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Before I can breathe, he pins my wrists behind me, locking them tight as he leans into my ear. “That pussy is mine. The only time you are allowed to get yourself off is if I am watching.”
I grind my ass into him, my fingers caressing his rock hard length as I breathe, “Yes, sir.”
The elevator dings for our floor, and we step into the makeshift office they set up. We really should get someone to clean up the place because dust is starting to settle everywhere. The guys never use these offices anymore.
When we get to the door, I smell smoke and the faint sound of an alarm going off echoes around the room. These walls are supposed to be soundproof, so if something is getting through, it’s way too loud.
I grab two blades from my gym bag as Damien removes a gun from his. The door is still sealed, which could be a good or a bad thing. Damien eyes me, and I nod as he presses his hand to the sensor. The door cracks just enough for us to make out the voices.
The chirping alarm stops right as I hear Alexi yell, “This is a fate worse than death.”
My heart twists because the only one he could be talking about is Lev. Damien’s reaction is similar and when we both nod, he kicks in the door, aiming his gun right as I take a stance with my knives.
Except, all we see is Lev holding a smoking platter as Alexi continues to yell.
“They were just cupcakes, Lex. Calm the hell down.”
I relax as soon as I realize what’s going on and look over to see a very puzzled Damien.
“Surprise!” I exclaim, loud enough that it gets everyone’s attention. They must have had a lot of ringing in their ears to not hear the door smash into the room.
Alexi throws his hands into the air as he yells, “Get out of my kitchen!”
As soon as he turns around, Lev sticks his tongue out at him, and I laugh at their banter. Damien sees all of the birthday banners hanging up and a stack of hats on the coffee table.
He grins from ear to ear as Lev hugs him.
“Happy birthday, babe.”
They kiss and it’s so damn cute I have to take my phone out and snap a picture. Lev is wearing a green party hat, and Damien looks happier than a kid on Christmas.
Damien sidles up next to me, and I stand on my tiptoes to peck his lips. “Was this your idea?” he asks.
“It was a group effort.”
“I don’t even remember the last time I had a birthday party.” The admission has my pounding heart hurting a little more because I don’t remember either. But I am determined to make all of ours special from here on out. We have all been through enough in this life. It’s time we start finding the joy in it before it’s too late.
“It’s the first of many, Sunshine.” I kiss him again, then go to Alexi in the kitchen as he frantically starts cleaning out the very hot oven.
“We have another oven, Batman.”
He looks up at me from his hands and knees as he scrubs. He’s got oven mitts on and a scrubbing brush held in his hands that is likely going to melt. “If I don’t clean it now, then it will smell like smoke for days. The whole house will smell like smoke. Everything.”
I can see his panic rising so I crouch down next to him and cross my legs. I let my hand rest on his shoulder until he pauses.“It will be okay. I’ll help fix it, okay. Go get me some white vinegar and baking soda please.”
I don’t want him cleaning inside of a hot oven while he isn’t thinking clearly. But Alexi knows cleaning, so when I mention the two things that will help clean this mess and cut the odor, he nearly jumps up to grab them.
While he hunts those down in the pantry, I pull out two baking sheets. He retrieves them quickly, and I fill one of the sheets with vinegar and the other with baking soda then close them in the oven.
“Start making the new cupcakes, and I will set a few of these bowls out to cut the smell. We will leave them overnight and everything will be good as new in the morning.”
He squeezes my hand and gets to work, processing his feelings while doing the things he knows best. I should have had him make the cupcakes, but Lev found a lemon recipe he thought Damien would love, so I told him to try it out.
Let it be known, do not trust Lev with the oven.
Opening the patio doors to air out some of the lingering smell, I take the burnt pans over to the trash chute now that they’ve cooled a little. I have zero doubt that Alexi will never want to use them again. Then, I pour the rest of the vinegar into a few vases to set around and fill a few decorative bowls with the baking soda.
It’s a trick I learned from Havoc. We used it in the past to cut the smell of vomit from a stomach sensitive target. But with Alexi, I know I can’t just use random bowls, so I tried to make it all blend in as much as possible. Dr. K is helping us understand a lot about Alexi and the things that trigger him. While she has encouraged us not to walk on eggshells, which we never would, she has taught us some ways to help him.
