TONY: Slow Burn (Raging Fire Book 1)

by Kallypso Masters

  “It could take a year or more to have a dive squad up and running,” Tony’s lieutenant added. “The fire chief said to work with the deputy chief of operations to schedule training time. The deputy chief can sign off on any fundraiser promotions, help you find donors, and connect you with other Colorado water-rescue squads, but that’s about it.”

  “I appreciate you going to bat for me, Lieutenant.” Tony had been afraid the department wouldn’t support the proposal at all, which would have made it dead in the water. Tony shuddered at the poor choice of words and quickly regained his focus. “I think this is going to be a good thing for our station and the community.”

  But most of all, for me.

  With the green light, nothing could hold him back—other than figuring out where the money for equipment would come from. While a major concern, he’d worry about that later. Of course, Mama had promised she’d do some research on government grants they might qualify for, and he’d emailed Ryan, one of the guys they’d had dinner with at the restaurant that first night on Turks and Caicos, to see what other resources the department might pursue.

  But Tony’s current agenda was to see who’d be interested in joining the dive team and get them working on the numerous certifications they would need to attain over the coming months and years.

  “The chief also suggested that you recruit divers from SAR workers and others in the community, because the department might be stretched too thin to go it with staff alone.”

  “Sure thing, sir.” He could already think of several likely candidates.

  When their talk moved on to other matters, Tony looked at his lieutenant and Rafe. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve gotta run,” he said, standing as he downed the remainder of his lukewarm coffee.

  While he’d slept a few hours after their last run, he already had a sleep deficit from picking up an extra shift each week since returning. Just one more to make up for the guys who had covered for him. Even though his lieutenant had told him to catch up over time, Tony didn’t like that they’d had to drop everything to cover for him during his unplanned leave and wanted to reciprocate as early as possible.

  “Tony, if you can spare another minute or two after we’re finished here,” Rafe said.

  Glancing at his watch, Tony saw he should have left for Aspen half an hour ago, but he nodded his agreement and grabbed a doughnut from the box on the counter.

  He supposed Carm wouldn’t mind him being a little later for their hike. Today, they planned to hike the Maroon Bells nature area then have dinner in Aspen. He hadn’t promised anything more than the day and evening, though. Then he’d probably head home. Even though he’d made it through their first two nights sleeping together without any nightmares while at the villa, Tony wasn’t sure he was ready to try again. While he was fairly certain they had more than a sexual attraction going for them, he wanted to take it slower with Carmella than he had with any other woman. He’d been in so many shallow relationships in the past. Hell, relationships was a stretch. More like brief encounters.

  Carmella deserved better than that.

  He’d let her decide if and when they had sex again. Not that he’d turn down an invitation to join her in bed. Thoughts of her hot, sexy body drove him to distraction at the most inopportune and inappropriate times. Like now.

  After about ten minutes, Rafe stood, faced Tony, and nodded toward his office where he headed without a word. Typical big brother, he expected Tony to be at his beck and call. Tony followed.

  At least Rafe usually was a man of few words. “Sure, Bro.” He followed Rafe inside where his brother closed the door behind him.

  “Have a seat.”

  “Make it quick. I need to get going. I have a date.”

  Rafe shook his head with a grin. “Who’s the latest Tony conquest?”

  Tony didn’t like having Carmella grouped together with his other women as if she were another notch in his belt, so he ignored the remark. Saying something in her defense would only get Rafe’s radar up, and Tony wasn’t ready to tell his brother about his time with Carmella. “You said this would only take a couple minutes.”

  Rafe’s eyes opened wider, then he nodded. His serious expression made Tony a little nervous until Rafe gave him a rare smile. “I don’t know what happened during your week off, but I’ve noticed a huge change since you’ve returned.”

  Tony hadn’t told anyone where he’d gone or that he’d been with Carmella. None of their business. Besides, he wasn’t ready to reveal that he might be dating Angelina’s sister-in-law or to talk about the amazing time they’d spent together in the Caribbean. If his siblings or coworkers found out, he’d take a lot of flak about him screwing a nice woman like Carmella and dumping her the way he did all the women he’d dated.

  To say nothing of how Marc would react, probably similar to the way the Giardano brothers had when Marc had given Angelina such a rough time in the beginning of their relationship. Overprotective big brothers could be unforgiving.

  Would Tony eventually dump Carmella? He hoped not, but he didn’t exactly have a good track record with women. But he’d never felt like this about a woman before. No one compared to Carmella.

  Tony brought his focus back to the meeting with his brother so he could get out of here. “All of you were right. I did need some time off to gain a new perspective on things. The timing couldn’t have been better. I happened to meet some brothers in a dive class who shared their success with their own fire-department dive teams. They even got me into a dive rescue class with them.”

  “Where’d you go diving?”

  “Nowhere you’d know about.”

  Rafe’s eyes narrowed, as if he could tell Tony was keeping something from him. But Rafe didn’t pursue it. “Well, sounds like it was meant to be. Whatever you’re doing, keep it up. I’m damned proud of you for finding a way to make a difference after that bad call two months ago.”

  Hearing that his big brother was proud of him boosted Tony’s morale even more. “Took me a while to figure it out, but the nightmares have stopped…” he knocked on the wooden desk, “…and I feel like I have purpose in life again.” Not just with the dive team but with Carmella. “I promise I won’t make another mistake.”

  “No one ever thought or said you made a mistake, Tony. We can’t save them all.”

  Tony’s throat tightened up thinking about the examples his brothers had set in their shared vocation. Tony had big shoes to fill.

  Tony nodded, although he accepted the fact that he couldn’t change what had happened. He could only go forward making sure it didn’t happen again, if at all possible.

  “However,” Rafe continued, “we do save the majority. Focus on that. We’re making a difference day in and day out by doing what we do. I’m glad you can see that again.”

  Before this conversation got any mushier, Tony stood. “Listen, I’ve really gotta run now.”

  “Sure. Get some sleep. You had a busy night.”

  Tony didn’t respond, not wanting to lie outright, but nodded. No sense saying he didn’t plan to sleep much if Carm invited him to spend the night.

  He left the station and headed toward his truck. He’d inadvertently given Carm time and space over the past ten days, but she still sounded interested in spending time with him.

  Lucky bastard.

  Tony wanted to see if the bond between him and Carmella would grow stronger over time, or if they’d fizzle out. That he even thought about the long term took him by surprise. He’d never thought about having permanency with any woman.

  But Carm was unlike anyone he’d ever dated. He couldn’t wait to get to her place and see her after so long apart. He’d just let nature take its course and worry about the future some other time.

  Tony left his hiking gear in the truck and bounded up the steps to Carm’s condo. He knocked, waited a moment, then heard, “It’s open, Tony.”

  Curious as to why she didn’t come to the door—and how she knew it was him—he shrug
ged and let himself in. The scent of salt air hit him seconds before he heard the sounds of the waves hitting the shore. She must have been missing the islands.

  No sign of her. “Carm?”

  “I’m in the bedroom.” Clearly, she hadn’t been in the bedroom when she’d called out to him earlier, so she must have made sure he was the person knocking on the door. Good girl.

  “No rush! Sorry I’m late.”

  “I can use your help with something, Tony. Come on in.”

  Tony made his way down the hall. He’d never actually been in her bedroom before. He found Carm lying in the middle of the bed wearing that sexy nightie she’d worn at the villa. Her long tanned legs were spread shoulder width apart, and her hand was draped over her mound as if she’d just been playing with herself.

  Carmella smiled. “I’ve got a slow-burning fire I need you to put out for me, fireman.”

  Tony grinned, and his cock stirred to life. While he wasn’t in uniform, Tony was happy to fulfill whatever fantasy she had in mind. “Just point me to the fire, ma’am.”

  She lifted the hem of the gown, exposing herself to him and used her middle finger to touch her clit.

  Holy shit!

  There were few things hotter than a woman pleasuring herself, except maybe for him to be the one giving her that pleasure. Tony pulled his T-shirt over his head with haste.

  “Mmm.” While one hand stroked her clit, Carmella pinched her nipple through the silky fabric with the other. The bud quickly grew to a hard peak.

  Even faster, he shucked his belt and jeans, until he was wearing only his boxer briefs and a smile.

  He placed his knee on the edge of the mattress and crawled toward her. His body ached for her touch. They’d only been apart a short time, but after having her with him every day for over a week, the separation had been a killer.

  “Hurry, fireman, before I self-combust.”

  Tony removed her hand from her clit and placed it next to her head on the pillow. “I’m here to put out the fire now, ma’am.”

  “About time.”

  “If I’d known this alarm had been called in, I’d have left the station an hour earlier.”

  “That’s okay. You know what they say about a slow burn, fireman. When it finally reaches its fever pitch, the flame burns so much hotter.”

  Rather than bring this fire to a fever pitch, he intended to stoke it into a four-alarm blaze.

  Straddling her, he propped his upper body on his elbows and leaned down to kiss her. Sweet as nectar to a bee. Carmella tilted her pelvis against his erection as if anxious to get on with it.

  “Lie still. I’m in charge now.”

  A spark flashed in her eyes. “Yes, sir. Whatever you say.”

  He trailed kisses along her jaw to her neck, moving the thin strap of the gown off her shoulder to continue on his path.

  Suddenly, Tony froze. Damn.

  “I didn’t bring protection.”

  Carm pointed to the drawer of the night table. “I bought a box the other day, just in case.”

  God, he loved this woman.

  Tony got off her and opened the drawer, pulling out one of the foil packets she’d dumped in there. She’d even gotten rid of the box so that nothing slowed down their momentum. “I like a woman who’s always prepared.”

  “I like a man who can put that thing on his hose with record speed so he can put out this fire.”

  Tony chuckled. He liked it when Carmella took charge—well, up to a point. “Sit up and remove your gown.” He removed his briefs and donned the condom while she obliged and returned to the bed and his slow exploration of her body. Her nipples were rigid, and he pressed her down on the pillow again to continue his journey. His sucking and pulling on her nipple made Carmella moan with pleasure. How he loved that sound.

  “Hurry, Tony! I’m burning up!”

  Forty-five minutes later, he lay beside her waiting for his heart rate to slow down. Carmella leaned over him tracing a finger along his jaw line. “That was incredible.”

  “I’ve missed you, dolcezza.”

  “Missed you too. I wish we weren’t so far apart.”

  “Yeah. It was nice being just down the hall from you at the villa.”

  “Except for the last two nights when we shared a room.”

  Only with Carmella.

  “Ready to go hiking, T.G.?”

  “Unless you have any other fires for me to put out.”

  She laughed, her eyes twinkling with mischief. “Perhaps later, if you’re spending the night. But I really need to get that hike in. I have a major trek coming up and am a little out of shape.”

  Tony definitely intended to stay the night, now that he’d been invited.

  He smacked her on the butt. “I don’t know. I kind of like your shape.”

  And a whole lot more about you.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Two hours later, Carm sat beside Tony at Maroon Lake overlooking the Bells as they snacked on the bread, cheese, and fruit she’d packed for them. “I’ll never grow tired of this view,” she said.

  “Me neither.”

  She glanced at him to share the moment only to find him staring at her. She rolled her eyes but smiled. “I was talking about all the beauty surrounding us.” She swept her arm in a wide swath to encompass the landscape of the North and South Maroon peaks and the pristine lake before them.

  “All that pales in comparison to my view.”

  She shook her head, knowing she wasn’t going to sway him from this romantic train of thought. “You’re sure in a good mood today. Quiet shift?”

  “Actually, I got some good news about something I’d been working on since we returned from the islands.”

  “What’s that?” She picked up a grape and waited for him to tell her the news.

  Tony’s eyes lit up. “I got the go-ahead to start a dive team.”

  “Tony, that’s wonderful!”

  “I’m hoping to eventually expand it into a full water-rescue squad in a couple of years but don’t want to bite off more than I can chew. But a dive team of volunteers won’t be too expensive, which is good since I don’t have any funding lined up yet.”

  She felt his gaze boring down at the grape in her hand. “What?”

  “I’ve never seen anyone eat a grape that way,” he answered.

  Carm looked down and smiled self-consciously. She’d been peeling the grape before eating it. “Sorry. It’s something Gino used to do. I wasn’t even aware that I was doing it.”

  “It’s nice that you have so many good memories of your brother.”

  Carm didn’t want to talk about Gino, so she simply nodded. “I’m so glad you met up with those guys from the rescue-diving class.”

  He picked up the conversation. “Yeah. If you hadn’t invited me to join you on Turks and Caicos, I’d have spent the week moping over missing a few shifts at work. I never would have come up with an idea like this on my own.”

  “Oh, I firmly believe that if it’s meant to be, the universe will put you on the right path. Look what happened when you accepted my invitation.” She didn’t spell out whether she referred to the diving aspects or the relationship ones. Let him draw his own conclusions.

  Admittedly, her reasons for asking him to join her on her island holiday hadn’t been quite so noble as helping him find peace of mind and a new purpose in life. Still, she never could have imagined how quickly the spark would ignite between them.

  Not that he’d made much of an effort to see her these past two weeks. His sporadic phone calls had been the only thing that kept her from thinking it had been more than a vacation fling. Obviously, now she could see he’d just been busy making up lost shifts and pushing his new idea to his officers. But she had to admit that she’d wondered, even though Carm understood that kind of drive. With her busy season at the resort looming on the horizon, she wouldn’t have time to see him, either, during the late fall and winter months.

  Tony didn’t say anything mor
e about it, turning his attention to eating and staring out over the lake at the distant mountains tucked into the notch created by the closer ones. They ate in silence for a few minutes.

  Always the planner, she eventually asked, “What are your next steps for making this happen?”

  “Finding firefighters and others to join my team, starting their basic diving training, and getting them certified. I have a few folks in mind already, but who knows who might be interested? Unfortunately, we don’t have any financial backing from the department, so that might hamper things a little.”

  “Have you thought about doing some public relations campaigns, not just to find more team members, but to get the community behind you?”

  “I just planned on posting messages and talking it up in the county, but it would be great to collect funds to help pay for equipment. Unfortunately, PR is not my expertise.”

  Carm knew a bit about marketing but didn’t want to butt in until she knew more. “Who’s on board already?”

  “I’ve got the fire chief on my side, minus the funding part.” He told her his deputy chief of operations would be the person who would have to sign off on fundraisers and Carm made a note of that.”

  “Who in Aspen Corners has deep pockets?” She couldn’t help herself; she so wanted this to succeed for Tony’s sake.

  “Nobody who runs in my circles,” Tony said with a laugh. “I’m not even sure there’s anyone who can spare the amount of money we’d need, but Mama’s offered to talk to some people at her church. Maybe they can hold some fundraisers. We’ll be too busy to stand in front of local stores on our days off to collect donations. Within a year or two, maybe we’ll have the funds we need with the community’s support.”

  A year or two? Tony needed this to happen now. Would his enthusiasm remain as high if he didn’t see results right away? “It’ll take that long?”

  “Realistically, yeah. I’m hoping no longer, though. If my volunteer team can demonstrate its worth, maybe we’ll eventually get the county behind us financially. It’ll take me months if not years to get my divers certified.”