Page 79 of Endgame

‘My pleasure. I will bake you fresh cookies for dessert,’ she offers kindly.

‘You BAKE cookies?!?’ Lara whips round. ‘Babe, I want your life,’ she complains, picking up my fork and tucking into my crab salad.

She is on her third mouthful when her phone vibrates.

‘NOOOOO!’ she screams, almost knocking the crab salad and our drinks over.

‘What?’

‘I got a job! I just got an email from DMVI. I smashed the interview Dominic set up for me. They have offered me a job!’

‘What is it?’

‘I’m the experience director of your charity app thing.’

‘What is that?’

‘We talked about it on the plane. I’ll be going to see the “loadeds” to make sure the offerings on the app are actually relevant and luxurious enough for them to use; then I’ll be beating suppliers over the head to provide it. While trialling the experiences first, of course.’ Lara leans back and kicks her legs in the air, laughing and relishing the excitement.

‘Ooooh, let’s see how much it’s paying,’ she goes on as she grabs her phone. ‘Ugh.’ She frowns and shows me.

‘Lara! That’s an incredible salary.’

‘Yes, but no bonus, no housekeeper and driver. And I only get an apartment allowance. I want a fancy penthouse. This sucks. I’m going to negotiate.’

And that’s what she does, the following day. By the time she is done, Lara has got her bonus, apartment – and a pay rise before she has even started. Lara Scott has finally found a home in Singapore, and I couldn’t be more pleased for her.

EIGHTEEN

CALEB

The second the door to Ariella’s home opens, she jumps on me, forcing me to drop my travel duffel where I stand. Her lips find mine as she anchors her thighs to my hips and crosses her ankles behind me.

As I support her bum in my hands, it occurs to me that this is the first time I’ve ever returned home to my girlfriend after a trip.

‘Can I at least get inside the house?’ I laugh into our kiss.

‘No.’ She shakes her head as she beams before re-engaging our lips.

With her attached to me, I awkwardly kick the bag into the house with my foot before using it to slam the front door shut.

‘You’ve been cooking.’

‘The results were terrible but it’s a start.’

I somehow doubt that. ‘Where am I taking you?’

‘The shower. You just got off a thirteen-hour flight.’

‘Risky. But I like it.’

For someone who didn’t just get off a thirteen-hour flight, she is particularly keen to get in too.

We do our best to wash each other without getting too carried away, which, with Aari’s enthusiasm to stay close, is challenging.

I will never tire of tossing Ariella on a bed, spreading her legs and burying my head between them. It’s not just the way she tastes – which is, quite frankly, delicious – it’s the hands in my hair, the nails on my shoulders and back…It’s her total submission and vulnerability. Until she realises that she is about to tip over and stops us to bring me along. She deftly brings my mouth to hers, flips us over, situates herself on top and lets me sink into her before interlocking our fingers. I love supporting her weight in my hands as I watch her use her body to edge me closer to her. From here, I get to appreciate her beautiful face, her parted perfect lips, her elegant neck, soft full breasts with her hard, beaded nipples, that shapely waist and the way she employs the muscles in her legs and stomach to create motion for both of us.

‘Caleb…’ she moans.

---