Wooing the Farmer

by Jenny Frame

  “There’s nothing I want more than to be married, Finn.”

  At the moment she said those words, Penny turned to look at her and smiled sweetly. Quade felt all the empty spaces in her heart expand with love. I love her.

  “Penny’s beautiful, Quade. Don’t let any fear you have get in the way of what you want,” Finn said.

  “I want Penny with all my heart, Finn, but one day I’m afraid she’s going to leave here.”

  “Then tell her you love her. Give her a reason to stay. I stayed,” Finn said.

  The music room doors opened and the housekeeper gave Finn and Quade a nod.

  “It’s time, Finn.”

  “Have you got the rings?” Finn said in sudden panic.

  Quade tapped her pocket and smiled. “Yes. Don’t worry. I’m really good at the boring stuff.”

  They took their places at the altar, the guests stood, and Quade reminded Finn to put on her top hat. The music started, and Quade heard Finn gasp a huge intake of breath. When she turned in the direction Finn was looking, she saw Bridget Claremont, not as the vicar, but as the utterly gorgeous, sexy woman she was, holding the arm of her best friend Harry.

  Bridge’s wedding dress consisted of a tight red corset on top, and a full black dress, overlaid with red lace. In her hands she held deep red roses, simply bunched and beautiful. The colours matched Finn’s black steampunk suit and red waistcoat. They matched each other both outside and in, and Quade prayed that she and Penny could match together as well.

  * * *

  After the meal and speeches, the staff cleared the tables in the ballroom, and the dancing started. Harry and Annie were dancing together slowly on the dance floor, content to be in each other’s arms.

  Harry was happy. The day was a success, and now all the guests were either talking happily or dancing. Her mother, Lady Dorothy, was engaged in deep conversation with Bridge’s mother, Cordelia, Annie was in her arms, and her friends were happily married.

  “Did you make sure Martha was settled when you took her home? Did you remember the cake for her?”

  Mrs. Martha Castle, Harry’s childhood cook, was like another grandmother to Riley and so important to them. She didn’t have the best of health and struggled to stay after the dinner, so Harry drove her home and settled her in.

  “Yes, I got her tea, put her favourite TV show on, and the nurse was coming to help her to bed in an hour. She’s fine.”

  “Good. What a beautiful day it’s been,” Annie said.

  Harry kissed the side of her wife’s head. “You planned it perfectly. You’re so good at organizing events. Did I ever tell you that Axedale wouldn’t be half of what it is without you?”

  Annie smiled with satisfaction. “Once or twice.”

  “You’re like the general of the Axedale army and I just need to stand well back and let you get on with it.”

  “Is that why you escape to your office then?” Annie asked.

  “Sometimes, but then my heart misses you so much I have to come and find you.”

  Annie leaned in and whispered in her ear. “Like the airing cupboard incident?”

  “Exactly.” Harry waggled her eyebrows.

  Last week Harry was feeling a little deprived of Annie’s attention, as Annie was knee-deep in wedding preparations. So Harry whisked her off for a private word, and they ended up making love in the airing cupboard upstairs. It had been thrilling.

  Annie turned her head to the side and gasped. “Oh my God, Harry. They look so adorable.”

  Harry turned to where Annie was looking and saw Riley, who was wearing a replica of Harry’s suit, trying to dance a waltz with her best friend Sophie.

  Harry grinned. “I think our little centurion has an eye for a pretty girl.”

  “I think so,” Annie agreed.

  “How sweet,” Bridge said, as she and Finn danced up beside them. “Another little heartbreaker.”

  “If Harry has any influence on her, I’m sure she will be,” Annie joked.

  “Very funny,” Harry said. “So, what time are you two leaving?”

  Finn looked at her watch. “About half an hour, I think. Our flight is at twenty past seven tomorrow, so we’ll need to be up at the crack of dawn.”

  Bridge softly smacked Finn’s backside. “Not that she’ll be getting any sleep. Will you, darling?”

  “I can sleep on the plane.” Finn grinned goofily.

  “Before you two start early,” Harry said, “let me dance with my friend.”

  Harry gave Annie’s hand to Finn, and she took Bridge’s.

  “Do you see our lovebirds over there?” Annie pointed to Quade and Penny dancing closely on the other side of the room.

  Bridge smiled. “I have a good feeling about those two. Imagine our Quade with Little Pen?”

  “Bridge, you will remember to aim your flowers at Penny, won’t you?” Annie said.

  “Of course, but as Harry will tell you, I wasn’t very good at sport at school, so my aim may not be the best.”

  “Try your best,” Annie said. “We need one more happy ending in Axedale, and if Quade doesn’t get it with Pen, I don’t know if she ever will. She’s head over heels in love.”

  * * *

  Penny and Quade walked back to the farmhouse hand in hand, Penny carrying her heels. Penny’s phone was going crazy with beeps of notifications.

  “What are your people all excited about now?”

  “My people?” Penny laughed.

  “You know what I mean.”

  Penny took her phone from her clutch bag and opened up her Instagram account. “It’s the picture I took of us together at the reception.” Penny began to laugh as she read through the comments.

  “What is it?” Quade asked.

  “They seem to be particularly excited about Sexy Farmer wearing a suit. I think you could have your own successful social media account. They fancy you so much.”

  “Don’t be daft. They don’t know how boring I am in real life. Besides, I like being part of yours.”

  Penny smiled and put away her phone. Life was more interesting than her cyberlife at the moment.

  They turned the corner and Penny was faced with the hill that led up to Quade’s farm. She stopped and let out a groan. “Oh no. I wish we had taken the lift from Mr. Finch now. I just thought it would be nice to walk together.”

  Before she could say a word, Quade lifted Penny into her arms. “You should have said. I’ll carry you home—well, to my home.”

  Far from annoying Penny as it used to, finding herself in Quade’s arms made her smile. She wrapped her arms around Quade’s neck and kissed her. “I’m too heavy.”

  “Don’t be silly. I lift calves, bales of hay, fence posts—you’re not heavy,” Quade said.

  Penny’s eyebrows rose. “It’s not very flattering to be compared to calves, fence posts, and bales of hay.”

  Quade kissed her nose. “You know what I mean. I’m strong enough for you.”

  Penny laid her head on Quade’s shoulder. “Oh I know. You’re a girl’s dream.”

  Quade noticed Penny rubbing her temples. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, just a headache. It’s all the crying I did today. I always cry at weddings and crying always gives me a headache.”

  “Getting hit in the head with Bridge’s bouquet didn’t help,” Quade joked.

  “God, I know.”

  When Bridge and Finn were leaving, all the guests went outside to wave them off and for the throwing of the bouquet. “Bridge isn’t the best at throwing. It hit me on the head and fell into Mrs. Peters’s hands,” Penny said.

  “I heard her tell Mr. Peters she was leaving him when this new suitor arrived.”

  “From the way Annie was lining Bridge up, I think she was meant to be aiming at me.”

  Quade loved the feel of Penny in her arms. It felt like that was how it was meant to be. Today had been a dream. Having someone like Penny as her partner at her friend’s wedding would have seemed like fant
asy a few months ago, and yet here she was, carrying the woman she loved back to her farmhouse.

  Finn had told her to make sure Penny knew how much she cared, how serious she was about her, but if she said those words and frightened Penny off, Quade’s heart would be broken. She needed to gauge how long Penny saw herself staying.

  “How’s the cookbook going?”

  Penny yawned and nuzzled into her neck. “Great, I’ve got too many recipes for the book now that Mrs. Castle gave me her recipe notebooks. They’re like gold, you know. She’s written down recipes since she was just a girl, and kitchen maid at Axedale. I’ll need to work with my editor to chop it down.”

  “And can you adapt them to your…” Quade wasn’t quite sure how to describe it.

  “My clean eating philosophy? Oh yes. I pride myself on being able to make any traditional recipe work.”

  “And what vegetable delights have I got to look forward to this week?” Quade asked.

  She always pretended Penny’s vegetable creations were a trial, but secretly she loved her dinners each night with her. All except the cauliflower rice. That was a step too far.

  Penny smirked at her. “I’m not telling just now, because you might drop me on the road and run.”

  “Don’t think I haven’t noticed you putting more vegetables on my plate each day. You started with just a tablespoon, and now they cover half the plate.”

  Penny laughed and softly hit Quade on the chest. “They do not. Stop complaining. I wonder how our babies are?”

  Our babies? That was new. It gave Quade a look into her perfect future, but did Penny really mean that? Since Quade started having dinner with Penny every night, she couldn’t help but think of the two of them and Princess and Dougal as a family. That was her wish, her dream.

  They got to the door of the farm and Quade let Penny slide down her body. Quade gulped. Their loving slow dances at the wedding reception had left her body aching for Penny’s touch.

  “Thank you for carrying me,” Penny said.

  “It’s part of the courting service, Ms. Huntingdon-Stewart. Are you staying tonight? Or do you want me to drive you to the cottage?”

  Penny grasped Quade’s tie and pulled her forward into a kiss. “What do you think?”

  Quade hoped she wasn’t getting this spectacularly wrong. “Staying?”

  “Of course. I’m happier than I could ever have imagined, sleeping snuggled up to you, Sammy.”

  I need to tell her how I feel. I need this woman in my life.

  “You go and get ready for bed and I’ll slip Tom a few quid for babysitting.”

  “Okay.” Penny kissed her cheek. “Don’t be long.”

  Chapter Twenty

  When Quade went in, the dogs made a big fuss over her, then ran upstairs to see Penny. Quade thanked Tom, locked up, and went into the spare bedroom to get changed for bed. Even though they were getting closer and closer, Quade liked to give Penny her space and privacy.

  When she was changed, she knocked on the bedroom door.

  Penny’s response came quickly. “Get in here, Sammy. You don’t have to knock.”

  Quade walked in and groaned internally. Penny was sitting at the dressing table taking off her make-up, but still in her dress. There was just something about watching Penny put on or take off her make-up that turned Quade on.

  She sat on the bed and gazed at her using all the pots and potions and creams that Quade never understood. Penny finished and sprayed more of her gorgeous perfume onto her neck. Quade just wanted to bury her face in Penny’s neck and kiss her way down her beautiful throat.

  “Can you unzip me, Sammy?”

  Penny stood and waited. She had needed help getting into her dress, and needed it getting out.

  When Quade didn’t move from the bed, Penny turned around to look at her. “Sammy?”

  Quade rubbed her hands together nervously. “You want me to…uh…?”

  “Yes, please.”

  But Penny began to see the problem when she felt Quade’s fingers on her neck. She had taken another step to a deeper intimacy without even noticing. Penny felt goosebumps erupt all down her arms as Quade’s fingers traced her skin while the zip lowered.

  Penny’s heart started to thud and mirrored the familiar beat that began lower down. Quade’s fingers lingered at the bottom of Penny’s spine, and Penny stopped breathing.

  Quade took a step closer and Penny felt her breath on her neck. “Shall I go and let you get changed?”

  Quade was asking more than her words conveyed. She was giving Penny the choice without any pressure. Penny closed her eyes and allowed herself to enjoy the sensation of Quade’s fingers caressing her back. She imagined turning around and letting her dress fall to her feet, and Quade’s fingers touching her.

  Was she ready?

  She knew she would have her answer when she turned around and looked in Quade’s eyes.

  Penny turned and saw a mixture of love, adoration, and hunger in Quade’s eyes.

  Quade had courted her so slowly and simply, until Penny wasn’t worried any more. She wanted Quade. She was ready.

  Penny let her dress slip off as she’d imagined and said, “No, I don’t want you to leave. I want you to stay.”

  Quade’s eyes caressed her body, making her hot. Penny slipped off her tights, leaving her only in her bra and knickers.

  She lifted Quade’s hand and placed it on her chest. Quade still looked uncertain.

  She’s worried she might scare me off.

  Penny never imagined she would be the one to initiate sex, but this was the way it had to be, to show Quade she wanted this.

  She took Quade’s hand and said, “Come to bed, Sammy.”

  They slipped under the covers and turned to face each other. Quade stroked the hair back from Penny’s face.

  “You know you don’t need to do this, don’t you?”

  “Sammy, if I felt I had to do this, we wouldn’t be in bed together. We’re here because I trust you, because you respect me and never push me,” Penny said.

  “I just don’t ever want you to feel worried when you’re with me. You will tell me if you want to stop—”

  Penny surprised herself by kissing Quade. She could think of no better way to show Quade what she wanted, and to make Quade relax. It was strange. After all this time of being afraid to let anyone in, now that she had built this trust, this secure feeling with Quade, she wasn’t in the least bit worried. This was the moment she’d been waiting for her whole life.

  * * *

  Quade felt so tense that Penny stopped kissing her and said, “Tell me what you’re thinking?”

  She wanted to pinch herself to make sure this was really happening, and not just one of her many fantasies.

  “Sammy, tell me,” Penny repeated.

  Quade took Penny’s hand and kissed it. “I’m thinking that I’ve never felt so terrified, but never wanted something as much in my life.”

  “It’s okay to feel that way. That’s what you’ve told me the whole time you’ve courted me.”

  Quade stroked the hair from Penny’s face. “Yeah, but I’m the one supposed to be confident for you. To make you feel safe.”

  “I always feel safe with you. Just touch me,” Penny said.

  When Penny kissed her again, Quade lost her anxiety. She rolled Penny onto her back and took control of the kiss.

  Penny’s hands grabbed for her T-shirt and pulled it off. “Let me feel you.”

  Quade pushed her head into the crook of Penny’s neck as she had longed to and moaned when she inhaled Penny’s perfume.

  Was this really happening? Was she really touching and kissing the woman of her dreams? She enjoyed the sensation of Penny sweeping her hands across her shoulders and teasing her by scratching her skin with those sexy nails of hers.

  Quade was throbbing and wet already but her arousal grew when she felt Penny’s hips rock against her thigh and heard her moan.

  “Sammy? Wait,” Penny said bre
athily.

  Quade stopped, worried that she had upset Penny in some way. “I’m sorry. Did I—”

  Penny took Quade’s hand and brought it to her lips. “I had fantasies about these hands.”

  Quade was relieved she hadn’t done something wrong. “You did? But they’re rough, not soft like yours.”

  Penny took Quade’s hand and placed it on her lace-covered breast.

  “Oh God,” Quade moaned. Quade’s dreams never made her feel what this moment of reality did.

  “I love them because they are rough, so different from me. I fantasized about your rough hands touching my breasts.”

  Quade just had to give Penny what she wanted. She reached around and, with some fumbling, unhooked Penny’s bra.

  Penny eased her arms out and Quade saw the breasts that she’d only imagined, that had teased her in those little tight T-shirts and low-necklined dresses.

  Quade must have been taking too long because Penny grabbed Quade’s hand and pushed it onto her breast.

  She grasped it, and Penny arched her back and moaned. Quade paused and licked her lips. Her mouth watered at the sight of Penny’s puckered hard nipples.

  “God,” Quade said as she closed her eyes and just allowed herself to feel. She was overwhelmed with the softness of Penny’s breasts, such a contrast to her own hands.

  Quade opened her eyes and saw pure lust in Penny’s eyes. The realization that she could make Penny feel like this gave her a shot of confidence.

  She lowered her lips to just inches from Penny’s nipple and whispered, “You’re so beautiful.”

  Penny moaned, then pushed Quade’s lips onto her breast. Her first taste of Penny didn’t sate her hunger but made her crave for more. She ran her tongue all around Penny’s nipple, teasing and enjoying her first taste slowly.

  “Suck it,” Penny groaned.

  It turned Quade on so much to hear Penny say something so sexual, so needy. Penny needed her, and she would give her exactly what she needed.

  She sucked in Penny’s hard nipple and rolled her tongue around it, while squeezing her other breast. Penny’s hips started to move and thrust in response.