Drawn to You

Dedication

for all the angels craving chaos

Acknowledgements

Most of all, thank you to my family for putting up with my crazy writing antics and for giving me the courage to embark on this adventure. I couldn’t have done it without your belief in me. Thank you to my editors for always being there when I had questions and for helping me make my dream a reality. Thank you to my uncle, without whom none of this would have been possible. Thank you to my two amazing best friends for always listening to me babble about story plot when I got stuck. And thank you to the folks at the local print shop, who made it easy for me to print the many hundreds of pages that it took for me to do the initial editing the old–fashioned way.

Part One

One

She could feel his hands slowly sliding up her leg, her breath getting shorter as he got higher up. He was staring at her with his intense blue eyes, his hunger there. She had longed to be a part of him for so long, but nothing could have prepared her for how good this felt. He lowered his mouth onto hers, kissing his way down her chest, stomach, hips, and finally finding the wetness that lay between her legs. She let a moan escape her lips. Oh, baby, I need you.…

A jostle from the plane stirred her awake. She looked around at the other passengers, and they were all staring at her. Hoping against all odds that she had not moaned out loud, she smiled a little and went back to reading her romance novel. She had just gotten to the part where the man in the story had gotten down on one knee, professing his love for the woman. No wonder she’d fallen asleep. Curse you, melodrama, she thought. Giving her dreams that would never be a reality.

The pilot’s voice came over the intercom. Please ensure that your seatbelts are fastened as we begin our descent into Seattle.

This was Sarah’s first time in Seattle, and she was not going to let something like public moaning get in the way of her excitement. She could feel the plane tip and turn as it began to go lower and lower. The landing always made her nervous, but this pilot landed with ease.

As the plane taxied, she pulled out her phone and turned it on. It dinged three times, with one message from her boss and two from her best friend, Rachel.

Sarah, please notify me when you land in Seattle. Your reservation is at the Hilton on 6th Ave., and you need to be at the conference room for your first round of training promptly by 5:00 p.m. Thank you.

Mandy Jones

Sarah checked her phone. It read 2:45 p.m. Perfect. She loved to be prompt, and she had plenty of time to go to the hotel and get ready. She wrote a quick reply, stating that she had landed and would notify Mandy when she was finished with the training conference.

The messages from Rachel were much less formal.

hey skank, call me when u get in. stay safe!

The second one read:

screw that, don’t b safe. Go get some Seattle ass!

This made Sarah laugh out loud. Again, she received stares from the passengers around her. These people probably thought she was nuts. Good thing she would never have to see them again.

Once the plane pulled into the gate, everyone unbuckled and stood up. Sarah never understood why people wanted to just stand there waiting to get off the plane. She pulled her purse onto her lap before putting her book and phone away. She had one bag in the overhead bin to get before deplaning. Always travel light, her mother used to say.

Twenty minutes later, after a short drive in relatively light traffic, the cab pulled up in front of the Hilton Seattle. Sarah had never been to such a big city before. She paid the cabbie and got out, making sure to grab her bag from the trunk. She stood on the curb, staring up at the hotel, and turned to take in the panoramic view of the city’s skyscrapers. Only the buzzing alarm of her phone jolted her from her momentary trip into heaven. She left the bustle of the city behind her as she entered the hotel.

As she checked in, she was only vaguely listening to the front–desk clerk explain to her where the gym was (like she was going to use that) and the different dining rooms. Her focus was drawn to her surroundings as she stared in awe at the high ceilings. Chandeliers hung low, creating a calming ambiance, assisted by an expansive art collection that adorned the walls. Something about a meeting room pulled her back to reality. Grabbing her room keycard from the counter, she thanked the receptionist before heading to the elevator.

Sarah pressed the number 24 as she got into the elevator. Right before the doors closed, a hand appeared. She was too busy mentally preparing for the meeting to look up. The man mumbled thanks as the door closed behind him.

Twenty–four? Are you here for the advertising conference?

The voice pulled her to look up to the iciest blue eyes she had ever seen, and yet she felt as though she had seen them before.

Realizing she had been staring at him and that he was waiting for an answer, she replied, Yeah, are you?

He nodded as the elevator continued to rise, quickly reaching their floor. Like a gentleman, he stepped back to allow her to exit first as the elevator doors opened.

Enjoy your stay in my city, he said to her back as they walked in opposite directions toward their rooms.

She mumbled thanks, confused as to how this was his city and much too distracted by those blue eyes to say anything else. She stood at her door, trying to find the slot to put the keycard into, before realizing she only had to hold it over the scanner to open the door. Glancing down the hallway in the direction the man had gone, she was embarrassed to find him staring at her with a half–smile on his face. Cheeks flushed, she opened the door, entered, and shut it behind her.

She decided to text Rachel.

hey bitch, just got to the hotel. Had a weird thing happen 2 me. Cant wait 2 tell u all about it. I’ll call after the meeting. Ttyl!

Sarah unpacked her bag completely, which she did religiously every time she went somewhere, regardless of how long she was staying. Making sure everything had a place. Her friends called it OCD, but Sarah always thought of herself as merely extremely organized. She walked past the mirror and looked at herself. She was average in all the ways that seemed to matter to men: average height and weight, looks that certainly couldn’t kill, or even maim. She reached up to put a loose fly–away behind her ear. Her brown hair was never doing what she wanted it to and always looked frizzy to her. Her green eyes were the only thing that set her apart from most people she knew. One look, and she could convey a hundred emotions, or so her mother used to say. A glance at the clock told her she only had a little over an hour before her meeting, and she began to panic slightly. She needed to get ready and get back to the correct floor for the conference.

Forty–five minutes later, she was showered, dressed, adorned with a touch of makeup, and ready to head out the door. The woman that appeared in the mirror this time was one she didn’t see very often. Instead of the messy bun that usually sat on top of her head, her brown hair was kissing her shoulders and curled to perfection. She had on a pearl necklace that her mother had given her when she was a little girl. Unused to wearing heels, she awkwardly walked around the hotel room in the one pair of them she owned. A last look in the mirror told her she was ready to go. She gave herself a mental high five and walked out the door.

Distracted on her short walk to the elevator, she stowed her keycard in her clutch and was therefore surprised when she looked up to see the handsome stranger waiting for the elevator. She thought about turning back and just waiting for the next one, but before she could make up her mind, he looked up, and she saw those blue eyes that stunned her into silence once more. He nodded politely, a gesture she returned. She needed to focus on the upcoming conference; she didn’t have time to imagine shenanigans in elevators with sultry men. She looked straight ahead, eager to get the ride over with.

To get her mind off him, she mentally ran through the list of guest speakers in her head. Her advertising firm had sent her to this conference to learn more about strategic techniques in advertising, and she was excited to hear all the upcoming presentations.

The elevator stopped, and once again, he stood aside to allow her out first.

Enjoy your conference, he said.

When he smiled, she felt those eyes pouring into hers. She mumbled her thanks as she exited the elevator and headed to the conference room. She noticed that she happened to be walking in stride with him, but before she could think about how natural it felt to do so, she found herself walking into a huge room. The ceiling was low, with little low–hanging chandeliers set in a pattern. The carpet was a mix of blue and red, with doors on every wall. She turned to say something to her friend from the elevator, only to find that he had gone off to talk to some older members of the committee. Chairs were set up theater–style, with an aisle down the middle, all facing a set of large banquet tables with a podium in the middle. Right inside the conference room door was a table with a chipper–looking lady sitting behind it. When Sarah gave her name for check–in, the woman handed her a name tag with her name and hometown on it.

The lady behind the desk took one look at Sarah and said, I would recognize those small–town looks anywhere. We’ve never had anyone from Missouri here before.

Sarah adjusted her outfit, feeling slightly self–conscious, for she’d tried very hard to dress up and look nice. However, the lady smiled, and Sarah realized she was being teased.

She laughed nervously and replied, I’m excited to be here.

She walked away with her name tag attached to her, along with the packet of information the woman had handed her, and went to find a seat.

Sarah sat and watched as the room filled up. People came in at different volumes, some quiet and alone, and others loud, with groups of people. She enjoyed watching people, wondering where they were from and enjoying trying to guess what types of lives they had that had brought them here.

Every so often, her eyes would wander to the man from the elevator. He was stunningly handsome, older than she was, perhaps by ten years. He was definitely taller than she was and muscularly built in the shoulders and chest, but not huge. He had dark blond hair that was slightly reddish. And he had a nicely trimmed Van Dyke goatee that made his lips all the more appealing. She could tell there was a lot behind his demeanor in the way he carried himself. He was laughing and politely nodding. Occasionally, he would look around and meet her eye, but he looked away almost as soon as he caught it. Without realizing it, she found herself dreaming about what it might feel like if he were kissing her…. Whoa, Sarah, rein yourself in, girl. You’re here for one thing, and that’s to absorb the knowledge in the room. Snap out of it! She swore silently to herself and promised that with one last look, she wouldn’t focus on him for the rest of the conference.

Her decision proved hard to stick to when, a minute later, he approached the podium and asked everyone to find a seat. Just her luck. And why was he standing up there at the podium? Could he be one of the guest speakers? She gazed down at the front page of her packet, searching through the names, wondering which one was his. She looked up to find him sitting down at the banquet table, chatting with the lady on his left.

Within a few minutes, everyone was seated. An elderly gentleman stood, greeted everyone, then proceeded to introduce each speaker. He introduced Jace Williams, and the man from the elevator stood up, smiled, gave a half wave, and sat back down. So there was the answer to her question.

Each speaker presented the different ways their industry used ad sales reps and what they looked for in a representative.

Finally, it was Jace’s turn to speak. Sarah found herself trying very hard to focus on what he was saying. He was a lawyer who had gone to Harvard Law and received his bachelor’s degree from Duke. After being told for a long time that they weren’t allowed to advertise, his firm had recently started hiring advertising reps. At some point, she lost track of what he was saying. She looked at his eyes and couldn’t look away. Suddenly, it hit her. Her fantasy on the plane! Those were the eyes she had dreamed about. But that wasn’t possible. It couldn’t be.

Two

The sound of polite applause pulled Sarah from her reverie, and she realized that Jace was done talking. Now that she could focus, Sarah was impressed by the array of speakers. There were car dealers, bankers, magazine editors, and many others. Sarah, who wasn’t sure which type of advertising she wanted to get into, listened attentively. Her firm in Jefferson City wasn’t even what you would call a firm. It was just her, Rachel, and Mandy, all in one cramped office building, working on doing the advertising for as many of the businesses in town as they had been able to attract. They were hoping to expand.

She took notes in all the right places and avoided looking at Jace during most of the talks. To her surprise, when the last person stood up to speak, she glanced in his direction, only to find him staring at her. He didn’t look away this time. He was staring at her for so long that she was starting to wonder if people would notice. She felt her world slipping away, and everyone else in the room disappeared. The drone of the older man’s voice diminished into background noise. Sarah bit down on her lower lip without realizing it and watched as his stare changed from one of innocent curiosity into one of hunger. She held his gaze for a moment longer before she realized that the people around her were standing up, and that everyone had been dismissed. Sarah could no longer see Jace through the standing crowd bustling around her, so she gathered her things and headed self–consciously toward the elevator.

As the elevator took its time arriving, Sarah pulled her phone out while waiting and turned it on. There were four messages: one from her younger sister, Chloe, and three from Rachel. Hoping that Chloe was doing all right, she checked that one first.

hope things r going well in the Emerald City. Missing u. call when u can

Sarah made a mental note to call her as soon as she could. Chloe had been going through a rough time since their mom had passed away two years before. Sarah was older than Chloe by eight years, making Chloe twenty–two, now, and just starting out. Unfortunately for Chloe, that meant a lot of mistakes as well.

The messages from Rachel were much more upbeat, per the usual.

hey skank. Something weird? What does that mean? I look forward 2 hearing more

I hope ur not getting laid right now while I sit here waiting for u 2 call

jk skank. Call me when ur done with the training

The last one made Sarah smile and roll her eyes. Rachel didn’t believe in relationships—mostly because the only one she’d ever had was with a guy who’d broken up with her on Valentine’s Day the previous year. Rachel hadn’t been the same since. Now she just slept around, avoiding emotional relationships and encouraging everyone else to do the same.

She looked up from her phone to find the elevator doors open and people waiting for her to get on. Blushing slightly, she got on, pushed 24 once more, and rode up in silence. When she got off at her floor and opened her door, she realized with slight disappointment that she hadn’t seen Jace this time. Her door shut behind her, and she gratefully kicked off her heels and undressed.

Suddenly, just after she’d pulled off her pants, there was a knock at the door. She froze. She didn’t want to answer wearing her underwear, but who would be knocking on her door this late? She threw on a robe from the bathroom and answered the door. A member of the hotel staff had a tray of food that he rolled into the room.

I didn’t order anything she said.

He looked at her and said, This was ordered by phone and paid for. Enjoy your dinner, Miss.

She said thank you and let the door close behind him. She looked at the many covered plates on the food cart and realized that she was hungry. She put on her pajamas and called Rachel.

There you are, finally!

Here I am.

So, tell me everything!

Sarah could practically hear the junk food sitting in Rachel’s lap as she geared up to talk to her friend.

Well, Sarah began, I was in the elevator and I noticed this hot guy. But the weird part was that I felt like I had seen him before. And then I remembered where I had seen him. In the sex dream that I had when I fell asleep on the plane.

What?!? Sarah could hear Rachel munching on what she could only assume were some kind of chips. You had a mile–high sex dream?! Ooh. Sounds delicious. Tell me about Dream Guy.

There isn’t much more to tell. We rode the elevator together a couple of times and made some eye contact at the conference. It sounded really lame now that Sarah heard herself say it out loud.

Wow, eye contact? Slow down there, tiger. What are you eating?

Sarah had just picked up the cover from one of the plates and was delightedly indulging in some sushi.

Sushi, from a tray that someone sent to my room. It’s delicious.

Eating food from someone you don’t know? How risqué. And so unlike you. I wonder who sent it to you.

Yeah, me too. But they didn’t leave a note or anything. I figure it’s from Mandy or something.

She would never be so frivolous.

And the Mandy–bashing had begun. Sarah and Mandy always got along, because Sarah did whatever Mandy asked without much pushback. But not Rachel. Hence, Sarah was here and Rachel wasn’t. They had both started working for Mandy at the same time, but Mandy always claimed that Rachel didn’t apply herself enough. Rachel and Mandy just never saw eye to eye.

Sarah lay back in the chair in her room and helped herself to more sushi, followed by some fruit and some chocolate mousse for dessert. Talking and laughing with Rachel was one of her favorite pastimes, so it was with a heavy heart that Sarah geared up to say goodnight.

Once she hung up, she found herself staring at the cart of food. If Mandy hadn’t sent it to her, then who had? She looked at the clock. It was late, and she knew she’d better head off to bed. The jet lag had begun to set in, and it suddenly occurred to her how tired she was. After settling into the big, cozy hotel bed, Sarah sent a text to her sister, telling her that she would call the next day. Before closing her eyes, she thought of her schedule for the following day. But right before she fell asleep, she thought of Jace and his blue eyes staring at her across the meeting room.

* * * * *

He had her pressed up against the elevator wall, his mouth inches from hers. His warm breath making her tremble for more. She longed to kiss him, but the intense look in his eyes told her to wait. His hands were on the wall on either side of her head. She bit her lip, which made him groan with longing. His hands grabbed her around the waist, pulling her into him. She could feel the hardness of what she was doing to him. She eagerly began kissing him, letting her hands travel to the hem of his untucked shirt. She found the skin on his back and ran her nails up and down, digging in as he sucked on her lower lip. He pulled away for a second so he could kiss her cheek, ear, down to her neck. He found her weak spot there, making her nails dig so hard into his back that she could feel herself drawing blood. He knew he had her, he knew she would allow him to take her. He sank his teeth into her neck, and she felt her body tremble with the most intense pleasure she had ever felt. Oh, Jace….

* * * * *

Whoever or whatever had woken her up from that dream would need to be destroyed. She lay there for a moment, trying to go back to sleep so she could continue the fantasy. She could feel, in her underwear, how real the fantasy had felt, and she would give anything to finish it. She realized that the culprit of rude awakening was her alarm.

As she showered, she tried to reconjure the fantasy and thought that maybe if she touched herself in the right way, she could enjoy a few moments of bliss.

No such luck. A knock rang through the room.

One minute! she yelled.

It always happened at the most inopportune times. She was finished washing, anyway, so she got out and once again put on her robe to answer the door.

The same hotel employee from last night said, before she could open her mouth, It was ordered this morning and paid for as well. Enjoy.

He rolled a second cart of food into her room and took the first cart away. When the door closed, Sarah removed the cover from one of the plates to find eggs and sausage links. She removed the next one to find pancakes. She removed the next one to find an omelet and fruit. But who had sent her this feast?

Half an hour later, she was dressed and full of all the delicious items from the cart she had been able to fit into her stomach. She shot a text to her sister, saying she would call her later that evening. She felt bad about putting her sister off and silently hoped she was all right. Pushing her guilt aside, Sarah gathered her things and headed out the door.

Jace was there again when she went out into the hallway. Seeing him standing there waiting for the elevator wouldn’t have been so bad, but this time, all she could think about was her dream from the night before—what it would feel like to kiss him and slide her hands under the dark blue, button–down shirt that he’d been wearing…. She was beginning to wish she’d been able to take care of herself that morning in the shower.

As she approached, they smiled politely at one another and silently waited for the elevator. When it arrived, the doors opened to reveal a few of the people she recognized from the conference already on their way down. Slightly disappointed that they wouldn’t be alone, she stepped on ahead of him and rode down with everyone else to the conference room floor.

The group from the elevator dispersed to find their seats. The same older gentleman called everyone to attention, but this morning, different people occupied the chairs at the banquet table. Jace was a member of the audience, now, as were the other speakers from last night. Hours passed, and Sarah took avid notes the entire time.

They took a break for lunch. Sarah grabbed a sandwich with a side of chips and fruit and sat down in her chair. She was shocked when Jace sat down next to her. Hoping she didn’t have food in her teeth or anything else embarrassing, she smiled at him, waiting for him to speak. It took him a moment. He seemed to be gathering his words.

Have a drink with me.

Her smile got bigger. Are you asking me? Or telling me?

She gave him one of her looks, the one that her mother always said could speak a thousand words. She was not normally this forward with men, but something about him made her feel comfortable enough to be coy.

Asking you, of course. Will you meet me for a drink in the Redtrees Bar tonight at 9:00? Please? he added, for good measure.

I’ll have to think about it.

He nodded and stood to walk away.

Yes, I’ll see you then, she said.

She swore she saw him smile as he continued to walk away.

Three

The conference wrapped up about 6:00 p.m. As Sarah headed back to her room, she began to wonder what she and Jace would talk about. With his Ivy League schooling and his career being what it was, he was obviously a very intelligent man. What would she be able to discuss with him that would hold his interest? She didn’t have much time to worry about it. She found herself back at her room with the door closing behind her before she even realized she had gotten there.

Pushing away her concerns, she picked up the phone to call Chloe. Her sister answered on the second ring.

Hey, sis.

Hey, how are you doing? Sarah always dreaded asking her sister this question, because more often than not, the answer involved being arrested or addicted to the newest street drug.

I’m fine. Just missing mom.

Oh, yeah? What brought that on?

I’m not really sure. I’ve actually been doing very well. My therapist even recommended that I take walks to help clear my head. I was walking by the park the other day and a very intense feeling of sadness came over me.

The park that she used to take us to?

Yeah. Do you remember? I would get so mad when you wouldn’t push me on the tire swing, so I would always ask Mom to push me instead. Do you remember what she would tell us?

She would say, ‘Sarah, push your sister, or we’ll all go home. I bring you to the park for you to play. Now go enjoy yourselves!’ Sarah smiled at the memory.

I miss her. Chloe sounded like she was going to cry.

I know, but we need to stay strong. Mom wouldn’t want us to be sad or in a dark place. She would want us to let ourselves go and allow our minds to create universal masterpieces and gift them to the world. Or something like that.

Thank you, Sarah.

What else are big sisters for?

Hoping that she had helped her sister, at least a little, Sarah steered the conversation to pleasantries before hanging up and calling Rachel. Hearing her ooh and aah about her date tonight would help her build up some much–needed confidence. Rachel, however, didn’t answer. Sarah left a quick voice message and hung up. She looked at the clock and noted that she had two hours.

There was another knock at the door. She knew before she opened it that there would be a hotel employee standing on the other side, even though it was a different one than this morning, with yet another cart of food. Whoever kept ordering food for her was very prompt and seemed to read when she felt hungry. Sarah smiled, thanked her, and allowed the door to shut behind her. The plates held steak with a side of veggies, and she enjoyed some melt–in–your–mouth cheesecake for dessert.

It was difficult to force herself to wait until 8:00 before getting ready for drinks with Jace at 9:00. In her head, she ran through the issues of what to wear. How formally should she dress? Makeup, or not?

She ended up wearing some tight jeans, a decadent shirt, her pearls, and some comfortable shoes. Giving herself a once–over in the mirror, she decided she looked hot enough for a first date. She rode the elevator alone, eager for what the night would bring.

* * * * *

She could see him waiting for her at the bar with a drink in front of him. As she walked over to him, she fiddled nervously with her clutch. She slid onto the barstool next to him, looking up at him as he asked her what she wanted to drink. Opening her mouth to say Jack and Coke, it occurred to her that maybe she should order something more girly. She told him a mojito would be wonderful.

To her pleasant surprise, by the time half her drink was gone, she had discovered that he was quite easy to talk to. She found out that he was a managing partner at his law firm and an avid Seahawks fan who never missed a home game. She understood, now, why he called Seattle his city when they first met. He had been to all branches of it, from the rough neighborhoods to the high–end streets of downtown. This city was ingrained in his very being, and he would never call anywhere else home in quite the same way. She enjoyed watching his face light up when he told a funny story, or watching him describe playoff games he had seen at CenturyLink Field.

It was only when her entire drink was gone that she realized it was getting late.

Talk continued easily as they walked onto the elevator. When the doors closed, it seemed to stop their conversation’s momentum.

When do you leave? he asked.

Tomorrow. Right after the conference ends.

He seemed to think about that for a moment, and then he turned toward her. Then he seemed to think the better of it and turned back to face the front of the elevator.

The doors opened at their floor, and they both stepped out. He turned to look at her, almost as though he wanted to kiss her. But he simply stood there, staring into her eyes.

She bit her lip again—nervous habit. The staring in his eyes turned to hunger, just as it had the day before, during the conference.

He took her hand and led her down the hallway to his room. He opened the door quickly, and before the door was even shut behind her, she was against the wall inside his room. Their eyes locked. She could feel the heat from his gaze burning into her skin and making it tingle with every single desire she had ever felt.

She slid her shoes off and dropped her clutch as he kicked his shoes off, all the while holding each other’s gaze and never breaking it.

You don’t know what you do to me, he said gruffly.

"Why