Beautiful Warrior Read Free Page A

around us. Everything was so incredibly vivid and lifelike. But as crazy as I was, I understood the difference between reality and fantasy.
    Or so I kept telling myself .
    We arrived swiftly at our destination . I recognized the warrior’s home from Duncan’s painting, except it wasn’t quite as primitive as it had been in his artwork. The tiny hut he’d painted was now a well-constructed cabin. I had no idea why my mind had changed it. Maybe for my own comfort and well-being?
    Either way, the painting was entitled Danger , and that still seemed to fit.
    He dismounted, then scooped me off the horse. My legs wobbled as they touched the ground, and I teetered toward him. He grabbed my shoulders to steady me, and our gazes locked.
    I brok e eye contact first, needing to catch my breath.
    Together, we went inside . His residence featured one large room, equipped with an oak-framed bed and a straw-stuffed mattress. The coverlet was made of animal skins. Another stack of furry blankets was piled in a corner. A split log table and a couple of straight-back chairs provided a place to sit. A fire was already burning in the fireplace, with a pot of something or other simmering above the flame.
    Struggling to keep my nerves in check, I inhaled the home-spiced aroma. Then I turned and caught him watching me in that perilous way of his.
    “Remove your clothes,” he said .
    I gulped my next breath . I wasn’t a stranger to undressing in front of Duncan. The first time we made love, I’d seduced him, stripping off the smart little outfit I’d worn. But this was different. I wasn’t ready.
    “I need more time,” I said.
    “ For what? Your clothes are damp and you need to dry off.”  He lifted a blanket from the floor and tossed it to me. “You can use this. Then we can eat.”
    Oh, thank goodness . He was going to feed me before he fucked me. I clutched the fur. At least I had something to cover myself with at the table.
    There was no way for me to disrobe without him watching, and that was obviously what he intended to do. He stood on the other side of the room, his gaze trained on me, the glow from the fire dancing across his bronzed skin.
    My heart oozed all over itself . He was about as beautiful as a man could get. If only I hadn’t cursed him to die.
    Him and Duncan.
    He shifted his stance, waiting for me to shed my clothes, and I set the blanket on a chair, keeping it handy. As soon as I was bare, I was going to snatch it back up again.
    I started with my makeshift footwear, untying the soggy swatches. After that, I reached for the hem of my top and peeled the garment over my head. Next, I worked my jeans down. I moved quickly, otherwise it would have turned into a painfully slow striptease, with me being the seductress I wasn’t ready to be.
    Attire d in only a beige bra and floral-printed panties, I glanced at the warrior, and my nerves kicked up a notch. With his unwavering gaze, he scanned the length of me, and a muscle ticked in his jaw. He looked as if he wanted to mount me in the same ravenous way his stallion would mate with a mare.
    Instead of removing my undergarments, I hastily dried my hair, then my body, then draped the blanket over my shoulders.
    He came forward, picked up my rain-spattered clothes and spread them out near the fire.
    I thought about the bonfire Duncan and I had shared at the beach a few weeks ago, roasting marshmallows and looking up at the stars. That had been a complicated night, too. Mostly everything I’d experienced so far with Duncan was rather jumbled. He knew that I was ill, but he had no idea that I was in love with him.
    The warrior dished up the food and motioned for me to join him at the table . Still wrapped in the fur covering, I sat across from him. He handed me a wooden spoon, and I indulged in the meal he’d made, which turned out to be a hearty rabbit stew. I’d never had rabbit before. I’d never had anything but beef, pork, and poultry from the supermarket. I did,