“So what do you say?” Blake asked. “I have a car waiting, so we can either jump in and head to my place or duck into a nearby bar.”
Saffron passed a number over and collected her coat, snuggling into it before they stepped out into the chilly night air. On the balcony she’d been so busy admiring the view that she’d hardly noticed it, but now she was feeling the cold.
“Yours,” she finally said. “It had better be warm, though.”
Blake was holding a black scarf, and he tucked it around her neck, his hand falling to her back as they walked. “I promise.”
She walked until he pointed out a black town car, and within seconds he was opening the door for her and ushering her inside.
“Tell me—how does a former soldier end up at a glitzy charity gala with a plush town car at his beck and call?” she asked, curious.
“Goldsmith Air,” Blake said, pulling the door shut as he slid in beside her, his thigh hard to hers. “Family business, one I tried to steer clear of but somehow ended up right in the thick of.”
Saffron knew what that felt like. “Sorry, I know we promised no work questions.”
They only seemed to travel for a few blocks before they were outside a pretty brick building that looked old but had been renovated and kept immaculate. A huge glass frontage showed off a contemporary-looking café inside, the lights still on but the signs pulled in. She guessed he lived upstairs.
“So this is your local coffee place?” Saffron asked.
“I wake up to the smell of their coffee brewing, and by eight I’ve usually ordered my second cup for the day.”
“They deliver to you?”
Blake gave her a guilty look before pushing the door open. “One of the perks of being landlord.”
She didn’t show her surprise. He was definitely not your average US Army veteran! Saffron stepped out and followed Blake as he signaled his driver to leave before taking her in through a locked security door that required him to punch a code in. They went in, and it locked behind them before he was punching in another code and ushering her into an elevator. Saffy admired the old-fashioned metal doors he pulled across, and within moments they were on the second floor.
“Wow.” They stepped out into one of the hugest loft-style apartments Saffron had ever seen. Interior brickwork was paired with high-gloss timber floors, a stainless steel industrial-type kitchen taking center stage. She had to fight to stop her jaw from hitting the floor.
“So this is home?” she asked.
Blake shrugged. “For now.”
He closed the door behind them and touched her shoulders, slipping her coat off and throwing it over the arm of a huge L-shaped sofa. Saffy spun around to ask him something and ended up almost against him. He must have moved forward, his arms instantly circling her, steadying her. She stared up at him, touched his arm, her fingers clasping over his tuxedo jacket as she became hypnotized by his stare.
Blake was handsome and strong and intriguing...all of the things that sparked her interest and made her want to run in the opposite direction but at the same time want to throw herself hard up against him.
“Are you okay?” he asked, the deep timbre of his voice sending a shiver down her spine.
Saffron nodded. “Uh-huh,” she managed, still not pulling away, not letting go.
Blake watched her back, his eyes never leaving hers, and just when she thought she was going to step back, his face suddenly moved closer to her, dangerously close. Saffron’s breath halted in her throat; her heart started to race. What was she even doing? In this man’s apartment? In his arms? She barely even knew his name!
“Can I kiss you?” he murmured, his whisper barely audible, his mouth so near.
Saffy felt herself nodding even though she knew she shouldn’t. But he clearly wasn’t going to ask her twice. Blake’s lips connected with hers, just a gentle, soft caress at first, his mouth warm to hers, unbearably gentle. She lifted her arms and tucked them around his neck as Blake deepened their kiss, his lips moving back and forth across hers as his hands skimmed down her back.
“I think we should get that drink,” he muttered, barely pulling his lips from hers.
“Me, too,” she whispered back. But her body had other ideas, pressed tight to him as he cupped her even tighter against him. Saffron had never been with a man she didn’t know, her only experience from the one relationship she’d had with a dancer she’d performed alongside. But right now she wanted Blake, and no amount of willpower was going to let her move away.
Blake’s groan was deep as he scooped her up, lifting her heels clean off the ground and walking her backward to the closest sofa. She only had a second to gaze up at him, a bare moment to wonder what the heck she was doing as he ripped off his tie and discarded it, staring down at her, his big body looming above.
And then he was covering her, his body over hers. Saffy lifted her mouth up to his, met his lips and hungrily kissed him back. She knew it was all types of wrong, but tonight she was going to be bad. If this was one of her last weekends in New York, then she was going to make the most of it. Her career might be over, but it didn’t mean her life had to be.
SAFFRON OPENED HER eyes and quickly closed them. She groaned and pulled the covers over her head. She’d never had firsthand experience with what to do the morning after, and nothing clever was springing to mind. What had she been thinking?
“Morning.”
She took a deep breath and slowly slipped the covers down, clutching them tight to her chest as she sat up. Blake was standing in the doorway, looking just as chiseled and sexy and gorgeous as he had the night before. No wonder she’d ended up in his bed. He crossed the room and sat on the bed beside her.
“Ah, morning,” she finally stammered, clearing her throat and trying to pull herself together. She didn’t usually lack in confidence, but then again she didn’t usually have to deal with handsome men so early in the morning. Saffron ran her tongue over her teeth, wishing she could have had ten minutes in the bathroom before having to face Blake.
“So I need to show you something,” he said, eyebrows drawn together as he leaned closer.
It was only then she realized he was holding an iPad. Curious, she reached for it.
“What is it?”
“You know how we didn’t want to talk about our personal lives or our work?”
Saffy nodded. She didn’t understand what he was trying to tell her. Until she looked at the screen.
“Oh,” she blurted.
“I think we probably should have had that conversation,” Blake muttered. “Maybe we could have taken a back exit and made sure no one saw us.”
Saffy kept hold of the covers with one hand and swiped through the photos with the other. There was Blake with his hand to her back, Blake laughing, her laughing with her head tipped back and her eyes locked on his, and there was them getting into his town car. Paired with headlines screaming that Blake was one of the city’s most eligible bachelors and naming her as one of ballet’s finest forgotten stars. The description stung.
She swallowed away the emotion in her throat, the familiar burn behind her eyes that always hit when she thought about her career. When she passed the iPad back and glanced up at Blake, she wished she