Maddoc’s fingers on her slit froze. “He is not your fated mate.”
“It was arranged,” she explained. “We have been paired.”
“I don’t give a fuck. It is a lie.”
“And how would you know?” Ana asked, irritably.
“How can you not know,” he bellowed.
Ana jerked, surprised at his sudden anger. “I haven’t… been with him yet. I’ll know as soon as I am—it should be better than being with you.”
Maddoc roared, veins pulsing in his neck as he grabbed her and lifted her until her eyes were level with him. “There will never be anything better!”
Ana snarled at him, her anger jumping to match his. This man was so arrogant! “Nothing better than being your whore?” she snapped at him. “I’m sure your ego allows you to believe that, but I assure you, it’s not true!”
“If I wanted a whore, I could get a different one for each hour of every night.” The darkness in his eyes swirled as his gaze clung to her. “It’s not about that.” He carried her to bed and threw her down. “Do you think you will ever be as aroused as this?” He pried her legs open to reveal fresh slick smeared all over her inner thighs.
Ana hissed and tried to push his hands away but he held on tight, dragging her to the edge of the bed. He positioned himself at her entrance, his mushroomed tip massaging the aching muscles of her entrance that had been waiting for him from the moment she woke. She bit back a moan, but her muscles clenched around him of their own accord, and he sunk in slowly.
“Do you think any other cock could fill you so deeply? So completely?”
At that moment, Ana couldn’t imagine it. He was so deep, she was almost breathless. “It’s not my choice,” she said, with difficultly. “That is how I’ve been paired.”
Maddoc’s eyes flashed as he pulled all the way out, then slammed in again. Ana cried out, trying to catch her breath.
“He will not have you,” he ground out bitterly as he pulled back, then slammed in again. “You belong to me. You always have.”
Ana twisted her torso, surrendering to the blunt force pleasure he served, but tried to keep her mind on what he was saying. “Only… for three… nights,” she managed, as her body shunted on the bed from his thrusts.
Maddoc lifted her from the bed and held her firm on his cock as he turned them around. He sat on the bed and wound his fingers into her hair, pulling her back slightly as he looked down on her, the moonlight making his shining eyes almost enchanted. “It was never only for three nights, Analisa.”
8
Maddoc remained infuriated for the rest of the night. He didn’t speak to her again, and she didn’t dare say anything else or ask him any more questions.
He kept her permanently lodged on his knot, and as soon as he slipped out of her, he was pummeling her with his cock again. There was a vicious edge to the way he handled her now, as though he was annoyed she mentioned Ryden or defended her father. He bit her on her breast, hard enough to draw blood this time, and wouldn’t let her clean it up. He now slept with her underneath him completely, not allowing her to get up without him knowing.
Ana felt trapped, suffocated by his overbearing behavior and his body. When she panicked from the feel of claustrophobia, a soothing rumbling vibration thrummed from his chest and seeped into her body, helping her to relax. As she drifted to sleep she realized he was purring for her.
Each time she woke up after that, his purr strengthened, settling her underneath him and soothing her back to a sleepy state. She wasn’t sure what he meant by it was never only three nights, but each time she woke, his words revolved in her mind. If he planned for more, then why the pretense? Were his men orchestrating something while he was in here with her? Was he using her as a distraction for the guards, her parents, and the court, while he did something horrible somewhere in the palace? That seemed to be the most logical conclusion, but how could she figure that out without more information?
As dawn approached, he got up and dressed, then picked up Ana and placed her near the center of the room by the window. She wasn’t close enough to see out, but the daylight shone directly on her, which brightened her mood.
Maddoc stood in front of her, his eyes roaming her face as she looked up at him. “I will answer all of your questions at dawn tomorrow.”
Ana nodded, but she knew that by dawn tomorrow, it would be too late. The king had already planned for something terrible to happen to Maddoc. She wasn’t sure how she felt about it now that she’d spent time with him. Was it foolish that she didn’t want him to die?
“Don’t punish Father for the food, Maddoc. Please.”
He held her eyes for a moment. “Do you think if it were reversed, he would spare me?”
Ana’s face dropped. No, of course he wouldn’t. Father had wanted to kill Maddoc for years. “But you are an outlaw. You might not like it, but you break laws. You can’t compare yourself to my father.”
“You are not one who can make that comparison, Analisa.” His gritty voice was tinged with annoyance. “You have no knowledge of what your father does on a daily basis, the decisions he makes, the people who are effected by it.”
“I do. I watch court hearings all the time.”
Maddoc shot her a look. “Have you ever turned up to one unannounced?”
Ana frowned. “What difference would that make?”
Maddoc didn’t answer, but his gaze never left her, and a twinge in her stomach made her wonder if she really wanted him to.
“You said you wouldn’t kill him,” she mumbled, her eyes low.
“And I won’t.”
Ana, grateful for that, dipped her head.
Maddoc used a finger to tilt her chin up. “Remember, no one is to touch you.”
Ana almost rolled her eyes. “I’m not sure why you think I’m engaging in all of these sexual activities. I can barely survive nights with you.”
Maddoc’s beard twitched. “Sex is a commodity in Allandis high society, Ana.”
Ana nodded, she’d always known that. “But why would I do anything with them?”
“Being a virgin doesn’t mean that you don’t trade other favors.”
Ana thought back to the way he had ordered her to her knees the previous night. He’d been checking if she’d had any prior experience before.
As if he read her mind, Maddoc slowly lowered to his knees, Ana’s eyes widened, unsure what he was doing, but when he leaned forward and pressed his nose to her mound, she let out a breathy moan. “Maddoc,” she whispered.
His tongue brushed her folds, stroking them gently before pressing his mouth farther in and sucking, flicking and grazing everything he could reach.
Ana moaned, pleasure racking her body as his mouth closed over her clit. She ground her hips in her his face, tilted them and spread her legs to give him more access. He set a steady rhythm, brushing and swirling his tongue until she was climbing that breath-stealing peak. His hands squeezed her ass, pulling her closer to him; her hands were in his hair, grabbing handfuls as the pleasure built.
Just as she was about to tip over the edge, Maddoc pulled away and rose to his feet, those intense eyes back on her.