Page 35 of Craving Stardust

“Could your ship support me and Katie as well?”

“It could, but you can’t leave here. This is your world, your life. You have your bookstore, your farmhouse your grandmother gifted to you. Friends. Everything that makes up the Iris I love.”

“None of that matters if I can’t share it with you.” Her pretty eyes glistened. “Can I help you build a new life on your planet? Don’t leave me. I love you. I can’t stand to be without you. I don’t want a life here if you’re not in it.”

I cupped her face and stared into her eyes, finding the truth there. It stabbed through me. I could barely breathe. “You would have to give up too much. I can’t ask that of you.”

“You’re not. I’m offering it. Offering myself if you’ll have me.”

“Oh, Iris. You don’t know how much I want you.”

“I’ll give up everything I have here, plus more. Anything if it means I can be with you.”

The vehicles full of beings eager to capture me drew closer. I could hear them rumbling on the road nearby. We didn’t have much time.

“You’re sure?” It would gut me all over again if she changed her mind, but she had to be certain.

“I am.” A beautiful smile bloomed on her face. “Let’s get out of here before the bad guys arrive.”

“Iris.” I stroked her face.

“Lordek.” She stepped forward, pressing her body against mine.

“Well. Yes. It’s past time to leave.” I took her hand. One lift put her halfway up the narrow stairs. With the box holding Katie, I crowded next to her and eased her into the main compartment of the ship. There, I lowered the box to the metal plated floor. I held Iris’s hands, looking down at her. “I won’t be angry if you decide to remain here. There’s still time to return to the ground, to run to your home and pretend you never saw me.”

Her chin lifted, and her gaze went steely. “Nothing matters but us. We need to be together. I don’t want to stay here. I want to go with you. Please.”

Shouts rang out from the distance.

She peered in that direction, her gaze filled with panic. “Shut that hatch and get us out of here, Lordek.”

With a nod, I hit the button, closing the outer door and sealing us inside within seconds.

She placed the box holding Katie near the wall of the ship. How would her pet fare in space? Many others kept small animals with them on ships. Katie would be no different.

I opened a cabinet and tucked the box inside. She’d be safer there during takeoff.

Sitting in the sole chair on the bridge, I tugged Iris down onto my lap, securing us both with the restraints. She clung to my shoulders, burying her face in my chest. Tremors shook her frame. My brave love. I would never forget her sacrifice. She was giving up everything to be with me.

“Hold on tight, mate,” I growled with heavy emotion. “We’re about to become one with the stars.”

“Yes. Turn us both into stardust, my love.”

I engaged the engines and held on to my mate as my ship lifted off.

We blasted toward the sky.

SEVENTEEN

Epilogue

IRIS

Two Earth Months Later

Our ship coasted through the outer atmosphere of Lordek’s home planet. I sat on his lap, my favorite place to be, as we drew closer to the shimmering gold and purple surface.

“It’s so pretty,” I said.

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