Chapter 1: Suite 803
Music boomed around her like waves crashing against a cliff.
Aria Lode tipped her head back and let out a breathless laugh, the kind that came from too much excitement—or maybe too much alcohol. The strobe lights of the rooftop lounge spun in dizzying patterns, but she didn't care.
She was twenty.
Finally.
A glass of pink cocktail balanced between her fingers as she swayed to the rhythm, her birthday sash slipping off one shoulder. The city sparkled around her like a galaxy of stars, and for tonight, she was the brightest one.
"To Aria!" Lila shouted over the music, raising a shot glass.
"To twenty!" added Maya.
Aria grinned, clinking glasses with her friends. The shot burned down her throat, sharp and sweet. She let out a satisfied sigh and leaned back on the velvet booth, her legs crossed, high heels digging into the plush carpet.
It felt like freedom.
Everything was perfect—until the world started tilting just slightly too much.
She blinked, head swimming, and reached for the table, but her hand missed. "Okay," she mumbled to herself, "maybe I need a little air."
"Going to the room," she called out to no one in particular, lifting her wrist and squinting at the card key bracelet the hotel provided.
808.
Room 808.
She pushed herself to her feet and stumbled through the rooftop exit, heels clicking across marble floors, the sound too loud in her ears. The elevator glowed ahead like a beacon. She stepped inside, swaying as she pressed the button.
The ride down to the eighth floor felt like floating.
She wandered down the hall, eyes half-closed, giggling to herself. She stopped in front of 803, blinking slowly.
"Wait…" she murmured, staring at the blurry numbers.
Was it an 8 or a 3?
She fumbled with the bracelet, pressed it to the door's reader. A soft beep. The door unlocked with a click.
"Ha! Nailed it," she whispered triumphantly, pushing the door open and stepping inside.
The room was dark and cool, curtains drawn shut. A faint breeze came from the open balcony door, and the air smelled of expensive cologne and fresh linen. She kicked off her heels and sighed.
Her head spun again, harder this time.
The bed looked like heaven.
With a groan, she crawled across the covers, not noticing the dent in the sheets or the quiet breathing already coming from the other side.
She tugged the comforter over her legs, letting the warmth pull her in. Her dress rode up, but she was too far gone to care. The softness beneath her, the haze in her head—it all blurred into one gentle fog.
She didn't register the body next to her.
Didn't register the way his hand brushed against hers in sleep.
Didn't hear the low sound he made when her skin met his.
And by the time the world tilted a final time and faded to black—
—she wasn't thinking about anything at all.
---
Sunlight stabbed through the curtains like knives.
Aria groaned, turning over with a pained hiss. Her head throbbed. Her mouth felt like sandpaper. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to will the hangover away.
Then her fingers brushed against something warm.
Someone warm.
She froze.
Very slowly, she opened her eyes.
The first thing she saw was skin.
A bare back. Broad. Tanned. Familiar.
Her stomach flipped.
She sat up sharply, clutching the sheet to her chest.
This wasn't her room.
This wasn't her bed.
And that man—whoever he was—definitely wasn't supposed to be here.
She swallowed hard, heart racing. The room spun as she tried to piece things together. Her dress was wrinkled and halfway down her thighs. Her hair a mess. Her body… ached in ways she didn't want to think about yet.
Then the man stirred.
She held her breath.
He turned, face now visible in the golden morning light.
Aria's blood ran cold.
Her lips parted.
Her vision cleared.
Her heart stopped.
Lying beside her, half-asleep, was Kade Val.