5. Sunny
Chapter 5
Sunny
A m I going insane? Maybe the smoke inhalation had gone to my head, because before I even realized it, I was in a car heading to the fire station where I was going to be staying for the next few nights.
I had struggled to say a single word when the fire captain came and spoke to me. When Rune and Blaze had told me about him, I thought he was going to be an old man who was all comforting and warm.
Instead, the man that had approached me, while having gray hair, was one of the hottest guys I’d ever seen in my life. He had those thin, sort of wiry muscles that would still be highly sufficient at tossing me across a room in a sexy way, and deep expressive eyes. He didn't look much older than the other firefighters I'd been speaking to, mid-thirties at the oldest, despite his graying hair.
Fuck me, I wanted to run my fingers through that hair. As soon as he’d approached me, common sense left my mind, and all I could think about was leaning forward to get a good sniff of him.
He smelled sugary, like sweet, smoky marshmallows. When he started talking to me, it dawned on me he was in a pack with an alpha that smelled like graham crackers and an alpha that smelled like chocolate.
All of them had a slight smoky tinge to their scent—in the best way.
They smelled like a pack of goddamned s’mores.
I loved s’mores.
Sweets were my weakness, and these guys were potent. If I had been standing, I was certain my knees would have been weak from their scents.
Despite his candy smell, Walker screamed power and dominance. I had no doubt he would protect me, which was insane, because I was typically far more cautious.
These alphas, though… something about them radiated safety, and I wanted to throw myself at them.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t grab any of your belongings,” Rune said from his spot on the back seat next to me. “Hopefully, in a few days, we’ll be able to recover a few bits.”
I nodded. It would be no big loss if I couldn't get any of our stuff back. Most of it was cheap, secondhand stuff. There were only a few sentimental items that I hoped made it through. I was more concerned with the practical things, like Luka’s sippy cup, his favorite blanket. The single sleeping onesie he didn’t wriggle out of every time because he hated wearing them.
“Thank you,” I mumbled, hugging Luka closer. He was out like a light, the stress of the fire exhausting him.
I had no idea what I was going to wear or what Luka was going to wear. In the immediate aftermath of the fire, I had been so distracted that I hadn’t realized I was sitting in front of three alphas wearing a tiny nightdress and underwear that was hardly a scrap of fabric.
Usually, my underwear covered a lot more, but I’d really needed to do laundry, so I was wearing one of the flirtier pairs.
I honestly didn't know if that was a good or bad thing in this instance. No one wanted to be rescued by hot firefighters while wearing their granny panties.
The drive to the station was short, and Blaze chatted away happily from the front passenger seat. There had been several engines and fire cars on the scene, and we piled into one of the cars to get back. Now that I was in a cramped vehicle with the three of them, the overwhelming scent of s’mores was even more powerful than before.
My core clenched, and I prayed to all that was above that my arousal from their scents wasn’t obvious.
It had been a while since my lady business had felt frisky, and of all the moments, in a small car with three firefighting alphas was not the place. This was exactly why I should have worn thicker pajamas to bed. If I had more than a mere scrap of lace over my pussy, then the scent would have been somewhat dulled.
After they’d had to rescue me wearing hardly anything, and now I was proceeding to get all gooey over them, I hated to consider what they thought of me.
It was only a short trip back to the station, thankfully, only taking five minutes. “You guys are so close,” I muttered when I noticed the firehouse on the horizon.
Blaze smirked. “That's how firehouses work, sunshine. The closest one gets called to the fire.”
“Oh. Yeah…” I trailed off. Stupid idiot. I knew that, of course I knew that. They probably thought I was dense.
Walker let go of the wheel with one hand and clipped Blaze around the back of the head. “Be nice,” he growled, making my insides go all liquid. That growl was far too appealing for his own good.
“I was being nice!” Blaze whined, turning to pout at me. “I’m the nicest, aren’t I, sunshine?”
Before I could answer, the car pulled to a stop and Walker spoke. “We’re here.”
I was still wearing Rune’s jacket. I would have offered to give it back to him, but it was the only thing protecting my modesty at this point, and it smelled too good to let go of.
Rune opened the door for me, and I smiled at him gratefully as I shimmied out of the back seat. My night dress was riding up, so with one hand, I held Luka while subtly trying to tug it down.
If Rune noticed, he didn’t say anything.
“I’ll show Sunny to her room while you guys help the others pack the truck away,” Walker ordered in a no-nonsense voice.
“But—” Blaze started to protest.
“Do it,” Walker said, his tone firm.
Rune leaned down and kissed the top of my head. “Go with Walker—he’ll take care of you. I’ll come find you in a bit, okay?” he asked, his graham cracker scent wafting over my face as he spoke.
Smelling like that, he could come find me any day.
Blaze and Rune left me with Walker, who smiled down easily at me. He was wearing only a black T-shirt and his yellow and red fire pants. Taking in the casual, sexy look, I had to shake the dirty thoughts out of my head.
What was wrong with me? I was going to continue blaming the smoke inhalation, because instead of panicking that I had just lost everything, I was drooling over three alphas.
Three alphas who just happened to be in a pack and smelled like s’mores.
Packs tended to share.
Did I want to be shared by them?
Oh sweet mother, yes. The small voice in the back of my mind cried out before I shoved it down into my subconscious where it belonged. There was going to be no climbing the hot firefighter alphas.
I followed Walker up a set of stairs and into a large, very official-looking office. Judging by the photos that littered the desk and the little sign that said Captain Landry , it was his office.
I followed him to the far side of the room, where there was another door with a small sign next to it that said Captain’s Room.
“This is your room?” I asked, shifting Luka in my arms, frowning.
Walker grimaced. “Technically, it is, but I'm more than happy to camp with my pack mates in the bunks. The captain’s room has locks and a private bathroom. There is no way in hell I am letting you use the same bathroom as a bunch of firefighters. I'm pretty sure that would constitute cruel and unusual punishment.”
I couldn't help it. A giggle escaped my lips. “Surely they're not that bad?”
Walker cocked his head to the side. “You would think, wouldn't you? We even have a cleaning rotation to make sure they are cleaned every few days. Yet every time I go in there, it looks like a biohazard.”
“And you are relegating yourself to the biohazard room for me?” I pointed out.
“It will be character building,” he said with a small smile. “Also, there's the added bonus of making Blaze and Rune use the biohazard bathroom. Even though they're not supposed to, the number of times they've broken into my room to use my shower because we're pack mates is laughable.”
“Packs usually share, don’t they?” I said quietly as I followed him into the room. It was spacious, with a king-size bed with light blue bedding and minimal furniture. There was a wardrobe and a dresser, as well as two doors leading to other rooms.
The walls were made of white cinderblock, and it was cold and sterile, but I didn’t despise it. The space was clearly not a home—it was a temporary stopping space—but given my situation, I wasn’t going to turn my nose up at it.
Walker snorted. “Packs do usually share, but not everything. Some things are sacred, like cookies. Speaking of, there’s a stash of good cookies they don’t know about in the desk. Feel free to swipe some for yourself.”
“Where do the doors lead?” I asked, pointing to the one on the far side of the room.
“I’ll show you. One is the bathroom, and the other is just storage,” he said as he circled the room, opening the bathroom door.
My arms were starting to go sore from holding Luka for so long. Walker noticed when I shifted him in my arms. “Do you want to put him down? I just want to show you how to work the shower because it can be a bit tricky, then I’ll leave you guys to rest.”
I nodded and thanked him before placing Luka down on the soft bed. He immediately rolled over and nestled into the blanket, making me smile.
He was obviously a fan of Walker’s scent as well.
Following Walker into the bathroom, I was pleasantly surprised to see how clean it was. There was definitely no biohazard there. The only smell was of Walker—and I wasn’t going to complain about that.
He talked me through the shower patiently, even though sleep was tugging at me.
“I can go over it again in the morning.” He smiled down at me, closing the shower door. “I think the adrenaline is wearing off and you’re ready to crash.”
“I think you’re right,” I agreed sleepily.
Walker nodded and gently guided me back to the bedroom. “Do you want me to grab some clean linens? I asked Rune to grab some clean clothes for you.”
I glanced down at Luka, who was fast asleep. “It feels mean to move him.”
What I wasn’t admitting was that I very much liked the idea of sleeping in sheets that smelled like Walker. Despite everything I had been through, that smoky scent was still painfully appealing to me.
Walker nodded. “If you’re sure you don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” I assured him with a sleepy smile.
A knock on the door pulled my attention away from him as Rune opened it, a pile of fabric in his hands. He was so large that he took up pretty much the entire door frame. His imposing size should have been scary, but that soft crinkle in his eyes made my insides melt.
“Here’s some clean clothes—they belong to Blaze because he’s the smallest out of all of us.” He grimaced, his eyes raking over me. “They’re still going to be pretty big, though.”
“They’re amazing, thank you,” I said as he put the fabric on top of the dresser.
“There are also a few clothes for Luka. We regularly do donation drives, and I found a few things that could fit him. There are also some diapers—I’m sorry if they’re the wrong size. I can get some more in the morning.”
“No, they’re perfect, thank you.” I nodded. I had no idea if they were the right size, but given the situation, I was thankful to have anything.
“I also grabbed a travel crib out of the donation pile—it was brand new. This firehouse isn’t far from a gated community, and those folks donate insane things like brand-new equipment because it didn’t match their theme. Not that I’m complaining, I’m thankful for that. Here, I’ll set it up next to the bed.”
“Thank you,” I whispered.
Rune set up the travel crib in seconds. It was one of those that just pulled open and was secured with a few clips and was pretty sturdy.
“Will this work?” Rune asked, looking up at me as he secured the last clip.
“It’s wonderful, thank you.”
“It’s late, and you probably need your sleep. We may get sent out on another call, so if no one is here when you wake up, we shouldn’t be too long. Treat the place like your own, though—raid the kitchen and have whatever looks good,” Walker said as Rune righted himself.
“One of us will be around,” Rune said, glancing at Walker. “I’m sure we won’t have any more big calls that require all hands on deck.”
Walker cocked his head to the side. “True. But just in case, do you have your cell phone? We can text you.”
I shook my head. “It’s in my apartment…or what’s left of it.”
“In that case, just get some rest. We will deal with everything else in the morning. You’ve met us and Blaze, and tomorrow, I’ll introduce you to the two other firefighters on duty, Gil and Merrick. Gil’s my second and the dad of the firehouse.” Walker shot me a warm, comforting smile, and my chest itched with the desire to throw myself into his embrace.
Both firefighters quickly left, Rune shooting me a reassuring smile before exiting.
As soon as the door closed behind them, I slid the deadbolt into place so Luka and I were secure.
Even though I trusted these alphas for some reason, I wasn’t about to take risks with my child. I didn’t know everyone at the station, and the idea that a stranger could walk into my room in the middle of the night was horrifying.
Walking over to the dresser, I pulled off the jacket I had taken from Rune. My skin prickled with the cold, and I rubbed my upper arms before picking up one of the bottles of water Rune had left and downing half of it.
Thirst satiated, I returned to the bed, where Luka was fast asleep next to me. Pulling back the duvet, I slipped between the covers, engulfing myself in the sweet smoke that embraced me like a warm hug.
Even after the chaos and loss of the night, wrapped up in that warmth with my baby dozing in the travel cot next to me, I drifted right off to sleep.