Sage

The week flew by, the paperwork and phone calls stealing all my time. I'd only made it out to surf once and I only saw Jax twice in passing when I was over at my property supervising the demolition. Between his schedule and mine, we were finding it difficult to secure alone time. That made our date this weekend all the more to look forward to. He'd told me we were going camping about an hour or two northeast of HB, at a place called Big Bear.

I didn't really care where we camped, I just wanted time with the lifeguard I was quickly falling for. My bed felt empty at night, needing his strong body in it to warm me up. Every time I looked at him, my body went into overdrive, heating several degrees and making me think dirty thoughts, the likes of which I'd never thought of before. It was like I was constantly turned on, our first night together awakening some slumbering part of me I didn't realize was there. I mean, I knew they said sex drive was in top form in your thirties, but this was ridiculous. If this trip didn't come soon enough, I'd have to surprise Jax one night at The Shack while he worked.

Friday dragged out, the clock mocking me with each tick of the second hand that took far too long to have been accurate. I was at my rental house, my backpack stuffed with clothes and toiletries, waiting for Jax to get off work. I packed as light as I could, knowing we'd have to haul in our stuff on our backs. Jax had told me he'd carry the tent and food, plus his own bag. I was responsible for the sleeping bag and my backpack.

Nervous energy was pumping through my veins. Partly because I was going off for the weekend with the man who wouldn't get out of my head, and partly because I wasn't sure how the whole camping thing worked. In theory, I'd hiked quite a bit in my life, but I'd never camped in a tent before. My family's version of camping required a state of the art log cabin mansion on a pristine golf course in the woods. Somehow I didn't think that's what Jax had in mind.

My doorbell chimed, startling me badly enough I dropped my bag and had to scoop it back up again and swing it onto my shoulder. I opened my door to find the hottest outdoorsman I'd ever seen, not that I'd seen a lot. Jax had let his beard grow out all week, leaving him with the start of a lumberjack look. A flannel shirt and dark cargo pants tucked into boots topped off the look and made my insides feel funny. I was completely out of my element and I couldn't think of a trip that I'd looked forward to more than this quick getaway to the lake. When you've been to most of the first world countries on lavish vacations, that was saying something.

"You ready for this?" Jax reached for my hand, pulling me out the door.

"Ready as I'll ever be," I responded with a bounce in my step as I locked the door and raced down the walkway to his truck.

"Here, let me get that." Jax took the bag off my shoulder and placed it in the bed of the truck, along with our other supplies.

We passed the time stuck in traffic by playing twenty questions. His wild guesses made me laugh, adding to my delight with the whole weekend. This was going to be great, I could feel it.

Once we were out of the city, the open road stretching out in front of us, Jax turned the conversation more serious.

"So, tell me about your childhood. Where'd you grow up? Go to school? Tell me everything."

I chuckled. "Well, that's gonna take some time."

He squeezed my hand, the one laying on top of his on my thigh. "Then get to talking. I want to know everything about you."

I took a deep breath. "Okay, well, I grew up in New York, out in the suburbs, not in the city. My father inherited his company from his own father. He was gone a lot working and my mother and my nanny raised me. My mother tries to be a good mom, but she's mostly there to back my father up. Whatever he says, goes. And my father wants me to take over his business one day. I'm sure he wishes he'd had a son, but it just wasn't in the cards. He sent me to all the best schools. I enjoyed college, which is why I went on to get my master's degree, but mostly it was to have something to do other than work for my father."

"You don't like commercial real estate?" Jax flicked me glances as I talked, looking intrigued. Guess I hadn't bored him yet. His hand kept tracing the lines of the henna on my hand. I'd finally used that bag of henna I'd bought at the street fair, designing henna tattoos all up and down my body. I may have gone a little wild. Jax hadn't said anything about it yet, but I was waiting for some sort of reaction. My father and his mini-me's that I'd dated had always had something to say...

"Not particularly. It's mostly just a bunch of assholes in suits throwing their money around to get what they want. I don't want to just buy and sell things. I want to grow something, from the ground up. I want to settle into a town and see that my work is valued and essential to the community. Buying a piece of property just to grow my bottom line doesn't appeal to me."

"And what does your father say when you tell him that?"

I rolled my eyes. "Ha! I've tried telling him how I feel ten different ways and he never listens. Just brushes me aside like my thoughts and feelings don't even matter. You heard him. He thinks I'm some sort of hippie floating through life without doing anything. He just can't fathom that I don't want to do what he does. Anything I chose would be ridiculous in his eyes."

"What do you want to do, Sage?" His hand squeezed me tight, letting me know he supported me in whatever I was about to say.

I sighed. "I wish I knew. I've never been allowed to explore what I like and what I'm good at. Although the restaurant I'm building does intrigue me, I must admit. We'll have to see how that goes." I looked around out the window, taking in the pine trees on either side of the road. "All I know is that I can't be cooped up in an office all day. I'm like a plant. I need sun and fresh air to thrive."

"You're a sexy plant." Jax was giving me the side eye, full of mischief.

"Keep your eyes on the road, mister!” But I pulled his hand higher up my thigh, his fingertips brushing just below the fringe of my high cut-off jean shorts. Mmm...not quite high enough.

Jax cleared his throat and I noticed his hand gripping the steering wheel harder than the driving conditions required.

"So, tell me about the guys you've dated in the past."

"Oh, so we're going there, huh?" I smirked at him, knowing there wasn't much to tell him from my end, but he had plenty to dish on himself. "Let's see...I casually dated a few guys in college. Lost my virginity one night my sophomore year to an overeager boy who didn't know what he was doing beyond aiming for the right hole."

Jax made a choking sound.

"What? It's true! The guy was terrible and my first time was one I wish I could forget. I guess that's true for most girls, but still, not a memory I like to look back on." I squirmed in my seat, remembering instead, how opposite my night was with Jax. He knew exactly what to do, his hands, tongue and cock seemingly made for pleasuring a woman. I froze for a moment when I realized that a person only got so talented after lots of practice. That wasn't a thought I wished to explore. Ever.

"So pretty much after that debacle, I just casually dated in college. My father set me up with a few men after that. All associates of his he was parading me in front of. I still don't know if he was trying to win their favor by trotting me out, or if he wanted me to be married off so I was someone else's problem instead of his. Either way, I wasn't interested."

Jax must have heard the bitterness in my voice. "I doubt either of those were his aim. He probably just wanted you settled down and happy with men he knew held steady jobs in a profession he understood and respected."

I frowned. That sounded logical, and less damaging to my heart. "Maybe you're right. But I didn't want to date a suit. They all had soft hands and screamed slime ball, you know? All bluster and machismo in a boardroom, but a boring sissy in the bedroom. No thanks.”

I cringed. "This one guy. Oh God.” Laughter bubbled up before I could go on. “He seemed okay at dinner, but then we went back to his hotel room and…” I tried to stifle it, but a snort ended up coming out anyway. I looked over at Jax and his face was scrunched up like my whole story was repulsive, but there was also a hint of a smile.

“So, he makes his move and leans down to kiss my neck. Then he pulled back, but his hair got tangled in my necklace. And turns out, he wore a toupee!” I snorted again, barely able to get the words out. “There was this rat's nest of hair dangling off my chest and there he was, just standing there, a bald deer in headlights.”

I gave up and whooped out a laugh, tears filling my eyes. Jax was chuckling next to me, his rumbling laughter making me laugh harder.

After a few minutes, I was able to collect myself. "So yeah, I'm done with dating my father’s henchmen.”

“Thank God for that. And I promise all my hair is real.” He gave me a sweet smile, bringing up memories of my hands tugging on that beautiful, very real hair.

Jax' hand slid up my thigh and a finger skimmed below the hem of my shorts, brushing along my bare skin between my legs. His head whipped in my direction, eyes burning hot, all traces of laughter gone.

"No underwear, Sage?"

I shrugged. "Seemed pointless to have extra clothes to haul around in my backpack."

"Jesus..." His hand slipped out from my shorts and came to rest on the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white. "You'll be paying for that later, woman," he muttered through clenched teeth.

See? Best trip ever, I just knew it.

Jax

Somehow we made it safely to the campground, despite knowing Sage sat next to me without underwear on. Knowing I could have fingered her right there in the truck driving up Highway 18. I wanted much more than that, and also valued our lives on the winding road, so I kept my hands to myself with much difficulty.

Just as the sun was setting, we set up our tent in a cleared out spot we'd found near the lake's edge. Our closest neighbors were so far away, we couldn't even see their campfire. I anticipated doing things to Sage that would make her scream. I didn't want anyone coming by to investigate.

I built a fire while Sage got out brats and fruit I'd packed in the cooler. We'd cook the brats over the fire and eat like cavemen. Food always tasted better cooked out in the wild over a real fire. Didn't know why, but it was proven true every time. Sage must have agreed because she was letting out moans with each bite that tore away at my restraint. The girl loved her food and wasn't afraid to show it.

It was a fucking turn on.

Completely dark outside, the only light came from our huge fire pit. Sage looked beautiful under any circumstance, but especially now, with her hair tossed around by the gentle breeze, her long legs stretched out toward the fire, her eyes closed while she chewed, her lips turned up in a satisfied smile. She'd dressed like she was confused on the weather, a long sleeve Henley on top, cutoff jean shorts on the bottom and brown suede boots that went up to her knees and had fringe down the sides.

Fuck, she looked like one of those girls that went to Coachella every Spring and I couldn't wait to touch her any longer.

I jumped up and grabbed her by the hand, hauling her up off the log she was perched on.

"Wha--"

My lips crashed down on hers, drowning out whatever she was going to say. She tasted of strawberries and sausage, her hair already smelling like campfire smoke. If this weekend was a test of sorts, to see if she could handle roughing it, she was passing with flying colors.

"You're driving me crazy over here," I whispered to her when we came up for air. "Let's go to bed, huh?"

She smiled lazily at me, nodding. "Will you clean up while I change clothes?"

I swatted her on the ass, then went around packing away our food and storing it in the cooler, making sure bears wouldn't be visiting us at night looking for a meal. When I turned around, I saw Sage standing by the fire where I'd left her, not having moved an inch. I cocked my head in question, but didn't get a verbal answer before she began to move.

Her arms whipped her shirt over her head and she tossed it into the tent behind her. I could see the outline of her nipples through her thin bra. The air had turned cold when the sun set and when I'd stepped away from the fire, I could feel the wind chilling my skin. Those tattoos on her hands I'd seen earlier crept up her forearms and then wrapped around her biceps where she had bright metallic cuffs. This girl was crazy, unlike anyone I'd ever met.

She turned around, her hips undulating as she moved in slow motion. Her hands pushed down her jean shorts so they were right above her ass. I held my breath, waiting for the site I knew was going to be magnificent and exhaled loudly when she finally pushed those shorts over the bubble of her ass, finally dropping them to the ground. She kicked them into the tent and went to work on her bra, still not turning around yet. Agonizingly slow, she pulled the straps off her shoulders one by one, then unhooked the back of the bra and tossed the final scrap of material covering her into the tent.

Her hands moved up her body and into her hair, lifting it high on her head and showing me the sharp arch to her back. Those hips were moving slowly, like she heard music in her head and couldn't stop her body from responding.

I knew what that was like, what with my own body responding in an entirely different way. My khakis were unbelievably tight and I wasn't sure how much longer I could withstand this little striptease of hers. I almost laughed when I realized the absurdity of my little test. I'd wanted to see if she could handle being away from her normal five star accommodations, could handle slumming it with me, and here she was doing a sexy dance, naked in the wilderness, without a care in the world.

Time to see if she handled hard-packed dirt as a mattress. I strode around the campfire and tossed her over my shoulder, caveman style. Her yelp of surprise got her a swat on the ass and then I hauled her into the tent, crouching low to get in without scraping her backside on the zippered opening. I lowered her carefully to the sleeping bag and blankets I'd spread out earlier.

"Jax! I wasn't ready to call it a night yet."

I nearly growled as I crouched between her legs, pulling off my clothes in a rush. "We're not calling it a night yet, babe. In fact, I plan to have you up all night long."

She got a smile on her face. "Is that so, Mr. Stern?"

Finally naked, I laid down on her, my weight supported on my elbows. "I like that. You keep calling me Mr. Stern and I'll let you out of here without your spanking."

Her jaw dropped, but her eyes were sparkling, even in the dark. "Spanking? What for?” she scoffed.

"Only bad girls go on a date without underwear. I think that deserves a spanking, don't you?" I wasn't really planning to spank her, but now that the idea was out there, maybe I would. She certainly seemed like she might be open to it. I'd been rough with her last weekend and she'd responded like she was totally into it.

She didn't answer right away, just brought her hips up to rub across my erection pressing into her between our bodies. Then her hands were there, trying to grab my cock and take control of what would happen next.

I caught her before she got me where she wanted me, pulling her arms above her head again. She was moving too fast. I wanted this to last. "Nuh uh, not yet."

Sage pouted, her lower lip turned down, obviously not happy about having her toy taken away. "Why are you always pinning my hands down?"

I leaned in and kissed those pouty lips. "Because when our clothes come off, I like to be the one in control." I kissed her again, then again, unable to help myself where Sage was concerned. "And you like it when I do that, don't you?"

She held the pout for a few seconds longer before it morphed into a shy smile and single head nod. All the blood in my body had already headed south with her little fire dance, but now that she'd given me that nod, that green light to take control of her body? All that blood was surging, pumping faster to match my racing heart.

It was like being a kid on your first day of summer vacation. There were thousands of things I could think of that I was dying to do, but frustrated that I couldn't do them all at once. Paralyzed by too many choices was not the way I intended to spend this weekend in the woods with Sage, but I was finding it hard to narrow down what I wanted to do to her gorgeous body first.

An idea formed front and center, snagging my scattered thoughts and honing them in on one thing I just had to do.

"How good are you at keeping still?" Considering she was wiggling underneath me at the same time I asked my question, I was guessing the answer was 'not good at all'.

"Um, normally pretty good, but I don't know if that holds true with you around." Sage was smiling at me, eyes hazy with lust.

I couldn't wait to push her, see how far her patience lasted. I wasn't sure if I'd last very long either, but it would be fun as hell to try.

"Okay, here are the rules to this little game. No moving whatsoever. You can talk, say anything you'd like, but don't move your body. If you do, that adds a spanking. You follow me?" I was making it up as I went, but it sounded pretty good to me. Based on the way her cheeks flushed and her eyes lit up, Sage was interested too.

"At any point, if you want to quit playing, you say Beach Squad. Got it?"

Her forehead wrinkled. "Beach Squad is my safeword?"

"Hell, yes. The mention of those girls will pull me out of a sexual fog no matter how deep I'm in." In fact, just talking about them was pulling the smile off my face. They were lovable girls, but pesky, like the little sisters I never wanted. They were my friends and I'd do anything for them, but they didn't inspire lust.

It was time to get things back on course. Time to get to know what Sage liked.

"You ready?"