Free Sleep With Me (Be With Me) by Jamie DeBree

can’t tell. Doesn’t matter though. Looks like they saw us. See the dingy being lowered?”
    Katherine nodded. “Oh thank God. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted a warm shower and a soft bed more than I do right now.”
    David chuckled. He glanced sideways at her, then returned his gaze to the small boat making its way to them.
    “You didn’t answer my question. And I still want to know the answer,” he said, just loud enough to be heard over the waves.
    Katherine shrugged, looking down at the crevices and lines of the sandbar beneath her feet. “I came to relax. So I could sleep. So far I’ve done very little relaxing, and more sleeping that I could have hoped for, so I suppose it was a success. But this isn’t real life, David. I can’t function like this. So melding those two personalities into something I can live with is something I’ll need to work on at home. I don’t know how else to do it.”
    He nodded as the boat drew closer. “Sounds like a solid plan.” He waved at the woman in the boat, and Katherine realized with relief that it was Amy, the Captain from the day before.
    “Thought you might be waiting,” she called out as she got the small craft as close to the sandbar as possible. “Sorry I couldn’t get back last night - that was a hell of a storm.”
    “No problem,” David said, gesturing for Katherine to board first. “We did okay, all things considered. But we’ll be glad to get back to the main island.”
    Katherine stood at the edge of the sandbar and reached for the side of the boat, but it was too far away.
    “You’re gonna have to get wet,” Amy said. “Come on, I’ll help you up.”
    Nodding, Katherine took a breath and stepped into the ocean, bobbing quickly to the surface with a gasp at the temperature drop. Swimming the few feet out, she reached up and grasped the edge of the boat, pulling her legs up sideways as Amy helped anchor her arms by the wrist. As soon as she was settled, David was climbing in beside her. Wrapped up in a thick towel, a strong sense of exhaustion came over Katherine as she listened to David and Amy banter on the way back to the ship.
     
     

 
    Chapter 6
     
    When they reached the ship, David helped Kat climb aboard and then left her to get settled while he helped Amy secure the dingy and prepare to head back to the main island. When he finally thought to look for Kat again, he found her stretched out on the same padded bench she’d ridden out on, fast asleep. He covered her with a blanket and then went to the control room.
    “So did you shag her?” Amy asked with a wry smile. “She looks slightly less tense than she did yesterday, which is odd considering what I imagine you’ve been through.”
    David shrugged. Normally he was eager to share his conquest stories, especially since he knew it drove Amy mad. But this time, he wasn’t sure. With Kat it had been...different.
    Could he afford to let it be?
    “You better believe it,” he said, forcing the usual cockiness into his voice. “What woman could possibly keep her hands off this body while stranded on a deserted island? You excepted, of course.” He laughed, but it sounded too loud even to his own ears. Amy shot him a knowing look, her lips tugged up in a told-you-so smirk.
    “I do believe you might be falling for this one, David. The only question now is, are you man enough to see it through? Or will you send her off like all the others with a quick kiss and a promise to call that you never intend to keep?”
    He clutched dramatically at his heart, stumbling back at her words.
    “Ow! You should be careful with those barbs. You could put an eye out or something.”
    Amy shook her head. “You’re seriously going to do it, aren’t you? Just let her go because you’re more afraid to let her in than to lose her. I’m disappointed, but not surprised.”
    “Nah,” David scoffed, “it’s not like that anyways. She was only looking for a quick lay so she could sleep, and I gave