This is an outtake from the beginning of the story. It's between Carlisle and Esme after they arrive home on the night of Daisy's posh birthday party.
Carlisle
I walk to the bathroom and open the cabinet, pulling out the familiar white pill bottle. I pop the lid and shake two out, quickly swallowing them down without water. My wife, god knows I love her, has done nothing but talk since we left the hotel and I have had about all I can take. My head is pounding.
"What do you think?" She's looking at me expectantly.
What was the question?
"You're not even listening to me, are you? Carlisle! Anyone would think you didn't care about your own son's welfare!"
I look up to see her retreating form as she stomps off into our closet.
"Sweetheart, I'm sorry. I've just got a bit of a headache. What with my long shifts at the hospital, and tonight being such a late night, I think I'm just getting a bit run down." I'm making a play for her sympathy, taking advantage of her love for me, and her understanding of my need to help others.
I hear her huffing and mumbling under her breath in response and I roughly rub my eyes trying to clear the sleepy haze descending on my brain.
"That's no excuse, Carlisle. This is serious. That woman has some sort of a hold over my son, and I want to know what it is. It's not healthy for him and it's certainly not helping our only grandchild. What could it be? Why does he let her just take control like this? Tonight was such a spectacle. It's absurd for a little girl to have such a formal and lavish party; naturally Didyme arranged it all."
"I don't know. Baby, let's just go to bed and we can talk about it some more in the morning. I hate seeing you so worked up like this." I turn down the sheets before climbing in and patting her side, "Come on. Let's snuggle."
"I hate her. I know it's wrong and I know that I shouldn't but I do." I give her my signature pout as she slowly meanders her way across the room, and joins me.
"I know, sweetheart, but there's not a lot we can do about it. She's Daisy's maternal grandmother and a part of her life." I wrap my arms around her and pull her close.
The day Edward married Kate we both knew, that to a certain extent, we were losing him. He was no longer our baby.
Esme took it harder than most, harder than me, and saw his marriage to Kate as the end of his need for his mother. I tried to reassure her that Edward would always need her in some capacity and that she would always be his mother, but it took her a lot of time to come to terms with her new role in his life. She was no longer the most important female in his life.
As always, though, she handled the whole affair with grace.
We both disagreed with him having such a hasty marriage. As far as we were aware, his relationship with Kate had disintegrated shortly after he had left for college. While we had always been close with the Volturi family, often having Didyme, Marcus and their girls over for dinners and bbq's, neither of us were disappointed when their relationship seemingly fizzled out.
Kate was a lovely girl but she also struck me as being very troubled. She never seemed happy or secure. Even as a small child she was reluctant to make new friends or branch out and explore, instead preferring to stay within the confines of what she knew. She clung to Edward like he was some sort of security blanket, and both Esme and I were concerned about how healthy such a relationship could possibly be.
However, we let Edward make his own choices. As parents, there is only so much guidance we can give to our children. There comes a point when they are going to do what they want regardless of what you say. They're too old to punish; you can't ground them or threaten to take away their car. The fear of pushing too hard and losing them completely is overwhelming to the point where all you can do is keep your head down and hang in there for the ride. As parents, sometimes our job is to be there and be supportive even if we don't like it, and ultimately, to pick up the piece in the end.
I think we've been good parents.
We disagreed with his marriage to Kate, but we attended. We gifted to them their honeymoon.
It broke Esme's heart when Kate banned us from being at the hospital on the night that Daisy was born, but we visited a week later, arms laden with presents, and we supported him.
We held him up, side by side, as he buried his wife, despite the fact that he never called us when she died. He tried to shut us out but we fought our way in.
We've been there on every birthday, Christmas, anniversary, school play, piano recital, ballet show; loving him and Daisy unconditionally.
Yet, despite all that, it still feels like we're missing something. Almost like we've been left out of the loop. Everyone else knows something but we don't.
We feel like outsiders in our own family and it's wearing us down. It's upsetting the love of my life.
"I just wish things could go back to the way they used to be. With Daisy, of course. I wouldn't want to change her for the world." I hear my wife sigh.
"Edward's lost, baby, but he'll find his way again. It's just going to take a bit of time."
"He's had time, Carlisle. He's keeping something from us, I know it. He's stuck in the past, never moving forward. I want my baby to happy."
"So do I," I reply as I pull my wife's body closer to mine, relishing the feeling of her hot, little body pressed up against mine.
Pushing her hair aside, I start to pepper her neck with light kisses in an attempt to distract her. I won't be able to sleep knowing that she is so unhappy. If she's unsettled, then I'm unsettled. My happiness has been linked and intertwined with hers since the moment we first laid eyes on each other.
Love at first sight.
She moans softly which is all the encouragement I need to start my exploration of her body.
"Change is coming, Carlisle. I can feel it."
"The only thing that is going to be coming any time soon, my dear, is you." I mutter as I slide my hands down her body and up under her silky nightgown. I gently caress her body, running my hands across her stomach and up towards her breasts. Using both hands, I gently cup them and run my finger tips lightly over her nipples, feeling them harden and pebble under my touch. I push them up slightly, loving the weight of them in my hands.
"Ugh, Carlisle, if you're trying to distract me it's not working. I mean that change is coming for Edward. That girl, Bella, she's going to be good for him."
Her voice wavers slightly as I shift my position and slide underneath the covers, continuing to kiss her skin. She lifts her hips as I trace the edges of her lace undergarments before pulling them off. She spreads her legs as I settle in between them, kissing and licking the flesh of her thighs, slowly making my way closer to where I want to be. To where she wants me to be.
All the tension finally leaves her body and she relaxes completely, as I lean in to taste her. She shivers slightly before conceding, "You're right, we'll talk about this tomorrow."
Her hands grip my hair, holding me in place, as I set about devouring her. She gasps as I push two fingers inside her and make contact with her sensitive spot. She arches her back pushing against my fingers and pulling me closer. Her moans fill the room as I push her towards the edge, knowing that she won't last long.
"Oh, Carlisle…" Her body goes rigid, her head thrown back in pleasure, as her orgasm washes over her.
I push myself up besides her as she collapse back onto the bed panting heavily, trying to catch her breath.
"I guess you're not as tired as you said you were." She teases.
"I'll never be too tired to make love to my wife."
She lifts her arms as I move to pull her gown over her head. Her skin seems to glow under the soft lighting, her hair is tousled from our activities in the most seductive manner, and her lips are plump and red from our kisses.
I groan as her hand slips under the waistband of my boxers and she wraps her palm around my length, giving me a gently squeeze. I was already impossibly hard but now, under her touch, it's bordering on painful.
Desperate for release, I push her back and climb on top of her. She squirms about getting into position as I reach down and pull at my boxers, stoking myself a couple of times. My eyes are firmly shut, my head back in ecstasy, as I line myself up with her entrance and push forward filling her.
"I love you more than you could ever possibly imagine." I grunt.
"I love you too. So much."
My first couple of thrusts are slow as I take time to worship her body, kissing her and tasting her skin which is now covered with a light sheen of sweat. She never looks more beautiful to me that when she's like this; when we're together like this, giving ourselves to each other; moving like one.
As my self-control begins to slip, my pace quickens and my movements become jerky. I lean back taking her legs in my arms and lifting them. The change in angle allows for deeper penetration, and she cries out as I push into her harder, her walls clamping down around me.
I know I won't last long much longer, so I slip my hand between our bodies, down to the point where we're connected and gently stroke her clit.
Her moans and my grunts get louder as I continue to fill her. She moves in time to meet my thrusts; we were made to be this way together.
I watch as she comes apart again, her second orgasm ripping through her, and I follow her into oblivion seconds later. As pleasure surges through my body, I continue to thrust, prolonging the sensation for as long I can.
Spent and sated, I collapse on top of her. Our bodies, slick with sweat, stick to each other as we try to steady our breathing.
Her skin is flushed and warm as I roll to the side and pull her into my arms, sharing soft kisses and caresses. We lie in silence as we both come down from our highs.
It is in times like this, rare moments of absolute peace, when I truly have time to reflect on my life.
While not everything in my world is perfect, it's pretty damn close.
This is my first attempt at writing a lemon so I was a little nervous about posting this, but I guess everyone has to start somewhere. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks for reading.
x x x