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Author’s Notes…

I’m in there. And I love the story, but really hate FT. Getting into the nitty-gritty of what happened in the past, while giving you light speculative. If you’re unfamiliar with the touch, it’s similar to what happened in Delilah’s Desire. I go into it in greater depth, but by the next chapter, I know you will figure everything out.

Now I’m off to work on my secret Valentine’s Day Treat for the readers.

Stay tuned.

Let me know how the story is going

Your Author, Sylvia Hubbard

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By continuing to read, you acknowledge that you are over 18. Otherwise, please leave this site and block it from your memory. If you’re a pearl-clutching heifer, please go too because I ain’t got time for that either.

Companion Books

Stealing Innocence 1

Black’s Innocence

Sin’s Iniquity

The Other Side of Love (WIP)

Tanner’s Devil

Dreams of Reality

Emperor’s Addiction / Heart

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…Enjoy. Happy Reading. Your author, Sylvia Hubbard

Chapter 27 – First Night First Time

The hum of the engine weaved through Zuri’s thoughts, each vibration matching the nervous beat of her heart as Lucas drove to the lab. She took the notes from her father’s project and threw herself into the work and the order it demanded. The lab was located on the east side of Detroit, in an industrial part of town, and, oddly, it was brand new, as if someone had set it up days ago just for her. She couldn’t shake the feeling that its clandestine setup served a purpose beyond just her research. The exterior was more abandoned than welcoming, hinting at a deeper, possibly secretive agenda. Who exactly might benefit from such secrecy, and why was it built specifically with her in mind? The uncertainty added an additional layer of intrigue, heightening her anxiety and curiosity. Perhaps the lab’s true intentions would soon reveal themselves as she delved deeper into her father’s project.

There were other labs that the card Lucas gave her that she couldn’t access. A young woman was there to show her around, and Zuri saw, beneath the woman’s business suit coat, a concealed weapon.

Talia, in her crisp business attire, introduced herself with a subtle smile, exuding efficiency. Her mixed Asian and African-American heritage hinted at a diverse background, matching her quiet confidence. She briefly scrutinized Zuri before speaking, “I’m the building manager here. I handle everything,” she glanced around as if surveying her domain. “There’s a clipboard in your lab for requests. Use the forms there for orders or anything else you need. Every night, I check the list for additional cleaning or supplies.” With a faint hint of challenge, she locked eyes with Zuri, “If you want extra hands or new recruits, I’d like you to use our internal pool. Clearance is essential for anyone coming aboard, and I manage those personally.”

The lab the lawyer had secured was sufficient, and she could even complete the artwork projects Ms. Bellini needed in a clean room.

Talia handed her a rack card with information. “If you need things delivered, the address is on there, and just make sure it has your suite number on it. If that’s forgotten and you’re expecting anything, I lock everything up, and you would need to contact me personally. My information is on that card.”

There was no logo or special information to let Zuri know who owned this laboratory, only the information Talia said should be on there.

I’d prefer you not call nine-one-one for any emergencies. We handle our own,” Talia said. “All emergencies. Do you understand?”

A chill raced through Zuri as she processed Talia’s instructions. The implications hung heavy, their gravity inescapable. Instantly, her mind conjured a myriad of risks. What if something went wrong in the lab? An accident or unexpected threat might not only imperil her safety but also jeopardize the entire project. Her chest tightened with the vision of equipment bursting into flames or data being irreparably lost. The potential for losing funding or suffering personal harm loomed over her, fueled by the unspoken possibility that this secretive place operated beyond conventional rules. But there was something deeper gnawing at her resolve: the specter of her personal demons resurfacing, where shadows of her past failures whispered insidiously in her ears. Internally, she grappled with her fears, questioning herself: Was she ready to accept these terms, knowing the dangers that might lurk in their shadows? Could she trust herself to push through the doubt and focus on the path ahead? Her heart wavered between the desire to succeed and the fear of unraveling, leaving her paralyzed between ambition and apprehension.

“Yes,” Zuri said, feeling an uncomfortable chill in the air.

“And your security guard needs to flash his card to get in with you as well at all times.”

Lucas only nodded.

Zuri put together her list and sent Ms. Bellini a message to begin sending the pieces for analysis after updating her lab logs. There were warehouses with damaged artwork that needed cleaning, but no one knew what had caused the damage. With her father’s formula, she could work a safe compound that wouldn’t damage the artwork, and she’d be able to identify what had been damaged for repair.

Ms. Bellini would then have it cleaned and resold. Each piece sold Zuri, or more like her lawyer had worked out a deal, she’d get one percent of each sale, along with a flat payment for each analytical report.

When she was back in the car, she said to Lucas before he shut her door, “Let’s get back to the hotel room to pack.”

“Your items have already been packed and taken over to Mr. Knight’s estate.” He pulled out another keycard for her and said, “We’re heading there for your first night.”

She felt a little jarred, thinking she could handle staying the night at Magnum’s place while she packed, but as the vehicle drew closer to his estate, her heart began to race. A cold sweat spread across her palms, turning them clammy as a sense of dread crept over her. Fluttering deep within her chest was a pulse that seemed to echo the ominous anticipation of what awaited her.

Would FT be there?

Lucas pulled around back, and after a moment, the iron fence opened to let him drive inside a large concrete yard.

There was a set of stairs leading up to the large two-car garage, but he took her to another set of circular stairs on the side of the house, to a second-floor door that required the keycard to enter. As she stepped into the room, the chilled air seemed to grip her skin, triggering a memory of nights spent in much simpler settings. The bedroom they entered was about as large as the hotel room she’d just been in that morning, with white and floral decor. Two dressers, a king-size bed, a cushioned bench at the end of the bed, a vanity, and a private bathroom with a bathtub and a separate shower. But it was the faint scent of sandalwood, so distinct and unexpected, that stirred an unsettling familiarity within her, as if part of the room harbored secrets she had yet to uncover.

She knew in her core that FT had just been in the room. How did she know? She wasn’t sure, but the more she took in the lingering scent, the more she knew he had been there right before she had entered.

The items from the hotel filled the bench. She made a mental note to use tomorrow, after a little work, to get more clothes to wear, since she didn’t have many.

Lucas stayed in the doorway. “Your lawyer is fighting your mother’s release. She used the house to get bail, but it’s in your name. Once they re-arrest her, we can go over there and get all your personal items out of the house.”

She thanked him, remembering the personal items in her room she had left behind. “I probably still need more clothes before that.”

“We can make plans tomorrow. I’ll be above the garage at your beck and call. He said there’s access to the camera system around the property, so I can stay on alert. If you need anything, there’s a button by your door that gives you a direct line to me. Just hit the call button, and I’ll be right over. Mr. Black insisted Mr. Knight install that in the room in case you didn’t feel safe even with him in the house.”

Zuri only nodded, but knew Tyler Black had reservations about Magnum Knight, yet that wasn’t the person he should be worried about.

“I’ll leave you to get settled,” Lucas said and closed her door to leave her alone.

Putting the little that she had up in the proper places, she decided to get comfortable and then make her presence known in the house.

After a quick shower, she found a clean T-shirt, jogging pants, and some clean socks in the drawer. Throwing this on, she went to the door that led to the rest of the house. There was a lock on the door, but she wondered whether that would keep out anyone who wanted to get in, like FT?

The second floor was all wood decor, with very thick doors just like hers. She could tell the house had been recently cleaned by the hygienic smell, but it reminded her of antiseptic corridors, the kind where secrets and sins were washed away, hidden from plain sight. This unsettling contradiction lingered in her mind, hinting at something veiled beneath the pristine facade. There were stairs leading down to another floor, but instead of going that way, she turned into the hall, passing the door and letting herself feel Magnum’s presence.

Something was drawing her to the last door on the other side of the hall that initially felt like a closet. The door was smaller than the others she had passed, and when she opened it, it was about as big as a cubicle, with a table and a desk stacked with photo albums. There was a range of old and new photo albums, and one open one drew her attention. The page it was opened to was glued with small newspaper clippings and some cut-out website articles. One side focused on several buildings Zilla Enterprises was buying across Detroit, while the other centered on a Chicago building destroyed by fire. When she turned to go out the door, she noticed another photo album, not part of the stack, bound with a large rubber band and sitting on a lone shelf across the room, as if it didn’t belong with the others.

something inside ofher told her not to touch it, but then she found herself reaching for the album, taking off the binding, and opening the book. This one hadn’t been opened in a while, as the pages crept with each flip.

The articles in here were filled with a missing girl from fifteen years ago in Detroit. Eighteen-year-old Eli Powers never came home from school after hanging out with friends. Police searched for weeks, but she was never found. The last article, after the twenty pages of pasted articles, was just recently, when Eli’s sister passed away. She was the last member of the Powers family alive. None of the siblings had had kids; the parents were the only children, and there was no one else around related to Eli Powers left alive.

No one except this book.

She pulled back the articles and saw several pictures of Eli.

Gasping, she noticed the young girl looked like her. Not exactly, but the dark hair, shape of her face, height, and… eyes. They had the same eyes. She was sure of it. Eli would have been four years older than Zuri if she were alive today. Her mind began to race with possibilities. Could they be related in some way, or was there a more unusual connection at play? The uncanny resemblance whispered of a mystery yet to be uncovered, leaving her to wonder if their likeness was the silent thread that tied them to a shared fate.

Flipping back to the earlier articles, I found out Eli Powers had been adopted, and she looked nothing like any of her other siblings.

Frowning, Zuri put her finger on Eli’s face, wondering why there was a book about just this young woman in this room full of memories.

FT said at the doorway, startling her, “I’ve covered up his shit too.” His eyes betrayed a flicker of something she almost missed—an involuntary twitch at the corner of his mouth, a tension woven briefly into his brow. It was gone in an instant, replaced by his usual composed demeanor, but it left a lingering unease that echoed in the silence between them, unsettling the air with an unspoken threat.

She turned around and faced him, slamming the book closed. He was dressed in black jeans and a gray t-shirt, with socks, but she had a feeling these weren’t his clothes.

There was a bruise on his face. Nothing to indicate he might be hurt, but she had a feeling he wouldn’t show if he was.

“Did you hurt her?”

“You’re asking the wrong brother that question,” he retorted. “He brought what happened to her upon her.”

She looked at the album and then back at him, noticing he was edging toward her, slowly draining the room of its warmth.

“You killed her?”

“I gave her what she came to Magnum for.” He reached down and moved his shaft to get comfortable. “And her boyfriend caught us. Dragged her out, and that was the last time I saw her.”

Zuri narrowed her eyes at him. How many times had Magnum set them up, only for FT to knock them down? She wondered if FT’s confession about Eli, paired with the tension between him and Magnum, was part of a deeper rivalry. Could Magnum’s motives be masked beneath this ongoing enmity, driven by more than just business or personal vendettas? This thought stirred her mind, linking FT’s actions and Magnum’s potential hidden agenda. Was Magnum orchestrating these confrontations for a reason? The notion that Magnum might be using these altercations as a means to distract or divert attention from something much larger loomed in her mind. Could there be a strategic intrigue and purpose behind every encounter, hinting at a calculated plan yet to be unveiled?

“How do I know you’re telling me the truth?” she questioned skeptically.

He took her palm and placed it on his chest. His heartbeat was strong but steady. “I didn’t kill her. I fucked her. I let her call out Magnum’s name, while I ravaged her body fucking every hole she had available, loving her screams, but I didn’t kill her.”

His heart rate never changed.

“Why? When Magnum liked her.”

“Because he liked her, but I knew he couldn’t satisfy her needs. Just like I know he will never satisfy you. But I’m here for you, too.” He looked down at her lips and licked his own, indicating he was hungry to taste them.

“Who’s Mitchell Knight?” she asked, removing her hands from his chest and returning the book to the shelf.

FT’s eyes narrowed to almost slits, and he tightened his hands into fists as if she had spoken a curse. He even growled when he breathed out and in, like she awakened something dark and dangerous by saying that name.

“How do you know that name, little queen?” he demanded in a very low voice.

Zuri could barely catch her breath as he neared her until there were centimeters between them, and she could feel his breath on her upper lip.

“Answer me,” he demanded, making her jump almost out of her skin.

When she took a step back, he followed, staying close, making sure his eyes held hers. “My father,” she said breathlessly. “He took pictures of us. When he was trying to find me. I saw them. He hired you to help him, and you took me.”

“Dr. Baelen came to me and knew soon as I saw your picture, I would hunt you down. Your father had failed to find you, and I was his last hope, so he made a deal that if I found you, I could have you.

She shook her head in disbelief. “My father would have never made a deal like that.”

“He was desperate and would agree to anything. His little girl was gone, trying to run away from the pain and suffering of her life. From a mother who’d sold her first baby and then only produced you to get your father to stay, thinking she’d hit the jackpot.”

Looking at the album and then back at him, she gasped. “Eli.”

“Eli. Zuri. You all look the same, and you both do the same thing to me. I didn’t kill her because I connected to her too, and when she disappeared, I searched for years and found her body, and then I killed all who hurt her. Just like I’m going to kill all who hurt you.” His arms wrapped around her body and drew her close to him.

She felt a surge of conflict, an unsettling mixture of anger and unease. The thought of her mother being the target of such violence stirred something deep within her. “You would kill my mother?” she asked incredulously.

“That trifling whore deserves nothing better,” he declared with a cold assurance.

“No, that’s not your judgment to make, FT.” Despite her firm words, Zuri couldn’t shake the ambiguity gnawing at her conscience. Her mind reeled in a chaotic dance between loathing and a flicker of understanding—a fragmented bond tied to a past she barely recalled.

“You say that because you don’t remember what she did. Don’t you want to remember, Zuri? Don’t you want to know what I could do to your body?”

Zuri pushed against his chest, but she couldn’t get out of his arms, and demanded, “What did you do to me, FT?”

So you don’t remember? You don’t remember those days and nights of craving a high, but you couldn’t even achieve it anymore with all the drugs you took. You really don’t remember how you couldn’t get enough of me to push away your drug addiction?” He asked, but he didn’t sound as if he believed her, while his hands traveled up her back and then down her rear. You had gone through the gambit, and you were just hungry and had replaced sex with drugs, Little Queen. I didn’t mind being your addiction.”

Suddenly, a fragmented memory flashed in Zuri’s mind—a dimly lit room, her heart pounding from more than just fear, the sting of a needle as she dragged it out of her arm, while FT’s figure loomed as a source of twisted comfort in the haze. The recollection was brief but vivid, anchoring the truth of his words and the weight of her own past decisions. Her chest tightened as the shadow of her history crept into the present, intertwining her sense of self with the echoes of her unresolved trauma.

“Stop calling me that,” she ordered in disgust.

“You should be thanking me,” he demanded. “I found something for you to be addicted to. I found something My Little Queen didn’t want to be without; do without; needed it morning, noon, and night.” He buried his face into her neck, and she could feel his member press against the front of her stomach.

FT was fully aroused and wanted her, but Zuri didn’t feel she was there with him. The other night in the cemetery, she had only become aroused because Magnum was there. Whatever her father had done to her, she did not remember feeling any kind of way with FT, unless Magnum was with them.

“And I connected to you,” he whispered, planting kisses on her neck, collarbone, and side of her face.

Zuri didn’t understand what he meant, but she did understand that he was Mitchel Knight.

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He Touched Me (c) 2026 Sylvia Hubbard All Rights Reserved

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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• Companion Books
  • Stealing Innocence 1
  • Black’s Innocence
  • Sin’s Iniquity
  • The Other Side of Love (WIP)
  • Tanner’s Devil
  • Dreams of Reality
  • Emperors Addiction / Heart

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