Nova stepped out of the infirmary with Jax's arm firmly around her waist, steadying her. Her body still ached, but it was the weight of what had happened — not the poison — that sat heaviest in her chest.
Jax didn't say much, but his grip didn't loosen once. He'd called for an omega ahead of time, asking for the bath to be drawn. By the time they reached his chambers, the scent of lavender steam filled the air. Nova sighed at the warmth already soaking the room.
"I'm fine, you know," she murmured, not wanting him to be concerned for her. He saw right through that.
"You were bleeding from your eyes," he said flatly, his hand on the small of her back as he guided her into the bath chamber. "Forgive me if I hover."
She didn't argue.
The bath was deep, the water near scalding — perfect. Jax helped her undress with careful fingers, as if she might break, even now. His hands lingered a little longer over her ribs, brushing against the mark on her thigh. She blushed as he slowly lowered her into the bath, her breath catching when the heat wrapped around her sore muscles.
A moan of relief escaped her throat. Jax chuckled, getting in behind her.
He took his time — lathering her skin with soap and warm water, washing her gently like she was something precious. When he moved to rinse her hair, her eyes fluttered closed, and she leaned back against his chest with a soft sigh.
"My turn," she murmured.
"Nope. You were just poisoned." His arms tightened. "You don't move."
"Jax…"
He looked down.
She was smirking up at him, eyes gleaming.
He groaned in defeat and shifted forward, letting her reach for the soap. "This is against my better judgment."
"I'll be gentle."
She wasn't. She playfully scrubbed his hair while he grumbled and stole kisses between suds. Every time her hands slid down his shoulders, he forgot what he was supposed to be complaining about.
When the water cooled, he stood and lifted her without a word, drying her off in soft, slow movements. He brushed her hair next, fingers moving like he was memorizing each strand, reverent and focused. She watched him through the mirror — the way he looked at her like she was sacred.
When they finally collapsed onto the bed in towels, steam still clinging to their skin, Jax lay beside her — silent, watching.
Then, quietly, he leaned in and kissed the shell of her ear. "Nova…" he breathed, voice cracking slightly. "I thought I lost you."
Her heart squeezed.
"If I wouldn't have been there…" He stopped himself, jaw tight. "I don't like it when you're out of my sight. It's like… my whole world goes quiet. And dark."
He shifted, his lips brushing over her cheek. Then her temple. Then her jaw.
"I love you," he whispered, his voice a low vow. "You are my moon. My goddess. My light. And I need you."
Nova's breath caught in her throat.
"I love you too, Jax," she whispered, her hand finding his.
The words settled over him like rain after a drought. His eyes closed, a smile playing at his lips.
She was so pure and perfect, and he loved her so intensely it burned like a fire inside his chest. He wanted her to live in his quarters. He wanted that since the day she arrived here, but now it'd only grown worse.
His eyes grew heavy as he held her drifting off to sleep.
When he awoke, she stirred in his arms. His lips found hers.
A deep kiss of longing. Soft at first, then deepening with raw hunger, their tongues entwining in a dance that mirrored the rhythm building between them.
He pulled off her towel and his own. Lips not leaving hers.
As he pushed forward, guiding the thick head of his cock against her entrance, he felt her tense. But then yielded as he pushed into her. He felt her heat envelope him inch by inch.
The sensation was overwhelming—the tight, grip of her around him, the way her inner walls pulsed and stretched to accommodate his size, drawing a guttural moan from his throat that vibrated against her mouth.
His thrusts started slow, deliberate, each one a measured withdrawal and return, the friction building with every slide, his hips rolling against hers in a primal rhythm that sent waves of electric pleasure coursing through them both.
His thrusts began to quicken, each one gaining a subtle urgency that matched the rising tide of his need, the initial measured rhythm evolving into something more insistent, more primal.
With each hard push, he released a fraction of the pent-up stress that had weighed on him, the emotional barriers crumbling as he lost himself in the raw connection they shared, her soft whimpers of pleasure vibrating through his chest and stoking the flames of his own arousal.
"Cum for me, baby." He whispered in her ear.
Nova came undone at that and felt heat rising in her body. She started to orgasm, and he started to pump himself into her.
But then, he felt a sting in his shoulder. His fangs came out, and Nova felt a sting in her neck.
What followed next was intense pleasure from the venom of their marks.
The orgasm didn't stop for a full minute as they writhed in rhythm.
Both their wolves surfaced and marked.
Jax had never felt that kind of pleasure through his whole body. Nova didn't realize she was biting into Jax until the pleasure stopped.
He pulled out of her gently, still on top of her. Trying to fathom the ecstasy he had just experienced. Then both of them lost consciousness.