Tyler made a pot of tea and poured mugs for Josie and Eric. After delivering them, he settled in front of the television with his own tea, frustration stalking his mind.
Susan was here in Clare, but he hadn’t managed to glimpse her since the gala day. Three days of snatched chats and texts. A couple of emails. Now it was time for another episode of the reality show and he thought he might explode if he couldn’t see her, touch her. Kiss her.
“What is wrong with you?” Eric asked. “You got ants in your pants?”
“He’s been like that for days.” Josie’s eyes gleamed with secrets and Tyler was glad she wasn’t sharing her opinion, at least not to his face. “Maybe you need a change of routine? When are you going to go on your date with Susan?”
What he needed was a good hard fuck, and only one woman would solve his problem. But how did he get his hands on Susan?
He could hardly bring her here to the farm, and he couldn’t take her to a motel room without causing speculation. The downside of country town life—eyes everywhere.
His cell phone buzzed and he straightened, pulling it from his pocket. Phone sex at ten. Are you up for it? Lust ran a path directly to his dick and he shifted, careful to make his move casual.
The opening credits for Farmer Seeks a Wife ran across the screen, and Tyler took a moment to reply. Hell, yeah! It’s a date.
“You look happier,” Josie said.
Tyler lifted his head to discover Eric and Josie staring, their expressions a hairsbreadth from nosiness.
“Shush, the show is starting,” Tyler said.
“Katey keeps mentioning a bracelet and Susan in the same sentence. I thought I’d ask Susan if we could buy supplies and make bracelets at Katey’s birthday party. Maybe she could teach the girls a dance or two as well. I’m sure that would stack up well against pony rides,” Josie said.
“Sounds good. Did you still want me to do face painting?”
“Yes, I think so. It’s good to plan indoor activities at this time of the year. If the weather is fine, we can move outside. We’ll play it by ear.”
“I’ll ask Susan,” he said, his attention on the television screen.
“Give me her number,” Josie said. “I’ll ask her.”
And there went his only viable excuse for contacting Susan. On screen, Nolan was teasing the two blondes—Jasmine and Lucy. There was lots of flirting and eyelash fluttering before the scene shifted to a shared dinner.
“Who is Nolan going to choose?” Eric asked when the show went to a commercial break.
“Not Susan if your mother has anything to do with it,” Josie said. “The most awful rumors are circulating in the supermarket. I know they’re false because I spent time with Susan at the gala.” Her innocent gaze swung to Tyler. “I liked her very much. What do you say, Tyler?”
Tyler shot Josie a narrow-eyed stare. She was yanking his tail and doing an excellent job of ramping up his angst. “I think she’s sexy, a lot of fun and Nolan should watch out or some other local will snatch her from under his nose.”
“Well,” said Josie. “Are you interested in Susan? I thought you had a special friend up in Auckland.”
“You know it’s Susan. Shush, the show is starting again.” Tyler fastened his attention on the screen, his breath catching on seeing her. She spoke candidly, not shying from hard, soul-searching questions.
“She’s gutsy,” Eric said. “I like what I’ve seen of her too.”
“I like the fact she doesn’t resort to girlie tricks with Nolan,” Josie said. “She’s straight and true to herself. She doesn’t deserve the slurs your mother is casting on her character.”
Tyler remained silent, digesting her words of country life. A potential problem. He’d talk her round. His mind moved on to his mother and her dirty tactics. As a kid, he’d tried to be good, yet his attempts had never been enough. His mistake in getting a girl pregnant had given his parent a reason to toss him from the family home, and his father and brother hadn’t offered support.
“Ooh, look!” Josie cried. “We’re on the telly.”
The camera had caught him laughing with Susan while Josie grinned like a woman in a toothpaste ad in the rear of the shot. His stomach bottomed out. Everything he felt for Susan shone on his face. He was certain Josie would recognize his open emotion, since she knew him well. Hopefully, everyone else would miss his reaction.
He tensed, waiting for his in-laws to tease. The ribbing didn’t come, and his breath eased out in silent relief. Maybe his feelings for Susan weren’t as transparent as he suspected.
Onscreen, the camera cut to Hailee. “Next week, our farmers will choose their favorite two girls. Tune in on Thursday to watch the farm antics and learn if your favorite girl reaches the next stage of the competition.”
Tyler yawned as the closing credits ran across the screen. “I might have an early night. I’ll check on Katey and head to bed.”
“Goodnight, son,” Eric said.
“Night, Tyler.”
Tyler wandered from the room while his brain demanded he break into a sprint. He had a bout of phone sex coming up. No time to waste.
Susan jumped when her phone buzzed. She checked the screen. Tyler. About time.
“I might have an early night,” she said, her gaze going to Nolan, then Jasmine and Lucy. “It’s been a long day.” Even longer since her clever idea to make a date for phone sex. Never had a show seemed so lengthy.
A chorus of half-hearted goodnights came from the girls.
Nolan smiled. “See you in the morning. Thanks again for cooking dinner.”
“No problem.” Without her normal busy routine, the days were dragging, despite the new situation and the number of new people she found popping into her schedule.
Before she could reply to Tyler’s text, her phone rang.
“Hello, Susan. It’s Josie. I’m ringing to ask about our date.”
Susan listened while Josie ran through her list of requirements and the date of Katey’s birthday. “I’d love to help. Let me run it past Nolan and the cameraman first. Jennifer, our producer, has given them a strict schedule to keep in order to complete the show by deadline. I think that should be all right, but I’ll double check tomorrow and confirm with you after I’ve spoken to them.”
Once she’d finished the call, she sent a quick text to Tyler telling him to get naked and wait for her call.
In her bedroom, she closed the door, then turned the lock to prevent anyone from entering without permission.
She stripped and placed her clothes over the top of a straight-backed chair, the only other piece of furniture in her tiny bedroom. The last thing she did before she climbed into bed was apply some perfume, dabbing it on her pulse points. Breathless, she wiped damp palms on the green cotton duvet and reached for her phone.
“Susan. What took you so long?”
“Josie rang to organize our date. I’m coming to Katey’s birthday party, as long as I can get time off from the show.”
“I look forward to seeing you in my territory.” His husky voice slipped across her senses like the smoothest whisky slid down a throat.
“I wish…” She swallowed and started again. “I wish I was there now.”
“How would you feel about dinner and a movie for our date? We can have dinner at the pub and go to the drive-in movie on McDierment’s farm. How does that sound?”
“That sounds great,” Susan said. He hadn’t returned her sentiment and she found her confidence taking a dive. “I’m switching to speaker phone.”
“Already done. I’d like it if we could share a bed every night.”
“Me too.” Except she didn’t see how that would ever happen with her in Auckland and Tyler in Clare with his daughter.
“What are you wearing?”
“Nothing except perfume.”
“Describe the scent for me.”
“It’s spicy like cinnamon with a touch of citrus. Lime, I think. It reminds me of a Christmas cake. I put some behind my ears and on the crook of my elbow. And just a dab between my breasts.”
“Nice,” he said. “I’m not wearing anything either and all my blood is jammed in my cock.”
She laughed, picturing him with the blunt end of his cock red and swollen, his eyes glittering with need while his taut muscles strained beneath her fingertips.
“Did you bring your vibrator with you?”
“I did as it happens. Let me get Mr. Blue.”
“Your vibrator has a name?”
“He deserves one since he gives so much pleasure.”
Tyler gave an audible swallow. “Good point.” He cleared his throat. “Switch on your vibrator and tease your breasts. I want you to describe everything you feel, the things I’d see if I was in the bed with you.”
“Okay. Mr. Blue is shaped like a penis and he’s bright blue. Ooh,” Susan said as she slid the vibrator over the curve of one breast and nudged her nipple. “I’ve set Mr. Blue on a low speed, but I can feel the pulse against my skin. My nipple has pulled tight. My pussy feels wet already and—”
“If I touched you, would I see the glint of your juices on my fingers?”
“Let me see,” she whispered, a delicious sensation pulling tight in her lower belly. “I’m reaching down my body.” Her fingers drifted downward in a teasing caress. “I’m stroking, touching, imagining your fingers on me.” Yeah, the rougher texture of Tyler’s fingers, sliding over her belly, maybe dallying to dip into her navel. “Now I’m parting my legs. I can feel the chill of the air prickling across my hot flesh.” Her fingers grazed her slit. “But my skin feels hot. Wet.” The warmth of her pussy almost seared her fingertips. One of her fingers dipped into her entrance and it came away damp. A groan escaped.
“Don’t keep me waiting,” he ordered. “Tell me what you see.”
“My finger is shiny.” She placed her fingertip into her mouth and licked it clean. “I taste musky, a little tart.”
“I’m frightened to touch my cock.” Tyler’s voice was strained. “It won’t take much for me to explode.”
“Imagine my mouth on you,” she said, letting the vibrator drift down her body. She teased it down her cleft and closed her eyes while she verbally seduced Tyler. “I lick around the crown then delicately probe your slit to gather the drops of pre-come. You taste good, so good and all I can think of is taking you deeper into my mouth and giving you pleasure.” He’d like this. She’d tell him everything she couldn’t normally say out loud because of a cock-filled mouth. “I want to make you feel good, so I tease you with the flat of my tongue.”
Tyler’s sharp intake of breath tugged like a kite string, firing need, desire. Susan swallowed and continued. “I want to drive you crazy, push you like you push pleasure through me with every touch.”
“Tell me what you do next.”
“I’m eager to taste you and take the tip of your cock into my mouth. I suck, take you deeper, let the underside of your shaft slide along my tongue. How does it feel?”
“Fuckin’ great. God, I wish you were here in my bed.”
Yes. Susan ran the vibrator over her clit and sighed at the sensual jolt. “I’m going to fuck myself with the vibrator now. You’re not the only one in a hurry.”
“Wait. Have you got any other toys?”
She paused, his question flinging her back into the past. She’d left her other toys with her ex after he’d abandoned her for her best friend. Funny, it didn’t hurt as much now. “I used to own more in another life.”
“I’d enjoy shopping with you. We’ll buy some together,” he said.
She pushed Mr. Blue into her channel, the silicon sliding easily into her aroused flesh. Turning the vibrator so the slight bend vibrated against her G-spot, she switched the setting up a notch. “Mr. Blue is inside me now, and he’s doing his normal good work.”
“Glad to hear you have a reliable male.”
Susan spluttered a laugh, sent a guilty glance at her closed door. “I’m taking you deep now, pulling your shaft into my mouth. Your knob bumps against my throat. I’m breathing carefully through my nose and concentrating on giving you the best blow job you’ve ever received.”
“Hell, yeah,” he muttered.
“I can taste your pre-come. It’s coming more quickly now, and your breathing is rapid. You’re starting to burble and promise me all sorts of things—”
“Hell, yeah. I’d give you the moon if I could.”
“You say that now.”
“I mean it,” Tyler said.
Susan stirred, pressure building in her pussy. “I go a little faster, bobbing up and down, pulling a loud moan from you.” On beat, Tyler’s soft moan came from the speakerphone and the pressure inside her increased. “Your cock swells and your balls are tight when I massage them. On the next down stroke, your cock nudges the back of my throat and I swallow against the thickness.”
“Fuck,” he said then hissed.
“Your eyes are closed and color surges into your face. You’re trembling, so close it’s as if you’re balancing on a tight wire. I lift my head, go back down and you’re coming, shooting into my mouth, spurting down my throat. This time I let you move, let you take what you want, what you need.”
The words pulled her pussy tight, and she clenched her legs together. Her orgasm whipped through her, streaking tendrils of pleasure up her torso and down her limbs until the splendor of it roared like a storm. Like a tasty chocolate treat, she reveled in the deliciousness, greedily guzzling up every frisson until she floated back to the cupboard-size bedroom and reality.
For an instant, guilt colored the decadence—that she should do this with Tyler when she’d signed up to make nice with another.
“Suzy,” Tyler’s hoarse voice dragged her back, the aching sweetness of his tone. “Suzy, don’t leave me hanging.”
“I’d never do that,” Susan whispered. “But it’s not my fault you didn’t keep with my program.”
“I wanted to hear you.” His words made her heart twist and ache.
Warmth filled her, a shifting in her chest made her aware of her breathlessness. She’d experienced these tumultuous emotions before and wondered if she should worry, if she should step back so she didn’t stumble into the chasm of pain that marched along with handing over her heart.
He’s not like that. But she didn’t know for sure—not yet. The only way she’d know was to take a chance and let her traitorous spirit have the reins. She’d applied to the reality show because she wanted to find love…
Susan removed Mr. Blue and started speaking. “Take your cock in your hand and stroke it. Not the hard strokes you’d usually use. Instead, run your fingers along your shaft with the softer pressure a woman would use.” Her inner self snarled at the idea. “Like I’d do it,” she amended. “If I were teasing you. Run your fingers up and down again, brushing the tip.”
“You’re killing me here.”
“You’re lucky I’m not with you. I might torture you in person. Restrain your hands or blindfold you, so you won’t know exactly what I’m gonna do next.”
“We could try that some time. I’m happy as long as I get to try my ideas too.”
A laugh bubbled from her. He was thinking of the future, their future. “Do you want to come or not?”
“My balls are turning blue, and that’s only a good thing if you’re a male baboon.”
“You keep interrupting.”
“I like talking with you.”
And she liked him way too much, considering the obstacles. “I want you to grip your cock hard now and pretend you’re buried deep inside me. You can feel the heat of my channel, even through the condom. You pull out and plunge back inside. The slick walls tease your cock. Can you feel how close you are? The tight pressure in your sac? How you feel as if you might explode in the next stroke?”
“Yes,” he hissed.
“You pull back to take the final stroke, part of you wanting to go slow while the rest of you wants to pound into me. Which is it going to be?”
“Hard,” he whispered.
“Feel my body quivering, ready to take you. I lift my hips, changing the angle for you to make the final stroke. Just perfect,” she whispered. “Pound into me. Take what you need, Tyler. Take me.”
Tyler’s hard groan filled her bedroom, so loud Susan’s gaze zapped to the door. Then there was silence. “Tyler?”
“I’m here,” he said. “But for a moment I thought this was a near-death experience.”
“I wish I was there.”
“I wish you were too.” Regret laced his voice. “If you feel up to a walk, there’s a dam on the boundary. We could meet.”
“Okay.” Meeting was a bad idea, but she had to see him or she’d go crazy. “When will we go for dinner?”
“I’ll ring you tomorrow. Are you filming tomorrow?”
“Yes, we’re going into Clare with your mother. Something about volunteer work and how Nolan’s wife needs to take an active part in the community.”
“You don’t like helping?”
“I’ve done a lot of charity work in the past. No, that doesn’t bother me, but meeting your mother again—that’s the part that makes me nervous.”
“I don’t blame you,” Tyler said. “Josie says I should face off with her, but honestly, it’s more peaceful and less stressful for all concerned if I turn my back and pretend she’s not there.”
“It can’t be easy having your parents write you off because of a youthful mistake.”
“I have Josie and Eric in my corner. The way I see it, they’re my parents.”
She nodded even though he couldn’t see her sympathy. “My mother and sisters are supportive of everything I do. Even though they thought I was crazy for telling my fiancé to take a hike, they stood at my side.”
“What did he do?”
“Slept with my best friend. They got married and divorced about a year after their wedding.”
“Sounds as if you were well rid of him.”
“Yeah. What about your wife?”
Tyler’s voice drifted in and out, as if he were resettling his pillows. “Rebecca didn’t like living in Clare. She wanted to move back to Auckland after Katey was born but didn’t handle the responsibilities of having a baby well. She cried a lot and left me and Josie to deal with Katey. I knew it was best to stay here even though it wasn’t our original plan. Our marriage…”
“We don’t have to talk about it,” Susan said. She wanted to live in Auckland too.
“No, Suzy. I want you to know.”
“Suzy?” She laughed at the nickname. No one had ever given her one before.
“Suzy is the part of you who is brave and funny and strives for what she wants.”
“Thanks.” His words sent pleasure swirling, made her realize how far she’d come in the last year. Heck, she actually liked herself.
“You’re welcome. Our marriage didn’t have a chance after Katey came along. We argued about leaving Clare. Katey mightn’t have been planned but I fell in love with her pretty quickly. For her sake, we needed to stay with Eric and Josie. We needed their support.”
“What happened?”
“Rebecca stayed. We argued a lot and were both miserable. Rebecca seemed to be depressed and lost a lot of weight. Josie and I finally persuaded her to see a doctor. They did a heap of tests and diagnosed cancer.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Me too,” he said. “She was so young.”
And so was he to go through a tragedy like that. His words also cemented his bond with Josie and Eric in her mind, the painful path of her thoughts stripping away some of her good mood. “It’s getting late.”
“Yeah, I have an early start tomorrow. Will you meet me by the dam?”
“I’ll text you once I know if I can get away.”
“I look forward to it,” he said. “Goodnight, sweetheart.”
“Goodnight.” Susan forced herself to cut the connection and switch off the light. If only it were that easy to stop her mind and heart from conjuring a bright, shiny future with the wrong man.