He scrambled out of the boat (which she had considerately hauled up on land for him) and went to her, gently touching her shoulder. She must have hauled the boat all fucking night, he thought, appalled and amazed. And was out cold from sheer exhaustion.

He stripped off his shirt and covered her with it, then went to look for firewood. The island was tiny—he could walk the length of it in less than ten minutes—but had lots of shrubbery and trees, and he had no trouble finding plenty of kindling and firewood. Then he went to the rowboat and found the matches.

One thing he could do was start a fire with a minimum of matches, and the wood was nice and dry. By the time Ree woke up, he had a nice blaze going.

“Oh, good, now you can cook,” she said groggily, sitting up and shaking the sand out of her hair.

“I can’t believe you towed the boat all night! You’re an angel!”

“Oh, well,” she said modestly, but looked pleased. “I am a hungry angel. I will come back.”

“Wait!” He pressed her back into the sand. “Aren’t you pooped? Maybe you should rest awhile.”

“No,” she said firmly, removing his hands from her shoulders. “I have responsibilities.”

“I’m not your damned pet!”

“Yes, but you have no fishing gear and are still starving. Also, did you find the fresh stream on the north side of the island?”

“Yes,” he admitted. “But there’s plenty of coconuts we can eat; they’re all over the ground.”

“Cooked fish will be better for you.” She stood, shaking out her long hair. Then seemed to remember something. “I, ah, apologize for my appearance.”

He goggled at her. “Huh?”

“I am aware of your cultural taboo against nudity. If I had clothes I would wear them, so as not to offend you.”

“Uh, Ree, where I come from, a gorgeous woman walking around naked is not offensive.”

She relaxed. “Oh. Perhaps I was misinformed. Very well. I will come back.”

“I’ll be here,” he promised, watching her dart into the surf and make the cleanest dive he’d ever seen. Her legs went in and he saw a saucy flash of her tail and then she was gone. Again.

He flopped back down in the sand. God, it was so great to be on land and out of that nasty little boat! And with fascinating company, no less. If he ever got out of this mess, he’d have the most amazing comeback show in the history of the channel! He’d tell them all about Ree and how she saved his life and fought a shark and tugged the boat to an island and brought him food. And—

If he got out of this—if he was rescued—he doubted Ree would come with him. And what would he do without her? He’d die without her.

Once he was back on land, he wouldn’t be in any danger. He wouldn’t need Ree.

Except that felt like the biggest lie on land or sea.