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

to initiate a kiss, but he broke off the kiss even faster than he had the last time, leaving her to groan this time.

The pain in his eyes was real. “I don’t want you to think for a minute, Carm, that I don’t want to spend time with you tonight.” He let the words hang in the air a moment before adding, “But I have some things I need to work out first.”

What things? Were they with him? Her? External forces? What?

Before she could formulate a question, he pecked her on the cheek. “Have a good time on vacation. Please be careful.”

He turned and walked down several steps before she went inside and closed the door behind her and leaned against it, frustrated beyond measure.

“Lock your door, dolcezza.”

Tony’s words came through the door loud and clear. Carm turned around to throw the deadbolt and turn the mechanism in the doorknob then peeked through the peephole to see Tony put his hands into his pockets and jauntily cross the lot to his truck.

Grrr!

Carm would go to Turks and Caicos and have one hell of a good time—alone. Who needed Tony Giardano anyway?

Carm’s flight had been uneventful—the best kind—and she’d driven her rental car directly from the airport to a Grace Bay grocery to stock up on breakfast items, sandwich makings, and alcohol—enough to get her through the first half of the week in case she didn’t feel like going daily.

After giving the villa, patio, and beach a quick inspection, she carried her suitcases upstairs. She hung her clothes in the closet and put the rest of her things in the top dresser drawers in one of the master bedroom suites at the villa. She’d pretend this was home this week and not live out of a suitcase.

Walking over to the French doors, she opened them and went out onto the balcony. The view of Grace Bay stole her breath, just as it had an hour ago when she’d first arrived. Water in shades of turquoise blue and teal green extended as far as the eye could see. Closer to the beach, whitecaps formed and broke against the white sand, sending a frothy foam onto the beach. She couldn’t wait to get down there.

For safety reasons, her first dive wouldn’t be until tomorrow afternoon. She intended to spend the rest of today settling in and relaxing by those gorgeous aquamarine waters. Perhaps she’d take a swim later on. Without an agenda, she could do whatever she pleased.

For the hundredth time since last night, she wished Tony had joined her. The normally serene time she looked forward to in the Caribbean would have been more fun with him here too. They got to see so little of each other, not that they’d made it to the dating stage, but why did he keep kissing her if he didn’t want anything more?

This place could have been such a healing balm for his tortured soul. She wished he’d opened up to her more about what had happened Saturday. With a shrug, she pulled her bikini out of the top drawer and put it on. This just might be her uniform for the week when hanging out near the villa, only adding a cover-up when she went inside any nearby eating establishments.

Before heading to the beach, she mixed a pitcher of Painkillers, a tropical cocktail she’d discovered on her first trip to the Caribbean during college when memories of Gino had been raw and at the surface. Made from dark rum, fruit juices, and cream of coconut, she’d made a tradition of drinking it on every island visit since then as a salute to the hero brother she’d lost. Gino would have loved spending time here sipping rum with her, maybe even diving. Nowadays, the drink brought her into an island frame of mind rather than dredging up painful memories.

While sprinkling nutmeg on the first glassful, her phone pinged. Damn. She’d forgotten to shut it off.

Ignore it. You’re on island time now.

Doing just that, she carried her glass out to the patio, took a sip, sighed, and set it down on the table before glancing longingly at the pool. The temperature was in the mid-80s, balmy after the chilly day they’d had in Aspen yesterday. She could use a quick dip before going down to the beach to watch the sunset. What delightful choices after the exhausting schedule at the resort last week.

Her phone pinged through the patio doors signaling an incoming text this time. Ignore that too. Probably someone from work. Sandro could handle anything that came up. Maybe she shouldn’t have opted for the international phone plan on this trip.

Taking a long sip of her cocktail, she set the drink back down. The water called to her. A quick glance around told her she couldn’t be seen by any neighbors or anyone on the beach, just as the rental listing had promised. She’d forego her swimsuit and have this first swim in the nude. Why else have a secluded pool if you couldn’t enjoy a little skinny dip?

Carm shimmied out of her bikini. The balmy breeze felt delicious on her bare skin and made her nipples peak. She dipped her toe into the deep end. Refreshingly cool. Not one to ease into a pool an inch at a time, she walked onto the diving board and dove in, then swam two lengths of the pool before pulling herself onto the side near the table where she’d left her drink and cover-up.

The breeze against her skin was much cooler now and her nipples rose to attention again. The sun was beginning to set so she should hurry to the beach if she wanted to see the afterglow. Pulling herself from the pool, she picked up her wrap from the chair. When she glanced toward the gate to the beach, the distinct silhouette of a man stood there. The waning sunlight behind him made it impossible to see his face, but her heart beat