Page 70 of Packed in the Fire house

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.”

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