TONY: Slow Burn (Raging Fire Book 1) by Kallypso Masters (the false prince TXT) 📕

about past climbs and mountaineering exploits. Tony made a point to keep his head down for fear of seeing the Broncos shirt again. At some point, he remembered he’d been expected at Mama’s for supper and texted her why he hadn’t made it.

When he pocketed his phone again, he noticed Carmella stifling a yawn. Guilt washed over him for keeping her from her tent and a good night’s sleep, so he feigned a yawn and a stretch. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m beat. Thanks for the tent, Carm, and for the blankets, clothes, coffee, and company, everybody.”

Nick and his tentmate soon vacated their tent for Carmella and moved their belongings into Carm’s tent. On the positive side, with four bodies in there, they ought to be able to stay warm.

Everyone turned in, but less than an hour later, Tony awoke from a disturbing dream and crawled past Ryder, who slept as close to the exit as possible. Tony slipped outside the tent and fired up the cookstove to warm up the leftover coffee, staring down at the propane flame as if mesmerized.

“Can’t sleep?” He glanced up to find Carmella—Carm—standing beside him with a thermal blanket wrapped around her shoulders. “Aren’t you freezing, Tony?” She held out a second blanket, but he waved it away. Ignoring him, she unfolded it and placed it across his shoulders anyway and sat down next to him on the log.

“You have to be exhausted, Carm. Why aren’t you asleep?”

She shrugged, offering no excuse. “I could ask the same of you.”

Her intoxicating scent wafted to him, and he nearly groaned. His hormones rivaled those of a teenaged boy around her tonight.

“You should hear the racket in there,” he said, laughing as he pointed behind them to the tent. “We have some snorers in the firehouse, but they pale in comparison to these champs.” He’d let her make the assumption that’s why he’d awoken although the sound wasn’t that bad and didn’t even carry to where they sat. “You have a long hike back to the trailhead, though. You really should get some sleep.”

“I’m a big girl. Don’t worry about me. Besides, it’s mostly downhill. Piece of cake.”

They sat in silence a moment before he said, “Sorry I stole your tent.”

“Nonsense. I offered it to you. I’m just thankful you two were able to rescue those climbers. I was never so glad to see SAR volunteers in my life.”

Coming so close on the heels of losing the drowning victims, having a successful rescue under his belt went a long way toward restoring his self-confidence. I hope so, at least. “I needed that rescue more than they did.”

“How so?”

Too late, he realized he’d revealed more than he’d intended. Couldn’t back off now. “We had a bad call Sunday.”

She cocked her head. “Bad call?”

“Trade talk for going on a call that had a bad outcome.”

“Oh, Tony, I’m so sorry.” She placed her hand on his blanket-covered forearm to comfort him, but her touch electrified him instead.

He pulled away with the pretense of adjusting the blanket. “It happens to all of us in the fire service at some point.”

It just never happened to me before.

After an awkward pause, she said, “I didn’t know you were an EMT too. Guess I assumed that you had Marc and a paramedic already at the station.”

At least she hadn’t asked about the call.

He shrugged. “Nowadays, most firefighters are. It’s not mandatory in my county yet but Rafe encouraged me to get my EMT certification after I completed my associate’s in fire science. He and Franco put me through college. I owe them a lot.”

“I can see how close all of you are. Not just your brothers, but Angelina too. It’s nice to have siblings, isn’t it? Someone always has your back.”

“Yeah.” Even when you don’t want them around.

“Sandro and I were almost a second family after Gino and Marc. I was born only 22 months after Sandro—but he was almost nine years younger than Gino.”

She became silent for a moment, perhaps thinking about the brother she’d lost in Afghanistan. Marc had shared a little about him one night on C shift back in February, just before the anniversary of his older brother’s death. Tony’s brothers might be overprotective and a pain in the ass sometimes, but he couldn’t imagine losing one of them.

Which probably explained Rafe’s anger at him for releasing his safety line in his last-ditch attempt to rescue the mother and toddler from the river. Tony ought to cut his brother some slack, he supposed.

A blast of cold air sent a shiver through Carm, and Tony thought to extend the blanket around her, pulling her closer before realizing too late he should have just given her the damned thing. Wide-eyed, she stared at him a moment before pressing her body against him just a second too long. A glutton for punishment, he closed the gap and almost captured her lips with his before coming to his senses and putting space between them again.

“You need to get back in your tent,” Tony said in a husky voice, relinquishing the blanket to her once and for all.

“I will if you will.” Her voice came out in a hushed whisper.

What? Did she mean each of them return to their tents or that she wanted him to join her in the one she now occupied all by herself? His cock stirred at the thought. God, he wanted to bury himself inside her in the worst way.

No. Not Carmella. But he definitely was ready to go back to daVinci’s as soon as he returned to Aspen Corners. He needed a woman, just not this woman.

Clearly, she wouldn’t go back to her tent unless he did, so he stood and stretched. “Okay. Let’s both get some sleep.” Fat chance. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

He held out a hand to help her to her feet only to be jolted again by the electricity arcing between them as she placed her hand in his. Tony hadn’t