Hey all! Thanks so much for the reviews on the last chapter, I'm glad you all enjoyed it. To answer your question Jess (who, by the way seriously needs to get an account...or so a little birdie told me hahaha)...Hunter will get a teeny bit...let's say influenced by Howard. Nothing too bad, but enough for Stephanie to take notice and not like it. I can give you all a bit of a spoiler and say that it's going to cause a disagreement or two and when Howard goes a bit far during one of their brotherly outings, there's gonna be a fight that'll lead to him wanting revenge. In comes more drama! LOL. I've also got another direction the overall story is going, which will ultimately lead me to making this series a trilogy it looks like. So if a few things seem unresolved by the time BL is done, it'll be addressed in the third installment!

Triplehlover0212 welcome to this "crazy tale" (stole that from heidyurbano89) and thanks for the review! Always cool to see new names crop up from time to time! Shannon, my PM's were disabled for a few days, but are back up now. 666Lucifer'sLover, glad you got a laugh out of that line! The mature rating lets me throw in some more steamy stuff...which I totally did in this chapter. There's some humor, some fluff and a lot of sexy. And just as an FYI this is totally not meant to be some PSA on contraception, just meant to make you laugh when Steph starts saying ridiculous things. You'll see what I mean...ENJOY and let me know what ya think!

After leaving the restaurant, Hunter and Stephanie drove to their home in Greenwich. Since they'd arrived at the restaurant separately, they had to leave separately as well. Hunter technically already had clothes at his hotel, but it couldn't hurt to have some variety. He had no idea what Stephanie had planned for them the following day.

They'd stayed in the same hotel, but upgraded their room to one that had a whirlpool bathtub. The weather forecast was pretty good, so they decided to bring along something to swim in as well.

Hunter hadn't truly been home in three days. Truth be told he would have been perfectly fine with spending the evening there. Their house had all the amenities of the hotel except for room service and someone to change their sheets and give them fresh towels. It also had more privacy, to boot.

Still, he was grateful that Stephanie wanted to do something somewhat special for him. Breaking routine was good from time to time. That's probably what allowed them to be so passionate about each other after all of these years together. Not to mention the fact that they truly enjoyed each other's company.

Wanting to completely spoil her husband for the next day, Stephanie had insisted on driving to the hotel. So they'd taken her Acura SUV. At a few red lights, she had taken advantage of being stopped. She'd lean over and say "kiss," so that Hunter would turn his head. After having that happen a few times, he just automatically leaned over to her when the car wasn't moving, because he knew what she was about to do. He couldn't deny that he loved that the gesture resembled that of a giddy schoolgirl with her first boyfriend. It was cute. And he was pleased to know that she was happy that their marriage was back on track.

Stephanie sucked her teeth. "Ah, shit."

Hunter furrowed his brow and turned to look at her. "What? You forget something?"

"Yeah. Stupid birth control pills. I haven't taken one in days."

Hunter tilted his head from left to right in consideration. Now seemed like as good a time as any to broach the subject. "You could just stay off of them," he commented sweetly and innocently.

Stephanie smirked. She already knew where this conversation was headed. "Another child would be perfect, baby. But, I don't want two or more. That's too many versions of you and I running around."

"Seriously, Steph. What are the odds of that happening?"

Stephanie looked at him incredulously. "Considering the fact that my second pregnancy was with identical twins and that the rate goes up with age I'd say those are very good odds."

"But-"

"Oh, oh, oh!" She exclaimed with a laugh. "And let's not forget that just today we found out that you're an identical twin!"

Hunter sighed. He wasn't upset. He wasn't even disappointed. But, both he and Stephanie wanted another child. There had to be a way to make her okay with taking the chance of ending up with more than one baby. Really, he didn't think that was going to happen. If it did, it wasn't the end of the world. They'd love the babies regardless and it wasn't like they couldn't afford it. "I honestly don't think we're going to end up with a total of 5 or more kids, Stephanie."

"Can you guarantee that?"

"Sure," he confirmed. His voice was serious but she knew he was only kidding around. "I'll talk to my body and yours. I'll tell all parts involved to cooperate with us on this. Or else," he warned.

Stephanie burst into laughter and shook her head. She knew that if she challenged him to, he would actually go ahead and have that talk. She licked her lips while she considered.

At the next red light, she pecked him on the lips instead of going for a longer, more passionate kiss. She arched an eyebrow and said, "I'll make you a deal."

Hunter nodded.

"We can try for baby number four. But if we end up with two or more I'm going back on the pill, getting my tubes tied, having them put an IUD in-"

Hunter wrinkled his nose. "What? You can't be on two hormonal methods at the same time," he pointed out. "And what the hell would be the point if you got your tubes tied?"

Stephanie blinked at him in response, to signal that she wasn't finished yet. Hunter rolled his eyes and waited for her to continue. The light turned green and she accelerated through the intersection. "Continuing," she said brightly. "You'd get a vasectomy, otherwise no sex ever again. And," she emphasized. "Even with that, when we do have sex we're using condoms and spermicide."

Hunter stared at her dully. "You can't be serious."

She took her eyes off the road for a second, to glance over at him. "As a heart attack."

"You do realize that no doctor is going to allow you to do all of those things to yourself, right?"

"I'll use various doctors. And lie to each one about my birth control method," she countered smoothly.

Hunter twisted his lips while he thought of another argument. "Assuming I actually let you talk me into a vasectomy-"

"It's part of the deal," she corrected. "You don't agree to my terms and no pregnancy."

"This is extortion," he chimed in a singsong voice.

"It's bartering."

"Whatever. All right so even with the vasectomy, birth control pills and device and getting your tubes tied," he ticked each one off on his fingers, "you'd still make us use a barrier?"

"Yep."

"Why?"

"Taking all possible precautions," she nodded at her rationale.

"Fine," he agreed without hesitation.

Stephanie was so flabbergasted by his reply that she didn't notice the light turn yellow. Snapping back into reality, she slammed on the brakes just as it turned red. The car threw them both forward the slightest bit. She turned to her husband, staring wide eyed. "What?" She asked. Maybe she hadn't heard him right.

"Fine," he repeated. "We both want another baby. And your terms are fair because they involve both of us trying to prevent a fourth pregnancy. And they'll only come to pass if we end up with more than one kid. Which I don't think we will. Even still...fine." He shrugged.

"Damn it," she muttered under her breath before turning her attention back to the road.

Hunter eyed her. "What's wrong?"

Stephanie's facial expression was dejected. "I was bluffing."

Hunter laughed so hard his stomach started to ache. That's exactly what she got for trying to somewhat scare him into not wanting to try for another baby. He did have an inkling that she wasn't all that serious about her terms. The fact that it would be too risky to pump her body with all those hormones kind of gave her away. Then there was the fact that they didn't regularly use a barrier and never had any intentions on doing so. It was frequent, but usually random when they had sex. If there were actually some condoms around and nobody was too impatient, they'd actually use them. More often than not, they either had none or were just too caught up in each other to care. They were married and faithful, but still made it a point to get screened every few months. That had just been their habit before they met and it seemed pointless to break it.

"All right," she piped up. "I'll make you a deal," she began.

Hunter raised his eyebrows and looked thoroughly entertained.

"Seriously this time," she insisted. "I'll stop the pills. But I don't want to be one of those couples that starts timing the cycle and follows some strange, unromantic fertility plan. I don't want some timer to go off and then we jump each other for the sake of trying for a baby. I want our love life to stay as is. And if I get pregnant, I get pregnant."

Hunter tried and failed to hide his smirk. "Baby," he began cautiously. "You do realize I'll probably knock you up within weeks, right?"

Stephanie sighed as she thought about how quickly Karmina and Kaycee were conceived, once they decided Jackson could have a sibling. Next, she thought about how often they still made love. Hell, she promised to do that a few times over tonight and she'd already been lax in taking the pills. He was more than right. She'd actually be lucky if he didn't get her pregnant within a few days. She nodded, finally disregarding the fear that more than one baby would come to exist. What was meant to be, would be. "Yep. I'm sure you will." Despite her initial reluctance, she smiled gently and reached over to squeeze his hand as she pulled up to the valet area of their hotel.

Upon reaching their room, they decided to check out the supposedly awesome bathtub. They'd also switched things up a little bit. Normally Stephanie's back would be pressed into Hunter's chest while they soaked and relaxed. Tonight, their positions were reversed so that Stephanie could massage his upper back, neck and shoulders.

Stephanie pressed her index and middle finger of each hand firmly against a particular spot on either side of his neck. She held the pressure steady until she felt the tension release and began to rub again. "You've been overdoing your workouts," she commented observantly.

Hunter didn't want to make her feel bad about what happened. Not when they were trying to move forward. Having her beat herself up over mistaking Howard for him wouldn't help anything. But, he didn't want to lie to her either. They made it a point to always be honest and he had no intention of breaking that habit. And she'd see right through him anyway. He lifted his shoulders in a slight shrug. "Had a lot on my mind," was his truthful reply.

"I know," she affirmed softly. Behind him, Stephanie continued to knead his muscles. She didn't stop the pace, even as she leaned forward to press a kiss to the back of his neck. He knew that it was an unspoken repeat apology for what had transpired between them.

Stephanie and Hunter had been lying in bed trying to summon energy for the last couple of minutes. Hunter was lying on his back with an arm thrown over his forehead. Stephanie was lying somewhat on her side tucked into his other huge arm. Finally, she pressed a hand to his chest and used it as leverage to sit up in bed. Inspired by the fact that his wife managed to find the will to move, Hunter lazily rolled out of bed and reluctantly got to his feet. He stretched his arms above his head and kicked his legs out in front of him, trying to regain some feeling.

Unbeknownst to him, Stephanie was letting her eyes travel his body shamelessly. He was giving her a wonderful view. She tilted her head as she started her appraisal from his legs, up to his ass and back. She gasped when her eyes landed on his upper back. There were scratches that didn't quite resemble claw marks, but it was clear that they'd been caused by her fingers gripping his back too tightly. A flashback to the evening's events reminded her that occasionally she just couldn't take the feelings he was producing in her and actually did rake her nails down his skin a little bit.

Hunter turned around and she still hadn't wiped the surprised yet concerned look from her face. "What?" He asked, staring at her curiously.

Stephanie bit down on her lip. "Don't be mad at me," she requested shyly.

His eyes narrowed at her playfully. "What did you do?"

Stephanie grabbed his hand in hers and allowed him to pull her to her feet. She led him into the bathroom and it wasn't lost upon her that he was staring at her from behind the entire time. Once they reached the large mirror, she stepped away and positioned him so that he could look over his shoulder to see. She pointed at the incriminating evidence and cringed while she waited for him to lightly scold her.

Hunter laughed out loud and nodded his head proudly. "Well damn, Steph. Maybe I should make you wear gloves next time."

"You're not mad?"

"Of course not. Why would I be? I think of the marks as medals of honor. They let me know I did something good."

Stephanie grinned and wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning up against his chest. She had just assumed that since they were heading to the pool tomorrow he might be a little upset that she'd marred him up. It would practically tell everyone what they'd got up to the previous night. When they were just going to be at home, she knew he didn't care. "Oh yeah," she confirmed. "You did something downright amazing."

Hunter leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. He brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. His eyes twinkled at her with his amusement. "Besides," he began casually, "I marked you up, too. You've got various love bites...among other things."

Stephanie's eyes widened and she unwrapped herself from her husband and moved to the side. Sure enough, there were a total of four hickey's around her neck area. Two of them were planted along the left side of her throat almost directly on the weak spot Hunter loved to go after. Another hickey was placed at the base of her throat and the final one was on the right side of her throat. A quick scan of the rest of her body revealed fingertip-like indentations near her hips. She shook her head at her husband who was snickering at her expression in the mirror.

She turned to face him. "Have you no self-control?" She asked in a manner that was clearly joking.

Hunter scoffed at her. "Baby please. I have lots. In the tub I was good. And during that full body massage you gave me I was great despite the fact you were wearing some sexy, peek-a-boo black and red lace number I've never seen you in."

Stephanie opened her mouth to interrupt his rant, but quickly shut it when he continued.

"And to top it off you often replaced your hands with your lips and tongue. I have the patience of a saint, thank you very much." He smirked at her and crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back against the bathroom counter.

Stephanie laughed at him loudly. "Nice try, babe. But if you remember correctly, I didn't even get to finish your massage because of your roaming hands."

Hunter drew his bottom lip in to try to stifle his grin. "I think wandering fingers would be more accurate, actually."

She placed her hands against his chest and pushed lightly. "Shut up!"

Hunter grabbed one of her hands and intertwined their fingers. He smiled at her hugely. "See? We just finished up a sex marathon and you're already getting touchy feely. I like touching you whenever you're around. It's to be expected. So it's not my fault that your resolve to finish the massage and continue practically teasing me, crumbled as soon as I started-"

Stephanie's cheeks flushed red and she quickly moved her other hand from his chest to cover his mouth. She nodded at him. "I remember what those fingers and hands of yours started doing, thanks."

Against her hand he smiled, before pressing a kiss to the inside of her palm. He gave her his best innocent expression until she took her hand down. "Damn," he sighed. "If you had forgotten, I was going to be nice and remind you."

Damn, Stephanie thought. Already, she could feel herself begin to tingle with anticipation. It was remarkable that no matter how tired either of them were or how often they made love, they were always ready for more. Neither of them had very much restraint when it came to each other. Not that she was complaining. In fact, she very much loved it. The last thing she wanted was for them to become one of those passionless, sexless married couples. Many marriages did end up that way. And if that worked for them, then great. But she considered it a blessing that after many years, shared experiences and three children, they were still ridiculously attracted to each other in every possible way. Besides, they had been separated for a few nights anyway.

A pretend confused expression crossed her features as she stepped a few paces away from him. She leaned against the counter and beckoned Hunter over by crooking her index finger. "Well what do you know?" She questioned as he moved to stand in front of her. She wrapped one arm around his neck and the other around his waist. "I seem to have forgotten," she whispered before brushing her lips over his faintly. She hissed directly into his mouth when he reached between them and rubbed at her clit absently.

"Remembering anything?" He questioned, watching her face intently. When she simply leaned into his touch, but didn't respond he decided to insert two fingers without warning.

A low moan was her reply until she cleared her throat a few seconds later. "I don't know," she answered slowly. "Still fuzzy." Her head lolled forward and rested on Hunter's shoulder.

He picked up the pace with his fingers and his lips went to work on her hickey-covered neck. "Anything else coming back to you?"

"Oh yeah," she sighed blissfully. "It's coming all right."

Inside, he was laughing but on the outside he managed to suppress his grin. It looked like she might mark up the middle of his back during this particular encounter. The fact that she'd already scratched him up earlier was making him slightly more cognizant of what her hands were doing this time. Feeling her muscles beginning to squeeze his fingers, he removed them. Stephanie's head lifted and her stare was lustful and mildly irritated. Before she could protest the fact that he'd interrupted her pleasure, he hoisted her up and onto the counter.

Instinctively, her legs wrapped around his waist and all she could do was moan loudly when his hardness entered her a moment later.

Hunter pressed his forehead against hers as she rode out the lax waves of the orgasm the contact gave her. He leaned down and met her lips in a long, loving kiss.

Stephanie brought her hands to the sides of his face and pulled him as close as was humanly possible. She was dangerously close to crying. She just couldn't believe she had ever doubted how he felt about her. The fact that her previously latent fears and insecurities had nearly made it so that moments like this would never happen again, was surreal. Gently, she broke the lip lock and waited for Hunter's eyes to open. "I love you," she told him sincerely and without bothering to try to hide the haywire emotions she was feeling.

He smiled and pecked her lips. "I love you, too."