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Now was not the time to touch. Now it was time to admire everything she hadn’t been able to before. Valda crawled on her hands and knees, not trusting her legs to support her weight as she got closer.

She didn’t dare blink. She was petrified that if she did, she would go back to that suffocating darkness which had haunted her since her twenty-fifth birthday. Her eyes drifted from the blankets covering Maris’s hips to her peaceful, sleeping face.

Maris—her Maris was absolutely stunning. She had the kind of beauty that made anyone turn around if she walked by. The type of beauty wars had been fought for; the type of beauty people had died for in centuries past. Her hair reminded Valda of waves back in the Sea Kingdom. It was long, longer than what she expected, wavy, and dark blue while her nose was perfectly symmetrical, and her lips…

Valda swallowed hard.

Maris’s lips were parted. They were the same shade as her nipples, and they were plump, kissable—perfect. Her jaw and chin were nothing like Valda’s square and rough features. Hers were soft, feminine. She was everything Valda wasn’t. A perfect complement to Valda’s coarse edges, she was her balance, her mate through and through.

Her mate. Maris was her mate. Her heart mate… maybe even her soulmate…

She needed to wake her up. She needed to look deep into her eyes, feel the mate bond. She needed it more than anything now that she wasn’t blind.

Honey eyes roamed the valley of Maris’s breast again, and Valda wondered what they would look like underneath her callused hands. How their skin would contrast so dramatically. She released a deep, guttural groan. Oh, she couldn’t wait to put her hands on her, to feel the texture and see the ripples her strong grip would create on her supple skin.

Finally, Valda grabbed onto the bedsheet with the tip of her fingers, careful not to disturb her lover’s slumber. She tugged on the blanket until it gracefully fell on the ground, leaving Maris completely bare.

Valda’s heart pounded inside her head, and between her thighs. Her entire body quivered with the ravaging need to touch her, but not yet. Not yet, she told herself over and over again. Taking a deep breath, Valda decided her legs were strong enough to hold her weight, and she stood.

There, Maris lay with her legs slightly parted, enough for Valda to see the blue mound and the soft, dark folds, still glistening with last night’s play. Valda had never been as thirsty as she was now. She sucked in her lower lip, biting it painfully hard, trying to regain just an ounce of control.

Not yet, Valda. Not yet.

Suddenly, Maris inhaled sharply, her teeth chattered slightly, and her skin covered with goosebumps. Her nipples hardened even more as the cold, morning breeze touched her perfect skin. Her mate was cold, and Valda fought the primal need to lay next to her, to warm her with her larger body, and keep her secure in her embrace. But she couldn’t. Valda’s fists tightened even further. Not yet…

Maris’s eyes fluttered until they opened. She tilted and turned her head to look up at Valda’s towering form right next to the bed.

Blue eyes connected with honey ones and time stood still. Their heads raged with the sounds of a raging storm, of waves and wind gracefully singing a song of connection, of eternity and peace.

Their stare lingered, and a peculiar light entered Valda’s bright eyes.

The Fates foretold the truth. Maris was hers, as she was Maris’s, and there was no longer a doubt in her mind, for Valda felt full, warm, and complete the moment her eyes connected with the Sealian’s.

“Valda?” Maris whispered, her voice faltering as she exhaled. She felt it too, the echo of a thousand lovers reuniting once again with a single gaze.

Valda’s eyes burned with unshed tears and the horrible need to blink, but she was scared—petrified! She didn’t want to lose it now. She didn’t want to lose Maris and go back to full darkness! No! It would be too cruel if that happened. And so, Valda took in the smallest details her eyes could see, just in case darkness consumed her yet again.

Maris propped herself up on her elbows, her hair moving gracefully around her shoulders. Her hands were a mess of paint, but her fingers were long, feminine, pristine—musician’s hands. Valda imagined those same fingers flying across the strings of a violin, running through her hair, trailing a sacred path over her skin.

When Maris frowned, small gentle creases formed in the middle of her forehead before she arched a perfect dark blue eyebrow.

Valda took it all in.

“Your eyes!”

Valda nodded, but she moved her gaze to the way Maris’s stomach slightly rolled as she sat up, admiring how her breasts bounced, how her feet touched the floor and noticed how clean they were.

“I can see again,” Valda gasped, a tear finally rolling down her heated cheek. “I can see you.” Valda laughed in disbelief, the air leaving her lungs in short pants.

Maris stood, cradled Valda’s face in her hands, and held her gaze.

Maris’s eyes were dark blue like the deepest end of the Sealian oceans, yet carried a spark of love and fondness that cleared them up like a sunny sky. Her lashes were long too, framing her eyes to perfection. She had a few freckles over her nose, and when she scrunched it up, she looked adorable as she laughed. A beauty mark rested perfectly on her left cheek, and there was a small scar on her chin.

Maris was perfect and even though she had said it over and over again in the shadow of her blindness, in the passion of their lovemaking, Valda was right. Her soul told her she was right all along.

Maris was perfect. Maris was a goddess and Valda could only thank Ouranos himself for granting her the chance to see her lover.

Suddenly, Valda froze as she watched Maris’s mouth form into a big bright smile.