TONY: Slow Burn (Raging Fire Book 1)

by Kallypso Masters

  Next time? She hadn’t recovered from this one!

  Then again, if he thought this evening was done, he’d better think again.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Carm pulled away from him and whispered back, “But first, it’s my turn to watch you come.”

  His cock throbbed at the sexy promise. Getting up from where she sat, she grabbed two towels from the table, shook one out, and laid it on the concrete next to Tony. “Stretch out on here.”

  He got into position without hesitation, and she kneeled at his side, leaned over, and immediately drew one of his nipples between her teeth to flick her tongue over it. Electricity jolted straight to his cock.

  “Carmella, you’re killing me already.”

  Her hand grasped his hard cock. She took her mouth off his nipple and glanced up at him innocently. “Oh? Am I hurting you? Should I stop?”

  Tony growled. “No, minx, but at some point this week, I promise to tease you to the brink of climax then stop without letting you come—if you leave me like this much longer.”

  She giggled, seemingly pleased with the power she held over him, and lowered her mouth to his chest again to trail kisses between his nipples and down to his abdomen. She seemed in no hurry to reach her destination. Strands of her wet hair tickled his cock and balls. After what felt like a lifetime, her lips reached his cock while her fingers gently stroked his balls.

  When her tongue swirled around the rim of his erection, he commanded. “Look at me, Carmella.”

  She complied, once again pulling him into an intimacy he’d never experienced as keenly with any other woman. Her teeth gently grazed the tip of his cock before her lips covered them to keep from hurting him, and she applied more pressure.

  “Jesus, woman.” His outcry spurred her on, and she grabbed the base of his cock to hold him steady as she sucked the tip of his organ into her hot mouth, released it, then sucked it back in again—slowly at first and then more forcefully each time.

  When he thought he was on the brink of exploding—Seriously? They’d barely started!—she released his cock from her mouth.

  She smiled.

  He groaned. “Dear God, Carm.” Clearly his threat of denying her orgasms hadn’t deterred her from her teasing.

  With a firm hand on his cock still, she moved her mouth to the side of his hip and laid down a row of nibbles, all the while maintaining eye contact.

  Tony wrapped a thick strand of her hair around his fist and pulled her back toward his cock. Instead of obliging him, though, she wrapped her mouth around one of his balls and sucked. Fuck! His overly sensitive testicle burned. One wrong move, and she’d emasculate him. With her hand, she played with his other one a few moments. His cock bobbed in front of her, the distraction momentarily breaking her eye contact. Then she met his gaze again without being told, raised herself up, pulled his hard cock toward her, and wrapped her mouth around it fully.

  He’d wanted this blowjob to last all night but knew he wasn’t going to be able to prolong it. Tugging her by the hair, he ground out, “I can’t wait another minute, Carmella. I’m going to come. Are you ready?”

  He wasn’t sure if she’d want him to come on her, on the towel, or inside her mouth. Hopefully she understood the question. He couldn’t string many more words together.

  When she tried to take him in her mouth again, thinking that should convey her readiness, he shook his head. “Answer me.”

  She stroked his shaft with one hand while the other played with his balls. “I’ve never been more ready for anything in my life. I’m dying to taste you for the first time.”

  His cock throbbed at her words. Without waiting for permission or another command from him, she took him inside her mouth once more and sucked—hard—her gaze never leaving his face.

  Sweet Jesus!

  Carm’s hand squeezed the lower part of his cock as if to mimic the feel of her walls clamping down on him if he were inside her. His shaft pulsed as his heart raced faster. “I’m coming!” He squeezed his eyes closed as she sped up her movements. When she released the base of his cock and took him deeper into her mouth, blood pounded in his ears. With a guttural groan, he exploded. Her mouth continued to work his cock, trying to milk every bit she could from his cock. Finally, he was able to open his eyes and saw that she’d tried to swallow every drop, but some had escaped her mouth.

  Tony’s chest heaved as he fought for breath. Carm released him with seeming reluctance, then her tongue flicked out to capture a little more of him. “Mmm. Salty.”

  Tony kept a firm grip on her hair and tugged her toward him. Soon she was prostrate on the length of him.

  “I had no idea you liked salty things so much.”

  “And I never realized before how sexy having my hair pulled could be.”

  “I’ll keep both in mind.” He framed her face with his hands and plunged his tongue into her mouth tasting the salt of his cum. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to stand right away, but he wanted to hold her close like this a while longer. “To say that was incredible would be a huge understatement.”

  “Just wanted to return the favor. I can tell we’re going to have no trouble finding things to do when we aren’t diving this week.”

  “You’d better believe it.” Tony leaned in and kissed her passionately.

  When they broke apart again, Carm smiled at him. “Let’s go take our showers, then we can continue this in my bed.”

  Tony froze. Would he be able to extricate himself from her bed before falling asleep? He hadn’t had a lot of sleep in the past two days and feared a return of the nightmares. Would she feel cheated if he made love to her then left her alone the rest of the night?

  On the other hand, did he want to show her how unstable he was and that he was plagued by nightmares almost two months after that bad call?

  Tony stiffened, but in all the wrong places. Was she rushing him? He’d just exploded in her mouth a few minutes ago. Maybe he wasn’t ready to go again so soon.

  He brushed the hair back from her face. “Let’s shower together, dolcezza, and see where that leads.”

  Carm breathed a sigh of relief. She was misreading the signs. Why didn’t men come with a user’s manual?

  Carm stood first so that Tony could. Without warning, he scooped her into his strong arms and carried her inside the kitchen before turning around. “Lock the door.” After she did so, he proceeded into the living room and up the stairs to her room. Inside her bedroom, Tony released her legs and let her slide down his body until her feet touched the floor. His erection throbbed against her abdomen while he kissed her again. He definitely didn’t need more time to prepare for round two.

  Anxious to feel his cock buried inside her to the hilt, Carm broke the kiss and met his steamy gaze.

  “I’ll meet you in the shower, dolcezza. But first I need to grab something from my room.”

  What could he need for a shower that wasn’t already in there? Oh, the condoms. Of course! Carm wasn’t sure she’d have remembered protection this week if he hadn’t stayed on top of it.

  While he was gone, she turned down the sheets and lit three candles near the bed. The balcony doors remained open from earlier, giving them the best mood music of all and the wonderful scent of the ocean breeze.

  Suddenly nervous, she surveyed the room to make sure there was nothing more she could do to set the mood for later. She wanted everything to be perfect for this crucial turning point in their relationship.

  She and Tony would soon be making love for the first time.

  Carm heard footsteps in the hallway and realized she hadn’t made it into the bathroom yet. But when Tony entered the bedroom, he wasn’t carrying a box of condoms and wore his Bermuda shorts. One look at his face told her something was wrong.

  “What’s happened?” She closed the gap between them until she stood barely two feet away from him, giving him some space in case he needed it.

  “I’m sorry. My phone lit up with a call from Mama when I
went in my room. I didn’t get there in time, but the voicemail she left had me worried. Then I saw there also were messages from Rafe and Angelina. I had to call to see what was going on.”

  “What’s wrong?” Did he think she’d be upset that he’d checked his phone when he was supposed to be thinking about rushing back to have sex with her? Italian boys did not ignore calls from their mamas, no matter what.

  “Matt’s been injured.”

  Oh no! Carm’s heart stopped momentarily, and she took a breath before asking, “How badly?”

  He shrugged. “I just got off the phone with Mama, who’s there too. He’s at the emergency department in Leadville. His crew was fighting a residential fire and part of the roof collapsed on him. That’s all I know.” Tony glanced away, looking helpless and lost.

  Carm moved in to wrap her arms around him in comfort.

  “I hate to leave you hanging like this, Carm, but…”

  She pulled back and placed her hands on his cheeks to force him to look at her. “We’re going to wait together all night if need be until you hear something. Go get your phone.”

  He pulled it out of his pocket with an apologetic shrug. “I didn’t want to be too far away from updates.”

  “Of course not.”

  “When Rafe asked how soon I could get there, I told him I’d left the state for the week.” So he hadn’t told them specifically where he was. “I texted back that I’d catch the first flight I could get on if…they need me.” He glanced down at his feet. “Sorry about tonight but…”

  She waved away his concern for her. “You have to do what’s best for you and your family.” She almost said they’d have other times but didn’t know whether Tony’s guard would go back up after they returned to Colorado. “Why don’t we go downstairs, make some coffee, and maybe watch a movie while we wait for word?”

  “I’m not going to be able to concentrate on anything until I get the all clear.”

  “Then we’ll just sit and talk. Out by the pool.” When he didn’t move, she turned to grab and put on her cover-up, took his free hand, and led him out of her bedroom and into the hall. “Oh! Wait right here.” She remembered the candles she’d left burning and ran back in and blew them out before joining Tony again to walk down the stairs together.

  After brewing a fresh pot of coffee, they each carried a mug onto the patio to await further news.

  Tony took a sip of his coffee, then set his mug on the table. “This has always been my greatest fear—that something’s going to happen to one of my brothers in the line of duty.”

  “I had those same worries when Gino and Marc went off to war.”

  He met her gaze. “You understand my fears. I know you’ve had to deal with tragedies with both of them.” He reached across the table to squeeze her hand but didn’t let go. “I don’t think I would survive losing anyone else in my family.” His voice sounded raspy.

  “I’m sure Matt will be fine. He had to be in full protective gear, right?”

  Tony nodded.

  “Thank God for that.”

  “Yeah, but they aren’t so much worried about burns this time as they are about a concussion or worse. Mama didn’t even know if he was conscious.”

  The lingering and long-term effects of a concussion could be debilitating for anyone, but it might put Matt out of work for a while if severe enough. Could it even end his career? She didn’t think any of the brothers would want to do anything other than be firefighters.

  Tony raised his other hand and pressed his thumb and forefinger against his eyelids as if to push back the flow of tears—or to keep her from seeing them. Carm’s own eyes began to sting. Not being with his family right now was killing Tony, and Carm almost regretted coaxing him down here. But Tony needed this getaway; she was certain of it.

  Besides, Matt had probably never been alone. He and Franco worked the same shift, and wouldn’t the department have sent him to the hospital to be with Matt when the accident happened? His mother and Rafe lived ninety minutes away, but they’d made it to Leadville already. She was certain the rest of the family was already there or soon would be. Angelina had probably gone down with Rafe and her mama, because Marc would be on duty tonight.

  Carm squeezed his hand, unable to come up with any comforting words she thought would help. After half an hour or so, Tony leaned his head back in the chair and closed his eyes. They sat in silence listening to the distant sound of the ocean until Tony’s phone lit up. She saw Rafe’s name flash on the screen; Tony must not realize he still had it silenced.

  “Tony, you just got a text.”

  He bolted upright. He hadn’t been sleeping but instead had been distancing himself from carrying on a conversation. She could understand that too. He grabbed the phone with one hand but reached out for Carm’s hand with his other. She squeezed his reassuringly then held on.

  Tony stared at the screen a moment before his entire body relaxed, and he sat back in the chair to expel a long sigh. Their hands no longer touching, she was heartened that he had sought that contact with her in a moment of panic. She waited anxiously for the update.

  “He’s conscious.” Tony cleared his voice. “Rafe said Matt is joking around with Mama.”

  Now it was Carm’s turn to relax. “Sounds like his injuries might be minor if he’s awake and kidding around.”

  “Well, he has a lousy sense of humor, but yeah, it sounds positive to me too.”

  Carm shook her head. Brothers until the end. Tony fancied himself the family’s clown, but from what she could tell, both he and Matt tended to be the more lighthearted of the four brothers. Tony would be doing the same if he’d been there, trying to keep their mama from worrying. Franco was the remote one, but she worried most about Rafe, the brooding older brother who had shouldered the responsibility for the family since losing their papa so tragically.

  The family continued to stand by each other no matter what life tossed its way. She commended them for keeping their family bonds strong.

  Another text came through. “They don’t have the scan results yet, though.” Tony texted something back and stared at the phone awhile, waiting. When none came, he texted again and explained to Carm, “Thanking Rafe for the update and telling him to keep me posted.”

  “You know he will.” Everyone knew how anxious moments like these could be especially when you weren’t with your family. “Don’t forget to turn your ringer back on.”

  “Oh yeah. Thanks!” He flipped the switch on the side.

  When there were no further texts for fifteen minutes, Carm picked up their mugs and went into the kitchen for refills. It was going to be a long night.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Waiting for Carm to return, Tony decided now that Matt was conscious she needed to go to bed. He doubted he’d be able to until he heard about the scan results, but he didn’t need much sleep. However, she had dive training later today and needed to be at the top of her game to stay safe.

  If anything came of their dating each other after this week, Tony couldn’t help but wonder how she’d react to news that Tony had been injured. Or worse. She’d suffered a lot already—first with her brother being killed in action in Afghanistan, then Marc nearly being killed while serving in Iraq. Tony didn’t know if anything would come of this relationship with her, but did he want to put her through something like that again?

  Hold on. You’re just having a vacation fling, not planning a marriage or long-term relationship here.

  Carm had handled herself—and him—well in family-crisis mode tonight, though, if that were any indication. But having to worry about him on every shift, every call? At least with her living in Aspen, she’d be kept busy with the resort and wouldn’t be within range of scanner broadcasts. Mama had often kept the thing on, waiting to at least hear what was happening in Aspen Corners with two of her sons.

  He’d seen Mama go through these situations when he was a kid too, not always doing a very good job of hiding her tension when Pa
pa was out on a dangerous mission. Then the day came when Mama had received the call every mother and wife dreads. Her grief had been so deep and consuming those first six months, everyone wondered if she’d follow Papa to an early grave.

  Hell no. He didn’t want to put Carmella through that. Which made fooling around with her this week a big mistake, because Carm wasn’t the kind of girl you screwed around with and then dumped.

  What was he doing down here with her anyway? His family needed him right now, and here he was off on a vacation. Time away from work his brother and superiors had insisted he take, but all the same, he should have stayed closer to home and been there for Matt and the family tonight.

  Rafe texted again. He picked up his phone. Mama wanted to know where he was and if he was okay. No doubt Rafe also was curious. Tony texted back to reassure Mama all was well, but didn’t elaborate on where he’d gone or whom he was with. Instead, he asked for more information about his brother’s condition, but soon learned they still didn’t know anything. At least it didn’t sound as though he’d suffered a life-altering injury.

  Not this time anyway.

  Tony glanced up as Carm carried two steaming mugs to the table, placing one in front of him. “Thanks.”

  Their companionable silence felt comforting to him, but Matt’s injury reminded him that he had no business doing anything more with her this week other than diving, having dinner and drinks, and keeping his damned hands off her.

  “You okay?” she asked.

  He nodded automatically without giving her question any thought.

  “Listen, why don’t you go on up to bed? No sense both of us waiting up like this. You have a big day ahead of you.”

  “I’m fine. If I get tired, I’ll go to sleep.” She took a sip of her coffee and set the mug down again. “I’m sure Matt will be fine, Tony. I’d like to sit here with you until you know he’s in the clear.”

  “I appreciate that.” He took a sip of his coffee. Strong, black. She already knew how he liked it. “Matt’s tougher than any ceiling collapse, but I can’t help but worry anyway.” Should he say more? The two of them had formed an intimacy bubble tonight that went beyond anything sexual. He wasn’t used to expressing any vulnerability to a woman, but the words were out before he could take them back. “I’m feeling kind of helpless.” He didn’t have to wait long for her to respond.