A Farmer's Christmas Read online

  “Me, too.”

  He picked her up, turned around, and set her on the washing machine. Automatically, she spread her legs, and he stepped between them, his cock pressing into her lower abdomen. Her muscles contracted, eager to have him inside of her and something to clench onto.

  She looked quizzically at him. “Shouldn’t it be on, you know, so it’s vibrating?”

  “I’ll have you vibrating soon enough.” He winked at her, pulling her hips forward.

  She felt his cock positioned at her opening, sitting in the fresh wave of her hot juices.

  “Is that right…” She ended the sentence in a gasp of pleasure as he thrust himself into her. “Oh.”

  He drew out slowly, her muscles going wild with contractions trying to hold on to his cock and keep it inside of her. Then he plunged deep inside of her.

  She gasped sharply, a flood of pleasure thundering through her.

  Raven leaned back and put her hands on either side of the washing machine to keep her balance. All she could do right now was hold on, which included Ben too. Her legs wrapped around his waist, securing them together as their bodies moved in a quickening rhythm.

  “Oh…” She couldn’t help the noises escaping from her mouth as he moved in and out of her. Her body tingled as if the pleasure vibrating through her was taking hold and lifting her to her peak. Her breath came quick and shallow. She felt his body tighten. He groaned, and his movements became more deliberate, which spiked the heat in her body as he pounded her, pushing her with him toward their peak. Her body convulsed with the orgasm, and he moved in and out once more, then reached his orgasm as hers took hold. She called out his name, her mind spun with the dizzying vibrations he had indeed coaxed from her.

  “Hmmm.” He pulled her into his arms and nuzzled their noses together.

  Raven wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. “Now I really do know that you’re impressed with me, and you know you didn’t need the washing machine on.”

  “I told you.” He kissed her.

  “And, um, you don’t smell either.” She winked at him.

  “You’re getting cheekier the longer you stay here.”

  She smiled at him. “I’m learning from you.”

  “Don’t go blaming me.” He grinned at her, reached out and moved his hands lovingly through her long hair.

  She chuckled. “How about that shower and massage?”

  “You’ve not had enough?” His eyes widened in surprise.

  “Oh, you’ve satisfied me very well. I just want to keep you to myself for a little longer.”

  “Well, in that case.” He lifted her from the top of the washing machine. “Shower, it is.”

  The sound of a car door slamming caused them both to freeze.

  “Did you hear that?” whispered Raven.

  “Shit, yes.”

  “Who do you think it is?” Raven couldn’t think properly, not after the wonderful session they’d just had.

  He cleared his throat. He didn’t need to say because Raven’s mind finally grounded, and she realized who it was likely to be.

  “Quick,” he said, dragging her toward the hallway.

  “My clothes…”

  “Don’t worry about that,” he said. He tried to push her toward the hallway.

  Raven couldn’t help it, she had to look. She glanced at the back door and saw his mom.

  Shit. His mom was too close.

  Raven turned and ran with Ben, just as the screen door opened.

  “Oh.” A surprised sound filtered from behind them. Raven didn’t dare look. The heat from sex had turned to a chilling cold as she ran up to their bedroom. They got inside and closed the door.

  Ben panted leaning back on the bedroom door. “That was too close.”

  “I’m so embarrassed.” Raven shook her head. How was she going to face Janette? “I’ll have to live in here forever now.”

  “No, don’t worry about it.”

  “I don’t see how you can be so relaxed about it.”

  “I’m not, but Mom, well, she’ll be as embarrassed as us, so she won’t mention it. Just go on as normal.”

  Raven swallowed hard. “Go on as normal? That’s your solution?”

  “You got a better one?”

  Raven shook her head.

  “Just think it could’ve been worse.”

  Raven raised an eyebrow at Ben. This was how he was thinking? This was bloody bad enough. Then she saw the glint in his eyes. She couldn’t help it. She giggled softly, and so did Ben.

  “Best to laugh it off, hey,” whispered Ben.

  “Only thing to do.” She shook her head and went up to Ben and hugged him.

  “Come on, best get dressed and face the music.”

  “Now?” Raven stopped laughing, and the embarrassment returned.

  “Consider it like removing a Band-Aid.”

  Raven rolled her eyes. “Why not.” She sure as hell didn’t have any better suggestions.

  Wishing she’d at least got a shower, she found clean underwear and a summer dress to wear while Ben pulled on clean jeans and an old polo T-shirt with Wrangler embroidered on it.

  Taking a deep breath, Ben put his hand on the door. “Ready?”

  “No.” Raven looked at him wide-eyed. She couldn’t believe that she was about to do this.

  Ben ignored her, opened the door, and strode out. Raven followed him reluctantly down the short hallway. She could hear his mom in the kitchen.

  Ben walked into the kitchen. “Hi, Mom,” he said casually.

  Raven couldn’t believe this was what they were doing. His mom was at the kitchen sink with her back to them. She plonked herself on a chair before her legs gave way on her. So far, at least, his mom hadn’t said anything.

  “Cuppa?” she asked. Her back still to them.

  “That would be great, thanks,” said Raven. She had to force herself to speak. All she wanted to do was to run out back to the privacy of the bedroom.

  “Good to see you two dressed now,” she said as she turned around, her face a stoneless expression.

  “Sorry,” whispered Raven as a fresh wave of embarrassment washed over her.

  “Won’t happen again,” said Ben. Raven nodded. It wouldn’t happen again. Ever. She took a deep breath. This was more complicated than she thought it would be living on the farm with Ben. The doubt slowly began to flutter in her belly again. Could this place ever be just hers and Ben’s? That would be the normal thing to expect as a new couple. But things on the farm were far from the normal she was used to. She looked at Ben. He smiled encouragingly at her as if they hadn’t nearly been caught in the act. She was attracted to him. She felt the connection there between them which was more than the fling that had started their yearly meet-ups.

  Janette put a cup of tea in front of her with a thud. The liquid nearly splashed out, and Raven jumped. She looked up to see a grumpy look on Janette’s face. Would living with Ben’s mom be the deal-breaker? Be the thing that stopped them from having a future together?

  Have we moved forward too quickly? She shivered. She put her hands around the cup of tea, the warmth offering no comfort. One thing was certain—Raven was going to have to work harder in building a relationship with his mom. That’s if she wanted to stay here on the farm.

  Saturday, December 21st

  “You sure there’s enough room for me here?” She turned to the left, found it just as uncomfortable and moved back to the right. It was a very tight squeeze in this cab for two adults, even if they were in love with each other.

  “Yeah, heaps of room.” He didn’t even look at her as he concentrated on the controls to his right, moving levers. He sat on the only chair in the cab which, of course, made sense since he was the one driving.

  “You’d think they’d design the layout so that there would be an extra chair in this thing.”

  “I rarely get visitors here with me.”

  “I can see why,” she said sarcastically.

 
He chuckled to himself. “It’s a one-man job harvesting with a machine like this.”

  “I thought you wanted me here?”

  “Of course, I want you here.” He reached over and squeezed her arm. The brief touch of his skin on her arm reassured her. Ben returned his attention to getting started. The combine’s engine roared into life.

  Raven smiled, feeling the power of the machine vibrating around her. It was exciting and a bit scary both at the same time. She had no idea what Ben was doing as he checked through a series of switches. Come to think of it, she had no clue as to what was going to happen next. A shiver of nerves moved in her belly, and she held on to the back of the chair to steady herself. She’d never been inside heavy machinery like this before. This was so removed from her life in the city that it made her head spin. Raven wriggled again in hopes she might find a better position but with no luck. It wasn’t much fun sitting on the arm of the chair.

  “Keep still.”

  Raven froze. “Sorry.”

  She wasn’t sure why she needed to be still, but there was a look of concentration on Ben’s face, and she didn’t want to be the one to break it with questions. Right now, she was in a situation where she would do as she was told.

  The air conditioning blew out dusty air, and she was beginning to find the space too confined. The radio crackled, the reception lost. Raven reached up and tried to re-tune it, but when that didn’t work, she turned it off.

  What the hell was I thinking? She glanced at Ben, who looked back at her. His grin brightened up his eyes which lightened the dark shadows from being so tired. Not that she would’ve known, after their session outside yesterday, she was rewarded with another longer one inside when they found out they had the house to themselves. It was just unfortunate Janette had come home earlier than she and Ben had anticipated.

  To have had the time to reconnect with Ben was just what she needed. She hoped that spending this time on the farm with him now, helping him, would help give her more of an idea of what life was going to be like with him.

  So far, she wasn’t sure it was helping. This morning had been hard. Instead of Ben slipping out of bed without waking her, he’d reached for her, rolling over to snuggle with her. It had been a delightful way to wake up until she realized there was no way this was going to lead to anything, and it was still dark outside. Half asleep, she’d dressed in jeans, a t-shirt, and sneakers, and threw on one of Ben’s old flannel shirts. She wasn’t sure it was a good idea to wear jeans in this weather. Ben had reminded her that there were poisonous snakes out here, and the best way she could protect herself was with jeans and closed-in shoes. When she was following Ben to the combine and walked through the stubble of the stalks where the heads of grain had been removed, she was glad that her legs were covered. The stalks would’ve scratched her legs, and she didn’t even want to think about snake bites.

  She even remembered to put on sunscreen before scrunching her hair into a loose bun as Ben was walking out the front door. She didn’t even know when he managed to have breakfast. She grabbed a muesli bar on the way out and managed to catch up to him just as he was putting his ute into gear. This harvesting business was serious work. He said something about the slightly cooler weather meant that he could get back to the paddock, and he didn’t want to waste any more time.

  There had been a slight cooling overnight, and she’d slept like a log. She blushed thinking of the real reason why she’d probably slept well, which had more to do with Ben and the two of them being naked and pleasured than any cool change.

  ‘I’ll go around a few times, then you can have a turn.” His suggestion broke through her mini daydream.

  Blood drained from her face as she computed what he was saying. “You sure?”

  “Yeah, it’s not that hard.”

  She didn’t believe him. “Maybe go around a dozen times or so, then I can have a turn.” Yesterday she’d been confident about driving the heavy machinery when they’d talked over a BBQ dinner. Now, here, sitting in the cab, the engine roaring with a power she’d never experienced before, she wasn’t so sure that this was a good idea.

  He laughed and shook his head. “You’ll be fine, you’ve got me as a teacher.”

  “That’s why I’m uncertain.”

  “Hey, I’ll kick you out now, and you can walk back to the farm.” His expression was full of amusement.

  “I’d like to see you try and kick me out.” She found her confidence pushing away the nerves that flooded through her at the mere thought of driving something so big like this combine.

  “If only I had the time.”

  She raised an eyebrow at him in a sort of a mock challenge. “Chicken.”

  The combine suddenly jerked forward.

  Raven let out a short scream, wobbled, arms flying out for something to grab. Her left hand touched the window, and her right wacked Ben on the head.

  “Careful.”

  “Sorry.” She managed to regain her balance. It wasn’t as if there were anything to hold on to. She narrowed her eyes at Ben. “Was that deliberate?”

  “No idea what you’re talking about.” He looked ahead, then down below, before checking the controls again. Raven was pretty sure he was hiding a grin from her.

  “Right, we’re good to go. Let’s see if we can reap this paddock of wheat today. Hold on.”

  Raven grabbed hold of Ben, wrapping her arms around his waist, squeezing behind him in the seat, her head on his shoulders.

  “Don’t hold on to me.”

  “I really don’t know what you expect me to hold on to if it’s not you.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Time to get a little serious.”

  “Okay.” She sat back up, putting her left hand on the glass of the window to steady herself.

  “I’ll go easy.”

  “Sure, you will.” She didn’t think that was in his nature on any level. He was more of a hard-and-fast guy.

  Ben eased his foot off the brake, and they jerked forward. Raven nearly slipped off being perched on the arm of the chair.

  “Easy, don’t bump me. It could end badly.”

  “Because?”

  “See the rotating blades down below? I have to keep an eye on how low it is from the ground, so my hand is on the lever here. You bump me, it could go crashing into the ground. Everything here is expensive, a few extra zeros on the end of it, and I can’t afford any breakage.”

  Raven nodded, pushing her hand into the glass to keep herself from touching Ben. There was no way she wanted to nose dive forward if she bumped him accidentally and whatever it was he’d pointed out to her went into the ground.

  It was bumpy driving through the paddock, and she found it hard to keep her balance. “I just need to go up to the crop, then I’ll slow down.”

  “Fine,” she muttered, trying to use her leg muscles to stop herself from bouncing into him.

  She saw the crop ahead, and as they approached, Ben slowed down. It was easier to find her balance, though she mused how sore her leg muscles were going to be later.

  “Better?” he asked.

  “Yep.” Although now she’d appreciate how comfortable the seating was in her car.

  “Just relax, there’s nothing to it.”

  “Sure.” She smiled back at Ben. She could tell he was loving having her with him. Maybe he gets lonely too? She hadn’t thought of that before. How lonely would it be sitting here with no company, even Snipper was back at the house sleeping the day away. Raven might not know exactly the work Ben did on the farm, at least now, but she was becoming more aware of the long hours he was spending alone. Somehow, it eased her feelings of isolation.

  Raven leaned back a little to give some of her leg muscles a rest and engage a different position to stop her from bouncing around. It helped. She couldn’t believe how much of a workout she was getting just by trying to sit here and not knock into Ben. Gradually, she found herself settling into the rhythm of the heavy machinery.

  Ben kept look
ing at the controls, lights going on and off, and then looking out the front to give himself a visual. His expression was full of concentration. She wasn’t sure how he managed to do this for such long hours during the day for the last few weeks.

  Raven looked out through the front window. It was mesmerizing watching the stalks of wheat fold over onto the cutting blades and chopped. It looked effortless. The heads of grain rattled off somewhere else into the machinery, leaving the stalks behind. She understood now why the ends of the stalk were so sharp.

  Starting to feel a bit of motion sickness building, she pulled her gaze away, looking out to the horizon. The last thing she wanted to do was to be sick here in the cab and in front of Ben.

  The land stretched out in front of her, not entirely flat, but there were some soft, rolling hills, and a scattering of native trees and bushes. The sky was blue and clear of clouds—there wasn’t even a wisp of white. The sun shone down, zapping the last bit of green. Her artistic eye saw the different shades of brown that made up the landscape here. She saw the dryness but also the potential, the life in the magpies that flew occasionally in the sky, and in the far distance, she could see some sheep grazing. Paddocks of golden crops immediately surrounded them. There was beauty here, and it felt like she was seeing it for the first time.

  Tree lines marked where the dirt roads divided the paddocks and joined the farms. She could just make out wire fences in the distance marking the boundaries between the paddocks.

  “Is this all yours?” she asked.

  “Not quite, we’re a small farm.” He pointed to his right. “See the tree line there, that’s where our boundary ends.”

  “The one by the dead-looking old tree?”

  “No, the next row of trees, look further up, just below the horizon.”

  “Oh.” She hadn’t been looking far enough in the distance. “I see now. So, from there up to the farm is all yours?”

  “And my sister’s. We share the farm together.”

  “And your mom.” She added, trying not to remember how they were caught by her yesterday.

  “That’s right. I’ll buy my sister out in good time if I can afford it.”