Read Online Beautiful Warrior by Sheri Whitefeather - Free Book Online

become my gateway to it.
    “Do you want to see the daddy?” he asked.
    “Yes, of course.”  I suspected that it would resemble the stallions the other warriors owned, but with a thousand times more flair.
    His prized stud was housed in a separate stable , away from the main building, and as soon as I saw him, he took my breath away. I was right about him resembling the other warriors’ mounts, but with the beauty and radiance that only magic could provide.
    Big and strong and powerfully formed, he shimmered with the same stunning colors as the foals he’d sired. But his eyes caught me by surprise, as they were faceted like diamonds and just as brilliant.
    “He’s spectacular,” I said, gazing at the stallion in awe.
    The warrior moved closer to me. “So are you.”
    I turned to face him, hoping that he would kiss me. But he didn’t. He just looked at me with the same type of wonder I’d bestowed upon his illustrious horse.
    “I was in love once,” he said.
    His admission nearly sent me teetering on my feet. “With who?”
    “A butter fly who became a woman.”
    Should I have seen that com ing? “Were you responsible for making her that way?”
    “Yes, but the magic didn’t last . She went back to being a butterfly, and I lost her. She just fluttered away, and that was that.”
    His story made me sad . “I’m sorry.”
    “ She was a Painted Lady, like the species that shares your name. She was terribly elusive. Even when she was a woman, she would go off by herself. She didn’t love me the way I loved her.”
    “I’m sorry,” I said again . If I wasn’t so overwhelmed by what he’d told me, I might have put my arms around him. But as it was, I could hardly breathe. He’d loved a butterfly who could have been me, except that I was the one who loved Duncan, instead of the other way around.
    “Maybe we should go back outside,” he said .
    “Yes, maybe we should.”  I could certainly use the fresh air . I was still having trouble breathing.
    We returned to where the mares and foals were, and I thought about how tragically romantic we looked in our formal clothes, the hem of my dress skimming the ground.
    “I have something else to tell you,” he said.
    I was almost afraid to hear it. “Go ahead. You can say whatever’s on your mind.”
    “ Remember when I mentioned the monitor that allows me to view the other realms?”
    I nodded, waiting for him to expound.
    He cleared his throat. “When you were in the past, I watched you with the first warrior. I saw the two of you make love. And the next morning, when he bathed you, I watched that, too.”
    I squeezed my thighs together, the lace panties I’d conjured chafing my skin . I hadn’t considered him witnessing my sexual encounters.
    He continued, “Later, when you were in the present realm, I noticed how badly you wanted to kiss that warrior. Even if it didn’t happen, the tension between the two of you was electrifying. Seeing you with both of those men made me want you, too. But for more than sex. I want you to marry me, Vanessa. I want you to live here and become my bride.”
    I gasped, my heart punching its way to my throat . My bride fantasy was coming to fruition. Only it wasn’t real, I reminded myself. My stupid disease was playing tricks on me, twisting it into a painful ball. “I have to break the curse and go home.”
    “You can break the curse and stay here.”
    “No, I can’t.”  If I stayed in this state of mind, controlling my illness would be impossible. “I need to get back to Duncan.” 
    “Duncan can’t give you what I can give you . Please, stay and become my bride.”
    His bride . It wasn’t fair that he kept saying that. “You barely know me. We barely know each other.”
    “That isn’t true . I’ve been inside your head for years. You created me. I’m part of you.”
    I tried to reason with him, to m ake him see it for what it was. “I created all of the warriors.”
    “Yes, but I’m your future .