Page 107 of Stealing the Star Stone
“You are,” he said, then clenched his jaw.“Andthe love of my life.”
She’d been friend zoned.The blow to her solar plexus was visceral.“Well, that sets me straight…” Her mind reeled.“What did you say?”She shook her head.Damn drugs messing with her hearing.
“Isaid, you crazy redhead, that I love you.”His expression softened, and that potency was there, blazing his affection for her.
She froze, her heart thundering in her ears like she needed extra sound dampening.“That’s not residual sex hormones making you say that?”
He chuckled.“Nova… Just tell me you feel the same so we can move on, honey pot.”
“I do…love you.”She pouted.“You could’ve made it a little more romantic.”
“On bended knee?In an alien paradise?On the back of a drooling yuxmet?”
She laughed.“Yes, you’ve had plenty of prime opportunities—”
He kissed her, snatching her breath.“I…adore…every…inch…of you,” he said between kisses.“Let me love you.Inside and out.”
She grinned.“Only you could say that and mean it.”She cupped his face and held him still for a long gaze.“I feel the same.”
“Forever?”he asked, nuzzling her palm.“My qidhari,” he whispered.
She jerked back.“You know what it means?”
The slow smile he blessed her with held promises, happiness, and pure love.“Yeah.God’s savior, and you did…save me.”
“No regerts?”she teased.
His reply was without hesitation.“None.Ever.”
Epilogue
On the Entertainment Cruiser (EC) Valiance.
The staff quarters belonging to Mr.and Mrs.Thorne.
Home Sweet Home.
Year of 2203, November
“Barry,willyoustopthat?”Nova snapped, bolting across the cabin to flip the music to Mozart.She’d hopped into the shower, not expecting her playlist to change.
Her egg, now the size of her hand from fingertip to wrist, had revolted, spinning faster until it blurred and sent out pulses of light.
What he ate was music.That had been fun to discover on her wedding day mid-dance.Finding out what kind he preferred had taken much longer.
He calmed, slowed his spinning, and settled on the plinth.There he bobbed, sending out a soothing hum.Learning this explained why he’d tried to climb out of her cleavage in the bathroom at Eastwood Hall.Classical music had been playing in the background.
A squeal whipped her gaze to the door when it slid open to Eli standing there with January in his arms.Her daughter cooed, her bright green eyes and mop of brown hair so like her father’s.
“Oh, what’s this?”Eli said, his gaze warming with his ever-present desire for Nova.
She stood in the middle of their living room, dripping on the floor with a hand towel pressed to her front.“Barry lost his shit again.Note: he hates country.”
“So do I,” Eli said.
“It was the soundtrack toThe Quick and the Quasarian.”
“Oh.”Eli chuckled.“Everyone’s a critic these days.”He sauntered to her and swooped in for a kiss.“Want me to slip into something a little more comfortable?”
