Page 69 of Packed in the Fire house

Sunny

“Come 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 fortwodays 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.

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