Free The Crimson Claymore by Craig A. Price Jr.

until at last the deed was complete. In a sudden burst, the male leaped to escape, but the female was faster to snatch him in her long legs before biting her mate. Great hunger consumed her now, and she couldn’t let him escape. His dying thoughts were shunned through his dying breath. It was worth it.
    That was how she seemed to Searon as he stared at her with lust in his eyes. She was a black widow to him, an exotic beauty with a poisonous bite. It would be worth the fatal bite at the end, though, and he knew it. There would be no better way to die to than spend a moment in her naked charcoal silk arms.
    “I thought someone as courageous as you would put up a greater fight. Perhaps the next time we meet you’ll be more prepared,” her fiery voice whispered.
    He didn’t say a word but kept still with anticipation as she moved mere inches from him. The exotic smell of death, cloves, and a pinch of ginger lingered at his nose. No longer was it a strange smell that was both foul and intriguing, but now it was lustful. She leaned in closer, and her luscious violet lips sprang onto his.
    The breath caught in his throat when their lips touched, and he nearly gagged with the lack of oxygen. He could taste blueberry clove on his lips that replaced his need for oxygen, and he molded his lips into hers. His right hand unconsciously rose to graze her cheek gently before tangling in her hair. Her lips were softer than any he had ever set his lips upon, and her skin was softer than the finest silk. He had thought Starlyn’s skin was soft, but it had only been as soft as silk, not softer. The pearl-white hair that his hand tugged at felt as soft as snow. A slight moan escaped her lips before she dove farther into the kiss to play with his tongue and bite his lip. He was lost in complete ecstasy.
    Suddenly, energy seemed to drain from him, and he began to feel weak. It was slow and seemed to have been happening the entire time. He had not noticed before, lost inside her eyes and lips. Even though he noticed now, he didn’t care. She seemed to gain strength as he grew weak, and it pleased him that she became stronger. He was weak compared to her, only an insect to a spider.
    The sound of hooves echoed in the wind along with a roar that shunned all silence. Arria broke away from him and took a step back, glancing to the west. Her hand still interlocked with his, and his heart kept racing. Reluctantly, he turned away from her beauty to observe a jaguar prancing through some thick bushes with a black-and-white striped horse balking close behind. The cold touch of her hand in his vanished, and eagerly he looked back for her. There was nothing; she was gone.
    He dropped to his knees, at a loss for words as his heart quivered in pain. His hand shook in his memory of her hand in his. He needed to find her and snatch her back in his arms. Across from him, Starlyn rose to her feet, clutching a hand to her head. She tried to walk forward but waivered from side to side. The jaguar, her friend, leaped to her and knelt to the ground so she could climb atop.
    “Arria,” Searon whispered.
    Starlyn looked at him now, her electric silvery eyes blazing with concern. He paid her no heed and searched through the empty forest. There was no sign of her, and he felt heartbroken, longing for the taste of her lips again.
    “Come back,” he whimpered.
    The jaguar crept forward at the instruction of Starlyn until she was directly in front of him. She stared cold into his eyes for a moment, and he quickly turned his gaze. A hand smacked across his face so fast it was almost unseen. The pain welled up on his cheek and inside his mind. His face didn’t flinch, but his eyes blinked before he placed his hand on his now-red cheek. It stung beyond any sting he had ever felt in his life. Reality crashed back to him, and he seemed to be falling out of a haze.
    Blinking one more time, he tried to stand, but his body crumbled back to the ground, lacking the strength