"Honestly, if that man comes to the Milk & Cream one more time, I'm going to... I'm going to... spit in his coffee!"

Rhys laughed at me and undid his seatbelt.

"I will, I really will," I insisted, imitating his movements. "He's horrible to everyone - the staff, the other patrons; it's a miracle Mr. Philips hasn't banned him from the café."

"We both know you are far too nice to spit into anyone's coffee, Riley."

I raised an eyebrow at my boyfriends; he was usually more sympathetic to my troubles at work. He kept smiling as he got out of the car and walked around it to open the door for me.

"What's gotten into you today?" I asked as I stepped out. The door produced a low thud when he closed it. "You didn't have to come pick me from work. Aren't you tired from the extra shifts at the training grounds and the pack Council meetings?"

"A bit." Rhys encircled my waist with his arms. "Which is why I told Keri that she might be my favorite Alpha, but she's on her own today."

"On her own?" I repeated, distracted by how his green and grey eyes narrowed seductively as he gazed down upon me.

"I'm taking the day off, Riley, and I'm spending it with you."

I took a step closer and placed my palms on his chest. The strong and steady beating of his heart was so soothing.

"Only the day and not the night?" I teased and he smirked.

I was still getting used to him doing that. Ever since we officially got together and I got over my initial... let's call it surprise that my love interest could grow a pair of prominent fangs and large quantities of fur in less than a minute, Rhys had changed.

Once he found out I was not going to run off to a third world country just to hide from him, that I returned his feeling and wanted to be with him, he'd become more confident around me. Sure, there were times that he still blushed and moments when he found it awkward to speak on more private, adult topics - sexting was out of the question - but he'd definitely come a long way from the first time we went out. Back then, when he drove me to my apartment, he shook my hand. I realized that it wasn't really a date and that his younger brother was with us, but he could've at least hugged me.

"We'll see." He winked, letting go of me.

I shook my head to clear my mind; what had we been talking about?

Oh, yes, spending the day and night together.

"It's not like you can run away from me now that we live in the same house," I pointed out as we walked towards our home. The third step to the porch no longer screeched and I wondered how had Rhys fixed it.

"Riley Rivers, I will not run away from you for all the money in the world." He didn't give me a chance to reply to that corny, yet touching statement and instructed: "Dining room."

I swirled into that direction and gasped at the sight before me: a table covered with pristine white cloth was laden with food.

"You made me dinner," I exclaimed and got on my tiptoes to kiss him.

"It's not that big of a deal," he murmured.

It was true that Rhys often cooked for me, but this time he'd outdone himself. Large roasted chicken and fancy salads apart, he'd served the food in our best china and he'd decorated the table with candlesticks and a large vase with freshly picked flowers, surely taken from his mother's garden.

"What's the occasion?" I asked as I walked into the room and inspected the table from a closer range. Rhys had placed wineglasses on it, but there was no whine; instead, there was a large bottle of our favorite tart cherry juice.

"I told you," he embraced me once again, this time from behind, "I've been busy lately and when I'm at home, I'm usually too tired to do anything so I'm making amends by being at your disposal for what's left of the day."

He kissed my nape.

"I'm still not hearing anything about the night," I noted just as he placed a kiss on my jaw. I leaned into him and closed my eyes with a contented sigh. Moments like these almost made me forget rude clients and rogue werewolves.

"And the night," he consented and with a grin, I turned around and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Rhys..." I rubbed my nose against his. "Let's leave the chicken to cool down."

"But you don't like it when it's cold," he protested.

"I'm hungry for something else right now." I flicked my tongue over his lips and sucked the lower one. His grip tightened around me. "So how about we let Luna out to play..."

"I already took her to my mom's; she'll sleep over there tonight."

I smiled. I loved our Golden Retriever, but few things could ruin the mood like having your pet suddenly jump on your bed to see what you and your significant other were up to. Seriously, puppy dog eyes never went well with naughty time.

"Let's go to the bedroom."

The words had barely left my mouth when Rhys lifted me and charged up the stairs. My legs were still wrapped around him when he opened the door - hastily, but careful not to drop me - and carried me to our king size bed.

I landed on my back and crawled towards the center to make room for him. Rhys climbed on, his legs at either side of my knees, and leaned down. His hand slipped under my shirt, pushing it upwards and exposing my abdomen. My eyes closed and my lips parted when his mouth touched the naked flesh, first right above my belt, then going up towards my chest.

His kisses were slow and he took his time sucking my skin. When he moved too much to the right, I laughed - even in a situation like this one, I was terribly ticklish - and when I opened my eyes, I saw he was smiling at me.

"Let's get this off of you, shall we?"

Without waiting for my reply, he undid one of my buttons, then another, and another until my torso was exposed.

Rhys moved upwards in the bed and kissed my mouth. He was still being gentle - gentle kisses, gentle caress over my chest... It was driving me insane.

I reached for the hem of his t-shirt and pulled it upwards.

"You don't need that either," I breathed against his lips. My attempt at acting seductive was foiled when I couldn't get the clothing off of him from my current position and had to sit up. At my second attempt, I yanked it so forcefully that I plucked a strand of Rhys' hair.

"I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry..." I began to apologize, but he hushed me.

"It's okay, don't worry about it, Riley."

I calmed down the moment he gave me another slow kiss.

His lips moved to my jaw and then to my ear. He bit the lobe and growled playfully. I couldn't help but giggle and I eased back into the bed, my head lying on one of the soft pillows.

"Is it time to take these off?" I inserted a finger between the top of his jeans and his waist.

"You first," he whispered, his breath tickling my ear and I shivered. Rhys may have been the less experienced in this relationship, but he was so much better at making me want him than I was at doing the same to him.

I felt the friction from my belt as Rhys pulled it out of the strips of fabric that held it in place, then heard my zipper slide down...

His hand slipped under my boxers and I moaned.

For a while, I allowed him to stroke me, rejoicing at the sensation of my blood pooling to that one sensitive spot. Something was missing though, something that would make this so much more pleasurable: his moans.

Without opening my eyes, I reached for his zipped and slid it down before pulling his jeans and shorts at once and as much as I was able to. Considering he was kneeling with his legs apart, it wasn't much, but it was enough to grasp him and imitate the rhythmic movement of his hand.

I twitched when I heard him groan. He let go of me and lifted himself up to get rid of his jeans and underwear; the clothes had barely touched the floor when mine joined them.

For a while, Rhys towered above me, simply observing me. From the way he looked at me, I could tell he was enjoying the view... until his eyes landed on the marred skin beneath my right elbow.

My eyes filled with tears when Rhys leaned down and kissed it softly. He always tried to sooth me, to make me temporarily forget about one of the most horrid experiences in my life. I knew what seeing the burn marks did to him, I knew of the rage that burst inside him at the thought of what that guy had done to me and it only made the gesture sweeter as he was containing all his anger and lust for vengeance for my sake.

I grabbed his chin and brought his face towards mine. It was my turn to make him forget and I traced the scars on his left cheek down his throat with my kisses. Rhys saw them as a warning against hasty actions, but I thought they brought him honor; he'd gotten them by standing up for his brother.

Mine - those were the scars that brought shame, the result of bad judgment, of trusting the wrong person...

I shook my head; our marks were not important. I had Rhys and he had me; we'd both been lonely for so long, but now we had each other. We should enjoy our time together, not dwell on the past.

I opened my eyes and met his, filled with worry.

"I'm alright," I assured him quietly. His thumb caressed my cheek.

"You know that I'm here for you, right, Riley?" He whispered. "That I'll always be here for you. I will never, ever leave you."

Tears left wet traces as they fell from my eyes and onto the pillow.

"I know," I muttered and sniffed. "I know, I know, I know, and I love you so much for it; I..."

Another sniff shut me up and I buried my face in the space between his shoulder and chin. I cried briefly under the sound of his soothing hushes. When I pulled my head away, Rhys kissed me, as gentle as a man could be.

We made love that night, sweet and comforting, the way only two people devoted to each other could.

*****

A/N: To those of you who read YATA: did I do Rhys and Riley justice?

To those of you who don't: what do you have to say about the boys and this one-shot?

Please VOTE and share if you enjoyed this!

PS: If you have ideas/requests for future extras, leave them in the comments!