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

“You can say that again.” At least now it sounded as though everything was under control and Tony wouldn’t have to cut short his trip. That thought made him surprisingly happy. He wanted to spend this week with Carm.

Tony placed his hand over hers. “Thanks for staying up with me.”

Relief flooded Carm at the news of Matt’s imminent release. She barely knew him but seeing how much Tony had been affected by the news of his injury, she hadn’t wanted anything serious to happen to his brother.

“Glad you let me know about Matt.”

“Well, I couldn’t very well leave you waiting for me in that shower.” He grinned and she relaxed even more. “Hey, it’s pretty late.” Tony pulled his hand away.

“I’m not sure how sleepy I am after all the coffee and tension, but I guess we both probably should try to get some sleep.”

He nodded, standing before picking up the empty mugs. She followed him into the kitchen, trying to formulate the words she wanted to say but not coming up with them. After he rinsed the mugs in the sink and placed them in the dishwasher, he turned to her and held out his arms.

She walked right into them and wrapped hers around him to give him a hug.

“Thanks for understanding about earlier tonight.”

“Of course! We have all week. Besides, I doubt either of us could have focused on anything except the phone tonight.”

“True.” Tony bent down and kissed her briefly on the lips. “Mostly, thanks for helping me pass the time while I waited for word.”

“Anytime. You’d have done the same for me.” Although she didn’t think she’d call Tony in a crisis, but if they happened to be together as they were for this one, she knew he’d provide her with consolation and distraction. She hated it when they ended their embrace. On the spur of the moment, she asked, “Can I ask you something?”

“Anytime.”

“Would you like to spend the remainder of the night in my bed?”

His eyes opened wider.

“Not to have sex,” she clarified. “I’d rather wait until the time is right for our first time. I just thought that, after the stress of tonight, you might like having someone to cuddle with. If you’re a cuddler, that is.” She had no clue about him yet.

He remained silent several seconds, then he said, “I’m not sure, but I doubt I’d want to sleep if you were in the bed with me.” He broke away and, taking her by the shoulders, turned her toward the living room. “As you said, we have all week. Let’s get some shut-eye.” He patted her on the rear end, sending the wrong signal to her brain if he thought that would make her sleepy. But she made her way toward the living room anyway. He was probably right. There wouldn’t be much sleeping happening if they were in the same bed.

After a quick kiss at the top of the stairs, he said good night and walked down the hallway to his suite.

Stripping off her clothes after a quick pit stop, Carm stretched out on the bed she’d turned down earlier for the two of them. The enormous king-sized mattress left her lonelier than she’d been in a long while.

Carm sighed. Another night alone in paradise. But tomorrow—well, it was already Tuesday—would be another day. As far as she knew, Tony was free until their night-diving lecture in the evening. That left them with the morning and most of the afternoon until her refresher course.

Carm smiled at the thought and curled onto her side.

While Carm slept down the hall, no doubt as worn out from the night’s events as he should be, Tony stared at the ceiling. Still worried about Matt—or more, what could have happened—sleep wasn’t going to come as easily for him, despite the fact that they’d be getting up in a few hours.

He’d come close to having sex with Carmella. Tonight would have been totally different if not for that text from Rafe. And should he have accepted her offer to sleep in her bed? Was he ready for that step? Sex, sure, but falling asleep beside her? He wasn’t sure he could do that yet.

The sound of the waves hitting the beach outside the balcony doors shifted his thinking to the other monumental event last night. The guys at dinner had started the wheels turning for him. If they could make a go of initiating dive-team squads in their communities, why not Tony in his county? With the lake in the northern end of the county, not to mention the river and the many creeks scattered throughout the county’s fire district, the need was clear.

All he needed to do was identify where they’d get the funding for additional equipment and training. Perhaps if the team was also trained for swift-water rescue, in the wake of the recent drownings, government officials would deem it worthy of some taxpayer dollars. God forbid they’d have to experience further casualties before the powers that be saw the need for dive-team squads. That tragedy would be an immeasurable cost to the community, and one Tony didn’t think he could live with if he could have done something to avert it. Better to be prepared than to risk further loss of life waiting on a department with a reciprocal agreement to show up. Minutes mattered in response time as had been proven on that river this past June.

The guys last night had mentioned some ideas for fundraising. If the station and community pulled together, had some pancake breakfasts, or chili or spaghetti suppers, or held some tag sales for unwanted items, surely they could raise enough money by next year to fund the basic equipment. If they made enough, it could also assist in reimbursing firefighters who chose to join the dive team for the costs of training. Tony had learned this summer that diving lessons didn’t come cheap, but