VINA IN VENICE (THE 5 SISTERS) (15 page)

Vina opened her mouth to warn them, but no sound came out.
 
In a panic, she struggled with the latch of her seatbelt
, but with every tug, the belt cinched tighter and tighter
until it was biting into her skin
.  Giving up on the latch, she waved her a
rms to get their attention
, but they only had eyes for each other. 

Silent screams locked in her throat as the plane’s engine
gave one final, fatal cough then
sputtered and died.  For a few breathless moments they glided smoothly through the air, giving Vina a glimmer of hope just before
they plunged into the ocean.

“Don’t worry, darling,” her mother said, even as the body of the plane sank beneath the water, “
we can never truly be separated as long as we hold onto our love for one another
.”

More terrified than she’d ever been in her life, Vina frantically fought to free herself from the seatbelt.  If she could
just
get lose, maybe there was still a chance she could make her parents understand they had to get out of here. 
The sound of creaking metal echoed all around her as they descended deeper
into the murky depths, slowly immersing
them
into
darkness. 
Vina watched in horror as water began to seep in through the widening cracks in
the
plane’s shell
;
and still, her parents did nothing to save her or themselves.

That’s when it finally hit her.  They weren’t trying to get out because they had
already
resigned themselves to their fate.  Victor and Lucinda Moore weren’t fighting death as Vina was doing
;
they were facing it together.  And as long as they were together, they were happy.  Tears streamed down Vina’s face, not just because she was going to die, but
because she didn’t have anyone to hold her, comfort her, love her.  She was going to die alon
e.

“You’re not alone,” the murmured words instantly stilled her fears.  “I
t’s okay, baby, I’ve got you.”

Warmth engulfed her as two strong arms tightened their hold, bin
ding her to the solid mass of a muscular chest.  Vina let her cheek rest
just over his heart, finding solace in the
slow, steady
beat
.
  She closed her eyes while he gently rocked her, one hand
moving lightly up and down her spine until her tears finally subsided and her mind began to drift.

Any second now, she would feel the water lapping over her feet, or maybe the windows would shatter and it would come rushing in all at once. 
How long did it take to drown, four or five minutes?  Probably faster if she didn’t fight it.  It didn’t matter.  Travis was here.  In his arms, she felt safe…protected.  If it took one minute or ten to die, she wouldn’t feel anything but this blissful happiness.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Travis asked.

Talk about it? 
Vina’s brows drew together.  She didn’t want to talk about anything.  “No, I…I just want you to hold me until it’s over.  You’ll stay with me, won’t you?”

“I’m not sure I know what you mean,
honey,
but I’ll stay for as long as you need me.”

“Good,” she sighed, “I was so scared when I couldn’t get the seatbelt undone, but now that you’re here…” Vina stopped as the hazy fog clouding her brain began to clear. 

“Is that what your nightmare was about?”

Fresh tears squeezed from the corners of her eyes.  “I was there…in the plane with Mom and Daddy,” she choked out.  “I tried to warn them we were going to crash, but I couldn’t get the words out.  The
n the seatbelt got stuck
, and the plane…it hit the water and started sinking…”

“Shhh,
it was
a
bad dream, but it’s over now.
  You gave me quite a scare,” he said thickly.  “I heard you crying
and thought you’d fallen and hurt yourself.  It…uh…could be
a little embarrassing if any of the flight crew sees me sneaking back to my room
though
.”

Vina stiffened.  “Why?  Are you worried she…they might think we’re
sleeping together?”

“I think they’d more surprised to know we weren’t, considering they have no idea our relationship is platonic.  I’m concerned they’ll think I’m an exhibitionist,” Travis chuckled.  “I was in bed when I heard you crying and didn’t think to grab my robe when I charged to the rescue.”

Vina’s eyelids snapped open.  Suddenly conscious of the fact his chest was bare and
that
nothing except a thin piece of silk and lace covered her breasts, her entire body
began to tingle
.
  Thank God, Travis hadn’t turned on the light,
al
though it was highly unlikely he
didn’t know how scantily dressed she was. 

“Travis…please tell me you didn’t…that you aren’t…”

“In the buff?” he supplied with obvious amusement. 

Vina nodded against his chest, certain he could feel the seari
ng heat radiating from her cheek
.

“I don’t even own a pair of pajamas,” he told her, then laughed when she groaned out loud.  “
Don’t worry, I
did
pull on my boxers, but that’s all.”

“I’m sure
you’re new little
friend
w
ill
enjoy the show,” Vina blurted out before she could stop herself.

“My friend?” he sounded genuinely bewildered.

“
Never mind
,” she pulled away from
him.  “Thank you for waking me up.  I’m fine now, so you can go back to your room.”

“Oh, no you don’t,” Travis
said.
  “
You’re not shutting me out without an explanation.”
 

She felt him shift away from her and realized too late that he was reaching for the light switch. 
Blinking against the sudden brightness, Vina
blindly grabbed for the comforter to cover herself.
 
Her fingers curled around the material
and froze as her eyes adjusted to the light and zeroed in on the wisps of dark hair dusting Travis’
chest.  It was thickest in the middle, thinning into smooth bronze skin on his pecs and tapering down his flat belly to disappear beneath the band of his boxers.

Vina had seen Travis in swim trunks before; at the beach, and when they went for a swim in the pool at the mansion.  She’d even admire
d
his exceptionally well-toned physique before, but never with such avid fascination and sexual awareness.
 
Her palms itched to touch the patch of hair on his chest to see if it was as soft as it looked.  She wanted to sift her fingers through the curls, to span them across his bulging pecs and follow the trail of hair downward and see how far it went.

She licked her dry li
ps, her eyes darting
up to lock with his when she heard Travis draw in a sharp breath.  “Wh-what?” she rasped,
trying not to look guilty as sin,
and failing miserably.

“Keep looking at me like that,” Travis growled, “and I won’t be responsible for my actions.”
 

His hungry gaze raked over Vina’s nearly naked form
,
causing a visceral reaction that scared the living daylights out of her.
  Heaven help her, but she
wanted
him to lose control.  She ached to feel his hands on her bare flesh, to experience the sensation of lying beneath his powerful body as they made love to each other.
 
It would be so easy to give in to temptation
and ignore
the
danger
of raw desire
she saw
smoldering in those dark eyes of his.
 
Easy, but incredibly stupid
, she reminded herself.

Shoving her lusty thoughts aside, Vina dragged the comforter up over her legs and chest and tucked it beneath her arms.  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said with an indignant huff.  “I think you’re just trying to take advantage of the situation.”

“
I’m what?
” his tone was incredulous.

“Well, I…I’m still groggy from sleep
.  A
nd
that horrible nightmare
makes me so emotionally vulnerable that…”

“
Whoa, back up, sweetheart
,” Travis cut in.  “
I didn’t come in here to seduce you, and even
if that was my intent, I wouldn’t have gone through with it once I saw how
emotionally vulnerable
you were.”  He stood up and strode to the door, an angry scowl marring his handsome features.  “
A word of advice,” he said as he opened the door.  “Don’t accuse a man of taking advantage when you’re the one who issued the invitation.”

Vina waited until he’d gone to
unleash the torrent of tears she’d been holding back.  Everything Travis said was true; she had devoured him with her eyes and done nothing to hide the potent impact he had on her, both emotionally and physically.  She had no right to accuse hi
m of such base behavior when it was his concern for her that had
brought him to her room in the first place. 
Vina
couldn’t blame him
one bit for being so angry after the horrible way she’d treated him.

“So, what are you going to do about it?” she sniffed. 

She could let it go for now and try to smooth it over later, but what would that do except prove what a coward she was?  Travis deserved an apology, and delaying it would only widen the rift she’d caused in their relationship. 
What she’d done was inexcusable; practically begging him to make love to her and then acting as if she was the injured party when he’d called her out for it.
 

Thoroughly disgusted with herself, Vina threw the covers off and climbed out of bed.  Hastily pulling on the jeans and cotton top she’d worn to travel in, she couldn’t help comparing her mundane clothing to the snug skirt and crisp white blouse the blonde flight attendant
was
wearing. 
It would have been silly to wear something dressy for a sixteen hour flight, of course, but that didn’t keep Vina from wishing she would have chosen nice slacks and a more flattering blouse. 
 

“And since when do you worry about how you stack up against other women?” Vina muttered.

Her mind was a jumbled mass of confusion, and her heart was doing a fine imitation of her useless brain! 
Was it really Travis she wanted?  Or had she simply reached a point in her life where she was ready for a real relatio
nship and he just happened to be the first man to awaken her passion? 

And what about Travis?  Did he really want
her
, or had he merely been responding to the signals she’d been sending? 
Honestly, what
had
she expect
ed
him to do? 
He
was
male, after all, and
she had been
clinging to him with
next to no clothing on
.

How could she have made such a mess of things?
  They’d been best friends for years, and even when they disagreed on a subject, it had always been more of a debate than an argument.  She’d never been reduced to tears before, and neither of them had ever walked away mad.
  Now it seemed they couldn’
t spend more than a few minutes together without some misunderstanding cropping up.

And whose fault is that? 

Okay, okay, so maybe she’d gone a little whacko on the poor guy
.  It was
hormones or pheromones
or
some other type of chemical imbalance beyond her control.  It had to be
.  What other explanation was there for the
se…
intense feelings she suddenly had for Travis?
  Vina loved him, but she wasn’t
in
love with him, and she was sure it was the same for Travis. 

Yes, it
had become
in
creasingly evident he was sexually aware of her too, but that didn’t mean either of them had to act on it.  Whatever attraction had sparked between them was an anomaly that would pass in time.
  Ultimately,
she and Travis
would be glad they hadn’t done anything that could prove to be embarrassing after it fizzled out.
 

While
Vina
brushed out her hair and slipped her shoes on, she
continued to present herself with good, solid reasons why
it would be pure insanity to have an affair with him.
  She’d done a pretty fair job of it too, and was convinced she could hold onto her resolve
to keep her wits about her.  But all logic and sensibility abandoned her the moment she stepped out of her room. 

Discovering Miss tall and leggy standing in front of Travis’ door with a bottle of champagne in one hand and two stemmed glasses in another was enough to send Vina’s blood pressure sky rocketing.

“Excuse me,” she
said sharply
, immensely pleased by the startled look on the
flight attendant’s
face.
  Instinct took over, and Vina quickly changed tactics by offering a friendly smile.  “I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to scare you.”  She nodded to the bottle.  “Did Travis request the champagne?”

Color slashed t
he
woman’s
cheeks.  “
No, Tra…Mr. Malone mentioned earlier that he always had trouble sleeping on these long flights.  I thought a little champagne might help him relax.”

Yeah, right.  And I’m the queen of England. 
“Well, isn’t that thoughtful of you.”  Vina plastered a bright smile on her face as she plucked the bottle from the attendant’s hand.  “I was having a bit of trouble sleeping myself, but then you must have guessed that…” she squinted at the woman’s name tag, “Catrina.”

“
I didn’t…that is, I wasn’t sure…”

“So you brought two glasses
,
just in case
.
”
Vina relieved Catrina of the glasses
with another sugary smile.
  “
I’ll be sure to tell Travis how kind you’ve been and ask him to leave you a generous tip.”

“I am a flight attendant,
not
a waitress,” Catrina replied stiffly.

“Of course you are, how silly of me.  At any rate, this will help us both relax
.”  She tucked the bottle under her arm and reached for the latch on Travis’ door, effectively dismissing Catrina.  “Oh, there is one more thing.  I would really appreciate it if you could make sure my fiancé and I are not disturbed until dinner.”

Catrina blinked.  “Your…fiancé?”

Vina flashed a positively wicked grin.  “White weddings are so over-rated, don’t you think?” 

Having delivered the ultimate in parting shots, Vina opened the door and slipped inside
the
room.  She expected to find
Travis
sleeping, and
had hoped to sneak back to her own room in a few minutes without him being any wiser.
  No such luck.  Not only was he awake, but he was so close to the door, Vina nearly ran into him.  His arms were crossed, his expression unreadable, although one brow arched when she came to an abrupt halt
.  Mere inches separated her from his impressive chest
.

Travis waited until she’d mustered the courage to look at him
before speaking only two words.
 

“Your fiancé?”

Chapter 8

Travis overheard the entire conversation
; s
hamelessly pressing his ear to the door
when
he
heard Vina’s voice.  H
e was annoyed to discover Catrina was bringing the champagne as an obvious ploy to get into his bed.
  True, he had carried on a conversation in Italian
with the woman
, but only because he wanted to make Vina jealous. 
Technically, he
had
used Catrina
.  But
he’d
purposely stuck to topics that were
impersonal
and couldn’t
possibly
be misconstrued as a
come on
.

He was glad Vina interceded and sent Catrina away; it saved him the trouble of deflecting the woman’s unwanted
attention. 
And h
e
admired the
clever way she
had gotten Catrina to give up the goods
without letting on she knew
the
real motive
behind
Catrina’s
thoughtful
ness
.
  But he’d also been
dishe
artened
because he was sure it was merely
Vina
’s way of
making sure he kept his
word
to not get involved with another woman.

And then she’d made th
at
sly
comment
about
being his fiancé. 
Travis
almost o
pened the door at that point just so he could see the
look on Catrina’s face
.  He
was glad he’d hesitated
,
or he might have missed Vina’s next brazen
remark
about white weddings
.
 
He found it amusing, and
extremely
revealing that she felt compelled to
ins
ure Catrina thought they were sleeping together
.
 
Vina had
already
put a halt to
Catrina’s attempt
at
wheedl
ing
her way into his room
with
the
announc
e
ment
they were engaged
, so
there
could
only
be
one
reason
for what she’d done.
  Vina was staking her claim.

Travis was elated, but he wasn’t about to let her know that. 
S
he’d
probably
accuse him of being arrogant
,
or
try to pass it off as
a
simple
misunderstanding.
  No, Vina had known exactly what she was doing, even if she didn’t know why. 
For the moment, it was enough that he understood Vina’s feelings for him were gradually changing, and that she was confused by it. 
His
absence over the past week
was supposed to
give her time to think
about the kiss they’d shared
; now it was time to make her think about how much more they could share, and how good it could be.

“Well?” he prompted when she didn’t say anything.
 
 
  

“Travis…you’re awake.”

“Obviously,” he replied dryly. 

“I…I can explain.”

“This ought to be good.”

Her cheeks burned a furious shade of scarlet.  “I was just…and then she…I mean, honestly, the nerve…and then I, uh, said a few things
, and…well, what was I supposed to do?”

Travis arched a brow.  “
That’s
your explanation?”

Vina glared at him.  “No, that’s not my
explanation
…and could you please put a shirt on?”

“Why?”

“
Why?
  Because it’s distracting, that’s why.  And you can get that stupid grin off your face while you’re at it.  Look, I was coming here to apologize and found Catalina lurking outside your door.”

“Catrina,” he corrected.

“Whatever,” she snapped.  “I only said those things to save you from that blonde barracuda
, but since you obviously don’t appreciate it, I’ll just go back to my own room.”

“
You can’t be serious,”
he sounded convincingly appalled.  “If you leave now, she’ll think we had a lover’s quarrel.  What if she
comes back and offers to…
console
me?”

Vina’s testiness wavered.  “I didn’t think about that.  You
could
turn her down, you know.”

Travis grimaced.  “I could, but…that type of woman would consider it a challenge.  They come on strong as a garlic milkshake and won’t relent unless you get downright mean about it.
  What if she gets upset
and goes crying to the pilot?  She could say
I
was harassing
her
, and you know how harsh they are on unruly passengers these days.  They might even have the police waiting for me when we land.”

“Do you really think that could happen?”  Vina looked positively horrified.

He should have felt guilty as hell, but Travis was too charmed by her
sweet naivety to feel anything but a rush of love.  “Don’t worry about it, sweetheart.  I’ll just have to make sure I don’t upset her.”

“You…you mean you would actually
sleep
with her?”

“No, I probably wouldn’t have to go that far.  I’d just…you know, kiss and get a little…cozy with her.  Make her believe I want to hook up with her once we land so she won’t cause any trouble.
  And,
”
he shrugged, “there’s always the possibility we’re reading the poor woman all wrong.  Maybe she really was bringing the champagne because she knows I have trouble sleeping on long flights.”

“
Right,” Vina snorted, “that’s why she brought two glasses!”

“There’s only one
way out of this that I can see.”

“Toss her out of the plane?” Vina said maliciously.

Travis chuckled.  “I was thinking more along the lines of taking preventative measures.  You’ve heard the old proverbial phrase;
you’ve made your bed, now you can lie in it
?”

“Of course, but…” her eyes darted towards the bed, “but, you said you wouldn’t sleep with her!  And…and you wouldn’t do that after promising me…”

“I wasn’t talking about Catrina,” Travis interjected softly.

Vina visibly relaxed.  “Oh.  That’s good.”  The smile that had just started to form slowly faded.  “Travis, you…you
don’t mean…you’re not suggesting that
we…that I…
”

“Sleep with me?  That’s exactly what I’m suggesting.”

***

“Let me take those.”  Travis removed the clanking glasses and bottle of champagne from Vina’s shaky hands
and
carried them to
the nightstand.

Surely, he wasn’t serious!  He
didn’t
honestly believe she
was going to
hop into bed with him, did he?
  Vina fully expected
Travis
to laugh and
tell her it was a joke, but there wasn’t even a hint of a sm
ile on his face when
he
turned around.
  She didn’t know what to say, and wasn’t altogether sure her voice would work if she tried to speak. 

Taking the coward’s way out
and
fleeing the room sounded like a marvelous idea
.  A
nd if she thought for a moment her wobbly legs would carry her, she would have dashed out of there
like a cat with its tail on fire
.
 
It was pathetic the way her insides trembled
at the prospect of sleeping with him because, i
n h
er heart,
Vina knew the frantic urge to escape didn’t stem from
any
fear
that
Travis
had ulterior motives.  It was her own secret desires that frightened her and made her want to bolt.

“The operative word here is
sleep
,” Travis said.

“Sleep,” Vina repeated, as if it was a foreign word.