“Jax,” I whispered achingly. I ran a hand over his face. Coarse hair met my fingertips. “My Gods, my love, I’m so sorry.”
“What for? It isIwho should be apologizing.”
“No.” I pressed my fingers to his lips. “It wasn’t only me who’s been suffering, and I’m only just seeing that. I’m so sorry.”
So much had been at stake during the past few weeks, but while I’d been nearly comatose from the potions forced upon me, he hadn’t. He’d been living free and alone, thinking that I might never leave that prison.
I couldfeelhis fear. It tingled in his aura, even though he was trying to hide it.
“I’m here,” I whispered. “I’ll always be here with you.” I slowly began to undress him.
“What are you doing?”
“You’re joining me. I think we both need this bath and food.”
He gently clasped my hands. “No, I want to care for you. I must?—”
I again stopped him with my fingers pressed to his lips. “AndImust care foryou. I want to do this for you as much as you want to do it for me.” A throb came inside me, our bond warming and growing with him so near. I gasped and placed a hand on my stomach. It was the first time in weeks that I’d felt our mate bond, and galaxy and stars, had I missed it. “’Tis not only you who feels the need to care for the other.”
His throat bobbed, and I continued undressing him. Inch by inch of perfect golden skin was revealed with every layer of clothing that fell. Naked before me, his gaze turned heated. My clothes were soon peeled off and my hair unbound.
Together, we stepped into the tub, now filled with steaming water that smelled faintly of jasmine. He lathered a cloth, filling it with soapy suds, then washed me head to toe. He did it so gently, so reverently, and with each pass of his hands, his love beat toward me.
Memories of the first bath I’d taken in this palace came back to me. The bath I’d had after doing Jax’s calling to find Bastian. Like then, Jax’s hands were just as gentle, just as tender.
My heart swelled under his strong yet soothing touch, and when he finished, I took the cloth and did the same to him. My hands traveled over his broad shoulders, defined chest, and chiseled limbs. With every swipe of my fingers upon his skin, he shuddered, and the need in his aura grew.
The fog in my mind cleared even more as the potions’ potent effects faded, and for the first time in weeks, a tingle of my magic glowed inside me.
“It’s coming back.” I dropped a hand to my stomach, near my shadow mark that signified I was a lorafin. “I can feel a tiny bit of my magic.”
Jax’s eyes grew hooded, and he pulled me closer until I sat on his lap. I straddled him, my legs parting automatically.
He pulled a piece of food off the tray sitting by the tub and fed me. Piece after piece he placed into my mouth, watching my lips close over them and feeling the swipe of my tongue against his fingertips.
Longing curled in my lower belly, and lust grew on his expression, stronger and more heated with every scrape of my teeth. And with each morsel that I swallowed, his aura swelled and grew, pulsing with want andhunger.
“Let me love you,” he whispered. “I need to feel you, hold you, rut with you—” His throat bobbed.
I slanted my mouth over his, and an answering pulse of desire shot through my core. He was already rock hard beneath me. Water lapped against my waist, and his hands, still slick with soap, trailed over me, sliding along my skin, cupping my backside, and palming my breasts.
Our kiss turned frantic and raw. His hands fisted in my hair, a groan coming from deep in his throat. He lifted and lowered me onto his length, and I sucked in a breath as the perfect feel of him began to fill me.
He slid inside me, inch by inch, filling me completely, and then hissed when I was fully seated atop him.
“I can’t live without you.” His voice was hoarse, his eyes glowing when I pulled back just enough to see them.
“You don’t have to.”
And as we made love in the bath, the water lapping around us, I only hoped that somehow, we could make that declaration come true.
I awoke from a long nap,happy and content after several restful hours of slumber. Jax lay beside me, awake and stretched out as he watched me. Dark hair fell over his forehead, and smoothly shaven cheeks brushed against me when he dipped down to kiss me awake. Outside, the capital’s bells began to toll.
A smile curved my lips. “You shaved.”
He rubbed a cheek. “It was about time. I grew neglectful while you were away.”
“What time is it?” I asked sleepily.
