Page 92 of Bailey-Rose: The Complete Duet

“Oh, I love Prio Gria. It’s a wonderful tropical country with amazing food and the most welcoming people. You have to take the time to see Valfail Reef. It’s one of the most beautiful reefs I’ve ever been to,” Mother chattered on, completely oblivious to the fact I was no longer paying attention.

Eli took pity on me and reclaimed his phone, taking the conversation outside the studio to give us a little privacy.

“Was this already planned, or did you just decide this second?” I asked.

Placing a hand on my back, Lysse urged me toward the door. “Do you mind if we have this conversation back home? I don’t feel like happy conversations should be happening here of all places.”

That was hard to argue with since I felt the same way. “As long as you know you’re not getting out of this conversation.”

“Believe me, Rosie, we want to have this conversation more than anything in the world,” Lysse assured me.

Back home, I sat at the kitchen island and scrolled through pictures of Prio Gria’s private island resort. This place was stunning, something you dreamed up but didn’t think was real. The main building offered all kinds of restaurants, bars, activities, a spa, and anything else you could imagine. Instead of rooms like a normal hotel, the bungalows were built over the water. Each one had a wooden walkway from the shore to the private bungalow, and when I say private, I mean private.

The next bungalow was far enough away you weren’t concerned about being overheard or seen by anyone but who you brought with you. You could pick various sizes of bungalows with different features, but the one Warrick pulled up to show me was called the Packmoon Suite. It was listed as the perfect place to bask in the glow that came from being a newly bonded pack.

“Wait…” I started then paused, looking at the five men standing across from me. “Are you… is this… for real?” I squeaked out.

They all nodded, smiling from ear to ear as they gave me a moment to process this.

“But the Scent Matchers⁠—”

“Can go to hell,” Gareth stated, cutting me off. “They have no grounds to keep us from being a fully acknowledged bonded pack, baby girl. Whatever that shit was we got pulled in for meant nothing. Yun had our lawyer check into it, and we’re already in the system as a legitimate scent-matched pack, which means that once we are bonded to you, we can submit that paperwork, and no one can ever dispute our family.”

“So what say you, kitten? Will you be ours forever?” Vili asked, reaching out for my hand.

There was no doubt in my mind what the answer would be because there is no place I would rather be than with these men. “Yes. Yes, I will be yours as long as you will be mine?”

“Fuck it, let’s go to Prio Gria right now,” Warrick suggested. “We have our own plane, and what do we need to pack when we’re all going to be naked for most of the trip?”

“No, we can’t go now,” I blurted, yanking my hands back to gesture for them to stop.

Ulysses frowned. “Is there something we should know, Rosie? I thought Dr. Arbour cleared you?”

“He did. It’s not that, though,” I assured him and pointed to the bandage that wrapped around my bicep. “I got a birth control implant, and we have to wait twenty-four hours before having sex.”

Warrick stretched out over the counter as if he wanted to tell me a secret, so I leaned in. “There are so many other things we can do without having sex, Care Bear. If you’d like, I’d be happy to show you what they are.”

My cheeks burned as I blushed, my pulse rising at his words and slick gathered between my legs. It was clear my brain was the only one worried about waiting the day like I’d been instructed to. Was it really that big of a concern? I had been on oral birth control since my surgery. In fact, I’d taken one this morning with my pill regimen. So what was the reason for holding off?

Gareth grabbed Warrick’s shirt and dragged him back. “Don’t go there, man. If we get started down this road here at the house, we’re never going to make it to Prio Gria.”

“Yes, I agree with Gareth,” Vili added. “Plus, now we get to shop for bikinis.”

Suddenly, everyone was on board with the idea of leaving in two days, and tomorrow we were going shopping.

Our flight was early in the morning. I mean, the sun wasn’t up early. Thankfully, none of the guys expected me to be alert or responsive, taking care of everything. Soon, Warrick wrapped me up in my blanket like a burrito and carried me out to the waiting limo. Nugget was already inside, curled up in a plush dog bed we’d gotten for him to sleep on in the plane. Waffles, my faithful shadow, hopped in after us and settled on the floor. He also had a bed, but it was probably in the trunk with the rest of the luggage.

“Why are we going so early? Don’t we tell the plane when to leave?” I asked, snuggled between Warrick and Vili.

Vili stroked his fingers through my hair, making it incredibly difficult to focus on his answer. “Time change, my kitten. We want all the time we can get.”

“You all filed for bonding leave, so no one is expecting any of us to communicate with the outside world for at least two weeks,” I mumbled. “Do you really think we’ll need a full month to get past the bonding bliss?”

Hearing the guys chuckle at my question, I cracked open an eye to look at them. The excitement and primal energy filling the limo had me perking up a bit. My Omega instincts told me that something was shifting in our dynamic, and my skin tingled with delight. I knew I was perfuming, but I wasn’t sure if they could smell it since I was wrapped up as snug as a bug in a rug.

Seconds later, Warrick and Vili started to purr, nuzzling their faces against my hair. I was in heaven engulfed in the spiciness of Warrick’s scent and the marshmallow sweetness of Vili.

“Kitten, they give month for a reason,” Vili whispered, nipping the tip of my ear. “It has nothing to do with Alphas, yet everything to do with Omegas’ needs.”