Heart of the Hunter

by Chance Carter

  “If I can’t have you, no one can have you,” Gris said, and there was an anger in his eyes she’d never seen before.

  And then there was a smashing sound. The entire windshield fell in on them in a million pieces. Gris released his grip of her neck and she gasped for air. Then she saw what had happened. Forrester had picked up the motorcycle, which must have weighed hundreds of pounds, and flung it through the windshield. Through the smashed glass she could see him standing there on the side of the road, holding himself up against the guardrail.

  “That’s it, fucko,” Gris said, climbing out of the car through the broken windshield, the gun firmly in his hand. “You’re going to pay. You’re going to pay for ruining my life. For stealing my girl. She was my girl. She was always mine.”

  “She was never yours, Gris. You just thought she was.”

  “So she’s yours?” Gris said.

  “She’s no one’s,” Forrester said. “Unless she wants to be. But I can tell you this. I’m hers. And I’m not going to let you hurt her ever again.”

  Forrester was obviously still injured from everything that had happened to him in the jail, but Elle watched as he moved toward Gris. Gris strode toward him powerfully. When they met, Gris swung his pistol at Forrester’s face. Forrester blocked it, and threw a punch into Gris’s abdomen. Gris stepped back, surprised that Forrester could still fight, and then drew the weapon. Forrester stopped in his tracks.

  “What’s stopping me from pulling this trigger, right now?” Gris said.

  “No,” Elle cried, but the men didn’t hear her. Her voice was still weak from being choked. “No,” she tried again, but her voice was barely audible.

  “You’re not going to pull the trigger,” Forrester said.

  “And why’s that?” Gris snarled back at him.

  “Because you know it wasn’t me that ruined your life. You know it wasn’t Elle either. I couldn’t steal her from you because you never owned her. A man never owns a woman. He just borrows her from God, and looks after her on behalf of God.”

  “Where do you get this shit, fucko?”

  “You know it’s true, Gris.”

  “The hell I do.”

  “A woman is like an angel in our life. Without them, everything’s cold and hard and empty. I know it. I learned it in my father’s basement as a child. You know it too, Gris.”

  “Fuck you.”

  “She was never yours. And you can’t keep her after she wants to leave. She was in your life for a period of time, and you should cherish that time. You should cherish the memory of it. Because I bet she was a million times better than what you deserved. I bet she brought nothing but joy and love into your life. I bet she gave you happiness, and warmth, and love.”

  Gris was nodding his head. Elle couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t believe the words she was hearing from Forrester’s mouth. Was that really what he felt? Was that really the way he thought of her? That she was an angel, that was coming into his life to bring happiness and warmth? She didn’t know what to think. She started crying.

  “Are you going to let her go peacefully?” Forrester said.

  Gris dropped the gun. It was only then that Elle was able to breathe. She’d been holding her breath the entire time. Forrester bent down and picked up the gun, then strode toward Elle. She struggled to open her seat belt, she couldn’t get out of it fast enough. Forrester was limping toward her and it was clear he was a in a lot of pain. Elle finally got her seat belt opened and got out of the car. She ran toward Forrester and without thinking, leapt into his open arms. She couldn’t believe it. She hadn’t dared to dream she’d ever know such happiness.

  Having Forrester, and then thinking she’d lost him. Going through the agony of thinking he’d given up on her. And now, having him back, it was too much for her senses to take. She burst into tears, even as Forrester started laughing. He was holding her up but she could feel his weakened body struggle.

  “Oh god,” she cried. “You’re hurt. I’m so sorry.”

  He put her back on the ground and she looked into his deep, loving eyes.

  “I was afraid I’d never see you again, Forrester.”

  “You’re going to see me every morning for the rest of your life, Elle. As soon as you open your eyes.”

  “Did you really mean all those things you said to Gris, about a woman being an angel from heaven?”

  “Every word of it, sweetie. I know you’re a treasure. I know you’re a gift from heaven. And I’ll never forget it.”

  With that, Forrester leaned forward, and when his lips met hers, she thought she could feel herself melting. He wrapped his arms around her and made her feel so safe, so complete, that it was dizzying. She had no idea how she’d lived her life up to that point without him.

  His tongue met hers, and she remembered all of the things that had made him impossible to forget. Impossible to live without. She could feel the heat inside her, the memory of the pleasures they’d shared, and would share again. She wanted him inside her. She wanted him to come inside her, without any protection, and make her pregnant with his child. She wanted his baby.

  But she was getting ahead of herself. They broke their kiss and turned to Gris.

  “I guess the car’s done for,” Gris said, dejectedly.

  “Yeah, but the bike’s okay,” Forrester said, looking at it.

  Elle looked at Gris. She knew she had to say goodbye to him, and she knew that this time it would be for good. It was difficult to take herself from Forrester’s arms but she did, and walked over to Gris.

  “You can do this,” she said to him.

  He looked terrified, like he didn’t understand what the future would hold for him without her.

  “How can I?” he said. “How can I live without you, Elle?”

  Elle just gave him a small smile. “You’ll figure it out.”

  She turned and walked back toward Forrester. Gris’s voice stopped her.

  “Elle,” he said.

  “Yes?” she said, glancing over her shoulder.

  “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything I did to you. For not treating you right.”

  Elle nodded. “I know you are, Gris. Now don’t make the same mistakes with another woman. Women don’t deserve to be hurt or treated bad.”

  “I’ll try not to,” he said.

  Forrester had picked up the bike and started it. Elle ran over and climbed up onto it behind him, wrapping her arms around his chest, careful not to hurt his broken ribs.

  It felt so right. As Forrester gunned the engine and headed down the highway, nothing could have felt more right in the entire world.

  Chapter 42

  Forrester

  FORRESTER FLEW DOWN THE HIGHWAY, speeding past cars and intersections in his haste to get back to the mountains. It felt so good to have Elle back. It felt like life had returned to his body. They’d barely spoken, but they didn’t need to speak. There would be time for that later. For now, just the feeling of her on the back of the bike was enough for him. Ahead of them the mountains loomed, getting closer and closer with every minute that passed. As they got closer it also got colder and he pulled over at the gas station he’d stopped at earlier in the morning.

  He took off his jacket and handed it to Elle.

  “I couldn’t,” she said. “You’ll freeze.”

  “You’ll have to keep me warm, sweetheart,” he said, and watched her put on the jacket.

  It was too big for her and she looked so cute, absolutely adorable, as she got into it.

  “Is that warmer?” he said.

  She nodded. They got back on the road and it wasn’t long before they were reentering the town of Stone Peak.

  “I’ll never get tired of the beauty of this place,” he said as they passed an overlook, the wide vistas of the Rocky Mountains below them.

  “Me neither,” Elle said.

  “I think I could live here again.”

  She looked at him. “Really?”

  He smile
d. “With the right person, I could.”

  He pulled into the parking lot when they reached the diner. He wanted to give Elle a chance to let Grace and Kelly know she was all right. They would be worried.

  He helped her off the bike and held her hand as they entered the diner. Elle’s eyes sparkled like diamonds. She was so beautiful he wanted to lift her up and throw her down on the diner counter. His cock was throbbing in his pants with every second that passed.

  “Elle,” Kelly cried when she saw her friend entering.

  Forrester watched as the two girls hugged. It was beautiful to see the relief on Kelly’s face.

  “Where’s Grace?” Elle said.

  “I’m right here,” Grace answered, coming out of the kitchen with her apron slung over her shoulder. “You gave us quite a scare, young lady.”

  “I know.”

  “But I knew you’d be all right once I saw that this one was going after you,” Grace said, cocking her head at Forrester.

  Forrester put his arm on Elle’s shoulders.

  “She gave me a scare too,” he said.

  “I guess it’s true what they say,” Grace said. “Better late than never.”

  Forrester was embarrassed. He felt awful that he’d made Elle worry while he was locked up. There’d been nothing he could do about it but it still wasn’t something he was proud of.

  “Elle,” he said. “About that. We should go somewhere more private so that I can explain everything that happened.”

  He had no intention of explaining anything to her. All he wanted to do was rip her clothes off, and slide his long, hard cock so deep inside her that she would be begging him for mercy. His cock was raging for her and he wasn’t going to wait another minute.

  “We could get a table at the back,” Elle said, indicating the back of the restaurant.

  Forrester laughed. “For what I have planned, we’re going to need a hell of a lot more privacy than that, sweetheart. How about we go back to your place?”

  Elle blushed.

  “That’s right sweetheart,” Forrester said, eyeing her from head to toe. “You know what I mean.”

  Grace and Kelly were giggling as they left the diner. It was only a minute or two later that Forrester found himself following Elle up the tiny staircase that led to her attic apartment.

  He looked around. It was hard to believe that just a few hours earlier, he’d been there, desperately searching for Elle, scared to death that something bad might have happened to her, or that he may not ever see her again. Now he had her right there with him. Right where he wanted her.

  “We’ve got some lost time to catch up on,” he said.

  Elle shivered as she looked back at him. He realized she was cold.

  “But first, let me get this fire going.”

  “I’ll make coffee,” Elle said.

  Elle made the coffee while Forrester got a nice, big fire going, and the entire time he worked on the fire, he kept stealing glances at her. She was even prettier than he remembered. Her skin seemed smoother. Her eyes were bigger and brighter. Her hair was shinier. Her ass and hips were more seductive and alluring. The mounds of flesh on her chest were calling to him. His cock was rock hard, but he tried not to let it show.

  He played it cool, or as cool as he could with that much lust flowing through his veins.

  “I’m really sorry I didn’t show up the other morning,” he said.

  “It’s okay,” Elle said, but he could tell from the quiver in her voice that she was emotional about it.

  “It’s not okay,” he said. “It’s unforgivable. Elle, I would never stand you up, and I never will again.”

  “I don’t mind,” she said again, softly.

  Forrester sighed. “Will you at least let me explain what happened?”

  “I think I know.”

  “You don’t know the whole story, Elle. You might know the facts, but you don’t really know what happened.”

  “All right,” she said, handing him a cup of coffee. “Tell me.”

  “You want the long version or the short version?” Forrester said.

  He looked at her and could tell she’d been hurt by the events of the last few days. His cock was so hard for her, but he didn’t want to taste her until she was ready for him. He owed her an explanation.

  “Either,” she said.

  “All right. I’ll tell you exactly what happened. I walked into a diner the other day, and there, serving me coffee, was an angel. I mean it. A real angel, Elle. The girl of my dreams. I was so taken by her that I reached out and touched her hand while she was serving me.”

  Elle smiled at the memory.

  “But it didn’t stop there. It was a difficult time for me. I’d come back to the town of my birth to bury my father, and my father’s memory is the one thing that scares me. So when I realized that this girl made me feel less afraid, when I saw that she lifted me up, and made me more of a man, stronger, happier, more full of life, I just couldn’t get her out of my mind.”

  “You’re a charmer, Forrester. Anyone ever tell you that?”

  “I’m not charming anyone, Elle. I’m explaining what happened. One thing led to another and soon enough, by some beautiful miracle from God, the girl was in my bed. She was naked. She was exquisite. She was the most beautiful thing I ever set eyes on. We made love, but we did much more than that. We orgasmed together, we filled each other, and we even decided not to use a condom.”

  “Yes, we did,” Elle said.

  “Because we wanted to create something. A commitment. Something that could never be undone.”

  “Exactly.”

  “So this girl, Elle is her name.”

  Elle laughed.

  “She let me come inside her. It’s the most beautiful gift anyone has ever given me, and after it happened, it made me realize that I didn’t have to fear my father anymore. I didn’t have to fear the past. I could overcome whatever life had thrown at me, and walk into the future proud.”

  “That’s how you make me feel too, Forrester.”

  “Please,” Forrester said jokingly, “no interruptions.”

  Elle punched him playfully.

  “It was like everything I’d ever wanted had come together, Elle. I knew this was the girl for me. I knew she was the one I was destined for. I was on my way to meet her, in fact, I was sitting in my truck right outside her diner, when I felt a letter in my pocket.”

  “The letter,” Elle said, a flash of recognition on her face.

  “It was a letter my father’s lawyer gave me, written by my father, and all you really need to know about it is that it contained the usual filth and drivel that had always spewed from my father’s mouth. My father was a cruel man, and this was a cruel letter.”

  “Did it make you want to run away?”

  “You mean, did it make me want to leave my angel behind?”

  “Fear can do strange things to a man’s heart,” Elle said.

  Forrester nodded at her. He was always impressed at her depth of perception and intuition. She was a good seven years younger than he was, and he’d never met anyone with her wisdom and emotional understanding.

  “Not for a second,” he said. “It brought me close to tears, and I thought I should go back to my hotel room before meeting her, to compose myself. Not for one second did it give me second thoughts about pursuing a relationship with my angel.”

  Elle was visibly relieved. “Call your angel, Elle,” she said, smirking.

  He nodded. “So on my way back to the hotel, Gris rammed my truck, and the sheriff arrested me. Between beating me unconscious and keeping me locked in a cell, there was nothing I could do. I couldn’t get word to you, Elle. But I desperately wanted to. I didn’t want you to think that I’d forgotten about you.”

  Tears were falling from Elle’s eyes at this point, and Forrester reached out to her and wiped them away.

  “I knew you wouldn’t leave me,” Elle whispered.

  “You deserve all the love in the
world, Elle. You deserve all the happiness. And every second, I pray to God that I’m the man who has the honor of giving you that love and happiness.”

  She threw her arms around his neck and their lips met in such a passionate embrace that anyone watching them would have sworn they were lovers who hadn’t seen each other in years. Forrester slid his hands down her back, feeling the gentle curves of her body, and thought his cock would explode with desire, right there in his pants.

  Chapter 43

  Forrester

  THEY RIPPED EACH OTHER’S CLOTHES off like they were on fire. Forrester threw his jeans and shirt across the room. Elle let hers fall in a pile around her ankles. Fully naked, he feasted his eyes on her voluptuous, sensual, alluring body. He wanted nothing more than to taste her.

  She shivered in anticipation.

  “You’re all bandaged,” she said.

  “It’s nothing.”

  “Does it hurt?”

  He smiled at her, then lifted her up, ignoring the pain in his broken ribs, and flung her down on her bed. He looked down at her. She was staring at his erect cock like it was some monstrous beast that was about to devour her. And it was.

  She backed away from him up the mattress as he approached, but he grabbed her ankles and laid her out flat on the bed. Then he crawled up slowly between her legs until his mouth was just two inches from the tender pink flesh of her pussy.

  “I’m going to eat you, Elle. I’m going to devour you.”

  “Do it,” she whispered.

  Forrester didn’t hesitate. Very gently, he let his lips touch the lips of Elle’s pussy. He caressed her, kissing her pussy as if it was her mouth, pressing his lips against the pink pussy lips, running his tongue inside it’s opening, making out with it so passionately and hungrily that it was all Elle could do to stop herself from screaming in pleasure.

  He sucked her clitoris, toying with it, trying to make her quiver. She threw her head back and shut her eyes and let him do whatever he wanted with her. He sucked her clit, swallowing her juice, drinking her up like a man who’d just crossed a desert without water.

  “I’m going to make you the mother of my babies,” he whispered.