Her Lover's Return

Cora huddled by the fire, book in one hand, hot chocolate in the other. Outside rain slashed against the window panes, lightning flashed so bright it lit up the curtains, thunder so loud she jumped every time it boomed overhead. Even the wind was up tonight, leaves and sticks and gumnuts smacking against the windows and banging on the roof as they fell from the trees above.

Cora loved storms, most of the time. She’d happily sit and watch lightning for hours, felt a thrill at the distant rumble of thunder, enjoyed the rain. But this wind… something about it set her teeth on edge.

She turned a page in her book, groaning as the lights flickered and went out.

“Great.”

She fumbled in the dark for her torch, and then lit the candles she kept around the room. They were mostly a decorative feature, but on nights like these they came in handy.

She’d just lit the last one when a boom of thunder broke above her house, and she cowered.

BANG BANG BANG!

Was that someone at the door?

She tilted her head to one side, listening, but another roll of thunder drowned out any other sounds.

“Hello!” The call was muted. Could it be the wind?

“Hello!” BANG BANG BANG! “Hello! Cora!”

Who would be crazy enough to be out in this? She opened the door, the person on the other side raising his hands against the light of her torch.

“Shit, sorry.” She lowered it to shine on the man’s chest. Pale blue eyes blinked at her from amongst an unkempt beard and shaggy hair.

“Sorry. Do I know you?”

“It’s me, Hunter.”

Cora stared into the stranger’s face. There was nothing she recognised of the man she’d once loved, even his eyes were a paler blue than what she remembered.

“Prove it.” Her voice quavered. Wind whipped past her, stirring up loose papers on the hall table, and the rain lashed at her face, but she wasn’t going to let some stranger into the house just because he claimed to be her long lost love.

“I didn’t believe I was worthy of you, so I set out to prove I was, and I never made it back. I’m sorry.” His gaze held hers. “You told me you loved me anyway, and I couldn’t believe it. I was a fool.”

Cora’s heart tore. “What are you doing here now?”

“I came back to make amends. Please Cora, please let me in.”

She gritted her teeth. This man had broken her heart. He’d wanted to prove his manliness by heading off into some expedition into a distant jungle, but aside from an email saying he’d arrived, she never heard from him again. She couldn’t even find details of the tour company.

She wanted to leave him on the doorstep, but the weather was so rough, she couldn’t do that to anyone, not even the man who’d abandoned her.

“Fine. Come in. Hang your jacket over a chair, and get warm by the fire. If you give me a few minutes I can get the camp kettle out and get some water boiling.

“Thank you. I appreciate it.”

Ten minutes later they both had a fresh hot chocolate, and she’d pulled another arm chair close for him to sit. He looked strange. His khaki shorts were ragged, his shirt and jacket stained and muddy. There was a twig caught in his hair, which looked like it hadn’t been brushed for days. But he smelt clean and fresh, like the rain.

“Where have you been?” Cora’s voice broke and she hated herself for it. She wanted him to see how well she’d managed without him, or any man for that matter. She’d vowed she’d never let him just waltz back in the door one day like nothing had happened.

“I went on the expedition, like I planned. But it was not like I planned. I imagined the bushwalks we went on as kids, trekking through rainforest, climbing mountains.” He closed his eyes. “It was nothing like that. It was hot, and wet, and I was constantly covered in mosquito bites.” He opened his eyes to catch her gaze. “By the second day, I wanted to come home. I missed you so much. I wanted to tell you you were right, that us being together is the most important thing in the world.”

Cora crossed her arms over her chest. “So why didn’t you?”

“I couldn’t. There was no provision for turning back. I had to keep going with the rest of them. I had to finish it.”

“Right. But that was supposed to take… what was it? Two weeks?”

His gaze dropped to the mug in his hands, and he nodded. “Two weeks. And I dreamt of you every night of those two weeks.”

Cora snorted. “And then you forgot about me for the next two years.”

“No.” Hunter slid off the chair to drop to his knees in front of her. “No. I never forgot you. I… Another one of the other men wanted out, too. We were two days away. Thought we’d take a short cut. It looked easy on the map.” He sat back on his haunches. “We got lost. He fell down a ravine. It was so narrow it didn’t register on the map. He got stuck part way down. I tried to save him—” Hunter squeezed his eyes shut. Cora’s heart softened.

He took a deep breath his gaze on hers again. “I fell down, too. Got impaled on a branch.” He lifted his shirt, and she could see an ugly scar. “It took them too long to find us.”

“Oh, Hunter! Did the other man die?”

Hunter nodded. “I got… stuck, I guess. I’m sorry I couldn’t contact you. I tried, so many times. But the messages wouldn’t go through! I swear—”

“It’s all right.” She grabbed his other hand, holding them together on her lap. “You’re here, now. It’s okay.”

His gaze burned into hers, and all the love and desire she’d ever felt for him bubbled up inside her.

She leaned forward, pressing her lips against his.

“You’re so cold,” she pressed a hand against his face. “How long were you waiting out in the rain?”

“Forever.”

“We need to get you out of these wet clothes, and get you warm.”

His eyes shone, and she leaned forward to kiss him again, his lips soft against hers.

“I’ve missed you,” he murmured, brushing his fingers through her hair.

“I missed you, too,” she admitted, dismissing all the anger and heartache that had gone with the emptiness.

She knelt on the floor next to him and slid his jacket off his shoulders, pulling his shirt up over his head. His body was so thin and pale, her heart broke afresh at the horrors he’d been through.

She pressed her lips against his shoulder, sitting to kiss his chest.

“Stand up,” she said. She removed the blanket from the couch to wrap around his shoulders, then knelt down to remove his shorts and underwear, his cock a soft pulsing thing. She guided him back to sit on the armchair, and removed his shoes and socks. She reached up to kiss him again, holding his face between her hands. “You’re home,” she said. “I’ve still got all your things. They’re in boxes in the garage. I couldn’t bear to throw them out.” She gave an embarrassed chuckle. “I thought about burning them, I was so angry. But something made me hold on to it all. I must’ve known deep down you were coming back.”

He brushed a loose strand of hair from her face, his eyes sad as he gazed into hers.

She kissed him again, and this time kissed her way down his torso, taking hold of his semi-erect cock and lapping at it with her tongue.

It pulsed under her touch, and she stroked it a few times before licking her way up and down, leaving kisses on either side of his groin as she did so.

He moaned, and she glanced up to see his eyes were closed, a look of pure bliss on his face.

It spurred her on, and she wrapped her lips around his cock, licking and sucking, bobbing up and down, taking him deeper and deeper each time.

He groaned again, shifting lower in the chair, his fingers weaving into her hair, his hand just resting on the side of her head.

She fondled his sack, gently rolling his balls between her fingertips, then ran her fingertips across the small band of skin behind.

Cora, Oh, Cora.” He gasped, grunting as he came, thick white spurts filling Cora’s mouth.

She licked him clean, then stood, slowly undressing in front of him.

She sat on his knee, straddling him, lifting his hands to hold her breasts.

He seemed to have forgotten what to do for a moment, and then he began to squeeze, rolling her nipples between his thumb and forefinger with the exact amount of pressure she loved, then kissing her neck and shoulder and chest, sucking her nipples, flicking them with his tongue. She rubbed her cleft against his cock, a thrill travelling her spine as it came to life again, and she lifted her hips slightly to guide it to her pussy, holding his gaze as she eased herself down on his shaft.

Hunter rested his head back on the chair and closed his eyes. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and a soft slow moan escaped his lips.

Cora held his shoulders as she began to ride his cock, tilting her hips to move back and forwards along his shaft.

He groaned again, opening his eyes to catch her gaze, his pupils dilated.

He grabbed her face between his hands, pulling her close for a kiss as he began to thrust with her, then his hands were on her hips holding her as he pounded her, his cock moving deeper and deeper with every thrust.

Cora rubbed her clit, biting her lip as the pleasure built up inside.

They cried out in unison.

“Cora!”

“Hunter!”

Lips crashing together as they came, kisses desperate.

“I love you, Hunter.” Cora stroked his face, gazing into her eyes.

“I love you, too, Cora. Remember that. Remember I always loved you.”

She pressed her forehead against his, her hands stroking his chest.

“You’re still cold.” She felt his forehead with the back of her hand. “Why are you still cold?”

Hunter’s sad gaze met hers, a tear trickling down his cheek. “I can’t stay, Cora. I needed you to know that I never wanted to leave you. I didn’t want you to blame yourself, to feel like you were unworthy of love. You are worthy. You deserve every happiness life will give you.”

“What are you saying?”

“Find another lover, Cora. Find your soul mate. There’s more than just one. Fill your life with all the happiness you deserve.”

“Hunter—”

A burst of bright light blinded her, and Cora blinked against the glare as the power came back on.

When her eyes adjusted she was kneeling on the armchair, the blanket she wrapped around Hunter’s shoulders crumpled over her knees.

“Hunter?”

She whirled around, but the clothes and shoes she’d just removed weren’t on the floor by the fire, though a second mug of hot chocolate sat by hers on the coffee table.

She raced to the door, as though he’d someone been able to slide out from under her without her knowing and escape.

“Hunter!”

There was no reply.

The wind had died down, and the rain had eased, and there was no more thunder and lightning. She sagged against the door frame, her eyes prickling with tears.

“Am I hallucinating? What the hell just happened?”

She rubbed her face with her hands, her gaze falling on a soggy box on the doorstep.

Carrying it in to open it by the fire, she found a small jar, and a note.

“My Dearest Cora. I won’t make it home to you. I wanted to prove my strength, and instead I’ve proven I’m not strong enough. I’ve asked the people who found me to send this to you, but they don’t speak English, and I don’t speak their language, so I don’t know if it will ever happen. You deserve all the happiness in the world. I hope you can find it.”

Tears dropped onto the page, smudging the letters. Behind this page was another.

“Cora. I am Hunter’s sister. I’m sorry we never got to know you, he had a falling out with the family, and we haven’t seen him in such a long time. These are his ashes. They were sent to us with his letter for you. You will have a better idea of where he would like them spread. I’m sorry we could not meet, it seems foolish to make a connection when the reason for that connection is gone. I hope this finds you well.”

Cora buried her face in her hands.

Hunter hadn’t abandoned her. He’d died.

She curled up by the fire, her body heaving for the anger she’d directed at him, the hurt, the blame. She cried for the man she’d never see again, for the future they’d never have, for the years wasted on hating him.

When her sobs turned to sniffles she sat up, blinking at the bright morning sun.

She took the jar, and went outside. She knew exactly where Hunter wanted his ashes spread, and she was going to make sure they got there.

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