Capture of a Heart Read Free

ammunitions carried some strain of poison, Shoraya added to the distance that separated her from the men. She trotted backward, even as she batted away the steady stream of projectiles coming from short bows and blowguns. One of the warriors stood by ready with a net proclaiming the intention to capture her.
    With the rain picking up in intensity, however, even Shoraya’s keen eyesight was hampered. The soldiers seemed to suffer from the same affliction, as their darts scattered widely.
    Using the obscurity of the rain, Shoraya flipped backward, landing just feet away from her satchels. With one blade to shield herself, she dipped the other down to weave through the handles of two bags and draw them toward her. As soon as they were close enough, she hefted the sacks onto her wrist.
    The leader was coming to his feet just as she managed to shimmy her packs onto her shoulder, but as lightning pierced the sky with its deadly beauty, Shoraya was not ignorant of its warning. The ground would put her at risk, the wind and the rain would prove their superiority, and none were as advantageous as the opportunity for escape that nature was providing for her. The Ebulan forest some quarter of a mile away was her best hope. A dense giant of foliage and trees, it had not been on her planned route, but the thick, dark wall of trees beckoned strongly to her.
    The pinch and burn of a dart striking her thigh, another finding root in her back, and yet two more into her leg were only added incentive as she sprang off toward the shelter of the woods with what little strength she still possessed.

Chapter Two
    His task was a simple one: to separate the delicate pollen stems from the shy but stunning whisper lotus. The minimal quantities of the gold and pink dust were invaluable commodities for the healing Jasom elixir. He had only to dip the slender probe beneath the petals in order to peel back the layers of the flower. Invariably, the satiny fronds moved defensively to shield their treasure, but Gavenas usually had steadier hands and sound concentration. Hundreds of times, he had coaxed similar flowers to open, using the prize inside to heal creatures small and large, mobile and bound to the soil. Some flowers were coy and others could be aggressive, but with the right amount of focus, the retrieval wasn’t normally a long process.
    Yet that day his attention was compromised by the sultry woman lying upon his bed. Her dark skin was like that of a night dragon’s wings, reflecting hints of burnished red. Fire-kissed. Her soft black hair was a beautiful woven tapestry of braids decorated with golden rings. She was a shapely creature, tall and well muscled. It had been a task just for him to carry her from the great roots of the Sky Embracer tree where he had found her to his den without stealing a taste of her rounded shoulder. It had been a nagging thought throughout his entire journey.
    He had removed the darts from her skin and given her what little of the Jasom elixir he had to counteract her raging fever. He could do nothing for his own temperature, however.
    While she slept, Gavenas had to leave her. He needed to gather a few of the ingredients he required for more of the counteragent, despite the tempest outside. He welcomed the cooling fury of the storm, dampened by the forest’s thick canopy. And even though he knew just where the precious whisper lotus lived, his hunt had been a strain.
    It could have been that it was too long since he had entertained carnal thoughts, since he had allowed his animal nature to crave caresses, tastes, and immersion, but Gavenas doubted it.
    The woman lying supine upon his bed was special, and the arousal he felt exceeded the hardness of his cock, even as he tried to steady his hand.
    Gavenas swore with irritation as the thin probing stick he held was pulled from his fingertips by a despondent petal of the flower and was tossed aside to the table. He narrowed his eyes to glare at the flower before sense