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Inhaling deeply, she exhaled immediately and just went for it.“I ran away all those times and didn’t come to you earlier or let you know that I knew we were Mates and I so very much wanted to be with you because… Because… Oh, shit, because I was afraid that you would hate the way I look and not be able to accept the fact that you could be stuck with a half dead-half alive goddess for all eternity.I didn’t want you to have…”

“Stop right there,” Hopper’s voice was loving but carried a steely undertone that froze the words on Hel’s tongue.Eyes glued to his, her heart filled with love and her soul felt as if it would fly right out of her body when he said, “I will not have you doubting yourself, not even for a moment.You are perfect just the way you are.I want nothing more than to spend eternity by your side.I have wanted to be here, with you, showing you how very much I love you for so very long.”

Squeezing her hands and rubbing circles on the back with the pad of his thumb, Hel shivered at the electricity filling every fiber of her being as he continued.“The only reason I didn’t show up down here, throw you over my shoulder like a big Neanderthal and make you mine was because, well, it’s not my style.”He winked.“And I knew you weren’t ready.”

Laying a sweet kiss to the middle of her forehead, he pulled back and added, “I would never and will never ask you to do anything you do not want to do.We are in this together, all the way.We are partners from start to finish.Deal?”

“Deal!”Hel readily agreed, wrapping her arms around his neck, it was her turn to kiss him, and she did with everything in her.

Never wanting their embrace to end but knowing there were things she still had to tell him for her own peace of mind, wanting out of her armor, and definitely not wanting her first time to be on the ground even though they were in her garden, Hel hesitantly pulled away.Gently laying her hand on Hopper’s chest when he moved closer, she whispered, “Open your eyes.I need…”

A flash of light and rush of unconditional love and acceptance burst to life in the Mating Bond connecting the goddess to her Mate.In the next breath, Hel was transported directly into Hopper’s mind and shown exactly what he thought, and most importantly, felt about her.

Transported to what she immediately knew was one of his favorite memories by the way Hopper’s emotions painted the scene, Hel was both shocked and overjoyed when she realized it was that day so very long ago when her father took her to Dreki Island.She hadn’t thought about that day for so long, had only recently realized that Hopper was there and that she’d run away that time too.Floating on the lovely feelings of his memories, Hel heard his thoughts, and the breath caught in her lungs.

His voice filled her as he said,“I’ve heard so many others call the left side of Hel’s body her ‘dead side’, but that is absolutely absurd, and something I will clear up once we are properly Mated.The world will know that I belong to her, and she belongs to me, and they will treat my Mate with the respect she is due.”

“Hel is not dead.Neither is any part or parcel of her lovely visage.She is gorgeous.She is perfect.She is a goddess, and I don’t mean just because of her parentage.”He huffed to himself.“Most importantly, she is mine, and that is all that matters.”

“I just can’t get over it.Hel is absolutely beautiful.She is the woman made for me by Auntie Universe.It is as simple as that.”With a sharp nod, he kept the inner monologue going.“My Mate is loveliness personified.Her very existence represents the boundary between Life and Death.She is a living, breathing symbol of the true duality of the natural cycle of Life.How could that ever be ‘dead’?”

“Hel is not only the Norse goddess of the Underworld and the Queen of the Dead, to me, she is quite literally everything.She is the fresh new life of Spring, the warmth of the Summer sun, the splendor of Autumn colors, and the frigid winds of Winter that energize rebirth and start the cycle of Life and Death all over again for so very many things.She is perfection.”

With a single tear rolling down the cheek of her dead side, she sniffed, “Oh, Hopper, I love you.I always have and I always will.”Outlining his lips with the tips of her fingers, she added, “This is our time.I honestly never thought it would come, never thought I would get over myself and let it come, but here we are.”

“Are you sure, my love?”

“Oh, yes, I am sure.I want to be with you.I am meant to love you and only you and we are meant to spend eternity together.”

Tracing his jawline, loving the way the blond stubble tickled her fingertips, she added, “Please love me and let me love you,mín æ.”

ChapterTwenty-One

Afraid to move, afraid to breathe, not wanting to diminish the absolute perfection of the moment, Hopper did the only thing he could think of, he whisked them to the room he knew was Hel’s with merely a thought.The moment their feet touched the ground; the air filled with the Magic of the goddess of Helheim.

In the next breath, she was out of her armor and dressed in a soft, flowing light pink negligée with thin straps and glittering crystals decorating the lowcut neckline.Just the sight of her full breasts and wonderfully seductive cleavage and his libido was in high gear.

Best of all, his Mate had thought of everything.Hopper was out of his battle-worn shirt and boots and the jeans he wore were clean and pressed.

Looking deep into her eyes, Hopper put his hands on her waist, his lips to hers, and as he let the undying love he felt for her flow between them, he walked backward until the backs of his knees touched the mattress of her massive four-poster bed.Breaking their kiss, he slid his hands up the seductive curves, onto her shoulders then down her arms until his fingers were intertwined with hers.

Slowly getting onto the bed, Hopper laid back, his heart doing another silly little pitter-pat when she willingly followed, moving like a lioness who had found her prey.Sliding her left leg over his thighs, Hopper had to hold his breath and pray his eyes didn’t cross as the electricity of their connection skittered through every nerve-ending, landing in his already throbbing erection.

Loving the feel of her body straddling his, he took in all her beautiful curves and womanly shape while telling himself he had to go slow.There would be no rushing.He would do everything in his considerable power to make this absolutely perfect.After all, this was the first time for both of them.

Laying perfectly still, Hopper reminded himself to breathe as Hel’s fingers and lips, touched and kissed every inch of his face.His pride soared when he heard her thoughts and knew that she thought he was the most handsome man she’d ever seen and even said the word ‘hot’.

Using their Mating Bond, he could see exactly how Hel saw him and his ego got another boost, even larger than when he glimpsed the statue of his likeness in the garden that Hel tried to hide.Not only did she love his curls, but his Mate thought his choice of attire was perfect.She loved the way the light cotton of his Western tailored shirts fit his wide shoulders and accentuated his muscular biceps.Being with the one his Auntie Universe made for him was better than he had ever imagined and then some.

“You flatter me, my love,” Hopper chuckled.“But I gotta admit that I like it.”

“Well, you better get used to it,Elskan mín, because I’m gonna tell you every day of our eternity together how much I love you, desire you, and want you with everything I am.”

“Damn, woman, I love the way you think.”

Unable to hold back any longer, feeling that his goddess wanted him just as much he wanted her, the Omnipotent Being known as Hope laid his lips to hers.Summoning the incredible strength and Magic he’d been given at his inception, he forced himself to go slow, be gentle, make their first time together, their first time ever, the best it could possibly be.

But Hel was having none of it.Her desire, and the unconditional love he felt flooding their Mating Bond caught fire.Her hands gripped his shoulders.She pulled him to her with a force and passion unlike any he’d ever felt.