'Look at her like that again and I will personally ensure that you regret it,' Carlisle's tone was icy cold and low as he made the silent threat to the passer by who gazed at Bella appreciatively, licking his lips as he admired her perfect form.
'Come on then, big man,' he replied angrily, 'why don't we take this somewhere more private.'
The intruder was exceptionally tall, and bulky, with light blonde hair cropped close to his head and a jagged, ugly scar on his right cheek. Clearly he was somebody used to getting his own way. Wearing only a pair of jeans and an oversized football shirt, he should have been freezing but his large build seemed to offer him some protection from the cold because he didn't even seem to notice the plummeting temperature.
Maybe he's high, Bella thought to herself, painfully aware of the discourteous thoughts he had been entertaining up until Carlisle had chosen to intervene. Now his desire had developed into fully-fledged rage and it made her anxious.
Ever the diplomat, she quickly negotiated with him, knowing it was probably useless but wanting more than anything to be able to continue her date with the doctor uninterrupted.
'We don't want any trouble…' she started, but as suspected, she was wasting her time.
'Why don't you come with me love, and get shot of pretty boy here. I can show you a thing or two about Forks that you've never seen before,' he winked as he finished his sentence and his speech was distinctly slurred. Definitely on something, she deduced, in full police officer mode now that she had been unable to resolve things nicely.
Though she couldn't get inside his head, and she didn't try out of respect for his privacy, Bella knew that Carlisle was seething. His grip had tightened around her own hand and she noted his fierce canines protruding into his lower lip. She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze and this seemed to help him to relax slightly, though not enough for him to be able to walk away. He stepped towards the stranger aggressively and let out a low growl. It was the most possessive, terrifying sound that Bella had heard in her entire life but at the same time it raised goose bumps on her smooth skin.
Unfortunately the stranger didn't understand the warning, nor did he realise the capability of his opponent. He stepped forwards and raised both his hands towards Carlisle's stone chest, pushing with all the strength he could muster. To his astonishment the vampire didn't move an inch. Carlisle drew back his lips slowly to reveal his abnormally pointed teeth and hissed in response.
A second warning. It was more than he deserved.
The man raised his fist and before it could make contact with Carlisle's jaw, Bella had manoeuvred herself in between the two and blocked the heavy blow.
The attacker watched with horrified dismay as Bella quickly deflected his attempts to push past her and reach out for the creature that had wounded his pride. Not wanting to end her night at the police station, Bella quickly flipped her ID badge out of her handbag and flicked it open so her job role was distinctly visible.
'I'm Officer Swan of Forks Police Department. You chose the wrong person to mess with tonight and I am warning you now that if you do not turn around and walk away immediately I will arrest you. What's it gonna be?' All attempts at reconciliation had been abandoned as the pretty young woman in the jade dress assessed the threat before her. After taking several seconds to make the right decision, the man eventually backed off, cursing as he spat and walked away.
The doctor held his head in his hands as he realised his possessive actions had made things much more difficult than they had needed to be. Bella pulled his hands away from his glowing ochre irises and tried to lead him in the direction they had been walking, but he refused to move, a guilty manifestation painted on his beautifully handsome features.
'You deserve fairy tales and castles, Bella. Not brawling in the street.'
'Don't you dare, Carlisle! If you think you are going to lock yourself in your study and wallow in self-pity thinking you aren't good enough for me and that I am going to stand by and watch this happen then you are mistaken. What happened, happened. I'm not condoning it, and I'm not happy about it, but I can't change it either, and neither can you. So that's all I want to hear about on the matter. What I want now is for you to take me to wherever you had planned and for us to carry on this evening as though nothing out of the ordinary has happened. Do you think you can manage that?'
Carlisle looked up to meet her angry stare, the glint having reappeared in his eye.
'You are too good for words, Miss Swan, and I will never be worthy of your affection. But I'm yours for as long as you'll have me, and if that is what you want then who am I to refuse you?' He smiled broadly as he reached out to take her hand in his and started to lead her towards the secret destination.
'Then you better be prepared to stick around for a long time,' she retorted, with an equally satisfied smile, thankful that she had been able to pull him out of his self-depreciating reverie.
The boat was anchored at the harbour of La Push and Carlisle led Bella, wide-eyed, on board with apparent ease.
'We don't normally come here,' he explained quietly, 'but for you I'm breaking all of the rules already, so what's one more?'
Something about the location reminded her of an earlier conversation with Jacob, and without thinking she quickly blurted out her question with no consideration for the consequences.
'What's the treaty?' She looked almost guilty as she probed, knowing Carlisle would probably be unhappy about her prying. His expression turned cold as she explained what her werewolf friend had told her about putting all of their lives at risk by being together. He pulled her into himself before he answered, whispering as though he suspected they might be overheard.
'I won't lie to you Bella, not ever, but that is a conversation for another time and another place. Trust me?' She was far from satisfied with the evasive response but happy that he was at least prepared to answer her eventually.
'Always,' she winked, watching with barely suppressed awe as he manoeuvred the boat out into the calm waters.
'Forks police must have had your name on their waiting list from birth,' he joked, desperate to maintain a light atmosphere, 'there's nothing that gets past you, officer.'
'Not normally,' she answered honestly, planting a gentle kiss on his cold nose, 'but there is this one doctor who seems to have interfered with my perception.' In a mock serious voice, he answered with eyebrows raised.
'Is that so? Doubtless he's trouble then. You'd be better off staying well away from the likes of him.' He returned her earlier action by planting a kiss on each of her eyelids, which made her giggle as though she were some infatuated schoolgirl.
'Oh I've no doubt about that,' she agreed wholeheartedly, taking a seat next to him on the main deck, where he had laid out a large rug, 'so far I've been able to manage his dishonourable intentions, but for some reason I can't seem to stay away.'
'That only confirms my suspicions about him,' Carlisle continued gravely, 'do you want me to go and talk to him?' He silently gestured for Bella to sit down, which she did, careful not to stumble in her ridiculously high heels and congratulating herself silently when she managed on her first attempt. He dropped into the empty space next to her and draped one arm around her shoulder casually as though they were any usual couple out for the evening. Nothing could have been further from the truth but it was impossible to tell in that perfect moment.
'You'd better not,' she replied with a smirk, 'I'm worried how he might react, he can be terribly protective sometimes. Though I'm not really sure why, it's not as if he's my boyfriend or anything.'
With a playful growl he pushed her over and peppered her face with featherweight kisses that she tried only half-heartedly to avoid.
'Are you telling me that the scoundrel hasn't event extended you the common courtesy of what I believe is referred to nowadays as 'asking you out'?' Bella shook her head sombrely and damp tendrils of hair clung to her pale face as she peeked up at him. Carlisle brushed them away gently and pulled both of her hands into his own, closing the small gap that separated them. 'Then I better make the most of the opportunity while he isn't here. Bella Swan, will you do me the great honour of being my girlfriend?' She almost choked on his casual use of the common, youthful phrase but nodded her head excitedly at his words. When she didn't reply audibly, he filled in the blanks. 'I am going to assume that you are so incredibly overjoyed by my offer that you have been stunned into silence, and I just want to let you know that your brief moment of silence has already worked wonders on my level of self-esteem.'
'You look very at home here,' she thought aloud as he manoeuvred pieces of equipment that she didn't understand. Making the most of her time to explore, she wandered off to investigate her surroundings. The small sailboat was quaint with a large mainsail that dominated the vessel and a smaller headsail behind. It was white in colour and the sails billowed noiselessly in the gentle wind, propelling them along at a considerable but still gentle speed. The doctor was by her side in an instant, pulling out a wicker picnic basket and offering her samples of all of her favourite foods, which she accepted gratefully. He had blown all of her preconceptions about their evening together quite literally out of the water and she realised with a sense of fulfilment that she never felt nervous or self-conscious when she was around him. Admittedly, the thought of meeting with him tonight had initially filled her with terror but it was impossible to feel anything other than contentment when she was actually in his presence. She tried not to overthink this as she fell into his broad frame comfortably and admired the beautiful views that surrounded them. The waters were wonderfully quiet and seagulls squawked happily overhead, occasionally diving down so close to where they were sat that Bella would shriek playfully and bury her head in the lapels of Carlisle's jacket. The sunset was beautiful over the tops of the trees and they cast shadows that danced enticingly on the cool waters. It was the perfect environment for them to relax and just talk about anything and everything they possibly could think of, and they both seized the opportunity, forgetting about the rest of the world as they learned more about each other.
As the night drew darker Carlisle handed Bella his jacket to keep her warm and she put it on with his assistance, inhaling his intoxicating scent. He should have looked out of place wearing only his shirt out at sea where it was colder than the mainland, but he looked as though he belonged there, teaching Bella with endless patience how to steer them back towards the shore.
Eventually the waves started to get rougher so Carlisle directed them expertly towards the harbour. For any human, the task would have been impossible but the vampire's additional speed and strength made the movement an easy task. When he had finally anchored them back at shore, he offered his hand to Bella and escorted her back onto dry land.
'Where did you learn to sail like that?' She questioned curiously as he walked her back to where he had parked his Mercedes nearby.
'It's a long story,' he warned , 'but the short version is that I did some work as a Medical Corps Officer in the Navy Reserve, that was of course before they became a lot stricter on the medical examinations and then I eventually moved to start work in Forks General. It's a very different role to say the least but I picked up a thing or two about sailing during my time there.'
Bella couldn't reply immediately because she was all too distracted by the thought of Carlisle in his Navy uniform, but finally she managed to drag her thoughts back to the present when she heard him unlock the car.
'Remind me to ask you to tell me the whole story sometime. Before I get in the car though, I need you to promise that you will drive me straight home.' Bella's request was unexpected and Carlisle shot her a puzzled look before she offered an explanation. 'I have two reasons,' she continued rationally, 'firstly, I need to justify the rent I'm paying out on my apartment, and secondly, you really don't seem like the type of guy that would take a girl home right after the first date.'
He chuckled at her undeniable logic and raised his hands in obvious defeat.
'As you wish, Miss Swan. You are absolutely correct and if I have given you any questionable impression in regard to my conduct then I can only offer you the sincerest of apologies.'
As she climbed into the passenger seat Bella could have sworn that she saw a four-legged, furry creature in the treeline and it didn't look welcoming in the slightest. Shaking the idea out of her mind, she closed the door hurriedly, though for a split second she thought that she heard an audible growl from the animal before Carlisle turned on the ignition and sped away.
Sorry about the late update, how life gets in the way of our good intentions! I'll try not to keep you waiting as long for the next one.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, what do we think about Carlisle being an ex-navy Officer?