Chapter 41 Carlisle stood by the window in the bedroom and peered outside into the severely overcast late afternoon. The daylight hours were getting shorter as October was right around the corner. He looked down where Alexandra, still dressed in her clothes from the tense experience with Peter and Olivia, caught a ball in the air that Michael flipped to her with his feet.

Edward was nearby grinning, attempting to keep her feeling light after several days of darkness. Bella, Renesme and Jacob were all in the circle, as well, and Carlisle could tell that they were attempting to keep her mind off of what had just happened.

Masen and Leah had made their way back to the reservation, eager not to talk about their situation any further for the night. Both he and Esme thought it was fair to let each of them rest their minds and spend some quality time together.

Carlisle sighed to himself, knowing his daughter would most likely be in an emotional whirlwind for a little while. It gave him a temporary comfort to see her having fun with some of the others outside for the time being.

Esme heard him sigh and went to acompany him by the window. She wore a long pink bathrobe and her towel dry hair hung down around her face. She placed her chin on his shoulder and saw Alexandra kick the soccer ball about one hundred yards or so to where Michael and Edward went to fight over who caught it.

"When do we talk to her?" Carlisle asked, not yet looking down toward his wife.

Esme smiled as Jacob playfully pushed their daughter with one hand and she returned the gesture before the two of them and Renesme ran to catch up with Edward and Michael. "I think she's going to be fine. She's a strong young lady with lots of love around her."

"Yeah," he said glumly, "I just hope it doesn't affect her for long," he shook his head, "And Masen and Leah-"

Esme silenced his sentence with a sensitively long kiss until she felt him swing from one emotion to another. When she pulled back, his previously hardened and thoughtful expression was light and refocused on her. "I know you," she said, "You'll sit here all night and drive yourself crazy thinking about both of their situations."

Carlisle snickered, knowing she was right.

"You see," she said pointing at him with a smile, "You know what I mean."

He nodded in agreement, smiling at her.

"I want you to relax, Carlisle. It's been a stressful couple of... years."

"I know. You're right. I need you to bring me out my overthinking and in depth contemplations at times."

Esme looked out the window again and she could only faintly see everyone in the distance. She gave a quick tug on the cord that belonged to the blinds and they immediately flipped down over the window.

Carlisle smiled and Esme's hands were now firmly pressed against each of his shoulders and his back lightly hit the wall next to the window. She perched herself up onto her toes and kissed him again, letting her hands drift down his torso, strategically unbuttoning his shirt as she did before pushing away from him.

He continued grinning as she gracefully waltzed toward the bed, sliding out of the robe and slipping beneath the covers at a speed impossible to the human eye. Carlisle, in those milliseconds, captured every perfect aspect of her body and laughed as she playfully teased him from across the room.

He complimented her face pace with a slow walk to the edge of the bed, even slower taking off each piece of clothing as he went.

Esme gave him a laugh back as he mockingly overdid the seductiveness of removing his shoes. She still couldn't hold back an appreciative sigh at how good he looked with his shirt unbuttoned, revealed his perfectly sculpted marble chest. Much to her delight, he quickly removed it and returned her teasing gesture by taking extra long to remove his pants.

Darkness began to take over the room and he quickly flipped on the small lamp on the nightstand to give their room some dim lighting in the overcast evening before he gave up his games and joined her in bed.

Esme immediately pulled him in for a long kiss, running her hands along the sides of his face, chest and back.

His chest heaved up and down as he let in a deep breath and sucked in an extra dose of the air around them to intesify her scent that drove him so wild.

"I love you," he whispered, nudging one of her legs to the side as he placed his knee between hers.

Esme opened her eyes, looking into his that were a mixture of amber and black and smiled at him.

"Say it back," he urged in a carefree, loving tone.

"I love you, too," she told him, bringing his face down to hers. Esme accepted his soft kisses before finally feeling his tounge find hers. There was nothing she enjoyed more in the world than being with Carlisle.

Night had fully creeped in and Esme still laid on her back in the center of the bed, listening to the rain pick up outside. She kept an extra ear out for Alexandra and the rest of the kids, though was still focused on Carlisle. He laid on his stomach, partially covering her with the right side of his body as his head rested peacefully on her shoulder. His arm was draped securely, yet lazily across her midsection and every so often he'd trace over her skin with his fingertips.

Esme turned her head, thinking how much it appeared as though he was sleeping and he laid against her with his eyes closed. She reciprocated his touches with her own across his back.

"You can keep doing that," he said with a laugh when she stopped momentarily.

She chuckled along with him and continued running her hand in a circular motion across his shoulder blades.

"Not back yet, huh?" he asked, never opening his eyes.

"Alex?"

"Yeah," he said, "They've been gone awhile."

"Everyone's together, they're probably playing soccer out there still."

"Should we call?" He finally raised his head an inch or so off of her body.

"Yeah. Sure. Just to be safe."

Carlisle rolled over and reached for her phone on the night stand and handed it to her. Esme quickly found Edward's name first and called him. Within a few seconds, his voice rung through the receiver.

"We're fine," he laughed, before she could say anything.

Esme smiled, "You know me too well, Edward."

"Just finishing up some tricks over here that Michael's teaching everybody. It's funny because Jacob's getting so angry."

In the background, Jacob's voice could be heard insisting, "I'm not angry."

"Take your time," she told them, "I was just wondering where everyone had wandered off to."

"We'll be home in a bit," he told her.

"Okay."

"See ya soon."

Esme hung up and reached over Carlisle to place it back on the night stand next to the lamp. He quickly cuddled himself up next to her again, pressing his chest against her back and lightly placing his hand on the inside of her thigh just above her knee so she was secured to him. His breath decorated her neck and upper back causing Esme to squeeze his hand.

Carlisle reactively kissed her shoulders and brushed her hair away from her neck, placing his lips against her exposed skin before letting his teeth lightly graze the area. His hand that rested by her knee slowly worked it's way up the rest of her leg, giving Esme a pleasurable shudder.

She turned to face him and he immediately pressed his lips against hers.

"I need to be close to you more often," he said in the mix of everything, "I work too much. I should be with you more than I am."

Esme laughed and held his face in her hands above her, "You're fine, Carlisle."

He shook his head, "No."

"Yes," she said, pulling him to her again, "Stop thinking so much. Hasn't my plan worked on you at all?"

His serious expression relaxed at her genuine smile.

"We have our routines," she brushed back his hair, "And they work. I think everything's perfect."

Carlisle flipped his mouth into a closed mouth half smile.

"Now, I don't mean to be selfish," Esme said, continuing to smile wide at him, "But you better not stop what you were doing."

He snickered as she captured his mouth once again and enjoyed the rest of the intimate evening with her.