Sleep With Me (Be With Me) (2 page)

A light touch on her arm shocked her out of her trance. She pulled away, lost her balance and two seconds later she found herself flat on the deck as David ran to kneel at her side.

“Are you okay? I didn’t mean to scare you, I just thought you might pass out or something. Did you hit your head?”

She took stock silently for a moment before sitting up, heat rising in her face. “I’m fine,” she said, feeling a deep rumble vibrate into a low growl beneath her. “What is that noise?”

“The engine.” David helped her to her feet, looking slightly wounded as she pulled her hand away as quickly as possible. Didn’t he know how electric his skin was?

“I’m afraid you’re stuck with me now, but if you’re afraid of water or anything like that, tell me now and you can just stay on the boat. This isn’t the place or time to be working through your fears. You need a shrink for that.”

Katherine gave him a small sarcastic laugh. “I’m not afraid, okay? I just really need to be organized, is all. I go a little nuts when things don’t go as planned.”

Or when a super-hot jerk is within fifty yards.

“Ah,” he said, as if she’d just revealed the key to unlock all the secrets of the universe. “That explains...a lot. Well,” he turned toward the cabin, pointing at a figure inside.“That’s Amy - she’s our captain for this trip, and will stay with the boat at all times. The other tourists are up front - people normally start up there so they can watch for wildlife and just see where we’re going. It will be half an hour or so until we get to the reef. I’ll go over instructions back here in fifteen minutes. The dive schedule is on the cabin wall to your left. And even if I wanted to, I can’t predict what will happen once we’re in the water, but most people seem to have more fun when they relax and go with the flow.”

With that, he walked off toward the front of the boat.

She watched him go, the murmur of voices finally penetrating her consciousness as her panic slowly subsided. Taking advantage of the quiet, she took a seat in the lower area and took a water bottle out of her bag, taking a long sip before replacing it.

Watching the waves go by, she reflected on the discussion that had started this whole mess. Candace, her best friend from college had just opened up her own psychology practice. Plagued by insomnia for the past two months, Katherine had jokingly asked for a prescription, and Candace had very seriously recommended a vacation that completely deviated from her normal routines, and sex. She even backed it up with some psychological study that was dulled further by the bottle of wine they were sharing. Katherine had laughed off the idea at first, but as her insomnia got worse and fatigue started affecting both her work and home life, desperation sent her to Candace’s travel agent.

She’d literally begged for a trip to somewhere with sandy beaches and hot, easy men. It wasn’t a moment she was proud of.

She took another sip of water and shook her head in frustration. The irony was, it wasn’t even working. She’d been on the tiny island she couldn’t even remember the name of for two nights and two and a half days. So far, it seemed as though the men were either indifferent or jerks, and even serenaded by the sea and island breezes at night, she still couldn’t sleep more than a couple hours at a time.

As if on cue, she yawned, quickly covering her mouth with one hand as the other people in the group began shuffling back to join her in the seating area. David was at the back of the group, and didn’t even seem to notice her as he took his place in front of them near the cabin.

She only half-listened to his instructions, her mind soothed by the low timbre of his voice mixed with the rumble of the motor. Maybe if she hired him to just drive her around on the ocean all night, she could get some decent rest...

Chapter 2

David finished his standard scuba diving lecture and glanced over at Kat as the rest of the group began to get ready. She appeared to be sleeping, her eyes closed and her face more peaceful than he’d seen it yet. He vaguely remembered her saying something about not sleeping well the night before. Maybe if he let her sleep, she’d be in a better mood when they got back to the dock.

Then Amy cut the engine and Kat’s eyes popped open, blinking and confused until one of the teens who was disregarding David’s instructions and slapping around the deck in his flippers slapped a fin across both of Kat’s feet.

David cringed, watching as her eyes widened in shock before she pulled her feet up on the seat and wrapped a hand around each one, squeezing hard. He expected a string of expletives or worse, but she simply lowered her forehead to her knees.

“Sorry!” the teen yelled before turning and laughing with his friends as if nothing happened. David glanced over at the parent, who merely shrugged.

Some days, the job sucked.

“Hey,” David said, pitching his voice loud enough to be heard over the laughter. He walked over to the teens, standing in front of the one who’d hurt Kat. “What did I say about fins on before we dive?”

The kid shrugged, but his smile faded.

“Take them off now, or you stay on the boat. Your choice.”

The rest of the group quieted down as the dad spoke up.

“Come on, man - they were just having fun. And he apologized. Cut ‘em a break?”

David shook his head and walked over to where Kat was still curled in a ball.

“Do you know how much damage you can do to someone with those on land?” He reached down and gently pried her fingers off of one foot, revealing the angry purple welt rising over the top of it. “Not only does this hurt - a lot - but Kat’s going to have a hard time wearing her own fins now to dive. All because you were ‘just having fun’.” He reluctantly let go of Kat’s foot.

“So no, I’m not going to cut them, or anyone on this boat, a break. The rules are in place not just for your safety, but the safety of everyone else too. If you won’t follow them on the boat, I can’t trust you to follow them underwater, and people die when that happens. Got it?”

The dad nodded, along with most of the others and the teen sat down with his friends, removing his fins. David glanced back at the cabin and saw Amy standing in the doorway with a roll of water proof tape and some gauze in hand, fighting a grin. She was always amused when he had to be the bad guy, for some reason. Probably because he normally made her do it.

Since she was so amused, he decided she could get everyone set to go in.

“Listen up, people. Captain Amy is going to get you situated to go in the water now. Remember the rules we discussed, and if you have any questions at all, ask her before you get wet. I’ll be with you shortly.”

He walked over to Amy and handed her the clipboard with partner assignments, taking the tape and gauze.

“Smooth,” she said in a low voice. “Think that was enough to get on her good side? Because from what I overheard earlier, she’s not all that fond of you.”

He grinned. “Aw, come on Amy. All women warm up to me eventually. Even you, and you don’t even like men. Now go get those people in the water while I try not to get scratched.”

She shook her head and gave him a dubious look. “Good luck with that,” she said, walking away with the clipboard.

Kat was examining her marred feet when he sat down beside her.

“Still sting pretty bad?” he asked.

She nodded, not looking up. “I’m not sure how I’m going to get those fins on,” she said, her voice breaking slightly. “It’s right under where the top of the fin should hit, and--”

“I think I can help with that. A little gauze and some tape...” he waited for her to look up. Except she didn’t. He examined the side of her face more closely, saw her eyelashes flutter as she blinked hard.

Damn.

“It’s okay if you want to stay here,” he said, not really sure what to do. Crying had never been something he was equipped for. “You can keep Amy company, and we’ll sign you up for another trip when your feet feel better. No charge, of course.”

Katherine nodded, too embarrassed to speak. Her feet hurt, but that wasn’t the only reason she didn’t want to go. Blinking again to hold back the stupid tears, she wished for the millionth time that she’d stayed home. At home, everything was within her control. Her schedule was set, and when she did deviate from it, there was a good reason and it wasn’t for long.

This whole vacation thing was just a horrible failure. It hurt that of all the things she could control, relaxing and having fun wasn’t one of them. Thank God it would all be over in a couple more days.

She swallowed, taking a breath and letting it out slowly before she finally looked over at David.

“Thank you,” she said, forcing her lips into a half-smile. “I appreciate that. I’ll wait here.”

He seemed relieved and smiled back as he stood up. “We’ll be out for an hour, so it won’t be too long. Don’t believe anything Amy says about me, okay?”

Katherine raised her eyebrows, but wasn’t in the mood to spar with him. “Okay.”

His smile faded and he left, leaving her feeling like a heel. She watched as he tapped Amy on the shoulder and then took the clipboard as the captain came in her direction.

“Let me know if you need anything,” she said as she passed by. “There’s water in that cooler over there. I’ll be in the cabin.”

Katherine nodded as the woman walked by. Apparently she wasn’t a talker, and that was fine with Katherine. Some alone time would probably do her a lot of good. Maybe she could even nod off again for awhile.

After the group had disappeared behind the boat, Katherine closed her eyes and laid her head back against the seat. The sun was warm, the breeze light, and the sound of the water lapping gently against the boat lulled her into the restful state between sleep and awareness. Images of clear water and brightly colored corals played behind her eyes, curious fish dancing in front of her mask as she floated with the current. Consciousness was slipping peacefully away until several dull thuds rudely snapped her back to reality.

Opening her eyes, she blinked against the bright sun and surveyed the boat deck. Near the back, someone in full scuba gear was preparing to enter the water. A blond ponytail swinging back and forth was enough to identify the ship’s captain.

Flexing her feet, Katherine realized they didn’t really hurt anymore. There was no way she could catch up to the group, but maybe she could tag along with Amy for awhile. Surely that would be safe. And probably more fun than worrying about David watching her too.

Standing up, she called out, waving as she tried to get Amy’s attention, to no avail. Quickly stripping out of the wrap dress she’d put on over her suit that morning, she got the fins and mask they’d assigned her and hurried to the launch area at the back of the boat, but Amy had already disappeared below the water. A little ways off, bubbles surfaced from her tanks, and Katherine hurried to put on her fins and mask, fit the snorkel in her mouth and lower herself into the shockingly cool water.

All of the sound and chaos from above was immediately muted when she put her head underwater. It was a whole different world full of amazing colors that exceeded anything her imagination could come up with, though it looked deeper than she’d expected. Glancing in the direction of those bubbles, she could just barely make out Amy’s figure, farther away than she’d originally thought. Making sure to keep her strokes even and slow as David had coached them to avoid scaring the wildlife, Katherine began to move toward Amy’s position, staying beside the coral but careful not to touch it. If she didn’t catch up soon, she’d go back to the boat, but she’d enjoy the view for a few minutes, at least.

***

David hoisted himself out of the water, doing a quick head count to make sure everyone was back on the boat before glancing toward the seating area. Frowning when he didn’t see Kat, he noted Amy’s wet scuba gear sitting off to the side but didn’t see either woman anywhere on the deck. As the rest of the group filed back into the main area of the boat, he went to the cabin, raising an eyebrow when he passed the dress Kat had been wearing earlier on a bench.

Had Amy managed to seduce a customer? Kat sure didn’t seem at all interested in women, but sometimes it was hard to tell. He wasn’t sure whether he should be impressed or just mad that Amy had horned in on his action.

Knocking on the cabin door, he let himself in to hear Amy broadcasting on the ship-to-shore radio.

“That’s correct,” she said, her calm voice belying the concerned look on her face. “It can’t have been more than half an hour - I was out for fifteen minutes, and she was gone when I got back. I’m trying to activate the GPS tracker in her fins now.”

David’s heart rate spiked as he realized what she was talking about. “What the hell happened? Where’s Kat?”

Amy muted the microphone. “I don’t know where she is, David. She was sleeping, I made a quick dive to check on the anchor chain because it seemed like it was dragging, and when I got back, she was gone. Her fins & mask are gone too. She must have thought she could catch up to you guys.”

“You didn’t see her? Why did you leave her up here alone?” He ran to the equipment panel and peered at a screen to the right. “Why don’t we have her coordinates yet?”

Amy shook her head. “I’m not sure. It should be working. I’ve been scanning the immediate area for about five minutes, and...nothing.”

“Damn it. She’s not stupid, Amy - she wouldn’t just go in alone. She was probably following you, and we need to find her as soon as possible. Where exactly did you go?”

“I just told you - I was checking on the anchor--”

David shook his head. “Don’t fucking lie to me, Amy. Not now. Her
life
is in danger, and we both know you’ve been away from the boat while I’m out more than once.” At her shocked look, he nodded. “That’s right, I know. I saw you going over the reef when Pete and I were both out last week. So don’t give me anymore crap - where the hell were you?”

She bowed her head, and David barely refrained from wrapping his fingers around her neck while he waited. Finally, her shoulders dropped and she sighed.