Page 92 of Packed Up In Vegas

“Why don’t we take a break and discuss?” I offered. “We could float in the pool for a bit and see what ideas we come up with.”

“Might as well make use of the pool while we still have it.” Amir sighed.

We broke apart to get changed and reconvened in the courtyard, rinsing off beneath the deck shower before slipping into the water. Miles passed me one of the numerous floats and I clung onto it, lazily swishing my feet.

“Do you think we could do anything to get them to release the contracts without a buyout?” I asked.

“It’s hard to say,” replied Miles. “Plenty of people have left over time. Most just finish out their contract, but a few left early. They’re just going to be reluctant because the last heat was the most lucrative the company has ever had with that bonding.”

I perked up. Maybe the solution was staring us in the face.

“What if we gave them another one just like that?”

All four of them stared at me.

“My next heat was due in about two months when I was given the serum. I’m not sure if it throws off the schedule, but it’s not like management would have to wait a year to get us back on stage. They want you to keep performing. If I offered to do another heat, then you would be able to, and Diego already said he wanted to bond me in the next heat.”

I watched each of them process the suggestion.

“Anecdotally, the serum only pushes back an omega’s regular heat cycle about a week, so you’d still be due in a bit over a month,” Miles told me. “Do you actually want to do another performance?”

“I…I don’t really know. I had fun with the last one, and it would be less chaotic if we did another.”

“A natural heat could be more intense.” Amir’s gaze was hot on me and I was grateful for the pool so I could get out my nervous energy with fidgeting he wouldn’t notice. “You’ve never had one when you’ve been around alphas beforehand and the serum doesn’t trigger it to the same degree.”

I squeaked, warmth suffusing me when I forced my gaze to match his. “How could it be more intense?”

Diego floated up behind me, pulling me against his chest, my nerves buzzing at his nearness. “You’ll definitely find out. Your preheat phase will probably be a bit wild now that you have a bonded alpha, plus the rest of us in the house.” His lips on my ear had me perfuming, my whole body tightening.

“We would be prepared for everything this time,” Miles pointed out, and I struggled to pay attention to his words while Diego nipped along my shoulder. “You wouldn’t get bonded out of the blue again.”

Diego licked over the curve of my throat. “You want me to bond you in public?”

“You’re making it so hard to think.”

“That doesn’t answer my question, precious.”

“Do you want to bond me in public?”

His purr rumbled against my skin. “Do I want to claim you in front of everyone, put my mark on your skin, and show the world you’re mine? Hmm, let me think really hard about it.”

Diego bit right on the spot he’d told me he wanted to mark me when he and Kai’d had me stretched across the kitchen island. My brain turned into pure mush, my head tipping back to rest on his shoulder as his hands swept up my body. I wanted to have the same connection with him that I did with Kai, to feel all that desire of his pounding through me alongside my own.

“We’re supposed to be discussing, not fucking.” Amir whacked Diego with one of the pool noodles. “Let her have a clear head for this.”

“Fine,” Diego sighed, but he still didn’t let go of me.

“To clarify,” said Amir, “do you want to be bonded in public, or are you only offering this because you want to get us out of our contracts?”

“Um, I mean, obviously everything would be more comfortable in private, but once the heat hit onstage, I forgot to be nervous. If you all want to, I’ll do it. I might be suggesting it to get us out of a desperate situation, but I did that once and I can do it again. At least this time I know all of you and what to expect.”

Diego purred quietly, the sweetness of the sound settling my worries.

“What do you expect from me?” Amir asked.

“I know you’re not ready to bond. I’d never ask you to do that before you want to, let alone to get out of your contract.”

He lapsed into thoughtful silence, staring at me with heat again. I felt his gaze like the blistering rays of the desert sun, sliding over my skin, ready to burn me if I let it touch me too long.

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