Page 49 of Calling a Cease-Fire

“How hard can it be?” Zack frowned as one of the little ones toppled off his large thigh.

“What’s your plan when you’re on shift?” I picked one of the orange ones up, cradling it against my chest. It looked to be the runt of the litter. “You can’t leave them here alone for twelve plus hours.”

“Bring them with me.” He reached out, catching a little tabby as it almost fell back trying to climb up on his legs. “They’ll be like our Dalmatians.”

I highly doubted there were any similarities, but I’d definitely learned that with Zack, not everything he said made sense. “Oh, the chief will love that,” I said, sarcasm lacing every word.

“He loves cats. You have no idea how many times he’s sent us to get one out of a tree.”

“Seriously?” I stared at him, expecting him to tell me he was kidding. Those calls rarely came through dispatch, and when they did, we always advised to call an arborist. “I thought that was a firefighter myth. Do they have the chief's number on speed dial or something?”

He chuckled. “Probably.”

One of the kittens started playing with Savannah’s shoestring and then hissed at it when it came untied. We all laughed at the adorable ridiculousness of it.

“As fun as this is, I’m hungry,” Savannah interjected a moment later. “Are we ordering food or what?”

Zack looked over at me. “Have you ate?”

“Eaten.”

“Yeah.”

“E-tin.” I overenunciated the word. “Not ate.”

“Alright, grammar police.” He chuckled. “Have you done that?”

I sighed. “I ate during one of my breaks a couple hours ago. But I could definitely eat again.”

“We’re gonna order from The Burger Hut if that’s cool with you.”

“Sure.”

He gingerly picked two of the kittens off his legs and stood. I couldn’t stop my gaze from roaming up his thick, muscular thighs to his strong chest clad in a tightly fitted athletic shirt. He cleared his throat, and I whipped my head up, taking in his smug grin. I narrowed my eyes, which only made his stupid smile grow wider.

“I need to bring up drinks from downstairs and then I’ll order the food.” He stepped out of the play yard. “Beer or wine?”

“Beer.”

“That’s my girl.”

My stomach flipped, and I cursed the sensation. I wasn’t allowed to like being called his girl. And by the look on his face, he liked it coming out of his mouth just as much.

This was a bad idea. I shouldn’t be here.

Savannah huffed out a sigh. “You two really just need to bang already. You’re going to suffocate me with all this pent-up sexual tension.”

Zack’s gaze stayed trained on me. In his eyes was the truth behind Savannah’s words, and it was all-consuming to know he desired me like that.

He blinked, and the moment dissolved, reminding me we weren’t alone. And probably shouldn’t be.

“We usually order a bunch of things and then fill plates. I’ll eat literally anything, so you two decide.” He turned, heading out of the kitchen, and hollered, “Be right back,” over his shoulder.

A moment later Savannah turned to me. “He really likes you. And when he falls, he falls hard and then loves even harder.”

I understood the warning that lay beneath her words. Maybe it was a good time to let her know nothing was going to happen. A nice little reminder for me too. “I told him he wasn’t allowed to fall for me.”

Savannah threw her head back and laughed. “That won’t stop him. He still will, because he doesn’t listen. Trust me, I know.”