26. Sunny
Chapter 26
Sunny
“ C ome on, sunshine, can you eat just a little more?” Blaze pleaded as I put the bowl of chicken soup down.
“I can’t,” I moaned. He had been shoving food at me all day, and I was convinced I was about to burst. “Between the pasta, the pizza, the smoothies, and now the soup, I don’t think I’ll be hungry again for a month.”
“You heard what Hailey said—rest, eat, and drink,” he insisted, holding out a bottle of water.
I raised an eyebrow at him. “You know there’s such a thing as drinking too much water?”
Blaze scoffed. “I think you’re a ways away from that.”
“You never know,” I grumbled, taking a sip of the offered drink to please him.
Two days. I had been stuck on the sofa bed for two days and insanity was already gripping me. Blaze had made it a little easier, hardly leaving my side. The guys had offered to return me to my room, but the den had been set up like a little baby nest, and as much as I didn’t want to admit it, I really freaking loved it.
The first day had been spent with me sleeping most of the time. As much as I hated to admit it, I really needed that rest. After the long, six-hour sleep curled up with Blaze, I was already starting to feel miles better. In my opinion, that was more than enough, but the guys had formed a stubborn united front. The only time I got to see Luka was when they brought him to me for cuddles, but his every other need was being cared for by them.
I had expected them to cave after the first day—after all, a toddler was a handful and a half—but they had handled it with grace and passed Luka between them, so he got the best care possible. For the first few hours after I had slept, I was incredibly tense. While the guys had looked after Luka occasionally, I had been right there. This time, I was completely hands off, and relinquishing that control had proved challenging.
Blaze had made it his mission to distract me. We bounced between watching TV shows and quietly reading, me on the e-reader, which thanks to his gift cards was now bursting with books for me to read, and him on his phone. Then there was the food.
Dear god, these men wouldn’t stop feeding me.
It was honestly a little excessive. Sure, I had skipped a few meals when I was busy or stressed, but lots of mothers ate their babies’ leftovers. That didn’t mean the guys needed to feed me like I was a growing teenage alpha who consumed everything within sight.
“What do you want to do today, sunshine? I'm happy to keep watching TV, or if that book you’re reading is good, I've got some instruction manuals I need to read.”
“Instruction manuals?” I asked, cocking my eyebrow.
Blaze nodded. “Yep, unfortunately as part of my job, I have to know the ins and outs of certain pieces of machinery. Recently, we were notified of a slight change in the way that our hoses connect to hydrants, and I kind of need to research it. If I don't, I worry I'm going to do something stupid in the field. I also find it relaxing to read that sort of stuff.”
“I must say, I pegged you for more of a video game guy than an instruction manual kind of guy.”
Blaze groaned, throwing his head back. “I do love video games. Unfortunately, I got obsessed with a shooting game last year, and it got so bad that Walker ended up throwing the gaming console out of a third-story window, the gray-haired ass. I understand why, but still…”
My eyes widened as I gazed at Blaze. How did it get so bad that Walker resorted to that?
“So, no more video games for you?”
He shook his head. “I still play occasionally, but I try and restrict my time so I don't become a total teenager. I honestly think if I was left to my own devices, I would end up living in a basement surviving off nothing but Cheetos and video games.”
I frowned. “But if you do that, how are you going to keep your rather impressive body? A diet consisting solely of Cheetos doesn't make for a physique like that,” I said, my gaze raking over him appreciatively.
A gleeful smirk spread across his face as he moved closer to me. “Sunshine, are you saying you like my figure?”
“You know you have a good body,” I said pointedly, turning back to my chicken soup and picking up the spoon, even though I was full.
“But do you like my body?” he probed.
I huffed playfully.
I did like his body.
There was also a lot more I liked.
He was like a golden retriever who was always open to playing and having fun, but at the same time, he clearly was loyal to his pack. Doing things like reading fire hydrant manuals just to ensure his pack was safe in the field proved to me how considerate he really was, deep down.
So, yes, I liked it.
But I was also quickly getting attached to the sweet, loud, and jovial personality that came with said body.
Turning to him with a smile, I leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “Yes, I like you, muscles and mind,” I reassured him.
Chocolate filled my senses, and I wanted nothing more than to lick his skin to see if he tasted anywhere near as good as he smelled.
His ears reddened and a bashful smile graced his features before he quickly shot out of bed.
“Chocolate cake! You need chocolate cake. I’m going to go grab you some,” he said as he hightailed it out of the room.
Giggling, I lay back on my pillows. This was the first time I’d seen Blaze flustered—and I liked it.
Maybe I would take another nap.
“You must be sunshine—I mean, Sunny,” a warm voice said as I rummaged through the fridge.
Shooting up, I took in the new alpha. Tall, with sandy blond hair, he gave off a scent of oak mixed with something else. Wearing a LAFD shirt, he was clearly a firefighter, but not one I had met before.
“Uh…hi?” I was standing there wearing a T-shirt that belonged to Walker, a pair of baggy sweatpants, and my hair was haphazardly thrown into a bun. “Who are you?”
“Elliot Wilder. My pack mate Samson and I are joining this station for a bit while Walker takes a step back from going on calls.”
“Oh, hi!” I lurched forward, holding out my hand. “It’s nice to meet you. You’re the one investigating the fire at my apartment building, aren’t you?”
He shook my hand with a small smile. “That is me, yes.”
“How’s it going?”
Elliot cocked his head to the side. “Potentially insurance fraud. The fire wasn’t natural in origin. For a while, I thought it could be old wiring because that place hadn’t been updated since it was built, but we found accelerant.”
I scrunched my nose and grimaced. “So, I lost everything because someone was greedy…lovely.”
Elliot nodded. “It really is a shitty and stupid thing to do. It’s actually quite hard to hide arson, especially if the perpetrator uses accelerants. Anyway, aren’t you supposed to be resting?”
“I escaped,” I muttered. “They’re acting like I’m breakable, and I’ve been stuck in bed for days. If I don’t start moving soon, I’m going to lose my mind!”
He chuckled. “I’m surprised Blaze let you out of his sight.”
Grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, I offered one to him, which he took gratefully. “He’s made a good effort. He’s very enthusiastic when he puts his mind to something.”
“I understand more than you think—my pack mate Fitz happens to be Blaze’s cousin, and I swear, those two are cut from the same cloth.”
“My commiserations.”
“I can see why Walker fell for you. You better go sit down, though, before Walker gets up here…”
“I’ll be on the couch in ten minutes. I just want to throw together a chicken salad,” I said, turning toward the fridge.
I was gently pushed out of the way by Elliot, who moved me to the side and took over looking in the fridge. “Sit. I’ll throw a salad together.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Are you sure… the only firefighter I’ve met with any cooking skills so far is Rune.”
A smile tugged at the corner of Elliot’s lips. “Considering I have a Blaze clone in my pack, I had to learn to fend for myself pretty fast at the fire academy.”
“Honestly, I don’t mind ? —”
“Sit!”
I huffed and stomped over to the table, mumbling, “Bossy alpha.”
The laugh that followed made me think that Elliot had heard me.