After going for a hunt to calm myself down, I paced back and forth, deep in thought.

I still did not feel bad for what I had just done. However, I could not help but wonder how Edward and Esme do when they found out about what happened.

I knew that they would be mad, as Alice had told me. There was no doubt that I would be dealing with more than a few harsh words when they returned home. And what about Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper? What would they think? Well, Rosalie was not exactly on good terms with Bella, so I had an inkling of how she would feel about the situation.

But one thing was certain. No matter what, I could never ask Bella to touch herself for me again. It did not matter if I wanted her to, or if she wanted to do it for me. Even though I felt no remorse for doing so, I did not want to cause problems for Bella and my family. I did not want them to be hurt.

On that note, how will I deal with Edward and Esme when they confront me? I would take full responsibility for my actions, of course. Other than that, I did not know. But perhaps I will find out when the situation presented itself.

Coming to this conclusion, I nodded to myself and ran home.

I could hear Bella's deep, even breathing when I arrived at the mansion. She was asleep. I checked the time and nearly did a double-take. It was now after four o'clock. I did not know that I had been out that long.

Because it was still early, I decided to complete some more files to take my mind off of everything. Of course, it did not work as well as I hoped. My attention would drift when filling out the documents grew tedious, and I would think of Bella. Of her luscious body. Of the strong, heady scent of her arousal...

I shook my head to dislodge my thoughts. Why was I thinking about Bella so much? It was not as if she were my mate. I should be thinking of Esme in this manner! She was my wife after all!

The next few hours passed by without much notice. I was just reading a medical journal when I heard Bella's heart beating faster. Then I heard her yawn and head for the shower.

After about fifteen minutes, she went downstairs to the kitchen. I decided to join her, knowing that we needed to discuss what happened the previous night. I took my medical journal with me.

When I entered the kitchen, Bella glanced at me and blushed. Whether it was because she was embarrassed over what happened yesterday, or because she felt shy being around me now, I was not certain.

"Good morning, Carlisle," she announced with a tiny grin.

She was so beautiful when she smiled...

Wait...what?! I demanded of myself.

"Good morning. How are you?" I inquired in a faint voice.

She shrugged. "I'm fine, what about you?"

I made a face. "Not too bad, I suppose."

Bella nodded and turned to the waffles and bacon that she was preparing. I sat down at the table.

Once her breakfast had finished cooking, she sat down to eat. I found myself watching her and tried to refocus my journal. But it was not easy. My eyes kept turning my head to gaze at her.

Why was I so drawn to her?

Bella noticed me staring at her and reddened again. "What? Is there something on my face?" she queried.

"No," I responded truthfully. "I was thinking about something, and did not know that I was looking at you," I lied. "I apologize."

"Oh. It's okay."

I gathered my shaky wits as she finished her meal. After she had, Bella washed her dishes. Then she made to leave the room.

"Hold on, Bella. I need to have a talk with you for a moment, if you please," I stated.

"All right," she murmured, perching on the chair directly across from me. "What's up?"

I sighed deeply as I leaned forward. "I have been thinking about what we had done last night."

She inclined her head. "I know. I have been thinking about it too. Oh...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. Go on."

"Thank you," I remarked kindly. "As I was saying, I have been thinking about what we had done, and I have come to the conclusion that we should not do it anymore. Now-" I continued, holding up my hand as she opened her mouth. "I know that you told me 'anytime' after I thanked you yesterday, and perhaps you wouldn't mind doing it again. However, we can't. It is too dangerous, and I am afraid that I am in enough trouble because for what we have done. Edward and Esme are going to find out about this somehow. Alice had informed me of this, even though she had told me to let what would happen to happen."

Bella peered at me in shock before nodding a minute later. "Yeah, you're right...it is dangerous," she sighed, looking remorseful about the situation for the first time. "We should never have touched ourselves for each other in the first place. Oh man, Esme and Edward going to hate me..." she moaned in despair.

I took her one of her hands in mine. "No, he won't. I have told you that I would take full responsibility for everything. I don't want Edward to think that it was your fault. I don't want his wrath to be centered on you as well as me either."

"But I wanted to do it too, even though I didn't admit it at first! It is not just your fault. It's mine, too."

"Nonsense. You would not have agreed to do it if I had just left you alone," I argued.

"Perhaps so, but..." she protested.

I cut her off by raising my hand once more. "Trust me, Bella. I have everything under control. You will have nothing to worry about. I promise."

When Bella realized that I would not change my decision, she huffed. "Fine. Have it your way," she muttered. "But I don't know how I will keep this from Edward. I am not saying that I regret what I did. I don't feel guilty about it at all. But I would regret hurting him. Him and Esme. I never wanted to to that. I love them, especially Edward."

Exhaling deeply, I bobbed my head. "I understand how you feel, my dear. I do not regret what I have done either," I admitted. "However, I don't want Edward or Esme to be hurt, for I love them too."

"Then you are right...no matter how we feel, we can never do touch ourselves for each other again. We must not do it for Edward and Esme's sakes."

"Yes," I agreed, feeling oddly sad about doing so. It appeared as if Bella did as well.

She stood up. "Well...I guess I'll just go upstairs to Edward's room and watch a movie or something."

"All right. I have a few things that I want to look into, so I'll leave you to it. Have fun."

Bella waved and left the kitchen. I remained in my seat, thinking our conversation over.

There was no doubt that Bella was right about what she had said. Nevertheless, I would not let any of Edward or Esme's anger to be directed toward her. I did not want her to get hurt. She was already upset about betraying them, and so was I.

I moaned and buried my face in my hands. What had I gotten myself into?

Well, whatever it was, there was no backing down now. I would just have to deal with it. I was the one who had put us into this situation, after all.

Sighing tiredly, I went back to my office.

For the rest of the morning, I kept myself occupied with any work that I needed to finish. Bella stayed in Edward's room and did not leave it. Neither of us spoke to each other. It was probably just as well that we didn't, though. I did not want to make the situation worse. Besides, I could not think about her with my cock growing hard. It was already difficult to keep myself in check when I was near Bella.

By twelve thirty, I had filled out the last of my paperwork. I listened to hear what Bella was doing. She was still watching TV in Edward's bedroom. Her heartbeat was steady and her breathing was normal. It sounded as if she were all right.

I put my documents away and looked for something else to do. The paperwork was completed and I had already finished reading my medical journal. I read my emails to see if I had any important emails, but there were none. No one called from the hospital...it must have been a slow day.

My eyes had just settled on a novel that I had not gotten the chance to read when my cell phone rang. I answered immediately.

"Carlisle, you need to get to the Canadian border quickly!" Alice declared frantically. "Edward and Esme found out about what happened, and Edward is furious! He is trying to leave for the house, but Emmett and Jasper aren't letting him. I don't know how long they will be able to hold him, so you need to come here right now and try to sort everything out! If Edward does manage to escape them, it won't be pretty. And if Bella sees you and Edward getting into an argument or a fight, it will scare and devastate her! I've seen it. Hurry Carlisle, please!"

(A/N: PLEASE REVIEW!)