Vampire. The word brought up images of bats flying around ancient castles, of sharp fangs and flowing capes. Ridiculous images that were supposed to belong to monsters. What didn't belong was a kind smile, gentle hands, a white lab coat, eyes that looked more like golden honey or sunshine.
Charlie raked his fingers through his hair. He was a cop, trained to sift through evidence to find his answers. But none of the evidence added up to vampire.
“Why?” he needed to know. “Why did you tell me?”
“Because I care for you,” Carlisle answered.
“And you didn't, in the years you've known me?” Charlie huffed.
“Not like this.” Carlisle said it without hesitation, meeting his gaze. There was an intensity to that gaze that set Charlie's heart racing faster.
“Prove it,” Charlie insisted.
One moment, Carlisle was in front of him. Two blinks later, he was standing just behind Charlie.
“I can hear your heart,” Carlisle said into his ear. Charlie took in a sharp breath, his muscles tensing. “It always beats like that when I'm close to you,” Carlisle continued. “I tried to ignore it before, because it was never out of fear. It's... been much more difficult to ignore, lately.”
Charlie knew exactly what the doctor meant. There was a part of him that was attracted to Carlisle from the first moment he saw the man. He ignored it, didn't want to deal with feeling that way about another man—a younger married man, no less.
And now those things were no longer true. Not young, not married. And something more than a man.
“It's all right,” Carlisle was saying, his voice not so close, “if you need time.”
Charlie turned to face him. How he felt when he looked at the doctor hadn't changed. Vampire, but not monster. Carlisle could never be that. Charlie stepped closer, his hands cupping the doctor's face. His skin was so cold against Charlie's skin.
He pulled Carlisle in, and he caught a brief flash of longing before he pressed a kiss on the doctor's cold lips.
“I had two years to work up to that,” Charlie said. “I had enough time.”
He brought their faces close again, his lips working against Carlisle's until they softened and kissed back. Until the doctor was leaning into him. No doubt hearing the way Charlie's heart raced and skipped with every brush of their lips, the feel of Carlisle's body so close to his.
Vampire. The word still made no sense, but if it was Carlisle, Charlie could accept it.
