Although we never meet the elusive Mrs Hunt, we hear the odd snippet here and there, intriguing references that give very little away. Gene doesn't like eating alone … he's less than happy when a senior officer makes a pass at her … he can't keep his story straight when drunk … Not a great deal to go on, I admit!
Anyway, this is my way of attempting to fill in a few gaps.
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xxxxxxx
The First Mrs Hunt
Chapter 1
She took the stairs slowly, each one a huge effort and a reminder that she was taking another step further away from him. The tears pricked at her eyes and she blinked them back as she hefted the big suitcase down from the top of the wardrobe and left it open on the bed. It was fitting really, she supposed. She'd moved in with her life entirely contained in it and she'd be moving out in pretty much the same way. Not much to show for eight years of marriage.
Taking a deep breath she opened the wardrobe, trying to stop her gaze from drifting to the neat row of suits and shirts on the left, but the vague aroma of cigarettes and whiskey overlaid with something uniquely masculine and purely Gene caught in her nostrils and she took a step back, swallowing the lump in her throat. Firmly shutting one door, she concentrated on the blouses and skirts, slacks and dresses that marked out her territory and in their own way told the story of their relationship.
Her eye was drawn to a low-cut blouse in a pale turquoise and her heart lurched as she sat down on the bed, clutching it to her bosom as the years fell away. Their first date.
She was twenty-one, still living at home, and he was twenty-nine, already a DI, tall, blond and imposing with the most beautiful eyes she thought she'd ever seen. On another man those impossibly long lashes could have looked effeminate, but not on Gene Hunt. The man oozed masculinity from every pore and she could hardly take her eyes off him.
He'd called at the house as part of an ongoing investigation into an armed burglary down the street, and she could tell her father was almost as impressed as she was with the young detective inspector, although for very different reasons. He was efficient and professional, but there was an air of confidence and drive about him and he was clearly the type to call a spade a shovel. Very like her old man, in fact.
"So. Is there anythin' more yer can tell me?"
He mother shook her head, holding Susie's hand as she looked at her for confirmation.
"I don't think so. How about you, Suze?"
She glanced up, and his blue-eyed gaze almost took her breath away. She felt her colour rising and looked down again.
"N … not that I can think of …"
Her father sighed heavily, sitting forwards.
"Bad business this, DI Hunt. People can't even feel safe in their own homes nowadays, even round here."
He shook his head, and Susie's mother proffered the plate of biscuits to Gene.
"Another Garibaldi, Inspector?"
His smile was intended for her mother, but his eyes hardly left Susie's face.
"Don't mind if I do, Mrs Black."
As she watched him stride across the street, broad-shouldered and long-legged, she was already smitten.
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She'd found herself telling her best friend about the handsome DI Hunt and within days Eileen had discovered pretty much everything there was to know about him bar his shoe size. Something told Susie that given another twenty-four hours she'd probably have wangled that out of somebody too, Eileen's powers of persuasion were legendary. Apparently he was still single, he owned his own house, drove a decent car and was tipped for further promotion in a couple of years. Also he drank at The Railway Arms most nights after work.
It didn't take a lot of persuasion for Eileen to lure her there a few days later for a drink, her heart jumping into her mouth when he walked in with a couple of colleagues. He glanced round the pub and his eyes widened in surprise as he recognised her and strolled over to offer them both a drink, joining them later for a chat. He looked even more gorgeous than she remembered, his tie skew-whiff, his hair mussed, his long fingers toying with his glass as his captivating gaze turned her knees to jelly. He was teasing and attentive, told a string of vulgar jokes that had Eileen choking on her drink and mostly left Susie puzzled, and when her friend went to powder her nose and he asked her out, Susie didn't hesitate to accept.
Later that night she assessed her looks in the bathroom mirror. Big hazel eyes with long lashes gazed back at her. Shoulder length dark hair, straight nose, mouth slightly too large for her face. She sighed. Nothing special, but as long as he liked what he saw …
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He'd picked her up in his car and taken her to an Italian restaurant, painstakingly going through the menu with her and putting her at her ease when she felt unsophisticated and self-conscious. He was an intriguing mix: brash and opinionated but also witty and charming, and he'd behaved like the perfect gentleman, even though she'd noticed his gaze dropping to her generous cleavage on more than one occasion.
At the end of the evening he'd dropped her off at home and asked if he could see her again, and her stomach turned to liquid as he leaned over and pressed a soft lingering kiss to her lips. His wonderful scent enveloped her, fresh soap and aftershave with undertones of tobacco and whiskey and a hint of something musky and mysterious. As he pulled away from the kerb at breakneck speed she touched her fingers to lips still tingling from his kiss, and a little smile tugged at her mouth. She knew he had a reputation as a bit of a ladies man but she'd already decided she wanted him for keeps and she thought she knew just how to play it.
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Back in the present, Susie sighed, folding the blouse carefully and reaching into the wardrobe for another. Red this time, and there were the white trousers she'd worn it with. She held them up, knowing she'd managed to keep her figure and she could still get into them. Third date, she thought, a watery smile on her face as she recalled his frustration.
He hadn't taken her straight home that night, parking up in a quiet backstreet and turning to her with a wicked glint in his eye.
"Don't yer think it's about time I got ter kiss yer properly, luv?"
She blushed and shrugged, trying to ignore the rapid increase in her pulse rate.
"If yer like …"
Slowly he leant in, one hand cupping her cheek as his lips found hers, his tongue gently seeking entry. She opened to him like a flower to the sun, her heart fluttering in her chest as he explored her mouth slowly, sensually, tempting her until she forgot herself and kissed him back, her fingers threading through his silky blond mane. It wasn't her first kiss but none of the others had even come close to this. There was no clashing of teeth or awkward bumping of noses, nothing rushed or forced, just the blissful feel of his mouth on hers and the delicious provocation of his wicked tongue. When he finally released her, grinning down into her flushed face, she was tingling all over and there was a strange ache low down in her belly that she'd never experienced before.
"Not bad fer a first time. Want ter try it again?"
Before she had a chance to reply his lips had captured hers, and this time the kiss was more insistent, demanding, and she gave herself up to him, moaning softly as her fingers stroked the back of his neck and an odd sensation that she guessed must be desire coursed through her veins.
Instinctively she pressed herself closer to his body and she was dimly aware of him lowering the passenger seat until he was half lying on her, breaking the kiss briefly to curse the gear-stick for getting in the way. She giggled, enjoying the feel of his weight on top of her, sighing against his mouth until one hand moved up her body to cup her breast. Tensing, she pushed it away and struggled out from underneath him.
"Gene! Don't …"
He flopped back into his seat with a groan of frustration.
"Third date, Susie. I reckon I've been very patient. And I didn't have yer down as a tease."
She crossed her arms defensively, her face flushing.
"I'm not. It was your fault, gettin' me all hot and bothered. I'm not that kind of girl, I'll have yer know."
He raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Christ, don't tell me yer still a virgin …"
Her head snapped round and she gazed at him indignantly.
"Of course I am. What else did yer think?"
He chuckled, stroking a finger down her cheek.
"Must be the only twenty-one year old in the whole of Manchester, then."
She turned her head away, embarrassed.
"I wouldn't know."
Leaning close, he began to nibble on her earlobe and a shiver ran down her spine.
"Never mind, luv, we don't need ter go all the way. There's plenty of other things we can do ter have some fun …"
His hand slid up her thigh and she pushed it away, crossing her legs.
"I think yer should take me home now, Gene, it's gettin' late."
He sighed heavily.
"So yer just goin' ter leave me high and dry, are yer? And me with a hard-on like a bloody truncheon …"
She turned shocked eyes on him.
"What d'yer mean?"
He shook his head, shuffling around in his seat.
"Jesus, yer really not makin' it up, are yer? 'Ere, I'll show yer …"
Before she could put up a protest he'd grabbed her hand and placed it over the obvious bulge in his trousers. Her eyes widened in shock and she pulled away as though she'd been burned.
"Bloody hell!"
She knew what it must be, but she'd never seen or touched one before. Gene gazed at her in disbelief.
"Don't yer know about the birds and bees, luv?"
"Well, yeah … in theory …"
"So how exactly d'yer think it works, then?"
She shrugged, her face now the colour of a beetroot.
"I … um … hadn't really given it much thought …"
That wasn't entirely true, but she had no intention of admitting it to him. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair, fixing her with that piercing gaze.
"Well let's just say, when a bloke gets turned on all the blood rushes south …"
"Oh. I see."
The penny finally dropped, and her voice sounded small.
"Really? Goin' ter help me out then are yer, or am I headin' home fer a five finger shuffle?
He grinned at her confused and outraged expression and started the engine.
"Think that answers that one …"
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If you've taken the time to read this, ta muchly. And if you get half a minute, leave me a quick comment - I'd love to hear what you think.