This chapter contains explicit content intended for mature readers.

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LIV

I stared out the window as we pulled into a long driveway that led to a big cabin. Rob stopped the car, and I felt him look over at me while I tried to make out the sun that danced on the leaves during golden hour. Just 48 hours ago, he was asking me if I had any set plans for the next week. My sister Amanda was off God-knows-where with her boyfriend, and my parents were out of town again. Yana and Myra were also pre-occupied, and I didn't feel like hanging out with any of my more casual friends. So, once Rob was sure his family's cabin up in Cobourg was free, he requested a week of my time.

Finally sitting up, my pregnant belly making its presence well-known, I looked over at Rob, who was now reaching for my hand. He gave it a squeeze, then smiled.

"We're here."

I wanted to laugh and say that I knew, it was obvious, but I decided against that. I'd been a little moodier than recently, which my OB said was normal this far along in the pregnancy. 6 months in with twins meant we only had about a couple more before these babies tumbled into the world. I smiled back at Rob, which seemed to please him. He got out and made quick work of grabbing our luggage. I slowly stepped out of our SUV, smoothing down my dress that stuck to the leather seat. By the time I got to the back to try and help with something, Rob had moved most of the stuff to the front step.

"Can I help?" I asked as I watched him jog back to the trunk. Robbed waved off my request, shaking his head as he grabbed fistfuls of grocery bags. I watched him make his way back to the porch, his taut muscles visible under his black t-shirt. The red flannel he wore over top was open and he had rolled up his sleeves. The unpacking had him sweating a little, and my eyes went to the muscles in his neck and arms. My breath caught in my throat when he turned to look at me, a smile playing on his lips.

Rob walked back to the car, closed the doors, then put a hand at the small of my back. "You okay?"

Taking in a quick breath, I nodded and shot him a small smile. We walked up to the cabin like that, and I thought back to the last time we'd slept together. Was it after we got back from his parents' place...? No, it was later, sometime after a class. I went into his office...

I fought the urge to put a palm to my cheek as I reminisced, and that threw me fully into the mood. This was not the time, so I focused on putting the light things into the kitchen after Rob opened the door.

The cabin was perfectly rustic, but not dated. Its wood a dark brown, and she could see that the whole cabin's interior was covered in it as her eyes roamed to the ceiling. There was a stone fireplace in the living room, and it was surrounded by light brown couches that had throw blankets tossed over them and plaid cushions. The kitchen was open, practically sparkling thanks to the natural light that shone through the large windows. On the left was a staircase which led to the next level up. It was all perfect.

"This is beautiful," I said in awe. Rob moved past me with a smile, and I followed him into the kitchen after I took off my shoes. After placing the bags I had on the counter, I walked to where the bags were and tried to pick one up. Rob jogged up to me with another that had been outside.

"Melon, no. Stop trying to pick things up." He took the bag I had grabbed from me, gently, and placed all the ones he had on the steps. Rob then took my hand and guided me over to the couch like a little child. I opened my mouth to protests, but he silenced me with a chaste kiss.

"I know you want to feel useful, but you don't have to help put things away." His eyes searched mine before he placed a softer, slower kiss onto my lips. I sighed when he pulled away, his blue eyes sparkling as they gazed into mine. "Let me take care of you."

I felt a tingling at my centre, and stared down the fireplace when he went to finish things up. Whatever was going on in my body, Rob was making it worse. Even just the sound of his voice sent a shiver up my spine.

******

We cooked dinner together, which mostly consisted of me guiding Rob on how to cook stew as I whipped up the fufu. He kept glancing over at me, smiling as he watched me muscle through the stirring of the flour in hot water with a wooden spoon. I smiled when I was done, putting round mounds onto two small plates. With the pot now in the sink, I sidled over to where he was standing with the stew boiling. I peeked into the pot, "it looks good."

Rob looked down at me, then got a bit of the sauce on his spoon. He turned, one hand under the spoon and the other holding it. Rob blew on the hot sauce, then smiled before he said, "try it."

A small smile tugged at the corners of my mouth, and I looked down at the spoon before leaning forward and tasting what we'd made together. My mouth covered it, and I got a little sauce on my upper lip. My tongue darted out to clean it up and I hummed happily.

"That's delicious," I told Rob, finally looking back at him. His eyes bore into me, now dark with something I recognized. It made me feel hot. He took the spoon and placed it back in the bowl, then took my chin in his hand.

"Wh-" he opened his mouth to say something, but the sound of the oven timer cut him off. I moved to turn it off, then grabbed a couple of bowls and placed them next to the plates. He sighed quietly, but I still caught the sound of disappointment.

"You wanna put the stew into these bowls?" I asked, which was more of a suggestion. Rob nodded, and I went to set the table. It was only 5:00pm, and I hoped that we could do something I'd been thinking of since we got here if we ate quickly.

I said a quick prayer, then we dug into the meal. It was funny to watch Rob struggle as I showed him how to eat fufu and stew properly. His fingers moved clumsily before he got the hang of it, and yet he still spilled a bit. Rob was grateful I convinced him to tuck a cloth into his shirt as a bib now that he saw how much trouble he was having.

We sipped on water and sparkling cranberry juice as we talked about our lives and little things. He took my hand across the table, and kissed my knuckles from time to time like it was a habit. Each time, he held my gaze, and it made my heart skip beats.

"Have you been able to keep up with your friends?" Rob asked me as he stroked mindless circles over my hand. I shrugged, then made a so-so motion with my free hand.

"Comme-ci, comme-ca," I told him with a smile. He smiled back at me, amused.

"You don't speak French much around me," he stated.

"Well, you don't speak much French," I replied as a matter of fact.

Rob rolled his eyes, "I took French in school, okay? I know a thing or two."

My eyes danced with mischief and I smirked at my boyfriend. "Vraiment?"

He stared at me for a while, then chuckled, "yeah, I barely know what you just said."

"I said 'really,'" I translated my one word, then thought of something else to test him on.

"How about, 'ta cuisine me fait me sentir à la maison,'" I gave him another phrase, and watched as he tried to make sense of the language.

"Something about a house and cooking," Rob tried, and I grinned.

"I said 'your cooking makes me feel at home.' Not bad, though," I touched his leg with my foot under the table, and his wide smile fell a little.

We sat there for a bit, and my foot slid further up until it touched something firm. I watched as his eyes dilated, but stayed on me the whole time. I caught his zipper with my toes as I maintained contact and pulled it down. I could see his breath catch and his Adam's apple bob up and down when my toes caught the fabric of his briefs. Before I could try and yank them down, Rob pushed his chair back and stood up, leaving me hanging there.

He walked over to my side of the table and looked down at me in my seat. I didn't realise I'd been holding my breath until he pulled me up to my feet and I let out a breath that had been caught in my throat. Rob moved so that our lips were centimetres apart, and I couldn't help it when I whispered, "J'ai tellement envie de toi."

While I was almost certain he had no idea what I'd just said, it was enough to make him take my mouth hungrily. I gasped as I tried to catch my breath, and a moan escaped me when his tongue danced with mine. Rob tugged on my bottom lip gently with his teeth, then, and I felt my knees buckle. He held me up with his strong arms, and just that was enough to have heat trickling down my thighs. We broke apart, and I felt undone as I looked up at him.

Rob surveyed me, then decided it would be best for him to just pick me up. I yelped when the ground disappeared from under me, and was shocked to find that I felt as though I weighed nothing. I knew I was pounds heavier, but I wondered if Rob even noticed that as he carried me up to our room.

His kisses distracted me after he placed me on the bed, and I didn't even notice he had been undressing me until I laid there, naked and staring up at the beautiful man. Rob watched me with a smirk as he peeled off his clothes. I bit my bottom lip when he pulled down his briefs, revealing a throbbing member.

It wasn't until he was hovering over me that I remembered we needed to think about the mechanics of pregnancy sex. I worried that my belly would get in the way. Rob must've noticed, because he gave me a kiss before he said, "I can't even explain to you how excited I am right now. You're perfect." He touched my belly, which made me gasp, and stroked it when he said, "all of you."

Though I didn't think it was necessary, Rob insisted on making sure I was ready for him. The increased blood flow in my body made me more sensitive than usual, and he brought me to the edge before he even had a chance to do much. Just his hands had me clawing into his shoulders, and I caught my breath when I came down from the high.

"Stop teasing me," I panted, and I tried to pull him up.

Rob got the message, and within seconds he was at my entrance, and entered quickly. He set a slow, sensual pace, as he seemed to be in no hurry to rush anything. I somehow managed to clear my head long enough to glance over at a bedside clock.

6:55pm

My mind went to the dishes we'd left downstairs, and who would have to clean it later. I tried to make plans in my head, when he caught my left breast in his mouth. He went a little faster now, and I couldn't think of anything else. Rob managed to stay somewhat close, still aware of the small divider between us. I ran my fingers through his hair, and tugged lightly when his tongue darted across my nipple.

Rob freed me from his mouth, his hand going to my cheek as he kept up the pace. "Are you good?" He asked. I managed a small smile though I was preoccupied with our bodies joining together. All I could do was nod.

We were both getting close, and I could tell he was by the way he picked up the pace. His low grunts had turned into something resembling a kind of growl, and I loved the way he sounded as he dipped his mouth next to my ear. His teeth grazed my earlobe, and then his hand was moving over to give my centre more attention.

Within seconds, our cries of pleasure melded together as we reached a climax, and he emptied himself into me. Rob moved to lay beside me, us still attached, and draped an arm over my side and the other near my head. He moved wet curly strands of hair away from my face, then relaxed as we caught our breath.

I could feel myself drifting off, but before I did, I felt his breath on my neck. Rob placed a few gentle kisses on my ear and then whispered, "je t'aime."

Before I could respond, my tired body willed me to sleep.

******

I was awake before Rob, and I studied his features as he slept in front of me. I wasn't sure when, but I knew he'd been to bed much later after the night we had. I woke up clean with a round pillow under my belly and my boyfriend sleeping in front of me now. He looked so peaceful, his mouth slightly open and his eyebrows lifted as he snoozed. I picked a piece of lint out from one of his eyebrows then flicked it away. My eyes travelled back to his lips and I remembered what he'd said last night before I'd passed out.

'Je t'aime.'

My heart thumped, and my cheeks felt hot. Up until that point, even though we were living together and preparing to bring two lives into the world, neither of us had mentioned anything about love. I was even afraid to talk about a future outside of our kids because I wasn't sure if we had one. What was even scarier was that I desperately wanted there to be one.

Now that he had said those words, I wondered if I could let myself hope.

Rob stirred then, muttering something I couldn't make out before his eyes fluttered open. He smiled when they focused on me, and lifted a finger to touch my nose.

"Morning, Melon," he whispered.

"Good morning."

He closed his eyes for a bit, then opened them again and tried to get a better look at me from his sideways position on the bed. "How are you feeling?"

I smiled, "perfectly fine, thanks for asking."

Rob hummed, and I wanted to ask him about what he'd said. Now that I thought about it, I wondered if he didn't mean it the way that I'd taken it. Yes, he said "I love you," but he'd said it in French. We had been playing around with French phrases before we'd gone upstairs, and I worried that his phrase might've been a continuation of that. As possibilities ran through my head, my eyes fixed on his neck, and I didn't notice that he had been watching me.

He took my hand in his and kissed the palm. Rob waited for me to look into his blue eyes then held my gaze as he said, "I love you, Olivia. I meant that."

How he could read me so well still shocked my mind, and I watched him kiss my hand again. I wondered if he was waiting for me to say it back, but he seemed relaxed as he moved my hand to rest under his neck. His free hand went to my protruding belly, his fingers close to the top of my centre.

Once again, he told me he loved me, and we both smiled when one baby, then another, kicked at the walls of their temporary home.

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A/N

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-Ruth