VINA IN VENICE (THE 5 SISTERS) (18 page)

Travis was floored. 
“You don’t honestly believe I would have done that, do you?”

“Of course not,” Vina
assured him
.
  “You may be commitment challenged and have
an aversion to relationships that last past the third date, but I know you don’t sleep with every woman
that offers herself to you
. 
I also know that
d
espite
the
playboy reputation
your brothers have tagged you with
,
y
ou
don’t let your libido overrule your brain
. 
A woman who makes a habit of hopping from one man’s bed to another wouldn’t appeal to you,
regardless of how sexy or
beautiful
she is
.”
 

“I’m glad you recognize I don’t live up to my reputation
, b
ut that doesn’t explain why you left.
”
 
 

“Travis, she knew I was there.  I walked up just as you were telling her there was a misunderstanding.  She looked right at me and then promptly turned on the sex kitten routine.  It was all an act for my
benefit, to prove she could seduce you with minimal effort.”

“
I
f you knew that, why didn’t you say something?”

“And let her believe you would have accepted her proposition if I hadn’t interrupted you?  Not on your life,” Vina said with vehemence.  “Besides, you’re a big boy.  I figured you could get Cat to retract her claws all by yourself.”

Travis threw up his hands in exasperation.  “Why do I get the feeling there was a game being
played and I was the only one who wasn’t given a set of the rules?”

“Poor baby,” Vina sound
ed
genuinely
sympathetic
, “it must be
horrible to have to fend off women everywhere you go.”

“You think this is funny?”

“Maybe just a
tad
,” she admitted.

“Unbelievable
. 
I
was
actually
worried Catrina’s little stunt
had
upset
you
.  I was even stupid enough to
think
…”

Vina looked at him expectantly.  “What, Travis?  Finish what you were saying.” 

Travis shook his head,
thoroughly
disgusted with himself for feeling gutted by Vina
’s lack
of emotion.  He thought she would be jealous of Catrina, threatened by her.  Hell, he
wanted
her to
be seething with
jealousy, wanted her to feel as predatory about him as he would be about her if another man tried to seduce her.
  Obviously, the intimacy they’d shared in his room hadn’t meant nearly as much to Vina as it had to him.
 

“Never mind,” he said
, disappointment lending a sharp edge to his tone
.
  “
I’m going back to my room.  I’ll see you at dinner.”
  He moved towards the door, but Vina didn’t step aside
as he expected
.  She just stood there, looking hurt and confused
by
his
abrupt
mood swing.  “
I’m sorry
,” he managed a thin smile, “
I didn’
t mean to
be
so short with you
.
 
M
aybe I
’m the one who needs
a little more rest before dinner.”

Tears shimmered in Vina’s eyes. 
“
Or maybe you jumped into this
relationship thing with me without giving it ample thought and now you regret it.”

“That’s not true.  If anything, I put
too
much thought into it.  Because of that, I expected too much too soon.”

Vina’s voice was laced with sadness. 
“You thought you would
feel more for me than you
do
.”

“No, sweetheart,” Travis said with a wry grin, “just
the opposite; I had this delusional image of you falling head over heels for me after one kiss.  What happened with Catrina proves
just
how
far off track I was.”

“Is that what you think? 
Travis, j
ust because I walked away without causing a scene doesn’t mean
I’m not crazy about you.
  The truth is,
I’m not sure how to act around you
anymore
. 
I’m afraid I’ll do or say something that will spoil
what
we have…or
what
…what we could have.
”

“
I don’t think I’m getting the big picture here. 
Are you saying the reason
you
didn’t react to Catrina hanging all over me
was because you thought it would somehow ruin things between
us
?”

“Yes, that’s it exactly.”

Travis raked his fingers through his hair, more perplexed than ever.  “That doesn’t make any sense.
”

“Of course it does.  You hate it when the woman you’re with acts jealous.  You said it’s embarrassing and that
it
instantly kills any attraction you ha
ve
for
her.
”  Vina drew closer to him, her voice softening.  “
What I said about not storming in there because I wanted Catrina to know it was
your
decision
to turn her down…that part was true
.  B
ut it wasn’t the only reason.”

The heaviness in his chest began to ease.  “Are you telling me you were jealous?”

Vina looked up at him, guilt written all over her face.  “I was pea green with it.  I wanted to tromp in there and yank every strand of peroxided hair out of her head and tell her…well, some very unladylike words came to mind.  And now that you know how I really feel about it, are you disappointed in me?”

“Disappointed?”  Travis pressed his lips together, gazing past her as if he was mulling it over.  “No…that’s not how I would describe what I’m feeling right now.
”  Turning his eyes back to hers, he told her, “
I can honestly say this is the first time I
have
been
elated to discover a woman considered doing physical harm to another female over me.
”

“And the bad words,” she broke into a radiant smile.  “Don’t forget, I also considered compromising my reputation as a respectable lady for your sake.”

Travis reached for her then, gathering her in his arm
s
.  “You really are crazy about me, aren’t you?”

“
Completely bonkers.”

“Believe me, Miss Moore, the feeling is mutual.”

“Prove it,” she said, her words little more than a breathless whisper.

Only too happy to
oblige
, Travis
took possession of her parted lips with great eagerness.
 
He was looking forward to spending time with Vina in Venice.  More specifically, time
alone
in the Palazzo suites where the
re were no intercoms and no
interrupt
ions
by
the cool, crisp voice of the
flight attendant announcing
dinner
was being served.
  
 

***

Vina was still feeling the dizzying effects of being kissed senseless
when
they emerged from the cabin.  With their fingers intertwined, they strolled
through the lounge area to one of the small dining tables.  Sitting close together
with soft music sifting through the overhead speakers
, it felt more like a cozy, romantic restaurant than an airplane
.
  Even Catrina’s stony face as she served their meal couldn’t dispel the magical atmosphere.

After Catrina retreated to the attendant’s compartment, Vina remarked, “For someone who was so desperate to jump you less than an hour ago, she’s certainly bent on giving you the cold shoulder now.”

“Could have something to do with the
fear
of
losing her job
.”

Vina was both surprised and pleased. 
“You actually threatened to have her fired?”

“I may have suggested a professional attitude would keep her out of the unemployment line.”

Their conversation turned to more pleasant things
, and
after lingering over a deliciously decadent chocolate zabaglione cream cake
, Travis asked Catrina for a chilled bottle of champagne. 
They moved
to the
other side of the plane where the seats were so plush, Vina could easily have curled up for a brief nap.  The sumptuous meal was making her drowsy
, and the champagne only enhanced the drugged effect.  She felt incredibly uninhibited, as if she could float on air just like the clouds outside her window.

“More, please,” Vina held up her empty glass.

Travis plucked the glass from her hand with an indulgent smile and set it on the coffee table next to his.
  “Anymore and I’ll have to carry you
from the plane.  Come here,” he said in a deep, husky voice that sent shivers racing up Vina’s spine.

Sliding over so close their thighs
were flush against each other, Vina
let out a contented sigh when Travis put his arm around her.
  It felt nice to be sitting like this, with he
r head resting on his shoulder and butterflies
chasing each other
around inside her stomach.
 
H
er hand, which
she’d settled lightly on his knee, was
engulfed with warmth when he covered it with his
and curled in his fingers around her palm.

Vina gave up the fight to keep her eyes open.  As her mind drifted into a state of limbo where she wasn’t fully awake but not quite sleeping either,
she wondered if her parents would approve of the budding relationship between her and Travis.  They had adored him, of course.  Travis was practically part of the family
and had been for years
, but she couldn’t help
speculating as to why
they hadn’t considered him as a potential love interest.
  In truth, it was still difficult for Vina to assimilate without a sense of surrealism.

If
only
there was a way to be sure I won’t end up on the discard pile
with
all his other girlfriends
, she thought wistfully.
 

Would it be worth it?  If it didn’t work out and she suffered the same fate as the others, would it be worth having Travis for however long it lasted?  To belong to him, to experience
the raptur
e of his bone melting
kisses
whenever she wanted, to share his life, his bed, the passion of making love.  Tilting her head back, Vina
eked her eyelids open
and gazed at his handsome face with a sleepy smile.
 

Travis returned her smile. 
“I thought you
’d
dozed off.”

“I nearly did
.  But then I started thinking
and
…
well, there’s something I just have to tell you.
”

“Uh, oh, sounds serious.”

“It is,” she said, “terribly serious. 
I have a confession to make. 
You see,
I
have this…
addiction
.”

“What kind of
addiction
?” Travis asked, his expression growing solemn.

“
Well, it’s strange really, because I’ve never folded to such weaknesses before, but this is different.  It’s almost become an obsession…a desperate need that I can’t resist no matter how hard I try.” 

“
I’ll help you.  No matter what it is, I’ll help you conquer it,” he said so fiercely it made Vina laugh.
 

“Oh, I’ll definitely need your help, but I’m afraid it will only fuel my addiction, not cure it.
”  Her eyes moved to his lips, the need to feel them pressed against hers already so intense, Vina’s voice quivered.  “It’s your kisses, Travis.  I look at you now and all I want to do is kiss you.  I can’t seem to help myself.  I want…I need…”