She cannot dive into it, because she knows what it feels like to drown. Even now, when she's safe in his arms, her lips still tingling from the contact with his, she knows that she can't do this.
She takes a deep breath and looks up into those blue eyes of his. Obviously a mistake. It'll only make this worse. The tingling sensation in her lips is starting to get worse. He is still holding her ever so close and it's disconcerting how familiar his body feels beneath her hands. She takes a deep breath. When they break away from each other, she knows the look on his face. The wide I'm-so- glad-you-feel-the-same-way grin that she so desperately wants to return, but all she can see is the corner where the suspect they were tailing, Adam Hinds, now has disappeared, and the vast area in which they are now standing. The only source of light is the streetlamp above them, just like he is her light and she can't afford to fall back into the shadows.
"He's gone." she says, her voice sounding more unsteady than she intended. Damn. Her eyes find the ground within seconds. There's a pink gum wrapper and an empty styrofoam cup lying at her feet, the content making small puddles on the sidewalk. She must have dropped the coffee when he brought his lips to hers. She curses herself for letting her mind wander and collects herself quickly.
"Good thinking, Castle. Hinds didn't seem to recognize us when he couldn't see our faces." She tries to sound indifferent, unaffected by what just happened. She can see it from the corner of her eye; The flash of hurt that shoots across his face before the marble mask is back on.
"Yeah, sorry about that, I just didn't want to blow our cover." It takes everything she's got give him a swift, reassuring smile and turn her back on him.
She used to think of them as magnets. The more they tried to pull away, the closer they got. She can hear his footsteps behind her, his steady breathing and knows that they both will continue to pull away because their friendship is worth too much. Now is not the time to take it further. But he just kissed me, dammit. The thought is enough to set her whole body on fire. And right now, that is enough. Kate Beckett tries to focus on that thought as they head for the car, a smile playing around her lips.