Thank you to MelissaMargaret for beta-ing while sick. As always love to Batgirl8968 and Sweetishbubble!
FYI, The Esme's Story series is receiving a new name. It is now The Esme Chronicles.
I'm thrilled to announce another award nomination. Just the Way You Are has been nominated Best One-Shot in The Avant Garde Awards www(dot)avantgardeawards(dot)com. UPDATE 5/17 - To My Dearest Mother also has been nominated for Best One-Shot and this story, The Esme Chronicles: The Vampire Years, has received FIVE nominations - Best Love Story, Best Canon Pairing, Best Edward, Best Carlisle, and Best Esme. The first round of voting opens May 22!
Enjoy!
October 1922
I opened my eyes and squinted at the sawdust particles floating in the air so visibly in the midday sunlight. It was just one of the signs of the chaos that I knew surrounded us, but at the moment it was the only one I could see.
I knew there was a chair that was beyond repair. I knew the door, if it was salvageable, would need to be re-hung. I knew the hole in the wall needed to be fixed. I knew that our new bed was bound for the fireplace as kindling. And I knew what was left of our clothes was probably not even fit to be rags.
My back was against him as I was curled up on my side in his embrace.
We had not even been home for a day.
We had arrived at our home in Virginia a little later than planned the previous afternoon. It had proven difficult to leave our oasis. Edward was waiting for us in the doorway of our new home. I scurried up the steps and into his arms.
"I missed you!" I cried out.
He laughed and said, "No you didn't, Mrs. Cullen. It doesn't take a genius to know your thoughts were not of me."
"Edward," I scolded.
"I did miss you," he said as he kissed my cheek. "And I'm happy to see you still look blissful."
I giggled as he let go of me and embraced Carlisle.
"Was everything alright with your journey?" Carlisle asked.
"All my affairs are in order. Welcome home," Edward said with a grin as he released Carlisle, and stepped aside to let us enter the front door. Before I could take a step forward, Carlisle had lifted me in his arms.
"We must still honor the tradition. After all, this is your first time coming home as Mrs. Cullen," he said as he leaned in to rub his nose against mine.
"Well then please, sir, carry me over the threshold," I said gently, punctuating my words with a kiss.
"I'll get your bags," Edward said, excusing himself for the moment.
Carlisle carried me inside the foyer, and I quickly looked around. I had been in the house briefly before, under the cover of darkness to assess what type of furnishings would be needed to make it a comfortable home. Edward had set to work arranging everything while we were gone. It was a good sized home, but nothing ostentatious. To the left was the living room, and beyond that was the library. To the right was the dining room, and past it was the kitchen. On the second floor were Edward's room, our room, Carlisle's study, and another bedroom that I had dedicated an upstairs sitting room. There was a powder room under the stairs on the first floor, and a bathroom off the hall on the second floor.
The foyer looked in order, as did the living room from what I could view through the entranceway from my current angle.
"It looks good in here," I said to Carlisle, touching his cheek.
"Did you expect it to be a mess?" Edward teased as he carried my trunk through the front door.
"Not at all. I'm just amazed how well you have arranged it. It's so close to what I envisioned in my head."
Edward gave me an incredulous look then pointed one finger at his head.
"Ah, right," I said with a smile.
He laughed and disappeared up the stairs with my trunk. He was back out the front door a moment later to retrieve the other one.
"Are you going to set me down?" I murmured into Carlisle's ear.
"In our bed?" Carlisle whispered the question, sounding a bit too eager.
"We just arrived home. We can't disappear," I said kissing his cheek. "Set me down, love."
He sighed and reluctantly placed me on the ground. I walked into the living room and looked around. Edward really had gotten everything just right.
"Thanks, Esme," Edward called from the foyer as he ran up the stairs again, and was back with us soon after.
"So," Carlisle said as he looked back and forth between Edward and I. I saw a smirk appear on Edward's lips before the words came out of Carlisle's mouth. "Where and what is the secret you two were plotting to keep from me until we got home?"
Edward chuckled. "Has that been on your mind your entire honeymoon?"
"No, it's been far from it, but now that we are here, I'm quite curious as to what was taken care of."
"It's upstairs and in its proper place," Edward said to me.
"Thank you," I said as I took Carlisle's hand. I led him out of the living room, and up the stairs to the door of his new study. "I wanted to give you something that was useful, but that I could give a personal touch to."
I opened the door and walked in. I immediately saw what I was looking for, and turned around to face him.
"Ta dah!" I said with a sweeping gesture. "Happy two weeks after the wedding day!"
His eyes fell to the centerpiece of the room as I had hoped they would. "You bought me a new desk?"
"No, I made you a new desk," I corrected him.
His mouth fell open slightly, and then he pulled it shut, but the surprise was still in his eyes. He walked forward to it, and traced his fingers across the surface as he went around it. He looked over it. He opened and closed the drawers, and ran his fingers over the detail work before looking up at me. "I knew you were talented, my love, but this is incredible."
"You like it, then?" I asked eagerly.
"I love it. How did you do this and when?"
"Edward secured the wood for me, and then I worked on it while you were at work. He managed to hide it and my tools in the forest while you were home."
"It explains why you sometimes smelled of sawdust," he said with a smirk.
"I did not," I denied.
"You did, too. It's beautiful and the detail is exquisite. I'm overwhelmed by the amount of work you must have put into this. I will treasure it always. Thank you, Esme."
"You're welcome. I found that my skills have improved in this life. I see so much more when I work with the wood. I know what it will become and there are no errors. It becomes what my hands set out for it to be. It was a rather remarkable experience."
"It still amazes me after all these years what our enhanced abilities and senses can allow us to do sometimes."
I chuckled. "Well it certainly has increased my interest in building furniture and seeing what else I can do with my hands."
He walked toward me and reached his hands out to take mine. He brought one to his lips and said, "I adore these hands."
"Carlisle, don't you need to leave for work soon?" Edward had appeared in the doorway and his voice was slightly on edge.
Carlisle dropped my hands and took a step back away from me. "Yes, of course. I don't want to be late for my first shift after being away for long. Excuse me, my love." He kissed my cheek. "Thank you again, for the present. I love it."
H e disappeared off to our room to get changed for work. I placed my hands on my hips, and stared down Edward. "What was that?"
"What was what?" he nonchalantly asked as he turned to walk out of the room. I was on his heels down the steps and into the living room.
"Carlisle, don't you need to leave for work soon?" I asked, mocking his tone.
Edward sighed dramatically, and shook his head as he sat down on the piano bench. His eyes focused unnecessarily downward on the keys as he began to play.
"Edward Cullen!" I demanded. He stopped playing immediately, and looked up at me with surprise. "What is it now?"
"You've never called me that before." He sounded so surprised.
"Called you what?" I was annoyed by him changing the subject, but he answered quietly with one word.
"Cullen."
It had slipped naturally out of my mouth, and I hadn't thought of it having any significance, but it was true. We didn't often speak in terms of last names, although recent events and our public face in Virginia made him Edward Platt. It seemed natural to call him Cullen after all, "We're a family, now. We've spoken of it in terms of endearment, but Carlisle and I are officially man and wife. I'm a Cullen in name, and you are just as much a part of this family."
He bit his lips to stifle a laugh before he got up and walked over to hug me. "I like it, a lot."
I smiled up at him. I regretted not thinking of him more when we were away. He had a piece of my heart just as Carlisle did.
"You shouldn't have been thinking of me. Don't beat yourself up over it," he answered to my unspoken thoughts.
Carlisle cleared his throat behind me. I turned around and bound into his arms. "Have a good night at work."
"I'm sorry to leave you," he said into my ear.
"I could tempt you to stay," I said pressing my lips to his jaw.
"Believe me, you are very tempting, so I better leave now before I give in to you." He kissed me deeply as my hand grasped the hair at the back of his neck. This time Edward cleared his throat, and Carlisle broke the kiss. He entwined his fingers with mine as he looked at Edward. "I'm sorry that I have to leave so soon. We had planned to be home sooner, but," he paused to chose his words, "it just didn't work out that way. We shall catch up tomorrow. I want to hear about Chicago, and what's been keeping you occupied."
"And I would be happy to discuss that with you as long as you stop thinking about what's been keeping you occupied," Edward said through gritted teeth. I turned to look at him and could see the annoyance, and slight embarrassment as he caught my eye.
My eyes widened as I realized his meaning. We had been so careful to keep any flirtations that could even vaguely be considered improper out of the house during our courtship. Now that we were married and we knew each other, and desired each other, so intimately, how were we to keep our thoughts in check? How could we save each other from mortification in each others' eyes?
I didn't say a word about it. I turned to look at Carlisle, and directed him. "Go to work, love. Have a good night." I kissed him on the cheek, and pointed him toward the door. He glanced back at me and mouthed, "I love you," before disappearing out into the evening.
"Edward, I apologize for Carlisle," I said as I took a seat on the sofa.
"You don't need to, Esme," he said as he sat back down at the piano, and absentmindedly played a light tune. "I knew there was the potential for some awkwardness; I just didn't expect Carlisle's thoughts to be so brazen."
What was he thinking?
"He was thinking about you. And although you are very beautiful, Esme, I don't want to envision you that way."
I felt like my entire body was blushing even though I knew it was impossible.
"I'm sorry. Please try to understand we are newlyweds, and we love each other very much. And we love you, and will do our best to try and not put you in an uncomfortable situation."
"Esme, I'm not an idiot. I've been practicing trying to tune thoughts out knowing that this was coming. I'll do my best to make myself scarce when you two want to have alone time for your own modesty and my own sanity. I just ask that at other times, you try to control your thoughts."
"Of course," I said with a grin. I knew I could keep my thoughts in check. Carlisle was out of sight so I could put him out of mind.
The subject was resolved for the moment so we moved on. Edward told me of his whereabouts over the last two weeks including his stop in Chicago to handle family affairs, a worrisome situation that occurred and needed to be discussed with Carlisle later, and his work getting the house in order when he arrived back in Virginia. We chatted for a long time, but after several hours my mind started to stray.
For two weeks, Carlisle and I had literally been inseparable. We had been apart for hours, and I started to feel the strain. I had picked up my sketch book, and was trying to recreated images from our wedding day that I had tucked away in my mind until the pencil and pad were in my hand. I drew the images of the gifts Edward gave me – the necklace, pendant, engagement ring, my flowers wrapped in that precious handkerchief, and the sixpence that Carlisle later pointed out was from the year he was changed. I drew the church and Edward. I drew our hands as Carlisle placed the ring upon my finger. His hands. The hands that had caressed me so gently while so proudly bearing that ring. I remembered the feeling of the metal as his hands slid over my stomach.
Edward banged out a few notes loudly bringing me back to the room. I didn't look over at him, but flipped the page, and started to draw Carlisle's face when our eyes met when I was walking up the aisle. I tried to focus on that day and on that moment, but as I drew my husband's hair, his eyes, his jaw, his neck, I couldn't help but see flashes of him in a different light. And Edward's incessant banging let me know he saw it too.
The sky had lightened. I was almost shaking trying to keep myself in check, but I needed him. My body needed him. He would be home soon. And when he got home…
"Esme!" Edward yelled with frustration as he slammed the fallboard closed.
"Don't break the piano!"
"For the love of…" His voice trailed off, and his eyes grew large. Then everything just happened so fast. Edward glared at me for an instant then bolted for the back door. I bolted for the front. The door flew open and shut so fast and hard that I'm amazed that it didn't break. Carlisle dropped his medical bag, and his dark eyes locked on mine. In an instant my legs were wrapped around his waist as he raced up the stairs holding me tightly against him. He ripped our bedroom door off one of the hinges, and when he forced it closed, the door frame cracked. Startled for a moment, he set me on my feet. But I wasn't letting him be distracted. Not realizing my own strength, or maybe it was his lack of resistance, I slammed him against the wall causing the plaster behind him to crumble. He didn't seem to care, and grasped my cheeks pulling my face toward his; his mouth fiercely meet mine, but I was just as fierce in my desire.
I reached for the lapel of his jacket, and in a blur of flying fabric his jacket, tie, shirt, undershirt were in shreds on the floor. I kept him against the remains of the wall as I nipped and licked my way down his neck and across his chest. His hands were pressed against my back, and with a frustrated grunt his hands grasped and ripped the dress from my body. I heard another noise of annoyance when he was faced with my slip. He had gotten too use to me in less clothing. No matter, he made short work of it along with my undergarments with a few well placed tugs.
Standing there for a moment in nothing but my shoes and falling down stockings, our eyes met again. It was need. Desire. Lust. Love. Yes, it was all there, but we truly required each other.
In a flash he had removed his pants and shoes. I kicked my shoes off, and heard the cracking of wood and the ripping of heavy fabric as the force sent them flying through the chair against the wall.
Our staring lasted a moment longer before he sped toward me. He lifted me in one fluid motion, wrapping my legs around his waist. My hands were at the back of his neck, then his hair, pulling him to me as his lips were, well, everywhere – across my cheek, down my jaw, then sucking at my neck. I wiggled against him, and what sounded like a whine escaped my lips.
He rushed toward the bed with me his arms. He was so rapid I believe he feared crushing me for a moment, and flipped onto his back as he was falling. He hit the mattress with me on top of him, and the bed frame collapsed beneath us. His eyes went wide, but I stopped his objection or apology or whatever he intended to say with my mouth on his. I grabbed his shoulders and pulled him toward the headboard while I slid down him, gliding my tongue against any flesh I could touch as I moved my body to join us together. He flipped me onto my back, but I flipped us back over as I grabbed the top of the headboard and thrust my body onto his making us one.
We both cried out. It has been no more than half a day since we had last been together, but it felt like an eternity ago. I needed him like this. Was I even complete anymore without him?
I slid up and down on him, grasping the headboard until it cracked in my hands, crumbling away into sawdust. I didn't care. I didn't care about anything but him. His head was thrown back. I moved my hands to his cheeks, forcing him to look at me. His eyes spoke to me. They said everything as they so often did. They said, I adore you. You are everything I need.
His hands were everywhere that they could reach on my body – sliding down my arms, over my hips, my stomach, my breasts, teasing me into a frenzy. I went to throw my head back, but he reached up and grabbed my cheeks, making me look at him as I was doing to him. He let go inside of me, but we had only just begun.
It went on for hours. We slowed down slightly after the initial fast and furious reunion, but positions changed of their own volition. It became a graceful dance of entwined limbs and caresses. The house could have completely fallen down around our ears and we wouldn't have noticed. The only thing that mattered was each other.
We finally came to rest in this arrangement with me curled up against him, and slowly came back to reality. His hand slid up and down my thigh as I watched the sawdust in the air.
I finally rolled over to face him. He looked like the cat who ate the canary – satisfied with himself, but also quite guilty. His first concern though was as always my well being. "Are you alright?" he asked.
"That's a peculiar question with a complicated answer," I said as my bewilderment at the entire situation was coming to the forefront of my mind.
"Are you, my beautiful wife, physically and emotionally alright? Did I hurt you? Or offend you?"
"What? No, of course not. I could ask the same of you," I said as my eyes glanced at the Carlisle shaped hole in the wall next to the cracked doorframe. His eyes followed mine over his shoulder. He chuckled and kissed my forehead.
"I'm fine," he assured me.
"What was that?" I asked. I was quite bewildered by my reaction.
"How was your evening?" he asked nonchalantly.
"Why are your changing the subject?" I dryly responded.
"I'm just wondering if your evening was as fascinating as mine."
I huffed. "I kept attempting to sketch thoughts of our wedding day, and my thoughts kept straying."
"Straying to what?" He was looking at me intently.
"Thoughts of this," I said gesturing to the bed.
"This?"
"Of you." I kissed his shoulder.
"Of me? Like this?"
"Carlisle!" His smirk, which I usually found so endearing, and meant that there were thoughts of mischief in my straight-laced husband, I was starting to find irksome. "What was so fascinating about your evening?"
"Hmm, let me see," he said with an impish grin on his face. "How about my rounds when all I kept thinking of was your face, or when I was writing charts and kept thinking of your moans as I kiss your breasts, or during surgery when I all I could think about was making love to you over and over and over again?"
"It must have been a long surgery," I said sarcastically.
"Esme. Every time I walked past the door I thought about bolting out of it at vampire speed and swooping you up. The reality of it was deliciously satisfying," he said as he leaned over to glide his tongue up my jaw. As wonderful as it felt I put a hand on his shoulder to make him pause.
"This is not good, Carlisle."
"But you taste so good," he moaned against my cheek.
"I'm serious, love," I said as I pushed his shoulder this time. "What is wrong with us?"
The naughty and culpable look reappeared as he once again tried to suppress a grin. He kissed my forehead and settled back. I watched his face and could see the wheels turning in his mind. He opened his mouth to speak, but thought better of it.
"Carlisle, what is it?"
"Nothing is wrong with us, per say, my love. I can only reference what I know of other vampires in similar circumstances."
"Married vampires?" I asked as I glanced toward my beautiful rings.
"Newly mated vampires."
"Oh."
"The married vampires I have met were together long before I met them, but I did witness one recently mated couple in Volterra. They were both members of the Guard. They couldn't keep their eyes off of each other when in a room together, and their desire for each other took precedence over nearly everything else. When they were not performing their duties, their escape was fast and fierce. For nearly half the time I was in Volterra, I rarely saw them other than when they were on duty. I asked my friend, Aro, about their situation. He explained that often when a vampire couple is newly mated their passion for each other is overwhelming. Their senses are so stimulated by the new sensations and their emotions that their need, their craving, for each other becomes nearly animalistic. It's similar to their hunting instinct."
I was in disbelief. "Why didn't you tell me about this?"
He looked rather sheepish as he said, "I'm foolish. I thought with my self control in other areas, and your temperament that we would have more control. Apparently I was wrong."
"Yes, you were. This is a problem."
"Why?" he asked as he moved my hair to one side and slid a finger down my neck.
I laughed. "Unless you are planning on quitting your job…"
"I considered it several times last night."
He sounded a little too serious.
"But you are not going to," I insisted. "You love your work, and I won't take that away from you. When these desires diminish I don't want you to resent me."
"Esme, my desire for you will never diminish. We'll learn to rein it in, but I can't imagine wanting you any less when every moment we are together I want you more."
"As I want you." I looked around at the destruction once more. "How, though, do we even begin to restrain ourselves?"
"I don't think it is something that is going to happen in a day, my goddess. At least we now know what this particular uproar feels like, which may help us learn to tame it. "
"Poor, Edward." I was worried about him.
"He must have run far, far away with everything that was flashing through my head as I approached."
"I'm sure I wasn't any better. He said he was anticipating our need for alone time, and that he has been practicing blocking our thoughts. I fear that we were too intense to ignore."
"I'm sure that is the case. I feel terrible that we've put him in this position. I don't like the idea of forcing him out his home for our own pleasure and to save face with him."
"I believe it may be a little late for saving face. While there is much I can do, I can't get this room back in one piece before he comes back." I looked upward toward what was left of the headboard. "And I believe this bed is beyond repair."
"We could meet at the lodge after my shifts. We know that bed is sturdy." He sounded a little too eager.
"I don't think that it would have survived this morning," I said with a teasing poke to his chest.
"You're probably right. We were pretty fierce. Are you sure you alright?"
I nodded. "You would see if I wasn't. You know me too well."
"And I'm always longing to know you better." His lips touched the back of my neck.
"We can't leave him alone every day. That's not fair to him."
"What's the alternative? Bombard him with images in our minds that he doesn't want to see?"
"He needs time with you." My brow tightened as I thought back to my conversation with Edward about his last two weeks.
"What is it?" I had his full attention.
I had thought about not sharing Edward's troubles, but Carlisle needed to be made aware of it. He could counsel Edward in ways that I couldn't.
"He had a little trouble. He found a human especially tempting while in Chicago. He restrained himself and ran away. He said once he stopped running he was conflicted."
"Why did he feel conflicted?"
"He felt like part of him was telling him that killing the human was the right thing to do. That it was what his body wanted or needed, but he knew you would think it wrong."
He sighed deeply. "I can't dictate his instincts any more than I can dictate yours. I have shown you there is another way and hope that you both choose to live the lifestyle I have chosen. I can't stop his actions, but hope, as he did, that he would pause before taking a human life."
I opened my mouth to respond, but both of us heard footsteps on the pathway to leading to the front entrance. It wasn't Edward.
"Who is it?" I whispered.
"It's probably a neighbor stopping by to meet the new Mrs. Cullen," he whispered in response.
I felt slightly irritated. "Don't they know that we just got here, you work nights, and we are newlyweds?"
There was gentle knock at the front door.
"Apparently she's chosen to ignore that fact."
I jumped from the bed and ran to the unopened trunk. I threw it open in a flash, and grabbed undergarments and a dress. Carlisle didn't move.
"Are you just going to lay there?" I asked as I started to get dressed.
I could see he was thinking. "I'm having a conundrum, my love. I work the night shift so technically I should be sleeping. Will you be alright on your own?"
I threw the dress over my head and ran back to the trunk for shoes, a hair brush and some pins as I considered his question. We had hunted on the way home yesterday. The only craving I felt was my one for him. I looked in the glass. My hair was a disaster. I ran my fingers through it and then the brush before putting it up with a few pins.
There was a second, slightly louder knock.
"Esme?" He was at my shoulder in the reflection. "Will you be alright?"
I took a deep useless breath. "I'll be fine." I kissed his cheek before stepping into the shoes and flying down the stairs.
I pulled open the front door, and was met by a young woman, with a cheerful disposition and a basket on her arm. I froze for a moment. I hadn't been in close proximity to a human since our wedding two weeks prior. I felt my throat burn as her scent filled my lungs. You're stronger than this, Esme Cullen. You don't need her.
"Mrs. Cullen?" she asked. Her voice was sweet and friendly.
"Yes? How can I help you?" I held my breath.
Her face lit up as she held out a gloved hand. "I'm Amelia Thorton – Dr. Thorton's wife. Our husbands work together at the hospital."
I took her hand lightly. "It's nice to meet you. Won't you please come in?"
"Thank you," she said stepping into the foyer. "I won't stay long as I know you just arrived, and I'm sure you are still getting settled. I just wanted to stop by to welcome you to Virginia."
"Thank you. I apologize that my husband isn't available to greet you as well, but he's sleeping at the moment. He has to work again this evening."
"Oh, it's no bother. I have met Dr. Cullen on several occasions. I hear from my husband that your brother has come with you."
"Yes, my younger brother, Edward Platt, but I'm afraid he is out at the moment. He loves the outdoors, and I'm sure he is out in the forest somewhere exploring Mother Nature."
"There's plenty to explore in these parts. As I said, I don't want to keep you, but I wanted to bring by a little something for you. It's an apple pie and a few other goodies," she said handing me the basket.
"That is very kind of you. It smells very good." It smelled revolting.
"Thank you. I hope you enjoy it. Dr. Thorton and I would like to invite you all over for dinner one night next week."
"Oh," I said in surprise, but quickly saved face. "You are such a dear," I said with a smile. "I'll have to check with Carlisle, Dr. Cullen, to see what nights would work for him."
"We live five doors down to the left. Just stop by anytime to let me know. We don't have any prior commitments so any evening would work for us."
"I will stop by later in the week, if that's alright."
"That would be wonderful, Mrs. Cullen," she said with a big smile.
"Please, call me Esme."
"What a beautiful name! Yes, of course, Esme. I hope we become good friends."
I smiled and nodded as I escorted her out the door and wished her a good day.
I sped back up the stairs. Carlisle was sitting up on the eschewed mattress with a sheet over his lap. His hand was resting in the spot where I damaged the headboard. I let out the air I was holding in, suddenly feeling weary.
I propelled myself forward, and tumbled onto the bed.
"So this is real life." I affirmed as I rested my head against his chest.
"I'm not working on Tuesday and Friday next week if you would like a long evening with Dr. and Mrs. Thorton. We can go on a work night if you would like a reason to make a short night."
"We'll go Monday," I grumbled.
"We need to blend in to society, Esme. A doctor's new wife, who is also new to town, is of interest. I'm sure Mrs. Thorton is not the only one who is going to make a social call on you. Be friendly, but be careful of building too strong of a relationship with anyone because eventually we have to move on."
"I know," I said with a sigh and a light kiss on his chest. "Right now I can't think about relationships with others. I'm too focused on you."
"Well then it will be good for you to attempt to form a few friendships. It will help focus your attention on other things."
I couldn't help but laugh. "Carlisle, you are the one who was thinking of my breasts while charting. You have your distraction and your attention was still with me."
He slid a hand over the buttons of my dress unfastening them slowly. "As I said, it will take time."
"Since I am still dressed, maybe we should go find Edward."
"As soon as the sun fades, I will go find him," he said as he slid the dress off my shoulders.
"I called him Edward Cullen last night."
"I heard. It sounded like he was pleased."
"We're a family," I avowed. "We all recognize it. We'll make this work."
He pulled the dress up over my head along with my chemise and tossed it aside.
"I love hearing you say that word. I promise, love. As soon as the sun fades I'll find him."
"While you are off looking for him, I'll work on getting this room back in some sort of order."
"How am I ever going to learn how to resist you?" he asked as he slid a finger under the waistband of my bloomers.
"Lots and lots of practice." I turned to look at his god-like face. "Later."
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