Page 11 of Craving Stardust

I should get out of bed, but I could only stare up at him. I stroked my fingertips across his shoulders. Shove him away, I told myself.

Instead, I held on tight as the wonder of this moment filled me.

His face descended, and his mouth captured mine.

FOUR

Lordek

Ilost myself in the depths of Iris's eyes, stolen away by the whirlwind of colors that danced and shimmered there like stardust. As our lips met, a soft moan escaped her. Her eyes locked on mine, and the need there was nearly my undoing.

My dual hearts thundered wildly in my chest, threatening to burst through my ribs. I’d never wanted anyone as much as I did this glorious person.

"Iris," I whispered against her mouth. I traced my fingertips slowly up and down her side as if by doing so, I could draw an invisible line to connect us.

She shifted beneath me, pressing her hips up against mine, her hands clutching my shoulders. She clung to me in a way no one else ever had; a way no one else ever would.

Pain stabbed through me, centering in my leg. I broke off the kiss and collapsed back onto the bed beside her, groaning. What had I done? She’d offered me shelter. She’d tried to heal me. And I’d taken advantage of that.

“Are you okay?” Strain came through in her voice. She rose onto her palm, staring down at me, her face tight with concern.

My vision swam in and out, and I clung to her words, her presence. Only the thought of her kept my world stable. Somehow, I knew if I held onto the thread binding us, everything would be alright.

Thoughts flowed back into my mind, a slow trickle that bloomed into a full river.

“Yes.” Pain washed over me, each surge taller than the last, threatening to drown me. “I’m sorry.”

“What? Why?”

“I shouldn’t have kissed you.”

Her fingers rose to her mouth. “I . . . I didn’t mind.”

“You didn’t?”

She shook her head.

Despite the agony jolting up my leg, my skin pulsed.

“You’re… glowing,” she said in awe, reaching to my chest before yanking her hand back.

“I won’t burn you. Harm you,” I grated out. “It’s…” How could I tell her that she was my fated one, that her touch had ignited my mating bond?

I barely knew her name, yet I knew her in a way older than time.

Somehow, after years of traveling and meeting more beings than I could count, I wound up on this planet and with the only female I would ever love. Once the bond tightened, only she would complete me.

“Is your skin glowing because you’re in pain?” She pushed the blankets back and slid off the bed to stand beside it. “I don’t have much that will help, but I can get you some over the counter pain killers.”

Killers…?

“I don’t welcome death, mate.”

Her head tilted. “Are you Australian? No, wait. What a silly question. You’re an alien from outer space. But mate’s a term they use.” Her lips scrunched together. “Never mind. Let me get you those pills. They’ll help.”

“I need you to do one thing for me, Iris.”

She paused in the open doorway, turning back. “What?”

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