26. Magnolia Steel
Chapter 26
Magnolia Steel
The silence wraps around us in the back of the limo, heavy and unyielding, a melancholy neither of us can seem to lift. Alex sits beside me, his posture rigid, his gaze fixed on the city lights blurring past the window. The tension radiating off him feels like a fortress, keeping me out.
I can’t stand it.
I shift closer, placing my hand gently on his thigh. He doesn’t react, doesn’t move, and the ache in my chest tightens.
“Alex.” I lean into him. “Don’t do this.”
His eyes land on me, guarded and distant. “Do what?”
“Shut me out.” My fingers brush over his hand, a silent plea for connection. “I’m right here. Don’t disappear on me.”
He exhales sharply, his jaw tightening as he drops his gaze to where my hand rests on his. “I don’t choose to, but the way he gets under my skin––”
I slide my hand up to his chest, feeling the rapid rhythm of his heartbeat beneath my palm. “You don’t have to carry that alone, not with me.”
His hand moves to cover mine, his thumb brushing over my knuckles. “It’s not that I want to.” His eyes drop to our hands, as though searching for the words. “But it feels like I don’t get a choice. My head runs away with thoughts I can’t slow down. The noise, the pressure… it’s constant.”
His chest rises sharply beneath my palm. “I’m fighting a battle I don’t know how to win. And sometimes, Magnolia” —he looks up, his eyes heavy with vulnerability— “it feels like I’m losing.”
This isn’t a clash of egos or a pissing contest between two men—it’s something deeper. Alex isn’t just angry. He’s hurting. Tyson’s words might have lit the spark, but the fire comes from something far older, far more consuming—something he’s carried silently for a while.
My chest aches because I see it, even if he refuses to say it out loud. This isn’t about Tyson. This is Alex fighting to keep himself from breaking.
“You’re not losing,” I whisper, desperate to reach him. “Not with me. You don’t have to carry this by yourself, Alex. Let me in. Let me help.”
His grip on my hand tightens, his gaze lifting to meet mine. The intensity in his eyes is almost unbearable, a quiet storm that tears at me. He looks like a man carrying the world on his shoulders, and the sight of it breaks something inside me.
His jaw tightens like he’s forcing himself to stay in control. “I can handle Tyson. This isn’t something you should have to worry about. I need to keep you away from this.”
The words hit like a blow I wasn’t expecting, their impact sinking deep. He’s not just resisting me—he’s shielding me. Protecting me from whatever darkness he’s battling within himself. And it tears at me because I know he doesn’t realize that keeping me out doesn’t protect me. It only keeps us apart.
“I want to help you through this. Let me take this from you… in my way. Whatever you’re feeling—let me help you let it go.”
His fingers tighten around mine. “I don’t understand.”
“You’re holding on to so much inside.” My eyes search his. “But you don’t have to. Not with me. Let it out with me. I can take it.”
A storm of doubt, confusion, and resistance crosses his face. “What? No––”
“Sometimes people reach a point where they need to scream. But not necessarily with their voice—maybe in other ways. Think of it like releasing the pressure before it explodes. You can do that with me. Let me be the one you let go with.”
I slide my hand higher, cradling the side of his face. “You don’t have to hold it all in. Not tonight. Not with me.”
His eyes search mine, clouded with uncertainty and something else—something raw and unguarded. The silence stretches between us, heavy with unspoken emotions, and I hold my breath, willing him to see the truth in my words.
I see it—clarity blooming, breaking through the doubt. Hesitation fractures, revealing something raw and untamed beneath the surface. His gaze sharpens, and a storm gathers in his eyes as he leans into my touch, his voice rough and unsteady. “Are you sure you want that?”
I don’t flinch. Instead, I close the distance between us, my lips hovering above his, and whisper, “I’ve never been more sure. Give me all of it.”
His breath catches, his hand sliding up to cradle my cheek, his thumb brushing softly along my jaw as he searches my face, looking for doubt. He won’t find any. I meet his gaze head-on, my heart pounding in my chest.
“I know exactly what I’m asking for––I want all of you, Alex. The good, the broken, the beautiful… even the dark parts you’re afraid to show me. Especially those.”
The tension between us is electric, pulling taut like a string about to snap. His eyes darken, his jaw tightening as if he’s holding back. But I don’t let go, pressing my hand over his heart, feeling the thunder of it beneath my palm. “You don’t have to handle this alone. Let me in. All the way.”
Something in him shifts—a decision, a surrender—and the moment stretches, heavy with the magnitude of what’s about to happen. Then, slowly, he exhales, his hand sliding around to the back of my neck, drawing me closer. And when his lips finally crash into mine, it’s not gentle. It’s raw, hungry, and filled with everything he’s been holding back.
His hand tangles in my hair, his grip firm, and I know he’s letting go—giving me the parts of himself he’s been too afraid to share.
As the limo glides through the city, the world outside blurs. His touch is urgent, his movements possessive, but beneath it all, I feel his gratitude, his trust. And as I meet him with equal intensity, I know we’ve crossed into something deeper—something that binds us in a way neither of us can deny.
“Fuck me any way you want to,” I breathe against his ear. “I can take it. Let me be your release.”
A deep growl rumbles in his chest as he pulls me onto his lap, his lips meeting mine in a passionate and urgent kiss. I let out a moan, moving my hips in sync with the hardening bulge in his tuxedo pants.
“You want me to use you?” he rasps, nipping at my lower lip.
“Think of me as your… outlet .”
I want to be his release, his escape—the place where he can lose himself completely and find solace in my arms. I want to be the warmth that eases his pain, the balm that soothes the wounds life has left on him. I ache to trace gentle fingers over his scars, both the ones I can see and the ones I can’t. I yearn to murmur quiet words of comfort and acceptance against his skin until the heaviness he carries feels lighter.
When he finally lets his guard down, when he allows himself to be vulnerable, I want to be his safe harbor—the one he turns to when doubt or despair threatens to pull him under. I want to listen without judgment, to offer quiet strength. To be the soft place he can fall when the world feels too heavy. Not just his lover, but the one he knows he can count on.
And I want to be fucked raw.
He leans back slightly, his jaw flexing as if he’s biting back the words already forming on his tongue. I see the war inside him, the push and pull of wanting to protect me from his chaos and the desperate need to let it out.
His lips part, and for a moment, I’m certain he’s going to say no, to shield me from whatever storm he’s battling, to protect me from the darkness he thinks is too much for me to bear. His gaze clouds with hesitation, his fingers brushing mine in a way that feels almost apologetic.
But then something shifts. It’s subtle at first—a sharp inhale, the way his shoulders ease, the hard set of his jaw softening ever so slightly. His eyes meet mine, and I see it—something breaking, something raw and unguarded finally pushing through the layers.
His chest rises and falls, a shallow, shaky breath leaving his lips. And then, like a dam giving way, he reaches for me, his hand slipping to the back of my neck as he pulls me close, his grip firm but trembling.
“No more walls,” he says, almost to himself. “No more holding it in.”
His lips crash into mine with a passion that’s overwhelming and wild—a controlled storm, intense but deeply reverent. It’s not just a release; it’s a surrender, a moment where he’s choosing to trust me, to let me share the burden he’s been carrying. I meet him fully, my hands sliding up to hold myself against him, knowing this is as much about us as it is about him finding himself again.
“How do you want me?”
“On your knees, bending over the seat.”
“Anything you want.”
Alex leans forward, turning up the volume on the sound system, the chords of “Breath” by Breaking Benjamin blasting through the car. I recognize it instantly because Violet used to play it on repeat.
The heavy beat fills the space, drowning out everything else, ensuring the driver won’t hear a thing. My heart races, the pounding rhythm syncing with my pulse as I follow his command. The leather seat beneath me is cool against my flushed skin as I lean over, feeling my dress ride up to expose my thighs.
Alex’s hands grip my hips, his fingers digging in as he positions himself behind me.
His fingers trace along the edge of my lace thong, pulling it aside as he positions his throbbing cock at my slick entrance. His deep groan rumbles through me as he plunges into me with one powerful thrust. The intense sensation floods my body, and I struggle to catch my breath. But Alex doesn’t slow down, his hips moving in a relentless rhythm, keeping time with the song.
Alex’s hips snap forward with relentless force, each thrust driving deeper than the last. The sound of skin slapping against skin fills the back of the limo, punctuated by our shared moans and gasps. His fingers dig into my hips, using the leverage to pull me back onto him with each powerful stroke.
I can feel every inch of him as he pounds into me, stretching and filling me completely. The intensity builds with each passing moment, pleasure coiling tighter in my core.
“You have no idea what you do to me, Magnolia.”
“Show me.”
His pace increases, becoming almost frantic. The roughness of his movements, the raw need behind each thrust, pushes me closer to the edge.
Alex’s hand snakes around to my front, his fingers finding my most sensitive spot with practiced ease. He begins to stroke in tight, rapid circles, perfectly in sync with his relentless thrusts. The dual stimulation is almost too much to bear, and I feel myself rapidly approaching the precipice of ecstasy.
“Come for me, Magnolia. I want to feel you come around me.”
His words, combined with the exquisite sensations coursing through my body, push me over the edge. I cry out, my back arching as waves of pleasure crash over me. My inner walls clench around him rhythmically, intensifying the feeling of fullness.
Alex growls, his movements becoming erratic as he chases his own release. With a final, powerful thrust, he buries himself to the hilt inside me, his body shuddering as he finds his climax.
For a moment, we stay frozen in that position, both of us panting heavily as we come down from our shared high. Slowly, he withdraws from me, and I feel a sense of loss at the absence of his fullness.
Alex slumps back onto the leather seat, his chest heaving as he gulps in air. He runs a hand through his hair, pushing it back from his forehead as he tries to steady his breathing. “Fuck.”
I take a moment to smooth down my dress, wincing slightly at the delicious soreness between my thighs. Once I’ve made myself presentable again, I turn the music down and slide into the spot beside him.
He turns to look at me, his eyes dark and intense, the heat between us still smoldering. A slow smile spreads across his face, equal parts satisfaction and tenderness. Without hesitation, I move to straddle his lap, settling into him like it’s the most natural thing in the world. My arms loop around his shoulders, and his hands find their place on my waist, steadying me.
I lean in, pressing my forehead to his, breathing in the mix of cologne, sweat, and something that’s purely Alex. For a while, neither of us speaks. We simply hold each other, the rhythm of our breathing gradually syncing, the quiet intimacy filling the space between us.
The scent of sex lingers in the air, mingling with the fogged windows and the soft hum of the music in the background. In this moment, the world outside doesn’t exist—it’s just the two of us, wrapped up in the aftermath of something that feels bigger than words.
“I hope I didn’t hurt you. I was rougher than I meant to be.”
I shake my head, a small smile playing on my lips. “You didn’t hurt me. I liked it. A lot actually.”
His eyebrows raise slightly in surprise. “You did, huh?”
“Mm-hmm,” I hum, snuggling against him. “I liked the roughness, the urgency, knowing that I could be an outlet for your frustrations. It was incredibly… arousing .”
Alex is quiet for a moment, then cups my chin, tilting my face up to his. “You’re amazing, you know that? But you don’t have to do that. I don’t want to use you as some kind of stress relief.”
I reach up, tracing my fingers along his jaw. “But what if I want you to? What if I enjoy being that for you?”
“You’re serious?”
I nod, holding his gaze. “Completely. Alex, I care about you. I want to be there for you in every way possible. If this is something you need, something that helps you, I want to give that to you.”
He searches my face for a moment. “God, you have no idea what you do to me.”
I smile, nuzzling into the crook of his neck, pressing a soft kiss to his pulse point. “I think I have some idea.”
Alex pulls me close, wrapping his strong arms around me. For a while, we simply hold each other, basking in the afterglow. The world outside our little bubble seems distant and unimportant.
“Do you have any vacation days you can take?”
I glance up, curiosity sparking at the question. “Some. Why?”
“I need to go out of town the week after next. I want you to come with me.”
“Another surprise?”
“Maybe.” His grin deepens, his fingers brushing over mine. “Think you could work something out with Soul Sync and come with me?”
A thrill courses through me, excitement bubbling up as I nod. “I think I can make it happen.”
“Good.”
His arm tightens around me. His hand rests warmly on my back as we settle into the quiet intimacy of the ride.
As the car moves through the dark streets, I glance up at him, his profile softened by the glow of the city lights. For the first time tonight, the tension in his face seems to ease, and I feel it too—a sense of peace, fragile yet undeniable.
Whatever comes next, I know we’ll face it together. And in this moment, that’s all that matters.