Chapter 7: Claimed

The day passed in a haze of sensual discovery and intimate conversation that made Nicole's previous life feel like a half-remembered dream. They'd moved from the kitchen to the living room, where she found herself curled between Eva and Bryce on the enormous sectional sofa, still wearing the borrowed silk robe that made her feel like she was playing dress-up in someone else's fantasy.

Eva had painted Nicole's nails a deep crimson that matched her own, their fingers intertwined as the polish dried while Bryce regaled them with carefully edited stories from his travels. The mundane intimacy of it—the casual touches, the shared laughter, the way they included her in their private jokes—felt more dangerous than the passionate encounters of the night before.

This felt like belonging.

"You're quiet," Eva observed, brushing a strand of hair from Nicole's face with her free hand. "Having second thoughts?"

Nicole shook her head, though the truth was more complicated. She wasn't having second thoughts exactly, but the growing realization of how completely these two people had upended her world in less than twenty-four hours was overwhelming. The woman who had stood in the rain waiting for David felt like a stranger now, some pale shadow of who she was discovering herself to be.

"Just processing," she admitted. "Yesterday morning I was worried about a presentation at work. Now I'm sitting in a penthouse wearing designer silk, and I can't remember why that presentation seemed important."

"Because it wasn't," Bryce said simply, his arm tightening around her waist. "You were sleepwalking through a life that was slowly suffocating you."

The harsh truth of his words made her chest tighten. "How can you be so sure? You've known me for one day."

"Sometimes one day is enough," Eva replied, lifting their joined hands to press a soft kiss to Nicole's knuckles. "Sometimes you meet someone and you just know."

Nicole was about to respond when her phone rang again, the sharp sound cutting through the intimate atmosphere. She'd been ignoring calls all day—work, her mother, a few friends—but this time the caller ID made her stomach drop.

David.

"Who is it?" Bryce asked, his voice taking on that edge she was beginning to recognize as dangerous.

"My... the man I was supposed to have dinner with last night," Nicole said reluctantly. "I should probably—"

"Answer it," Eva interrupted, her eyes gleaming with something Nicole couldn't quite identify. "Put it on speaker."

Nicole hesitated, but something in Eva's tone brooked no argument. With trembling fingers, she swiped to accept the call and activated the speaker function.

"Nicole? Jesus, finally. I've been trying to reach you all day." David's voice filled the room, tinny and irritated through the phone's speaker. "Where the hell are you?"

The casual profanity, the entitled tone—how had she never noticed how grating his voice was? "I'm... I had some personal matters to attend to."

"Personal matters? We had a date, Nicole. You just disappeared. I waited at that restaurant for two hours looking like an idiot."

Nicole felt heat rise in her cheeks, but before she could apologize, Eva's hand covered hers, squeezing gently. The touch gave her strength she didn't know she possessed.

"You were an hour and a half late, David," she said quietly. "I got tired of waiting."

"So you just left? Without even sending a text?" His voice rose, taking on the whining quality that had always made her cringe. "That's incredibly rude, even for you."

Even for you. The casual dismissal hit like a slap, and Nicole felt something cold and sharp unfurl in her chest. How many times had he made similar comments? How many small cruelties had she excused because she was grateful to have any male attention at all?

"Rude?" Nicole repeated, her voice gaining strength. "Like showing up ninety minutes late without an apology? Like treating our plans as an afterthought?"

"Look, I had work stuff to deal with. You know how demanding my job is. I thought you'd understand—"

"I always understand," Nicole interrupted, surprising herself with her vehemence. "I always wait, always make excuses for you, always accommodate your schedule. When was the last time you asked about my job, David? My life? My dreams?"

Silence stretched across the line, and Nicole could practically hear David's confusion. This wasn't the agreeable, accommodating Nicole he was used to. The one who apologized for his mistakes and grateful for whatever scraps of attention he deigned to give her.

"What's gotten into you?" he finally asked. "You're acting completely different."

Nicole looked up to find both Eva and Bryce watching her with expressions of fierce pride and approval. Eva's smile was encouraging, while Bryce's eyes burned with something that looked like possessive satisfaction.

"Maybe I'm finally acting like myself," Nicole said, her voice steady despite the way her heart was racing. "Maybe I'm tired of settling for someone who sees me as a convenience rather than a priority."

"A convenience? Nicole, what are you talking about? We've been dating for six months—"

"Have we?" The question came out sharper than she intended. "Because it feels more like I've been available whenever you remember I exist. When was the last time you planned something special for us? When did you last bring me flowers, or remember something I told you was important to me?"

Another silence, longer this time. Nicole could practically hear him scrambling for examples and coming up empty.

"This is ridiculous," David finally sputtered. "You're being completely unreasonable. Look, I'll forgive you for standing me up if you just come to your senses and—"

"Forgive me?" Nicole's voice rose, and she felt Eva's hand squeeze hers supportively. "You'll forgive me for refusing to wait indefinitely for someone who can't be bothered to show up on time?"

"Nicole—"

"No." The word came out with finality that surprised even her. "I'm done, David. I'm done waiting for you to decide I'm worth your time. I'm done making myself smaller so you can feel bigger. We're over."

"You can't be serious. You're throwing away six months over one missed dinner?"

The casual dismissal of her feelings, the complete inability to understand why she might be upset—it crystallized everything that had been wrong with their relationship from the beginning. David had never seen her as an equal partner, just a pleasant accessory to his life that he could ignore when more interesting opportunities arose.

"I'm not throwing away anything," Nicole said with quiet conviction. "I'm finally picking up something valuable—my self-respect."

Before David could respond, she ended the call and set the phone aside with hands that barely trembled. The silence that followed felt charged with electricity, and when she looked up, she found Bryce and Eva watching her with expressions of fierce approval.

"How do you feel?" Eva asked softly.

Nicole took inventory of her emotions, expecting to find regret or fear or the usual anxiety that accompanied any major life change. Instead, she found something unexpected—relief. Pure, overwhelming relief, like she'd been holding her breath for six months and could finally exhale.

"Free," she said, surprising herself with the truth of it. "I feel free."

Bryce's hand came up to cup her face, his thumb tracing her cheekbone with reverent care. "You were magnificent," he said, his voice rough with emotion. "Watching you find your strength, your voice—it was beautiful."

"I've never talked to anyone like that before," Nicole admitted. "I've never stood up for myself like that."

"Because you've never had anything worth fighting for," Eva said, shifting closer until Nicole was surrounded by their warmth and strength. "But now you do."

"What do I have worth fighting for?" Nicole asked, though she thought she might already know the answer.

"This," Bryce said simply, his hand moving to rest over her heart. "What we have together. What we could build together."

"Us," Eva added, pressing a soft kiss to Nicole's temple. "You're ours now, beautiful. And we protect what's ours."

The possessive declaration should have alarmed her, but instead it sent a thrill through her system that she couldn't deny. For the first time in her life, she felt claimed, wanted, fought for. Not as someone's convenient option or backup plan, but as someone's priority.

"What does that mean?" she asked, though part of her was afraid of the answer.

"It means," Bryce said, his voice taking on that commanding tone that made her pulse race, "that you're never going back to that half-life you were living. It means you're part of this now—part of us."

"It means," Eva continued, her fingers tracing patterns on Nicole's skin, "that we're going to take care of you, protect you, worship you the way you deserve."

Nicole's phone buzzed with what was probably an angry text from David, but she didn't even glance at it. The outside world, with all its obligations and expectations and disappointments, felt impossibly distant. Here, in this silk-draped sanctuary with these two magnetic people who saw her as something precious, she felt more real than she ever had.

"I should be scared," she said softly. "This is happening so fast, and I don't know what I'm doing."

"You're choosing yourself," Eva replied. "For the first time in your life, you're choosing what you want instead of what you think you should want."

"And what you want," Bryce added, his eyes burning with that familiar intensity, "is us."

It wasn't a question, and Nicole found she didn't want to contradict him. The truth was, she did want them—wanted this feeling of being cherished and desired and fought for. Wanted the intensity and passion they brought to her carefully controlled world. Wanted to discover who she could become when she stopped hiding behind fear and respectability.

"Yes," she whispered, the word carrying the weight of surrender and decision combined. "I want this. I want you. Both of you."

Eva's smile was radiant, while Bryce's expression held triumph and something deeper—something that looked suspiciously like love, though that was impossible after just one day.

Wasn't it?

"Then you have us," Eva said simply, sealing the promise with a kiss that tasted like forever. "For as long as you want us."

"Which will be always," Bryce added with quiet certainty, his arms tightening around them both.

Outside, the city continued its relentless pace, but inside this perfect bubble of silk and sensation, Nicole felt like she'd finally found her place in the world. Whatever came next, whatever challenges awaited in the cold light of reality, she knew she'd never be the same.

She was claimed now, marked by their touch and transformed by their devotion. And for the first time in twenty-five years, she felt truly, completely alive.