Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but I surely enjoy writing about these characters.

Summary: He was a highly paid and respected artist whose lost his inspiration...that is, until he found her. He offered to pay her for her time if she would model for him, naked. Suddenly the relationship moves beyond artist and model. He wanted her in every part of his life. He wanted to keep her forever, but did she want the same? And was his past going to catch up with and chase her away?

Rated M: For nudity and maturity

The Artist

By TiKanis

Chapter Two
Day One

Sasuke sketched in quiet for an hour. It was a serene feeling to be able to draw again, to be able to feel alive again. He picked up the charcoal and smudged in the area around her shoulder blades, to show the dark shadows. He kept on with the technique for another brief moment, until all of her back was highlighted with shadows and lights. Suddenly, her body became three dimensional and realistic on the paper, almost as if he were really running his thumb against her shoulders, down her spine, around her hips.

The feelings were beyond his understanding. He never thought much of his models before. They posed for him, he sketched as he pleased, he paid them and they went home. Simple as that. He never had the urge to push aside the sketch pad and actually walk up to his model and touch her, until now. But he wouldn't dare do it. He didn't want to ruin the opportunity she had given him.

Besides, what if she had a boyfriend or something? That would even be more awkward. She would probably give him a black eye and storm out his studio. He nearly smirked at the thought of her hitting him. He didn't doubt for a second she wouldn't fight him. She was a tough one.

He wondered what life she lived. Did she have a family? Where did she live? What did she do on her spare time when she wasn't working at the club? Did she have another job? Who did she live with? It hit him then that he didn't know who she was and that he may never know anything about her other than have a vivid image of her naked body in his brain forever.

Sakura could feel his gaze on her back. It was so quiet in the room that she could actually hear the sound as his pencil touched the paper while he sketched. At times, she would hear a squeak sound which she supposed it was when he was smudging something with his finger.

She tried her best to remain still but the wooden stool wasn't comfortable. She had goosebumps on her skin from the chilly room. Should she ask him to close the windows? She looked down at her finger nails and sighed. She had chipped off all of her purple nail polish. She dusted off the dry nail polish from her lap, and watched as it fell onto the wooden floor like snowflakes.

She drummed her fingers on her knee, and leaned a little forward, no longer able to hold her straight posture.

"Are you married?" she asked, finally giving in and breaking the cold silence. It was maddening just talking to herself in her mind.

"No."

Thank god! How awkward would've it been if he were married? Would his wife have known? Would she have approved? "Then you must have a girlfriend…?"

"I don't."

Sakura let out a small chuckle as she turned her neck and glanced at him. He lifted his head up and met her gaze. "Don't tell me you're gay?" she remarked, biting her lower lip to keep from laughing. All this time she was worried for no reason. The guy was gay. No wonder he didn't make a move on her.

Sasuke's heart skipped a beat at the sight of her dazzling eyes and the way she bit her lower lip. Did she know how sensual her movements were?

"So then you have a boyfriend?"

Wait, what? He was so focused on her lips that he had forgotten she was inquiring after his gender preference.

"I'm not gay, Sakura," he responded with a stern look which caused her to quickly shy away.

"Oh…" She didn't know why she was blushing. She felt his piercing eyes on her back and sighed as she went back to drumming on her knees.

Sasuke frowned, her movement had disrupted his drawing. Now the light hit her body in different angles and the shadows changed. Deciding to not let that minor problem bother him, he improvised on the rest of the sketch.

Another half hour passed when suddenly she was off the stool, standing with her hands up in the air.

"I really need to stretch, my body aches from all that sitting."

Sasuke mumbled a silent curse as he watched her arch her back and sway her body one side to the next, stretching like a feline. Her baggy jeans gave her a tomboyish look, but there was definitely nothing "boyish" about her body underneath her clothes. She was one hundred percent all woman. A curvy, soft skinned, small framed, gorgeous—okay he had to stop.

He sighed. Her sudden movement had once again changed the highlights of the image he was drawing. "That's fine, I was done anyways," he said, trying to hide his growing irritation. "You can take a moment while I get some paints and then we can try a different position."

Sakura peered over her shoulder and watched him as he walked to the wooden cabinets at the far end of the room and rummaged through the tubes of paint. Damn, she actually had to do it? Up until now, she was slowly grasping at the idea of nude modeling. Having to sit with her naked backside to him was still okay. She had hoped he would be satisfied with that, but apparently that wasn't enough. He probably intended to get as many paintings done as possible today, in case she wouldn't come back. Which meant she would actually have to do it. She would have to sit quietly naked in front of him while he gawked at her and painted. It was terrifying.

She picked up her t-shirt and used it to cover her breasts as she walked to him. "Umm…you know…just out of curiosity, why does it have to be me again? I know you sort of tried to explain that night, but really…I'm sure you can find a professional nude model, right?"

Sasuke put the tubes of paint he wanted onto a wooden tray and then opened a drawer that held numerous brushes made of fine horse hair. He gave her a quick glance before returning his focus to picking the right brushes. The less he looked at her the better it was for his own sanity. The way she was holding the shirt over breasts made her look so tempting. Man, what was he thinking? He wasn't sure how long he could last with her like this.

"It has to be you," he responded with a shrug.

Sakura's hands went straight to her hips, a stance she took whenever someone annoyed her, but a terrible move to make. For a moment, she had forgotten about her physical appearance. Her eyes went to the shirt that had slipped onto the wooden floor. She felt her body temperature rise and her cheeks warm up. She quickly bent down to pick up her shirt, but wasn't fast enough. The blue shirt was already in the hands of the artist.

Sasuke was trying his best to not laugh at her. The poor girl had been so timid about showing him any part of her skin, and now there she was, by a small mistake on her part, half-naked in front of him. Her pale skin was in a pinkish tone, probably due to embarrassment he figured. Her small breasts were perked up and rosy. God damn. He threw the shirt over his shoulder, picked up the tray of paints and brushes he had gathered, and walked back to his easel, trying his best to pretend he wasn't at all fazed by her nakedness. But damn it all to hell—he was not going to get the image of her small, perked up breasts from his mind that easily.

"You need to relax, it's not like I haven't seen naked women before," he said to her as he started separating the brushes and lining them upon the table nearby his easel.

Sakura stood frozen in the same spot. He saw her naked and didn't even say or try anything. He walked by her as if it were the most ordinary thing ever. She recalled her college days when the boys would try anything to put their hands up her shirt. They were all immature idiots whom deserved all of her violent punches. Was this what it was like then? To be in presence of a mature, responsible adult? But then again, she met plenty of sleazy, older guys at the club who tried to fondle her. Maybe this was what only Sasuke Uchiha was like. Maybe he really was as passionate about his art as he claimed to be. Or maybe he didn't find her attractive or alluring enough to try and seduce? But was that a bad thing? It was probably better he didn't find her attractive at all, that way it would just be business. She would get paid for modeling for him and nothing more. Simple and clean business. Easy business. That's all she wanted. She could do this.

She was strong and opinions of others didn't bother her, especially his opinion.

Taking one deep breath, she unbuttoned her jeans. I can do this, she kept repeating in her mind as she let her jeans puddle around her feet. She stepped out of them and tugged at the hem of her black simple panties. Oh gosh…she was really going to do this? There would be no turning back if she did. She peered over to where the artist sat and watched as he started mixing two different colors of paint. He paid no mind to her. Of course, it was like he said, he had seen plenty of naked women before. He probably has had plenty of nude women model for him. This was nothing but another work day for him. I can do this…she repeated again. This better be worth a thousand grand, she told herself as she slipped out of her panties. She picked up her clothes and walked to the stool.

Just pretend he's not in the room. Just pretend you are home alone, and are enjoying a day of sitting idly naked for no reason. Her mind was a mess as she tried to calm herself down. She dropped her jeans nearby the stool and sat on it. She crossed her right leg over the other and combed her long hair to one side of her shoulder, which helped hide part of her breast. She didn't even bother looking over to the artist, too afraid to see his expression, but she knew he had already started painting. She let out a small, silent sigh, not believing what she was doing. Only a few more hours, she reminded herself.

There was not one curse that didn't come to his mind as he had sneakily eyed her as she had walked by him and sat on the chair. She had walked with such grace, her round bottom was perfect. Her slender hips and long legs were all a man could dream about. Holy fuck, he was screwed. How in damn blazes did he get himself in this position? Had he actually thought he would be able to get through a nude session like this so easily? Well, initially he had thought it would be simple, same routine like it was with other models. He didn't actually think he would like the girl, much less, like her so quickly. Not to mention all the unruly and sinful thoughts going through his mind.

He picked up the brush and dipped it into the paint he had mixed to match her skin tone. His gaze went to her still form. She sat on the stool now, giving him only a side profile of her body. Her leg was crossed over the other, and her hands were placed on her lap, all attempts to hide her sex, he assumed. Her hair was pushed to one side, hiding her breast from him. She stared blankly across the room.

He could tell, in her own way, she was trying to be courageous, and at the same time, she was still hiding from him. But it was fine. He wasn't some pervert who was getting off by asking her to be nude. He was an artist. He wanted to capture her every emotion with his art. By asking her to model nude, she couldn't hide herself behind her clothes. She was at her rawest form, and that's what he wanted to paint.

Stroke by stroke, he watched as her body was transformed onto his canvas. His tensed body finally started to be at ease as he focused his mind on getting that lonely girl to emerge on the white canvas. Because that's what she was. She was lonely, and he wondered why. He had been sketching people for half a lifetime which gave him the ability to read their body language and their facial expressions. He was never good with words, but he spoke to each individual through his art, letting them know that he truly understood them by expressing their feelings on paper for them.

An hour flew by without him even noticing, too focused on getting the shape of her legs correct, and then she moved. Goddammit.

She placed her hands on the back of the stool, arched her back, and tilted her head back. Her hair fell against her back and her breasts were perched up. She switched her legs, this time crossing her left over the right, giving him a small view of dark curls. She yawned and fixed her posture again. Her hands were back on her lap, but her hair remained against her back.

Sasuke ran a hand through his disheveled hair and grumbled. She ruined his nearly complete painting. She couldn't have waited another twenty minutes before moving? Not to mention she ruined his piece of mind, now he was back to thinking about her.

As if reading his thoughts, she finally spoke up.

"Sorry, but there's no way I could've stayed still a moment longer. My body started to ache and it needed to be stretched out."

"Hn." Sasuke could think of at least a dozen ways he could stretch her body for her. He quickly chased those thoughts away.

"Do models seriously sit for this long without moving?" she continued.

"Hn."

Sasuke glared at his painting. He now had to either start a new one, since her position was different and the lighting on her body had changed, or he had to improvise yet again. If he started a new one, he probably wouldn't have time to work on any more afterwards. And whose to say she wouldn't move again? He sighed, he had to improvise the best he could. He looked up and watched as she bit her lower lip again, a habit he started to notice the past hour. It seemed anytime she wanted to say something, but didn't, she would bite her lower lip, which would drive him insane. And it was still driving him insane.

"You're doing fine, don't worry," he said smoothly and watched as her body slowly started to ease down.

"Oh, okay, good," she replied. "I usually don't go around parading naked, as you know," she continued. "Well, I'm not parading around, I'm just sitting, but it's still the same, I guess."

Sasuke's irritation quickly evaporated as he listened to her soft voice. She could get a lion to purr with that voice, he thought, a bit lamely.

"You're like the second guy to actually ever see me naked, which is probably why I'm a little nervous I guess. And I tend to talk a lot, or to not talk at all, when I'm nervous, it just depends on whose making me nervous."

Sakura bit her bottom lip again. She tried to hold back her blabber, but couldn't. She had sat in silence for well over an hour which allowed her enough time to think about her past and her problems and it scared her. She couldn't stay still or in silence anymore. She still had a little more than three hours to go before her session ended and she could go home, but could she last that long?

Sasuke put his brush down and sighed. She was probably the most innocent person he had come by lately. He didn't want her to hate herself for modeling for him, and he didn't want her to regret any of it. To him, it was art, but to her, it was diminishing. Maybe asking her to stay for a whole day was too much. He didn't want to scare her away by being demanding or making her nervous in anyway. He really wanted to finish his painting, but from the way she was fidgeting, he had a feeling she already lost her wits and was ready to run away from him. He grabbed a white sheet of cloth that was neatly folded on the table nearby and covered his canvas.

Sakura watched from the corner of her eye as he walked towards her. Was he done painting? He was getting too close for her liking. It was one thing to be watched from a distant, it was another thing to be inches away from him, naked.

He stopped right in front of her, and she sat there, in the same position, not sure what to do. She made no attempt to cover herself, there was no point now, seeing that he already saw all parts of her.

He leaned forward, placing his hands on either side of her stool. His cool breath tickled her nose. Oh my god, is he going to kiss me? Her thoughts fumbled with the idea. His closeness was causing chaos in her mind. He better not even try, or else.

"Am I making you nervous?" he murmured, his dark eyes piercing through hers.

Hell fucking yeah you are, idiot, she thought. She simply shrugged. If she were standing, she would back away, but she was sitting, so all she could do was remain still. She was exposed to him in every way possible, yet his eyes remained on her face.

What if he was thinking of kissing her, would she want that? Did she want that? No way, she didn't. Right? Her thoughts were too puzzling. She needed to put some clothes on. She needed to leave and be as far away from him as possible so she could think straight. She hadn't come here to think about him and his kisses, she had come here for a thousand dollars. He was making her feel weird, and she didn't know if that was a bad or good thing. She also felt vulnerable and, that for sure, she didn't like nor want to ever feel.

"Very well, let's go grab something to eat," he said in a cool tone and pulled away.

That's it? she wondered. He wasn't even going to try something on her? Not even kiss her? Not that she wanted that to happen, but she was sure that any other man in his position would've attempted to kiss her or more. Yet he hadn't. He just turned his back to her and walked away. Was he sure he wasn't gay? Or maybe she really wasn't attractive enough? She was probably not his type. Which was fine with her.

She quickly slipped her clothes back on before he changed his mind.

Sasuke stood waiting by the metal door for her to finish dressing. He gave her some privacy, which enabled her to be calmer. She walked to him while playing with her hair. He wasn't sure what she was trying to do, but damn, she looked hot with her hair in hands and the way she walked to him. Eventually, her hair ended up in some dysfunctional bun on top of her head. He preferred her hair down, with his own fingers tangled within it. Okay, he seriously needed to quit thinking of her in such ways. This was business. Just Business. He knew only fools mixed business with pleasure. He definitely was no fool.

"Where do you want to go eat?" she asked with a solid smile.

"There's a restaurant done the street that has great pasta," he replied with some enthusiasm. Her smile stretched further, revealing a tiny dimple on the right side corner of her mouth.

"I love pasta," she said with an approving nod and led the way out the studio.

This might actually be a good idea, Sasuke thought to himself. It was one thing painting a likeness of her, it was another thing to actually spend time with her. Maybe this way, she would see that he meant her no harm. That his art was really important to him.

"Sakura," her name rolled over his lips as he watched her try and scoop the pasta with her fork.

She blinked a few times, trying to register how he knew her name. She had purposely never given it to him, in case he ever turned out to be a creepy stalker.

Noticing her confusion, he cleared his throat. "I—uh—well when you came to my museum, you had to sign the guest book, so that's why—I—uh—know your name. "

She nodded slowly for him to proceed. It felt weird sitting across from him, eating as if it were the most normal thing ever, when only twenty minutes ago she was stark naked in his studio.

"How old are you?" he asked. He wanted to try and get a conversation going, but wasn't a good conversationalist to begin with. Hopefully he didn't end up screwing this up with her.

Sakura raised one brow in question. Should she play along and attempt to be friendly to him? It's not like he'd done anything wrong up until now. He had been accommodating and respectful since the beginning. Fine then, she could pretend this was a new friend she met, despite the circumstances.

"I'm twenty-two," she replied, "and you're twenty-nine," she added with a smug look.

Sasuke smirked. "Did research about me, huh?"

"Well, I had to. How was I supposed to know if you were really who you say you are, and whether or not you could be trusted?" She twirled the pasta with her fork, in thought.

"And do you trust me?" he inquired.

Sakura shrugged, avoiding eye contact his gaze.

"What else did you find out about me, other than my age?"

Sakura pretended to be in deep thought. "Well, let's see. You are a millionaire, you own your own museum, you appear to be charitable with donations, and you sponsor a lot of emerging talent…and you drink a lot of water, but that last part is merely from observation."

"Ah, see, I guess I'm not that bad," he insisted as he leaned back into his chair. He took a sip of water, hiding his grin.

"Tsk. Unless you paid someone to hide any bad news or heinous crime," she retorted but quickly realized she had been rude. "I'm sorry—I didn't mean—"

He chuckled darkly. "It's fine. We all have secrets Sakura. I'd just rather not have mine in the public eye." He watched as his statement brought out different expressions on her face. First was confusion and then it was worry. He probably shouldn't have said that. He wanted her to trust him. She was biting her lower lip in a way that brought images in his mind he didn't want—or rather shouldn't want.

"Yeah, I guess we all do have secrets," she whispered and put her fork down. She drummed her fingers on the table and peered out the window. The restaurant was dimly lit, so she was grateful for the refreshing light coming from the window. "Have you ever wished you could turn back time and fix the mistakes you've made?"

His eyes narrowed at her and saw the rawness of her emotions. Some tragedy had occurred in her life and she was left dealing with it alone.

"Everyday," he replied, recalling his own mistakes.

She turned to him and gave him a smile. He had seen her smiles before, this was one was a false one. It looked like she was retreating from him.

"I have to go," she said as she stood up. "I know I'm supposed to stay until six, and you probably didn't finish your painting, but I have to go, I'm sorry."

Sasuke quickly stood up and grabbed her arm. "Wait—I—" He didn't know what to say so with his free hand, he pulled out his wallet. "I have to pay you."

Sakura tugged her arm out his grasp. "Don't worry about it. I was a terrible model anyways. It was nice meeting you, take care." And with that said, she rushed out of the restaurant, not evening giving him a chance to speak. He tried to follow but was held back by the waiter demanding he pay the bill first. As soon as he was outside the building, he looked around for her. She was already out of sight.

"Damn it!" What had he done?

He knew he'd screw this up but not on Day One.