Page 15 of Craving Stardust

“Ah, perfect.” The smile he shot me was full of warmth and a hint of something I craved.

No, I craved him. I suspected I would for a lifetime.

How could I feel this much so fast? It had to be the intensity of the moment. I knew the authorities could find him soon and take him away from me. My mind must be eager to stuff a lifetime into each second.

Katie slunk into the room, eying Lordek. Her spine arched, fluffed up with indignation, but she didn’t hiss. She’d stopped doing that sometime last night when she saw that he wasn’t going to attack her. I’d caught her on the bed once, sniffing his leg through the blankets. My kitty was friendly. She wouldn’t hold back once she discovered he was a sweet guy.

She wouldn’t be able to resist him any easier than me.

“What would you do if you didn’t travel?” I asked, walking beside him as he slowly made his way from the room and down the hall toward the kitchen.

Katie scampered behind us, watching him intently. She rushed close, sniffed his ankle, then darted back. The final time, she took a swat at him, though without her claws.

He stared at her, frowning.

“She’s a pet,” I said. “Her name’s Katie Purry after a famous singer. My cat doesn’t sing, however, although she does like to howl when she wants her wet food in the morning.”

“I see,” he said with a frown.

“She’s harmless. You don’t need to worry about her hurting you.”

“What about you? Will she cause you pain?”

I shook my head. “As I said, she’s a pet. Like a friend. She might smack me with her claws, but only then in play.”

“Such a strange creature.”

“That’s a cat for you. They’re independent. Ferocious in their own way. I adore cats and Katie in particular.”

“Then I adore her too.”

I couldn’t hold back my smile. “Maybe you’re a cat person too.”

“I’m sure I am.”

My laugh burst out. “Some people prefer dogs.”

His head tilted. “Why?”

“Because they adore you no matter what?”

“I can see the benefit in that. As for what I’d do if I didn’t travel, I’ve thought of settling on my home planet, Sathoria, and become a farmer. I could raise a family if the fates granted me a fated one.”

There was that term again, fated one. He couldn’t have meant to apply it to me. He’d vocalized the words during a fever dream.

My traitorous mind shot to me holding his child, a baby made up of the best of us. I stood outside our farmhouse, watching as he strode toward me after a long day working in our fields. Katie sat on the stoop nearby, taking in this strange, alien world, with her cat-like eyes.

And she purred—just like me.

Silly, Iris, I chided. Something like that will never happen.

Shoving aside my vision, I helped him into the kitchen and over to the small table, pulling out a chair. “Sit. I’ll finish breakfast and we can eat.”

He settled onto the chair, propping his bad leg on another, and I was grateful not to see him wince. Hopefully he wasn’t in too much pain.

I placed two over the counter pain killers and a glass of water on the table. “Take these. They’ll help.”

He stared at the pills. “How do I take them?”

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