VINA IN VENICE (THE 5 SISTERS)

by Kimberley Reeves

  Vina suppressed a gasp of surprise. The heated look in his eyes caused a strange melty sensation in the pit of her stomach, and for some reason, her mouth had gone incredibly dry. She ran her tongue between her lips to moisten them, that melty feeling becoming decidedly more gooey when he slipped his arm around her waist.

  What is wrong with me? There was nothing unusual about Travis walking with his arm around her; he’d done it countless times. It was all this talk about Venice and fancy balls and finding romance. It was going to her head, making her think and feel things that were inappropriate, given that their relationship was one hundred percent platonic and always had been. She was emotionally vulnerable, Vina told herself, and that made her more susceptible to wayward thoughts.

  Okay, so Travis was insanely handsome, and maybe he had looked at her as if she was a beautiful, desirable woman. It didn’t mean anything. She had seen him look at other women in exactly the same manner, and she’d also seen the effect his seductive gaze had on them as well. Like her, they seemed to melt under his scrutiny, undoubtedly wondering if it was possible to spontaneously combust from the searing heat of it.

  Steering her thoughts back to their conversation, Vina gave a more likely version of what would take place at the ball. “I’m flattered you think so, but I’ll be lucky to squeeze one dance in before I get trampled by the hordes of beautiful women trying to compete for your attention.”

  “So true,” Travis agreed, all arrogance and male swagger. “It might be wise if you reserved the first dance for me. That way, you’re guaranteed at least one whirl around the dance floor before the ballroom babes take notice and start closing in.”

  “How magnanimous of you,” Vina said drily.

  “It’s just one of many fine attributes, I guess.”

  “Magnanimous and modest,” she laughed. “I simply adore that about you, Travis.”

  “As much as I would love to spend more time being adored by you, we should probably head back. I don’t want to be responsible for making you miss curfew.”

  “Funny. I had you pegged as the type of guy who considered it an insult to his manhood if his date made it home before sunrise.”

  “Other women maybe, but not you.”

  Vina stopped abruptly, thoroughly stung by what he’d said and the serious tone in which it had been delivered. “Thanks a lot. I know I’m not exactly in the same league as the women you date, but you could have spared my feelings by pretending I’m worth a few minutes of consideration.”

  Travis blinked. “Worth a few…?”

  He looked utterly mystified, Vina thought resentfully. Obviously, he didn’t have a clue how insulting his comment had been, or how deeply hurt she was by it. The fact that their relationship wasn’t even remotely romantic didn’t have a thing to do with it. It was downright humiliating to be told she held no sexual appeal for him when Travis changed girlfriends more often than most people changed their bed sheets.

  “Ah, hell,” Travis’ muttered oath cut through the veil of indignant anger clouding Vina’s thoughts. “I didn’t mean it the way it sounded. Vina,” he cupped her chin, gently forcing her to look at him, “you completely misunderstood. I was thinking about your sisters and the mess of trouble I’d be in if I kept you out all night.”

  “Oh,” she managed to eek out, feeling foolish for making such a fuss.

  “Look…I don’t claim to be the most sensitive guy around, but I would never do or say anything to purposely hurt you. Do you think you can forgive me for only thinking of my own hide?”

  “If you’ll forgive me for being an emotional train wreck,” Vina offered a wobbly smile.

  “It’s a deal.”

  ***

  “Stop being so squiggly,” Travis admonished.

  “It’s not my fault,” Vina giggled. “You’re tickling me on purpose.”

  A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I am not,” he lied.

  When they’d returned to the bench for their shoes and stockings, Travis had her wait there while he retrieved one of the gym towels he kept in his trunk. Crouching down in front of Vina, he’d taken her small foot in his hand and proceeded to wipe the sand off. That’s when he discovered how ticklish she was and couldn’t resist trailing his finger along the delicate arch.

  Travis stood up to shake the sand particles from the towel and noticed Vina slipping a bare foot into her sandal. “You’d better put your hose back on too. What will your sisters think if you show up with them in your hands?”

  Vina grimaced. “I didn’t think about that. Although…” she pulled her sandal off, “they’d sooner believe the sky was falling than anything bad about you.”

  Travis finished toweling off his own feet and was reaching for his socks when a shapely leg slowly stretched out in front of his face. His eyes followed Vina’s languid movement as she inched the nylon over her toes and guided it up the length of her leg. Biting back a groan of sheer agony, he tortured himself even further by watching her slip on the second nylon.

  Beads of perspiration dotted his forehead as he struggled to control his ragged breathing. He couldn’t remember a time when he’d been so turned on, not even as a hormone-driven teenager when Cissy DiSallis pressed a condom in his hand before Math class one day and told him to pick her up at six. Distracted by vivid images of peeling those stockings back off of Vina, it only vaguely registered that she’d said something until she leaned closer and asked if he was feeling sick.

  “You look a little pale,” she told him, her voice laced with concern.

  That’s because all my blood migrated south. But, of course, he couldn’t say that. “I’m fine,” Travis said, hastily pulling his socks on and shoving his feet into his shoes. He stood up and held out his hand. “Ready to go?”

  Vina tucked her hand into his and let him pull her to her feet. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I think I’ve spent too much time cooped up in my office. All this fresh air seems to have gone to my head.”

  “Maybe you should let me drive.”

  “My Ferrari?” He gaped at Vina in horror. “Have you lost your mind, woman?”

  “My mind is just fine,” she grinned. “I figured that would bring your color back and I was right. Your face is as red as a freshly cooked lobster.”

  “You are a devious woman, Vina Moore.”

  “Not devious enough, apparently, or I would have conned you out of the Ferrari key.”

  “No offense, sweetheart, but I don’t trust anyone with my car.”

  “You mean to tell me you’ve never let any of your girlfriends drive it?"

  "Why the hell would I do that?”

  “I don’t know,” she shrugged, “to get them in the mood.”

  “In the mood for what? The starring role in the next Crash Car Dummies documentary?”

  “That’s not exactly what I had in mind, but I suppose you’re right. Your vacuous vixens all seem to lack that quick response gene.”

  Travis choked on his laughter. Vacuous vixens was an extremely apt description of the type he’d dated in the past. He was still chuckling when he opened the door and helped her in. Life with Vina would never be dull, that was for sure.

  The drive back ended much too soon as far as Travis was concerned, although going back to his place wasn’t an option, and he was glad she didn’t suggest it. More often than not, that’s where they would end up after going to dinner or a movie, but he didn’t trust himself to be alone with her tonight. His emotions were too close to the surface, and Travis was afraid he’d wind up confessing his feelings if they spent any more time together right now.

  Still…that didn’t mean he had to leave without giving Vina something to think about, did it?

  Chapter 5

  Pulling into the mansion’s circular driveway, Travis deliberately parked several feet back from the front entrance so that anyone spying through the peek hole wouldn’t be able to see them. The second floor bedrooms overlooking the driveway were reserv
ed for guests, and he knew all the bedrooms occupied by the girls were in the back of the mansion. That meant the only clear view of him and Vina would be from Victor’s study downstairs, but the windows were darkened so it was unlikely anyone was in the room.

  Maybe it was irrational, but he wanted a private moment with Vina before she went inside and didn’t care to have an audience. Especially since he couldn’t be sure how Vina was going to react.

  Travis was nervous as hell when he got out of the car and came around to the passenger side. His insides were shaking, his nerves raw, and for a moment he questioned whether he was moving too fast. His brothers would have laughed their asses off if they discovered he was balking at giving Vina a simple good-night kiss. God knew how many times over the past several years they had urged him to pursue a relationship with her.

  “What are you waiting for?” his oldest brother, Chase, asked about six months ago.

  “For the right time to present itself,” Travis replied.

  “How exactly will you know when it’s the right time?”

  “I’ll feel it in my gut, Travis told his brother.

  Oh, he had a gut feeling all right. It was similar to the sensation of being kick boxed in the solar plexus half a dozen times. He’d never suffered so much as a nanosecond of self-doubt when approaching a gorgeous model or socialite he hadn’t even met before, yet he lacked the confidence to kiss a woman he’d been in love with for years. It was…pathetic.

  “Get a backbone, man,” Travis mumbled to himself as he opened Vina’s door and helped her out. He shut the door behind her then drew in a deep breath before slipping his arms around her waist.

  Vina’s startled eyes widened. “Travis…wh-what are you doing?”

  What I should have done years ago. True as that was, it would have been a serious tactical error to tell her so. Travis wasn’t backing down though. From here on out, he was going to take advantage of every opportunity to make Vina see him as a man she could lose her heart to.

  “I had a nice time tonight,” he spoke softly.

  “Me t-too,” Vina stammered.

  “Good, because I’d really love to see you again.”

  “Y-you would?”

  “Oh, yeah,” he pulled her closer. “Friday night, eight o’clock?”

  “I c-can’t,” she licked her lips nervously. “Don’t you remember we’re going…that is, my best friend and I are going to the football game.”

  “Kick-off is at two,” Travis kissed the corner of her mouth. “You’ll be home in plenty of time to get ready.” He kissed the other side then drew back just enough to see into her eyes. “Say yes, Vina.”

  “Well, I…I…don’t…”

  “Say yes.”

  “Yes, e-eight will be fine. Travis…”

  He dipped his head, allowing his mouth to hover over hers, and noted with male satisfaction that her pupils were dilated. He could feel the warmth from the tiny gasps of air whispering past Vina’s parted lips and couldn’t help smiling when she croaked out, “Y-you’re not going to kiss me, are you?”

  “Don’t tell me you’ve never been kissed on a first date before?”

  “Yes, of course I have. It’s just that…well, this isn’t real!”

  “Isn’t it?” Travis murmured.

  Seducing women had always come easy for him, and it was a skill he’d honed to perfection over the years. It didn’t matter who the woman was or how well he knew her; instinctively, Travis knew which practiced strategy or subtle touch would penetrate her resistance. But there was nothing contrived about the way he kissed Vina. It didn’t even occur to him to try. What he felt for her was real and Travis wasn’t about to tarnish that with slick maneuvers.

  Slowly tracing Vina’s lips with the tip of his tongue provided Travis with his first honeyed taste of her. It was sweeter than anything he could ever have imagined. He took his time, the leisurely pillaging of Vina’s mouth enticing a series of soft, husky moans from deep in her throat. Travis ached for her surrender, but he could feel the hesitancy in her kisses despite the fact her body was responding with violent tremors.

  Vina’s hands were pressed against his chest, the heat from her palms seeping through the thin material of his shirt and driving him half mad with desire. Angling his head, Travis deepened the kiss, possessing her mouth as if he was dying of starvation and she was a Thanksgiving feast. Gradually, her hands inched up to his shoulders and around his neck, allowing their bodies full frontal contact. It was like tossing a match into a keg of gunpowder.

  Travis crushed her to him, groaning when Vina’s soft, feminine curves conformed to his body as if she had been designed specifically for him. Passion flared between them; crackling like a live wire and fueling an unbridled response from the amazing woman in his arms. She kissed him with wild abandon, her slender hips slowly moving from side to side in an erotic dance of seduction. His heart was pounding at a furious pace, and he was so aroused by Vina’s frantic kisses it was almost painful.

  Never in his wildest fantasies had he imagined she would be so responsive. On occasion, Vina confided in him about her dates with other men; sometimes laughing at their bumbling attempts to kiss her, sometimes cringing because they kissed like a damp mop or tried to snake their tongue half-way down her throat. She’d always seemed so…unaffected, but that certainly wasn’t the case right now.

  Travis seriously considered asking her to get back in the car and go home with him. He pictured her lying back on his bed, her glorious mane of hair splayed across his pillow as she welcomed him into her arms. The thought of making love to Vina all night long sent a battery of emotions charging through him; lust, longing…love. He wanted to give her everything, to share the part of him that he’d never been willing or capable of sharing with other women.

  Gentling his kisses by degrees, their heated encounter eventually gave way to something infinitely more controllable. Murmuring her name, Travis abandoned her lips to explore the delicate line of her jaw. He nibbled on her earlobe, smiling to himself when Vina drew in a sharp breath as he slowly worked his way down the curve of her neck and back up again. He wanted her more than he’d ever wanted anyone, more than his next breath, his next heartbeat.

  “My God,” he whispered hoarsely, “do you have any idea what you’re doing to me?”

  Vina jerked her head back, a wide-eyed look of horror on her face. “Oh! Oh, Travis…what have I done? I never should have kissed you like that! You have to forgive me, you just have to! Oh God,” she groaned, “tell me I haven’t jeopardized our friendship.”

  “No…yes…I mean…” What did he mean? After the way she’d just kissed him, the last thing Travis expected was an apology!

  “Travis, please, please forgive me. I don’t know what possessed me to act that way, but I swear it won’t happen again. I’m so embarrassed, I could just die,” Vina cried, color flaming in her cheeks.

  “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. I kissed you first, remember?”

  “Yes, but you were just playing the part, and I…well, I threw myself at you and behaved like a…a…sex starved maniac!”

  His lips curved into a wolfish grin. “Are you a sex starved maniac?”

  “Please don’t make fun of me,” she wailed. “I’ve never done anything like that in my entire life, and if I could undo it, I would.”

  “Why?”

  Vina blinked. “Why have I never done it before? I should think that’s obvious.”

  “No, I meant, why would you undo it?”

  “Because I…we…that is, you and I are friends, and I don’t want you to think that I have…you know, those kinds of feelings for you.”

  “Those kinds?”

  “Oh, you’re being just horrid about this,” Vina snapped. “You know what I mean. Obviously, you think it’s funny that I threw myself at you.”

  “You didn’t throw yourself at me, Vina.”

  “No, I just morphed into a limpet and plastered myself to you, that’s all! I
’m sorry. I don’t know what more to say.”

  “Well, I’m not sorry,” he said.

  “Of course, you’re not,” she replied tersely, pulling away from him. “Your male ego is no doubt bolstered by the idea I couldn’t control myself and was only seconds away from…” Vina clamped her mouth her shut and looked away, her blush deepening to a furious red.

  “Seconds away from what?” he asked.

  “Nothing. Look, Travis, I think it would be best if we both forgot this ever happened.”

  “Easier said than done, sweetheart. I can still taste you…”

  “Stop! I don’t want to talk about it anymore. If you can’t forgive me for crossing the line and move on from here then I…I have no one to blame but myself.” She tilted her head back and met his gaze, the shimmer of tears in her eyes nearly gutting him. “If you don’t want to go to Venice with me, I-I’ll understand,” she choked out, then whirled around and fled towards the mansion.