Bad Bad Girl

He removed his black t-shirt, revealing his heavily tattooed chest and stomach. The ripples on his abs were covered in decorative color. He truly appeared to be a masterpiece of art. She couldn’t help but study his torso as he moved closer to her. “Here, put this on,” he said, as he handed his shirt to her. “Why are you up in that tree?” He smiled and chuckled slightly. “And why are you naked in that tree?”

She snatched the shirt from his hand and slipped it on. Luckily, the large size of it covered her ass and girl parts from his view. “I am trying to be one with nature. I’m trying to connect with the earth.” When he raised one eyebrow and smiled, she added, “Don’t judge.”

Sawyer shook his head and raised his hands in surrender. “Who am I to judge?”

Rebecca grinned. She knew how ridiculous she appeared. She had missed the way in which Sawyer could always stay open-minded. Nothing seemed to frazzle him—even seeing a naked woman up in a tree.

“So were you successful? Are you now one with nature?” He smiled and crossed his arms against his bare chest once more. “By all means, if you feel the need to be close with Mother Earth again, I can always take my shirt back.”

“How did you find me?” she asked, changing the subject.

“I asked Caine. He found out from Neely.”

“Why are you here?” She hadn’t been sure how their next meeting would be, but being naked in front of him, at The Spiritual Oasis, was not exactly what she had envisioned. Rebecca now wanted to kick Coley in the shin for convincing her that coming here would be a good idea.

Sawyer took a deep breath before speaking. “I feel like we left things unfinished.”

Yanking on the hem of the shirt to cover more of her body, she asked, “Unfinished? How so?”

“Come on, Rebecca. Are you telling me that there was nothing between us? I spanked you, for Christ’s sake. It’s not like I spank all my clients after a tattoo is done. Plus, the way we talked… it was so easy and simple. I opened up to you like I’ve never done before.”

She remained silent, not sure what to say. Her insides were doing acrobatics at the memory of being across his lap.

Sawyer approached her, reached for a strand of her hair and gently tucked it behind her ear. She looked down at the ground but didn’t pull away. “Are you having some sort of midlife crisis? Why do you feel this need to change?” he said gently.

She continued to look down at her bare feet, not wanting to meet his eyes. “I feel lost.” The confession rolled off her tongue so simply.

Cupping her jaw, he tilted her face and kissed her. No hesitation, no question in his eyes, no asking for permission. Sawyer took her kiss as if it were always his to take. His lips were warm and smooth, yet powerful at the same time as his mouth sank into hers. He swept his tongue against hers, and she groaned as she pressed her body against his bare chest. The intensity, the emotion, the hunger for this man had only grown with the few days apart. What was it about him that made her knees grow weak from just a simple kiss?

Feeling herself lose control, she pushed abruptly away from him, her breath coming in ragged gasps. “Why are you here? What do you want?”

“Is it so hard to believe that I am here for you? I want you, or at least I want the chance to figure out how to make that happen.” He gently caressed her face, his eyes warning of another kiss.

Rebecca took a few steps backwards. “We are so different.”

Sawyer nodded. “Yes.”

“So?” she added as she looked at him incredulously.

He took a step forward, closing the distance between them again. “We are different. Is that so bad?”

“Well… yes. Especially since we don’t believe in the same things.”

“Like?”

“Like the fact that you believe in Domestic Discipline.”

Sawyer smiled and nodded. “Yes. So?”

“So? So! I don’t believe in the same things!” Her frustration became evident with her raised voice. Why couldn’t he see that they weren’t a match? They were so far apart on everything that the idea of the two of them together was almost comical.

“You let me spank you, if I remember correctly.”

“That was different.” She had no idea how or why, and desperately hoped he wouldn’t ask her to explain her comment.

Sawyer tilted his head toward the tree she was just in. “You said you were lost. You are trying to find yourself. Well? Did you find any answers up in that tree by yourself?”

“No,” she whispered, crossing her arms with a little pout.

“So don’t you think that you could maybe, just maybe, try to find yourself with me? Can’t you at least be open to the idea? Or are you saying that you are more open to climbing a tree bare-ass naked in the middle of nowhere, than exploring a different lifestyle with me?”