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

despite his trying to create a routine the way Lisa had encouraged him to do. They’d also had two calls that had interrupted his ability to even chill. She’d said it would take time, but he’d hoped for instantaneous results.

Then maybe you need to be up front with her. You need to tell her you’re having nightmares at tomorrow’s session.

He pushed those thoughts aside, refusing to think about his problems tonight.

After seating himself across from Carm, he noticed how the candlelight from their table made her eyes twinkle and cast a warm glow on her skin.

“What looks good to you?”

You.

Catching himself, he picked up the menu. “What do you recommend?”

“You can’t go wrong with the lamb souvlaki with tzatziki.”

He’d never cared for the yogurt-cucumber sauce, so he chose the Greek version of lasagna—pastitsio—instead. For the first time in weeks, he had an appetite—not only for the food, but he’d take what he could get.

After placing their orders and the meze platter was served, Carm launched into her ideas for games at Angelina’s party. She started talking about an activity where people tried to match their responses with other guests, but Tony was more interested in the sparkle in her eyes as she described how to play the game.

“How do those two sound?”

Two? He blinked back to the present. He hadn’t heard her mention another game and wasn’t sure how long he’d zoned out.

When he said nothing, she continued. “Or is that last one too risqué?”

Should he ’fess up or pretend he’d been paying attention? “Angelina loves a good party. She’ll love anything you want to do.”

“How about you? From a guy’s perspective, do they sound like fun or would it be a little awkward?”

Now he really wished he’d been paying more attention but didn’t want to admit he hadn’t been, because discussing the party games had been the whole reason for them to be here tonight.

He supposed he’d wait and find out on the eleventh. “You know guys,” he began with a grin, “we just show up at parties for the food and drink.”

Carm rolled her eyes, but took his sidestep with a smile. Their main course came, and they enjoyed the first bites of their entrees.

“You really should try some of this,” she said, cutting off a piece of her chicken. Was she going to feed it to him on her fork? Having a woman feed him became a new fantasy. Instead, she held up her plate for him to spear it with his own fork.

He took the bite and chewed it a moment. The flavors exploded in his mouth. “That’s amazing!” he said after swallowing.

“Told you it was good!”

Neither was particularly interested in dessert, so all too soon, they’d come to the end of the meal. After settling the check—refusing to let Carm pay half because this had been his invitation—he stood and went around the table to pull out her chair.

“Thanks for going over things with me, Tony. And for dinner, too.”

He placed his hand at the small of her back again and warmth spread to him through the fabric of her dress. Not wanting to break contact, he kept his hand there longer than necessary until they reached Main Street.

“Do you need me to come early on the eleventh to help set things up?”

“No, thanks. That’s the beauty of having it at the resort. My team will do a beautiful job. All we have to worry about are the games. And we now have that completely under control.”

Still no repeat of what game she had in mind. He’d just have to wait and see.

At her door, he took her key and opened it for her. The brush of their fingertips sent a surge of heat through his body. She turned toward him and found that she stood closer than he’d thought. Once again, her scent wrapped around him, reeling him in.

The slight hitch in her breathing told him their nearness had affected her too. Her lips parted slightly, and the tip of her tongue licked across her upper one. Without a thought to the consequences, he leaned in.

Carm’s eyes fluttered closed, a clear signal to Tony that she wanted this kiss as much as he did. But what if they both were wrong? He needed to be sure, because once they crossed this bridge, they might not be able to go back to whatever their platonic relationship could have been.

She opened her eyes. Rather than confusion or reluctance of any kind, he read passion. His balls tightened, and he held his breath, waiting. For what, he didn’t know. Maybe for his sanity to return.

“Are you going to just stand there, T.G.,” she asked in a breathy whisper, “or are you going to kiss me?”

He’d never been reluctant to kiss a beautiful woman before. Why now?

This is Carm. Angelina’s sister-in-law. You can’t mess around with her and then dump her like you’ve done all the women in the past.

“You’re sure about this?” he asked.

She glanced down ever-so-briefly then met his gaze with even more certainty. “It’s a simple goodnight kiss. Don’t confuse it as an invitation into my bed for a few hours of hot sex.” Despite sounding slightly annoyed with his reluctance, she was totally underestimating his abilities in the kissing department. A mischievous twinkle lit her eyes and a smile tugged at her lips as though she knew she’d laid down a gauntlet.

Her taunting words shoved any remaining caution to the wind. Maybe this was nothing more than a kiss goodnight to her, but the attraction Tony felt for Carm could have set off a three-alarm fire right inside him about now.

Tony brushed a strand of hair off her cheek and tucked it behind her ear letting his finger trail down her neck to her collar bone. Her skin raised in gooseflesh along his path, and she shivered—but not from the cold night air. She wasn’t as unaffected by him as she pretended to be.

“You haven’t been kissed by me before, Carm. How do you