Preparing for Oakley's birthday party turned out to be a little more hectic than I expected it to be. My ribs hurt a lot worse now, than they did a few hours ago, making it a lot harder for me to clean and set up. Every breathe I take, is like being stabbed repeatedly in my ribs. James really did a number on me this time.

" Do you need any help mom?" Grayson asks as he approaches me.

Smiling, I reply, " No baby, I'm fine," And pull him in for a hug. "Thanks for asking." I kiss him on his head.

He returns the hug, causing me to hiss in pain. Grayson pulls his head back and looks at me with concern. "Are you okay?" He releases his hold on me.

I take in a few slow deep breaths, pushing the pain back before I could answer. "Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just a little 'beat' from class earlier today."

My children are the only other people, I have told about my self-defense class. At first they were skeptical and didn't think I would make it through the first day. I proved them wrong.

" You know mom, I really didn't think you would last as long as you did. I'm really proud of you," he tells me grinning from ear to ear.

That is the sweetest thing he has ever said to me. Unable to speak, I pull him back in for another hug. He chuckles, wrapping his arms around my waist gently.

"Thank you, buddy. You have no idea how much that means to me," I whisper into his hair.

After a few short seconds, he breaks the hug, and leans back on the counter. Licking his lips, he watches me pour the chocolate cake batter into the baking pan and place it in the oven. I know exactly what he is thinking.

"Gray, don't you even think about touching that cake when it's done-," I scold him, knowing my son well enough to know he is plotting to eat the cake before anyone else.
His eyes widen in surprise. He throws his hands up in surrender, pushing himself away from the counter.

"I wasn't-," I put my hand up cutting him off before he could finish his sentence, "Nice try," I tell him, pointing to the table.

He smiles knowingly and takes a seat at the table. Every year he sneaks into the kitchen and eats half of Oakley's cake, ruining her birthday. Not this year! Little does he know, I have a plan.

"Here!" I grab a few bags of chips from the cupboard and place them on the table, next to four plastic bowls, in front of Grayson. "Put all these in the bowls for me. He groans, but does what he was told.

I walk to the fridge and pull out the ground beef, cream cheese, shredded cheddar cheese, lettuce, salsa and mayonnaise, and place them on the counter.

A few days ago Oakley approached me and requested that I make her, her favorite dinner as a snack for the party. So...I went online to search for the perfect taco recipe and came across, Taco Pinwheels. I'm not going to lie, they look amazing and I can't wait to try them myself.

I grab a skillet from the cupboard below and place it on the stove, turning it on medium heat. As the ground beef cooks, I turn my attention to the ingredients on the counter. I really don't need instructions, since I have already read it a few times, but I rather be safe then sorry and pull the recipe up on my phone.

In a small bowl, I measure out 4 ounces of cream cheese, and beat it until smooth. I turn my attention back to the ground beef cooking in the skillet, making sure it was chopped up finely and let it finish cooking.

Next, I measure out all the ingredients, just like the recipe says, and add them in the bowl with cream cheese. Once again, I turn my attention to the meat, turning the burner off and strain it in the sink. When I was finished, I placed the skillet back on the burner, adding the taco seasoning and water and let it simmer until done. When it was all finished, I added it to the bowl with the rest of the ingredients and mixed it up. The smell of it all blended together made my mouth water. Grayson walks up to the counter and peaks into the bowl, sniffing the contents.

" That smells good," he tells me, dipping his finger in the bowl and tasting it.

" Mmm."

I smack his hand and slide the bowl to safety. Grayson is the type of kid, who will eat everything and anything so no one else can have it.

"You will have to wait," I tell him, pushing him away gently. A pout makes it's way onto his face, but he says nothing.

"What time does the party start?"

I glance at the time on my phone. I only have forty-five minutes before everyone starts showing up.

" Shit,"

I rush to finish putting everything together. The oven timer goes off as I'm placing the Taco Pinwheels in the fridge. I notice Grayson slowly creeping his way to the oven, out the corner of my eye.

"Don't you even think about it Grayson James," I shout, catching him off guard. He takes off, 'laughing', out of the kitchen, when I start towards him. That boy loves to test me.

As I'm pulling the cake out of the oven, I hear the front door shut. I place the cake on the counter and stick a toothpick into the center of it, making sure it was done.

" Something smells good," Reese's voice echoes through the kitchen.

Relief washes over me. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you," I tell him truthfully, finishing the task at hand.

" Grayson has been driving me crazy. Every time I turn around, he attempts to eat something. Keeping an eye on him and trying to finish everything before people start to show up-," Reese cuts me off by placing his hand over my mouth.

"Shh...calm down." He removes his hand and turns me around to face him, " I will handle Gray. You just finish doing what you're doing," he rubs his hands up and down my arms soothingly, in an attempt to calm my nerves, "okay?" He finishes. His eyes search my face, waiting for me to answer.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath, "Okay!"
Reese smiles wide, straightening himself. He has no clue what he just got himself into.

"You're staying the night to help. This is a sleep over with twelve girls, plus Gray and a few of his friends."

His smile drops and he leans back on the counter. "You're kidding right?"

I ignore his question and continue to finish prepping for that party.

He clears his throat, "Well then, I guess it's a good thing I brought help with me." I can hear the amusement in his voice.

I look around the kitchen and freeze when my eyes make contact with a pair of sapphire ones. My heart begins to pound hard in my chest. I wasn't expecting him to be here. Draven stands in the doorway of the kitchen looking sexier than ever. My eyes roam over his body taking in his appearance. I noticed that his dark hair was freshly cut and styled just right. Upon further inspection, I notice he was dressed casually, which is unusual to me since he dresses in suits all the time.
He looks good.

"I'll be back," Reese whispers in my ear and leaves the room. He should know better than to leave the two of us alone.

Draven smiles warmly and approaches me. His eyes never leaving mine. He stops just inches in front of me.

" Hello love," he says, towering over me. I swallow hard at his choice of words.

" L-love?" I stutter in response. A smile makes it's way onto his face.

He chuckles and caresses my cheek with his thumb, "Yes, Love." His hand makes it's way to the back of my head, pulling my face towards him. His lips capture mine in a passionate kiss, taking my breath away. His grip tightens in my hair as he deepens the kiss. His other hand wraps around my waist yanking me closer to him.

I hiss in pain against his lips. He breaks the kiss and looks at me questioningly.
Oh no!

I try to step back, but he holds me in place. He reaches down grabbing the hem of my shirt and begins to slowly lift it.

I sigh," It's nothing." I try to pry my shirt from his hands. He gives me a stern look and I stop fighting him. His eyes widen when he uncovers my ribs. I looked down confused by his reaction and gasp at the sight. A big black bruise, bigger than my hand, covers most of my ribs. It didn't look like that earlier.

" What the hell happened?" His fingers brush over the tender surface of my skin.

" I-it's nothing," I stutter, taking a step back.
Draven captures my hand in his and pulls me back to him.

"If someone hurt you I want to know," he tells me, tightening his grip on my hand. His eyes searching my face.

"It's not what you think. " I've-, I've been taking self-defense class and I got kicked when I wasn't paying attention," I tell him, hoping to ease his concern.

A confused look crosses his face. For a moment he resembled Reese. "Why would you need to take classes, when you have Reese and I?" He places his hand on my cheek and I lean into his touch.

"I'm tired of being helpless," I whisper, placing my hand on his. His eyes flashed with an emotion I couldn't quite place.

He sighs and nods his head. The doorbell rings, interrupting the moment.

"I need-," Draven silences me with a kiss.
The doorbell sounds again and he release me.

"We will finish this conversation later," he says sternly, smacking my ass. I yelp, rubbing my ass as I walk to the door.
Time to get this party started!