VINA IN VENICE (THE 5 SISTERS) (16 page)

“That’s not a problem, is it?  I mean, it’s not as if we haven’t slept together before.”

“
Falling asleep on the sofa in front of the T.V. is hardly the same thing as…as sharing a bed!”

“
Other than being more comfortable, there’s really no difference.
  Unless
,” Travis grinned, “
you’re implying the temptation to do…other things is too much for you.”

“For
me
?” Vina bristled. 
Oh, the rat was arrogant beyond belief!
  “I assure you, I wouldn’t be tempted in the least,” she said with a wooden smile.

“Great
, then there’s no problem.”

She watched in stunned silence as Travis padded back to the bed and turned down the covers. 
Good God, h
ad she really just agreed to sleep with him?
 
Vina shook her head, positive that she had completely
lost her mind. 
Even more disconcerting was how
nonchalant
Travis
was being
, which could only mean one thing;
he
truly
wasn’t using the situ
ation with Catrina as a ploy to seduce her
,
as Vina had foolishly been hoping.

The way he was behaving, it was easy to believe he didn’t have the slightest interest in her. 
And yet, she hadn’t imagined the way Travis looked at her earlier when he’d been in her room.  She’d felt the
intense
heat of it
, seen it reflected in his eyes as they moved over her body.
  The fire and passion, the longing to kis
s and touch
…Vina wasn’t the only one experiencing
those feelings, she’d bet her life on it. 

The only thing she could attribute his indifference to was the possibility he was still
upset with
her for the ludicrous accusations she’d thrown at him.
  But if that was the case, wouldn’t he want to keep some distance between them? 
There was
no doubt Catrina would make another play for him unless
the woman
was
convinced they were a couple.  But
Vina
wasn’t buying the story
that
Travis
was
afraid of
the
repercussions
if he rejected
Catrina’s advances.
  Which led to the question; what was Travis up to?

Regardless of his reasons, Vina knew whatever happened or didn’t happen would be up to her.
 

***

Vina drew in a ragged breath. 
“D
o you have a t-shirt I can wear?”

Travis
was too surprised by
Vina’s
acquiesce to offer anything more than a nod.
 
He ruffled through the duffel bag he’d dropped beside the nightstand and pulled out a clean t-shirt
.  He should have been elated by
how
easily she’d given in
, but
as
he turned to hand
the shirt
to Vina, he was suddenly struck with
a healthy dose of guilt
.
 
She was doing her best to act casual but there was uncertainty in her eyes, and the hand that reached for his shirt was sh
aking.

“Vina, you don’t have to do this.”

“
I know
,” her fingers curled around the material
. 
“
Would you mind turning around while I change?”

Travis
did as she asked
, although he
was
n’t entirely confident that it was a wise decision
.
  He
want
ed
Vina
so bad he was willing to
trick her into sleeping with him and worry about
justify
ing
his actions
later.  But he also
fe
lt
like a total chump for
what
he was he doing.  She trusted him, and he was using that trust to put her in a
n emotionally vulnerable
position
. 

Travis shook his head in disgust. 
He’d never resorted to such sneaky tactics before
; t
here had never been any need
to. 
Th
e women he dated
knew when they were being seduced; they played the game as well as he did
and knew the score
.  But Vina
was so sweet
and
naïve
,
it probably didn’t even occur to her that he was
being manipulative
.
 
And
Travis didn’t like
being dishonest with her
,
or
the way
it
made him feel.
 
Despite his reasons for doing it, h
e didn’t think Vina would have a very high opinion of
his scheming either.

“
Well,
I can honestly say this is the most unattractive nightie I
have
ever worn
,”
Vina
said
.

Travis had every intention of spilling his guts and sending Vina back to her room
.  And then he
turned around
.  The shirt was way too big for someone with her slender frame.  It covered everything from
neck to mid-thigh; the shapeless cloth effectively hiding her feminine curves.  He’d seen women
in
silk and lace
lingerie
, in long seductive gowns and see
-through teddies
specifically
designed to
provoke a man’s primal need to mate.
 
Travis couldn’t recall any of them looking even half as sexy as Vina did in his plain, black t-shirt.

Her bare legs were the only exposed flesh;
sun bronzed skin
that looked so smooth and soft, his palms itched to glide down the silken perfection and back up again.
  His eyes traveled up to her breasts, desire ripping through him when he noted the taut peaks jutting out like twin beacons. 
In his mind, Travis saw himself
reach
ing
out
and
molding
his hands around each
breast
,
feeling
them grow heav
ier as
they became engorged from his touch. 

He imagined Vina writhing and moaning and begging for more
as he gently
peel
ed
off the shirt and her panties before
taking her to bed.  He would stretch out beside her and lavish her body with attention; kissing and touching and tasting until
neither of them could stand the pain of separation any longer.
  Even then, Travis wouldn’t give in to his own desire.  His entry would be slow
and
sensuous
, the agony of it so exquisite…

“Travis?”

His daydream vanished
with regrettable speed, although
the evidence of his arousal remained painfully obvious.
 
He’d always been good at hiding his emotions around her, but he couldn’t always control his body’s response. 
Thankfully, Vina’s attention was focused on his face and hadn’t wandered south, sparring them both from embarrassment.
  Travis knew he should do the honorable thing, but he just couldn’t seem to make himself do it.

Vina
glanced down at her attire with a grimace. 
“
I look like a teenager at a pajama party.  Mayb
e you should have grabbed your chance at Catrina.  Unlike me, she would have looked sexy as sin in your shirt.
”

“I have no interest in Catrina,” he replied truthfully, “and you are seriously selling yourself short if you think you don’t look sexy
as sin right now.”

“You…you really mean that?” 

V
ina
’s shy smile
tugged at his heart
. 
W
hile the soft blush on her cheeks relayed the message that she was as innocent as her shyness inferred, the restless shifting
of
her legs told him she was very much a grown woman.
  Whether she realized it or not, Vina’s body was responding
to
his sexual allure in the same manner his was reacting to hers. 
And i
f the ache between her thighs was as intense as his was, it wouldn’t take much to convince her
to give in to
that desire.
  Which only made what he was about to do more difficult.

“
You have to leave now
,” he said gruffly.

“What?”

“Leave.  Go back to your room
.”

Injured brown eyes met his. 
“I don’t understand
.  You said you wanted me here.”

“And now I don’t,” he snapped. 
There was only so much a man could take
,
and right now Vina was perilously close to getting pounced on.
  Couldn’t she see how dangerous it was to stay here?

“Why?” she persisted.  “
Ten minutes ago you
were ticking off all the reasons why I should stay, and now you act like you can’t get rid of me fast enough.  I just…I don’t understand what happened to change your mind.”

“
You
changed my mind.”

“Me?  How did I…?”

“Look, it doesn’t matter
,”
he cut her off.  Travis
raked his fingers through his hair.  He
would have taken
Vina’s
arm and escorted
her
out the door, but
didn’t trust himself
enough
to touch her
.
  “
I’
m sorry.  I think it would be better for both of us if you went back to your own room.”

“I see,”
Vina’s expression
went cold.  “Shall I tell Catrina the coast is clear when I leave, or
do want to go fetch her yourself?”

“This has nothing to do with Catrina
,
”
he was quick to deny.

“Sure, whatever you say.”  She turned towards the door
, but not before Travis caught the shimmer of tears in her eyes.

“Vina, wait.”

“What for?” she asked,
keeping
her back to him. 
“I had no right to ask you to explain anything.
”

“Vina…”

“It’s all right, I get it.”

“Do you?” he said softly.

Sheer willpower kept
him
from reaching for
Vina
when he saw the rigid set of
her
shoulders, but
he
was completely undone by
the tremor in her voice.
 
Yes, he’d gotten what he wanted, but at what price? 
How could he derive any pleasure
from knowing
Vina
was
finally open
to the possibility of a
real relationship
when he’d
hurt
her
in the process
?
  His only hope for forgiveness was to come clean and tell the truth.

***

Vina
didn’t
reply to
his question.  Why bother when they both knew the answer? 
She
had
already humiliated herself enough as it was
;
there
was no need to rub salt in the wound by admitting
Travis
was
turned off by her virginal response to
his
blatant sexual appraisal.
  Well, she’d show him!  If Travis Malone was only interested in an experienced woman, she would take an Italian lover and learn everything there was to know about pleasing a man.

“I’m tired,” Vina said as she reached for the door knob.  “Don’t wake me for dinner.  I’ll eat something when we get
to
the
hotel.”
 

“If that’s the way you want it.”  Long, lean fingers curled around her hand and removed it from the door knob.  “But first,” Travis tugged on her hand, whipping her around and pulling her up hard against his chest in one fluent movement, “we’re going to talk.”