A/N: So, ladies and gents, this is the end. Well, technically the last chapter was the end and this is the epilogue which is basically just the smut I've been waiting to write since I started this story. Haha. So all you younglings have now been warned. This is the M chapter. I don't consider it very graphic at all, but if that's not your thing, then just know they did indeed live happily ever after. Forever. :D

The water off the coast of the island was a beautiful shade of green along the horizon, turning baby blue as it rushed in churning waves up the shoreline. With the sun on her back and the warm sand beneath her, Esme didn't think anything could make this vacation any more perfect until her phone began to buzz and a photo of Jacob grinning with all his teeth filled the screen.

She rolled over to snatch her phone up from the towel she'd stretched out earlier in the day before rolling back to Carlisle's side.

His shifted beside her and laid his hand over her stomach as she answered the phone.

Jacob talked incessantly for about five minutes before she was finally able to get a word in. Esme covered the receiver with her hand. "He just got his acceptance to Alaska and Washington State."

"Tell him that's very impressive, though I knew he had it in him." Carlisle pressed a kiss to her neck as Jacob continued to rhyme off the schools he was still hoping to hear from.

Eventually, she finished the conversation, promising to call him later, for fear that she might start groaning into the phone. Despite having the ability to multi-task quite exceptionally, all of Esme's enhanced abilities went out the window where Carlisle was concerned. One touch from him could render her speechless.

She placed her phone back down on the towel she sat on and caught his wandering hand as it travelled up her thigh. "You're very distracting."

"I'm sorry. I intended to keep my mind about me, but that is very hard to do," he touched her bare shoulder, "when you are naked."

"Well, Doctor Cullen, it may have escaped your notice, but I am very much not naked right now."

His brows rose as he traced the line of her collar bone. His finger continued along the mid-line of her body, dipping over her navel and tracing a hip all the way down to her knee. Once there, he wrapped his hand around her leg and gave her a gentle tug, pulling her across the sand towards him.

"Well, you are wearing very little clothing. Where'd this suit come from? I thought I'd seen them all."

"Alice's packing abilities will never cease to amaze me."

"Mmm," Carlisle hummed. He was clearly appreciating the skimpy black suit that she now wore.

Seeing as they were currently the only two occupants of the island, clothing had become somewhat optional several days in, but Esme had felt like teasing him a bit and she enjoyed the quiet desperation that she saw whenever he looked at her.

She stretched back in the sand beside him and he took her hand, fiddling with the ring she wore. His thumb grazed the simple gold band lovingly.

They'd been married for almost a year now, though it had taken them this long to finally get away for a proper honeymoon. Her newborn year had been a bit of an adventure considering it had started somewhat unexpectedly. The memories she had of that day were faded and few, a fact that Carlisle was glad of. He still shivered when he spoke of it because although it had ultimately brought them together like this, it was the closest he had ever come to losing her.

Still, Esme had been elated when she finally figured out where they were going. It had taken her a while to be comfortable being around humans long enough to fly, but seeing the island, she had decided it was well worth the wait. She still had no idea how Carlisle had managed to swing this, or where one even began looking for private islands to vacation on, but as the days passed, Esme realized that Carlisle never ceased to amaze her.

And he did it very well.

Truth be told, in the twelve days they had been here so far, they hadn't ventured much beyond the house and the beach, both of them entirely too consumed with each other. Though Esme was starting to feel the effects of her thirst and figured a trip inland would be necessary soon, if not out of a want to sight-see, then out of a need to hunt.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Carlisle asked her. They'd become more tangled and she ran her foot up the back of his leg.

"Very much," she whispered. "I didn't think I'd ever get to enjoy the sun and the heat like this again." Vacationing in Florida with Sarah was certainly out the window now and the icy cliffs of Alaska just didn't hold the same appeal.

"I told you I'd give you the sun one day."

"You did, didn't you?" she said, sifting through a bank of dusty human memories. The fact that he'd kept that promise, even after all this time, warmed her more than the sun and the sand. "I do love it," she told him, kissing the tip of his nose. "I never want to leave."

"Then we won't," he said, curling his arms around her and trapping her against him. "You can stay as long as you like, Mrs. Cullen. The island is yours after all."

She sat up, breaking his hold, one hand pressed to his chest, the other hovering over her mouth. She moved far too quickly to ever pass for human, but Carlisle simply grinned at her shocked confusion and the adorable frown on her lips. "Did I hear you correctly?" she said.

He laughed. "You know you did."

"How—what? I mean—" She looked around their perfect oasis, fumbling for words. "You didn't really . . . buy an entire island?"

"For you, I did." He pushed the hair that had tumbled over her shoulder back behind her ear. "I want you to be happy, always."

She ran out of words then and folded herself into his arms instead.

"Is it too much?"

"No," she whispered. "It's perfect. You're perfect."

"Would you like to go explore your perfect island now?"

She shook her head slowly, catching his eye in a meaningful way. "First I'd like to explore my perfect husband. Can I interest you in a tour of the house again?"

"I think there are a few bedrooms we haven't seen yet. And a few beds that might still be standing."

Esme sat back, moving her hips in a slow circle. "Well, I'm all for practicing."

Carlisle grinned, leaning up to kiss her. "Are you now?"

The kiss lingered and she found herself beneath him once more. This time their hips moved against each other and Esme fought every instinct inside her, knowing they'd never make it to a bed if she didn't stop. "I am," she mumbled. "I don't know if you've ever been told, but I am a very good teacher."

Feeling her pull back, Carlisle took the opportunity to scoop her up then and she giggled as he relocated them inside the cozy island house to one of the many bedrooms. This one had a view of the jungle instead of the beach and Esme noted a bright red bird preening her feathers in the trees. A separate part of her brain catalogued the image for later—she'd love to paint it when they returned home.

The rest of her brain was focused solely on the feel of Carlisle's hands against the bare skin of her back.

He laid her against the bed and as she scrambled towards the middle, he crawled above her. She revelled in the feel of his body covering every bit of her own. They were well acquainted with each other now, but every time held the same anticipation as the first.

With his forearms by her head, he kissed her slowly and she let her hands wander up the strong muscles of his arms.

As his kisses moved south, he pillowed his head against her chest and she groaned. She guided him where she wanted him, pulling his hands up and laying them over her breasts.

After a few gentle strokes with his deft fingers, he pushed the black suit out of the way, nosing along the valley of her cleavage. She arched against him, trembling slightly as the nerve endings in her body fired on repeat. Like silk, his hand shifted along her skin, pulling on the ties of her bathing suit.

The patience he exerted was erotic in a way. Knowing the sheer force of his strength, the power of his muscles, the passion in his movements—he could have easily shredded the suit, but the care he showed it, letting his fingers linger against her skin, quickly had her panting for his attention elsewhere.

She liked Carlisle's hands on her very much. And, goddamn, Esme thought, his mouth.

His lips left wet kisses along the underside of her breast before climbing a peak and sucking on a budded nipple. Ripples of desire and need coursed through her, crashing like waves on a shoreline, building higher and higher. With nowhere to go, it was only a matter of time before they spilled over.

His hand found hers, curling their fingers together until he could feel the cold metal of her ring against his skin. That symbol of a forever together, she thought.

His other hand was very skilled, sliding both his suit and hers aside and she could feel his length brush against her stomach. She let her eyes flutter closed as he nudged against her opening, dipping in and out a few times to tease her.

When he finally did join them, Esme saw stars.

His strokes were slow and deep at first, urging her to look at him—into his dark, golden eyes. It was the intensity with which he watched her that had her squirming. Soon she was about to start begging.

It had shocked her how easily they had finally come together. How much she wanted him. Always. Never did a day go by when she thought she would be satiated when it came to Carlisle. It was good they had eternity together. To learn and relearn each other. Over and over.

He shifted slightly, catching her off guard and she whimpered, biting her lip to contain the waves of pleasure that had begun to flood her body.

Carlisle's strokes grew faster, more insistent, and she moved to match him, pulling their hips together, much like the way the waves beat against the shore.

His feet pressed into the foot board for leverage and a sharp crack made them pause. Esme giggled as Carlisle grinned against her skin. This wasn't the first furniture fatality they'd had, but when no other precarious sounds echoed between the walls, Carlisle readjusted, drawing his hips higher in the bed, and the new angle pulled her right back into the swirling spiral of pleasure.

Her fingers had moved along his back but were now curled tightly around his biceps in anticipation. She could feel his length deep inside her, brushing against things that made her eyes roll back in her head, but when his fingers drew between them, pressing against her, she unravelled explosively, turning into a shivering mess in his arms.

She tightened around him, her entire body seizing for a glorious moment. The pressure was enough and with a few more erratic strokes, Carlisle lost himself inside her.

Esme closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around him, knowing she could have basked in the still moments that followed forever.

Carlisle considered himself an expert when it came to the human body—he'd certainly sat through enough anatomy lectures over the course of three centuries. But lying here, with Esme in his arms, he felt like a novice all over again. Like he was learning the female form for the first time.

He wondered if it would always be like that with her.

He traced the ivory skin of her wrist and the subtle lines that crossed her palms, telling of fortunes and futures he couldn't understand. But ones he now knew would always include him.

"I can't believe you bought me an island," she said, stroking the soft skin next to his navel with her delicate fingers. "Does it have a name?"

"Isle Esme, naturally."

She flashed him a goofy smile. But he was suddenly overcome with the desire to replace it with the sound of Esme moaning his name and it was several long minutes before they had settled again.

"And what shall we do now?" he asked as she rested against him, her caramel curls fanned out across his chest. He regarded their reflections in the window pane that overlooked the jungle below and caught her smiling at him.

"Mmm," she hummed. "Some more of that. Definitely. But first I'd like to hunt. And explore." She reached up to kiss him, her fingers dancing south along his abdomen almost without her realizing.

He caught her fingers and let out a little groan beside her ear. "I think that's a good idea."

She covered her face with her hand to hide a non-existent blush. Sometimes her desires still overwhelmed her. "I really do need to hunt," she admitted.

Carlisle's control very rarely resulted in the kind of desperate need to hunt that the rest of them had, but he could tell when Esme was getting close. She lost some of her inhibitions and her eyes darkened. She was still young, still learning and adjusting to the powerful emotions that accompanied the need to hunt. It was blood lust in every sense of the word.

"Then we shall," he said.

Her lips were caught somewhere between a relieved smile and a frown.

"To be continued," he said, making her grin. He leaned over bussed her cheek.

Her thumb stroked the side of his face in reply. "I suppose we can wait."

"You were well worth the wait," he murmured next to her ear. "All three hundred years of it."

She gave him the shy smile that often drove him wild. Looking at her now, splayed out like some sort of goddess, all smooth ivory skin and batting lashes, he struggled to pull himself out of the bed. "Was that really the last bathing suit?" he asked, turning to find his swim trunks.

She grinned and hopped out of bed, skipping over to her suitcase. "I'm sure Alice wouldn't disappoint us like that."

They dressed and when they were done, Carlisle took her hand and they waded into the jungle. The swell of bird calls and insects buzzing created a kind of song that led them through the trees. Esme cast her fingers out to feel along the plants, her eyes dancing with the height of the trees. There was no doubt in his mind that she would be climbing them soon.

As they turned down winding slopes made of jungle roots, Carlisle picked out the delicate hum of heart beats. There was the wild, erratic beat from the birds, too small though, and such a waist when Esme loved to watch them.

There was the cold, sluggish beat of what he guessed were reptiles nearby.

But in the mix, rich and lush, were the strong beat of predators. Most likely jungle cats of some sort.

Esme squeezed his hand suddenly. "Do you hear that?" she asked, eyes wide as she looked around.

"I hear many things, love. You'll have to be more specific." He laughed when she rolled her eyes at him, but wrapped both his arms around her waist from behind, pulling her close. "What do you hear?" he whispered.

This was a game they had been playing since her change. Truth be told, the vampire senses were keen. Almost too keen. And it was very often difficult for newborns to distinguish between sounds. The ability to separate voices and heartbeats and the sounds of the community came with time and exposure. Until then, it was easy for newborns to become overwhelmed and distracted.

Esme had learned to separate these things, like all other vampires, and judging by the look on her face, it wasn't just another heartbeat that had caught her attention.

"There," she said, letting her eyes close. "Past the birds."

He nodded against her shoulder.

"And the wind."

"And the surf?"

She laughed. "Yes, that too."

He continued to eliminate sounds and immediately knew what she had locked on to. Curiously, he looked around, deciding on a direction. "I believe it's this way," he said.

Esme skipped excitedly by his side and showed a great deal of restraint by not running off through the trees.

The closer they came, the more distinct the sound. Carlisle could clearly hear the heavy rush of water. The softer swirl as it made contact with the pool below. Even the drip-drop of errant beads escaping the rush and landing on the foliage surrounding the falls.

"A waterfall," Esme sighed as it finally came into view. "Oh, isn't it amazing?"

He watched her scan upwards, anticipating the grin when she turned to him.

"Shall we?" he said.

She was gone before he heard her answer. Esme was no longer faster than him, but somehow more agile, and she slithered up the slippery rocks with a distracting ease. At the top of the waterfall, she crouched, peering over the ledge, like she didn't quite trust her limbs.

He came up behind her. "It's a long way down."

"You first," she replied, standing and poking him in the side.

He caught her fingers and pulled her close, dancing them together at the top of the waterfall, fingers tangled in the ties of her bikini. "And what shall I do at the bottom?"

"Catch me?" she suggested, laughing as he shook his head in loving exasperation.

He pecked her gently on the nose. "Always."

— END —