Chapter 10

A/N: ♥ ♡ ♥ Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! ♥ ♡ ♥

PS: I'll tag a few people in the comments, because some have complained they don't get notified about updates. If you are one such person and would like me to tag you, say so in the comments :)

*****

"So do you want to come up to my apartment or what?"

His blush turned several shades darker and he sucked in a breath through clenched teeth. For a moment, I thought I might have offended or angered him, but he still had my hands in his and even began to run his thumbs over my skin.

"What happened to taking it slowly?" His voice was a cocktail of excitement and nerves.

"We'll just drink something and talk for a while. Maybe kiss," I added, lowering my head so I could look up to him through my eyelashes. Not that Rhys was particularly interested in my eyes; his gaze was aimed a few inches lower from the moment I bit my lip.

"Is this coy behavior supposed to make me consent?" His voice was a deep murmur that I'd never heard him use before. I liked it. If he kept speaking this way, we'd do far more than simply kiss.

"Yes," I admitted without shame and he laughed.

"Alright," he said through a smile, his tone back to normal. "But we really won't do anything more than that tonight. Don't pout," he added, giving me a quick peck and that was all it took; his lips had touched mine for a couple of brief moments and I was already grinning. If I had a tail to wag, it would be dashing left and right so fast, you won't be able to see it; you'd only hear the whoosh as it sliced through the air.

Rhys let go of one of my hands and leaned down to pick the jacket which had slid off my back earlier. He managed to get some of the water off of it as he shook the leather clothing a few times before swinging it over his shoulder. In the mean time, I'd already used my free hand to open the door.

Our fingers were entwined as we climbed the stairs in silence and that had me worried: would we find a topic to chat about? Another just as unpleasant thought crossed my mind while I placed the key in the lock to my apartment: I only had juice; what if Rhys didn't like juice? I'd asked him to come up for a drink and I had only one type to offer, apart from water. Some host I was turning out to be!

I pushed the door open and led him inside my humble domain. The room we walked in was both a kitchen and a living room and had two more doors aside from the one we'd just used: one which led to a single bed bedroom and the other – to a small bathroom. The furniture came with the apartment and even though it wasn't outdated, it had tears and scratches and the occasional stain which persisted to defy me, no matter how many times I'd tried to clean it.

Rhys hadn't noticed any of that though; his eyes were busy scrutinizing the door that led to the hallway. He looked at the frame, tested the hinges and then bent in two to examine the lock. Once done, he found a new item to review: the window.

"Erm, Rhys," I followed him there. "What are you doing?"

"I want to see how easy it is to access your apartment," he replied, distracted by work.

I took a step back. He was acting weird to say the least and I was beginning to get antsy. I looked around; the door to the hallway was still opened. If anything happened I could make a run for it. But this was Rhys; he wouldn't do anything to hurt me, right?

Then again, I wouldn't imagine he'd go around inspecting my apartment either and that was exactly what he was up to now. He opened the window and peeked outside.

"The fire escape is an apartment away... Not helpful if a fire breaks out but good as they won't be able to climb in from here." Those muttered words seemed to have been meant for him, not me. Rhys turned around with a crease on his forehead. It vanished the moment his eyes fell on me, slowly moving away from him.

"Oh, Hell! I'm sorry, Riley," he began, backing into the wall behind him to give me some space. "It was an instinct. With all that's happened lately, I wanted to check how secure your apartment was. Not that an alarm system and locked doors helped those poor people."

I stopped slinking away, a weight I did not wish to carry settling in my stomach at the thought of the victims. I tried to shake it away and it subsided for a second before returning with reinforcement: guilt. How could I suspect Rhys of wanting to harm me?

It wouldn't be the first time I was wrong about someone and Rhys was acting odd, I reasoned in my head. But even though that rang true, the guilt remained.

"Do you want juice? It's the only drink I have in here," I offered to distract us both. Thankfully, he took the hint and let the subject of the serial killer and my not so subtle retreat rest.

"I don't suppose it's tart cherry juice; that's my favorite." Such an insignificant reply to some, yet it brought a tiny smile on my face.

"Mine too," I admitted, heading for the fridge. I took the juice out and poured the red liquid in two glasses, handing one to my guest who had followed me to the half of the room that could be labeled as a kitchen. "We seem to have more in common than I thought before," I noted, thinking about our liking of romantic comedies and remembering that the radio in his car was always set on the same station, one which I enjoyed listening to.

"When was that?" He asked, sitting on one of the three chairs that surrounded my small dining table.

"The night we met," I said, placing my butt on the chair opposite his, allowing for the table to stand between us. Not that I still wanted to distance myself from Rhys; I just wished to get a better view of him than the one I'd receive by sitting at his side. "I was horrified by you back then." The sides of his mouth immediately slumped and I hurried to add: "Not so much by you individually, but by all of you. By Alec, mostly."

He let go of the glass and grabbed my hands between his.

"That is exactly what I do my best to avoid. I don't want to hurt you, Riley Rivers, and I hope I never do. I'll try my hardest not to."

As I looked into those green-grey eyes, filled with sincerity and fear, I barely restrained myself from leaning over the table to kiss Rhys, to reassure him that even though he sometimes startled me, in the long run, I believed him with all my heart. Maybe that was a problem: my heart believed him even though my mind occasionally didn't; a doubt which proved unreasonable so far. I had to attempt to explain why I was sometimes on edge around people; I had no desire to tell him the whole story tonight, but I had to tell him something.

"I trusted the wrong people in the past, Rhys," I began and if he wasn't holding on to me, I would've caressed my scar; it was an instinct now, a habit to do so whenever I thought about the person who had branded me. "I've grown more cautious than I used to be." I wondered if Rhys realized how hard he was squeezing my hands now. He held his breath, eagerly awaiting each word that left my mouth as if he was a criminal and I was the judge that could send him behind bars for the rest of his life. Why was he so frightened? I'd already told him I wanted to be with him. "But I trust you don't want to harm me even though I don't really understand you. You..." I hesitated before I went on. Should I bring it up? If we were to be together, I had the right to know more about him, no? I concluded that it was a must; I couldn't be with someone if they kept so many secrets. "You still have to tell me more about who you are as a person and as part of your society. I need to know more, Rhys; I can't be with you, if you hide things from me."

He nodded slowly and his grip on me loosened.

"I agree: you should know. I just don't want to rush things." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Which is why my proposal might... no, will sound out of place, but I..."

"Are you okay?" His hands were getting sweaty and his breathing shallow.

"Would you like to visit our society and maybe have dinner with my parents?" He spoke slowly, shakily, as if his throat had tightened and each word brought pain. He then added in a quick pace: "You don't have to, of course; I'd understand if you think it is too soon. And you'll be right; it is too soon. But I told my parents about you and they wanted me to bring you over. Not surprising, given my history of dating... Well, the lack of it..."

My mind, up until now reeling at the thought that Rhys wanted me to meet his parents, that anyone would ever want me to meet their parents and be introduced as the boyfriend, suddenly took up a new direction.

"Lack off?" I interrupted. "You mean you've only hooked up until now?"

Rhys removed his hands as he leaned back in his chair. He cleared his throat, eyes darting away from me for a second, and then he spoke:

"Haven't done that either."

The sentence had left me confused. No dating and no hooking up... Had he only had one night stands before? Some would consider that as a hook up. But whether Rhys made a distinction between the two did not matter; what was important was that he had never had a serious relationship before and I was hoping that he'd had. I hadn't had experience with that so I was hoping that he would teach me. But it wasn't all bad; now we could learn together.

"Riley." His voice gently commanded my attention. "No dating, no hook ups of any kind. The kiss you and I shared in front of your building? That was my first kiss. Ever."

My jaw went slack. All I could do was to stare at him. He wasn't lying, his blush gave that away. The lack of experience would explain his clumsy kisses. I wanted to comfort him, to tell him there was nothing to be embarrassed about, but once I opened my mouth, all that came out was 'How come?'

"I was waiting for the right person," he explained with a nervous smile.

"Oh, God... I stole your first kiss. You weren't ready for it, you wanted to kiss me on the cheek, and I forced you to do more," I muttered, the blame causing my voice to shake. I'd robbed him of one of the most important experiences in his life; there should be a law against that, there should be punishment for people like me.

"No, no, you didn't, Riley, you didn't," Rhys attempted to reassure me and reached for my hands but I removed them from the table and let them fall at my sides.

"It's supposed to be romantic, Rhys, and I forced you..."

"You didn't," he insisted again, more firmly. "I've wanted to kiss you before, but I was scared it was too soon and that it would drive you away." Not receiving a reply, Rhys got up and walked around the table to where I was. He tilted my head towards him and bent down, placing his lips over mine. "I want to do this again, and again, and again, Riley," he murmured, kissing me after each word. "And I don't want you to feel like you stole my first kiss; it was meant for you anyway."

He leaned on the table and his hand stroked my cheek. I closed my eyes, the light, comforting touch chasing the guilt away.

It was meant for you... A smile spread on my face; I had the privilege to be the first person Rhys kissed. My eyebrows furrowed; did that mean...

"Rhys," I opened my eyes and his hand paused. "So you've never..." It was difficult to find the right words; this was a delicate subject to some, especially to those who would give a confirmation in reply. "You've never... done it?" His thumb resumed the caress.

"No, I've never slept with anyone." He seemed calmer to admit that; perhaps it was easier after he'd told me about the kiss and saw that I wouldn't judge him. The stroking halted once more. "Would that be a problem for you?"

"No." I covered his hand with mine. "And I promise I'll try to slow down; we'll do it when you are comfortable. Just tell me if I come on too strong. You promise?"

"Yeah, I promise."

"Good." I stood up too and leaned towards him, wrapping my arms around his neck. "But kisses are okay, right?"

"Yeah," his eyes fixed upon my mouth as his tongue moistened his lips. "Kisses are more than okay."

*****

A/N: DID YOU EXPECT THAT ABOUT RHYS?

Do you think it is romantic that he didn't succumb to hormones and waited for his mate?

Also, would you be scared if someone told you they've been waiting for the right person and that that person was you? I know I'd feel the pressure...

Lastly, how would you react if you invited someone over and they started inspecting your doors and windows?

VOTE IF YOU LOVE RHYS & RILEY and once again, HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! I hope you have someone to spend it with, but if you don't, it's never too late to find love. Also, treat yourself to some of the sweets I made; they are the ones in the picture ;)