Hunter Hunted Ch. 20

The Conclusion

Chapter Twenty

Hunter's heart was beating too hard. His eyes were swollen from his tears and he couldn't look away from Mirage's dead face. She was beautiful even in death, incredibly lovely almost as if she were sleeping.

He could feel his fellow ASP members around them and knew they wanted him to give up her body, to let her go back to the ASP office for internment. But he couldn't do it. He couldn't let them take her from him or think of letting her go into the cold dark of the burial floor at ASP. "She can't be dead," he moaned, holding her close.

The white light surprised him. It was familiar and warm, something he'd known before. He looked up, his mouth dropping open as he watched Aphrodite walk toward him. It wasn't the Goddess of Love that he was staring at but the woman that was walking hand in hand with her. "Mira?"

She pulled away from Aphrodite, rushing toward him. She only stopped when she saw her body in his arms. "Hunter?" she asked, shocked.

But it was Aphrodite who answered. "Yes, Mira. You were killed."

"Then...why?" she asked, her hands coming up in consternation.

"Why are you here?"

"Yes!" Mira's hands wedged against her belly and she stared over at Hunter, her misery at being so close but unable to touch him was blatant in her eyes.

"You are here because you were taken before your time. What happened here was not controlled by the fates but by a man who thought he deserved more power, more abject devotion from his subjects then was his due. You ended up being his pawn, Mira." Aphrodite reached over and ran her hand down Mirage's face, lifting her chin. "You love him?" she asked softly.

"More than life," Mira replied, her eyes meeting Hunter's. "More than anything else."

Aphrodite smiled and it lit up her beautiful face with a glow that was luminescent. "I'd so hoped you'd say that." She reached out a hand to Hunter, pulling him to his feet and away from Mira's still dead body. "You love her?"

"I'd take her place right now," Hunter gasped. Tears still streaked down his face, tears of loss, of pain, of longing that he was unable to hide. "Please, Aphrodite, spare her or take me too."

Aphrodite rose on tiptoe, kissing him gently on the cheek. "Some women are so lucky," she sighed. "I'm almost tempted to keep you for myself and say to hell with all of this." She laughed as Mira cursed, turning to face her. "Whoa, Scarlett, watch your fiddle dee dee, there."

Putting out her hand, she waited until Mira grasped it and then followed her past Hunter and over to her body. "This is going to feel a little weird," she warned, pushing Mirage down and back into her body. For a single instant, both Miras were visible. Then there was a sound, like the snap of a rubber band and she was fused back into her body.

She gasped as she drew the first breath into her air deprived lungs and then she sat up, rubbing her eyes and staring at the men and women around her, men and women she'd served with proudly. Then Hunter was at her side, pulling her off the floor, kissing her.

Aphrodite sighed. "Love conquers all," she mused. She turned slowly, glancing back only once before slowly fading from sight.

"She brought you back to me," Hunter whispered against her lips. "You can't do that to me again, Mira. Promise me! I don't think I'd survive if you did that again." But he never let go of her lips long enough for her to promise, not that she was complaining. He lifted her in his arms.

Glancing at Dianna, he arched one eyebrow in question.

Dianna laughed. "Get out of here; we'll get a ride with the other teams." Beast yowled, reaching out and touching Mira's cheek as Hunter carried her past.

Mira was dropped into the front seat of one of the SUVs. She watched as Hunter sprinted to the driver's seat, sliding in and pulling her next to him, only to kiss her again. "You're alive," he breathed. "You're marrying me."

It wasn't a question but just this once; she didn't mind being ordered around. "Yes," she whispered. She reached out and turned the key in the ignition. "Get us home, Hunter."

He kept his arm around her even as he maneuvered the SUV around the parking lot and out through the gate. Then he pulled onto the road and Mira leaned back into the crook of his arm, yawning.

"Dying takes a lot out of you, huh?" he teased.

"Being away from you was horrible. I don't even really know what happened."

"You were trying to be the hero again. You knocked me out of the way of a tentacle; it hit you and broke your neck. You don't remember any of it?"

"No, I remember my blaster going red and I...I saw you," she ended slowly. "I saw you and I don't remember anything else until Aphrodite took my hand and led me back to you."

He dipped his head to kiss her. You took that hit that was meant for me, Mira. If you ever do anything so...so fucking heroic again, I'm going to take you over my knee." He hugged her closer, feeling her press against him. Nothing felt better than just that feeling, her being there, holding on to him, loving him.

"You are marrying me," he ordered, waiting for her to bristle and put her back up like a spitting kitten.

Instead, she sighed. "When?"

"Would now be too soon?"

"No," she answered, watching as a huge grin spread across his face. "I want you to be mine, Hunter. I want to be yours. Whatever that takes, I'll handle."

"Okay, well, we need to invite the ASP teams. We really should wait for Callie to give birth so she can be there, um, my adoptive parents..." He took a deep breath as if to continue naming people and she held her fist under his nose.

"No, you, me, and a member of the clergy or a Justice of the Peace. That's it, no big hoopla. Before we go and find your sister. I'm not taking you into any new world where they might have tall, gorgeous blondes with big boobs unless you belong to me, body and soul."

Hunter laughed. "Oh come on, now. When have I ever gone after a woman like that?"

"Do you want a list?" Mira countered, holding up her hand and counting them off by name.

"Whoa, baby, hang on. Haven't you noticed, I've gotten smarter in my old age? I like small, courageous, females with big green eyes. Kinda like you, now that I think about it." He turned the wheel, pulling into her driveway and then putting her password into the small number pad to have the gates opening for them.

"This isn't going to bother you, is it?" she asked hesitantly, nodding toward the path that led to the statues and her small garden.

"Mira, you didn't go back to your husband or your daughter when you were given the chance for anything in the world, you stayed by me. You gave up your life for me. I can get over a wee bit of jealousy for a woman like that." He parked the SUV and then went to her side, lifting her out and carrying her up to the front door.

"I can walk, you know." But she wrapped her arms around his neck, hanging on when he reached down to open the front door.

"Let's just say I'm a little worried about what kind of trouble you'd get into if I let you down," he teased, jerking his head back when she took a nip at his earlobe. "Hey!"

"I'll show you trouble," she warned. But she screeched when he dropped her on her bed, watching as she bounced and came back to her feet next to him. She stepped into his arms, hers going round his neck once more to drag his face down to where she could reach it. "Kiss me!"

He needed no other incentive, his lips coming down to sink into hers. Her lips parted, her tongue coming out to woo and tempt, moaning when his answered. His hands came up, finding the zipper that held her vest closed over her breasts. Pulling it down, he felt the pert mounds of her breasts, the tight pink nipples erect and rubbing against the back of his hand. She gasped as she felt them, shivering in reaction even as he pushed the white leather off of her shoulders, dropping it to the floor.

Hunter cupped his hands over her breasts, kneading the tender flesh gently. Her nipples grew harder, more responsive and she arched her back, demanding more. She cried out when his mouth left hers, his lips nibbling their way to her ear and then down the sensitive curve of her neck. Her hands were as busy, tearing at the zipper on his uniform, pushing at the shoulders to tug them down his arms. As soon as his chest was bare, she pulled away from him, wanting to see him, to feast her eyes on the beauty of his masculine form.

His muscles rippled, moving sensually under his taut flesh. His eyes were a stormy blue with passion, moving over her body with as much adoration and admiration as hers. "God you're beautiful, Mira. You're beautiful and you're all mine."

He tugged on her, bringing her back into his arms, groaning as her breasts were crushed against his chest. That sensation along had his breathing clogged and his head falling back with pleasure. "Mine," he repeated before picking her up and dumping her back on the bed.

His hand reached for the thick white belt, undoing the buckle with practiced ease. He tugged it loose and dropped it next to her bed, his fingers already searching for the button and zipper of her white leather pants. "Do you have any idea what white leather does to me now? I can't see it without imagining you wearing those skimpy tops and these skin tight leather pants. It's almost embarrassing."

Mirage chuckled, lifting her hips to help him remove the pants. He took the small white lace thong she'd been wearing as well, lifting it to his nose, his nostrils flaring as he caught the scent of her arousal in the lace. He dropped it over his shoulder before sitting on the edge of the bed to pull off his boots.

Mirage came to her knees, pressing her breasts into his back and hearing him groan. She could see the long ridge of his cock, hard and throbbing against the dark gray uniform pants. "You want me almost as much as I want you, Hunter," she cooed in his ear, letting her breath tickle the sensitive whorl. "I want your touch, I want your fingers teasing my nipples, you mouth and tongue lashing at them. I want to hear your moan when I press my wet pussy against you and then feel the heat of your hand, finger fucking me to climax. I want you, baby. I want you right now."

Hunter growled as the words she spoke so softly heightened his arousal to a point where it was almost painful. Having lost her, even for as short a time as he had, he treasured every second he was with her. He loved her so much that it was hard for him to pull away, even to finish removing his clothes. When he turned back to her, his hard cock swung in front of him and her hands were drawn to it, rubbing against his silky skin.

"How can you be so soft but so hard at the same time?" she mused, biting her lower lip as she looked up at him.

He grabbed her shoulders, dragging her to her knees on the bed, pulling her against him. His cock was thrust against her stomach, her hand between them. "Tell me you love me," he ordered hoarsely. His hips moved, thrusting into her fist. "Tell me!"

"I love you, Hunter. I wish there was some way we could mate like the weres do, or to create some mental bridge like the vampires do. All I can do is promise you that my love for you will never die, that I'll never leave you, not willingly, and that I will want you until my last breath on this Earth." Her green eyes stared into his blue, showing him the truth of her words in the love he could almost feel coming from her.

"You'll wear my ring," he said softly, his knee going onto the side of the bed as he gently pushed her to her back. "You'll take my name to prove to all that you're mine. If you want some kind of blood ceremony, I'm more than willing to blend mine with you, but I was kind of hoping you'd want to have my child as well."

"Your child?" The words were said softly and he could hear the edge of fear in her voice.

"Our child, Mira. We'll keep him or her safe, I promise. Just think about it, baby, but later, not now. Now I want you thinking of only me." He lay next to her on the bed, his hand cupping her breast, his mouth searching for the hard bud of her nipple. Her hands rose to his hair, digging in to draw down even further, arching her back. His tongue stabbed at the hardened tip and he heard her moan.

His fingers played with her other nipple and he felt her hips begin to move, to arch, searching for the heat and weight that she needed. He teased her, tugging on her nipple then twisting it until pulled on his hair, drawing his mouth to hers. "I need you," she growled against his lips, her parted thighs spreading further, pulling him down to her.

His cock slid against her wetness and he moved his hips, letting the head of his shaft rub against her clit, stimulating her even more. Her hands moved down his back, curling over his ass, her nails digging in, trying to force him to thrust inside of her. "Do you want me?" he growled, laughing when she almost screamed her answer.

With a push, he found the small concave opening of her vagina, his cock pressing inside. He could feel her muscles, wet with passion, moving, trying to drag him in further. But he refused to be hurried, taking her slowly, carefully, with intimate skill and an almost taunting slowness. She wrapped her legs around his hips, her hands moving over his chest, his shoulders, his stomach. She begged him for more.

He pulled out, leaving just the tip of his glans inside of her. His mouth dipped, her nipple a hard pouting morsel against his tongue. Suckling, he thrust in her hard, hearing her cry out her pleasure, feeling the folds of her vagina throbbing in pleasure. "God yes," she cried. "Fuck me!"

He dragged her leg up, holding it over his arm, opening her even further for his possession. She was like a feline in her pleasure, rubbing against him, her nails digging into him. The wet slap of flesh against flesh was loud in the room, as were her impassioned cries. Hunter's breath was rough; his mouth searching and finding every erogenous zone Mira owned, even the crook of her elbow was kissed and touched. He drove into her hard, loving every moment, not wanting it to end.

He could feel her, her body tightening around his cock, her hands holding onto him. He knew she was about to cum. One thought kept going through his mind. One image that made him even more intent upon giving her pleasure and tying her to him. The sight of her lying on the ground, her eyes so empty in death kept flashing in his mind. He heard her breathless cries, her words of love and of need and it terrified him that he'd almost lost her.

"Cum, baby," he whispered in her ear raggedly. "Cum for me. I love you, Mirage, so much, so terrifyingly much."

Mira heard his pain and she held onto him even harder. She knew what he was thinking but it was way too late for her to say anything. Her body clenched, spiraling heat flooding her system, prickling at her nerve endings. She screamed out her orgasm, unable to do anything else as it tore through her.

Hunter never stopped thrusting, riding out the waves of her bliss with clenched teeth. He could feel her vaginal muscles milking at his cock, sending erotic chills through his body, but he stayed with it, fucking her as if he'd never touched her before. He sought her lips, feeling them soft and open for his tongue, her hands holding onto him.

It didn't take long for her to tense again, her lips tearing from his to cry out his name. But this time, he was ready and he came with her, filling her with his seed in spurting jets. His roar was loud, echoing her cry and he held her even closer, wanting to bury her inside of him, to keep her safe, warm and soft as she was now.

His breathing was ragged and rough but he managed to pull his weight from off of her and roll to his side in the big bed. She snuggled up against him, her wet pussy against his thigh as her leg slid up his. Her soft breaths tickled the hair at his nape and he turned his head, kissing her gently.

"Can we do that again?" she asked coyly, glancing up at him from under the thick brush of her eyelashes.

"Give me a few minutes," he groaned. "Gotta refill the tank."

She moved up a bit, kissing him before chuckling. "I always knew they were lies."

"What were lies?" he asked only mildly curious.

"All the stories I heard from those ladies that you slept with. They always asked me how I managed to resist you. And they couldn't stop talking about how you went all night without a rest and how you wore them out. I knew they had to be lies." She laughed again, seeing his eyes open.

"Mira," he growled. "We just got done fighting for our lives with some obscene monster that took control of women and made them zombies. Then, I lost you. You were dead. All that emotional upheaval takes a lot out of a man."

"Excuses, excuses," she laughed. She came up, sitting across his thighs even as she bent down and kissed him. "It's okay, I understand." She sighed and curled up on top of him, her hair tickling his chin.

He sighed as well, knowing she was baiting him and unwilling to take the bait. His hands moved in long strokes, his fingers moving over the bumps of her spine. He couldn't help the laugh that tore from him as he heard her soft sigh turn into an even softer snore. "And you said I couldn't last," he whispered against her hair. He kissed her head, letting his own eyes close. She was warmer than a blanket and he couldn't help but relax, enjoying the feel of her.

He didn't know how long he'd slept but a noise in the room woke him. His eyes opened but he stayed still, Mira still wrapped around his body. He heard the noise again, the stealthy sound of someone moving around the room. It was dark, no light was coming through the blinds so he gently pushed Mira from off of his chest, slipping from the bed, waiting to hear the sound again.

It came from behind him and he whirled, his hand reaching out and grabbing a large arm. He swung his other fist, knocking the man to the ground with a grunt.

That grunt woke up Mira and she reached out for the bedside lamp. "What the fuck...?"

Hunter stood naked over the man. "Now's not the time for crass questions, love."

"Looks like it to me," she growled, getting out of bed and grabbing her robe and an extra one for Hunter. "Who the fuck are you and how did you get into my house."

The man sat up, rubbing his jaw where Hunter had struck him. "My name is Jordan Daring," he said in a softly accented voice. "I come from Daring Castle. I am searching for my sister, Tawny. The portals brought me here."

Hunter stared at the man then looked at Mira. "Did he say what I just thought he said?"

* * * *

I hope you enjoyed the story. I ended it with a segueway into Road to Love, which is something that I've been working on in spare seconds. I won't be posting any of it until I get some of my other stuff done, just explaining the ending. Please vote and let me know what you think!