
He comes off rough, but he pushes Maxi to be more than just Riftan's pretty wife. He sees that she has potential for so much, to be more than she would ever attempt on her own....our Boi Riftan just wants to wake up next to his wife. After everything he's been through, he is still insecure when it comes to Maxi. He vies for her attention so badly because he's desperate for her to love him like he loves her
Her entire perception is based on what she read in the novel. She changed the storyline but is refusing to see how those changes are affecting him....also, it's already established that in extreme circumstances they can use sexual contact instead of blood. I mean, if she is so terrified of literally being eaten alive, it's seems off that she would choose the "blood option "