing.
Magnum removed the lids from the plates, and Zuri was impressed that the food was still warm. Baked chicken breast with a light Alfredo sauce paired with fresh green beans sprinkled with cilantro. A light dinner with a wine had been prepared, and she wondered if this was what he desired. Just enough food to keep the hunger away so they could go back to her room and enjoy each other in her bed?
Tonight, she hoped she could get more than just a massage.
Zuri waited for him to pick up his utensils before she did the same. Magnum took small bites of food and would look at her after each as if waiting for her to judge him.
His tone reminded her of her father’s when he was disappointed in her, but she pushed that memory away. Zuri didn’t know whether to be touched that Magnum had read up on her, probably from some brief Tyler had sent him, or if he was being nosy.
“She’s my mother,” Zuri proclaimed as if that was enough to explain it, but the resting grim look on his face made her want to explain more. She let her words hang in the air, uneasy with the silence between them, yet feeling the rising tension. However, a flicker of doubt crossed her mind. Sure, their relationship was fraught, but didn’t all families have their issues? Could her mother truly wish her harm? “What he’s implying is that my mother is working with my fiancée to institutionalize me for my money illegally. I find it ridiculous and extreme, especially since I’ve blown through the majority of what my father has left me, and in less than a year, I will have almost nothing left of the trust. Not only that, if my mother wanted to get my hands on my money, she could have put me away a long time ago, so she could have had more of it, especially when I was a drug addicted teen.”
“But she didn’t, and now you think these allegations are ridiculous,” he responded. “Even with the doctor’s claim about your birth control being switched.”
Zuri shifted in her seat uncomfortably. She should have taken that claim into account, and yet again, she was slightly shocked that he paid more attention to her life than she did. Yet, could she really trust him? Just another man stepping into a role that had once been intimately tied to her father’s authority, challenging her trust and decisions.
“But she didnt’ and now you think these allegations are ridiculous,” he responded. “Even with the doctor’s claim about your birth control being switched.”
Zuri shifted in her seat uncomfortably. She should have taken that claim into account, and yet again, she was slightly shocked that he paid more attention to her life than she did.
“You want to believe because this woman’s blood relation that she has no ill intent,” he said, putting down his utensils as if his food no longer interested him. “But at the same time, you’re ignoring the apprehension in your gut telling you they mean you harm.”
“This is my mother,” she proclaimed, but it sounded forlornly as if it should all make sense. “But I know I should listen to Mr. Black.” Feeling a little bitter, Zuri asked, “Why do you care?”
“There is a clause in our contract if you come to harm, I am to blame,” he pointed out. “This lawyer was very clear about this clause.”
Changing the subject, she questioned, “Why do you call him only the lawyer?”
“Disassociating myself from his name makes it easier for me not to see him as a human,” he growled, then he grimaced as if that was not supposed to come from him.
And rightly so, because immediately she felt very uncomfortable. “Isn’t that what a psycho killer would say?”
“I don’t know, I’ve never met one.”
“Your brother said it’s normal to feel uncomfortable with you.”
Immediately, he tightened. “You met FT?”
Zuri remembered the name, but she corrected, “No, Dylan Knight.”
“That is no family of mine. They only adopted us.”
To keep the conversation going, she asked, “Do you have any more siblings?”
“No,” he responded flatly as if he hated the very idea.
Zuri didn’t take his bad mood to heart. “I always wanted another sister when I was younger, but seeing how distant and toxic my parents stayed, I knew that would never happen.”
“Is that why you started drugs? You felt it was all your fault?” he questioned, seemingly content that the conversation wasn’t on him anymore.
“Avoidance in my family seems hereditary,” she grumbled.
Magnum finally looked intrigued, as if seeing her misery brightened him up. “And why weren’t you institutionalized for your drug use?”
Zuri shrugged off his sarcasm. “That time in my life is rather cloudy. I barely recognized myself. My hair was falling out, my eyes were sunken in, and I didn’t even know where I’d wake up every morning, while I was practically skin and bones.” A faint whiff of smoke, similar to the scent that used to cling to her clothes, wafted through the air, pulling her briefly back to those days of uncertainty and chaos. She paused, feeling the slight headache from trying to remember the drugged memories and then the sex addiction. “And then I somehow convinced myself that maybe if I found something else to get addicted to, so my parents wouldn’t institutionalize me, that I couldn’t stand drugs. In my foolishness, I felt sex was the better choice.” Grimacing, she admitted. “That comes with its own repercussions, and by the time my father found me, I wasn’t myself and barely remember anything, and was pregnant. Two weeks in a hospital, I lost the baby, but I gained myself back.”
“Which do you think was worse? The drug addiction or sex addiction?” Magnum inquired.
“The sex,” she answered without hesitation. “And I know if I could come close to liking sex more than drugs, I wouldn’t go back to drugs, but I wasn’t there. With drugs, I could at least feel my soul, but with sex, I couldn’t, and that scared me the most.”
“It seems odd you agreed to a contract with me then.”
Zuri responded, “Mr. Balck says it’s a means to an end. I don’t dislike sex, but I think as long as I’m removed from it, I can’t lose myself in it.”
“Hence, the four-month agreement. Something longer might scare you.”
“Becoming attached to you might scare me,” Zuri corrected. “At least knowing it’s only lasting for so long, I can know not to expect much. Plus, I’ve been told you aren’t a very likable person, so that just makes it easier.”
He was reminded again of her discomfort, which seems to excite him. There was a glistening in his eyes as if he saw a billion dollars being placed in front of him. “Come here,” he ordered.
Zuri wasn’t nervous as she stood in front of him, wondering if she should have put some of the powder in his drink. Yet, he had not touched his wine, but only the glass of water that had been provided.
His legs were already turned to the side of the table, and the minute she stood in front of him, he spread his legs wide apart. His hands slipped into her split to move behind her thigh.
He didn’t make eye contact with her as he moved his other hand through the slit and raised the dress away, revealing her underwear. She had not worn stockings since the dress was long enough, and her legs were shaved.
Plus, she had been hoping to give his fingers very easy access. Her breathing deepened, feeling him pulling her underwear down until he took them off and stuffed her panties in his pocket.
With no barrier, he took his thumb slowly over her most sensitive area and back again. Her breath hitched in his throat with each stroke he made, warming her arousal like tending a new flame. Magnum looked focused as he brought one of the legs to the outside of her thigh. At the same time, he leaned forward, licking the lip of his tongue from left to right at the entrance to her heat. His hot breath and the softness of his tongue, along with the occasional flick of his thumb, heightened her more, making her hitch and huff. Zuri used the table to hold herself up, unsure how much she could touch of him. When his tongue began to intermittently circle her clit while his thick bottom lip dragged between each thigh.
Zuri couldn’t stop her soft oohs and ahhs, loving the slow arousal. He was deliberate, and since this was not his first time with her, he was familiar with her body. Was this when he would make love to her?
Unbuckle his pants so she could slide down on his shaft.
His ministrations yanked her back to reality as he dipped his finger repeatedly between her folds, while continuing his oral delight.
“Ohhh… huuuuhhh,” she moaned. “Ahhhhhh, sooo… .ooooh.”
By this time, his head was tilted to the side, and his tongue had ample room to make longer licks, slurping up her juice loudly, making sure nothing got away.
from listening and feeling his mouth, Zuri was grinding her mouth into his face. It wasn’t until she looked down and met his eyes. He had been watching her. His other hand shot up, rested on her chest, and it was then her orgasm exploded from her waist to her chest, then her bbarin. The air shot from her entire body as she wailed her pleasure. Forgetting herself, she gripped the back of his head, holding him tight until her orgasm disappeared.
Yet as soon as it was over, her legs gave way, but he caught her, letting her body slither down into his lap. Her head pressed against his chest, and just like before, he held her until she could get her breathing together and think straight.
Again, he ran his thumb over her bottom lip as he softly caressed her face. Greedily, she licked and tasted herself and then suckled on his index finger that was coated in her essence.
“Mmmm,” she hummed.
Looking up at him, their eyes met, but immediately she could feel herself being shut off, and he stood up abruptly and gently moved her off his lap. Once she was on her feet, he stepped away from her and straightened his clothes.
Again, he did not make eye contact with her, but he did hold out his hand, and Zuri was eager to follow him wherever he was ready to take her.
Magnum led her to the elevator, yet she realized he wasn’t making eye contact.
To keep him talking and not disconnect from her, Zuri asked, “Can I call you Magnum, or do you have a nickname too, like your brother?”
“No nickname,” he gritted through his teeth as the elevator opened on her floor and he led her to her room’s door.
Zuri was excited about the possibility of having sex again. Real sex. With a man who could make her naturally wet, and not with a lot of lube. Magnum did the work her body needed. And she hadn’t thought about Rodney one time. Perhaps they’d kiss, and she’d suckle remnants of herself from him, and he’d let her taste him and more!
Pressing her body to the side of him, she trembled as she pushed her key card against the lock, and the door popped open.
He walked into the room with her, but stopped before the door closed on him and released her hand. “Have a good night, Zuri,” he said diplomatically.
Zuri was left slack-jawed as Magnum promptly turned and closed the hotel door behind him.
Standing there for a long moment, thinking maybe he was going to come, Zuri repeated over and over in her head, “This wasn’t happening.”
But he didn’t come back.
That was the end of the night.
Should she be upset? The question lingered in the air, much like Magnum’s earlier fear of losing himself to the bottle. As both grappled with their own uncertainties, a thematic echo tied their experiences together, leaving Zuri to wonder whether her satisfaction came at the cost of a deeper connection. What more could a woman ask for? She pondered, aware that the night had been one of her pleasures alone, mirroring Magnum’s solitary confrontation with his sobriety.
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He Touched Me (c) 2026 Sylvia Hubbard All Rights Reserved
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- Dreams of Reality
- Emperor’s Addiction / Heart
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