VINA IN VENICE (THE 5 SISTERS) (22 page)

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 enough 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
w
ould 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 rum
p
led 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
, justif
iable 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.
 

In his heart, he knew it
was hopeless.  He’d made such a mess of things and saw no way out of it except to confess what he’d done and pray she forgave him some day. 
Drawing in a deep breath, Travis rose to his feet
and went in search of the mystery woman.  He had no idea what he was going to say to her.  How do you explain to someone you had sex with that you ha
ve
n
o memory of meeting her, let alon
e
sleeping with her?

Feeling like the dog that he was, Travis followed the scent of freshly brewed coffee to the kitchen.  Pausing in the doorway, he could hear her moving around the small room, although he couldn’t see her.  The thought of sitting down at the table with her to discuss what happened the night before made his stomach knot.  He’d be lucky if she didn’t crack him over the head with the coffee pot.

Knowing he couldn’t stall any longer
,
Travis stepped inside, his heart thudding heavily when he saw Vina propped against the counter, sipping a cup of coffee.  She was wearing a silk robe but it was sheer enough to see the outline of a short nightie beneath.  Her hair looked tousled and there were dark circles under her eyes; a tell-tale sign that she hadn’t gotten much sleep. 
What had he done?

“So you finally woke up,” Vina said when she spied him standing there.

“Smells good,” he nodded to her cup.  “Mind if I grab a cup?”

“Help yourself.  I’m sure you could use it after the night you had.”

Feeling guilty as hell,
Travis stole a
quick
look at her before reaching for the coffee pot and pouring himself a cup of coffee.  “Vina…about last night…”

“
I don’t want to hear your lame explanations,” she said coolly.  “What you did was inexcusable.  I hardly got any sleep at all because of you.  I have a rug burn on my
thigh, a bruise on my hip,
and blood shot eyes
.  You should be ashamed of yourself for stumbling in here drunk.”  She set her cup down with a heavy sigh.  “The only reason I’m not furious with you right now is because my behavior wasn’t much better.  I
never
should have let it go as far as it did.”

Travis mumbled an apology
, staring blankly into his cup.  How could he tell her that he didn’t remember how he’d gotten from the bar to her suite?  And based on what she’d told him, they must have had sex on the carpet before moving to the bedroom.  Should he apologize for being so rough that she’d gotten a rug burn?  And what had
he done to cause a bruised hip?  Judging by how drawn she looked, they’d been at it for a good part of the night. 
How could he forg
e
t something like that?

“
Vina, I…I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but I’m asking for it anyway.”

“I’m not entirely blameless,” she admitted.  “
And a
s long as you promise never to do anything like that again, I see no reason why we can’t put it behind us and forget it ever happened.
”

“I promise,” Travis forced the words out.  He owed her that for the way he’d treated her, but it didn’t stop the pain from clawing at his chest or the
gnawing
fear that he had lost her forever.
 

Chapter 11

Vina didn’t say anything right away.  She was too busy trying to figure out why she felt guilty for letting Travis know how much his behavior had upset her.  It was his eyes, she decided.  He looked
…
crushed
, as if she’d
cut him to the quick with some
horribly
cruel remark.
 
It made her heart ache because
Travis Malone was
not
the type of
man to openly display his emotions
.

Still, she couldn’t just let him off the hook, not after the jealous routine and then the disappearing act he’d pulled last night.
  But
Vina
didn’t want to make him feel worse than he
already
did either.
  So Travis had bailed out of their relationship before it
got serious.  It hurt, but it didn’t exactly come as a surprise. 

With her own emotions so unstable right now, it w
ould be
impossible to
pretend everything was back to normal
.  She wasn’t even sure either of them was capable of forgetting what had happened…or nearly happened between them.  The only thing
Vina
was
sure of was that
she wasn’t strong enough to let Travis go yet.  Somehow, she had to convince him she wasn’t dying inside and
restore
the peace so they
weren’t constantly
snapping at each other.

“I’m sorry for being such a shrew,” she said with a tentative smile.  “What happened last night was regrettable, but it’s over and done so there’s no need to dwell on it.  This is our first day in Venice and I don’t
want to
spend it
arguing.  Besides, you know I can never stay mad at you.”

“I’m surprised you’re even talking to me,” Travis shook his head ruefully. 

“It’s not that big of a deal.  Honest. 
I
’m just irritable because my muscles are stiff.  I ache in places I didn’t even know I had, but I’m sure I’ll feel better after I take a few aspirin and a nice hot shower.”

Travis grimaced.  “Vina, I don’t know what to say except I’
m sorry.”

“I’m sorry too,” she said with
a
wistful sigh.  She was sorry for everything that happened after they arrived at the Palazzo
, especi
ally the discovery that Travis had changed his mind about pursuing a relationship with her.  Vina tried to convince herself it was a good thing. 
As it was, the dull ache in her chest was a constant reminder of his rejection.  How much worse would it be if
she
had
fallen hopelessly in love with him
?

Pasting on a smile, Vina emptied her cup in the sink and set it on the counter.  “Let’s go to breakfast, I’m starving.  Afterwards, we can explore the city and stop at some costume shops and buy something for the masquerade ball.”

“You’re sure you want to spend the day with me?”

“Of course I’m sure.  Just because we discovered we weren’t compatible as a couple doesn’t mean we can’t still be friends, does it?” 

Vina held her breath, silently praying he would deny it, that he would take her in his arms and
say his desire to make love to her was as strong as ever.  Her heart did a wild flip when Travis moved towards her, then plummeted to the ground when he set his cup
on
the
counter
next to hers
and
stuffed his hands in his pockets.

“You’re right.  There’s no reason we can’t still be friends.  I’ll go back to my suite and change and meet you back here in thirty minutes.”

She nodded mutely then turned and fled to the bedroom before he could see how deeply he’d wounded her.

***

Travis
watched Vina scurry from the room as if she couldn’t get away from him fast enough. 
It sliced right through him,
sharp as a butcher’s knife,
but then he’d earned
the pain he was
suffering
, hadn’t he?
  Everything he’d done so far had gone wrong.  To make matters worse, Vina’s sexual experience with him last night
apparently
left something to be desired.  His performance had
been so awful, in fact, that Vina had reinstated his status as merely a
friend
to insure
there would be no encore
.

He wanted to go to her, to apologize again and beg her to give him the chance to prove he could make it good for her.  If only he could remember what he’d done to make her flee like a frightened rabbit.  Had he forced himself on her?  Was that how Vina’s hip had gotten bruised?  The thought that he could do that to any woman, let alone someone as kind and gentle as Vina, filled him with disgust and self-loathing. 

Only her proclamation that they could still be friends gave Travis some assurance he hadn’t taken Vina against her will.  Surely if he’d gotten that aggressive, she wouldn’t want anything at all to do with him. 
They would have to talk about it sooner or later, but now was not the time.  He needed to prove she could trust him first, which meant he had to guard against doing anything even remotely sexual, and that included kissing her.

His steps were sluggish as he headed for the door
and noted
with a wry grin that his card key was lying on the floor
where it
must have dropped when he and Vina
were…were doing what?  Travis leaned down
and
scoop
ed
the card up
.  He stood there for several minutes, motionless except for the heavy rise and fall of his chest.  A
vivid memory of Vina
lying
beneath him on the rug
played in front of his eyes
, her dark hair splayed around her head as she gazed up at him
with
kiss swollen
lips
.