[h2]Esme[/h2]
As Esme sat up from the bed, she was holding back a smirk of accomplishment from getting a shudder from Duke and causing him to grip the sheets. It was just the reaction she was hoping for from him, which also told her she still had it. She hadn’t lost it from all that time on her own with hardly any human contact. She also couldn’t help herself when it came to teasing him a bit and having him try to keep her in bed, because, in truth, she wasn’t quite ready to get out and about. So she had to be a little sneaky to get him to keep her in bed just a little while longer even if he possibly knew what she was up to.

When he grabbed her shoulder and pushed her back down, she looked up into his face, a soft smile resting on her lips as she heard him speak. She opened her mouth to speak but when he leaned down and started softly kissing her collarbone to her jawline, she lost her train of thought and bit her bottom lip as her eyes closed. A soft gasp escaped her lips and her eyes opened when he gave her a tiny bite. It had caught her off guard, but it was quickly followed by a laugh to match his. “Good. I think the same.” she breathed as he pulled the covers over them. When he kissed her, she brought her hands up and cupped his face, and returned his kiss. Esme felt like her head was in the clouds and she didn’t have to worry about a thing for once in a long long while.

Esme felt like she could be a normal woman enjoying a special moment with a special someone and not have to worry about anything that went bump in the night. It was something she had longed for and felt she desperately needed after meeting and joining the group but that wasn’t something she would come out and tell anyone, not even Duke. Yes, she enjoyed helping the innocent and ridding the world of creatures that caused problems for everyone but sometimes you just needed a slight breather and a little bit of fun when you were in this line of work. 

Esme moved her hands up into Duke’s hair, then gently pulled his head towards her to deepen the kiss. She held his head for a moment before letting her hands slowly slide down his neck, over his shoulders, over his chest, and over his abs. She stopped above the button of his jeans, then broke the kiss to take in a breath of air. She nuzzled her cheek against his, bringing her lips close to his ear. “I can’t remember if I said this earlier or not.” she spoke softly. “Thank you, Bright Eyes. Thank you for saving me. Thank you for patching me up, and thank you for taking care of me.” She then kissed his ear before giving it a small nibble, she then trailed kisses along his jawline to his lips, kissing him passionately as her eyes slowly closed.