31

Snuggled underneath Riley's duvet, Scarlett felt his hand sliding up her leg to tickle that area between her lower hip and groin.

She squirmed and rolled on top of him, swiping her long hair behind her ear so it didn't poke him in the eyes. He looked up at her with a cheeky smile, placed a hand on each of her hips and flung her around so he was on top.

She felt a hardness pressing against her leg and laughed. "Again?"

They had already made love three times in the space of two hours; a record for Scarlett. She couldn't help but wonder if this was also a record for Riley.

"Na, my dick feels sore," he said. "We'll give it at least half-hour."

Scarlett giggled and blushed. She looked around his clutter-filled room, wondering if she should offer to clean up for him. It wasn't that she wanted to be his little wifey exactly... the mess made her uncomfortable. He had two chests of drawers, both littered in papers and overflowing with clothes. There wasn’t a single poster or picture on the walls, but his mirror had photographs tacked around the edges. She saw younger versions of Riley and Adrian and some childhood pictures of Riley with his brother Dan.

"Will your brother get mad if he finds out you skipped school?" Scarlett asked.

"No." Riley laughed. "As long as I pass my exams, he doesn't care what I do."

"Wow," Scarlett said. "My mum would kill me if she knew what I was doing right now."

"She won't find out," Riley assured her. "Do you want anything to eat or drink?"

"Tea?" Scarlett asked, giving a sweet smile.

When he got up from the bed, naked, she tried not to stare openly at his dick but her eyes just sort of found their way to it. Still erect, it was pretty hard to miss. Her expression changed from a silly perverted grin to a frown as he turned, and she spotted a mess of what looked like cigarette burns on his lower back.

"Who did that to you?" she said, her limbic system flooding with irrational anger.

'How dare someone hurt my Riley,' her mind screamed.

"Oh," he said, scratching at his side and scoffing with thin laughter. "We were just messing around. It was nothing."

He departed to make the tea without bothering to put any clothes on.

'I guess he doesn't have any nosy neighbours overlooking the house,' Scarlett figured. She'd never dare walk about her own house naked, for fear creepy Rob would be staring over from his garden. He was always peeping through the window, probably to get sneak peeks at her mother.

When he returned with two cups of tea, placing them on the only clear patch of floor, he pulled on his underwear. Scarlett got the feeling it was more to hide his scars than his bits. Maybe she shouldn't have pointed them out.

"We have to keep this secret," Riley said as he noisily slurped the hot tea. “That means getting my scent off you with a super hot shower. Okay?”

"Just from Adrian, right?" Scarlett asked, wincing. She'd sort of already admitted it to Sienna.

"Yeah, he'd be super pissed," Riley said.

Scarlett nodded, remembering Adrian's words.

"Have you slept with many girls?" Scarlett asked him, holding her breath in fear in case he was offended by the question. She gripped her teacup in both hands, enjoying the tingly warmth spreading through her fingers as she waited for him to answer.

"Two," he said.

Scarlett frowned. Adrian had made out like he was sleeping with a new girl every couple of weeks.

"One of them was just using me," Riley said. "She dated me because she wanted me to beat up her ex."

"And did you?" Scarlett wanted to know.

"Yup," Riley said with a proud grin. "And now she's back with him I beat him up every single time I bump into them. Stupid bitch."

"Did you... really like her?" Scarlett asked, swallowing away a lump in her throat.

"No, I just don't like being used," Riley said.

"And the other?" Scarlett pressed.

"She was my girlfriend for three years. She didn't cheat or anything, it just kinda fizzled out," Riley said and shrugged. "I still see her sometimes, we aren't like... good mates, just not enemies."

"Oh." Scarlett nodded.

Either Adrian or Riley was lying, and while Riley had more reason to lie, as she looked into his eyes, she believed he was being honest with her.

"What about you?" Riley asked.

She explained the whole Tom situation. How he had flirted with both her and Sienna before finally settling on Scarlett as his girlfriend. He had been her first, and at the time she'd adored him until he started messaging Sienna again, as well as other girls. In the end, she couldn't cope with the drama and second-guessing.

"Tom?" Riley asked. "Isn't that the guy who is simping over Adrian like a massive weirdo?"

"Oh jeez, yeah." Scarlett rolled her eyes. "He came to our house to hang out in Adrian's room. It was a bit strange."

Riley looked down at his hands, his lips curling into a puckered half-smile.

'Is he jealous?' Scarlett wondered. She could understand that. When Sienna started hanging out with the other girls more than her it hurt so much she'd locked herself in her room and sobbed.

"I don't think he likes Tom," Scarlett reassured him. "He called him a 'Borderline Bitch,' whatever that means."

This comment made him laugh so hard he spilt a glug of tea onto his leg.

"He means the personality disorder," Riley said. "He loves to psychoanalyse people and he's really good at it."

"That's weird, but whatever," Scarlett said. "I wish we didn't have to hide the fact that we're—"

Scarlett was about to say the word, 'together,' but caught herself in time, realising he may not feel the same.

"I know. I wish we didn't have to hide it," he said, putting an arm around her back and pulling her into his side.

"Why don't we just tell Adrian to get stuffed," Scarlett suggested. "He might be an Alpha but that doesn’t mean he owns us—"

"No," Riley said firmly. "It's secret meetings or nothing, and if he finds out it's over. I'm sorry and I like you a lot but that's how it is."

Scarlett nodded, looking at the pictures surrounding his mirror. In one, Riley and Adrian made funny faces at the camera as they spun on a merry-go-round, hair flying in all directions.

'He must really love Adrian,' she thought. It was good that he had at least one friend he cared about, she thought, thinking back to the guy he'd kicked across the pavement.

If she had seen anyone else do that, she would have judged them as a total prick. Yet, for Riley it was fine.

'I'm a hypocrite,' she realised. 'And I let the guys I fancy get away with anything.'

"I'm going to order food," he said, breaking the silence, changing the subject, and making her stomach rumble. "I don't want to kill you off with my cooking."

"Pizza?" Scarlett asked with a manic grin. Pizza was her favourite food of all time, but she hardly ever got to order it at home because of Sienna’s darn lactose intolerance.

"Hmm." Riley smiled. "You like pizza?"

Scarlett nodded with enthusiasm.

"What are you willing to do for a pizza?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Are you trying to bribe me with food?" Scarlett laughed. "You realise I'll do whatever you want anyway."

"I know," he said. "But this makes it more fun."

Scarlett bit her lip and smiled at him, feeling turned on by his proposal. He was right. It did make it more fun.

"I'll tidy your room," she said teasingly, knowing it wasn't what he had in mind. Still... she did desperately want to clean up his tip of a bedroom.

"Deal," he said, surprising her. "But you have to do it completely naked while I lay here and play video games."

Slipping out of her underwear, Scarlett began to clean, feeling his eyes on her as she bent over to pull the clothes from underneath his drawers. She knelt amid the pile, folding the shirts and jeans into neat little piles before placing them into the drawers.

As she got up to fill the top drawer, she didn't hear him get up from the bed, just felt him press up behind her, bending her over the furniture. Just as he entered her, the doorbell rang.

"Oh shit that was fast," Riley muttered. "They aren't usually so fast. Quick, shove one of my baggy T-shirts on. Seeing your legs can be his tip."

"Pervert," Scarlett scolded but smiled to herself as she scrambled about for a shirt and pulled it on.

She was still smiling when she pulled the door open, expecting to see a pizza delivery guy.

Adrian stood in the doorway, arms folded and facing the other way as he waited for a response.

'Oh shit,' Scarlett thought as he began to turn, realising it was too late to hide.

Adrian looked her up and down with an angry smirk. "I fucking knew it."