Globetrotter Ingrid gets a fabulous fresh start when her job takes her to Melbourne, Australia. Here she meets wise and sweet Oliver, who makes her forget she doesn't have a heart.
This successful stability prompts Ingrid to accept an invitation to...
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April, 2018
Ingrid rested her elbows on the edge of the infinity pool. The sci-fi high-rises of Singapore stabbed at the sunset-infused clouds as the soft orange glow mutated into shades of purple. Smiling, she closed her eyes and slid underwater.
She relished the quiet. The tranquillity that surged through her limbs as she floated, suspended in time and space, losing all sense of self and just... drifting.
Ingrid contemplated the darkening sky once she resurfaced and lay on her back in the water. Nothing obscured her view. Nothing disturbed her peace and an odd wave of power washed over her body.
She was, quite literally, on top of the world.
"Sky's the limit," Ingrid murmured to herself and glanced sideways when she heard splashing nearby.
"Enjoying the view?" Hitoshi asked.
Grinning, she let him drag her into his arms and clung onto him in the water, kissing him.
"Oh, I'm definitely enjoying something."
He chuckled in her mouth and took her lower lip between his teeth. His hand came round from the small of her back and slipped between her legs, teasing her through her bikini. One finger to begin with, then two, until they'd backed up into the wall of the pool and his fingertips pushed the fabric away.
His free hand grabbed onto the edge of the wall, her spine pressed against the glass. Ingrid liked that Hitoshi was such a straight-to-the-point kinda guy. No small talk or sweet nothings. Just pure, physical pleasure. Occasionally one-sided – such as their current chlorinated quickie – but he always made it up to her.
"One last dinner at the lounge?" he asked, buried deep inside of her.
Ingrid clamped down on him. "Take me somewhere fancy."
He grunted, pulling out and thrusting back in. "Fancier than the fanciest hotel in Singapore?"
She grazed his earlobe. "I'm sure you can think of something."
His hips picked up pace, harder, faster, deeper... hotter than the lukewarm water lapping at their bodies.
"All right," he conceded, out of breath and slack in her arms. "I'll make arrangements for something fancy." He pecked her forehead and pushed himself away. "Get ready. I'll swing by your room in an hour."
The dragon tattooed across the length of his back emerged from the water as Hitoshi walked up the steps leading out of the pool. It began with an angry growl on his left shoulder blade, coiled over his ribs, covered half of his sculpted bum, and ended with its tail wrapped around his right thigh. Too lifelike for comfort in its vivid blues, greens, reds, and yellows.
"I'm going to miss Singapore," Ingrid said, picking up her towel.
Hitoshi had already bundled up in a fluffy bathrobe. "Me, too."
