Tony squinted at the wood stack in the fireplace. With care, he lit a long match and got a small flame going. Once it found the wood, it bloomed into a pleasingly crackling fire. Gently blowing out the match, Tony looked over to where Saffron stood in the kitchen.

"Mmmm! That cocoa smells fantastic!" he said.

Saff looked over her shoulder towards him, a wry grin playing at the corner of her mouth.

"My special recipe," she told him, raising an eyebrow.

"What makes it so special, 'ey?" Tony asked.

"If I told you that," Saffron teased, "it wouldn't be as special, now, would it?"

Tony sighed.

"I never knew 'ot choc'late was so mysterious!"

Tony rose from where he'd been sitting on the edge of the fireplace and joined Saff in the small kitchen. He took the mugs of hot cocoa from her and followed as she made her way back to an area rug in front of her sofa. Sitting down on the floor, back to the couch, she reached up and took the mugs from Tony. He dropped down beside her.

"A toast!" Tony proposed, raising his mug.

"To …?" Saffy asked, raising hers in salute.

"The miracle of Christmas shopping!" he said jubilantly, a rich smile crossing his handsome face.

"And all the joys that come with it," Saffron added, not just a bit suggestively.

They gently clinked their mugs together, laughing.

But both were still thinking back to the kiss they'd shared earlier. Getting to Saff's flat from the store had been a somewhat awkwardly silent trip. Neither seemed sure of what to say to the other.

Tony sipped at his cocoa, eyes on the dancing flames licking the wood in the fireplace. He knew Saffron was watching him, that keen stare of hers seeing straight through to his depths, and he felt nervous with anticipation.

Something was in the offing this night. The tension between them was palpable; one way or another, it had to give.

Saff slowly traced the rim of her mug with her index finger. She finally had to tear her eyes from Tony, who looked so handsome staring into the fire.

"Did you…" she began hesitantly, as if afraid to break the silence between them, "... find everything you wanted tonight? At the store?"

Tony grinned at her.

"I think so," he said, taking a quick sip of cocoa. "'Anded me list to Father Christmas and he 'anded it back and told me 'e'd need cash first before 'e'd set the elves to it."

Saffron, who'd been downing some cocoa herself, laughed into her mug. She had to catch herself to keep from coughing.

"Are you ever serious?" she asked, still laughing.

Tony looked into the fire again before fixing his brown eyes squarely on Saffy.

"Yes," he said, "about some things."

The mood of the conversation abruptly changed.

"Such as?"

Tony thought for a moment.

"My family. My friends. All that." Then, Tony being Tony, he added, "This cocoa."

Saff put down her mug and, settling down to the floor, turned on her side to study Tony. He took another nervous sip of cocoa when she didn't laugh at his little joke. The time for them teasing one another was clearly over.

"Anything else?" she asked, her voice soft and suggestive.

Tony swallowed hard, fighting for breath.

"I care about my best friend," he said, nearly whispering. "That girl means everything to me."

Saffron's eyes were searing through him now. Without even looking at her, he could feel the heat of that steady, all-seeing gaze of hers.

Draining the last of his cocoa, Tony set the mug aside on a table beside the couch. Saff handed him her own mug and he carefully placed it there, too.

Dropping down to the rug, Tony mirrored Saffy's pose and the two of them lay quietly for what felt like an eternity, just looking into each other's eyes. Neither spoke. The light from the fire cast alternating light and shadows into the room and onto their faces.

Then Tony leaned towards Saffron, who responded in kind. They shifted positions on the rug, pressing closer to one another. His breath mingled with hers as their lips met.

This time there was nothing tentative about their kiss; it was all heat and pent-up passion. Tony's tongue sought Saff's and he moaned deeply as she caressed his temple, her fingers gently playing at his cheek. Now they broke the kiss before starting anew from a different angle, tongues still eagerly exploring and battling for dominance.

Saffy tugged at the buttons of Tony's red flannel shirt, desperate not to stop kissing him as her fingers worked.

At length, Tony shrugged off the shirt, revealing his smooth chest and stomach. Saffron let her hands caress his chest before she brought her lips down to plant kisses across the surprisingly soft skin. Then she pushed him backwards, gently, onto the rug.

"Saffron…" he groaned, his breath harsh.

She continued kissing and, now, caressing the hollow of his neck with her tongue, as her left hand gently began to glide down his stomach to his groin. Through his worn blue jeans, she could once again feel just how much he wanted her. And she'd been a bit more than impressed earlier when he'd gotten so visibly aroused after their kiss.

"Stay with me, Tony," she whispered. Her fingers worked to unbuckle his belt. Next, she started on his zipper.

Tony let his head rest back on the area rug, a deep moan coming from his chest.

"Yes," he told her, his voice strained. Trying to control his body was a losing fight, he realized, so he gave in completely to everything Saff was doing to entice him.

She relished the thought of him taking her right then and there.

Making love on a thick rug in front of a roaring fire. It was the stuff of the cheesy romance novels her mother devoured, but now that it was happening with Tony, she found it undeniably sexy and arousing.

The sound of banging on the door, however, wasn't such a turn-on.