All That Went Unsaid | Complete (18+)

Chapter 26

 Sophie Esinberg's POV 

 The house had gone quiet, the kind of deep, velvety silence that follows an evening of laughter and wine. Moonlight spilled across the floorboards of my room, turning the pine walls a soft silver. I'd just begun to drift—half lost to the cool hush of the mountains—when a knock rapped low and sure against my door.

Three steady taps. Midnight slow.

I pulled the blanket tighter around me and padded across the room. When I cracked the door, a rush of cool night air slipped in.

Raymond stood there. Barefoot. A white T-shirt clinging to shoulders broad enough to block the hallway light. His hair was a little mussed, as if he'd run his hands through it a dozen times before knocking.

"What do you want?" My voice was still thick from sleep, but sharper than I intended.

He leaned one shoulder against the doorframe, eyes glinting in the dim light. "We have a...situation."

I arched a brow. "What kind of situation?"

"Your best friend," he said, voice low and even, "just informed me that Sharon and Daniel have officially claimed my room."

I blinked, trying to shake the sleep from my head. "So? There are other rooms. This place is huge."

"Mm," he said, the sound like a quiet laugh. "Princess, there are four rooms in this cabin. Among the eight of us, we have three couples." His mouth curved, slow and infuriating. "Do your math."

Heat crept up the back of my neck. "There has to be another option. Couch? Floor? Tent?"

Raymond tilted his head, his eyes catching the silver spill of moonlight. "Sure. I could take the couch. Listen to Beck and Allie's midnight love songs through the paper-thin walls. Or," his gaze dipped briefly to my mouth before meeting my eyes again, "we could just share. Like rational adults."

I crossed my arms, suddenly aware of my thin cotton sleep shirt. "You are not sleeping in here."

He let out a low chuckle that curled through the quiet like smoke. "Relax, Sophie. I'm not planning a midnight seduction." A beat passed. "Unless, of course, you ask nicely."

My breath caught, a traitorous little flutter in my chest. "You're impossible."

He leaned closer, close enough that I caught the faint scent of chlorine and cedar. "And you're stalling. Do you really want me sleeping out there while Claire and Chase's room is right next to the living room?"

I grimaced remembering my evening incident. He had a point. "Fine," I said, stepping back, though my pulse kicked against my ribs. "But stay on your side. I mean it."

Raymond's grin widened, slow and wolfish, before he stepped inside. He moved with the easy confidence of someone who knew exactly how much space he occupied—how much I felt it.

"Wouldn't dream of crossing enemy lines," he murmured, brushing past me. His arm grazed mine, a spark of heat in the cool midnight air.

I shut the door and leaned against it for a breath, willing my heartbeat to steady.

Behind me, Raymond stretched out on the edge of the bed as if it were his by right, long legs taking up far more room than necessary. "See?" he said, voice low, amused. "Perfectly civil arrangement."

I tightened my grip on the blanket. Civil. Sure.

If only the thunder in my chest would agree.

 I blinked against the brightness, and that's when I saw him. Raymond lay on his back beside me, one arm flung carelessly above his head, the other resting on the sheet that separated us. The rise and fall of his chest was steady, unhurried. Morning light touched his face, gilding the sharp line of his jaw, the slight stubble on his chin, the dark lashes that always seemed too long for a man who once played football like he had nothing to lose. For a breathless moment, I simply...looked.