Chapter 3: The First Rule

The luxury apartment key felt foreign in Aria's paint-stained fingers as she stood before the door to 61B. According to the contract she'd signed just hours ago—her signature still trembling on the page—this was now home. The hallway smelled of expensive leather and fresh flowers, a world away from the musty corridors of her old building.

She'd done it. She'd actually signed the contract.

The apartment was a revelation of cream marble and floor-to-ceiling windows, furnished with pieces that belonged in magazines rather than real life. A note on the granite kitchen island was written in Seraphina's elegant script: Welcome home, darling. We're in the penthouse when you're ready. No pressure. —S

But there was pressure—an electric tension that seemed to vibrate through the building itself, knowing that just one floor above, Caden and Seraphina waited. The weight of her decision pressed against her chest. She was theirs now. Officially, legally, completely.

A soft knock interrupted her spiraling thoughts. Aria's heart hammered as she opened the door to find Seraphina standing in the hallway, no longer wearing the severe business suit from Thorne Tower. Instead, she'd changed into a flowing silk dress the color of midnight, her raven hair loose around her shoulders.

"May I come in?" Seraphina's emerald eyes held a warmth that made Aria's knees weak. "I thought you might like some company for your first night."

Aria stepped aside, hyperaware of her own appearance—still in the same jeans and cardigan she'd worn to sign away her freedom. "I wasn't sure... I mean, the contract said—"

"The contract says many things," Seraphina interrupted gently, closing the door behind her. "But right now, I'm here as myself, not as your... what did Caden call it? Owner?" Her nose wrinkled in distaste. "God, that man and his need to control everything."

Despite everything, Aria felt her lips curve into a smile. "You didn't approve of his approach today?"

"Caden approaches everything like a hostile takeover." Seraphina moved to the windows, gazing out at the city lights. "It's served him well in business, but people aren't companies to be acquired."

"Aren't they?" The words slipped out before Aria could stop them. "Isn't that exactly what this is?"

Seraphina turned, her expression serious. "Is that what you think?"

Aria wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly feeling foolish. "I don't know what to think. This morning I was drowning in debt, and now I'm living in a penthouse apartment with a contract that makes me sound like an expensive pet."

"Look at me, Aria." Seraphina's voice carried a gentle command that made Aria's pulse quicken. When their eyes met, Seraphina moved closer, close enough that Aria could smell her intoxicating perfume. "What happened between us last night—was that about money?"

"No," Aria whispered, remembering the fire that had burned between them, the connection that went far beyond physical.

"Then don't let legal language diminish what this really is." Seraphina's fingers brushed Aria's cheek. "We want you, Aria. Not just your body, though God knows we crave that. We want your thoughts, your dreams, your terrible jokes, your artistic passion. We want all of you."

"But the contract—"

"Protects all of us. Nothing more, nothing less." Seraphina's thumb traced Aria's lower lip. "The real arrangement, the one that matters, isn't written on paper. It's written here." She pressed her palm against Aria's heart. "And here." Her other hand cupped Aria's face. "And in every choice we make together."

Before Aria could respond, the apartment door opened, and Caden strode in like he owned the place—which, she supposed, he did. He'd changed from his business suit into dark slacks and a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, looking more relaxed but no less commanding.

"Starting without me, love?" His question was directed at Seraphina, but his grey eyes never left Aria.

"I was just welcoming our girl home," Seraphina replied smoothly, though Aria caught the slight emphasis on 'our.'

"Our girl." Caden repeated the words like he was tasting them. "I like the sound of that. Though I think it's time we established some ground rules for our arrangement."

Aria's stomach dropped. "More rules? The contract was forty pages."

"Not those kinds of rules." Caden moved closer, and Aria found herself trapped between him and Seraphina, their combined presence overwhelming. "Personal rules. The kind that matter."

"Such as?" Aria's voice came out breathier than she intended.

Caden's smile was sharp and knowing. "Honesty. Complete, brutal honesty about what you want, what you need, what scares you." His fingers traced the line of her jaw. "No more hiding behind what you think we want to hear."

"I don't—"

"You do." His interruption was firm. "You've been performing since the moment you walked into our world, trying to be what you think will please us. That stops now."

Seraphina's hands settled on Aria's shoulders from behind, anchoring her. "We fell for the real you, darling. The woman who was brave enough to admit she wanted both of us, who trembled but didn't run. Don't disappear on us now."

Aria felt exposed, like they could see straight through her carefully constructed facade. "I'm scared," she admitted, the words torn from somewhere deep inside. "I'm terrified that I'm not enough, that I'll disappoint you, that this is all some elaborate game I don't understand the rules to."

"Better," Caden murmured approvingly. "Much better. Now, what do you want right now, in this moment?"

The question hung in the air between them, loaded with possibility and danger. Aria could feel their attention like a physical weight, waiting for her response. The safe answer would be something modest, grateful—that she was happy to be here, that she wanted to please them.

But they'd demanded honesty.

"I want to stop feeling like I'm auditioning," she said, her voice gaining strength. "I want to know that you want me, not just the idea of me. I want..." She paused, gathering courage. "I want to know what it feels like when you lose control."

Something shifted in Caden's expression, a crack in his perfect composure. "Careful what you ask for."

"I'm done being careful." The words surprised her with their conviction. "Careful got me nowhere. I signed your contract, I'm in your world now. If you want honesty, then here it is—I want to see the man behind the corporate mask. I want to know what makes the unshakeable Caden Thorne shake."

The silence stretched taut as a wire. Then, unexpectedly, Caden laughed—a rich, genuine sound that transformed his entire face.

"Christ, Sera, she's going to be the death of us both."

"I certainly hope so," Seraphina murmured against Aria's ear, her lips brushing the sensitive skin of her neck.

When Caden moved closer, there was something different in his eyes—a heat that spoke of control willingly released rather than forcibly taken. "You want to see me lose control?"

Aria lifted her chin, meeting his gaze directly. "I want to see the real you. Both of you. If I'm going to be yours, then you need to be mine too. All of you."

"Dangerous words," Caden warned, but his hands were already reaching for her, pulling her against him with a hunger that felt beautifully unguarded.

"Good," Aria breathed against his lips. "I'm done being safe."

When he kissed her, it was nothing like the calculated seduction of their first night. This was raw need, desperate and consuming, and Aria could taste the surrender in it. Behind her, Seraphina's hands mapped the curves of her body with reverent touches that spoke of worship rather than possession.

"Our brave girl," Seraphina whispered, and for the first time since signing the contract, Aria truly believed she belonged here—not as their acquisition, but as their equal in this dance of desire and power.

As they moved together toward the bedroom, Aria realized that in demanding their honesty, she'd inadvertently claimed her own power in their dynamic. The contract might have made her theirs legally, but this moment—this choice—made them hers in return.

And that, she thought as Caden's control finally, beautifully shattered, was worth far more than any signature on a page.