Author's Notes:

In Part 4 Ben gets a little help from his friends... and more than a little loving.

All characters engaging in sexual relationships or activities are 18 years old or older.

********

Chapter 15

Ben sat in his living room with tears slowly rolling down his cheeks. Hannah sat on the ottoman in front of him. When she'd arrived first thing in the morning, he'd been a little surprised. He'd let her in and took her coat. As he turned back, her open palm caught him on the cheek. It wasn't a particularly hard slap, but it rang his head as he'd been completely unprepared. Once he regained stability, she stepped forward and hugged him fiercely, calling him her hero. His whole body locked up until she stepped back.

"Ben, which of those two things hurt the most?" Hannah said with compassion in her eyes.

The question was so odd he froze and actually thought about it. The slap had been a surprise, but the hug and praise had a far more uncomfortable impact on his body.

He stared at Hannah. "The hug."

"You see how backward that is, right?" she asked hopefully.

He nodded, and she led him into the living room to sit on the couch. She pulled up the ottoman directly in front of him. He had tears in his eyes as she sat before her friend.

"Ben, I spoke with a large and concerned group of your friends last night. We can all see you're hurting. The pain's source isn't quite clear, but I think I can make a few educated guesses. Much of your past is still unknown to us, but from what we've pieced together, we see that you don't believe you're worthy of being loved. You did an amazing job of bringing Beth back to her vivacious self by showing her what a fun, wonderful, and loving person she is. You helped me by reminding me I was a loving person who had so much to offer and deserved to be loved. Yet, you continue to fail to take that same message into your own heart. I don't know what experiences you had in your life that made you believe you shouldn't or couldn't have love, but that belief is wrong. Everyone deserves love. You deserve love, and people do love you. You just have to be willing to accept it." She squeezed his hands and looked into his eyes to emphasize the point.

"We want you to speak to someone with training in dealing with these kinds of self-esteem issues. We see your value. Now it's your turn. Will you do that?" Hannah asked gently.

Ben nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

"I will make arrangements today, and I'll bring you the appointment information, the place, time, and name of the counselor you'll speak with. All right?"

He nodded again.

"We want you to be happy, Ben. You deserve to be happy. We'll check in with you every now and then and see how you are doing. To remind you that you have friends that love you," she said to him as she watched his tears slide down his cheeks. She was worried about the man. She didn't feel she should leave him alone. It was too soon to subject him to Tina, but she knew Gabriella was taking some time off.

"Ben, I'm going to call someone to sit with you today. I think you need the company," Hannah said firmly, and he didn't argue, which made her even more convinced she was correct. She dialed the number, and Gabriella picked up on the first ring.

"Hi, could you sit with our friend today?" Hannah asked.

"I'll be right over."

Hannah put away her phone and patted Ben's knee.

"I'm sorry," Ben said, his voice deep and gravelly.

"Ben, you have nothing to be sorry for. Whatever got you to where you are now, please know you are surrounded by people who love you and want to help. The only way that could have happened was because you are worthy of it. You reap what you sow," Hannah replied.

The doorbell rang, and Hannah got up and answered it.

Gabriella stepped inside with a look of concern on her face.

Hannah leaned in close and spoke quietly. "Ben has agreed to see a counselor, but he's pretty shaky this morning. He needs someone to keep an eye on him. See if you can get him to talk. I have to go to the hospital as I have a board of directors meeting at ten."

Gabriella nodded as she slipped her coat and boots off. She had on Ben's black knit sweater and black yoga pants. The warm pullover was long on her and reached just below her bottom. She wore it for comfort when she was at home.

Hannah poked her head around the corner and looked in on Ben, who was still on the couch. "I'm heading off to work now, Ben. I'll see you later with the details I promised. Gabriella is going to spend some time with you, okay?"

Ben nodded and gave her a small smile.

With that and a look at Gabriella, Hannah headed out.

Gabriella locked up and walked into the living room.

"Hi Ben!" she said and saw Ben straighten up his posture on the couch.

"Hello Gabriella, how was your trip?" he asked.

She smiled at him and saw his eyes light up just a little. Her heart made a slight zing sensation when she saw that. "It was lovely! Have you ever been to Europe?"

"No, I've never traveled anywhere," he said, thinking about the trip to Hawaii he'd planned for Wendy.

"I highly recommend you plan a trip somewhere and someplace in Europe should be one of your first destinations. France, Spain, Germany, Italy, and England are all excellent first-trip candidates. Traveling broadens your perspective and gives you a real insight into different ways of living and the people who live there," she sighed. "You can take a group tour or travel with someone who has experience in the place you choose and can act as a guide."

"I'd like that," Ben said. "Maybe, I will."

She smiled at him, and he smiled a little back at her.

"So I hear you've agreed to speak to someone," Gabriella said gently.

"Yes," he said nervously.

"I think that's a brave and smart move, Ben. It will help a lot!" she said, smiling.

"I've never talked to anyone about my past. I-I feel uncomfortable about telling... a stranger... personal things about me," Ben fidgeted.

"The counselor keeps anything you say to them in strictest confidence. You can say anything to them. It should feel easier to open up to them," she explained.

"The only time I've felt comfortable talking about me was with you and Catherine... and... I don't know why," he said, looking down at his hands with a confused look on his face.

Gabriella looked at him. He really didn't see that they loved him or even could. That hurt her a little, and it must have shown on her face as Ben noticed.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing Ben, it's fine," she said and forced a smile onto her face. She hoped that after his sessions with the counselor, he'd be more receptive to their love.

"This is why I'm going to see this counselor. I can't seem to stop hurting people I care about!" he growled at himself.

"No, Ben, you're going to see the counselor to find out why you feel you're not worthy of being loved. To find out what events in your past led you to that conclusion. Those of us who love you, who are in love with you, feel pain when we see you hurting because of your misconceptions. But you shouldn't worry about our pain because healing yourself will eliminate ours."

"In love?" he whispered.

"Yes, you silly man! You have a few women in love with you, and they accept the fact that others are in love with you. Something else you need to understand is that love CAN work that way." Gabriella smiled and shook her head. "I wasn't supposed to be here as your counselor, just a friend. What else would you like to talk about?"

He'd only had bad experiences with people who said that they loved him, Wendy being only the most recent. These experiences went back... a long way. He looked at Gabriella's open and friendly expression. He wished she was his counselor, but then he'd feel wrong about burdening her with his baggage. Maybe he should do some groundwork to prepare for his sessions with the counselor.

"What is love?" he asked her.

Gabriella snorted gently in surprise.

"I mean, what does love mean to you? I've been in love a few times in my life, and it's never worked out for me, so maybe if I could hear what love means to others, I could see what I've done wrong," he amended quickly.

"Why do you think you're the one who did something wrong?" she asked. "You weren't alone in these relationships, were you?"

Ben blinked at her, and she smiled.

"When I met Daniel at university, I was smitten. He was young and dashing and so in charge of his future. I came from an impoverished family, and I found his confidence with money and finance very attractive. He also said the right things to me and made me feel important. I was completely dazzled. He played the courting game very well. That doesn't mean I was faultless in the eventual state of our marriage. I put Daniel up on a pedestal. My expectations of him didn't match reality. When I discovered that, I tried to work with him to recapture what made me fall in love with him, but some of that never existed outside of my mind, and his passions had moved on from me to money. He had no desire to change anything as he had what he wanted. Instead of leaving Daniel, who genuinely loved his children, I gave up on finding happiness for myself, so my children would have a stable home."

"I'm sorry," Ben said.

"My point in all that was that the two young people we were when we met at university weren't honest with each other. We let our expectations and desires cloud our decisions. During courting, people always present their best attributes and hide the negative. That's human nature, I suppose. But we should have taken more time to get to know the real people we were before deciding to get married. I don't regret having my two wonderful children. There are other things I do regret, but now I get to start over."

"To find happiness," he said

"Yes, Ben. I'm going to find happiness!" she smiled at him.

"OK, so maybe I'm not solely to blame for the failures of my relationships. But maybe my expectations are interfering with my ability to sustain a healthy relationship."

"List them," Gabriella said.

"What?" he asked.

"You've just said you have expectations. What are they? If you can itemize them, then maybe you can see if any truly are holding you back."

"Fidelity," he immediately said.

"You are particularly sensitive to that one based on how your marriage ended?" she asked.

"Yes. Discovering Wendy had been having an affair for potentially years hurt me more than I thought possible."

"So maybe honesty is more of a critical item for you. If Wendy had come to you before she had an affair and told you why she felt the need to have one, maybe you might not have been as hurt as you were?" Gabriella asked.

Ben thought about that for a bit. "I think it would have still hurt a great deal, but... yes, I think if she'd been honest, the pain would have been far less."

"What else?" she asked.

"Communication," he said.

"I think we just described that. Open communication, but it needs to be truthful," Gabriella said. "Next."

"Uh. Loyal, friendly, kind, caring..." he struggled to name other expectations he had.

"These aren't really outrageous expectations. Where are the requirements like, must be a Nobel prize-winning scientist, run a humanitarian aid station, and bench press 300 pounds? How about must be able to cook, do bookkeeping, and laundry," she smiled.

Ben smiled. "Reasonably intelligent, genuinely compassionate, and fit will do. The rest I can do myself."

"So it sounds like your current expectations may not be as big a factor as you thought. What were your expectations when you got married? You said you were planning on having a big family. When that turned out to be not in the cards, how did you react in your relationship? You still had a chance at being fertile with someone at that time, just not your wife. What did you do?" Gabriella pushed.

"I told her it wasn't important. And it wasn't," he murmured.

"You adapted your expectations to protect what you had, right?" Gabriella clarified.

"Yes."

"So maybe your past expectations weren't so rigid and difficult to live with either," she said, looking him in the eye. "What about sex? Did you want it more often than her or less often? Were you incompatible with how you wanted to have sex?"

"The only time she complained was after she discovered she couldn't have babies. She wanted to cut back significantly. Then near the end of our marriage, she wanted sex much less often. She even cut back on the cuddling before sleeping."

"Near the end, she was likely trying to distance herself from you. Limiting the intimacy in preparation for the separation," Gabriella suggested. "But before that, generally, you two were compatible?"

Ben frowned. "Uh, I've mentioned that my body acts like a teenager. My libido has always been a little... overactive. Wendy was sometimes annoyed by that. Not angry, really, just annoyed."

Gabriella smirked. "More than one woman could endure?"

Ben smiled then caught the nuance of Gabriella's question. He frowned again.

"What?" she asked, seeing his quick mood swing.

"I'm not that kind of man," he rumbled.

"What kind of man?" she asked.

"I don't- I'm not promiscuous! I'm not unfaithful!" he growled.

"Have you made promises of fidelity to any of the women you've been with recently? I understand you've specifically told one the exact opposite, yet she still wants to be with you. Another promised you no strings attached relationship. Neither calls you unfaithful. Neither has anything but praise for what a good person you are. Why do you think that is?" Gabriella asked gently.

Ben scowled and thought hard. Obviously, she was talking about Tina and Trish.

Gabriella pressed on. "You did mention in your expectations that fidelity is the most important one. May I suggest that it may have a lot to do with the type of relationship you were in? Traditional marriage is a contract with terms specifically defining the promise of fidelity. There are open marriages that don't have that clause and allow the spouses to seek emotional and physical enjoyment with other partners."

"That's unrealistic!" he growled.

"Really? We've talked about expectations. Let's talk about beliefs. Do you believe the heart can only love one person at a time? Do you believe traditional marriages are the only successful kind of relationship between adults?"

Ben thought about his complicated feelings for Gabriella, Catherine, Tina, and Trish. She saw it on his face, so he couldn't deny it. "No, people can love more than one person. But that leads to heartache when one partner feels unfulfilled!"

"That could definitely happen if there was no communication. No relationship will last in a vacuum. People just aren't built to function that way. We need to be constantly in touch with each other to see if we can do something to ease the other's way in life or if they can ease ours. That's what makes for a rich relationship! Were you unwilling to communicate your feelings and needs with your wife?"

"No," he mumbled.

"So communication shouldn't be an issue for you," she smiled.

"You can't marry more than one person!" Ben argued.

"Back to the question of marriage then. Is that the only viable outcome of a relationship for you?" Gabriella asked.

"Well, traditionally. You meet someone, you date, and you fall in love. Then you get married and start a family. You grow old together," Ben said.

"What about friends?" she asked. "How do you see that relationship working?"

"Friends, you nurture for life," Ben replied.

"That's a really nice way of putting it. I think I like your idea of friendship more than that model of traditional marriage. The idea of nurturing never ending, but being an integral part of the relationship sounds lovely!" she smiled. "Can I ask you how you define friendships? What are the benefits and limits? Can you love a friend, romantically, physically?"

Ben thought about friends. He thought about how he had been interacting with his neighbors, his friends. About how he was emotionally connected to them and cared about their well-being. How he had used sex to help them feel better. The light came on behind his eyes, and Gabriella's smile grew wider as she saw his understanding.

"Yes, you're already there. It's working, and no one is hurt. Everyone wants you to feel as happy as you make us feel, but the only one stopping that from happening... is you," Gabriella said gently.

"I hurt Tina," Ben said through gritted teeth.

"And how did that happen?" she asked.

Ben looked at Gabriella sharply.

"Tina told us the whole story of your evening of dancing, minus the intimate details, so we are aware of the circumstances, but I'd like to hear your opinion of what went wrong," she added.

"I led her on. We had a wonderful evening, and in the morning, she told me how sad I'd made her. How I'd ruined her!" Ben said in anguish.

"Tina believes you don't want her. Is that true?" Gabriella said bluntly.

Ben rocked back. "Don't want her?!? Of course, I want her! She's beautiful, smart, loving, but SHE'S NOT FOR ME!" he barked.

"Who says?" she asked sternly.

Ben's mouth opened, but nothing came out at first. Then he recalled something. "Ah... I do... and Trish! Trish agrees with me! Tina is almost half my age! It's unfair to her!"

"I think if you spoke with Trish now that she's had time to understand Tina better, she'd give you a different answer, but let's leave that alone for a minute. Instead, let's take a look at the word you just used. Unfair. I think you'd agree with me that finding a compatible mate is difficult. Someone you can love. Someone that loves you back. The push and pull of personalities, wants, needs, and desires can make that very difficult. Tina is a special case. She's a submissive. Her needs are very specific, and the risks for her are much greater. How much more difficult do you think her submissiveness makes it for her to find a compatible mate. She's had a terrible experience in her marriage. In you, she's found someone willing to give her what she needs without fear of abuse. Then you pushed her away because you believe she needs to find someone else," Ben began to protest, but Gabriella held up her hand so she could continue. "Do you understand she doesn't need to be the only person in your life? Tina just wants to be part of yours. You're right. She's young. She's going to be going to university. She'll meet people. Maybe she'll meet someone closer to her age that can fulfill that special need she has. Wouldn't that be easier for her if she had a support system in place until it happened?"

"But-but she said I ruined her for everyone else. How would I make that better by allowing it to continue?" Ben argued.

"First true loves are always the best. That doesn't mean life doesn't move you along. Sure, you always compare new relationships to the first, and Ben, you are pretty tough to beat, but life goes on. Tina is young! Everything is a little more immediate and dramatic for the young. Don't be trapped by her current angst," she said with an understanding smile.

"So... are you telling me I should let her live with me and be my lover?" Ben said, confused.

Gabriella still felt a little uncomfortable with the idea but realized that was precisely what she had to be okay with it for everyone's sake, including hers.

"Look, you set out a life plan for Tina. It's hugely generous of you and truly demonstrates you care about her future. I'm not saying you change the plan significantly. Just let her into your life on the condition that she keeps her heart and mind open to the possibility of love in the future from someone she may meet. You, in turn, will have to be aware that what you two have may not be permanent. It's kind of like friends with benefits. Someday she may meet the one, and you two will just remain friends. Special friends."

"Friends with benefits? I've never thought of myself in those terms before. I've always considered myself the marriage type. Old fashioned," Ben said and looked inwards. He was surprised to discover that he genuinely felt a lot better. He still had trouble accepting the idea that they loved him, but the fear of hurting them by returning the emotions was significantly reduced. It was like a weight had been lifted from his heart.

He looked at Gabriella in wonder. "How could Daniel have been so blind to not see how incredible you are and how damn lucky he was to have you?"

She looked at Ben in surprise and blushed deeply. He reached out and took her hands in his. He brought them up to his lips and gently kissed her knuckles. She gasped softly.

"Gabriella, I feel so much better. I can't begin to describe how grateful I am to have you in my life. You..." Ben was at a loss for words as his heart filled with love for the beautiful woman sitting next to him on the couch. A tear rolled down his cheek.

Tears began to well up in her eyes as she saw what she mistook for simple admiration in his. Then his lips were on hers, and she squeaked in surprise. He pulled back slightly, thinking he'd made a mistake, but she immediately pressed forward and kissed him urgently. She slipped her hand behind his head into his hair so she could kiss him deeper, and he gently slid his fingers into her raven locks to return the kiss. He sucked hungrily at her tongue, and she moaned into his mouth.

She loved the feeling of his hands on her. So powerful yet gentle. One of his hands left her hair and traveled down to the small of her back, and he pulled her body closer to his. When her breasts pressed against his broad chest, she whimpered with the delicious sensations going through her body.

Suddenly Ben scooped her up in his arms and carried her down the hall to his bedroom. He knee walked across his bed with her in his arms and laid her down gently before him. He leaned down over her and captured her mouth in a slow sensuous kiss, tasting her full lips and gently sucking them between his.

He leaned back and pulled his shirt up and over his head. She gasped when she saw his bare chest, thick with muscles, his hard stomach, and the three scars. She reached out and, for the first time, touched the remnants of his bullet wounds. His eyes flared with passion at her touch on his bare skin, and he lifted her up to her knees on the bed so he could pull her sweater over her head. Soon there was just the thinnest of lace between the heat of his skin and her full breasts. She put her arms around him and pulled their bodies together. She ran her hands up his powerful back as he tilted his head down to kiss her once more. Their tongues explored and caressed each other, and their breathing became heavy with need.

He released the clasp on her bra and slid his hands down her back and under the yoga pants and panties' waistband. Gabriella cried out when his hands gripped the flesh of her ass. He pressed her firmly against the bulge rising in his pants. She gasped and grabbed his ass to pull him tighter against her.

Gabriella moved her hands immediately to the buckle of his belt and undid it when he leaned back. She popped the button on his pants and pulled the zipper down with shaking hands. Ben caught her hands and pulled them gently away. She looked up into his eyes with a worried expression. He just smiled at her and kissed her hands again. He released them and slid down his own pants and pulled them free.

Then he was kneeling on the bed in front of her, completely naked.

Gabriella's breath caught when she finally saw Ben fully erect. She thought it was beautiful!

Ben reached forward and slid her bra straps down her shoulders and followed the dropping fabric with his hands until he had the soft flesh of her breasts resting in his palms. He gently squeezed her hard nipples, and shocks went through her nerves.

Gabriella pushed her yoga pants and panties down and lost her balance while trying to pull them from under her knees on the bed. She fell forward against Ben's chest, and he caught her. She yanked the clinging fabric off while her face remained pressed against his skin. The clean, masculine smell of his skin was making her head spin.

Ben lifted her once more and laid her out against the pillows. He moved his lips to her breasts and kissed and sucked them, alternating between them until she thought she'd go mad. She pressed his head against her breast so he would take more into his mouth, and he did. The sensations were going directly to the heat between her legs.

Ben began to kiss his way down her belly and beyond. She became nervous. Daniel had never kissed her where Ben was headed, and she had no idea what to expect. She found herself holding her breath. As he kissed her inner thighs and slowly made his way closer, she began to gasp. When Ben's hot breath finally blew across her sensitive flesh, she arched up, and his tongue made contact. It was incredible! Her hands immediately went to the back of his head and ran through his hair. Ben's tongue stroked across the outer folds, and she arched again as she gasped. When it reached and circled the hooded flesh of her clit, she cried out her pleasure. He gently sucked the stiffening bud between his lips, and she pulled his head tight against her, writhing as the bliss flowed over her. Her orgasm was quick, intense, and took her completely by surprise. She'd never had such an intense orgasm before.

Ben felt her body cresting through an orgasm, so he moved his kisses up her trembling stomach and brushed his lips across the sensitive skin on the undersides of her breasts. Gabriella's nipples begged to he kissed, so he sucked them into his mouth, and she arched her back once more and cried out in pleasure.

"God! Ben, I need you inside me! Please!" she gasped as he moved further up her body. He kissed her neck and the underside of her chin. Then her lips were on his kissing him deeply, her tongue insistent.

Gabriella sucked in her breath as the hot head of his cock stroked across her wet opening. Ben moved it across her a few more times, slowly pressing forward, lubricating himself with her excitement. Finally, she felt him positioned at her opening. He gradually increased the pressure, and the thick head pushed its way inside. It was so good, but such a tease! Ben slipped back out then slowly pressed inside again. Gabriella was going mad! She wanted all of him, but he was so careful because he caught her wincing as he stretched her wider than she'd ever been. Her body reacted by sending more lubricant to ease his way.

Three more strokes, and Ben pulled out to the tip again. She whined with need, and he slid deep in one stroke. Her legs shot out, and she screamed in surprise. Her eyes were wide, and she was panting as she gazed up at him. He held still to let her get used to the sensation.

"Oh my god, Ben, you're so deep! You're filling me up!" she said, looking up at his face, which was showing his bliss. His expression turned embarrassed, then concerned. "What is it?" she asked.

"I'm only halfway in," he said quietly.

Her body immediately clamped down on him in fear. Half?!? She couldn't imagine more. This was as deep as Daniel ever got, and his cock hadn't been as thick! She'd never felt so complete. It was perfect! How could there be more?

Ben kissed her, and her mind filled with stars. To feel the bliss of his lips on hers and his heat deep between her legs was too much! He began to move, sliding out to the head then back to where he was before. She felt herself relaxing, and he was able to slide just a little deeper. He had to go slow as it was all virgin territory from this point and was definitely not used to the pressure. With the slow strokes, the teasing sensation was back, and her legs curled up around his ass so she could pull in. This seemed to make it easier for him to go deeper. Soon his strokes were long and deep, and Gabriella could feel the rapid build-up of an enormous orgasm. She clutched at him and made little yelping noises as their bodies got closer together. Finally, Ben made one hard thrust as she squeezed him tight with her legs, and he reached the bottom.

She cried out in ecstasy as his pelvis slammed into her overly sensitive clit, and she began to rock through a world-shattering orgasm. Ben could only do five more deep strokes, bumping her up to higher plateaus of heaven before his orgasm exploded through his body, and he gushed into her depths. She had a moment of panic before she recalled that he couldn't make babies. Then the pleasure overtook her, and she just held onto him as tightly as she could as her nerves flashed and tingled over her entire body.

When the explosions died down, she pulled his face to hers for a kiss, and he caressed her lips with his.

"Oh, that was so good!" she smiled up at him when he pulled back. She marveled at how deep he was inside her and the heat coming from his cock. Then she noticed that he wasn't getting soft. If anything, he felt harder. She looked at his face in surprise and saw the hunger in his eyes. He began to thrust into her in long, slow strokes. Her breath caught in her throat as he began to move faster and faster. At the bottom of each stroke, he gently twisted his hips, which gave her the most delicious sensation on her overcharged clit. She was stunned to feel the beginnings of another orgasm building, her third one!

Ben suddenly surprised her by lifting her legs and bracing them around his powerful arms. This raised her ass off the bed and allowed him to thrust harder and deeper. Their bodies slapped together, and it was too much for Gabriella. She could no longer think coherently. All she could do was make whimpering sounds as her body rushed towards another explosion. Ben's orgasm struck first, and he rocked himself against her, jetting one more deep inside. This pushed her over the top. She screamed silently and passed out.

When Gabriella came to, she was lying on Ben's chest, and his cock was slowly slipping from her body. His hands were gently kneading her back muscles, searching out and relaxing any knots he found. She discovered she'd drooled a little on his chest and wiped her face in embarrassment.

"Welcome back," he said with a smile in his voice. She tilted her head to look at him, and he was looking at her fondly. She smiled at him, then stretched languidly across his large body. He grabbed a tissue and wiped up the drool. She blushed again.

"So, is this what you meant by friends with benefits?" he asked carefully.

She looked up into his eyes. She felt her entire body tingling and heard the roar of her blood in her ears. "Maybe just a little more than that," she whispered and pressed her face against his chest in fear of his reaction to what she'd just said.

"I was hoping you felt the same way," he whispered back.

She looked up again and saw the love in his eyes. He pulled her up on his body and kissed her deeply.

Afterward, she rested on him, luxuriating in the feel of his skin on hers. She'd never felt this good before. Of course, she was also aching a little from his enthusiastic treatment of her sensitive parts. But it was a good ache.

Now that she had a rational moment to think about what they'd done, she started to worry. Hannah had quite specifically told them that Ben wasn't ready for a relationship, and there was to be no more unsolicited sexual contact. Well, Ben started it so it couldn't be called unsolicited. Still, she was worried that she might have done him some harm emotionally.

She must have been frowning as she felt his fingers smoothing out the crease between her eyes.

"This is a no frown zone," Ben teased. "Any thoughts that may cause them must be banished."

She looked up at him and smiled. "Sorry."

"Maybe we should get cleaned up," he suggested. "I've been told my shower can fit three."

"Are you suggesting I shower with you?" she said with a raised eyebrow.

"Not if you feel that would be too intimate," he smiled.

She chuckled and slid off of him. Ben led the way into the bathroom, and she couldn't tear her eyes away from his naked body to notice the shower.

"Hello! Amazing bathroom reno here!" Ben scowled playfully at Gabriella while he gestured at the room when he caught her staring. He shook his head and stepped in to get the water going. She followed.

Gabriella gasped in surprise when Ben activated the side jets, and wonderfully hot water shot inwards from all sides.

"You've never been in a shower with surround jets before?" he asked.

"No, it's wonderful! Of course, I've never been in the shower with a man before either," she smiled up at him.

She dipped her head under the stream from the ceiling-mounted rain shower head. Ben ran his fingers through her long black hair, ensuring the water got to every strand. She purred at the feeling of his strong hands in her hair. She stepped back from the downpour, and he tilted her head up as he brought his lips down to hers. A thrill shot through her body as his tongue caressed her bottom lip, and she moaned into his mouth.

He reached out and poured some shampoo into his hands and worked it into her hair. His fingers massaged her scalp as the bubbles spread through her hair. Ben gently worked shampoo all the way to the ends of her hair, and once he was sure he got it all, he pulled her back under the dropping spray. Once more, he massaged her scalp as he thoroughly rinsed her hair. He repeated the process taking a kiss between each stage. Gabriella's nipples were stiff with need, so he bent down and took one into his mouth and ran the tip of his tongue over the sensitive bud. She gasped and pulled his head tighter against her breast. He treated the other nipple to the same, and Gabriella's knees started to tremble.

Ben poured some body wash into his hands and rubbed it over Gabriella's arms, then her back and chest. He was careful not to overstimulate her nipples and worked his way down her body. He gently cleaned between her legs, and she gasped as one, then two fingers stroked inside her. He kept up the internal massage as he kissed his way down her stomach. When his mouth reached her lower lips, she cried out and pulled his head tightly against her as she crested through a gentle yet powerful release. Ben braced her body against his as her muscles shook and trembled. He pulled her under the shower to rinse the suds away, then gently sat her on the bench to recuperate while he quickly washed his hair and body.

He helped her to her feet, and they stepped out to get fluffy towels to dry themselves off. He finished first as she was still languidly coming down from her last orgasm, so he moved to help her. She loved the feel of his strong hands, rubbing her body through the towel. He used the towel to squeeze most of the water from her hair, then sat her on a stool in front of the mirror and pulled out a hairdryer and brush.

"Wendy used to let me dry her hair for her. May I?" Ben asked.

She smiled and nodded. He got to work. She got to admire his naked body in the mirror as he worked. While she had a towel wrapped around herself, Ben was totally unselfconscious about being naked with her as he concentrated on her hair, and she loved it.

He did a passable job at styling her drying hair, and she grinned at his happy smile as he finished up. Not precisely as she would have done it, but she didn't look bad!

When Ben shut off the hairdryer, they heard the doorbell. They looked at each other, but it was Gabriella that wore a guilty look.

Ben saw the look and wondered what it meant. "What's with that look? Did you invite someone over?" he asked.

"No! I don't know who that is," she said, but the look remained. He raised his eyebrow and waited for her to explain.

The doorbell rang again. She jumped up and rushed into the bedroom to pull on her clothes. Ben walked out and pulled on his robe. He left the bedroom to answer the door as Gabriella struggled to get her panties from insider the leg of her yoga pants.

The doorbell rang once more, and Ben opened it to see Catherine looking up at him with a worried expression. He stood back, and she stepped in quickly.

"What's wrong? What happened?" he asked

"What? Nothing's wrong. You just didn't answer your door for a long time," Cat said quietly, the look still on her face.

"Sorry, I was in the shower," Ben answered as he hung up her coat. "To what do I owe the honor of your midday visit?" He knew she worked downtown, so seeing her at... he looked at the clock. A twelve-thirty PM visit was out of the norm.

"I spoke with Hannah this morning, and she said you were feeling a little blue. I heard Gabriella had come to see you-" she froze as her friend came down the hallway from Ben's room. Cat took in the slight tenderness in her movements, the guilty look, and the new hairstyle. Her mouth dropped open.

Ben looked from Catherine to Gabriella and saw the guilty look was back full force.

"Could someone please tell me what is going on with you two?" he asked.

Cat's eyes began to well up with tears, and she looked back at Ben. He saw her stricken expression, and his heart clenched in his chest. This was what he was afraid of.

"NO!" Gabriella yelled angrily, and the others froze. "Stop right there! NO ONE gets to feel bad until we clear the air!" she said, staring at her friend.

"I think it's pretty clear-" Cat began.

"Then, you'd be wrong!" Gabriella stressed and stepped up and took her friend's arms in hers so she could look directly into her eyes. "Ben knows we love him, both of us and Tina. He still needs to work with his counselor to resolve his issues with accepting that he's worthy of love, but one thing he does not have to worry about is hurting us by our loving him. I don't need to ask Ben for an exclusive relationship. I know his heart is capable of so much love I'm not threatened by his loving another. He cares deeply for Tina, and she needs him so much! I think that's beautiful! I know you love him as much as I do. I would never try to keep you two apart. I love you too much to be that mean!"

Catherine pulled her friend into a hug, and they cried on each other's shoulders. Ben watched them with tears in his own eyes, but the pain he'd felt was gone. This actually felt like medicine for his soul. The words Gabriella had spoken earlier were being demonstrated right before his eyes, and his heart felt lighter for it. She'd surprised and impressed him once more. He was still confused by her guilty look and wanted an answer.

When the two friends got control of themselves, he led them into the living room, and they sat on the couch with Catherine in the middle.

"Why did you look so guilty when Catherine showed up?" Ben asked.

Gabriella smiled at Cat. "Well, I broke the spirit of the agreement we all made last night when the women got together to talk about what we could do to help you. Hannah told us no more unsolicited sexual contact. You kissed me first, so it wasn't unsolicited, but the point was to give you some breathing room, some time to heal emotionally."

"Gabriella, your talk with me this morning was more healing than anything I've ever experienced. What you and Catherine did just now has proven your words. The pressure I've felt on my heart has been lifted. Yes, I'm still anxious about why such beautiful and wonderful women are showing interest in me. I'm worried that love will disappear suddenly like a soap bubble. It's happened so many times in my past. But you've helped me so much, I can't begin to describe it!"

"I wish I'd been here!" Cat said longingly.

Ben turned her face towards him with a finger on her chin and kissed her. She moaned loudly as he sucked her lower lip between his and ran his tongue across the plump flesh before slipping into her mouth. Catherine immediately climbed onto his lap, and Gabriella grinned at the surprised look on Ben's face before it was hidden beneath Cat's white-blond hair as she pushed him back on the couch.

Gabriella stood up and looked back at her friends with a smile. Ben managed to push Catherine up so he could see past her hair.

"You're leaving?" he asked, surprised. Catherine looked over with a feverish look in her eyes.

"Yes, Ben, I'm going to head home. Unlike you, I don't have a body that thinks it's a teenager, and I think you should spend a little quality time with Cat. Maybe you both could come over for dinner tonight? Six PM? The kids would love to see you both again," she said.

Ben smiled, and Cat pushed off of him to run over to her friend. She threw her arms around her and squeezed her tight.

"I love you so much, Gabriella!" Catherine gushed.

"I love you too, Cat. See if you can't wear him out a little," she grinned.

Gabriella slipped on her coat and boots and headed home. Catherine locked up behind her, then rushed back into the living room with a delighted grin on her face. She stopped short when she saw Ben was no longer there.

Suddenly, hands grabbed her from behind and lifted her in the air. She squealed in excitement and thrashed, but it was no use against Ben's strength. She went over his shoulder to hang down his back, and he hustled down the hallway to his bedroom. He came to a halt just inside.

"Dammit! Well, this is embarrassing!" he growled.

"What? What's wrong?" Catherine asked, unable to see what he saw.

"This has never happened to me before. I can do this," he said.

Keeping a firm grip with one arm around her legs, Ben pulled up the first corner of the sheets on the bed. He walked around the bed, pulling up the rest of the sheets. He tossed them in the corner then got new sheets from the linen closet, all the while balancing the giggling blond on his shoulder. Finally, he settled with just opening a single flat sheet across the mattress and put Catherine down in the center of the bed. She grinned up at him as he smiled down at her. He yanked off his robe and had a moment of deja vu when he realized he'd been in this exact position with Gabriella just... what, an hour ago? The moment threw off his concentration, and Cat noticed his confusion. Not wanting him to stop, she rolled to her knees and pulled off her top in one quick sweep. A sexy white lace bra held her smallish breasts, which immediately caught Ben's eye. He smiled in delight and noticed a tremble in her tight stomach muscles. He knew she was a swimmer, and she obviously kept herself in excellent condition.

She yanked off her pants, and as Ben tossed his robe onto the floor, he felt Catherine's hands on his stiffening cock.

Cat wasted no time in feeling the heat and weight of the beast she'd bumped her face into. She felt his pulse jump inside, and it hardened in her grip.

Ben slid his hand into the hair on the back of her head and pulled her to him in a fierce kiss. His other hand popped the clasp on her bra as he tasted her mouth. Cat's nipples immediately stiffened in anticipation of this touch. He pulled the bra away, and she pressed her bare breasts against his chest. She moaned into his mouth, then squealed as his hands slid down to squeeze her ass.

She pushed him down on his back on the bed and straddled his legs. She looked down at him hungrily, admiring the view. The three bullet scars caught her attention, and she dipped down to kiss them.

Ben's breath rushed out with the sensation of her lips so close to his groin, so he was entirely unprepared for the feeling of her mouth sliding over the thick head of his cock. She ran her tongue in circles around the head and popped her lips over the sensitive edges. The sensation caused him to curl up into a seated position, but she put a hand on his chest and pushed him back down, keeping his cock firmly in her mouth. She bobbed up and down, managing to get almost half of him into her mouth.

Once she had gotten him good and wet, she knee walked around his legs until she was resting her wet pussy on his hard shaft. She rocked her hips along its length and made it slick with her wetness. When he thought he'd go out of his mind, she lifted him vertical and squatted over him, rubbing the thick head across her opening. He was moaning in need, and she wore a seductive grin as she settled herself down over him, squeezing the head inside her. She raised herself off then dropped herself down, driving a third of his length into her. She stopped and got used to his thickness forcing her open.

When she was ready, she lifted herself again and slowly pumped him in and out of her. Once she was easily taking that much of him, she dropped her weight on him again and felt him surge deeper still. Not yet to the root of his cock, but almost. She squirmed on him, feeling completely full.

Ben looked up at the beautiful blonde riding him. He couldn't believe he was making love to her. Ben felt her legs tremble with the effort to keep her poised above him. Then she moved again, and his mind was filling with the blissful sensations of her hot flesh gripping him.

She managed a few more shaky bounces before her legs gave out. His cock rammed all the way to the bottom of her pussy, and she cried out in bliss.

Catherine was almost delirious. He was so thick and reached so far inside her she almost couldn't tell where he ended, and she began. Her pussy was gripping him so tightly. It was so much better than her dream! She leaned down over his chest and planted a kiss on his lips as she smiled at him. She began to roll her hips, gently sliding him in and out no more than an inch. The tease was excruciating, so Ben grabbed her hips and began to move his own pelvis in time with hers to make longer strokes.

She cried out as his hard flesh pistoned into her, and her clit ground against his hard muscles. Her orgasm was rushing up on her when his hands began to slam her down on his body. This added pressure pushed her over the top, and she was suddenly screaming out as ecstasy shot through her body. He moved his hands to her ass and squeezed her tight as he buried himself once more to her depth. His orgasm was fast and intense. He took her lovely face between his hands and kissed her deeply, and he gushed into her hot center. Catherine moaned as she felt his hot spend fill her.

She lay upon his chest, trying to catch her breath. She still felt stuffed with cock, a sensation she'd never felt before and wanted to feel forever. Once she'd recovered from her orgasm, she waited for him to begin to soften, but it didn't happen. She pushed up on her arms and looked at him.

"Again?" she asked, then giggled as he rolled over, pinning her under him.

She felt a spike of pleasure as his pelvis pressed against hers. She pulled her knees up and out and felt him begin to move in little circles. She moaned and thrashed under him with her eyes closed in bliss as their slick bodies slid against each other. The circling picked up in speed and began to include pulling out and thrusting back in deep at the bottom of each circle. The direct contact was driving her mad, and her breath gusted out with each thrust.

Ben felt his second orgasm, rushing up fast. Catherine's muscles were starting to tighten and tremble, heralding her own imminent release. He picked up the pace once more until he was moving in a blur, and Catherine was yelling out his name. She clung to him as hard as she could, then her body went totally stiff as she gushed against his cock. Her eyes flew open, and her jaw dropped as the intensity took her entirely by surprise. He slammed all the way to the bottom one last time and jetted his load deep into her body.

The two breathed hoarsely as they recovered. Ben pulled back, and Catherine whimpered at the sudden emptiness left behind. When he was finally out, he rolled over onto his back to take his weight off her.

"Oh god, Ben! That was better than I dreamed it could be!" she panted.

"It seems like a dream to me, as well. I'm having a hard time believing today is real. It's like I'm going to suddenly wake up, and I'll be alone again," he said quietly, his voice dazed.

Catherine rolled over onto her side and propped her head up on her hand. She looked at Ben's troubled expression then leaned over him to give him a gentle kiss.

"Ben, it's real. Gabriella and I love you very much. So does Tina. We'd like to share your life with you if you'll have us," she said with a hopeful smile.

Tears came to Ben's eyes, and he pulled her on top of him in a fierce hug. "I want that very much!" he whispered into her ear as if afraid, saying it out loud would ruin his chances at happiness.

The phone rang.

Catherine got one more passionate kiss from him before she'd let him roll over to the side of the bed to get the handset.

"Hello?"

"Ben? It's Hannah. I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"Hi, Hannah. I'm-I'm actually doing much better, thanks. Gabriella and I had a really good talk this morning, and she really helped me come to terms with some things that have been tormenting me."

"Really? That's excellent! You're... still going to see the counselor, though, right?" she asked, concerned that he was looking for an excuse to avoid it.

"Yes. I can see that I have some work to do to deal with these issues. Gabriella also insisted it was necessary. I have to tell you I am feeling much b-ETTER!" he gasped as Cat ran her tongue up the length of his resting cock.

"Are you okay?" Hannah asked, concerned.

"Yeah-ohhh... yeah, I'm good." Ben tried to push Catherine's head away from his groin as she continued to tease him with the tip of her tongue. She giggled, then slapped her hand over her mouth and sat up with wide eyes.

"BEN, IS CATHERINE HAVING SEX WITH YOU?" Hannah yelled. Cat heard her and looked worried.

"...yes," Ben said, blushing as he cursed his obsession with honesty.

"THAT BITCH! I told her last night you were hands-off until you got help! When she told me she was going to check in on you, I should have known!" she ranted.

"Hannah! It's okay! That was something Gabriella and I talked about this morning. She was wonderful!"

"OH MY GOD! GABRIELLA HAD SEX WITH YOU TOO!" she shrieked into the phone.

"That's not what I meant...but yes. But it's okay!" he tried to calm her.

"No, Ben, it is definitely NOT okay! I will speak with you tonight. I have the details for the counselor. I'll bring them over at 6 tonight," Hannah insisted, sounding very upset.

"We'll be over at Gabriella's for dinner tonight at that time," Ben said.

There was silence at the other end of the phone as Hannah struggled to throttle her rage. "Then I will see you there then. Goodbye." And she hung up.

"Hannah? Oh, that's not good," Ben said, putting the handset back on its base.

"I'm so sorry, Ben. I just can't stop myself sometimes," Catherine said sadly.

"You can definitely be an imp!" he smiled, and she returned it. "We'll talk with her tonight. At Gabriella's," he said meaningfully.

Her worried look returned.

-=-

For dinner, Gabriella made a large lasagna with fresh garlic bread. Gelato for dessert if anyone had the room.

Everything was ready, and her guests would be arriving shortly. Ben had called to warn her that Hannah found out about their... physical activities and was very upset with her and Cat.

She sighed. She knew Hannah was just concerned with Ben's well-being, but when she'd left Ben, he was looking happier and more at peace than she'd seen him in weeks. Hannah was just going to have to be convinced that what they had done was helpful, not harmful.

The doorbell rang at ten minutes to the hour, and she went to answer it. She saw Hannah's stern face through the window. She had hoped Ben and Catherine would be here first, but... she opened the door.

"Gabriella."

"Hannah, come in, please. Let me get your coat."

Miriam and Daniel showed up to see if it was Ben.

"Oh! Hello, Mrs. Cooper!" Miriam said happily.

"Hello, Miriam, Daniel!" the woman smiled.

"Could you two wait here for Ben and Cat and bring them to my office when they get here?" Gabriella asked her children.

"Yes, mom," her daughter answered.

She gestured for Hannah to follow her to her office at the back of the house and closed the door behind them. The two women took seats across from each other.

Hannah seemed to be trying to get control over her emotions. Gabriella gave her the time she needed and sat quietly.

"How... I... what were you thinking?" Hannah ground out before she clamped down again. Gabriella saw the pain and anger in her face.

"While it may not seem like it from where you are right now, please know I would never do anything to hurt Ben," she began.

Hannah gasped, and her eyes went wide as she stared at Gabriella. "Are you kidding me? The man has intimacy issues, and you and Catherine HAD SEX WITH HIM!" she yelled.

"Ben is afraid to love because he's terrified of hurting the ones he loves. He's afraid of driving them away. I told Ben this morning that he is loved. I love him, Catherine loves him, and Tina loves him. I know he loves us back, but he couldn't cope with the fear of hurting one of us by showing love to any of us. His concept of love didn't include the possibility that being loved by more than one partner could work. His experience with betrayal left him convinced that love from more than one person leads to heartbreak. We're not insisting on exclusive relationships as that would just hurt him. Catherine is my best friend, and I love her. She loves Ben as much as I do, so I wouldn't keep them apart! Tina needs Ben, and he's so good for her. That's wonderful! Speak to Ben before you pass judgment on us. He is much happier than I've ever seen him."

"But why did you have sex with him!" Hannah asked.

"Ben is a very... physical person. Do you recall when you first brought Beth over to Catherine's? Remember how he was all over her? Comforting her with hugs and rubbing against her? Even though he has trouble mentally and emotionally accepting love, he's the opposite when physically giving it. I had no intention of having sex with Ben when I went to his place. Then he kissed me. Yes, I kissed him back, and when he picked me up and carried me to his bedroom, my intentions were moot."

There was a gentle knock on the door.

"Come in!" Gabriella called.

Cat poked her head around the door with a worried look. Ben reached over her and pushed the door open with a look of annoyance.

"She said come in, not look in," he said.

"Hi! Sorry we're late," Catherine said with a blush.

Hannah closed her eyes and struggled to control her anger.

Ben slipped into the room and knelt down in front of Hannah's chair. When she opened her eyes, she yelped in surprise since he was right up next to her. He took her hands in his and looked into her eyes. "Please don't be angry with Gabriella and Catherine. They really helped me a great deal today. I can't begin to tell you how much Gabriella's talk helped me this morning. She really eased my fears and made me re-examine some of my damaged views on love, relationships, and my place in the lives of people I care for. Gabriella and Catherine, their love for me, may help save my sanity. I won't break my promise about speaking to the counselor. I know I'm not cured by any stretch of the imagination, but at least one of my fears has been greatly reduced." He sensually kissed her knuckles, and she gasped gently. Her eyes darted to Gabriella as she recalled her words about his physicality.

"I know you're worried about me, and I truly appreciate that. You are an amazing friend, and I consider myself lucky to have you in my corner. I'm also concerned about you. We've talked about how unhealthy it is to hold onto anger, and now that you know there's no value in anger for this, I want you to release it like we practiced," he said, looking her directly in the eye.

She smiled and leaned forward to pull him into a big hug.

"That's not how we did it, but I suppose hugs also work really well," he said, squeezing his friend warmly.

"Are you ready to eat?" Gabriella asked.

"YES! I'm STARVING!" Ben said. He stood up and kept his arms around Hannah, so she left the ground and hung against his broad chest. She yelped as her breasts were squeezed against him. She put her hands on his shoulders to push him away, but his grip was too secure.

"Ben! Put me down! NOW!" she shrieked.

Miriam and Daniel were standing in the doorway, grinning madly at Ben. He winked at them.

"Oh! I didn't see you there, Hannah. Down you go," he said as he gently set her back on her feet.

She straightened her blouse and jacket and then turned her back to them as she tugged her bra back into place. She turned around to look at his happy grin with a scowl, but she couldn't maintain the look. She gave him a playful swat. "Bad man! Bad BIG man!" she growled as she tried to ignore the tingles and the flush running up her neck.

The kids came in and grabbed Ben's hands to drag him out to the dining room. They sat him at the head of the table then took chairs on either side of him. Gabriella and Catherine went into the kitchen. Miriam indicated that Hannah should sit next to her. The two friends brought the food out to the table, and Gabriella served it onto the plates, Ben getting a very generous portion, much to his delight.

Miriam and Daniel dug in and were surprised when Ben mimicked their enthusiasm. More giggling ensued.

Ben's face showed his enjoyment, and his food quickly disappeared.

Daniel watched in awe as Ben finished off the enormous portion. "Wow! You must have been playing hard today to work up THAT kind of appetite!" he blurted.

Hannah was sipping her water at that moment, and it spurted right back into her glass. Her face went red, and she began coughing as the water had gone straight through her nose. She held her napkin to her face and tried to catch her breath. Gabriella looked at Hannah with an embarrassed expression.

Catherine had a big mischievous grin on her face as she watched the blush grow redder on Ben's frozen face. "Did you have fun today, Ben?" she asked.

Ben gave her an exasperated look. "Yes, I did very much."

Miriam had missed the not quite so subtle nuances of the conversation and looked at Ben in delight. "What did you do today?"

Ben was trapped. He couldn't tell her he'd made love to her mother and her mother's best friend, but he couldn't lie either. Hannah came to his rescue.

"I'm sorry for interrupting Miriam. Ben, before I forget, could you get my purse by the front door?" she asked.

Ben gratefully left the table, and Gabriella asked her kids to start tidying the kitchen. Once they'd left the room, Gabriella swatted her friend's arm.

"OW! Why-"

"Don't put Ben on the spot in front of the kids like that?" she said quietly but firmly.

"I was just teasing!" Cat sulked.

"Yes, but Ben can't or at least won't lie."

"Oh! Right! Sorry, I forgot," Cat said

"Forgot what?" Ben asked as he returned to the dining room with the purse.

"Sorry I teased you, Ben," Catherine apologized contritely.

"Not in front of the kids, please," was all he said.

"Don't do what in front of us?" Miriam asked Ben when she returned.

"Never mind, Miriam," Gabriella said firmly. The young woman scowled at her mother. She'd obviously been left out of something adult and, therefore, interesting to a sixteen-year-old. The fact that it was about Ben made it that much more interesting.

Ben gave Hannah her purse, and she dug out the appointment card. She handed it to Ben. "Tomorrow morning is the initial consultation. Dr. Rao is brilliant, but this is a very personal interaction, and you have to feel comfortable. If you don't click with him, I have others I will introduce you to. Okay?"

"Thank you, Hannah," Ben said and kissed her forehead.

She looked over at Gabriella once more to acknowledge she was right about how physical Ben was.

"Dessert, anyone? We have Gelato!" Gabriella said with a smile.

-=-

Once the meal was done, the kids cleared the dishes and cleaned up. Hannah had to pick up her son from Trish's place, so she thanked Gabriella, and Catherine and Ben gave her a big hug, which sent the flush up her neck once more. She headed home before she did something silly... like, kiss him.

They settled into the living room and played it cool, the women taking the chairs and Ben on the couch. Miriam and Daniel finished up, so they raced into the living room and plopped down on the sofa on either side of Ben. Daniel looked up at Ben and did the eye pointing gesture again, and his mother got upset, but Ben just smiled.

Ben put his arms up along the back of the couch, and the kids tucked themselves in against him. He looked down in surprise, and Gabriella beamed. Catherine grinned as well.

"Ben told me this morning that he's never traveled anywhere," Gabriella opened with.

Miriam spun to look up at Ben in shock. "Never?"

He grinned down at her look. "No, I've never been anywhere but here."

"Mom! We have to bring him with us to France!" the young girl gasped.

Gabriella hadn't expected that, but now that the idea was out there, she saw the appeal. Especially after the events of the morning.

Catherine looked at her curiously, so she answered. "After I returned from my last trip to Europe, I promised the kids I'd take them to France for two weeks this summer. I've taken them to the big theme parks in Florida, and we flew out west and did a driving tour ending up at the Grand Canyon. The kids are a joy to travel with. I've never taken them to Europe, so I thought France would be the nicest place to start. We'll start in Paris, then drive south, stopping in little boutique hotels and bed & breakfasts, and end our trip in Nice."

Miriam was still looking up at Ben in excitement. "You could come with us!"

"But this is a family trip. I wouldn't want to intrude," he argued.

"Cat, would you be available to join us too?" Gabriella asked.

Catherine's smile was threatening to split her face in two. "I'd love to go to France, especially Paris!" She leaped out of her chair and jumped on Gabriella's lap to give her a big hug.

Ben smiled over at the two ladies squealing like teenagers. He looked down at Miriam, who was just shaking her head in embarrassment. "If Catherine is going, I guess it's okay for me to join you, too," he said. Then it was Miriam squealing and jumping up to hug him.

He looked down at Daniel. "That is if it's okay with you, Daniel."

The boy pretended to consider it carefully, then nodded. "I think that would be fine," he said.

"Thank you," Ben said.

Daniel nodded.

Gabriella looked at her kids with pride.

Catherine crawled off of her friend's lap. "Oh, damn. I promised my girls I'd go on a trip with them this summer. France would have been incredible, but there's no way," she said sadly.

"Bring them, and I'll pay for the trip. We'll travel first-class, all the way," Ben said. Gabriella and Catherine stared at Ben blankly.

"I was going to use my points for the flight and car rental," Gabriella mumbled.

"You said this morning I should travel and find someone experienced with the location to guide me. Well, if you'll have me, I'd love to go with you all to France. But I insist on paying," Ben said. "Shouldn't we book now to ensure we all get seats and places to stay?"

Catherine and Gabriella jumped on Ben, and much squealing and playful kissing ensued. Daniel was the recipient of many of those kisses and finally managed to crawl out from under the pile and stomp off to his room. Ben caught the smile the boy was struggling to hide.

"Cat, call your daughters and make sure they are available," Gabriella said, and Cat immediately dialed her house first as Megan was home. Gabriella grabbed Ben's hand and dragged him to her office. Miriam followed, holding Ben's other hand.

Catherine waited in the living room and told her youngest to come over immediately. She hung up and dialed her oldest, Sophia, as she walked to the front door. Moments later, Megan came in breathing hard from the run took off her coat and boots. Her face was filled with curiosity.

Sophia picked up. "Hi, Mom! What's up?"

"Is Rachel with you?" Cat asked.

"Yes, she's right here. What's going on?" the daughter asked curiously.

"Put the phone on speaker. I've got Megan with me here." She put her phone on speaker and heard Sophia's speaker activating. "Do you remember our plan to go away together this summer?" Catherine asked.

"Yes?" all three of her daughters said anxiously, fearing their mother was going to cancel.

"How would you feel about going to France?" Cat said with a grin. She grinned at the phone as Sophia and Rachel screamed in glee. Megan jumped up to cling to her mother as she squealed as well.

"Wait! Wait! We can't afford France!" Sophia exclaimed.

"Ben is paying for the trip!" Catherine told her excitedly. "First-class!"

"Mr. Shepherd? Why is he paying for our trip?" Megan asked.

"Because Ben has never traveled anywhere before, and he'd like company on his first trip. He's bringing us, Gabriella and her kids. We're working out the logistics, but it sounds like we will be starting in Paris, then traveling south to explore, and finishing off in Nice."

"Mom, that's eight people! How can he afford that?" Sophia asked.

"Sweetie, don't worry about that. Ben does very well in his business," she deflected.

"No way! He's built like a Sex God, and he's rich? I'm SO gonna marry that man!" Rachel said.

Catherine snorted as she saw Ben standing in the doorway. He'd come looking for her to help them in the office.

"Uh, he's in the room now, and he heard that, right?" Rachel said weakly.

"Good evening, Rachel," Ben said.

"Good evening, Mr. Shepherd," Rachel and Sophia said in reply.

"Please call me Ben. Catherine, we need your help working out the number of rooms we'll need to book, starting with the hotel in Paris," he said.

"Oh my god, this is happening!" Sophia's voice blurted from the phone, her excitement evident.

"I hope you don't mind me tagging along on your family vacation," Ben said with a serious tone.

The girls spoke all at once to assure him they were more than okay with his being there. Catherine just grinned at him. Megan rushed up and hugged him fiercely, and Catherine joined her. "Sophia and Rachel make hugging sounds! We're giving Ben a group hug!" the mother called out to her daughters.

"God, I wish I was there," Rachel moaned.

"Yeah, why is it that Megan gets all the glory?" Sophia complained.

"Born under a lucky star, I guess!" the youngest gloated to her sisters.

Ben peeled himself away and tugged Catherine down to Gabriella's office. She promised her daughters to email them the details once they were set.

The group spent the next three and a half hours roughing out an itinerary. Most of the calls to the smaller hotels and B & B's would have to happen when their reservation desks and booking people were open for business. Gabriella promised to get started on that in the morning. Ben would help her in the afternoon after speaking with the counselor.

It was just past midnight when they decided to call it a night. Everyone was tired yet excited. Catherine, Megan, and Ben got their coats on and gave Miriam a hug good night. She headed off to bed. Once the coast was clear, Ben gave Gabriella a kiss good night, and she slipped her tongue into his mouth and kissed him passionately. He returned it, and when their lips parted, you could have heard a pin drop. Miriam had snuck back down the stairs and witnessed the most beautiful kiss she'd ever seen. She was so happy for her mother, who deserved happiness, and she loved Ben dearly. She smiled at them when they turned to spot her on the stairs then raced back up to her room.

Gabriella looked up at Ben to make sure he wasn't worried about Miriam. He just looked a little embarrassed, so that was okay.

They turned back to Catherine and Megan. Cat had a loving smile on her face, but Megan's eyes were wide with surprise. More embarrassment for Ben.

"I want my kiss goodnight here inside where it's warm," Catherine said to Ben. She squeezed herself against him and used her hands to hold his face and block his view of Megan. When her lips caressed his, Ben's attention locked onto her, and she was able to truly enjoy his attentions. God! He was a fantastic kisser! Tingles shot through her body, and she had to pull back, or she'd tear off their clothes and take him right there in Gabriella's foyer. As she turned from Ben, she saw her daughter's shocked expression had doubled.

Ben was trembling. "OK, new rule! No more kisses like that before we go our separate ways," he said hoarsely.

"Sorry, Ben," Cat said sincerely.

"Can-can I hug him?" Megan asked her mother.

"I think you'd better keep it to just a hug," she said quietly.

Megan stepped forward quickly and pressed her body hard against Ben, and hugged him tightly. Sure enough, the evidence of his excitement pressed against her, and she gasped silently before he gently pushed her back.

"Sophie and Rachel are gonna scream!" she whispered to her mother as they left amidst shared giggles.

Gabriella grabbed Ben's arm as he turned to leave. He looked back at her. She pointed to the lights which were on at Trish's place. He looked at her in surprise, but she just smiled and nodded. He gave her one more loving kiss as he touched her cheek.

Ben made his way over to Trish's place and noticed a car in the driveway that looked familiar, but he couldn't place where he'd seen it. He walked up to the door and knocked. He didn't want to use the doorbell in case he woke the kids.

The inner door opened, and he was looking down at Tina. Her eyes lit up then she squashed the emotion and looked down. She opened the door, and he stepped inside.

"Good evening, Mr. Shepherd," Tina said quietly.

"Tina..." he began but realized he didn't know what to say. Brutal honesty. "I want you to come home with me. I want you and Christopher to live at my house. I want you in my life. But all of these things are dependent on you agreeing to one very important thing."

She looked up at him in shock. Her mouth worked, but no sound came out.

"I'm amending my previous conditions. Before, I told you that you had to find a mate who was closer to your age. Now, all I am asking is that you keep your heart open for the possibility of love. You are very young. You may meet someone more compatible, someone you connect with deeply, someone you can truly love. You must be open to that. I can't be the reason you miss the opportunity for true love. Can you do that? Please?"

Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and a beautiful smile was on her lovely face. Not able to trust her voice, she nodded quickly. He bent down, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her deeply. She kissed him back as she cried and laughed at the same time. He heard sniffling from further down the hall and looked over Tina's shoulder as she clung to his chest.

Trish and her cousin were standing in the doorway to the living room, watching them. The two were clinging to each other and crying.

"What?" he asked, setting Tina back on her feet.

Trish and Shelly rushed forward and hugged Ben after Tina hustled upstairs to get her things.

"You are such a good man, Ben! Tina needs you so much, and you are so good for her. What changed your mind?" Trish asked.

Ben considered Gabriella's words from earlier in the day about Trish's opinion changing and saw she was right about that too. "Gabriella talked with me and set my mind at ease over some misconceptions I had regarding love and relationships. She sent me over here to open up to Tina about how I truly feel."

"I want to meet Gabriella! She sounds like a truly wise and beautiful soul!" Shelly sighed.

Ben's body reminded him that he had two beautiful women pressing their large, firm breasts into his chest. Trish noticed immediately as the ridge was beginning to bulge the pant leg she was pressed against. His heat and thickness were pressing directly against her pussy through her yoga pants.

"Oh, God, Ben! That feels so fucking good!" she moaned as she ground against him. Shelly looked at her cousin in surprise.

Tina came down the stairs with her suitcases. Truthfully, she hadn't really unpacked as she'd prayed Ben would take her back.

She saw Ben's flushed expression and Trish rubbing against him. Shelly was also squeezed tightly against him. She smiled, put her suitcases down, and walked up to the three.

Trish noticed Tina and pulled away from Ben. Damn her horniness! Ben was here for Tina, not her! Shelly stepped back as well. Tina pulled Ben's coat off and knelt to help him remove his boots. Then she put her hand in Ben's larger one and pulled him into the living room. She could feel him trembling with need as she glanced over to ensure the blinds were closed. Trish and Shelly followed her in, and she gestured for them to move the coffee table away from the couch. She led Ben to stand in front of the sofa.

Tina looked up at Ben. "May I please remove your pants?" she asked quietly.

Ben looked at her, then the other women who stood frozen in the room.

"Please," she repeated, looking up at him with her head tilted.

He nodded faintly, and she efficiently undid his belt, button, and zipper and slid his pants down. He stepped out of them.

"May I please remove your underwear?" she asked.

Ben was starting to recover from his over-stimulation and became nervous about being naked in front of the women. Tina stepped close and looked up sweetly at his face.

"Please."

He shivered and gave her another nod. She slid back down his legs, pushing the garment down with her. His heavy cock swung free and touched her cheek. She gasped and shivered with delight at the feel of him. She heard Shelly moan as she finally got to see Ben's cock. Tina smiled. She'd heard Trish's story of Shelly's skills. She wanted Ben to experience them. She was his to command, but he was hers to please.

Tina put her hands on Ben's chest and gently pushed him to sit on the couch. She moved his knees apart then looked over at Shelly. The blonde's eyes were locked onto his cock, and her breathing was fast. Tina gestured for her to approach. Trish gave her cousin a little push, and she finally began to move closer.

When Shelly was close enough, Tina reached out and took her hand. She pulled the woman closer and made her kneel between Ben's legs. He looked between Tina and Shelly, confused at how this little woman was controlling the much taller blonde. He didn't realize how desperately Shelly wanted precisely what Tina was freeing her to do.

"Ben is a very special man. Please make him feel good," Tina said quietly to Shelly and gently pushed her head towards his stiff cock.

Shelly's eyes closed in bliss as his hot flesh pressed against her cheek. It had been so long since she'd done this. Not since her trust had been so horribly betrayed. She'd never met a man she'd felt comfortable expressing her passion with until Ben. Her cousin's evident confidence in him dissolved her last fears.

She rubbed her face against him and moved her hands to grip the root and cup his balls. She gasped as a surge of pleasure went through her body. She'd missed this so much! She felt the weight of his balls and dipped her head down to run her tongue over their surface. Shelly sucked one into her mouth and moaned in pleasure.

Ben held his hand out for Tina, and she sat next to him on the couch, her feet tucked up under her. He pulled her in close and kissed her tenderly as he gasped at the sensations Shelly was sending through his body.

Trish approached the couch from Ben's other side, and he held his hand out to her as well. She sat next to him with her legs tucked like Tina's. Her eyes were on her cousin, though.

Shelly started to kiss his cock, starting at the base. She pressed her fat lips against his hot skin and sensually moved her kisses from side to side as she made her way up. She made little cooing sounds as she felt his pulse pounding in the hard flesh. When she reached the head, she smiled in great satisfaction to see a large droplet of precum beading there. She dipped the tip of her tongue into the liquid and rubbed it in circles across the fat head of his cock as she ever so slowly lowered her head over him. Another shock went through her body as her lips reached the soft skin of the head and began to stretch over its thickness. Her moaning increased.

Ben writhed as he felt her working her lush lips over the sensitive glans. He fought the urge to reach down to her head and push his cock deeper into her hot, wet mouth.

Trish reached behind herself and dragged Ben's arm off the back of the sofa, and slid it down her back and inside the waistband of yoga pants. Ben automatically slid his hand down between her legs and rubbed in circles over her pussy and clit. She gasped and jolted with pleasure as she watched Shelly.

Ben's cock slowly disappeared into Shelly's working mouth. She slathered her spit over his skin with her tongue and began to work her way down the shaft. Occasionally she'd slide back up to the head and kiss the tip with her plump lips. Then she'd slide back down to the depth she'd reached before and push a little further. She made needful little sounds when she'd reach a new depth and pull back as if she was fighting with herself to go deeper.

Her descents were becoming faster though the ascents continued to be slow to the point where Ben was losing his mind.

He slipped two fingers deep into Trish's wet pussy and ran his slick thumb back and forth across her anus with each pump. Every time his thumb caressed the opening, Trish hissed her breath through her teeth in anticipation. Her body was trembling, and her breathing was ragged.

Ben looked into Tina's eyes, and he saw her love for him shining back. He was mirroring that love, so she leaned in and kissed him tenderly once more.

Shelly had a firm grip around the root of Ben's cock, which held him back from the orgasm he felt building to monstrous levels. She used the nails on her other hand to gently scrape the surface of his tightening balls, and Ben yelped from the suddenly intense sensation. Then Shelly dropped her mouth over his cock all the way to the base, pushing the head deep into her throat.

Ben gasped, and his body went rigid. His hand clenched on Trish's ass, and the tip of his thumb squeezed past the tight ring into her hot rear passage. Trish's eyes rolled back, and she leaned back against his hand feeling his thumb sliding deeper into her ass until it was all the way in. She wiggled her hips to get just a little more in.

Shelly squeezed him tight with her throat then pulled all the way off. She looked at Ben with raw lust in her eyes and then looked back at his cock with hunger. She plunged down once more, and Ben's entire body jolted. She began to take long, deep strokes from the head to the root. She looked at her cousin, who looked back with lust in her own eyes as Ben thrust up into both her ass and pussy. She was very close to her orgasm.

Ben whispered into Tina's ear. Her grin was wide and mischievous. She nodded to Ben, then carefully got off the couch and circled behind Shelly. She stopped and rested a hand on the back of Shelly's head. The woman immediately began to whimper, and her hand left Ben's balls to start touching herself. Tina went back to Ben and whispered in his ear. He glanced at her, and she nodded. Ben moved his free hand to the back of Shelly's head, and he took a grip on the hair there. He didn't try to control her movements, but Shelly immediately began to whimper loudly and moan as she increased her speed, almost brutally slamming his cock into her throat. Tina rushed around behind Trish to follow Ben's instructions. She reached around Trish and pinched her nipples tightly, and tugged on them. Trish's head went back in a silent scream as she convulsed on Ben's hand.

Shelly loosened her grip on the base of Ben's cock, and he suddenly felt that enormous orgasm crashing through his senses. He'd spent the morning making love to Gabriella and the afternoon with Catherine, so he really didn't expect to have much left, but it appeared he was wrong. The first burst went down her throat, but she quickly pulled out, so just the fat head rested on her tongue. Shot after shot filled her mouth. He moaned as Shelly's eyes rolled back in ecstasy. Tina moved behind her, squeezed her nipples, and pulled them, just not as hard as she'd done for Trish. Shelly squealed through her orgasm, with Ben's cock acting as a gag.

Ben gently disengaged his hand from Trish's body and felt her convulse in aftershocks. He loosened his grip on Shelly's hair and gently ran his fingers through it to smooth the knots out. She looked up at him lovingly, then carefully pulled her mouth off of his cock. She pushed herself to her feet, then knelt on the edge of the couch in front of her cousin.

Trish was resting back on her feet, but her head was drooping down. Shelly reached out and tilted her chin up. Trish's eyes opened in question, then Shelly's mouth was against hers in a deep kiss. Trish squealed in surprise, then moaned and leaned into the kiss. Ben watched with wide eyes as the two women shared his essence between them. He realized Shelly was completing the threesome from Trish's story. Both women were clutching each other, and when the kiss was over, they hugged tightly with tears in their eyes.

"I love you, Trish," Shelly whispered to her cousin.

"I love you, Shelly, forever!" Trish whispered back and rested her head against the blonde's shoulder.

Tina had slipped away and quickly returned with a warm, damp face cloth. She immediately began cleaning Ben's spent cock. When she squeezed out a final dollop of sperm, she smiled wickedly up at Ben and licked it off. He gasped and raised an eyebrow at her. Once his cock was clean, she moved to clean the hand he'd pleasured Trish with, then helped him put his clothes back on.

Everyone climbed to their feet and hugged.

Trish looked at Tina. "Thank you for sharing Ben with us! And Ben, thank you for letting us complete that beautiful act of love that was stolen from us so many years ago."

Ben kissed Trish and Shelly and tasted something odd, then realized it was him. They smiled at him as they realized what he'd just done.

"Oh my god, he's just the sexiest man ever!" Shelly gushed.

He glanced at a clock and saw it was a little past 1AM. "No, just a tired one," he smiled. "Good night to you both! Tina, do you want to come home tonight or in the morning? What about Christopher?"

"Tonight, please. Can you carry him in his bassinette? I will just put some blankets on him for the short distance to your place," she replied.

He nodded and went upstairs to carry him down. Trish and Shelly saw them off with another round of kisses. Ben brought Tina and Christopher home and got them settled into his home and his room. Tina and Ben brushed their teeth together, enjoying the simple domestic bliss.

As he turned the light off with Tina tucked up against his body, he sighed with happiness. Tina responded with one of her own, and he fell asleep quickly with a smile on his face.

Chapter 16

Ben met with Dr. Rao, and while he seemed very pleasant, Ben found himself uncomfortable discussing anything personal with the man. Once the session was over, the secretary sent Ben to speak with Hannah.

"So how was your session with Dr. Rao?" she asked

"Well, he's nice..." Ben started.

"There's a but in there isn't there," she said. "It's okay, Ben, speak freely."

"He didn't put me at ease. I felt awkward speaking with him," he said.

"Sure. Okay. Let me see. Do you think you might be more at ease speaking with a woman because I can get you in to see Dr. Granger tomorrow morning at the same time?" she asked.

"Well, I have no trouble speaking with you and Gabriella. So maybe, yeah," he agreed.

Hannah made a request for the appointment for the following morning and received the confirmation message in moments. "OK, you're set. What are your plans for the rest of the day? Are you up for a session with Beth and me tonight?"

Ben had been thinking about how he'd bolted from Daphne's house the last night he'd been there. He felt terrible about that. "I think I'll stop by Daphne's on the way back to see how they are doing. I left in a bad way when I was last there. I'm definitely up for another session tonight. What time?"

"We could come over at 7:30?"

Ben remembered something. "Are you aware that I've brought Tina and Christopher back to my place to live with me while she's attending university?"

"Oh! Uh, no, I wasn't aware of that. Don't you think that's a bit premature?" she said cautiously.

"Actually, it feels right. My anxiety over how I had been treating Tina is gone. I'm even becoming more comfortable with fulfilling her need for a dominant partner though quite frankly, I think that's more due to her being a very mature and responsible young woman. There is thankfully very little drama with Tina."

"With her living with you, where are we going to have our sessions?" Hannah asked.

"In my media room like last time. We'll just close the door for privacy. It's soundproof," he smiled.

"Excellent! See you at 7:30 then," Hannah smiled. Ben headed out, and Hannah made a quick call to Daphne to let her know he was heading over and to keep her daughters in check.

Ben stopped by the florist and picked up a beautiful flower arrangement for Daphne and her daughters to wish them luck with their new venture.

Daphne opened the door and beamed a broad smile at him as she ushered him inside. He hung up his jacket, kicked off his boots, and followed her back into the playroom, which had quickly become their favorite room.

"I was told that this is a congratulation and good luck arrangement," Ben said, handing the flowers to Daphne.

"Oh, Ben! You didn't need to do that! They're lovely! Thank you! Let me put them in the kitchen for now. Girls! Ben is here!" Daphne called out. When Ben gave her a nervous look, she patted his arm. "They just wanted to say thank you personally for the incredible job you did on the daycare. They promised me no hanky panky."

Daphne left to go into the kitchen, and Ben sat on a big red couch in the playroom. He smiled as he looked around at how much natural light filled the room. It really had turned out so well! He couldn't wait to hear the excited voices and laughter of kids in the neighborhood again.

Speaking of excited voices, he heard Lisa and Lori rushing from the back of the house. They slid into the room in their socks, wide grins on their faces. Both had their hair up in pigtails. They wore white blouses with rolled-up sleeves and grey plaid skirts, which only reached mid-thigh. They walked over to the couch holding hands as they had back in the days when he'd seen them walking to school. Ben realized the clothes they wore matched their old school uniforms, but they never looked like this. He froze as they stood before him as he could faintly see their crimson push-up bras through their tight white tops. He had no trouble seeing the resulting cleavage.

"We want to thank you, Ben, for the amazing job you did on the daycare! The workmanship is second to none, the attention to detail is incredible, and there is no question we have the best facilities of any daycare in the county, if not the state. Thank you so much!" Lisa said earnestly.

"Thank you, Ben!" Lori joined in.

Ben began to relax when they didn't jump on him or try to kiss him. Instead, they behaved in a friendly and polite way. He still couldn't get over the similarity in their outfits to their old school uniforms, aside from the overly abundant cleavage and their long smooth legs.

They sat on the couch on either side of him, but they didn't crowd in, rub against him, or touch him in any way. They just smiled. Again, Ben began to relax.

Daphne came back out into the playroom and froze when she saw her daughters sitting on the couch with Ben. They hadn't been dressed like that when she'd told them this morning to behave when Ben arrived. And pigtails? Still, Ben didn't seem too nervous, just a little confused. Like she was.

"Have you begun advertising?" Ben asked as he got used to the ladies sitting next to him on the couch.

"Yes, actually, the girls took care of that," Daphne said with a big smile. Lori jumped up, skipped over to the kitchen counter, and brought back some of the printed material. She returned to her spot on the couch and handed the papers over to Ben with a bright smile. "Trish did all of our design work, and it looks incredible. It really set us above the others, and there has a huge response! We're actually preparing to begin the interview process next week. There will be a Spring/Summer program and a Fall/Winter program. We're actually approved to have twenty-five kids in the daycare based on the new design. One spot is reserved for Tina's Christopher, so we're interviewing for twenty-four more," Daphne smiled.

"We also have Jacob and Emma Brown's two daughters coming to work for us. They currently work in one of the city-run daycares, which is all the way on the opposite side of the city. They're just across the street and three doors over, so their new commute is less than a minute's walk. Natalie is twenty, and Victoria is nineteen, so we'll have sufficient adult supervision. They received an excellent reference from their former employer and are fully certified."

Ben looked at the twins again. "Uh, is there going to be a uniform for the staff?" he asked curiously.

The twins giggled and swatted him playfully. "No, silly! We were just excited about the new beginning and remembering our own school days. It made us feel a little nostalgic," Lisa grinned, her bosom straining to break free from the tight white fabric.

"Nostalgic," Ben repeated quietly as he took in Lori's matching efforts to burst from her own garment. He began to sweat.

He didn't catch the little spark of victory in Lori's eye that she shared with her sister. They sat demurely on the couch and crossed their legs. Ben's eyes widened when he saw their lovely, long limbs on display. When he glanced at their faces, the twins seemed to be completely unaware of their effect on him, so he sighed a quiet breath of relief.

Daphne missed this as she was digging through the paperwork for the application forms for Ben.

"You'll need to fill these out and get them back to us. We need to have a file for each child we sign up," Daphne said, handing a set of forms to Ben.

He folded them, and with a final nervous glance at the twins, he stood up. "I guess I'll be going. I told Tina I would take her shopping this afternoon at the mall. She barely has any clothes since the ass- sorry, her husband wouldn't buy her any."

The twins suddenly looked at him in shock. "The mall?" Lisa gasped. "You can't buy her good clothes at the mall!" Lori exclaimed.

Daphne and Ben looked at the two young women in surprise.

"You wait right here. We'll be right back!" Lisa said and took her sister's hand as they rushed from the room.

"I swear they get stranger every day!" Daphne said, shaking her head with a smile. "I seriously don't know where they got it into their heads to dress up in school uniforms."

"I suppose it was a lot simpler when they were just kids in school," Ben agreed. Daphne stood up to put away the printed brochures. He pictured the twins so many years ago, walking hand in hand down the sidewalk on their way to school. The smile slipped from his face as he realized his mind was picturing them as they looked today. He struggled to bring back that original memory, but his mind wanted nothing to do with that. Finally, in frustration, he just gave his head a shake trying to drive the corrupting images from his head.

"What's wrong?" Daphne asked as she returned.

"What? Oh, it's nothing. I really should get goi-" he started, then froze as the twins returned.

They were wearing matching outfits again, but now it was skin-tight white leggings with equally tight black turtleneck sweaters. Each was carrying a leopard pattern clutch purse. Their luxurious red hair was free of the ponytails and hung loosely around their shoulders. They collected Ben on their way to the front door.

"Ben, you can't take Tina to the mall. We'll show you where you can dress her as she deserves to be seen," Lisa insisted.

"The woman is petite perfection. You won't find anything to flatter that in a mall," Lori stated emphatically.

"Were you bringing Christopher along?" Lisa asked.

"Of course," Ben replied.

"Mom, could you watch over Christopher while we take them to the proper places to get clothes?" Lori asked.

"If it's okay with Tina, I'd love to," Daphne said. She'd played with the sweet-natured little boy when they stayed with Trish, and he was a joy to take care of.

Ben couldn't argue as he knew next to nothing about fashion. The twins pulled on their coats, and Ben grabbed his on the way out the door. They hopped into the back seat of his truck, and he drove to his place. They followed him in and waited in the foyer as he kicked off his boots and went looking for Tina.

"Hi, Ben!" Tina smiled as she pushed the roasting pan into the oven. She'd prepared another wonderful meal for him. "Dinner is at 6."

Ben glanced at the clock. "That gives us just a little over five hours to take you on a shopping trip. I have two fashion experts with me who informed me I was taking you to the wrong place for clothes," he said with a grin as he took in her puzzled smile.

She pulled off the oversized apron she'd borrowed from him (something else he was going to have to buy for her) and followed him out to the foyer after bundling up Christopher and grabbing his diaper bag. Ben explained that Daphne would be watching over her son that afternoon.

"You remember Lisa and Lori McKellan?" Ben introduced them.

"Hello!" Tina beamed at the twins.

"Hi!" they replied. "Ready for a shopping extravaganza?" Lisa gushed. "This is going to be SO much fun!" Lori enthused.

Tina was all smiles as Ben helped her on with her jacket. They all piled into his SUV, dropped off the boy with a delighted Daphne, and headed off. Lori directed them downtown, away from the land of malls. As Ben drove, the twins grilled Tina on what kinds of clothes she thought she needed and where she would be wearing them.

Soon Lori had guided them to a parking lot just outside of one of the city's older sections. It was a densely packed neighborhood of coffee shops, trendy restaurants, and, most importantly, clothing boutiques. Lisa and Lori immediately guided Tina into a shop specializing in petite sizes. Ben followed them in. Lisa took Ben's arm, led him to a chair near the back, hung up his jacket on a hook, and sat him down to wait. The twins hung up their coats and Tina's as well, as the shop was quite warm.

The woman who owned the shop came forward to speak with them. Lori introduced Tina and explained they needed clothes for her for the spring and summer when attending some courses at the university. Also some outfits for casual wear and evening wear. The shop owner cast a critical eye over Tina and directed her to the changing area where Ben was already sitting. He smiled at her excited expression. She was practically trembling!

With several outfits dangling from her fingers, the woman put them into a change room and indicated to Tina, which should be worn together.

Lisa and Lori sat in chairs on either side of Ben. Each placed a hand on his arm. A few minutes later, Tina stepped slowly out of the change room wearing a soft yet classic white blouse and black skirt. Ben's eyes widened, and he smiled in appreciation. This was a new look for Tina. It was simple and subtle but gave her such a sophisticated look. He was sure that when she wore this outfit, she would be taken seriously. He knew he had to buy it for her.

"Sold!" he said with a grin.

Tina's smile was a little shaky, and he gestured her over to his side. "What's wrong?"

She turned her wrist over, and he saw the intricate detail that was just in the sleeve alone- $300 for a blouse!?! The tag on the skirt said $500! He had a momentary attack of sticker shock, but then he took a more critical look at the workmanship. Both items were exquisitely made and of the highest quality. He noticed that the owner was observing him carefully. Turning to face her, he nodded, and she nodded back, pleased.

"Sold," he said firmly, looking Tina directly in the eye.

"Ben, it is too-" she began.

"Are you questioning me?" he said in a quiet rumble. "Do you think I would dress you in less than the best?"

Tina was back to trembling, but this time it was her emotions overflowing.

"No tears. Go try the next outfit. Go," he commanded. Tina spun and dashed for the change room with a thrilled smile on her face. The shopkeeper gave him an approving look as she moved back to the cashier's desk.

Lisa and Lori watched the exchange and looked at Ben with new eyes. From their own observations, they knew he was gorgeous, and his body was incredible. From what Trish had told them, they understood he was a tiger in bed. But seeing him show his dominant side put him over the top. The twins were so used to controlling the eager suitors, they'd never been exposed to this before. They liked it. They wanted it.

Ben noticed the girls were beginning to dig their red-lacquered claws into his arms. He wasn't going to sit still if they started pawing him again. His brain was still in Tina mode, and he was not pleased with how they were acting.

"Stop that. Put your hands in your laps and sit quietly," he growled.

Immediately, they pulled back and watched him.

Tina stepped out of the change room in a beautiful sundress. She saw Ben's eyes light up in delight and felt a zing of pleasure shoot through her body. Then she saw the two sisters sitting on either side of him squeezing their thighs together with a strange look on their faces as they watched her man. She immediately recognized the look and understood its source. She wasn't sure what Ben said to them, but she trusted Ben implicitly and knew they deserved it. She smiled at him and walked closer.

Ben was dazzled by how beautiful Tina looked in the flowing dress. It clung to her in the right places yet flowed around her. God, he was starting to react to her. His look smoldered as a deep rumble began in his chest.

Tina saw the fire in his eyes as she heard his approval. She felt a tingling warmth spreading through her loins. A blush rushed across her face.

The twins also heard it and moaned quietly as they squirmed to appease their own tingling.

"Sold. Next," Ben smiled up at Tina with promise in his eyes. She scurried back to the change room, her smile beginning to ache from being so wide.

She came out three more times, two more outfits for university and one more casual dress. All of them looked amazing on Tina, and Ben decided to get them all.

The shopkeeper arrived with one final item. A simple black party dress. More of a sleeveless shimmering skin. Ben was struggling to discreetly adjust his erection when he saw the new dress. Tina came out of the dressing room, carrying all of the clothes. Her mind was reeling with the cost of the clothes she was carrying, but Ben had spoken. The woman took the clothes from Tina and looked at Ben.

"We'll take them all. I'd like to see the black dress on her," he said, and the woman smiled and nodded to him. She handed the party dress to Tina, whose eyes went wide. She looked at Ben, and he gestured to the change room. She fast stepped back into the room as the woman took their purchases to the cash.

Ben stood and quickly adjusted himself in his pants, completely forgetting the twins were sitting quietly next to him. Their moans as they watched him brought their presence back to his mind. His cock was still straining against the fabric of his pants, but at least the pinching was gone. He looked to the two ladies and saw they were biting their lips and staring at the large ridge in his pants. "Dammit!" he thought. He sat back down, uncomfortably between them, and leaned back as much as he could to relieve the pressure. Unfortunately, this just put him on display for the twins, and he saw them squirming. He had the sudden thought of how their roles were now reversed from this morning when they were dressed in those outrageous school uniforms. That image didn't help his current issue, and he felt himself surge to his full length. The twins moaned when they caught the motion in his pants.

He completely forgot about the twins as soon as Tina stepped out of the change room. The shimmering black dress clung to her like a second skin. A single strap went around the back of her neck and ran down her chest to cover her breasts while exposing her cleavage. Her back was half exposed, and the dress ended at mid-thigh. The gentle swell of her breasts and her ass were accentuated, perhaps even a little exaggerated, and he desperately wanted to run his hands all over her body. He leaned forward in his chair and beckoned her closer. She glided up to him.

Exerting tremendous willpower, he reached out and placed his hands upon her hips and felt the heat of her skin through the smooth, soft fabric. This was definitely a summer dress as it would allow her to shed heat as they danced. He pulled his hands back and looked up into her eyes, which were half-lidded with lust as she trembled from the sensation of his hands on her.

"We'll be taking this dress as well. Go get changed," he said roughly.

She spun and rushed back to the change room.

Ben lasted thirty seconds before he surged to his feet. He needed to move. He walked over to the door of the change room. "Tina, hand me the dress once you've taken it off, and I'll take it up to the cash," he said.

The door opened, and she stood before him in her bra and panties only. Her nipples were showing clearly against the fabric. Mirroring her excitement, Ben was showing against his pants visibly. She licked her lips and looked back up at him.

Ben took the dress from her. "Get dressed," he said, his voice rough with need.

Once the door closed, he turned back to Lisa and Lori. "Get the coats and meet me at the cash, please," he said, his voice still deep and rough.

He headed over to the cash and missed seeing the girls leap from the chairs to get to his jacket first. Lori snatched it up and pulled it tight against her nose as she breathed in deeply. She sighed and held it out to her sister with a smile. Lisa pulled it in for a deep breath and sighed as well. They heard a gentle throat clearing and looked over to see Tina watching them with a raised eyebrow. Embarrassed, they handed Ben's jacket to her and her own as well.

Lisa leaned forward to speak quietly. "We are so jealous of you, Tina! We had no idea Ben was so..."

"...dominant! Assertive! HOT!" Lori blurted as Lisa struggled to put a word on it. She nodded and grinned at her sister's explosion.

"Ben is full of surprises. I believe he sometimes discovers more in himself than he thought he was capable of," Tina smiled gently. "I think tonight he is going to surprise me greatly. Maybe all night long," she teased, and the twins whined in frustration.

They walked up to the cashier's desk, and the woman was handing Ben the bag and a business card. There was a handwritten name and number on the back. Tina sighed and smiled. There was a display case by the desk, and something caught her eye. She looked into the display and admired a simple black choker necklace with a single blood-red stone in a black setting. There were matching earrings.

She felt Ben's breath on her neck as he peered into the case over her shoulder. "That would look spectacular with that black dress we just got, wouldn't it?" he said. Her eyes immediately went to the price tag. She gasped.

"May we look at this, please?" Ben said to the woman behind the desk. She came around with a key and opened the case to put the necklace and earrings on the glass surface with a mirror. Tina couldn't move, so Ben lifted the choker and fastened it around her throat. She trembled at the feel of his hands on her, and her eyes closed. The woman was watching her responses with fascination.

Tina felt Ben holding the earrings next to her ears and felt his warm breath on her ear. "Open your eyes, Tina. Look at how beautiful you look," he whispered.

She looked into the mirror, and the woman looking back was a stranger. It took her a second to realize that beauty was her. She gasped, and tears sprung to her eyes.

"I take it that means you like it," Ben smiled.

She couldn't trust her voice, so she just nodded. As her body was vibrating so rapidly, her nod was almost frantic.

Ben looked at the woman and told her to ring them up. He placed the earrings back on the display case with the choker. The woman locked the case and took their purchases away to wrap them.

"Please, may I kiss you? Please?" Tina whispered to Ben fiercely.

Ben looked at Tina and saw her desperate need. He also saw the twins eyeing him with similar expressions. Unfortunately, the shop owner was close enough to have heard as well, so she looked at him to see what he'd do.

"A small one, only," Ben agreed though the audience made him uncomfortable. He leaned down to bring his mouth to hers. She captured his lower lip between hers, and he caressed her upper lip with his tongue before pulling away. She made a little squeak of need then looked down as a large tremble went through her body.

Ben turned back to the woman who had gone still as she watched the kiss. Flustered, she completed packaging the necklace and earrings and rang the sale through for him. Her neck was flushed, and she unconsciously unbuttoned the top button of her blouse to cool her throat. He thanked her, put the purchase in the bag with the clothes, and turned back to Tina. He put on his jacket and helped her put hers on as the twins yanked theirs on. Once they were outside, Ben turned to the twins. "Where to now?"

"Could we get a coffee and a snack? There is a really nice little bakery on the next street over, and next to it, two doors down, is another great petite's shop. Three doors beyond that is a great place to get casual, sexy, and fun clothes," Lisa suggested.

Ben's stomach rumbled as he'd missed lunch. He smiled at Lisa. "I like that plan."

Tina looked up at Ben in surprise. "More clothes?"

"The items you have are lovely but not enough to call a wardrobe," Lori said.

Ben leaned over and whispered in Lisa's ear. She smiled and patted Ben on the arm. "Yes, I know just the place! That will be our last stop."

Tina looked at Ben curiously, but Ben gave nothing away.

They made their way to the bakery, which was as small and lovely as Lisa said. They placed their orders at the counter, Ben paid, and they grabbed the booth in the back corner with a small circular table and wraparound bench. Ben slid in first and went around to the back wall to give the other's room. Tina directed Lisa to slide in after him and Lori to slip in the other side. Then Tina sat last, which put her opposite Ben. There wasn't a lot of room under the table for three sets of long legs, even with Tina's shorter ones leaving some space, so it was unavoidable that knees and thighs touched. Ben found himself between the two sisters again and looked curiously at Tina, but it was her turn to hide her intentions.

Lisa explained to Tina what outfits they should look for in the next store, which made Tina smile. Ben tuned himself out of their conversation and began to relax until he felt someone rubbing the insides of his thigh gently. He immediately looked at the twins, but they both seemed to be paying attention to what Tina was saying. Their drinks and snacks arrived, and the touching ended as everyone turned to their food.

Ben tried to ignore the feel of the twin's legs on his, but his body was acting like a jerk as usual, and his pants were becoming tight again. Then he felt someone stroking his hardening cock through his pants, and he once more shot a look at the twins, but they both had their hands on the table. He looked over at Tina in surprise. It was then he noticed that she'd slid down on the bench so she could reach across under the table to get her bare foot on his crotch. She gave him a mischievous smile, which he returned. Two could play this game. He gripped her ankle and started to rake his nails gently across the bottom of her foot.

Tina's eyes went wide, and she squirmed as the tickling made her body jerk. Lisa and Lori immediately knew something was up. They looked at Tina's grimacing and then down at Ben's lap, where they saw him holding her ankle and tickling her foot.

"Help me!" Tina gasped to them, then she clapped a hand over her mouth to keep her shrieks inside. The twins immediately joined in the tickle fight... against Ben. They started running their nails along the insides of both of his thighs, and it was Ben's turn to squirm. Their legs prevented him from closing his, and he didn't want to let go of Tina as she had moved her other foot into play, stroking him unmercifully until he had to finally stop tickling and grab her other ankle. The damage was done, though. He was hard as a rock, and his pants were pinching once more.

Ben wasn't aware that Tina had managed to tug his zipper down to the bottom with her toes. Tina struggled to get her legs free, and he clung tenaciously. He shifted position on the bench to relieve the pinch, and suddenly he felt much better. No pressure at all.

The grinning twins looked over the edge of the table to see if Ben had released Tina's legs yet and froze when they saw his thick cock extending well outside his open zipper. They looked at each other then back at Tina, who nodded to them.

While Ben was occupied with looking at Tina. Lisa and Lori reached out a hand and took a solid grip on Ben's cock, Lisa's hand above Lori's. They gasped at its hardness and heat. Ben gasped at the sudden sensation of their hold on him and lost his grip on Tina's legs. Tina used the opportunity to grip the base of his cock with her feet. She pumped him a few times. Lori picked up the motion, and Lisa followed. By the third pump, they were moving in unison.

Ben grabbed the wrists of the twins and pulled their hands away from him. "Tina! Stop. Now," he growled. She immediately pulled her legs back and slipped her socks and boots back on. Ben released the twins, and they sat back, waiting for him to yell at them. He struggled to get his erection back into his pants, but he was pinned beneath the table and couldn't adjust his pants. He felt totally helpless, and the ridiculous nature of the struggle made him snort.

Lisa, Lori, and Tina hadn't been expecting that reaction from Ben. He started to laugh and slumped back against the booth. His tight pants prevented him from going soft, so he just covered himself with his paper napkin. The ladies all picked up his laugh with giggles of their own.

"What are you going to do now, Ben? You seem to be caught between a table and a hard place," Lisa said.

He tried to scowl at the beauty, but his heart just wasn't in it. He shook his head.

"We could take care of that for you," Lori suggested. "It doesn't seem to be going away on its own. Just sayin'." She licked her lips eagerly.

"I'm not having sex in public," Ben said firmly. "I need to stand up so I can stuff myself back into my pants. Lisa, please slide out of the booth and block the view."

Lisa slid out and stood beside the booth facing him. He had expected her to look the other way, but it was a little late now to be shy. He carefully slid out of the booth and stood up. He dropped the napkin, and the twins gasped as they finally got a clear look at him. He scowled and popped the button on his pants and tucked himself away. Once he was wedged back in his pants uncomfortably, he excused himself to use the washroom as that sometimes settled these... distractions.

Once he was gone, Lisa and Lori pounced on Tina.

"OH MY GOD! That was incredible! How did you free the beast?" Lisa gushed.

"I just got his zipper down. It did the rest. I guess it doesn't like to be confined," Tina grinned.

"I know where I'd like to confine it!" Lisa replied with a hot look.

"Are you going to be in trouble?" Lori asked, a little worried.

Tina thought about his reaction. He was actually having fun and laughed afterward, so she thought it might be all right. Still, she would take preventative measures and apologize as soon as they were outside. She shook her head, and Lori looked relieved.

Ben returned and asked if they were ready to move on. They left the restaurant, and Tina slipped up beside Ben and tugged his hand gently. He bent down so she could whisper to him.

"I am very sorry if I embarrassed you, but it was nice to play with you, and I liked hearing you laugh," she said sweetly.

Ben took her face between her hands and kissed her softly. Her eyes went a little dreamy. "I'm okay, but let's try to avoid the public indecency charges in the future, yes?" He carried her parcel in his right hand and held her hand in his left as they went to the next shop.

Once more, the twins spoke with the shopkeeper, only this time they greeted him with kisses on the cheek and hugs. They introduced him as Alois and a fashion genius. Once Tina was presented without her coat, Alois looked her over and sent her to the back with the twins and Ben. Lori plunked Ben down on a couch and sat next to him with Lisa on the other side. It was a bit of a tight fit, but they tried not to lean on him, so he decided to relax. Lisa got up and tugged Ben over a little on the couch so he had more room. He smiled his thanks. She then pulled a small stool over in front of the sofa, and she sat on that at his feet and leaned back against the cushions with her arm casually resting over his legs as they watched Alois return with an armload of clothes. The man held them up against Tina, and the twins helped fine-tune his selection based on how they thought she'd wear them.

Tina went into the change room with six outfits, and they left the shop with five of them. Ben had been nervous about Lisa's casual touching, but aside from using his legs as an armrest, she behaved, and he finally relaxed. He was feeling much more comfortable around them... even though they'd both grabbed his cock earlier. He missed seeing Lori giving her sister a high five as they left the shop.

The second to last stop was a large three-story shop with lots of casual clothing. Here the twins were in their element. They moved from rack to rack with Tina in tow and showed her options. Tina would try some on, and if they all agreed she looked good, the item went into the shop's bag. When Tina came out of the change room with the Yoga pants, Ben leaned down to whisper in Lori's ear.

"Get one in every color!" he said. Lori snorted, and Tina grinned at Ben's awestruck look.

Ben was loaded down with bags as they left the store, and they had one final stop of the day. Lisa led them two streets over to a lingerie shop. Tina looked at Ben in surprise.

"You should have something nice to wear to bed at night instead of my old t-shirt," he responded. "And you need a dressing gown!"

She gave him a brilliant smile.

They went inside, and Lisa spoke with the manager. She took one look at the haul Ben was carrying and nodded. She led them into a private seating area behind the regular change rooms. Ben set all the bags down and had a seat. Tina showed the saleswoman the clothes she just purchased, including the tight black party dress, and asked for underwear to go with these items. The saleswoman smiled at Ben as she left and a few minutes later returned with a selection of beautiful bra and panty sets. Tina approved the items and looked over at Ben. He nodded, and the saleswoman took the purchases to the cashier's desk.

Lisa and Lori came into the back room with an armful of nighties. The three women looked through the items, and Tina selected a lovely black satin nightie and walked back into the center change room. Lisa and Lori stepped into the change rooms on each side of Tina's. This surprised Ben, and he felt a little apprehensive.

Ben heard a gentle tapping three minutes later, then all three doors opened, and the women walked out wearing... very little.

Lisa and Lori were wearing matching white baby doll nighties, and Tina contrasted beautifully in her black satin. The two redheads stood five-foot-ten which made Tina's five-foot height in the middle seem all the more petite. It wasn't until the three women got much closer that Ben noticed what the twin's nighties were missing. He could clearly see their stiff pink nipples, and their panties were missing material to cover, well, anything.

"It's only fair, Ben," Lori said.

"We got to see your goodies, so you get to see ours," Lisa giggled nervously.

Both had trimmed their red nether hair into small triangles just above their exposed lower lips, which were shining with more than a little wetness.

Ben tore his eyes away and looked at Tina, who stood demurely between the two amazons. She looked shyly at Ben, and his eyes assured her of everything she needed to know. She blushed, and a warm tingle shot through her body. "You look exquisite," he said.

"This comes in emerald green and royal blue as well," she said, sliding her hands across the smooth fabric on her stomach.

"You should have one of each, and don't forget to get a dressing gown," Ben said. He crooked his finger, and she leaned down so he could give her a kiss. She rushed back to the change room.

"Now, what to do with you two?" he growled.

They bit their lips and shifted nervously. They'd hoped he'd drag them to the floor and ravage them. To do to them what he'd done to Trish. After seeing the size of his cock and feeling its hardness, that's pretty much all they could think of. God, just thinking about it, made them wetter than they currently were, now that they were standing here boldly exposing themselves to Ben's fierce gaze.

"I assume you were hoping I'd be overcome with lust, seduced by your goodies, and have my way with you. Perhaps re-enact that little story Trish told you about our night together." They moaned in unison as the idea made them tingle madly. They were actually getting pretty close, and he hadn't touched them yet. He growled, and they trembled, their knees going weak.

He saw them getting a little wobbly, and he didn't want them falling. "Get on your knees," he said. They immediately dropped to their knees before him. They kept their eyes down, so they didn't see him look up to see Tina exit from the change room.

She saw Ben's stern and exasperated expression and the two ladies on their knees, their heads tipped forward. They were trembling. She smiled at Ben and pantomimed him spanking them. He nodded at first, then shook his head quickly with a scowl indicating he couldn't do that. Tina had a better idea. She gestured that he should spank their pussies. His eyebrows rose, and he shook his head again, but she put her hands together beseechingly and begged him silently to do it. He looked askance at her but then saw the women were shaking, and he could smell their excitement. He looked at Tina one last time to ask her to reconsider, but she continued to beg for her friends. He turned back to the ladies and sighed.

"I guess a spanking is in order," he growled, and they moaned.

He leaned forward and brought his palms under their wetness. They barely had time to gasp when he slapped them gently over the surface of their wet pussies. They lurched forward and grabbed his powerful arms, and he slapped them again, his fingertip dipping quickly between their wet lips.

He kept up the rhythmic slapping, over-stimulating their clits and dipping his fingers further into them with each slap. They were far closer to their release than they thought. The twins cried out as sudden orgasms shot through them, and they clung to Ben as the pleasure took their minds soaring. Ben switched to rubbing their abused flesh in slow circles, and he felt their bodies tense up and heard gasps as they peaked once more. Before they could come down from their second plateau, he slid two fingers deep inside each of them and firmly rubbed across their G-spots. The two women cried out and shook hard, gritting their teeth with the intensity. When they stopped jolting, he slid his hands free, and they gasped and clung limply to him as they leaned against his chest and rested their heads on his shoulders, breathing heavily.

"I guess I'd better buy you these nighties since you've gone and made them all wet," he growled. He felt them nod weakly.

Tina walked up behind them when they began to show signs of recovery. The sound appeared to startle them, and the two women pushed against his chest to get back onto their knees then up to their unsteady feet. Tina braced them until they made their way back to their change rooms.

Ben looked down at his hands, which were well coated with the juices of two women. As tempted as he was to taste them, he exerted his will to deny himself that pleasure. Instead, Tina helped him get the door open on the small washroom to the side of the room and turned the taps on. Ben washed his hands, and Tina dried them. Ben kissed her on the forehead as she did, and she tilted her face up for one on the lips.

"Thank you for rewarding my friends and making them feel good," Tina said softly. Ben smiled and nodded.

They went back out to get the packages. Lisa and Lori came out of the change rooms with a soft glow on their faces, which still looked a little flushed. They looked at Ben hungrily, which made him sigh as he'd hoped they would have gotten that out of their systems.

The twins scooped Tina up between them and hustled her out into the store proper with the items they were getting. Ben made sure Tina picked up the nightie in green and blue and a lovely dressing gown, then paid for all of the items. The saleswoman couldn't keep her eyes off of Ben as she picked up the scent of the two ladies on him. His face burned with embarrassment, so he was pleased when they finally got back outside in the cooler air.

It was close to five PM, so they had to head back, but the twins gasped and pulled Tina into one more shop. Ben sighed and followed them inside the shoe store. Lisa and Lori fell in love with some tall, soft leather boots, expensive, and Tina found six pairs of shoes in different styles to match the outfits she now had, very expensive, and three purses. Ben paid for everything as the ladies giggled and clung to him. "Shoes are like catnip for women," he thought to himself with a smile.

They were finally on their way home, with all of the bags loaded into the back. Tina had a lovely smile on her face from a successful day of shopping and the anticipation of being in Ben's arms that night. The twins relaxed in the back seat, recalling Ben's hands on them. He felt their eyes on him all the way home.

He pulled into their driveway, and the twins reached into the back and got their purchases.

"May we give you a kiss Ben?" Lisa asked nervously. He looked at Tina, and she nodded before she slipped from the truck to get her son.

Sometime during the day, he'd lost his image of the twins as they had been so long ago. He assumed it was mainly due to their clever and probably intentional school uniform play from the morning. When he looked at them now, all he could see was their current adult beauty. He felt like he'd lost something precious and sighed quietly. "All right," he said.

Lisa was first to lean over the front seat. She took it slower this time and caressed his lips with hers. He found himself kissing her back, and she melted against him until he pulled back. Lori looked at her sister's beatific expression with wide eyes as she sat back to make room for her. Lori leaned over the seat and nervously pressed her lips to Ben's. When he gently sucked at her lower lip, she moaned and pressed more firmly, sliding her tongue against his until once more Ben pulled back.

"Thank you for helping Tina today. I really appreciate it! Have a good night!" he said, and the twins dreamily slid out of the truck. They cast looks back at Ben as they walked to the door. They met Tina on the steps, and both gave her big kisses on the cheek. Tina was a little flustered when she got back into the truck. Ben grinned at her and drove them to his place. He carried all of Tina's loot inside and put it in the guest bedroom where she had her clothes.

Tina got Christopher situated in his playpen and checked on dinner while Ben jumped into the shower. He didn't want to have the scent of excited women on him when Hannah and Beth came over tonight.

He and Tina enjoyed sharing a meal and each other's company. He listened to her describe how many outfits she could put together with the items they got when the doorbell rang. Ben looked at the clock and noticed it was almost 7. Tina shooed him from the kitchen to answer the door.

Beth and Hannah stood smiling on his step, and he ushered them in.

Beth sniffed the air. "No fresh baked cookies today?"

Ben smiled. "Not today. We were out shopping for clothes for Tina all afternoon. Lisa and Lori McKellan showed us where to find some very nice shops.

Hannah raised her eyebrows. "You survived an afternoon with the twins? That IS showing remarkable progress, Ben!" she grinned.

He grinned back, then looked thoughtful. Examining his feelings, he came to a realization. "Actually, it does feel like progress. There were moments where they were really pushing my boundaries, but I think Gabriella's talk the other day and Tina's presence is really helping. Speaking of the lovely lady," Ben said as Tina arrived with a sweet smile for him and a very sleepy Christopher on her hip.

"Hello, Hannah! Hello, Beth! Christopher had a very busy day at Daphne's, so he's off to bed," Tina said to their guests. The ladies greeted her with a smile and fawned over the small child.

"We're heading down to the media room for our session. The door will be closed, so if you need me, you'll need to knock as I won't be able to hear if you call," Ben reminded her.

She nodded and waved goodnight.

Ben led the way to the media room, and they took up their spots. There was a tray of sweets on the table, and Ben smiled at the women. "I don't know when she had time to do it, but this is courtesy of Tina."

They made themselves comfortable, and the session picked up with Beth.

The sweets gradually ran out, and they reached a good place to stop for the night at 10:30.

Beth was smiling and gave her friends a big hug as they stood up to leave the room. "I just want you two to know that I am so grateful for you both being here to share your time with me. I feel so much better these days, and it really feels like there's not only a light at the end of the tunnel, but I'm close to exiting the tunnel for good. Thank you!"

Hannah wiped a tear from her eye and smiled at Beth. "These talks do wonders for me, Beth, too. I'm grateful for both of you as well."

Ben just pulled them in for another hug and kissed them both on the tops of their heads. Beth grinned at Hannah, who rolled her eyes with a smile. He was such a physically affectionate man!

Ben saw them out the door and locked up. He walked down to the bedroom and saw Tina leaning back on some pillows looking at a tablet. She had the sheets pulled up to her neck. He took off his shirt and pants and stood naked at the end of the bed with a smile on his face.

"So which nightie are you wearing tonight?" he asked with a playful growl.

Tina put the tablet on the side table then swept the sheets away from her body with a smile. She wasn't wearing anything at all! Ben's smile burst into a huge grin. He curled his finger to get her to come to him. Tina crawled towards him across the bed on her hands and knees. She looked up at him, then leaned closer to run her tongue along the top of his slowly thickening cock. He sucked in his breath, and while his eyes closed, she dipped forward again and stuffed as much of him in her mouth as she could before he hardened completely. She worked at getting more of him deeper into her throat. He heard her breathing heavily through her nose and felt her swallowing against the head of his cock. He moaned, and she finally had to pull him partially out of her mouth to allow herself to breathe.

He surged to full hardness, took her head between his hands, and pumped the first three inches in and out of her mouth. He pulled out after a few strokes, and she tried to pull him back into her mouth, but he just grabbed her under the arms and lifted her up against his chest to kiss her deeply. She whimpered as his thick cock rested between her legs. She could feel the heat of him against her wet opening, and her pussy tingled maddeningly.

Ben held her tight against his chest and began to pump his hips forward and back, dragging her along the top of his cock, lubricating it well with her juices.

Tina was moaning non-stop from the delicious teasing Ben was doing to her. He moved his hands down to her ass and squeezed the perfect orbs in his hands. She squealed as he slid his fingers deep between her cheeks until his fingers picked up the wetness to be found there. He stroked across her rosebud, and she squealed once more as her body trembled. Ben lifted Tina off of his chest and laid her back on the bed. She held out her arms to him, and he crawled over her body. When the head of his cock met the lips of her pussy, she reached down and slid it up and down until it was slick with her juices. She positioned him and looked into his eyes. She saw the fire burning there, and he slowly pressed forward. Tina gasped as the thick head forced its way inside.

Ben paused just inside while she got used to the pressure. The heat and tightness of her was heavenly torture as the rest of his cock waited to feel that bliss. He began to make tiny and gentle thrusts in and out to tease Tina's dripping pussy. Tina moaned as the tingles increased to almost unbearable levels. She clawed at his ass, so he pressed a little firmer.

"Slow, Tina," he said calmly.

She made a big push and immediately slipped half of his length inside.

Tina squealed and shook as her arms and legs jolted from the sudden invasion. Her legs went around his hips and trembled as she felt him slip a little deeper once more.

Ben realized she was going much too fast and tried to halt his descent into her depth. He knew she needed to take it slow, but her body kept jolting, squeezing, and pulling at him. She became frantic and couldn't seem to hold still. He dipped his face down and kissed her face, which had a feverish expression. Her eyes were closed in concentration, and she was panting through her teeth. He was concerned he was hurting her and tried to pull back when she slammed her heels against his ass while pushing her pelvis up hard. He hit bottom, and Tina flinched from the impact then went absolutely still.

"Tina! Slow down!" he growled.

Her eyes flew open, and she looked up at him nervously.

"This isn't a race! You have to give yourself time to adjust, or you're just going to hurt yourself! Now hold still and just relax," he exclaimed.

She nodded up at him with tears in her eyes and a frown on her lips.

Damn. "Are those tears of pain or sadness?" he asked gently.

"May- Maybe a little of both," she whimpered.

Ben sighed, and he very slowly pulled himself out of the woman. She began to protest, but his scowl immediately silenced her. Once he was out, she jolted once more as the sensation of being so empty began to feel like a muscle cramp. She made pained expressions as her body protested. Ben watched her with a look of dismay.

"This is why we have to take it very slowly," he said gently.

Tina looked at Ben nervously again, then looked at his stiff cock. She tried to move down to take him in her mouth once more, but another cramp caused her to jolt. After it passed, she tried again, but Ben stopped her.

"What are you doing?" he said.

"I cannot leave you like that!" she moaned.

"Tina, you need to relax your muscles. I imagine you've just given yourself a bad cramp, and it's going to take some time to settle down. Don't worry about my erection. It will go away. We're done for the night," Ben explained.

"But I want to give you pleasure. We teased you all day!" she moaned.

"I'm fine, Tina. I don't have to have it every day. I went years without. I'll survive. You need to recover and listen to me next time when I tell you to take it slow," he said. "It worked last time, didn't it?"

Tina began to cry.

"Hey, what's with the tears?" I'm not angry with you!" he said, surprised.

"I cannot give you what you need because I am too small! I- I will call Gabriella or Catherine!" she tried to move over to get the phone, but Ben grabbed her and held her down on the bed. He put his hand on her cheek and forced her to look him in the eye.

"Let me make one thing very clear. When I say I'm fine and I don't need to have sex, I mean it. I don't need you to try to find me someone else I can stick my cock in. I'm a little offended that you think I'm motivated exclusively by my sex drive. Would I have liked to have had sex with you tonight? Yes, but mistakes were made, and now that isn't possible. That's okay. We learn from the mistake and move on. The next thing I'd like to do tonight is to go to sleep with a lovely petite woman snuggled in beside me. I don't want any middle of the night surprises either. Just a good night's sleep. Understood?"

She nodded sadly, and he gave her a kiss. "Let's go to sleep."

He got under the sheets and shut off the light. Tina tucked herself up against him, and he sighed contentedly. A few minutes later, he was still awake as he felt her fidgeting. He wondered if she was fretting about failing to please him. He'd made his position as clear as he could. He wondered what he was supposed to do in this kind of situation with a submissive. Should he have punished her in some way? He thought that was ridiculous as she was already in pain from the cramp.

"Tina, what's wrong," he said quietly.

"Nothing," she whispered.

"No. The truth," he growled.

She was quiet for a few seconds. "I'm horny."

Ben snorted.

"It's not funny. I'm too sore, but I'm still horny."

"Then, that is your punishment for not listening to me. If you go to sleep now and are up to it in the morning, I'll take care of that itch. For now, tough. Go to sleep," he said with a grin. He could almost see her pout in the darkness.

Ben was asleep in minutes. For Tina, it took a little longer.

Chapter 17

Ben's appointment with Dr. Granger was far more successful than his previous session, and he let her know that. Hannah was right. He did have an easier time opening up to women than men. He was optimistic about his future sessions, and she arranged to see him twice a week initially.

After he checked in with Hannah and gave her a big hug that left her breathless, he headed home and stopped to check in with Gabriella to see how the vacation booking was going. He'd suggested that she keep the itinerary she had initially planned, but if finding places to take a party of eight meant she had to upgrade significantly, she should go ahead as he was covering it.

She greeted him with a smile, and he gave her a huge hug as well.

"Ben! Put me down!" she squealed. "You're in a good mood! I take it your session with the new doctor went well?"

"Yes, she's much easier to talk with than Dr. Rao was," he grinned, setting her back down. God, he loved the feel of her against him, so he kept his arms around her.

Gabriella smiled as she noticed Ben was hesitant to let her go. She tilted her head up, and he kissed her sweetly, sending tingles all the way down to her toes.

Finally, he let her step back. "How goes the vacation planning?" he asked with a smile. She led him into her office, and they sat on her couch.

"Really well! The flights to and from are booked, flying into Paris and flying out of Nice. We're set for accommodations in Paris. I've booked a couple of chateaus on our way south, so we can use those as bases to explore the surrounding regions. We also visit the French Alps and do a day trip to Chamonix. The last place we stay is a gorgeous resort hotel next to St. Paul de Vence. It's a beautiful walled town on a hilltop close to the coast and just west of Nice. It has fabulous little shops, excellent dining, and we can relax at our hotel by the pool. We'll be there for a few days so we can drive into Nice and explorer there as well."

She grabbed Ben in a big hug and grinned up at him. "I've been to France many times, but I have to say I'm more excited about this trip than I've ever been on any of my previous visits. I can't wait!"

He smiled down at her. "Well, you're going to have to wait until July. We still have to get through the next three months before we go, but I'm really excited about it too. Are everyone's passports up-to-date?" She sat back and ticked them off her fingers.

"We're ready. I got the kids new passports earlier this year, and mine is new. I believe Cat's got her daughters updated just last year. How is yours?" she asked.

"I think I've got another year on it," he replied.

"Maybe you should renew it, so all of our passports are similarly recent," she suggested, and he nodded.

"So... are we going to be able to arrange some alone time on this trip?" he asked.

"Yeah, that may be a little tricky since there will be eight of us. I did my best to get as many rooms as possible in each place we stay to give us more options for who gets to share a room with who. The wildcard is Daniel. At thirteen, he's too young to have a room of his own, and he's the only other male in our group. He'll be uncomfortable staying with anyone other than his sister, me, and probably you."

"I certainly don't mind sharing a room with the boy. He's a great kid, if a little serious," Ben acknowledged with a smile.

"That would be great! I think he needs to see he can relax a little. He's been taking the role of 'man of the house' to heart a little too much, and he's missing out on just being a goofy kid!"

"When we're in Paris, you and I will get one evening by ourselves to go on a date. You and Cat also have a date evening. The other evenings we are all together unless other arrangements are made at the time," she said with a smile and a twinkle in her eye.

"Paris at night could be very romantic!" he smiled back.

"I'm counting on it!" she grinned. "I'm planning on us having another date night at the end of the trip. Cat as well. We should have time for it. On a different topic, how is it going with Tina?"

"I took her shopping yesterday with the McKellen twins. Tina had almost no clothes, and now she's set for the summer and the fall," Ben remarked.

"You went shopping with the twins?" Gabriella said with hesitation. "How on earth did that get arranged?"

"When I visited Daphne to apologize for my abrupt departure after finishing her daycare, the twins offered to show me where to get Tina good clothes, not at the mall. Of course, they showed up in tight school uniforms and pigtails. I suspect they did that on purpose to undermine my cherished memories of their childhood. Where they got the idea to do that... DAMMIT! It was Trish! She's working with the twins!" he blurted as he finally recognized her deviousness at work.

Gabriella chuckled at Ben's frustrated expression. "The woman loves sex and believes it's the best therapy," she said with a smile that defused some of Ben's ire. "So... did it work?" she asked quietly.

Ben glanced up quickly to see her expression. It was just open interest. No jealousy, no fear, or pain. No hurt feelings. Ben felt a bloom of warmth spread through his heart as he gazed at the beautiful woman sitting in front of him. "You keep taking my breath away, Gabriella. I don't deserve you," he said with conviction. "No, they didn't get me into bed. There was no sex... well, not for me, at least."

Her eyebrows went up, as did the corner of her mouth in a smirk.

"I mean, they thought it might be a smart thing to expose themselves to me in a lingerie shop. The lingerie they chose was missing fabric in certain vital areas. They'd teased me all day, and I was feeling a little grumpy about it. It was Tina who begged me to... spank their... uh, goodies was the term they used." His face was scarlet.

"And did they enjoy that?" Gabriella asked, enjoying Ben's embarrassment.

"Uh, yes. I'd hoped that would be enough for them. You know, cure that itch they have for me, but it actually seems worse," he said, disappointed.

The woman in front of him laughed, and he looked up at her in surprise.

"Oh, Ben, you really don't have a clue about women," she grinned.

He thought about that for a moment and had to agree, so he nodded.

"Listen, I have a meeting I need to get to, so I'm going to have to kick you out. Do you think we could go out to dinner later this week?" she asked.

"Sure, what day?"

"How about Friday?" she said.

"Works for me," he replied and added a reminder to his calendar and sent it to Tina so she'd know not to make him dinner that night. He frowned. "I'm not really sure how this a little more than friends with benefits thing works. Should I set up some kind of schedule or something? I know we just started, but I feel like I might not be meeting your and Catherine's expectations," he said, worried.

"Ben, it works when there are no expectations. You know how we feel about you. We want to be part of your life, but we also have lives of our own, so we won't be pressing you for constant attention. The point is to be willing to make time for each other such as the date we've just set up for Friday. If Friday's date leads to more than dinner, that would be wonderful. It's my understanding Miriam is staying over at her friend's place, and Daniel is staying over at his on Friday."

Ben's eyes lit up. "Well, I will see you on Friday then." He leaned forward and gave her a kiss that took her breath away.

"Scoot! Or you'll make me want to miss this very important meeting!" she grinned at him.

Ben grinned, and she followed him to the door. She gave his butt an appreciative pat on his way out with a smile of her own.

He went home and found Tina in the kitchen, preparing dinner. He scooped Christopher out of his playpen and bounced him on his knee as he sat at the table and watched her out of the corner of his eye. She was enjoying the simple domestic pleasure of preparing their dinner. He asked if he could help her with anything, but she just smiled and shook her head.

Finally, the preparations were done, and the kitchen was tidy. She looked around as if she'd forgotten something, but she was done.

"Did you see the message I sent about Friday?" he asked.

"Yes. I called Lisa and Lori, and they are taking me clubbing that night. Trish will watch Christopher," she smiled.

"That sounds like fun!" Ben smiled. "Do you need some pocket money?"

"No, I still have money from when I cleaned James' account out," she said.

"Do you mind me asking how much you have left?" Ben asked.

"I still have a little under four thousand," she replied.

Ben smiled as he thought once more of her resourcefulness when James had left her in such dire straits. He hoped the bank never caught on or questioned the fact that money was leaving James' account after he was dead. He looked down at the baby in his arms and saw the boy was sound asleep. He smiled at the boy's peaceful expression.

"So... how are you feeling?" he asked Tina.

She smiled at him with a twinkle in her eye. "Much better."

"It looks like Christopher is ready for his nap," Ben smiled. He stood and walked down the hall to the guest room next to the master and set the sleeping child down in the bassinette. "We're going to need to buy him a bed. He's outgrown this little bed. How about we do that this afternoon? I'll move this bed into storage, and he can have this room."

Tina smiled up at him as he watched the sleeping boy. She tugged his arm as she led him to the master bedroom.

"Today, we take it really slow, and at the first sign of pain, we stop! Understood?" Ben said firmly. Tina nodded as she looked up at him from under her bangs.

He dipped down and kissed her tenderly. She sighed into his mouth as he nibbled gently on her lips. He slid his hands under her pullover and ran them up her sides, lifting the clothes up her body. She raised her arms as his hands slipped up them to tug the sweater over her head. He looked at the young woman with delight as she hadn't been wearing a bra underneath. He also admired the tight yoga pants she had on.

Ben lifted Tina onto the bed and rolled her onto her tummy to run his hands over her perfect, round ass cheeks. She moaned as he squeezed the tight curves.

"Oh, Ben. So good!" she sighed.

He smiled as he slowly pulled the elastic waist downwards and watched it slip over her cheeks. He tugged the pants down until he pulled them free. Tina was beginning to breathe heavily as he ran his hands over the smooth skin on her ass. He parted her cheeks to look at the glistening lips of her pussy. Tina was looking back when she jolted at the feel of his tongue, roughly stroking her wetness. She squealed at the sudden sensation, so he dipped down once more for another strong lick.

When the tip of his tongue stroked across her tight anus, she trembled, moaned, and pushed back against him. This surprised Ben, but he returned his tongue to tease her rosebud. Squeezing her cheeks in his hands, he repeatedly pressed against and stroked her sensitive orifice with his tongue.

"Ben! Oh god, Ben! Oh! Oh yes! Oh! Ben! Oh!" she chanted in a breathy voice as her muscles trembled and her hips twitched uncontrollably.

He slowly slid a finger into her pussy, and she cried out under the dual stimulation.

"I need you inside me, Ben, please!" she moaned.

He continued to probe her with his tongue until he managed to slip the tip just inside as his finger slid deeply into her other opening.

"BEN! Please! Oh, please! Now!"

He pulled his finger free and licked it clean as she trembled on the bed. He pulled the tube of lubricant from his pocket that he'd picked up at the hospital pharmacy. Down went his pants and underwear, and he tugged off his shirt. Ben applied a generous amount of slippery gel to his stiff member then rubbed the excess from his hand onto Tina's wet pussy. She squirmed and moaned with the sensation and looked over her shoulder. Ben rubbed a slick finger in tight circles around her anus, and she dropped her head to the mattress as her hips rose up. She made the most delightful grunting noises.

While she was distracted, Ben knelt on the bed behind her and positioned himself. He moved forward, and the thick head of his cock met her wet opening. She gasped as the slickened skin pressed inside with ease. The lubrication made a huge difference. Tina was still very tight, but Ben could slide himself in and out with much less difficulty, and she didn't appear to be having any problems this time.

He only had about three inches of himself inside, but he wanted to make sure she wasn't going to have a reoccurrence of the muscle cramps she had from the night before. "How are you feeling, Tina?"

"Oh, Ben... this feels so good! You are filling me up, but it feels so much better than it did last night!"

"OK, taking it up a notch then," he said as he pressed forward a little more. When he felt her tightening, he would relax and slide back out for a bit, then return to that depth slowly until she was used to it. Tina began to make long moaning sounds as he would slide in slowly to reach new depths. Finally, he was in all the way. He felt her cervix gently kissing the end of his cock, and she was trembling non-stop.

Ben relaxed some of his weight on her to feel her ass cheeks squeezed against his pelvis.

"Oooooooooooooooo yesssssss!" she hissed.

Keeping the pressure on her ass, he moved his hips to draw his cock halfway out of her hot tunnel. Then he slid back in until his pelvis slapped into her ass. "OH!" she squeaked.

He began to stroke in and out of her, his body giving her ass a slap with each stroke. When the pace started to get a little rough on Tina, Ben slowed right down and switched to long, slow strokes. He moved his right hand down to rub her rosebud.

"Ahhhhhhh!" she cried as her hips began to twitch and jerk. The sensation was becoming too much for Ben, and his release began to rush up on him.

He gently probed her ass with the tip of his finger, and that was all she needed. He felt the rhythmic pulsing of her orgasm on his cock as she crested. She slammed back against him, forcing more of his finger into her tight butt. Her eyes rolled back as Ben's climax surged deep into her, and she collapsed forward on the bed.

"Tina?"

He heard her heavy breathing, but she didn't respond, so he slipped his finger out of her ass and slowly pulled his spent cock from her. He knelt beside her and gently turned her onto her back. Her muscles were completely loose, and he realized she had passed out. He went into the bathroom and cleaned himself up and returned with a warm, damp facecloth. He cleaned Tina's ass and pussy, and she started to show signs of coming around. He dropped the dirty clothes into the hamper and stretched out on the bed next to her.

Ben gently stroked her cheek and watched as her eyes fluttered open. When they focused on him, she reached up and pulled his head down to hers to kiss him tenderly.

"Oh, Ben! What you do to me. I-" she struggled to find words.

"Shhh. I think you're pretty amazing yourself. I had no idea you liked being touched there," he said gently.

Tina blushed, and she squirmed under his admiring eyes. She looked up at him timidly. "Does that make me dirty?" she said in a tiny voice.

"Not at all! I love the fact that you found another way to experience pleasure. I really enjoy giving you that extra thrill! It seemed pretty intense for you."

Her eyes went wide with wonder. "I have never felt anything more powerful than you filling me up with your big cock then touching me there. I think I might have left my body for a moment."

"As long as you promise to always come back to your beautiful body, I'm willing to continue playing like that," he grinned at her.

He received a huge smile back for that.

"Any cramping? Are you sore?" he asked.

"I am a little sore, but that's all. It will take time for me to get used to your size. I am willing to practice as often as you like," she said coyly.

He flipped her over and kissed each of her butt cheeks, and she purred. Then he gave each a gentle swat, and she yipped. "Come on, we have things to do today, like buying a crib."

Ben got dressed and carried the guest room's mattress down into the basement's storage room. He returned for the box spring and made the final trip with the frame itself. He stood in the room with Tina looking at the space they now had.

"The crib can go in that corner, and I think we should get a changing table. It could go under the window. What do you think?" he asked.

Tina just hugged his side and looked up at him with love in her eyes.

"Okay, so that's a yes. Let's go get some kid stuff."

-=-

When they arrived back from the store, Ben assembled the crib and change table while Christopher watched from his playpen. Tina put the new stroller in the garage, lugged the bags of clothes into the bedroom, and put them in the drawers and closet. She couldn't stop smiling at Ben, but she tried to make sure he didn't catch her doing so.

The phone rang while Ben was cursing the crib's designers, so Tina answered the call in the kitchen where she was checking on dinner.

"Hello, Shepherd Residence."

"Hi Tina, it's Cat."

"Hi, Cat! Would you like to speak with Ben?"

"Yes, please."

Tina walked into the bedroom and handed Ben the handset. "It's Catherine," she said.

"Hi!"

"Hi Ben, I was just calling to see if you had plans for Saturday evening?"

"Do I have plans for Saturday evening?" he repeated, looking at Tina, who shook her head with a smile. "No, I'm open that night. What's up?"

"My charity is hosting a dinner downtown, and I was wondering if you would go as my date?" she asked.

"Sounds like fun! Is this a black-tie affair? Should I dig out my vintage tuxedo?" he asked.

"While I would LOVE to see you in a tuxedo, the dark suit you wore the night you hit me in the face with your penis would be fine," she said, suppressing a snort.

"I can hear you laughing," he grumbled. "Okay, I'll wear something similar to that. I may have burned that particular suit in embarrassment. What time should I pick you up?"

"I'll pick you up at seven PM, and Ben, don't plan on getting home until Sunday... lunchtime... maybe afternoon if I get a late checkout. I've booked a room at the hotel where we're hosting the dinner event."

"Right, bring an overnight bag," he said, looking at Tina. Her smile didn't waver, so he took another breath and felt the tightness in his chest relax. "See you then!"

"Bye, Ben!"

He handed the phone to Tina, who took it back to the kitchen. Ben watched her go and realized he wasn't feeling tortured with guilt. Maybe this friends with benefits thing could work! His smile slowly faded.

If he could just ignore the voice coming from the dark place in his mind reminding him of how unworthy he was of their love. How they would soon come to their senses, and the love would disappear.

As it always had.

Chapter 18

Ben had spent the entire day running around doing errands downtown and was bone tired. Amongst the chores was a visit to the bank. They weren't moving on putting Tina's house on the market, and that was frustrating. He'd spoken directly to the branch manager, but his hands were tied as the decision had to come from head office.

Ben had also stopped by his lawyer's office to sign some papers, including an amendment to his will. He wanted to ensure certain people were taken care of should he meet an early demise. He wasn't going to leave people in the kind of trouble James had left Tina. Not that he was going to tell anyone, but he felt better knowing.

The passport office was the usual exercise in frustration, but he'd get his new one in a couple of weeks.

He was looking forward to taking a soak in the hot tub, one of Tina's delicious meals, then crawling under the covers for some shut-eye. As he pulled onto his street, he noticed a huge black SUV parked up on Rochelle's front lawn just before her house. Not the usual way to park a car and maybe a bad sign. He slowed his truck to a crawl and looked up at the home. He could see movement inside the big picture window as the living room lights were much brighter than the twilight he was driving through.

Suddenly he saw a large man pushing someone, maybe Rochelle, down with a violent shove.

Ben was parked in the driveway and heading up her steps in seconds. He pounded on the door and heard heavy footsteps approaching. The moment the door started to open, he surged forward and pushed inside. The door's edge caught the man in the nose and rocked him back. Ben stepped past him and headed straight for the living room, where Rochelle was struggling painfully to get back to her feet. He carefully lifted her and set her on the sofa.

"WHO THE FUCK IS THIS?" the man yelled belligerently as he stood in the entrance to the living room, holding his bloody nose.

Rochelle grabbed and held Ben's hand and gave him a look that silenced him.

Ben nodded slightly, looking into her eyes cautiously. He turned to look at the man for the first time. He was big, well-muscled, with a variety of faded tattoos running down each arm. He was well dressed, clean-shaven, and was very handsome except for the rage twisting his features.

"Greg, I told you back at the restaurant, and I will tell you again, we are over. Done. We had some fun, but I told you from the start I wasn't interested in a player. You cheated on me while we were on a date! I'm done with being mistreated that way. Please leave," she said firmly.

"Bitch, did you not hear me? I said, Who the FUCK is THIS?" Greg bellowed.

"He looks like he should be smarter than he sounds," Ben remarked, his voice oddly flat and calm.

Rochelle couldn't stop the surprised chuckle from bubbling out but wished she had because Greg immediately rushed forward with murder in his eyes.

Then he was on the floor.

Rochelle didn't even see Ben's move.

Greg was flat on his back, slowly blinking and bleeding steadily from his crushed nose. He spat out blood and some teeth.

"Linda, call the police," Ben said. Rochelle looked at Ben when she heard the name. Linda? His voice still sounded off. She turned and grabbed the handset on the end table and dialed.

Greg rolled onto his chest and started to drag himself away. Ben stepped forward to pin him down until the police arrived. Suddenly the prone man spun and stabbed Ben in the calf with the switchblade he'd concealed under his body. The blade went in deep. Ben grabbed Greg's wrist and squeezed until bones snapped.

Then he squeezed some more. Bones splintered.

Greg screamed and released the knife, which remained in Ben's leg.

Ben felt his right leg giving out from the shock of the knife stuck in his calf. He couldn't risk the bastard getting up and hurting Linda again, so he twisted and let himself fall on the man's back. He heard another snap. Greg's face bounced off the floor. Hard. He went still, but Ben heard him breathing.

Rochelle screamed and rushed to Ben's side. She reached for the knife sticking out of his leg.

"Don't touch the knife!" Ben growled through his teeth. "Are the police coming? Ask for an ambulance too."

Rochelle nodded and went back to the call.

"Do you have any zip ties?" Ben asked.

"Yes, in the workshop downstairs."

"Get them."

Rochelle rushed away, and a couple of minutes later, she returned. Greg made noises like he was coming to, and Ben looked like he was ready to kill him as he held him down.

"Give me one," Ben said tersely.

Rochelle handed him one, and Ben immediately pulled Greg's arms behind his back and zipped his wrists together. Then he got Rochelle to zip tie Greg's ankles together. Once that was done, Ben carefully rolled off of the man and pushed himself across the floor over to the couch, where he leaned back on it. He kept his right leg elevated, and the bleeding didn't look too bad. She sat down on the couch next to him.

"POLICE," they heard shouted from the front door.

"In the living room, to the left," Rochelle called out.

The first officer glanced around the corner, then holstered his weapon as his partner followed him in. He checked on the zip-tied man lying on his chest and then moved to look at Ben's leg. "Don't touch the knife. Leave it in for now, sir. The ambulance is on its way," he said, and Ben just nodded.

Ben looked up at Rochelle. "You okay?" The shock was setting in, and he looked confused as he suddenly saw it wasn't Linda.

Rochelle smiled down at Ben. Knife sticking out of his leg, and he was asking about her. "I'm good. I'm bruised from when he threw me down against the end table, but I'm okay besides that. Ben, who's Linda?"

"Did I say that out loud?" he asked quietly.

"Yes, you called me Linda. Who is she?"

"Someone I used to know a very long time ago. She-she was in a similar situation, but I couldn't help her," Ben ground out between his teeth.

"You helped me! How did you know I was in trouble?" Rochelle asked.

"I saw the big truck parked on your lawn, so I slowed down to see if you were all right. I saw someone being thrown to the floor... then I was inside," Ben mumbled, embarrassed that he'd lost himself in that memory.

"I'm grateful you stopped. It would have gotten a lot worse for me if you hadn't. He has an awful temper."

"Who is he?" Ben asked, looking at the man who was now struggling against his restraints and howling in pain from his destroyed wrist.

"Greg Mattay. He was a friend of Devon's, which should have been my first clue. He's always had a thing for me, and since Devon died, he's been persistently pursuing me. I was lonely, so I went on a date. That led to a few more dates, and tonight I caught him arranging a hook up with one of the waitresses from my restaurant downtown. He's no better than Devon."

"You deserve far better," Ben said.

"Damn straight, I do!" she smiled. "I'm sorry you got hurt, Ben, but I'm glad you came by. Should I call someone? Let them know you're on your way to the hospital... again," she said with a smile.

"Yeah, call my place and let Tina know. Uh, maybe you should call Gabriella and Catherine as well," he said, blushing.

The paramedics arrived in two separate ambulances. The first crew was looking at Greg, but he wasn't cooperative. He glared back at Ben as the police and paramedics prepared to get him up on the gurney. Rochelle looked him straight in the eye

"That's right, Greg. Ben has three women in love with him, and they are all fully invested in the relationship. He shows them respect, and he loves them back. Your pathetic player game is childish and weak compared to Ben. And his dick is twice the size of yours too-"

"Rochelle!" Ben interrupted, and she stopped to smile at him.

"But it's true! I've seen you both! Granted, I haven't seen yours hard... yet," she grinned.

Greg seemed to be withering a little as they placed him on the gurney. The two paramedics kneeling beside Ben were waiting for the first gurney to be moved before they could bring in his. The female paramedic smiled at Ben. "Sir, we're going to have to cut these pants off of you," she said. Rochelle grinned at the woman and wiggled her eyebrows.

The other paramedic checked Rochelle's back, and she winced. She picked up the phone again and made the calls.

-=-

Later that night, Ben was resting in the hospital bed, and Hannah was sitting in the chair next to him.

"Does this injury really warrant a night in the hospital?" Ben complained.

"Hush! You were stabbed! Deeply! We're just taking precautions," Hannah chastised him.

"The doctor said the blade just went through the meat and missed everything vital. Outside of the scar, there's not going to be any long-term effects."

"Yes, this is all good news, but we are going to keep you in for observations," she said firmly.

"That paramedic already did too much observing. Rochelle, too," he grumbled.

"What? What did they do?" she asked.

"She said she had to cut my pants off as they snagged on the knife. They got me in the ambulance, and Rochelle was back there with the female paramedic while the other one drove. I was pretty loopy by that point, so I didn't notice she'd cut my underwear off too. When I came to, I found the two making observations of my... stuff. With their hands!"

"Funny, Rochelle didn't mention that when I spoke with her earlier," Hannah said with a frown. "Ben, she did mention that when you busted into her home, you called her Linda. She said that you told her Linda was from your past and you couldn't help her. This is something you need to speak with Dr. Granger about, isn't it."

Ben looked into her eyes for a moment. "Yes."

"Do you want to talk about it now? The best time to do it would be while it is still fresh in your mind. I can see if she's available," Hannah asked gently.

He sighed. "Sure."

Hannah sent a quick text to Dr. Granger's secretary.

"I saw Tina in here earlier. How is that going?" she asked while she waited for a reply to the text.

"Tina is doing great! I got her all set up with clothes for going to university this summer and fall. We also set up one of the guest rooms to be Christopher's room. Got him a crib as he was getting too big for the bassinette, a changing table, a baby monitor, and a stroller. You know that asshole James didn't spend a dime on his son? Outside of diapers because he didn't like the smell. Fuck! I'd like a few minutes alone with the bastard."

Hannah smiled, and her phone buzzed. "Ah, she's free and will be here momentarily." She looked at Ben. "How are you managing juggling time with the three women in your life?"

"They all came to see me earlier to make sure I was okay. Gabriella is amazing! I can't begin to say how much she's helped me. Catherine is incredible as well. So much energy! Tina helps me stay sane. And there aren't just three women in my life. There are four equally wonderful women taking care of me!"

"Four?" she asked incredulously.

"The fourth one locks me in her hospital overnight," he grinned.

Hannah blushed and swatted his arm.

"Are you beating my patient? How do you feel about that, Ben?" Dr. Granger quipped as she arrived.

"I'm out of here before I do something I'll regret!" Hannah growled playfully.

Ben snagged her hand and brought her knuckles to his lips for a sensual kiss. "Good night, Number Four."

Shivers running down her spine, she snatched her hand back and left in a huff, poorly hiding her pleased smile. She closed the door on the way out and caught his lingering gaze before she slipped away.

"Are you always this much of a flirt?" the doctor asked.

"Flirt?" Ben asked, puzzled.

"Ah, okay. Let's put that aside for later. More importantly, I understand you had a bit of an episode with a childhood memory. It's wonderful we can speak about it so soon after you experienced it. Do you recall what triggered it?"

"I was looking in Rochelle's living room window when I saw a man throwing someone down on the floor. I remember that distinctly. I don't remember getting into the house, and I don't remember anything I said until I was on the floor holding the man down," Ben said.

"In your memory, who was the person being thrown to the floor?"

"Linda. She was one of the girls I was in a foster home with. She was three years older than I was. I think she was 11 at the time," he answered.

"Who was she to you? She was important?" the doctor asked.

"...yes. She... she told me she loved me. She looked out for me for the year I was at that foster home. From day one, she took me under her wing and made sure I was okay. She was like the big sister I never had," Ben said, looking at his hands.

"What happened to her?"

"She died. He killed her." Ben was silent for a long moment.

"Who killed her?" the doctor asked, trying to get Ben to move the story forward.

"Rick. The foster father."

"Why did he do it?"

"Because... because she... she told him she ate his sandwich, but she didn't. I did. Rick and Maggie only fed us when they felt like it, and I hadn't eaten in days. I stole the sandwich and snuck outside to eat it. Rick came back and discovered it was missing. She must have seen me because she told him she ate it. He screamed and threw her down. I saw it through the window. He killed her."

"You were eight! Did you try to stop him?"

"Yes, I ran back into the house, and he was standing over her. She was already dead. He broke her neck against the heating rad." Tears ran down Ben's face unnoticed. He stared at his hands without seeing them.

"What happened next, Ben?" she prompted gently.

"Rick saw the crust of the sandwich in my hand and knew she'd lied. He screamed at me and slapped the bread from my hand. Then he slapped me hard across the face and told me that I'd made him do it. I'd made him kill her, and he had no choice but to kill me too. He threw me down, and my head hit the rad too, but it just knocked me unconscious. I woke up in a hospital. Three weeks later, I was in a new foster home."

Ben absently rubbed at the tears on his face. His face lost all expression. "I'm tired. I'd like to go to sleep now. Is it okay if we end the session here?"

"We'll finish shortly, Ben. We need to address the issue of Linda's death. You're carrying some unresolved guilt. Adult Ben can acknowledge that Rick was solely responsible for the death of the young girl. You know this because you told me directly that Rick killed her. Unequivocally his fault. But Child Ben is holding onto the lie Rick told him. Rick didn't kill other kids, did he?" Ben shook his head. "So Linda's death was likely an accident. Rick was guilty of killing her, but there was likely no intent to kill. He was just a bad man who did a terrible, irresponsible thing that resulted in her death. He wanted to discipline her, punish her, hurt her. But he killed her instead. Her death had nothing to do with the sandwich or the lie Linda told to protect you. It was just a horrific result of Rick's reckless and vicious action."

Dr. Granger looked into Ben's eyes and saw the pain there.

"Do you remember her love for you?"

Ben's breath caught in his chest as Linda's smiling face appeared in his mind. He saw her messy blond hair, her pale grey eyes, her slight overbite, and the splash of freckles across her upturned button nose. He heard her infectious giggling. And he felt her hugging him tight against her skinny body. He bit his lower lip and nodded with his eyes tightly closed as the tears ran freely down his cheeks.

"Then you've kept her love alive in your heart all these years. That's a wonderful tribute to her!" Granger said with a smile. "She'd love that. She certainly wouldn't want you carrying this meaningless pain and guilt. Don't diminish her final beautiful act of love by not understanding she did it for someone she believed deserved it. Just keep remembering her love."

Dr. Granger smiled as she watched Ben recall his young friend's love for him. She could see his shoulders relaxing and the pain easing from his brow.

"Tonight, you stopped your friend from being hurt. The situation reminded you of Linda, and you leaped to protect your friend. Linda would be very proud of you. You've grown into a strong and righteous man who acted selflessly and courageously. These are things she would have dreamed for you. As long as you live to the best of your abilities, as you have been, then you're fulfilling her hopes for you and justifying her belief in you."

Ben's eyes opened, and she handed him a tissue. He wiped his eyes and face. He smiled gently at the doctor.

"I think you should get some rest now. We have another session on Friday morning. We can continue to speak about Linda, or we can go back to the beginning. It's up to you. Sleep well, and I'll see you then."

"Thank you, Dr. Granger. Good night."

"Good night Ben."

Ben did sleep well, and his dreams were filled with the happy sound of a young girl's giggles.

Chapter 19

Ben had a cane to help take the strain off his leg when he walked and painkillers to numb him when he needed it, but he was surprised to notice how little pain he actually felt. The doctor had explained that he had been extremely fortunate in how the blade had been oriented when it entered the muscle. It not only missed significant blood vessels, but it also split between most of the fibers instead of cutting them. There was a definite weakness in his leg, but it could have been far worse.

When he got home, Tina had been a bundle of nerves. She burst into tears as soon as he stepped through the door. He held her in his arms on the living room couch for close to an hour before she calmed down. Once her tears dried, he gave her sweet kisses, and she melted in his arms.

His stomach rumbled, and she grinned at him and hustled into the kitchen to make him some lunch. There was a knock on the door, and Tina flashed across the room before Ben could get up from the couch. She gave him a fierce look as she dashed by, so he sank back to the sofa. Rochelle followed her back into the living room, then Tina excused herself to go back to the kitchen.

"Hi Ben, how are you feeling?" Rochelle asked.

"I'm good. The leg hardly hurts at all," he smiled.

Rochelle's expression turned serious. He saw signs that she had been crying this morning. He felt a twinge in his heart.

She sat next to him on the couch, took his hand in hers, and looked down at it. "Ben, I just wanted to tell you how grateful you were there for me last night. I wasn't kidding when I said it would have gotten a lot worse for me if you hadn't shown up. Greg beat his last girlfriend pretty badly when they broke up. He has serious anger issues."

Ben got frustrated. "Rochelle, why did you agree to go out on a date with a guy like that? You can do so much better! You're smart, gorgeous, and fun! You can have your pick of men! Why the bad boys?"

Tears were coming to her eyes. "I know it was stupid. With the restaurant chain, I'm always working, and I was just so lonely." She looked up into his eyes. "No one calls me gorgeous or smart, and I haven't had fun in a long time. I don't know why I get caught up with bad boys. They do say the right things... at the beginning."

"I want you to start coming to our informal group talks. You need to start seeing yourself as we see you. The beautiful, powerful, and loving woman you really are, not someone others can use as a doormat. If you feel yourself becoming lonely or depressed, please reach out for help! We're here for you! You don't deserve to be treated that way!"

Rochelle nodded and looked down at her lap. Ben reached over and lifted her chin so he could look into her eyes to see if she understood. He brushed the tears from her cheek with his thumb.

"Ben, you are a good man. If you didn't have three women after you already, I'd be snatching you up for myself."

Tina returned to the living room with Ben's lunch and heard Rochelle. "Ben does not belong to us. Our hearts are open to him, and his is open to ours. He knows we love him, and we know he loves us. That love is unconditional. It has to be. We will not impose limits on his ability to love, and I would tell you the same. Ben has a tremendous capacity for love. You shouldn't try to restrict it."

Rochelle looked at Tina in surprise as the small woman set the tray on the coffee table. Then she looked at Ben, who watched Tina with equal parts reverence and perplexity in his eyes. He looked back at Rochelle.

"I love them with every fiber of my being, but I can't help feel I'm not worthy of their love," he said softly.

"Then maybe you and I are more alike than we thought. We both feel unworthy of love. In my case, I just choose men incapable of true love. It seems to me, Ben, that you've found a way to get past your issue," Rochelle said.

"It wasn't Ben who found the solution. It was Gabriella. She knew what Ben's heart needed and found in herself the capacity to love him that way. She showed Catherine how to do it, as well. You should speak to her. I've always loved Ben without limitation. It's in my nature," Tina explained.

Ben smiled at Rochelle. "I'm new to these friends with benefits relationships. I believed I was too firmly entrenched in a more traditional monogamist relationship, but that failed pretty spectacularly for me. When Gabriella, Catherine, and Tina all indicated they wanted to share my life, I had a terrible time at the start. Then Gabriella explained how it would work. I was doubtful at first, but she continues to amaze me. She doesn't just talk a good game. She lives it. She is probably the wisest person I know when it comes to matters of the heart. She has an infinite capacity for love. I'm just a poor student at her feet."

"Speak with her," Tina suggested firmly.

"Are you suggesting I join Ben's circle of friends with benefits?" she said incredulously to Tina, then looked at Ben, who was also looking at Tina but more thoughtfully.

"What I am suggesting is that you speak with Gabriella to see if she can help clear up your misconceptions of love. You seem to need to learn to love yourself first. Sometimes a friend can help you find your way to that. Gabriella is the best person to give that advice, and Ben is the best one to show you how true love can feel," Tina finished with a coy smile.

"Wisdom doesn't exclusively reside with Gabriella, it seems," Ben said while lovingly touching Tina's cheek. She gave him a brilliant smile in return and leaned into his touch.

Rochelle watched the exchange and longed to feel that way too. She was ashamed to admit to herself that she hadn't honestly considered Ben as more than a pretty distraction. To find love wasn't expected, and she didn't know how to deal with it. Tina's advice to speak with Gabriella was looking pretty timely. She decided that's what she would do. First, though, she needed to apologize to Ben.

"Ben, I also wanted to apologize for how I treated you last night. I think it may have just been in reaction to your aggressive rescue. I didn't know you could be that tough! Greg is a big violent man, yet he didn't stand a chance against you. You put him down, hard! That got my heart pounding pretty fast, and I got a little too... familiar with your body in the ambulance with the paramedic."

Ben blushed at the memory, and Tina looked at him curiously. "They were... handling my stuff while I was semi-conscious."

Tina's eyes flared angrily, and Rochelle winced. "Yeah, I'm really sorry I took liberties."

"There must be respect! Above all else!" Tina growled, and Ben's eyes widened at her aggression. He'd heard she was protective, but this was the first time he'd seen it. He liked it! It made him feel better about Tina's ability to cope with the challenges she'd face in the world.

"It is time for Ben's lunch. I suggest you speak with Gabriella as soon as you can," Tina finished and nodded to the woman slightly.

Rochelle caught the dismissal pretty clearly. She'd have to earn her way back into Tina's good graces. She got up, and Ben did as well with the help of his cane. He walked her to the door and helped her with her coat. As she turned to leave, Ben gripped her jacket's lapels and turned her to him. She looked up in surprise.

"Rochelle, know that you are an amazing woman. You're sexy as hell, gorgeous, smart, driven, and worthy of respect and love. Own that. Take it into your heart! Don't settle for anyone who doesn't also believe it!" Ben said firmly. She blinked up at him.

Then he kissed her, and she felt it all the way down to her toes.

"Believe it!" he growled when he finally pulled back from her trembling lips.

She nodded shakily and left the house in a daze. Ben walked back into the living room, leaning on the cane and pondering why a woman as fine as her would keep gravitating to such losers.

"I'd like to eat in the kitchen, please," he said to Tina. She lifted the tray and carried it to the other room as he followed her. He sat down at the kitchen table, and she sat next to him after making sure Christopher was happily exploring his new activity center in his playpen.

Tina reached out and took his hand. "You are a good man, Ben."

"Only because you make me one," he replied and dug into his lunch.

She wondered what he meant by that.

-=-

Gabriella heard the doorbell ring. She sighed and pushed herself back from her computer. She was putting together a significant addition to her distribution deal and had been working on the contract all morning. Her eyes were burning from staring at the screen, so the break was welcome.

When she answered, she saw Rochelle standing there looking a little lost.

"Rochelle? What's wrong? Did that man come back?" she asked, looking past her down the street.

"No, I-I need to talk to you about love."

Gabriella's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Oh! Maybe you should come in then."

Once they were seated comfortably in the living room, Gabriella looked closely at her friend. "Are you sure you're okay? You seem a little lost."

"Last night, I came within seconds of a severe beating. That man... how could I let myself get involved with bastards like him? I knew better, yet I was lonely, and I let him sweet-talk himself into my life and my bed. Two weeks in, and I find him hitting on one of my waitresses. In my restaurant!" she groaned as she shook her head.

"Ben. Our white knight. Busted in my door and took that bastard out in one punch. So fast, I didn't even see it. Flattened that pretty boy's nose and knocked his teeth out. It's going to take surgery to give him back his looks. God, Ben got my juices flowing last night! I-I might have touched him inappropriately in the ambulance with a female paramedic while he was partially conscious." She saw Gabriella getting angry, and she looked ashamed. "I know. Totally disrespectful. Tina just finished tearing a strip from me for that."

"Tina?"

"Yes, I went to apologize to Ben for everything that happened last night, and Tina reacted like you did when she heard what I did in the ambulance," Rochelle said contritely.

"You have to understand that Ben isn't promiscuous. He gets really uncomfortable when strangers appreciate his looks. As physically affectionate as he is with people he considers his friends, he is very shy and reserved around strangers. Tina is right. You need to respect Ben's boundaries."

"Ben just kissed me... deeply," Rochelle blurted to see what reaction Gabriella would have, but the woman just smiled.

"Congratulations! That proves he considers you a very good friend," she said with a genuine smile.

Rochelle looked at her in shock. "It's true! You aren't jealous of him being sexually active with other women!"

"I love Ben. He loves me. I trust him not to do anything to hurt me. He knows I respect his feelings, and I know he respects mine. To be jealous, I would have to be fearful of losing Ben's love to another. But Ben's love is additive, not divisive. He loves me with his whole heart. He loves Catherine with his whole heart. He loves Tina with his whole heart. He has strong feelings for Trish though she drives him nuts with her insatiable appetite for sex and how she's always pushing his boundaries, pulling him out of his comfort zone. Even with all of that, I'm not competing with anyone for Ben's love. When he's with me, he's with me. When he's with one of the others, he hasn't stopped loving me. He's not actively looking to score with as many women as he can. It's just not in his nature. That said, he has a powerful sex drive," she explained to Rochelle, who was starting to understand.

"l lead a very full life. I'm still raising two kids. My import business is really picking up now that I'm dedicating a bigger portion of my attention to it. I love knowing Ben is equally excited about how my life is going. He is very supportive and an excellent listener. I don't need him to hold my hand 24/7 as I'm a grown-up with life skills of my own. He may not always be available to spend time with me, but I'm not always available to spend time with him. We schedule times to be together, like date nights. I have one with him tomorrow. Catherine is going out with him on Saturday night. Tina is with him in between, but once she begins university, she'll also have less time to spend with Ben. If there was a crisis of any kind and one of us had immediate need of Ben, there would be no resentment from the others as we respect each other and wouldn't make the request without considering the other's feelings. There can be no hurt feelings or jealousy between us as that would just hurt Ben. He's gone through some awful things in his past, which made him extra sensitive to his partner's emotions. It makes him an incredible lover, but it also makes him easily hurt by negative feelings. Emotional manipulation is not something you use on Ben. Brutal honesty is his policy, and he lives by it."

Gabriella took Rochelle's hands in hers. "If you were considering letting Ben into your heart, you need to carefully and honestly consider your true feelings and concepts regarding love. If love for you is possessive, then you aren't for Ben. He would return your love, but your emotional pain at seeing him express love for others would tear him apart. He's too good a man to deserve that," she said, looking into Rochelle's eyes. "Take some time to think about it."

Rochelle looked back at Gabriella with a sad expression. "I'm sorry to say I've never really thought of Ben as anything more than eye candy. That's part of the reason I acted like I did in the ambulance. I've never really connected with men on an emotional level, but then I've never had a relationship with a man who was available emotionally. My choices have all been manipulative bastards. I appreciate their looks, but I've never experienced a deep emotional bond with a man. When Ben kissed me, he was trying to convince me that I was worthy of love from a good man. He believes it, and I need to believe it. His kiss shook me. The passion in it made my toes curl, and I almost fainted. He was there, all of him; mind, body, and soul. He held nothing back. I-I've never felt that."

Gabriella smiled lovingly. "Ben is always 100 percent."

"How does Trish interact with him? She's not in love with him, is she?" Rochelle asked.

"Trish told Ben that she was still hurting from her husband's betrayal and wasn't looking for love. For her, she was looking to replace a major component of her relationship with John. They had a very active sex life. Trish uses sex as therapy and has used Ben on a few occasions. It always leaves Ben confused as he tries to find the emotional context behind the sex, and Trish is trying to avoid an emotional connection... for now. I'm not sure if they've come to some kind of agreement. You'd need to speak with Ben or Trish about that."

Gabriella's office phone rang, so she apologized and got up to take the call.

Rochelle sat quietly, thinking about everything Gabriella said. She knew she wanted to be loved. She wasn't sure if she had it in her not to be jealous of others. What Ben had now was a lot like what she'd experienced with Devon, wasn't it? Aside from the secrecy and lies, that is.

What Gabriella said about being busy and not always having time to give to the partner rang so true for herself now that she had the restaurant chain to run. To be able to call on someone who loved her. To have date nights filled with passion. Lord! That sounded good! Her upbringing was very strict. The proper plan required a man, a woman, marriage, kids, grandkids, then death. That was the way things worked. Well, that was how it was supposed to work. It hadn't worked for her. It hadn't worked for Ben either, and it sounded like he was also old school. This new relationship model was working for him, and by all accounts, it was working for Gabriella.

It was definitely working for Tina, but she was a special case. Rochelle agreed. Ben was perfect for her. After seeing Ben in action last night against Greg, there was no longer any doubt in her mind that Ben had the balls to be dominant.

Speaking of balls, his body was incredible. She and the paramedic had managed to get Ben erect the previous night while he was on the gurney. He was at least three times Greg's size. While she was sorry she had done that to Ben in front of the stranger, she certainly wasn't sorry she'd seen it herself. He was beautiful!

She put her face in her hands. What was she going to do?

"Rochelle? You okay?"

"Yes, sorry. I have a lot to think about. I know I want what you and Ben have. I'm busy too, but I want someone to love and to love me. I understand that I can't have Ben all to myself, and I understand why. I have to think about whether or not I can see Ben's relationships as different from what Devon had."

"Rochelle! It's completely different!" Gabriella gasped indignantly.

"I know, sorry. Intellectually I can see there are huge differences. I'm talking about how my heart sees it. A heart that has been hurt again and again," Rochelle said weakly.

"What you went through was truly awful! But the most critical difference is that Ben won't pretend to love you. He won't lie to you. Firstly you'd have to spend some time together to see if you and he connect emotionally. You'll have to be ready to completely open your heart and soul to him, as that's what you'll be getting in return. It's what he does. If you connect, you can be assured that his love is genuine. Again I stress that before any of this happens, please be sure that you can accept his love unconditionally. It may be that you want what we have, but it doesn't have to be Ben."

Gabriella closed her eyes and composed herself. When she opened them, she looked straight into Rochelle's eyes. "You've mentioned that you don't see men in terms of emotional involvement. If you can't figure out a way to do that, I ask that you don't try to with Ben. To put it bluntly, if you just need to get a fix of sex with Ben, speak with Trish first to see if she can show you how to do it without hurting the man."

"Tina isn't the only one protective of him," Rochelle said.

"He's worth it," Gabriella insisted firmly.

Rochelle nodded and said her goodbyes. As she walked back to her house, her mind was tossing back and forth with questions. She saw Trish walk past her office window and found her feet carrying her to Trish's front door. She rang the bell.

Trish opened the door with a smile. "Hi, Rochelle! I don't remember the last time I saw you at home during the day!"

"Yeah, I took a personal day," she replied.

"Come in! Is everything okay?" she said with a concerned look. They made themselves comfortable, and Rochelle realized this was the third neighbor's living room she'd been in today.

"Didn't you see the police last night?" Rochelle asked.

"No! I was out at a tradeshow, and I got back after midnight! What happened?"

"I caught Greg cheating on me at my restaurant downtown last night, so I told him we were done and went home. He followed me home and got violent."

"OH MY GOD! Did he hurt you?" Trish said, looking for injuries.

"He threw me down against an end table. Bruised my back pretty badly. He was just getting started. He had a look in his eye. Then there was a pounding on the door. He went to see who it was, and Ben pushed his way in, picked me up from the floor, and sat me on the couch. Greg was mouthing off, and Ben said Greg looked like he should be smarter than he sounded. I laughed, and Greg went after Ben."

"OH, GOD! Is Ben okay?"

Rochelle looked at the fear in Trish's eyes and smiled.

"Ben put Greg down in one punch. Moved so fast I didn't even see it. Crushed his nose and knocked out his teeth," she grinned at Trish's shocked expression. "You didn't think he had it in him, did you? I know I didn't! Our Gentle Ben has teeth!"

"Oooo, I wish I'd been there! Maybe it's barbaric and old-fashioned to think this way, but there's something about a man beating another man bloody to protect a woman that is so fucking hot!"

"Oh, I know! He got me pretty excited last night! Greg did pull a surprise and stabbed Ben in the calf with a switchblade, but Ben broke his wrist and three ribs in his back when he fell on Greg."

"Ben was stabbed!" Trish shrieked.

"He's okay! Spent the night in the hospital only because Hannah was overprotective, but he's home now," Rochelle assured her friend.

"Holy fuck! The convention was a total bust! All the action happened here!" Trish complained.

"I uh, did something bad last night," Rochelle said hesitantly.

"There's more?"

"I may have played with Ben's penis in the ambulance with the female paramedic while he was partially unconscious. He wasn't happy about it."

"ROCHELLE!"

She winced. "I know. It was wrong. I was just so excited by how he rescued me that I got carried away, and I didn't really consider his feelings. I apologized to him this morning, and Tina let me know that I was really disrespectful, and she was very upset with me. She can be a little frightening."

Trish chuckled. "Yes, I've faced her wrath as well. Formidable little woman."

"I also spoke with Gabriella, and she was pissed off with me too."

"Ha! Then I barked at you! You're just having the best day, aren't you!" Trish grinned.

"Which brings me to the reason for my visit," she said and paused to get her thoughts straight.

After the moment of silence stretched beyond her comfort zone, Trish interrupted. "Which would be?"

"I'm lonely... for male company. And I can't trust myself to avoid creeps like Greg. My history proves that. Ben told me I'm worthy of being loved. Tina suggested I could be one of Ben's friends with benefits if I got my head straight about what love was and told me to speak to Gabriella, which I did. She explicitly told me that if I were to consider opening my heart to Ben, I'd have to learn how to love unconditionally and lose my fear of betrayal."

"Well, Ben is the one person you could absolutely trust to never betray you," Trish agreed.

"Trish, he's in love with three women. Four if we include you."

"Don't. I know how he feels about me. I'm not ready," Trish scowled.

"He'll wait."

She smiled faintly though she remained uneasy. "I know."

"Well, he's in love with three women then. How can I reconcile my memories of Devon's betrayals and my feelings of inadequacy when Ben is also sharing his love with more than just me?"

"That's simple. Ben isn't Devon. In any way. The only thing they had in common? Penises. I mean having one. I have no idea if Devon was as big as Ben is. That aside, Ben would never betray you. He would never make you feel inadequate. And you've got it wrong about Ben sharing his love amongst the three women. He gives all of his love to each woman. You may have to share his time, but you get all of his love. And he doesn't stop loving you when you leave. I know. But Gabriella is right. I've seen what Ben goes through when he thinks he's causing a woman emotional pain. I don't ever want to see that again. So if you want him, you better fucking find the strength to throw off a lifetime of preconceived notions on how love works. Gabriella managed to do it and helped Catherine to learn. They seem happier than they've ever been. If I were to consider finding someone to love again, I think I could learn to love that way... but only for Ben. The risk for my heart is so much less with him."

Rochelle looked at her friend's fierce expression and realized Trish was right.

She was having a great day being chastised by her friends.

But the more defensive they got about Ben, the more intrigued she became.

"Gabriella suggested that if my feelings were more lust than love, I should speak with you about how you and Ben worked out the sexual part of your relationship, so it didn't hurt him."

Trish looked at her with an expression of shame. "When Ben is near me, I-I can't help myself. He's like... the biggest dose of the drug I need the most. We... haven't worked out how to protect his feelings. That's why he's still hoping."

"Oh."

"Ben doesn't do casual sex. It took Tina's involvement to get Ben to accept my cousin."

"WHAT?"

"Oh? I didn't tell you? Shelly and I patched up our relationship, and we celebrated by re-enacting our threesome but with Ben. It was magic! But it wouldn't have happened at all if Tina hadn't convinced Ben to let it happen."

"I thought Tina was the submissive one!" Rochelle gasped.

"Oh, she is! But when she wants to please her man, she can be very convincing. It was the sweetest seduction I've ever seen." Trish smiled fondly as she recalled the moment.

Rochelle's head was spinning. She had been hoping Trish would have an easy out for her. A way to experience sex with Ben, to at least get that desire out of her system so she could move on without exposing her battered heart and getting emotionally involved with a man. She had no experience with that. As good as Ben's kiss had been, his... emotional presence had frightened her, and more than a little. She didn't know how to relate to men that way. Truth be told, she didn't really emotionally bond with anyone aside from her children, and she felt herself pulling away from Jayden as he became more like his father.

Maybe that was why she was so lonely all the time. She felt an ache in her heart as she recalled Gabriella's description of her relationship with Ben. To know someone loved her, to have someone to hold and not be afraid of losing their love. She couldn't imagine that last part, and there lay the source of her trouble. She couldn't be with Ben if she couldn't get past her fear and subsequent jealousy.

"Ok, I have some thinking to do. Thank you, Trish," Rochelle said.

"Somehow, it doesn't sound like I really helped," Trish responded with a frown.

"Not what I was hoping for, but the truth, which in the long run, is better." Rochelle gave her friend a hug and went home to think.

Chapter 20

Ben sat across the table from Gabriella in her favorite restaurant and watched her eyes twinkle with happiness. They'd had a lovely meal and were just finishing up their dessert. The conversation had been lively and saucy at times, and they were both tingling with anticipation for what the night would hold. They'd talked excitedly about their upcoming trip. Ben talked to her about how his session went with Dr. Granger, and she told him about how her import business just took a big step towards expanding with the contract she just arranged with a major distributor on the west coast. They toasted her success then basked in their admiration for each other.

He'd spotted a man sitting at the bar, who was frequently glancing over at Gabriella, and he couldn't blame the man. She looked ravishing tonight. The simple but elegant black dress she wore complimented her curves, and her luxurious black mane flowed over her bare shoulders. Ben wanted to run his hands through her hair and caught himself imaging her lips pressed against his. He glanced up to her eyes and saw the twinkle was still in them, but her cheeks were beginning to pink up.

"What were you just thinking about Ben?" she said, her voice a little breathy.

"I was thinking about how much I want to run my fingers through your hair and pull you to me for a kiss." The heat in his expression was enough to melt the candles on the table between them.

Gabriella's blush spread across her face. "Oh my, I thought it might be something like that. Maybe we should get the cheque and head home.

Ben caught the eye of the waiter and asked for the bill. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gabriella's admirer get up from his bar stool. Just the slightest wobble in his stance, so he'd been drinking maybe a little too much. He made a beeline towards their table.

"Do you know this man approaching our table?" Ben asked, gesturing in his direction.

Gabriella looked and showed some surprise. She stood up just as the man reached them. Ben stood as well as the man's look made him a little uneasy

"Raphael! I didn't know you were visiting the States!" Gabriella said with a smile, but Ben saw the tension in the corners of her eyes. He looked back at the man in time to see him fling his arm in a slap aimed at her face.

Gabriella's reflexes allowed her to lean back quickly and dodge the hit. Her expression went from surprise to rage in a split second.

Ben stepped forward and caught Raphael's shoulders from behind, and walked the cursing man down the aisle towards the exit. Gabriella followed, and the restaurant manager met them at the door.

"What is the commotion about? We don't allow fighting in our establishment," the manager said tersely.

"This patron decided to aim a slap at my date," Ben said. "I'm just escorting him outside to cool off, not to fight him."

The man went still in his grip. He looked over his shoulder at Ben. "Who are you?" he asked

"I'm Ben. Are you going to be civil if I let you go? Because if not, you're in for a lot of pain," Ben warned him.

The man nodded stiffly, so Ben released his shoulders and stepped back.

Ben looked at Gabriella. "Do you want to ask him, or shall I?" he asked, giving her the option to control the conversation. She was shaking with anger, so she just shook her head. "Why did you try to slap Gabriella?" Ben asked.

"Because she is a puttana!" Raphael growled.

"Hey, I don't know Italian, but I'm pretty sure I know what that word means. Being civil includes your words. We can behave like adults here!" Ben growled back and felt Gabriella's fingers digging into his arm in rage. He tried to ignore that. "You tried to slap a woman. Here, that makes you a coward. Have we finished with the name-calling?"

The man's eyes flared with the insult, but he knew he was in no shape to take on someone Ben's size. He was being given the opportunity to avoid a beating. He wasn't so drunk that he couldn't appreciate that.

"She made promises when she was in Italy that I now see were lies," Raphael said, looking up at Ben.

"What? What promises did I make?" Gabriella asked.

Raphael refused to look at her, so he spoke to Ben. "She was all soft and touched me frequently when we met. She told me that I should come to America and she would show me the sites and make sure I enjoyed myself. Her... kisses were sensual." The man was struggling, and Ben knew what he meant by her kisses. Gabriella was, by nature, a sensual woman, but this was probably, hopefully, a case of misread signals. He turned to look at Gabriella, who was looking concerned. Ben became worried when he saw her expression.

"No, Ben, it's not like that. It's been my experience that for a woman to do business with men in Italy, there's a lot of flirting involved. It's expected. But the line is drawn between flirting and outright sex. Raphael, you must be aware of this. I certainly never meant to lead you on. On my last visit, we both had a little too much wine. My aim in kissing you on the cheek was a little off, but we laughed about that afterward. I thought we both understood it was just a mistake."

Raphael's pride was terribly hurt. Her words were not making him feel any better, and even Ben's sympathetic look was painful. "No, you were not clear about your intentions. Obviously, since I came all this way for nothing. I suppose while I am here, I will find another distributor for my products. I'm terminating our contract. Goodbye." He turned and walked into the adjoining hotel lobby to head back to his room.

Gabriella watched him go with dismay. All that work and poof, gone because of one stupid sloppy kiss and a man's wounded pride.

Ben led Gabriella back to the table so he could settle the bill, and she could take a moment to decompress.

After he paid, Ben looked at the woman across from him. He could see the gears working. She was trying to salvage her deal.

"How large of a component was Raphael's product to the deal you worked out for the west coast distributor?" he asked.

"His belts and wallets made up about 20 percent, but without that, the deal falls through."

"Is there another manufacturer you could use to replace him," he asked.

"Yes. There's a company that makes better products, but they weren't interested because they wanted broader distribution. I have the promise of that now, but the window to meet with them is gone. They're all heading off to the trade show circuit in two days, and I'd never get to them in time."

"Make the call to set up a meeting tomorrow. I'll get you there," Ben said, pulling out his phone.

"BEN! How are you going to get me to Milan by tomorrow?" Gabriella gasped.

"I have a friend who runs a private executive jet service. I did some work for him in designing components for the interiors of his jets. I'll book one of them to take you there and bring you back. Can you have the manufacturer meet you at the airport? Seeing you stepping from the jet will make one hell of an impression," Ben smiled.

"Right. Looking totally jet-lagged and rumpled from sleeping in my clothes. Quite the impression," she frowned.

Ben looked at her with a shocked smile. "You've never flown on an executive jet before, have you."

"Of course, I haven't."

He chuckled. "Well, this one is going to spoil you with a bed and a private washroom with a shower. Bring your business clothes and put them on before you land. Leave your luggage on the plane and change into comfortable clothes for the return trip." He was grinning as Gabriella's eyes grew big. Her grin told him everything he needed to know. He dialed the number on his phone as Gabriella dialed her contact. Minutes later, she hung up with a smile on her face. Ben grabbed her hand and pulled them to the exit. She had a flight to catch.

They got back to her place in record time, and she packed a few items. Her suitcase was always ready as she traveled frequently. Ben took her to the airport and gave her a big kiss before she rushed away to board her plane.

When he got home at 11 PM, he found his house empty and recalled the twins had taken Tina clubbing. He stood in the foyer and listened, finding it was odd to hear the silence. He'd had years of silence. Once, it seemed like a friend. Now, it felt almost unbearable.

The doorbell made him jump. He turned and saw Rochelle standing there looking uncomfortable. She turned to leave, and he pulled the door open.

"Rochelle? What's wrong?" he asked. "Come in, please."

She took off her coat and shoes and followed Ben into the living room. Once they were seated, she held up her phone and smiled weakly. "I sent an email to Gabriella asking if I could speak with her after she got back from her date with you. She responded from the plane. I guess the date is over." She smiled nervously again. "She told me to come here to talk with you."

Ben's phone pinged to indicate a message arrived. "That might be her," Rochelle gestured to his cell, so Ben took a look. It was from Gabriella and had just five words, "Please. Rochelle needs you tonight."

Ben smiled and felt his admiration for Gabriella grow once more.

"May I ask what it says?" Rochelle said timidly.

"It says she loves you," Ben replied and smiled at her.

Rochelle's breath caught in her throat. Her eyes teared up, and she dropped her phone when her hands began to shake. Ben picked up the phone and set it on the coffee table. He took her hands in his and rubbed his thumbs across the back.

"What's making you so nervous, Rochelle? We've known each other for years. You've always been so comfortable around me. Such a flirt! Now you're acting like I'm made of eggshells."

"That was before, when I just treated you based on your surface. I've never had to consider men any other way. I don't know how to interact with a man emotionally. Lust, I know, but love? I'm a novice."

"Then for tonight, how about we just enjoy each other physically and put a bookmark in the rest. We can get back to it at a later date. That takes some of the pressure off for you, doesn't it?" he smiled.

Rochelle's jaw dropped. He reached over and closed her mouth for her, then he ran his thumb across her full lower lip. "I want to kiss these beautiful lips."

"Please. Please kiss me," Rochelle pleaded.

"No, tonight I get to treat you as you deserve. Please let me kiss your lips," Ben asked.

"Oh! Yes, you may." Rochelle caught on to the game pretty quickly.

Ben slid closer on the couch. "May I touch your face when I kiss you?"

Rochelle shivered when she heard the need in his voice. "Yes," she sighed as he moved in. His big hands slid in under her hair around her neck, and he brushed his lips against hers. Her breath caught as he sucked her lower lip between his. The tip of his tongue caressed the smooth skin of her bottom lip. He moved to her top lip and repeated his caressing there. She was trembling by this point.

Ben dipped his tongue into her mouth as his lips pressed firmly against hers. Her tongue reached out for his, stroking across his. He sucked her tongue into his mouth, and Rochelle moaned as tingles ran down her spine. Ben pulled back, and they both panted to catch their breath.

"Please let me take you to my bedroom," Ben begged.

Rochelle leaned forward and kissed Ben hard. Her tongue delved deeply into his mouth, and he chased it with his own. She pulled back finally and looked him in the eyes. "Take me to your bed!" she demanded with a sly smile.

He stood and pulled her to her feet. He handed Rochelle her cell and quickly used his own to forward Gabriella's message to Tina to give her the heads up. Then he led Rochelle down the hall and closed the door once they were at the foot of his bed.

"I want to see your beautiful body. May I take off your clothes?" he asked.

"Only once you're naked," she replied, and he dipped his head to her. This made her grin.

Ben undid his tie and pulled it from his collar. Then he undid the top three buttons of his dress shirt and pulled it up and over his head, ignoring the remaining buttons. Rochelle's eyes grew large as she ran her hands over his thickly muscled chest. He bounced his pecs as she placed her hands on them, making her giggle.

He took off his belt and unbuttoned the top button on his pants, slipping the zipper down. Rochelle slid her hands over his hips and pushed down to drop his pants and underwear to the floor. He stepped out of them, then pulled off his socks.

He was standing naked before her, and she was drinking in his gorgeous body. "Now, may I please take your clothes off?" he begged.

"Mmmm... yes," she said with a pleased smile.

He gently undid the buttons on her blouse, revealing more and more of her pretty satin bra, which was holding up her large, round breasts. Finally, he slipped the blouse from her shoulders and placed it across the top of his bureau. He undid her belt next and the button and zipper on her slacks. He slipped his hands over her hips and slid her pants down, kneeling down to follow them to the floor. She stepped out of them, and he carefully folded them and placed them with the blouse. He admired the beautiful lingerie and ran his hands over the smooth fabric. Her nipples responded to his touch and pressed against the inside of the bra. He reached around her for the clasp on the bra. A flick of the fingers and her breasts were free. He pulled the straps from her shoulders, down her arms, and placed the bra on the bureau. He'd never seen such large breasts before and immediately put his hands under them to lift them up and squeeze them together. Rochelle's eyes closed in pleasure as Ben kissed the soft flesh in his hands. He started on her right tit and kissed his way closer to her nipple. As she began to moan, he moved to the other tit and began kissing his way to her left nipple. He reached its edge, and she was breathing heavily in anticipation when he moved back to the right one. She moaned in frustration, then squealed when he took the entire nipple and large dark areola into his mouth. His tongue flicked across the hardening bud then he began to suck.

Rochelle gripped his head and pulled it harder against her, and he sucked even more of her tit into his mouth. He used the flat of his tongue to stroke the nipple until it was stiff with need, then he suddenly switched to the other nipple and thrashed it well with his tongue.

Rochelle was dripping wet when he moved his hands down to slide her panties down her legs. He kissed her aggressively, and she whimpered into his mouth as he pulled her naked body against his. His cock was so hot and hard against her stomach.

Ben suddenly lifted her in his arms and laid her out on the bed. Before she could catch her breath, he positioned his face between her legs, and she felt his hot breath panting on her tingling pussy. Devon was a master pussy eater, so she was worried that Ben wouldn't measure up.

"Please let me taste you," Ben whispered, his breath sending shivers through her sensitive skin. Her back arched in reaction.

"YES! YES!" Rochelle squealed.

She was waiting for Ben to begin licking her clit, Devon's favorite attack, but instead, Ben's tongue began a journey to places Rochelle never expected to find pleasure. He teased and caressed, lapped, and stroked as she cooed and trembled, yet her clit remained untouched.

Soon it began to take notice of its neglect and yearned for even the slightest touch. Rochelle squirmed and tingled and panted, pulling at Ben's head to no avail. His teasing tongue dipped between her nether lips deeply, and he drank her nectar while her hips trembled. The tension built, and her nerves buzzed with need. She was about to scream in sexual frustration when he sucked the stiff little nub between his lips and stroked it feverishly with his tongue.

Then scream she did.

Her orgasm roared through her, and her legs locked up. Ben pumped two fingers rapidly into her gushing pussy as his tongue circled and lashed her throbbing clit. The sensations were coming in too fast, and she thrashed on the bed gripping his hair and crying out each time his tongue battered her senses. Her back arched until she was just shoulders and heels on the bed.

This was nothing like Devon. She'd thought Devon was a master, but he'd only reached the surface of her pleasure. Ben was triggering deep waves that coursed throughout her entire body. Her eyes rolled back, and she pulled Ben's face tighter against her.

When her legs finally gave out, she dropped back to the bed. Ben quickly moved up her body and pressed the hot head of his cock against her tingling pussy. A slight push, and he was in. He began with long slow strokes, ending with a brief grind, which was an incredible tease.

She'd never expected this. The heat. The fullness. The maddening tingling and the steadily accelerating thump of his pelvis against her clit.

Ben took her mouth in a deep passionate kiss while his strokes increased in speed. She broke the kiss to cry out his name over and over as she raced up to another explosion. She felt Ben getting close as well. Soon, too soon, they both cried out as their releases took them. Ben rolled onto his back and pulled Rochelle up on top of him. He was still deep inside her, and she noticed he was still rock hard. She felt Ben's hands caressing her large ass. He kneaded the flesh in his strong hands, and she felt herself getting excited once more.

"Stay out of my ass Ben. That's something I don't do," she said quietly when one of his fingers got a little closer than she was comfortable with. His hands moved away, and she relaxed under his constant squeezing.

"You have an incredible ass, Rochelle," Ben growled playfully.

"I love how you appreciate it!" she replied as she trembled.

Ben began to slide Rochelle up and down on his chest, which plunged his cock into her wet pussy and dragged her nipples across his chest. She began to moan as he used her ass as a handle to drive his cock in and out of her more and more rapidly.

Rochelle's nipples were bullet hard and pressed against Ben's chest. She made unintelligible sounds of pleasure as her tits sent shocks of bliss through her body.

She found her voice again. "BEN! God! Ben, what are you doing to me?" she cried as her pussy sucked at his thickness. The pressure of her own body was keeping her clit in constant contact with Ben's body, and she felt herself reaching for one more peak.

As he got closer to his own release, he began to pump his hips upwards as well, and the intensity doubled. Their bodies began to slap together, and that was all it took for Rochelle to crest once more, which triggered him.

Ben pulled out of Rochelle once she settled down. She was utterly drained and deeply satisfied. He didn't have the strength to lift her head, so she just kissed Ben's chest, where she lay. She felt something slapping against her thigh and realized it was Ben. He was still hard! There was no way she'd be able to take him inside her again tonight, but there was one thing she could do that he'd probably never done before.

She carefully rolled off of Ben's chest to rest on her back. She took a moment to catch her breath.

"Ben, you have one more in you? I want you to place it right here." She pressed her tits together.

Ben's eyes lit up, and he crawled over Rochelle's body until his heavy cock was resting in Rochelle's cleavage. She squeezed her tits around Ben's cock, still wet with her juices, and he moaned in delight. "So soft!" he whispered.

"Start pumping, Ben. It will feel very good in no time. When you're ready to pop, tell me."

He pulled back, and his slick cock slid between her breasts. He threw his head back in bliss. When he pushed forward, it felt even better. He tried to take it slow, but it just felt so damn good that his hips started moving on their own, and he was pumping furiously in no time. His eyes opened to look down into Rochelle's dreamy ones. Her face was blushing, and she was squirming as she squeezed and tugged at her nipples.

That sight triggered Ben. "Oh, God, Rochelle! I'm going to cum!"

"Up here, Ben!" She opened her mouth to accept his cock. He moved just a little higher, and she took the head of his cock deep into her mouth. It was too much for Ben, and he came. Hard!

Rochelle kept Ben's cock in her mouth and pumped away with her hands to get every drop. When he was done, he flopped back on the bed, completely satisfied. "That was incredible!" he gasped.

She made a show of swallowing, and Ben was surprised by her huge grin afterward. He returned it. "I never did that for Devon, but now I see how little he'd been doing for me. He had no finesse and just tried to get me off quickly to have his fun, and I didn't know any better. Greg was less attentive than Devon, which makes you so much better than Greg!"

Ben sighed. Being compared to her previous lovers was not something he was comfortable with. "Let's get cleaned up, and if you like, you can sleep here with me tonight. I'll change the sheets first."

"I'd like that," she smiled.

They got out of the bed, and she ooo'd and aww'd over Ben's large shower stall.

"Oh! I don't want to get my hair wet."

Ben looked for and found a shower cap and helped her tuck all of her hair underneath. They got in and luxuriated in hot water and suds. But no sex. Ben enjoyed washing Rochelle's tits but had to stop when her nipples became too stiff, and she ached. He did spend a delightful amount of time kissing her sexy mouth. Rochelle was breathless when they finally left the shower.

They dried off, and Ben quickly changed the sheets. As Rochelle had no sleepwear, Ben slept naked as well. Both were exhausted and promptly fell into a deep sleep.

-=-

Morning came, and Ben was the first to wake. The room was very warm, and the sheets had been kicked down to the foot of the bed. He felt Rochelle's steady breathing on his chest and realized they were on their sides facing each other. Then he saw that Rochelle was on the edge of the bed, and he was tucked up against her.

That's when he noticed small hands on his back and short legs spooning him from behind. Silky hair was pressed between his shoulder blades.

Tina was in bed with them. Not cool!

He heard a sigh and grumble behind him, and the hairs on his neck stood on end. That wasn't Tina!

Ben felt a hand settle on his hip. He looked down. Left hand, pale skin, slim fingers, gold rings, long nails with bright red polish, and well-manicured... then a second left hand stretched out over his side. Identical in every way to the first but with a club stamp smeared on the back.

DAMMIT!