held out his arm and she slipped her hand through, laughing to herself about how absurd the evening had turned out. She wasn’t the girl who went on dates with strangers or disappeared with men and left her friends at a party. But nothing about the past month had gone according to plan, so she had nothing to lose.
“Do you like dancing?” Blake asked as they walked around the back of the crowd. He was leading her around the room, and she could feel eyes on them. Either because they were leaving too early or because of who he was. Or maybe she was just being overly sensitive and imagining it.
Dancing. When in her life hadn’t she loved dancing? “Sometimes.” If her leg didn’t hurt like hell when she tried to dance, she’d love to.
“I was hoping you were going to say no.”
Saffron laughed. This guy was hilarious. “It’s a no. For tonight, anyway.”
“Then why don’t we go back to my place?” He must have seen the hesitation written all over her face, because he stopped walking and stared down at her. “Sorry, that came out all wrong.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to...” Saffron actually didn’t know what she thought, but she wasn’t about to jump into bed with him. Maybe that’s what he was used to? She hoped she hadn’t read the situation wrong.
“I just meant that if we don’t want to dance and we’re bored here, it might be nice to just chill with a drink. Or we could find a nice quiet bar somewhere. It wasn’t supposed to sound like that.”
Saffy looked deep into his dark eyes, didn’t see a flicker of anything that alarmed her. “Why should I trust you?” she asked.
He cleared his throat. “United States Army Officer Blake Goldsmith,” Blake said, giving her a quick salute. “One of the only things I’m good at in life is keeping people safe, and that’s about the only good reason I can give you.”
She was more shocked that he was an officer than the fact he’d asked her back to his place so fast. “You’re in the army?”
“Was.” Blake grimaced. “So much for not talking about my work life, huh? But yeah, you can trust me.”
Saffron knew that just because he was a former officer didn’t make him trustworthy on its own, but she wasn’t actually worried about Blake. She felt as though she could take him at face value. What worried her was how he was making her feel, how desperate she suddenly was to know what it was like to meet a man and go home with him. Not that she could actually go through with a one-night stand, but the thought was making her tingle all over.
“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
