VINA IN VENICE (THE 5 SISTERS)

by Kimberley Reeves

  Hysterical laughter bubbled up inside her. Even if she could get her hands on the pager before the intruder got to her, what good would it do? It wasn’t as if she could page Travis and then wait for him to call back. Vina slipped back into the bedroom, her heart thundering inside her chest as her eyes darted around the room. It was a minor relief to find it empty because the noise seemed louder and more insistent now. She tilted her head, listening for several seconds before determining someone was rattling a door handle.

  Vina crept out of the bedroom, silently making her way to the door of her suite. If someone was trying to break in, it occurred to her that they certainly wouldn’t be making a production of it by creating so much noise. Unless they thought you were gone and weren’t concerned anyone would hear them. On the other hand…she stopped in front of the door and watched as the door knob twisted back and forth…maybe someone had simply mistaken her suite for theirs and couldn’t get the card key to work.

  At least they hadn’t gotten inside yet, and she could always call the lobby and have them send someone from security if the person looked even remotely suspicious. She glanced back at the phone before drawing in a breath of courage and went to the door to peer out the peek-hole. When Vina saw who it was, her first reaction was sheer relief, the second was anger.

  What in the world was Travis doing? Was he hoping to frighten her so she would page him and beg for protection by her big, strong man? What if she had called security? How embarrassing would it have been if they rushed up here only to find it was Travis playing a cruel joke?

  Vina was mad as a hornet when she turned the knob and yanked the door open. The blistering rebuke she’d intended to lay on him was replaced by a startled gasp when Travis stumbled through the doorway, nearly knocking Vina over as he flew past her. He must have been leaning on the door when she opened it and been thrown off balance; a theory that was proven a second later when she heard a loud thump and turned to find him sprawled on the floor.

  Her anger forgotten, Vina hastily shut the door and rushed over to see if he was okay. “Travis…I’m so sorry,” she apologized, dropping to her knees. “Are you hurt? Did you hit your head? Travis, say something!”

  Travis groaned as he rolled onto his back. His eyes widened, as if he was surprised to see her. “Vina, what are you doing in my room, and why…” his gaze swept over the short nightie she was wearing, “are you dressed like that?”

  Vina nearly choked on the indignant outrage that surged through her. Judging by his slurred speech and obvious disorientation, Travis had indulged in a few too many drinks and was so inebriated he didn’t realize he’d gone to the wrong suite. To make matters worse, he actually believed she had somehow gained access to his room and was waiting for him in a skimpy nightie.

  “I am so angry with you right now,” her voice shook. “Do you have any idea what you put me through tonight?”

  “You been here all night?”

  “Of course, where else would I…”

  The air was forced from her lungs when Travis reached up and grabbed her, mumbling her name as he pulled her down on top of him. One hand slipped around her waist and anchored her to his body while the other cupped her head and guided her mouth to his. There was no tenderness in his kiss, only a fierce passion that stoked the burning embers inside of her into a rogue brushfire. It seared her from head to toe, reducing her mind to mush for several minutes before one disturbing coherent thought wheedled its way through.

  Too late, Vina recalled that Travis thought this was his room. Confirming she had been here all night only made him believe she had waited for him in her nightie like some seductress ready to pounce the moment he returned. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Vina knew she should tell him the truth and put a stop this right now. But with impeccable timing, Travis chose that moment to roll over so that she was beneath him.

  “So beautiful,” he muttered, then lowered his head and continued to pillage her mouth.

  With his hips cradled between her bare thighs, it was impossible to ignore how aroused he was. Still, she couldn’t help wondering if he would be kissing her this way if he hadn’t been drinking beforehand. Vina was torn. Her entire body yearned for his touch, longed for the intimacy of making love to him, but she was completely mortified by the idea of giving herself to him when she couldn’t be sure he even knew what he was doing. What if he woke up in the morning and didn’t remember anything? It was too humiliating to contemplate.

  Reluctantly, Vina tore her mouth away from him. “Travis, we have to…” Oh! A delicious tingling sensation distracted her as his lips blazed a trail down the side of her neck to her collar bone then migrated south to the swell of her breasts. His breath was warm against her skin, his kisses moist; the effect on her body nearly debilitating. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t move, could barely even breathe as she lay there soaking up the attention he lavished on her.

  “Travis,” she finally managed to croak, “we sh-shouldn’t be doing this.”

  “Why not?” He nibbled his way back to her mouth and gave her a long, lingering kiss. “You want me to make love to you,” he whispered. “Admit it, Vina.”

  If he had continued to touch her and ply her with kisses, Vina was just weak enough to have given in. She did want him, so much so that she was almost willing to overlook the glaring reasons as to why she shouldn’t let this go any further. Almost. If the situation was reversed and she was the one who had consumed enough alcohol to make her words slur, she would have been furious with Travis for taking advantage of it.

  And no matter how excruciatingly wonderful he was making her feel right now, she certainly didn’t want her first time to be on the floor. It wasn’t exactly what she envisioned in the erotic daydreams she’d been having and, plush though the carpet was, it didn’t compare to the feathery softness of the bed. She wanted him to make love to her, to fall asleep in his arms and wake up in the same blissful position.

  It might have happened just the way she’d imagined…if only Travis hadn’t gotten so uptight about the Andollina brothers and stormed out of there. And if he hadn’t compounded it by drinking himself silly. He’d made huge two mistakes already; Vina had to stop him before he made another.

  “You’re right,” she said, “I do want you to make love to me, but I…I think you’ve had a little too much to drink.”

  Travis lifted his head, his dark eyes as solemn as his voice. “Too much maybe, but not enough to get you out of my head.”

  Vina’s throat constricted. “You wanted to forget me?”

  “Yes…no…I mean, I wanted to, but it was impossible. Ah, hell,” he groaned, “that didn’t come out right.”

  “Maybe we should just call it a night and talk about it tomorrow.”

  His pupils dilated. “I agree. No more talk tonight.”

  “Travis, wait!” she squeaked out when he attempted to kiss her again. “What I meant was…” Vina clamped her mouth shut.

  Good Lord, she’d almost blurted out that they should go to bed! If he misconstrued her comment about not talking anymore tonight, he would have taken her suggestion to go to bed as a brazen invitation. This time, she chose her words carefully.

  “What I meant was that I’m going to make you a nice, strong cup of coffee to dilute some of the alcohol. Then I’m going to make sure you get tucked into your own bed to sleep it off.”

  “Kissing you sounds like a much better idea,” he said with a lop-sided grin.

  Vina’s heart did a back flip. It was incredibly tempting, especially when Travis was looking at her as if she was the most desirable woman on earth. But he was in no condition to make sensible decisions, and with his mouth so enticingly close to hers, sensible didn’t seem to register in her vocabulary either.

  “Oh, no you don’t. I have enough rug burns as it is. Coffee first and then you’re off to bed. Alone,” she said firmly. Vina scrambled to her feet the instant he rolled away from her. She held out her hands and helped him up. “Wait in th
e living room while I make the coffee.”

  “Aye, aye, Captain,” Travis saluted, his big body swaying precariously.

  “Can you make it on your own?”

  “I’m good…” he glanced around the room, his brows drawing together. “Someone moved the bathroom.”

  Vina smothered a giggle. “It’s down that hallway. Will you be able to find your way back?” she called after him as he made his way unsteadily down the hall.

  “Sure thing. Assuming nobody moved the living room…”

  She should have been furious with him, but how could she? He’d looked so pathetically lost and vulnerable when he discovered the bathroom wasn’t where it should be. So tonight was a loss, she thought with a resigned sigh, there was always tomorrow. Scurrying off to the small but well-stocked kitchen, Vina sifted through the basket on the counter containing an array of packets of tea, espresso, and coffee. She selected a strong Columbian brew and started up the coffee maker then went to check on Travis.

  A worried frown tilted the corners of her mouth when she discovered the living room was empty. It was entirely possible he’d gotten sick and was still in the bathroom, but she couldn’t dismiss the alarming thought that he’d passed out. What if Travis had fallen and hurt himself? He could be lying on the bathroom floor right now, unconscious and bleeding from a head wound. Vina’s imagination was running wild as she hurried down the hallway and burst through the bathroom door.

  Empty. She stood there for a moment, her eyes darting around the room as if he would magically appear any second. Chastising herself for wasting time instead of trying to stop him from doing what she suspected was already a done deed, Vina whirled around and headed for the bedroom. Her footsteps faltered as she came through the doorway, a tiny gasp escaping when she caught a glimpse of Travis standing beside her bed.

  He’d stripped off his clothes and left them in a pile on the floor, his gloriously naked body on full display for a few heart-stopping moments before he pulled back the covers and slipped between the sheets. Holy mother of God, Vina thought weakly. Her own body thrummed with sexual awareness; the impulse to crawl into bed with him so overpowering she actually took a step forward.

  The sound of Travis softly snoring quickly brought Vina to her senses. She considered trying to wake him and coaxing him into returning to his own room, but that would mean helping him dress. Her cheeks burned just thinking about seeing him fully unclothed again; Vina could only imagine her reaction if she had physical contact with him in that state. No, the best solution was to grab one of the extra comforters from the closet and sleep on the sofa.

  It was difficult to function with the vision of bare skin and toned-to-perfection muscles swimming before her eyes, but somehow she managed to wrestle the comforter from the closet shelf. Clutching it to her chest as if it could protect her from her own mounting desire, Vina crossed the room to turn off the bedside lamp. Travis was on his back with one arm thrown over his head while the other rested on top of the covers that lay loosely over his hips.

  His face was turned away from her, giving Vina a view of his profile; the strong jaw and chin, the slight bump on the bridge of his nose, enviously dark thick lashes against tanned skin. Her eyes moved appreciatively over his broad shoulders and bare chest, following the thin line of hair until it disappeared beneath the covers. She bit down on her lip, curling her fingers tighter around the comforter to prevent herself from reaching out to touch him.

  Frightened by her inability to control the erotic thoughts dancing in her head, Vina snapped the light off and fled to the safety of the living room. Her heart was pounding as she stretched out on the sofa and pulled the comforter up to her chin. She tried to drive the image of Travis lying in her bed from her mind but was immediately assaulted with a more disturbing image of him standing naked beside it.

  Two hours later, she was still wide awake. She’d tamped down the strange feelings churning inside of her by blocking out any thoughts even remotely related to Travis. The only problem was that Travis had been a part of her life for so long, she had to resort to early childhood memories. Happy as those childhood memories were, along with them came the pain of losing her parents.

  Mentally and physically exhausted, she fell into a restless sleep and was jolted awake a short time later when she rolled off of the sofa and landed on the floor with a dull thud. The sofa was comfortable enough, but way too narrow for someone who tossed and turned in her sleep. Rubbing her bruised hip and mumbling grumpily under her breath, Vina stood up and retrieved the comforter then padded down the hall to the bedroom.

  It was Travis’ fault she was feeling so out of sorts it had taken her hours to fall asleep, and it was his fault she’d been forced to make her bed on the sofa and consequently fallen out. Why should she suffer the night in discomfort while he was cozy as a cat on a down-filled pillow? The bed was plenty big enough for the two of them, she reasoned, and since he was deep in an alcohol induced sleep, he probably wouldn’t even know she was there.

  Vina slipped into the bedroom, silently making her way around the end of the bed to the unoccupied side. A thin stream of moonlight filtered through the blinds, allotting her just enough light to see that Travis was still in the same position she’d left him in. She wasn’t quite brave enough to sleep beneath the covers with him so she eased down onto the mattress, using the comforter she’d brought with her to cover herself.

  Much better, she sighed, closing her eyes briefly before they snapped open again. Travis had rolled onto his side and snuggled up next to her, draping one arm across her hips. She could feel the warmth of his breath on her bare shoulder, but it was the heat of his body seeping through the comforters that made her insides quiver. Tomorrow they would work out the horrible misunderstanding they’d had earlier, she decided with firm determination.

  Tonight…well, tonight she would simply enjoy the feeling of sleeping by his side.

  ***

  Travis woke with start and sat up, immediately regretting the jerky movement. Gripping his throbbing head in his hands, he eased his legs over the side of the bed and sat there for several minutes until the pain subsided enough to move. The room was dark but there was just enough light squeezing through the blinds to alert him to the fact it was well into the morning. Travis reached for the lamp and flipped it on, groaning when pinpoints of pain stabbed at his eyes.

  He wasn’t much of a drinker and last night he’d indulged in more than his fair share of alcohol. His mouth was dry, as if it been stuffed with cotton wool while he slept. His movements were sluggish as he pushed himself off of the bed and turned towards the ensuite bathroom. Travis stopped, suddenly disoriented when he discovered there was a wall where the bathroom door should have been. Still squinting against the light, his eyes panned the room until he spotted it on the opposite side.

  With a dismissive shrug, he trudged listlessly to the bathroom to relieve himself. Downing a couple of glasses of water afterwards improved the dryness in his mouth. Travis decided a nice, cool shower would go a long way in easing the pain inside his head and alleviate the tension in his muscles. It wasn’t until after he stepped out of the shower that he noticed none of his toiletries were on the counter.

  “What the…” Travis grabbed a towel and slung it around his hips, drawing closer to the counter.

  A sick feeling settled in the pit of his stomach that had nothing to do with the remains of a hangover. Tubes of hand and face cream, make-up, and hair clips were lined up neatly along one side; a brush and bottle of minty mouth wash that definitely didn’t belong to him lay on the other. Shame and self-loathing washed over Travis when he realized he must have picked up a woman in the bar and gone back to her room.

  His head started pounding again as he struggled to recall what he had done and who he’d done it with, but the only image he could conger up was the disappointment on Vina’s face. By now she would know he wasn’t in his room and undoubtedly guess that he hadn’t been there all night. It was bad eno
ugh that he’d hurt her with the things he’d said, but this…

  Travis unraveled the towel and dried off as quickly as his aching head would let him. Even if Vina believed he’d been too drunk to know what he was doing, she would never forgive him. His only hope was that she was still so upset with him that she hadn’t tried to page him or gone to his room this morning. He could get past the guilt eventually, but he would never get past the pain of losing her.

  He returned to the bedroom and spotted his clothes, folded and placed on one of the chairs with his shoes on the floor beneath. Yanking his jeans up, Travis grimaced as his eyes skimmed over the rumpled bed and noticed the indent in the pillow next to the one he’d slept on. He had no recollection of the woman whose bed he’d shared, although he had a vague memory of curling up next to her and breathing in her alluring scent.

  How the hell was he going to extricate himself from this regrettable situation without making the poor woman feel like a cheap one night stand? And how was he going to keep her from approaching him if they happened to cross paths again? It would be disastrous if she unleashed her anger when Vina was with him, justifiable though it may be. Travis finished dressing and sat down on the chair to put his shoes on, frantically searching his mind for a way out of this that didn’t result in a permanent break up with Vina.