CPOV
I'm tying my tie around my neck when Esme calls out for me. We've been dressing and getting ready for our baby shower today, although I don't know why we have to dress so formally to spend time with the same people we see every day. I'm dressed in black dress pants, a white dress shirt, and a pink tie—I have been informed several times by my control freak daughter that it is in fact "flamingo pink"…whatever that is.
"What's wrong, love?" I ask walking into our bathroom where Esme's been getting ready for over an hour.
"Can you zip me up?" She asks frustrated, and not bothering to turn and face me, she just presents her half-naked back.
"Are you okay?" My hands run down her bare skin until I reach her zipper.
"I'm fine. I just feel like a whale. My feet are swollen so my shoes hurt, and this dress is too tight. I'm hot all of the time, and I'm sweating my make-up off. The only thing that looks even remotely nice is my hair and that's only because Alice used a whole can of hairspray on it. I have to go down there looking like a cow. Plus Peanut won't quit kicking my bladder and kidneys. She's about to be the only baby ever to be grounded from the moment she's born." She huffs when she's done ranting and I grin.
"Don't you dare smile at me Carlisle Cullen."
"How did you know I was smiling?"
"Because I know you. You think it's cute when I get frustrated about pregnancy stuff."
I choose not to answer as I pull up her zipper and smile.
"Stop it." She snaps and I spin her around to look at me.
"Baby I'm sorry if you think I'm laughing at you, because I'm not. I'm just soaking up everything I can about this time because it's a once-in-a-lifetime event for me. I'll never get to experience this again and neither will you. I cant have children and you won't ever be with anyone else. So I'm enjoying the parts of this pregnancy that most men take for granted because it's so special to me." She frowns at me like she does when I ruin her bad mood by being sweet. "And as far as the other things you mentioned, you're not fat. If you're shoes hurt, take them off. If this dress isn't comfortable, we'll find you one you like better. You don't need make-up so I plan on wiping the rest off in a minute so I can see your beautiful skin, and I don't like all of this hairspray in your hair, so if you don't mind I'd like to rinse it out."
"Alice would kill me if I did or let you do any of those things."
"I'll let you in on a secret." I whisper. "I'm not afraid of her."
"That makes one of us." She mumbles.
"I'll protect you. Come on." I hold one hand out to her and start undoing my tie with the other.
"Where are we going?" She asks timidly.
"Well we didn't get our shower together this morning. I'm going to rectify that."
"Carlisle don't you dare." Alice yells from downstairs.
"Back off Alice." I growl at her and she quickly quiets down.
"Carlisle we can't." Esme whines, but I can feel her longing.
"Yes we can, and we are."
Taking her white skin-tight dress between my hands, I rip it off of her in one quick motion leaving her standing naked before me. She gasps but I don't stop there. Swinging her up onto the bathroom counter, I peel off her shoes and throw them out the open window. Esme giggles and I take her mouth with mine. I don't give it a second thought as I take off my shirt and pants letting the pristinely-ironed fabric wrinkle on the floor. Esme melts into my body and I pick her up without removing my mouth from hers.
When I set her on the bench in the shower, she gasps from the cold; I chuckle at the irony and quickly turn the warm water on.
"Carlisle!" She laughs. "We don't have time for this."
"This is our party and we can be as late as we want." I growl against her mouth and spin her so she's completely under the water. In the back of my mind, I know we won't be late. Alice wanted us ready and downstairs 2 hours early.
I enjoy watching the sticky, odd-smelling hairspray crumble under the water. After I lather her hair with shampoo, it rinses completely out and her hair finally smells like my mate. She then puts some conditioner in her hair while I grab a washcloth off the shelf. Once I wet it completely, I rub it gently along Esme's face.
"There." I smile and drop the cloth to the floor. "You're breathtaking, Esme. You don't need all of that artificial stuff."
She blushes and ducks her head, but I gently grab her chin and lift her face to mine.
"You're beautiful." I whisper against her lips. She whimpers and puts her arms around my neck.
Her big belly makes this position uncomfortable for her so I spin her so her back is to me.
"Is this okay?" I whisper and she nods.
"Just be gentle, please."
"Of course."
I kiss her neck and shoulders breathing in the amount of trust she's giving me right now.
"I love you." I whisper in her ear reaching around to cup her breasts in my hands. She moans at my touch and shivers.
"Sensitive?" My fingers dance across her nipples. She moans and nods.
"I'll be gentle." Pulling her earlobe between my lips, I flick my tongue alone it.
"Carlisle." She moans when one of my hands falls to her sex cupping her.
"You're so wet for me, angel." I growl and play with her slippery clit.
"I need you." She whimpers.
"Mmm I love the sounds you make." I whisper in her ear flicking my tongue along the shell.
When I slip one finger inside her, she collapses against me and I quickly catch her.
"Please" she moans. My self control snaps and I remove my hand to slip it into my mouth. She tastes like the sweetest honey and I regret not burying my face between her thighs.
"I need you to bend down some, love." I tell her. My hands are on her hips supporting literally all of her weight. I know how off balance she is right now, and I can't risk her falling. I would imagine this position could be painful on a pregnant woman's hips to stick out her bottom and bend slightly, but hopefully with my support, she won't hurt.
Esme does as I ask and when she bends slightly and pushes out her bottom, her hot core brushes my erection and I moan loudly.
"Is this okay? Are you in pain?" My first priority is always her comfort.
"It's fine, Carlisle. Please. Love me." She moans.
I don't need any more encouragement as I slip inside her.
She's tighter than ever and I feel as if I've died and gone to heaven. I'm careful with how hard I thrust—more gentle than normal since she's so far along in her pregnancy—but I make up for it by going deep like she loves.
It's not long before we're both writhing with pleasure and on the brink of ecstasy.
"Are you there, love?" I grunt out from between my clenched teeth.
"Yes" she moans and I feel her constrict around me.
I don't last even a second longer before I release inside her.
"Mmm" I moan and she stands making me slip a little shallower inside of her. She's still contracting around me making my body shake with pleasure.
"Will it always be this wonderful?" Esme breathes.
"I hope so." I laugh breathlessly and she chuckles.
We stay connected for several more minutes before Esme says she needs to rinse the conditioner out of her hair.
We take our time drying off before going into the closet and looking for something else for Esme to wear.
"What about this?" I ask holding up a pink dress that matches my tie.
"I've never worn it, but I can try it on." She slips on a strapless bra and panty set.
The dress is soft and stretchy as I help Esme into it, and it feels like it would be more comfortable than what she was wearing earlier.
"What do you think?"
"You're perfect." I tell her and she grins. She really does look amazing. The soft pink looks great against her skin, and the gathered material above her belly makes her bump stand out beautifully. The short sleeves and knee-length skirt will help her from getting too hot, and the deep v-neck gives her ample cleavage making my mouth water.
"How does it feel?" I ask her.
"It's really comfortable and the fabric breathes well. Now I just have to find shoes to fit my feet."
"What about these?" I ask holding up a pair of silver sandals that hopefully wont be too tight on her feet.
"Perfect." She smiles and kisses me. "Were you a personal shopper in another life?"
"Nope. Just want you to be comfortable."
"Thank you." She says softly and kisses me again.
It only takes 15 minutes for Esme to dry her hair so it falls in waves down her back with no product in it. I redress myself as she does that and we're ready to go. I notice on the way down the stairs that she's wearing the necklace I got her for Christmas and it makes me smile.
"You're over an hour late." Alice says when we reach the living room, instantly being transported into a land of pink and white.
"Guests aren't even here yet, Alice. Calm down." I tell her. My mate needed help and reassurance this morning, I wont apologize for doing what she needed.
"Okay fine, but you missed orientation, and the schedule discussion."
"I'm sure we'll manage."
"Here I printed out an extra schedule for you once I saw you would be late. Don't worry too much about it though. I will coordinate everything."
"Thank you Alice." Esme tells her and Alice's shoulders relax as she smiles.
"I just want your party to be perfect. By the way, you look great—better than when I helped you get ready."
"Thanks. I had a handsome personal shopper with me." Esme says and winks at me. Alice laughs and reaches for her hand.
"I heard. Come on, you have to see the cake. It's amazing."
Alice pulls my mate from my side and I go in search for the other men of the house. They are all sitting on the back porch, and they are all dressed as formally as I am.
"I assume Alice picked out your outfits as well." I say as I sit down next to Emmett.
"Yeah." They all grumble and I laugh. I'm glad I'm not the only one dressed in a monkey suit. Jasper even has a vest and suit jacket on.
"I just want to say it's crap that we had to sit through orientation for your party while you two were upstairs getting it on." Emmett grumbles and they all nod. I just smile smugly and lean back in my seat.
"Sorry, but my mate needed me. You would have done the same thing for yours."
None of them respond, and I know I'm right.
"Anyway, what are you doing out here?"
"Hiding." Emmett whispers.
"Alice wanted us to help make cookies. We told her we needed to get some fresh air and haven't been back." Edward says smiling.
"I'm guessing you'll be hearing about that little lie later." I say to Jasper and he frowns.
"Sorry bro." Emmett claps him on the back but it doesn't look like he's sorry at all.
"Sure." Jasper says sarcastically and I laugh a little.
We only make it a few more minutes before Alice comes out demanding we all come inside to greet our guests who are apparently arriving.
"Alright boys. Come on." I tell them and they all glare at me as we head into the house. I quickly find Esme and wrap my arms around her waist.
"Where did you disappear to?" She asks as I bury my nose in her hair.
"Just getting some fresh air, love."
ESPOV
"Oh my god these are amazing!" Sarah says taking a bite out of a cake pop. I'm pretty sure this is her third one, but who's counting?
The baby shower is in full swing, and instead of having lame shower games, we are all just hanging out and talking. There's music playing, and occasionally someone will convince their sweetheart to join them for a dance. It seems more like a small party than a baby shower, which I like. I told Alice I didn't want the quintessential baby shower that forces guests to participate and play games. She agreed with the condition that we still open our gifts in front of everyone. She says it's important for them to see us express our gratitude. That's fine with me as long as Carlisle has to sit up there with me.
"All of the food has been great. I'm going to have to walk home so I don't gain 50 pounds." Debbie, my manager from work, says.
"Oh you'll be fine. You eat like a rabbit most days anyway." Judi says and I laugh because it's true. Debbie is the healthiest person I know. I've never seen her eat or drink anything unhealthy before today.
"Esme" Alice interrupts from behind me. "It's time to open gifts…if that works for you." I can tell she's trying not to be controlling. She just wants everything to go perfectly, which I appreciate.
"That's fine, Alice." I tell her and she skips off. "Well ladies, I'm off to find my man." I tell the girls and they all wave me off.
I find Carlisle in the backyard with the boys, and it looks like he's arm wrestling with Jasper.
"Um what are you doing?" I ask with a frown.
"Oh, Esme." Carlisle says startled and jumps up smoothing his tie. "We just needed some fresh air away from all of the humans and food. We were just about to come in."
"Uh huh." I say with a raised eyebrow and the boys take a step back leaving Carlisle in front of me alone.
"Come on, love, Alice is calling for us. We need to open presents." Carlisle takes off for the house like he's on fire and all of the boys follow closely behind.
I just roll my eyes and go inside.
"Well I think things went pretty well." Carlisle says as he helps me fold some baby clothes that we received today.
"Yep. We got everything that we needed. Now we can finish the nursery." He looks up from the pink onesie in his hands and smiles.
The baby shower is officially over and I was finally able to change into sweats. The guests left about an hour ago and we finally finished cleaning up—well Carlisle and the kids cleaned up, they wouldn't let me help. We got some really nice gifts from our friends and I can't wait to put them in the nursery. Some of the cutest presents we got were fuzzy elephant baby slippers, an elephant towel with a hood, and an elephant clothes hamper. My favorite present however, was from Emmett and Rosalie; it is a pink onesie with a silver sparkly elephant on it and says "little peanut" in sparkly letters, with it they wrapped a stuffed peanut pillow. It's perfect.
"I can't believe only a few more weeks and she'll be here." I whisper holding up a baby bonnet. It's so little, I don't know how anyone could ever be that small.
"I know." Carlisle sighs. "I can't wait."
"Me neither." I grin.
I'm suddenly struck with how domestic this whole scene is. A mother and father standing in their child's room folding and putting away laundry. We are the perfect family, and I wouldn't have it any other way.