Stranded With My Colleague and Only One Bed

The scent of old paper and brine filled the small, circular room of the lighthouse keeper’s quarters. I ran a gloved finger down the spine of a leather-bound logbook, the date—1888—embossed in faded gold leaf. Each entry was a tiny, perfect piece of a puzzle, a life lived on this isolated rock, and I was determined to preserve every detail with the reverence it deserved. My system was flawless: document, photograph, and carefully place each item in its archival box.

A loud, jarring creak of wood splintered the quiet. I looked up, my focus broken. Across the room, Leo Reyes had an antique writing desk hoisted onto his shoulder, testing the integrity of its joints with a casual grunt. He was the structural specialist on this project, the brawn to my archival brain, and he seemed to take a particular delight in manhandling history.

“Do you have to be so… aggressive?” I asked, my voice sharper than I intended. “That desk has survived over a hundred winters. I doubt it appreciates being treated like a piece of gym equipment.”

Leo set the desk down with a thud that made the floorboards vibrate. He turned, wiping a sheen of sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. His gray t-shirt was already damp, clinging to the solid lines of his chest and shoulders. A slow, infuriatingly charming grin spread across his face.

“Just doing my job, Dr. Vance,” he said, his voice a low rumble that seemed to fill the room. “Making sure it won’t collapse if someone, say, leans on it too heavily while poring over some dusty old books.”

My jaw tightened. “The proper term is ‘archival research,’ and I don’t ‘pore.’ I study.”

“Right. Study.” He picked up a small, three-legged stool, turning it over in his large hands. His approach was so tactile, so immediate. He learned about things by touching them, testing their limits. I learned by reading their stories, by understanding their context. We were oil and water. Or, more accurately, a carefully preserved manuscript and a sledgehammer.

“This one’s solid,” he declared, giving the stool a confident rap with his knuckles. “Probably last another century.” He glanced over at my meticulously organized table. “Find out who the keeper was sleeping with yet?”

Heat bloomed on my cheeks. “I’m documenting shipping manifests and weather patterns, Leo. Not reading his diary.”

“Shame,” he said, his eyes twinkling with amusement. “That’s where the real history is.” He moved on to the large four-poster bed that dominated the adjoining room, its dark wood frame nearly touching the ceiling. He placed a hand on one of the posts and gave it a firm shake. The entire structure groaned in protest. I winced, my entire body tensing as if he were shaking me.

“Careful,” I said, unable to stop myself.

Leo looked back at me, his hand still resting on the bedpost. The grin was gone, replaced by something more serious, more direct. “Don’t worry, Clara. I know how to handle old things.” His gaze held mine for a second too long, and the air between us grew heavy, thick with the unspoken friction that had been simmering since we’d first stepped off the ferry.

The moment was broken by a sudden crackle of static from a small weather radio tucked on a shelf near the door. We both startled, the tension snapping. A tinny, urgent voice cut through the static.

“…upgraded to a severe nor’easter warning for all coastal islands. Winds expected to reach sixty knots. All ferry services are cancelled effective immediately and will remain suspended for a minimum of forty-eight hours…”

The voice continued with details about rainfall and storm surges, but the words blurred into a dull roar in my ears. Forty-eight hours. Two days. Stranded. Here. With him.

I looked out the thick, salt-stained glass of the window. The sky, which had been a moody gray just an hour ago, was now a bruised, churning purple. The wind was no longer just a breeze; it was a physical presence, beginning to howl around the stone tower with a mournful, rising pitch.

“Well,” Leo said, his voice unnervingly calm. “That’s not ideal.” He walked to the window, peering out at the sea. The waves were already capped with angry white foam. “We should check the storm shutters.”

My mind, however, was stuck on a far more immediate and terrifying problem. I did a quick mental inventory of the keeper’s quarters. This main room, filled with artifacts and a desk. A tiny galley kitchen with a two-burner stove and a small stock of non-perishables we’d brought with us—enough for a few days, if we were careful. One small, damp bathroom. And…

My eyes were drawn, as if by some horrible magnetic force, to the open doorway of the adjoining room. The room with the bed. The one bed.

My heart began to pound a frantic, heavy rhythm against my ribs. It wasn't possible. There had to be another option. A cot. A spare mattress. Anything.

“The sofa,” I said aloud, my voice sounding thin and desperate. I turned to the lumpy, faded floral settee pushed against the far wall. It looked like it had been here since the lighthouse was built, and smelled faintly of dust and regret.

Leo followed my gaze and a small, humorless smile touched his lips. “You can try it,” he offered. “But I checked it earlier. The springs are shot. You’d be sleeping on a pile of rusty metal and horsehair.”

A cold dread washed over me, more chilling than the wind outside. We were a team of two, sent to a remote historical site for a three-day cataloging project. The historical society had assured us the keeper’s quarters were ‘rustic but habitable.’ They had failed to mention that ‘habitable’ meant a single bedroom. The assumption, clearly, was that we would take the ferry back to our separate motel rooms on the mainland each night.

I walked slowly toward the bedroom doorway, my feet feeling like lead. I stood on the threshold, staring. The four-poster bed that Leo had shaken just moments ago now seemed to fill the entire space, a monstrous, unavoidable fact. It was huge, dark, and intimately, terrifyingly singular. One mattress. One set of pillows. One heavy quilt. For two people. For two nights.

I could feel Leo come to a stop just behind me, his presence radiating a heat that prickled the skin on my neck. The room suddenly felt impossibly small, the air thick and hard to breathe. The storm raged outside, but in here, the silence was deafening, charged with the horrifying, unspoken reality of our situation.

“I’ll take the sofa,” I announced, the words coming out in a rush. I turned away from the damning sight of the bed and marched toward the floral settee with a conviction I didn't feel. “It’s perfectly fine.”

Leo leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms over his broad chest. The movement pulled the fabric of his shirt taut, and I forced my eyes away. A hint of amusement played on his lips. “Be my guest.”

I sat down stiffly on the edge of the cushion. It sank alarmingly. Undeterred, I swung my legs up and stretched out, my head landing on a lumpy armrest. The fabric was scratchy against my cheek, and a spring immediately dug into my lower back with pointed aggression. I shifted, and another spring jabbed my hip. It was hopeless. It was a medieval torture device disguised as furniture. After a full minute of silent, pained wriggling, I surrendered, sitting up with a sigh of defeat.

Leo didn't say ‘I told you so.’ He just pushed off the doorframe and fished a quarter from his pocket. “Okay,” he said, his tone practical. “Let’s be civilized. We flip for it. Winner gets the bed, loser gets the floor and all the blankets.”

He flicked the coin high into the air. It spun, catching the dim light, before he caught it and slapped it onto the back of his hand. “Call it.”

My throat was dry. This felt monumentally stupid and far too important. “Heads,” I whispered.

He lifted his hand. The stern face of George Washington stared up at us. My heart sank. I had won. Which meant Leo, all six-plus feet of him, would be sleeping on the cold, drafty floorboards. I pictured him curled up, shivering, while I was comfortable in that enormous bed. I couldn’t do it. The image was just… wrong.

“It’s ridiculous,” I said, shaking my head. “The bed is huge. It’s bigger than my first apartment. We can… divide it.”

Leo’s eyebrows shot up. He seemed genuinely surprised by my suggestion. “Divide it?”

“Yes,” I said, gaining momentum as I mapped out the logistics in my head. My need for order was kicking in, a welcome defense against the overwhelming awkwardness. “We establish rules. Strict rules.” I started pacing, ticking points off on my fingers. “First, we create a physical barrier. A line of demarcation. Second, we stick to our designated sides. No crossing the line. At all. Third, we get in and out of bed on our own side. No exceptions. Fourth… no talking.”

Leo watched me, a slow grin spreading across his face. He seemed more entertained than anything else. “A pillow wall? Are you serious?”

“Completely.” I stopped pacing and met his gaze, daring him to challenge me. “It’s the only logical solution.”

For a long moment, he just looked at me. The howling of the wind outside filled the silence. Then, he gave a single, sharp nod. “Okay, Dr. Vance. Let’s build your wall.”

The process was a silent, formal affair. He gathered the four large, fluffy pillows from the headboard while I grabbed the decorative cushions from the settee. We met at the bed and, without a word, began lining them up down the exact center of the mattress, creating a formidable, lumpy ridge that ran from head to foot. When we were done, we both took a step back to survey our work. The grand, antique bed now looked utterly absurd, bisected by our wall of mutual unease. The storm could rage all it wanted; in here, we had created our own quiet, tense border.

After a stilted “goodnight” that neither of us meant, we had retreated to our respective sides. The choreography of getting into bed had been a masterpiece of awkward avoidance. I had slipped under the covers on my side, my back pressed firmly against the lumpy spine of the pillow wall. I heard Leo do the same on his side, the old bed frame groaning under his weight, the mattress dipping significantly. For a moment, I felt my own side tilt toward the center, and I had to brace myself to keep from rolling into the barrier.

Lying there in the suffocating darkness, every sound was amplified. The wind was no longer just howling; it was screaming, a physical force that rattled the thick windowpanes in their frames. Rain lashed against the glass in sharp, angry bursts. The entire stone tower seemed to groan around us, a deep, ancient sound of protest against the storm. My own breathing sounded harsh and loud in my ears, my heart hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs. I was certain he could hear it.

I was a notoriously light sleeper, and this situation was my personal hell. I was acutely aware of everything. The scratch of the wool blanket against my chin. The faint, musty smell of the old mattress. And him. I was overwhelmingly aware of Leo. He was just inches away, a solid, warm presence on the other side of the pillows. I could feel the heat radiating from his body, a subtle warmth that seeped through the barrier between us. He shifted, and the rustle of the sheets was like a gunshot in the quiet room. The mattress swayed again. I squeezed my eyes shut, my entire body rigid with tension. This was impossible. Sleep would be impossible.

He let out a long, slow sigh. It was not a sound of frustration, but of release, the sound of a body surrendering to rest. I held my breath, listening. After a moment, I heard the change. His breathing settled into a deep, even rhythm. Inhale. Exhale. A slow, steady cadence that was the complete opposite of the violent, chaotic symphony of the storm outside.

I focused on it, desperate for anything to distract me from my own racing thoughts. The sound was low and consistent, a quiet anchor in the roaring darkness. While the wind shrieked and the rain beat against the lighthouse, Leo’s breathing continued, unbothered and peaceful. In and out. Steady. There. It was the only calm thing in the entire world, it seemed. Against all my expectations, the tension in my shoulders began to loosen its grip. The frantic pounding in my chest slowed, my own breathing subconsciously starting to fall into sync with his. The pillow wall still stood between us, a ridiculous monument to our awkwardness, but for the first time, I felt a fragile sense of peace begin to settle over me, lulled by the simple, vital sound of the man sleeping beside me.

I must have drifted into some shallow layer of sleep, my mind still tethered to the sound of the storm and the steady rhythm of Leo’s breathing. I was somewhere in between, floating in a grey space where the world was muted.

Then the world exploded.

A deafening crack of thunder sounded directly overhead, so loud and violent it felt like the sky itself had split apart. It wasn't a rumble; it was a percussive blast that shook the stone walls. A simultaneous flash of lightning bleached the room white for a split second, etching the silhouette of the window frame onto the back of my eyelids.

My body reacted before my mind could. I jolted, a full-body spasm of pure reflex, my legs kicking out from under the heavy quilt. My left foot shot past the soft barrier of the pillows and slammed into something solid. Something warm. Something undeniably human.

Skin on skin. The arch of my bare foot pressed against the hard muscle of his calf. A shock, sharp and immediate, shot up my leg, a current of pure heat that made every nerve ending from my toes to my scalp ignite. His skin was so warm, covered in a light rasp of hair that prickled against my own. He was completely still for a fraction of a second, and then I felt his muscles tense under my touch.

He was awake.

I snatched my foot back as if I’d touched a live wire, my heart hammering against my ribs so hard it hurt. The cold air of the room felt icy against my suddenly burning skin.

“Sorry,” I breathed into the darkness, my voice a mortified whisper.

“It’s okay,” he murmured back, his voice low and thick with sleep, or something else. “I’m sorry.” His apology made no sense, but I understood it. An apology for being there, for being touched, for the entire impossible situation.

We both fell silent, retreating to our respective sides. The pillow wall might as well have been vapor. The memory of the contact was branded onto my skin, a phantom warmth that pulsed with my own frantic heartbeat. I could still feel the exact shape of his leg against my foot, the solid strength of it. I curled my toes, trying to dispel the sensation, but it only seemed to intensify it.

The darkness was no longer empty. It was filled with him. I was aware of the precise location of his body, the length of his limbs, the space he occupied. I could almost feel the heat of him across the small distance, a tangible presence in the air. The storm continued to rage outside, but its fury was nothing compared to the quiet, charged stillness that had descended inside the room, in the space between two strangers lying inches apart in a single bed, suddenly aware of what it felt like to touch.

The silence stretched, thick and heavy. I lay perfectly still, my body a rigid line on my side of the bed. I was waiting for him to fall back asleep, for his breathing to even out again, but it never happened. I could feel his wakefulness. It was a palpable thing, a quiet energy humming in the space between us. The storm outside seemed to have settled into a steady, percussive drumming of rain, the earlier violence having passed.

"I can't sleep," Leo's voice came out of the darkness, low and quiet. It startled me, even though I'd been expecting it. It wasn't the teasing voice I was used to; it was softer, more subdued.

I didn't answer right away, not sure what to say.

"My grandfather loved storms like this," he continued, his voice a deep vibration that seemed to travel through the mattress. "He was a fisherman out of Gloucester. Said a good nor'easter scoured everything clean. The air, the sea, a man's head."

I turned my head slightly on my pillow, facing the lumpy barrier. I couldn't see him, but I could picture him lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling.

"He used to take me out on his boat after the worst of it passed. The water would be this incredible color, a kind of slate grey, but the light would be breaking through the clouds... it was the most peaceful thing you've ever seen." He paused. "He said you couldn't appreciate the calm without knowing the storm."

I was completely still, listening. This was a side of Leo I hadn't imagined. The man who cataloged artifacts with a casual disregard for my filing system, who made jokes about everything, was sharing something real. Something quiet and personal. The story wasn't for show; it felt like a genuine memory, offered up into the darkness between us. The vulnerability in his tone was disarming. It made the tension from our accidental touch shift into something else, something less sharp and more… curious.

"I don't like storms," I heard myself say, the words quiet but clear in the room. "Not on the water."

He was silent for a moment, letting me speak.

"My parents had a sailboat when I was a kid," I explained, my voice barely above a whisper. "We were out on the Sound and a squall came up out of nowhere. The sky went black. The wind… it was like a physical thing, just hitting you. I remember my dad fighting with the wheel, and my mom's face. She was trying so hard not to look scared, for my sake. But I saw it." I stopped, the memory still vivid. The feeling of the boat tipping, the cold spray, the sheer helplessness. "I've hated being on the water in bad weather ever since."

I had never told anyone that. Not with that much detail. It felt strange to admit it now, to him, in this bed.

"That makes sense," Leo said, his voice still low and steady. It was a simple validation, but it landed in my chest with a surprising warmth. He didn't mock it or try to explain it away. He just accepted it.

The conversation settled into a comfortable quiet. The pillow wall was still there, a physical fact, but it felt irrelevant now. He had shared a piece of his past, and I had shared a piece of my fear. The professional facades we maintained, the playful antagonism—it all felt thin and distant. In the dark, surrounded by the sound of the rain, we were just two people. And for the first time, I wasn't thinking about how to get through the night. I was just… there with him. And it felt strangely okay.

The light that woke me was grey and thin, filtered through the rain-streaked glass of the bedroom window. The storm had lost its fury, settling into a persistent, dreary drizzle. For a moment, I forgot where I was. Then I felt the strange lumpiness of the mattress and smelled the faint scent of salt and old wood. I was still in the lighthouse keeper’s bed. And Leo was still here.

I turned my head slowly. The pillow wall was slightly deflated, but intact. Beyond it, he was a long, still shape under the quilt. His breathing was even and deep, the same steady rhythm that had eventually pulled me into sleep. The memory of our late-night conversation, of his voice in the dark sharing a piece of his childhood, of my own whispered confession, felt both intensely real and dreamlike in the morning light. The awkwardness I had anticipated was gone, replaced by a quiet sort of curiosity.

I slipped out of bed, my feet silent on the cold floorboards. In the tiny kitchen, I splashed water on my face at the rust-stained sink, the chill of it a welcome shock. A few minutes later, Leo appeared in the doorway, his hair a mess and his eyes still heavy with sleep. He wore the same t-shirt and flannel pants from the night before. He looked at me, and for a beat, neither of us spoke. The usual morning pleasantries, the easy jokes he would normally make, didn't come. The space between us was filled with the memory of the night.

“Coffee?” he asked, his voice lower than usual.

I just nodded.

He moved past me to the counter, our arms brushing as he did. Neither of us flinched or apologized. The contact was just a fact, a simple consequence of sharing a small space. He found the old metal percolator and, with a surprising efficiency, measured out grounds from the small tin we’d found. I watched his hands as he worked. They were strong and capable, the movements sure. The quiet sounds—the scrape of the scoop, the click of the lid, the soft hiss as the pot went on the stove—were the only things breaking the silence.

When it was ready, he poured the dark liquid into two chipped ceramic mugs. He handed one to me, his fingers grazing mine. The coffee was strong and hot, and better than I expected. We stood by the window, sipping from our mugs and looking out at the churning grey sea. The truce was unspoken but absolute. The banter was gone.

“We should check for damage,” I said, finally.

“Good idea,” he agreed.

We spent the next hour moving through the lighthouse, our work a silent, coordinated dance. I made notes in my logbook while he tested window latches and checked the seals on the lantern room glass. We worked closer than we had the day before, standing shoulder-to-shoulder as we examined a draft coming from a stone seam. The physical space between us had collapsed from an awkward chasm to mere inches. I was constantly aware of him, of the warmth of his body next to mine, the scent of his skin and the coffee on his breath. And he was aware of me. I could feel it in the careful way he moved, the way his eyes would meet mine for a fraction of a second longer than necessary. The storm had stranded us, but it had also washed away our pretenses, leaving something new and uncertain in their place.

With the lighthouse secured, the relentless rain drove them back inside, confining them to the small sitting room. The silence, which had been comfortable in the kitchen, now felt heavy with unspoken things. Leo, restless, began to methodically inspect the old roll-top desk in the corner, his fingers tracing the wood grain before testing each small drawer.

“Everything seems to be in order here,” he said, his voice echoing slightly in the quiet room. He pulled at the bottom drawer, but it only came out a few inches before stopping hard. He frowned, jiggling it gently. “Stuck.”

He knelt, peering into the gap. After a moment of careful manipulation, there was a soft click, and he slid the drawer all the way out. Reaching into the dark cavity, his fingers closed around a small, rectangular object. He placed it on the desk. It was a simple wooden box, worn smooth with time. There was no lock.

I moved to stand beside him as he lifted the lid. Inside, nestled on faded velvet, was a stack of letters tied with a brittle piece of twine. The paper was yellowed and fragile, covered in an elegant, looping script.

“The keeper’s, you think?” Leo asked, his voice hushed with a sort of reverence.

“It has to be,” I whispered, leaning closer. The top envelope was addressed to a ‘Miss Elspeth Finch.’

We looked at each other. Reading them felt like a profound invasion of privacy, yet leaving them unread felt like ignoring a piece of the history we were here to preserve. The air between us crackled with the question.

“We could just read one,” Leo suggested, his eyes holding mine. It wasn’t a challenge, but an invitation.

We ended up on the lumpy sofa, the box between us. He untied the twine with painstaking care and handed the first letter to me. I unfolded it, the paper threatening to crumble under my touch.

“‘My Dearest Elspeth,’” I began, my voice feeling too loud in the room. “‘Another week has passed. The storm last night was a fury, and in the roar of the wind, I confess I imagined I could hear your voice calling to me across the waves. The light turns, constant and true, and it is my only comfort, for I know you watch for it from your window on the shore. It is our unbreakable thread.’”

I finished and passed the letter to him. He took it, his fingers brushing mine, and picked up the next one. His voice was a low, steady rumble as he read. “‘I received your parcel. The scent of the lavender you enclosed filled my small quarters, and for a moment, you were here with me. I am a foolish man, to be so undone by the scent of a flower, but it is your flower.’”

We continued like that for over an hour, taking turns, our shoulders eventually pressing together as we leaned in to see the faded words. The letters painted a story of deep, abiding love, of a man’s profound loneliness tempered by an unshakeable devotion. He wrote of the sea, the birds, the mechanics of the light, but always, every line circled back to her. His longing was a physical presence in the room, a century-old ache that felt startlingly current.

The sound of Leo’s voice reading about his desire to hold Elspeth, to feel her breath against his neck, made my own skin prickle with heat. I was intensely aware of his thigh pressed against mine, of the way his scent—salt, soap, and something uniquely him—filled the space between us. When it was my turn to read, I felt his gaze on my face, and the words of love and intimacy felt like a confession falling from my own lips. The keeper’s romance was no longer just a story; it had become the atmosphere, a heavy, charged current flowing directly between Leo and me, leaving us both breathless in the silence that followed the final page.

We sat in the quiet for a long time after the last letter was read. The keeper’s words, full of a longing so potent it felt alive, seemed to have soaked into the very fabric of the furniture. Finally, Leo carefully retied the brittle twine and placed the bundle back into its wooden box, closing the lid with a soft finality. He didn't look at me, but I felt his awareness of me as a palpable force.

Dinner was a silent affair, consisting of canned soup heated on the stove. We ate at the small kitchen table, the storm’s persistent drizzle a soft drumming against the roof. Every scrape of a spoon against ceramic sounded unnaturally loud. I found myself watching the movement of his throat as he swallowed, the way his fingers curled around his mug of water. The intimate details of the letters had made me see him differently, not as a colleague, but as a man, and the air was heavy with that new knowledge.

When it was finally time to face the bedroom again, the tension was of a completely different sort. It wasn't awkwardness anymore; it was anticipation. I changed into my pajamas in the tiny bathroom, my own reflection in the spotted mirror looking back at me with wide, questioning eyes. When I came out, Leo was already standing by the bed, the single lamp casting long shadows across the room. He had already pulled back the covers on his side, the formidable pillow wall from the night before looking almost comical in the charged silence.

He looked up as I entered, and his gaze held mine. There was no pretense, no looking away.

“Well,” he said, a slow smile touching the corners of his mouth. “The Great Wall of Clara held up against the gale. Impressive structural integrity.”

A genuine laugh escaped my lips, startling me. The sound was warm and real in the small room. My heart gave a hard thump against my ribs. “It did its job,” I agreed, moving toward my side of the bed. I stopped, my hand hovering over the quilt. “I am, however, concerned about proper ventilation. All that down could restrict airflow.”

His smile widened, reaching his eyes. They were dark and intense in the lamplight. He understood perfectly. “A valid concern. You think we should compromise its defenses? For safety, of course.”

“I think it’s the responsible thing to do,” I said, my voice barely more than a whisper.

He didn't hesitate. Leaning over, he reached into the center of the barrier and plucked out the topmost pillow. He tossed it onto the armchair in the corner. Then he took another, his movements deliberate and slow. The wall was now just a low ridge, a suggestion of a boundary rather than a real one. The space it opened up between our sides of the bed seemed vast and terrifying and absolutely necessary.

He held my gaze as I finally slipped under the covers. He got in on his side, and we lay there, the diminished barrier between us. The air felt thin, electric. We had made no promises, had not touched, but with the removal of two pillows, we had made a clear and mutual decision. The storm outside was ending, but a new one was just beginning to build inside the lighthouse walls.

I lay on my side, facing him. He did the same, his head propped on his hand, the low pillow ridge the only thing separating us. Outside, the wind had gentled to a mournful sigh, and the rain was a soft, rhythmic patter on the glass. The rage of the storm had passed, leaving behind a profound quiet that filled the room and settled between us. In the dim light filtering from the lantern room above, I could see the flecks of gold in his brown eyes, the faint shadow of stubble along his jaw.

“I was wrong about you,” he said, his voice a low murmur that didn't disturb the stillness.

My heart gave a slow, heavy beat. “How so?”

“I thought you were all rules and regulations. All books, no feeling. The kind of person who sees history as a set of dates and facts to be filed away.” He paused, his gaze unwavering. “But hearing you read those letters… you felt them. You understood what he was trying to say.”

I swallowed, the admission warming me from the inside out. “I was wrong about you, too,” I confessed. “I thought you were… careless. That you saw this place as just another job, a bunch of old wood and stone to patch up before moving on.”

A faint smile touched his lips. “And now?”

“Now I think you see the stories in the wood and stone,” I said softly. “Like with your grandfather.”

His expression softened. “He would have loved this place. He used to say that old things—boats, houses, tools—they hold memories. That if you’re quiet enough, you can feel them.” He shifted, the mattress dipping with his weight. We were closer now, the heat from his body reaching across the small barrier. “My last girlfriend hated it. She said I lived in the past. That I smelled like sawdust and salt.”

The confession hung in the air, a small, vulnerable offering. I felt compelled to offer one of my own. “My last boyfriend said I was married to dead people. He wanted me to get a ‘real job’ in marketing.”

Leo’s brow furrowed. “He was an idiot.”

“He was,” I agreed, a genuine smile finding my lips. “We both were, for staying as long as we did.”

The understanding that passed between us was immediate and absolute. We were two people who had been made to feel that the things we were most passionate about were flaws. Here, in this strange isolation, those perceived flaws were what connected us. The friction between us hadn't been a clash of personalities; it had been the scrape of two people with similar wounds, guarding the same fragile parts of themselves.

He looked at me, his eyes searching my face, and the air grew thick with everything we weren't saying. My entire body was focused on the few inches of space between us. I could feel the warmth radiating from his skin, smell the clean scent of soap and the faint, lingering salt from the sea air. My own breathing was shallow, every nerve ending awake and aware. The pillow between us felt like a ridiculous, childish gesture. All I could think about was the texture of his skin, the feeling of his hand, the taste of his mouth. The keeper had written of his longing, a fire in his veins that the ocean couldn't cool. For the first time, I knew exactly what he meant.

Leo’s hand lifted from the mattress. It moved through the space between us, slow and deliberate, and my breath caught in my throat. I watched it come closer, his long fingers slightly curled, his knuckles marked with faint, pale scars from his work. My entire world narrowed to that hand, to the clear intention in his eyes. It was a question, offered without words, and everything in me, every cell, screamed the answer.

His fingertips, calloused and warm, made contact with the side of my face. It was the lightest of touches, a bare whisper of pressure against my skin, yet a tremor went through my entire body. A jolt of pure heat shot from that single point of contact, spreading through my veins like wildfire. His thumb stroked gently, tracing the line of my jaw from my ear to my chin. His gaze never left mine, his dark eyes searching, asking for permission.

I could have pulled away. I could have turned my head, broken the contact, and the fragile moment would have shattered. The thought was a distant, foreign concept, an action belonging to a different woman in a different life. Instead, I leaned into his touch, a small, undeniable movement. I pressed my face more firmly into his palm, closing my eyes for a fraction of a second to absorb the overwhelming sensation of his skin against mine. It was an answer. It was a plea.

A slow smile spread across his face, a look of profound relief and understanding. He didn't need words. He drew his hand back, and for a terrifying second, I thought I had misread everything. But he only reached for the pillow still lying on the mattress between us. He hooked his fingers into it, his eyes still locked on mine, and lifted it from the bed. He tossed it over the side. It landed on the floor with a soft, muffled thud that echoed in the silent room.

He reached for the last one, the flattened pillow I had been using. His movements were unhurried, almost ceremonial. He slid it from under my head, his other hand moving to cup the back of my neck, preventing my head from falling back against the mattress. His fingers tangled in my hair, his palm warm and solid against my skin. He tossed that final pillow to the floor, where it joined its companion. The wall was gone. There was nothing between us now but a few inches of sheet and a tension so thick I could feel it vibrate in the air. He held me there, his hand cradling my head, his thumb stroking the sensitive skin just behind my ear. The barrier was gone, and the decision was sealed by the soft sound of its destruction.

He shifted, closing the final inches between us. The old mattress groaned in protest as he moved his body to align with mine. His chest pressed against my breasts, a solid, warm weight through the thin cotton of our pajamas. His legs tangled with mine, his knee finding the space between my own. The heat was immediate, overwhelming. He was holding my head, his fingers still woven into my hair, and he simply looked at me, his eyes dark and impossibly close. My heart was hammering against my ribs, a frantic rhythm against his steady one.

Then, he lowered his head.

His lips met mine with a softness that took my breath away. It was a tentative touch, a gentle pressure that asked a question I was desperate to answer. I made a small sound in the back of my throat, a sigh of surrender, and pressed back against him. That was all the encouragement he needed. The kiss changed, deepening with an intensity that spoke of two days of forced proximity and unspoken desire. His mouth slanted over mine, firm and demanding, and his tongue traced the seam of my lips. I parted them for him without hesitation.

The kiss was a revelation. It was all the things we hadn't said, all the tension that had simmered between us in this small room. It was searching and hungry. My hands, which had been lying uselessly at my sides, came up to grip his shoulders, holding on as if the tide had finally swept me from my feet. His tongue met mine, a slick, hot exploration that sent a shockwave straight to my core. He tasted of coffee and something that was uniquely him, a clean, masculine flavor that I knew I would never get enough of.

His hand slid from my hair, down the curve of my neck, and then further, his broad palm flattening against the small of my back. He pressed me harder against him, molding my body to his until there was no space left between us. I could feel the hard, lean muscles of his chest, the solid strength of his thighs against mine. My fingers dug into the fabric of his shirt, then moved upward, tangling in the thick, soft hair at the nape of his neck, pulling him closer.

He broke the kiss, but only to move his mouth to my jaw, pressing hot, open-mouthed kisses along the sensitive skin there, down to the hollow of my throat. I arched my back, my head falling back to give him better access. A low groan escaped his throat, a deep, guttural sound of pleasure that vibrated through his chest and into mine. His other hand came to my hip, his fingers spreading wide, pulling me tight against his lower body. Through the layers of our pajamas, I felt the unmistakable, hard length of his erection pressing against my stomach. A liquid heat pooled low in my belly, a sharp, demanding ache. This was real. This was happening.

He moved his hand from my back, his fingers tracing my ribs before sliding under the hem of my pajama top. His calloused fingertips on my bare skin were an electric shock. He smoothed his palm up my side, his thumb brushing the underside of my breast. I gasped, my entire body clenching with need. He paused his exploration, lifting his head to look at me, his eyes burning with a dark fire. The storm outside was over, but in his gaze, I saw the promise of a much more intimate tempest, one that was just beginning to break.