"Mum? I need your help," Saffron whispered into the phone. "Please don't hang up. It's important."

"Oh, GOD, sweetie! What is it? What? WHAT?! What d'you need from me NOW? Hmmmmm?!" Edina whined into the phone. Saffy knew the tone; her mother was nursing a severe hangover.

"WILL you stop screaming?" Saffron pleaded, desperately trying to keep her own voice as low as possible.

"Well, it's just… I mean, for God's SAKE, darling, you're always NEEDING things! You need HELP! You need SCHOOL! You need MONEY! You need CLOTHING! You need a ROOF over your bloody buggery head! You need FOOD! You NEED NEED NEED, SWEETIE!" Edina yelled. "I NEED THINGS, TOO! I NEED SUPPORT! I NEED LUXURY! I NEED FAME! I NEED…"

"... DETOX!" Saffron hissed. Quickly looking over her shoulder, she returned to her call. "Mum, I'm serious! I need your advice on something! Now!"

"Well then, what, sweetie? Hmmm?" Edina shifted to her semi-mocking 'caring' voice. "Tell Mamaaaa…"

Saff rolled her eyes, knowing her mother was only half-listening. And was probably downing the dregs of the last pinot noir in the house. She took a deep breath.

"I'm here in New York, I just woke up, I don't know where I am and there's a naked man beside me in bed."

There was a long pause.

"Naked man, sweetie?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure he's in the buff, darling?" Edina asked.

Saffron pulled up the bedsheet, glanced at the man's well-toned bare rear end, let the sheet fall and said, simply, "Yes."

"And… And you, sweetie darling? You? Are you all tits 'n' minge 'n' skin 'n'...?"

"Yes."

"Oh, HURRAH! WELL DONE, SWEETIE! WELL DONE!" Edina yelled triumphantly into the phone. "What's his name, darling? Does he have a name?"

"I don't REMEMBER!" Saff hissed through gritted teeth.

"It's not tattooed anywhere on him? Did you look? Did you have a look at him? Turn him over and see if he's branded? They'll ink ya in every nook and cranny now, sweetie, believe me..."

"I'm not checking out his… nooks or crannies!" Saff hissed again.

"Sounds like you already did, sweetie," Edina countered, sounding all too proud.

"Oh, SHUT UP!" Saffron snapped.

For a second, Saffron considered taking her mother's advice. Her bedmate was clearly in a deep sleep, dead to the world. But then she came back to reality and continued, "That's why I RUNG, Mum! So you could tell me how to HANDLE this!"

There was another long pause.

"PATS!" Edina yelled, shaking the last drop of pinot into her wine glass by the rumpled bed. "PHONE'S FOR YOU, SWEETIE DARLING!"

Saffron carefully inched away toward the edge of the bed as the man beside her mumbled something in his sleep.

Patsy. She was about to take advice from Patsy. The idea made her vaguely nauseous.

"Right." Patsy's clipped voice came on the line. "Strange city?"

"Yes."

"Strange bed?"

"Yes."

"Strange naked man?"

"Yes."

"Is he fabulous?"

Saffron's bedmate shifted with a deep groan, turned onto his side toward her and, still apparently unconscious, flung a muscled arm possessively over her, pulling her back against him.

"Yes," Saffy sighed, giving in to the comforting warmth of the man's body.

"Go for it," Patsy sniffed, hanging up.

Saffron took a deep breath, hung up on her end and closed her eyes. She'd never had a hangover before, but now she understood how her mother felt after a night's binge. Her head was pounding and all she wanted was to go back to sleep, which was impossible. And to top it all off, she was listening to Patsy. Patsy!

The man's soft, steady breathing and the feel of his skin against hers sent shivers of desire through Saff. Yes, she was nervous but she wasn't scared. And it was nice, being held and... wanted.

Lime. Lime and spice. The scent enveloped her. She took it in, liking the way it tickled her nose and throat.

Oriental Jade.

Strange how she could recall that bit of information and nothing else.

But as the first light of dawn broke, the man's name - and so much more about the previous day (and night) slowly came back to Saffron.