Page 35 of Conner

“Let’s get back in there. Do you want a drink?”

“Yeah, that’d be nice,” she said, not really wanting to go back in, but she did need to get some actual work done at the event tonight.

They made their way back in, and Conner went over to the bar. That gave her a moment to come back to herself. She needed to be taking pictures of tonight's event.

She watched Conner walk to the bar to get them a drink. The draw she felt to him was amplified one hundred percent. She always felt a pull to him, but it had never felt like it did tonight. She couldn't fight this, and she didn't want to, and he had just made it clear he didn't want too either.

She picked up her phone to get some pictures of the boys. The magic of this night needed to be captured. There was a photographer there and she knew she could get their pictures after, but she wanted some of her own.

As she pulled up her phone and once again saw the notifications were crazy. All the posts about the gala looked like they were being spammed. She checked them and her heart stopped. It was that same account. She could block that account for this, but then she saw some of the comments. They were talking about things that you would have to be at the gala to know. The comments mention the decor, the DJ, the auction. Her heart was pounding in her chest.

She checked the DM's and then the walls started to close in on her.

You are a vision in red, Sasha

- P

He was here. Not only had he found her, but he was here. He had been in Illinois with her and now he was here in New York. She needed to get out of here. She grabbed her clutch and her phone and took off down the hallway. She wasn't going to make it, and even if she did would she just lead him back to her house? She didn't know what to do, so she just opened the first door she could find. It was a storage room, but at least in here she knew she wasn't being watched. Her back hit the wall and she slid down and crumpled on the floor, tears streaming down her face.

21

Conner

Conner looked for Sasha after he grabbed them drinks. He had decided to stop fighting his feelings for her, and man, once he gave himself permission, it had hit him like a Mac truck. He was in love with Sasha Maloof. He didn't know when it had happened, it may have even been love at first sight. He remembered everything about the first time he saw her sitting on that bench. That would also explain the level of emotion he felt when he was around her. He just confused that emotion for anger and a million other things. While there was lust, there was also something else, something deeper. He knew that now and he couldn't wait to get her back into his arms.

He continued scanning the room but couldn’t find her. And he would be able to spot her in that red dress in a room of a million people. She was a beacon to him. Only right now he didn't see her.

“Are ye lookin' for someone, lad?” asked Bridget, who appeared out of nowhere.

“I am. I can't seem to find her,” he said, his eyes still scanning the room.

“Are you looking for the beauty in the red dress you were dancin' with?”

“I am. Have you seen her?” he asked, turning towards her.

“Aye, I saw her a few moments ago slipping away down that hallway. She seemed upset, the poor thing.”

“Thanks, here,” he said, giving the woman the drinks as he made his way down the hallway. If Sasha was upset, he was going to find her and make whatever upset her right.

He looked around but he didn't see her. He set off further down the hallway to find her. The further he got away the quieter it got, the music from the dance floor getting further away. Then he heard it. It sounded like someone was crying behind the door next to him.

As he opened the door he heard her, sniffling somewhere in the storeroom.

“Sasha?”

“Conner?” she whimpered back to him.

He turned and saw her tear-stained face. Her red sparkling dress pooled around her on the floor. He rushed over to her.

“Sasha, what's the matter?” he asked as he pulled her into his arms.

She clung to him and cried. It broke his heart. What had happened to make her this upset? He needed to make it right. He held her close and rubbed her back as she cried on his shoulder.

“What happened?”

“Conner, I'm so scared,” is all she managed to get out.

He held her tighter. Scared? What the fuck? “Sasha, you’re safe. I'm not going to let anything happen to you.”

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