Nathan Fields.

With every week that passes and we get closer to our babies' arrival, Iris grows more uncomfortable. If it's not one baby waking her up to pee, it's the other kicking her in the ribs, meaning she hasn't gotten a good night's sleep in weeks now.

On top of that, her bump seems to be growing a little bit more every day, and she's getting beyond frustrated with nothing fitting her properly, but the "ugly maternity" clothes.

"Soon enough I won't even be able to fit in your shirts; your shirts, babe!" she paces in front of her bed, wearing one of my shirts comfortably and I can't help but find the view incredibly hot from where I'm laid, waiting, "You're not even listening."

"I am; I promise, I am," I assure her, sitting up, "I can buy you some clothes if you need more clothes and if that will make you feel better because I don't want you to be upset over something I can help."

She looks at me and tears well in her eyes when she says, "I'm going to grow out of your clothes too."

Though, it's highly unlikely she ever will, I compromise, so she doesn't cry, "Then guess what? I'll buy more clothes just like mine for you"

I'm over six feet tall with shoulders almost twice the size of hers so unless she's growing a four-year-old, I'd doubt she'd ever outgrow my clothes.

I fear I've said the wrong thing when a tear falls to her cheek and she quickly wipes it away until she whispers weakly, "But they won't smell like you."

I shake my head at the girl in front of me before I crawl across the bed to her, taking her hands, "Then I'll wear them until they do; how about that?"

"You would?" she looks at me, and before I reply, I gently wipe her damp lashes dry.

"Of course I would," I kiss her forehead and she sighs, leaning further into me.

"Do you think I'm completely insane?" she asks, looking at me with doe eyes and I chuckle in response, shaking my head.

"No, sweetheart, not at all," I murmur, and after a few seconds, she lets out a low whine, "What's up?"

"I'm hungry," she grumbles against my chest.

I gently take her chin, tilting her face up to look at me, "I'll cook you anything you want, what are you craving, baby?"

Her hand suddenly drifts to her belly, a smile growing on her face as she says, "They're happy now, both of them just kicked."

"So, you're already fighting each other, little ones" I laugh, putting my hand on her bump and she moves it to the middle where they must have kicked last.

"Keep speaking about food, they seem to like that," she chuckles.

"Are you craving something sweet or savoury?" I ask to get some idea of what to make her.

"Hmm, I'm not sure. What do I want? Chocolate, mango, apples? Ew nope, not apple," she grimaces at the idea and I chuckle.

"So, not something sweet?"

"Oh my God, cinnamon pancakes," she gasps at the idea and then beneath the palm of my hand I feel two gentle kicks, each coming from a different direction.

"I think that's my answer," I grin, rubbing my hand over her bump.

"My mouth is watering," she says with a laugh.

"Do you want to stay here while I make them?"

"No, I'll come with you," she says happily, letting the shirt fall over her bump.

We head downstairs and make our way into the kitchen, where she immediately opens the refrigerator, so I go to the pantry, to get the ingredients that I'm going to need for pancakes.

"Did you want pancakes or crepes, Iris?" I ask, keeping my voice down as I grab the baking soda; the only ingredient in which that separates the two.

"Pancakes please," she shuts the fridge, bringing everything over to the island.

When I join her over there with the dry ingredients, she's standing there waiting, munching on a banana from the fruit bowl.

"It's my pre-snack, snack," she explains, finishing the bite she last took.

"And is it nice?" I chuckle, grabbing a mixing bowl and she nods happily, "Now, important question; do you want the pancake batter to have cinnamon in or do you want cinnamon sugar on top of plain pancakes?"

"I'm thinking," she swallows, "We should have cinnamon pancakes with cinnamon sugar icing on top."

At the request, I laugh quietly, trying to keep my voice down so I don't wake Elise in the next room, "We are without a doubt having at least one baby girl with this craving."

"With how much I want it, I'd put money on them both being girls right now," she says seriously, with no trace of exaggeration in her tone.

"Then let's start baking," I reach for the flour.

Playing hockey requires a strict diet of protein and carbs, with little fat and sugar, but I've told myself that Iris' pregnancy cravings don't count, and my coach would kill me if he knew I join her in eating them. Some of her cravings are strange, like the Nutella and chips sandwich she had a few days ago, which I did not try, but some like tonight are insanely good to pass up.

Iris makes the icing, dipping her finger in to taste it more than Nova usually does, while I make up the pancake batter, adding in the 'perfect' amount of cinnamon for her.

The batter makes six pancakes up, so I give Iris four on a plate and put two on one for myself. I leave her to top them with the icing while I wash up, and once I'm done, I take a seat at the island where my pancakes are waiting for me.

"I think this is the best thing we've made," Iris says before she puts another forkful in her mouth.

She's been generous with the amount of icing, so, I don't have to find a perfect bite, I just break off the nearest corner, and bite into the two-layered pancake. I had high hopes for this because I love cinnamon buns, but I never expected it to taste so good.

"It's amazing, right?" she grins.

"So fucking good, we're making these again," I tell her, taking another bite.

"Don't take this personally but this is better than sex, or even orgasms," she mumbles and I bark out a laugh from how random of a comparison that is, "It is!"

"I don't believe you; what I do believe is you're coming onto me by making me jealous because you know I will take you upstairs and remind you exactly how I make you feel," I taunt and she stares back at me, her lips stretching into a shy smile, which gives me a louder answer than words ever could, "Thought so."

We finish off our pancakes and I leave our dishes in the sink to wash up in the morning before we head up to Iris' room for the night. While she's in the bathroom, brushing her teeth, I put some reruns of Friends on the television to watch until we fall asleep.

When she walks out of the bathroom, she turns the lights off and crawls into bed, cuddling into me as she gets comfortable, "What season are we watching?"

"Season eight, I believe."

"I love but hate this season. Joey and Rachel should have ended up together," she whispers and I look down at her as she carries on, "I know Ross and Rachel had a past and they even ended up having a child together in this season, but he was so toxic and she always deserved better than him. Whereas with Joey, he really did love her. Ross was the wrong person at the right time, but Joey was always the right person at the wrong time, don't you think?"

"I never knew you were this much of a fan of Friends, honestly," I murmur and she chuckles lightly, "I do agree though, that Ross treated Rachel like garbage, no man who supposedly loves a woman should treat her the way he did. I don't mean him sleeping with another woman because that speaks for itself, but more so the way he didn't even try to support her new career choices and instead got jealous. Even at the very end of the show when he guilts her into staying instead of leaving for Paris where she had an opportunity of a lifetime. You'd leave with her if you loved her that much, you wouldn't stop her from doing something she spent years trying to reach."

"I didn't know you were such a fan either, Fields," she laughs lightly, and I sigh contently, pulling her in closer, "I'm going to miss you tomorrow."

"I'll be back Friday morning, it's only one night, baby, you'll be more than okay without me here," I assure her. It was bad enough last season when I had to leave my children, but now I'm leaving them, my unborn babies and the woman I have insane feelings for. It's torture; I hate being away from them.

"I know, " she whispers, gently stroking circles on my chest with her fingertips.

"I'll FaceTime you after the game if you're still awake," I say and press a kiss to the top of her head.

She looks up in my direction and her attention flickers from my eyes to my lips where I begin to smile, awaiting what she'll do, but when she lays her head back on my shoulder, I let out a strangled groan. She begins to laugh, but I cup her jaw, kissing her instead.

Her fingers comb through my hair, pulling me in further when she kisses me back, our tongues brushing in a slow, passionate dance. She lets out a whimper as I shift beside her, moving down the bed so we're at the same level, but I don't stop kissing her; we're just getting started.

"Open your legs for me."

She does as she's told, opening them enough for my hand to slip between and I run my fingers through her folds, coating my fingertips with her arousal before I bring them to her clit where I start to leave slow circles which I know drive her crazy.

"I hate you," she almost makes me laugh, but before I can reply with a comeback, she kisses me, bringing my attention back to her gorgeous fucking lips.

My cock aches with the lack of attention it's getting, my tip throbbing in need, but then suddenly, Iris' hand drops into my boxers like she's capable of reading my mind, pumping me in her hand. I pick up my pace on her clit, earning a string of low moans in response as I urge her pending orgasm on, wanting to make her finish before I end up doing, so I get the chance to be inside of her when I do.

"Nath," she whispers in my ear, "I'm so close, please just fuck me already."

"Not yet," I tell her, wanting to see her crumble in my arms from only my fingers.

To get her there quicker, I slip my fingers from her clit into her cunt and allow the ring on my thumb to grind against her clit while I thrust my fingers into her.

"Oh my fuck," she gasps, dropping her grip on my cock to grab the sheet beneath us.

"That's it, baby," I urge her, and with a few more thrusts of my fingers, her hips buck up and she lets out a moan so heavenly I almost combust from hearing it.

As she calms, I remove my hand from between her legs and bring them up to my mouth, sucking my fingers clean, tasting the remnants of her release.

"I'm dead," she mumbles against my shoulder, catching her breath.

I chuckle, looking down at her, "That's a shame because I was just about to have sex with you and I'm not into necrophilia."

She immediately sits up and smiles, "Look, I'm not dead anymore; how funny is that."

This time I really laugh, pulling her back to me, but instead, she straddles my hips, taking a seat on me, "Comfy?"

"I think I'd be more comfortable if I had your dick in me," she doesn't shock me anymore, but my cock throbs at her words, which causes her to grin, "And I think you agree with me."

"Put me out of my misery," I am dramatic with this woman, but I hold no remorse for it.

She lets out a giggle, lifting for me to reach beneath her and I grab my cock out of my boxers, lining myself up at her entrance. She doesn't hesitate, lowering herself down and once she's comfortable, I lift my knees, so my feet are pressed into the bed. The action forces her closer to me and I begin to thrust up into her, holding her hip with my left hand to keep her moving with me.

I bring my right hand to her jaw, gently stroking her cheek, taking her in, "You're so perfect, Iris."

A smile grows on her face and her eyes flutter shut at the compliment, so I kiss her deeply, taking her as mine because she is just that. She's mine in every sense of the way, just not officially and I will wait forever if I have to, to call her so because losing Iris isn't an option.

Sweet moans slip through her lips when she starts to circle her clit while I fuck up into her at such a pace that's causing my spine to tingle in pleasure. I watch her face contort in pleasure with every thrust and swipe of her fingertip, and I must have died and gone to heaven to get so lucky with this view.

"I'm so close again," she drops her head into the crook of my neck, grasping the back of my hair with her spare hand.

Her small moans fill my ears as I fuck her over the edge and I feel her muscles squeezing around my cock when she does, her legs shaking around my hips.

"Good girl," I hold her close as she comes down.

"I take back what I said," she mumbles against my damp skin, "The pancakes were insanely good, but nothing can top that."

"I told you so," I may sound cocky, but I know my girl and what she's like.

"You did," she lifts her head to say with a smile.

She climbs off my lap and when I think she's about to lay down with me, she takes me by surprise by putting my cock in her mouth, running her tongue around the tip of me.

"You are going to kill me," I tell her and vibrations run through my body when she chuckles around me, "Fuck me, Iris, you make me go insane."

I bunch up her hair in my hand, so I can watch her take me, even in this dim lighting. Within a few minutes of her working me with her mouth and tongue, I rock my head back in pleasure as I finish in her mouth, losing control and every thought.

When I come back to my senses, she's joined me at the top of the bed and is cuddling into me, stroking her hand through my hair while Friends continues to play on the television in front of us.

"Our babies are going to be so beautiful," she murmurs and I smile, looking at her.

"They really will with you as their mommy."

"And you as their daddy," she whispers.

"I can't wait," I really can't, I love being a father and there's something so different this time around, "I don't want to ruin this night by bringing this up, but I need to know what's happening between us, what are we doing?"

She lets out a little sigh and I hold her closer, not wanting her to push away, "Can we not do this tonight? I promise I'm not running, we'll have this conversation another time, I'm just tired and I don't have an answer."

"You sure you're not going to run?"

"I promise," she whispers, "I'm just not sure what's happening between us, Nath, but what I do know is that I'm happy and that's enough for me."

"Then it's enough for me too," I mean that while still holding back the so many feelings I hold for this girl. I'll tell her it all in due time, but until then, I'm happy to stick to her pace and enjoy what we're doing.

~~~~~

A/N

I can't quite believe how far into this book we are, what do you mean there are only sixteen more chapters left?

I'm so in love with Iris and Nathan's story, I've never had so much fun writing something before than I am doing with this and I know I will miss it once it's over!

I have some exciting upcoming projects in the works for after though!

Thank you for reading and thank you so much for the support so far, I love you all dearly x