She thought for a moment. “Did you send those men to attack Father?”
“No.”
She glanced up at him. “How did you know about the attack, then?”
“We were watching them. They weren’t familiar to Allandis and I wanted to know what they were doing here.”
Ana swallowed slowly. For Maddoc to be watching them, he would have to have men all over Allandis. That was almost unbelievable considering how big the kingdom was. “Why did you save Father?”
“I explained that in court.”
She pursed her lips thinking back to the court hearing. “He could have killed you as soon as you arrived here, before knowing anything about the debt. Why did you risk it?”
“If Orick killed me as soon as I arrived, he wouldn’t be able to revel in the glory he would get from declaring me a criminal in front of his precious court. Killing me quietly is not his style—I knew it wouldn’t happen.”
Ana suddenly realized that Maddoc called her father by his name. Never “His Majesty,” or even “the king.” He hated her father that much? She shook her head slowly at the animosity between the two men. Even if Maddoc hated her father, any man with that much power outside of the royal assembly could do so much good, and yet Maddoc chose not to. “Why are you doing this?” she asked quietly. “Why are you so willing to destroy my life specifically? I know you don’t care about the hurt you cause across the kingdom, I know you don’t care about the towns you sacked, and I know you don’t care about the royals. But why me—specifically?”
“Your life will not be destroyed.”
“You know it will,” she snapped, annoyed he was still treating her like an idiot. “You don’t care because you don’t value it, like you don’t value anything. You think I’m a fool and an idiot who doesn’t—”
Maddoc leaned down and pressed his mouth against hers in a rough, hard kiss. Instantly, the anger that was building turned into a fierce, savage hunger. Maddoc kissed her like he fucked her—deep, volatile, and dominating, yet there were moments that were so sweetly tender, it left Ana breathless. He played with her nipples until she was moaning into his mouth, begging for release. Within moments, Maddoc had her on his cock, riding him while he pulled her head back and sucked her neck, her ear, her breasts, anywhere he could reach, before returning his tongue to her mouth.
Their mating had a different mood to it now. It was still frantic and raw and carnal, but now there was a stormy, irresistible feel to it that hadn’t been there before… and Ana was powerless against it.
When Ana woke again, she was pinned under Maddoc’s arm and leg. She lay still, quieting her thoughts, and trying to figure out what she was supposed to do now. She clearly failed in her attempt to withhold her emotions, although she succeeded in withholding her purr. But in the end, she had done something far worse—and now everything between them felt different. She didn’t like it.
Even though Mother had advised her to withhold things that made her vulnerable, the purpose was to try to control him with it, to try to get information out of him. But she just couldn’t see how.
She sighed and slowly crept out of bed. Heading over to the table, she drank her fill of the water, eying the plates of food. He’d left the food untouched this time, too concerned with fucking her when he first arrived, but that didn’t mean he still didn’t bring whatever he used last time. Ana padded over to the pile of his clothes, and keeping an eye on him, searched for his furs. His clothes were enormous and in the semi-darkness of the room, it was impossible for her to figure out what item she grasped. Only halfway through searching when he stirred, she quickly abandoned the task.
Her heart pounded as he turned over and reached for her.
“Come here.” His gruff voice lurched into the room.
Ana headed toward the bed, but as she neared her foot kicked something on the floor. The book he had given to her was by the underside of the bed. Picking it up first, she then slid back into the bed, and the Alpha engulfed her in his thick arms and kept her pressed against his chest. As she lay there, she marveled at the way he slept—holding her in his arms and completely unafraid. Did he sleep with all his woman the same way? Surely, there were some, more capable than her, who would take advantage of a slumbering outlaw—steal his money, try to kill him for the constant bounties placed on him. She traced his nose with her finger. It had only been two nights, and yet things felt so… she pushed the thoughts aside.
Using the moon’s light streaming through the window, she thumbed through the book she picked up.
It was difficult to know whether it was a story or a recounting of factual events. As she continued flicking through it, she realized it was about an Alpha and Omega. She carefully sat up and examined the book, turning it over in her hands to see how and where it was made. It was a simply bound book with nothing on either cover nor the spine, and no insignia of the bookmaker, which was strange. She started from the beginning and began to read.
Ana was almost halfway through when Maddoc stirred again. His hand brushed over her hips, swept down the back of her thigh and hooked under her knee to lift her leg and place it on his shoulder. When his lips caressed the inside of her thigh, her breath hitched.
He was already looking at her, that beautiful darkness in his eyes, and she slowly reached out a hand to brush the pads of her fingers over his dark bushy brows. He had such a distinctive look, and one that affected her in a way she never thought possible. Her finger trailed down his face to his beard, and she caressed his cheek slowly. He was definitely a handsome man, but in a different way from the other Alphas she knew. He wasn’t refined like those of the royal houses and was more rugged than Alphas who were soldiers or farmers. But that didn’t make him any less appealing, in fact, he was very attractive.
They stared at each other in comfortable silence for a long while, Ana taking her time to stroke the hair on his chin, brushing her thumb over his mustache while he stared at her with that dark desire.
“I’m reading the book you gave me. You didn’t tell me it was an Alpha and Omega couple story,” she said finally, drawing her hand away.
Maddoc lowered his head again and kissed the inside of her thigh, sweeping his tongue along her skin as he headed inward, but he said nothing.
“It’s filled with magical portals and orbs and shields,” she said, unable to hide the smirk in her tone. “I didn’t realize you believed in magic. I thought I was the one who believed in children’s folktales.”
Maddoc lifted his eyes to hers. “It is rare, but it does exist.”
Ana had to stop her mouth from dropping open. “You believe in magic?” She would have laughed if his expression wasn’t so serious. “Magic does not exist!”
Maddoc kept his eyes on her and resumed his journey up her thigh.
Ana stared at him. “You really believe in magic?”
“There are pockets within the kingdom where unusual people and unusual things exist. Sometimes there is no explanation for them except to believe the unbelievable.”
Ana scoffed and shook her head, but didn’t know what to say. Who would believe that the notorious outlaw Maddoc believed in magic? But at least now she had a way in to a topic her parents might want to know about. “You’ve traveled all over Allandis?”