A Savage Debt (The Beholden Duet #1) - Zoey Ellis Page 0,35

responses. Even if she couldn’t find out what Maddoc planned, he would no longer be using her as his puppet.

The room looked the same. An elaborate array of food was laid out on the tables, just like before, and the bed had been remade as though nothing had happened. Even the hint of them that had permeated the room was so faint it was like a lingering memory of something that had once been powerful.

Ana went to the window. This time, multiple guards strode across the grounds and many were positioned along the edge to move along anyone who loitered. At least some steps were being taken to minimize another crowd. But it wasn’t likely Maddoc would try the same thing twice.

She positioned herself next to the bed, on the right-hand side of the room nearby the window, where she had stood before, reaffirming to herself the decisions she made for tonight.

She was surprised when the door opened within a few moments. Maddoc stepped in, looking as huge as he did the previous night. An air of menace surrounded his large frame and the joyless gaze he had entered the room with yesterday was back, although Ana couldn’t recall seeing it when he’d left that morning. He wore a mix of slightly different furs, but mostly everything was the same. He stepped in, locked the door behind him, and walked to the middle of the room as he had done the previous night.

Ana glanced at the window again, pushing her surprise away. “You’re early.”

Maddoc didn’t respond, simply staring at her with an intensity that made goosebumps rush up the back of her arms and spark that annoying tremble that lived in her stomach that began yesterday when she first saw him.

She shifted her feet, waiting for him to say or do something, but when she glanced at the window she suddenly realized it wasn’t yet dusk. He couldn’t touch her until the sun had set. He was waiting.

For some reason, that made her more nervous. Why had he come early only to stand there and wait? Maybe he was trying to intimidate her. Exhaling a breath, she pushed the discomfort aside.

They stood facing each other, waiting for dusk to arrive.

Ana took the opportunity to examine him more closely. Strangely, although he was certainly rough and rugged at first glance, he clearly took efforts to maintain elements of his appearance. His boots, while dusty, were well made and had no holes or scuffs. His clothes were not frayed or torn, and his hair was not matted with dirt. In fact, today, he had the top part pulled back away from his face, giving him a more civilized appearance than yesterday. He might not groom, but he wasn’t disheveled. He also didn’t look like someone made wealthy by robbing multiple towns and villages. She eyed his clothing, wondered what he was doing with his riches, and why he didn’t already have a wife. The files on him included multiple rumors about him, which even the authors made clear were not based on any real evidence. One rumor claimed he’d had a wife who had been executed by the royal assembly, another claimed it was his sister, another asserted he was a sexual deviant who could only find release and comfort with animals, another said he and his men lived with a group of whores whom they all rotated through.

Ana was inclined to believe the last one, and that made her feel… strange. Her eyes dragged up Maddoc’s chest, and the tremble in her stomach strengthened to a fluttering of desire as she remembered his massive torso on top of her, contracting beautifully as he thrust.

Ana caught the thought, shocked with herself. Flicking her eyes up to look at Maddoc, she hoped her desire hadn’t been obvious, even though her face was warm. However, Maddoc was still looking at her with that brutal gaze—he hadn’t deviated and hadn’t moved.

Ana swallowed, turned her attention to other areas of the room, before returning to him, realizing something. He held a book in his hands.

“You brought my book back?” she asked tentatively.

Surprisingly, he answered. “No.”

She peered at his hands. “What is it, then?”

“A different book. One that is actually worth reading.”

Ana’s eyes narrowed. “The book you stole from me is one of the best stories that exists.”

“Untrue. It has no fucking in it.”

Ana flushed and averted her eyes. “That is n-not the standard for a good book.” Her eyes snapped back to him. “Wait. You read