Author's Notes:

In Part 5 Ben deals with the twins, meets the new neighbors from Texas, and a moment in Ben's past catches up to him in a rather disturbing way.

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

********

Chapter 21

Ben sat comfortably in his living room reviewing online engineering forums on his tablet while he waited for Catherine to pick him up for their date. He'd wrapped a tensor bandage around his calf and with it he found he didn't need to use the cane. He'd take the bandage off as soon as they left the dinner but he didn't want to be carrying the cane on the date. Catherine might want to dance and he didn't want her to feel like she couldn't ask.

He glanced across the room at Tina who was using a tablet as well as she curled up on the sofa. He wasn't sure what she was doing on it but he felt her glancing over it at him from time to time. She put it on the surface of the couch while she spun around to adjust the pillows behind her. He looked over and saw a couple of chat windows open with names above them, LisaM & LoriM.

So Tina was in communication with her friends, likely trying to do damage control from their poor drunken decision making. He looked away before she turned back.

Ben shook his head and sighed to himself. He thought back on the near catastrophe the morning had almost turned into.

When he discovered the twins and Tina naked in his bed with Rochelle and himself, he'd been furious. He'd given Tina a heads up that Rochelle was staying the night and he'd closed his bedroom door. That should have been enough to give them privacy. Instead it was an invasion and Rochelle was going to be in for an unpleasant surprise.

He managed to slip out of the bed and pull the sheet up over Rochelle before he carefully woke her. She smiled and gave him a very nice kiss before he could let her know about their company who luckily remained asleep. He got Rochelle out of the bed and situated in the guest washroom in the hall so she could get dressed without waking the others. The woman was grateful to Ben for giving her the discrete escape. She gave him another kiss which tingled both of them to their toes then she slipped out the door for home.

Ben went back to his room and got his workout clothes and changed in the washroom. He did his routine in the gym then got cleaned up and dressed in the guest bathroom. Then he went to the kitchen to make himself breakfast. He made coffee for his guests.

He was just finishing up his morning meal when Tina stumbled into the kitchen with her dressing gown on. She had her head in her hands as she was obviously nursing a bad hangover. She tried to smile at him but her look was confused.

"Good morning Ben." she whispered. "How did I end up in your bed?"

Ben held up his hand to stop her questions. "Let's hold off on that until your guests are awake."

Tina pulled her hands from her face and her eyes went fully open. She spun in place and ran for the bedroom. Her equilibrium wasn't up to the demands of that action so she careened off the door jamb and bounced off the walls on the way. Ben knew when she got there as she began to yell in Korean in her dismay. The twins yelled back in pain because of her loud voice and the noise settled into mutual moans of pain from their hangovers.

Ben poured three cups of coffee and put three bottles of water next to them on the kitchen table. He heard the zombies shambling their way towards him so he waited. A very contrite Tina entered first. She made her way to Ben and knelt at his feet. She pressed her forehead to the floor in shame. Ben reached down and lifted her to her feet and sat her in front of a mug.

The twins watched and shuddered in relief when Ben picked Tina up. They assumed this indicated he wasn't expecting the same from them. When they looked at him their smiles were met by an angry scowl. Nervously they made their way to the other mugs. The three drank their coffee and sipped at their water in silence. Tina finally felt human enough to begin to apologize but Ben immediately stopped her with a gesture. He hadn't taken his eyes off of the twins who were becoming very nervous.

He waited for them to apologize but they showed no sign of remorse at all for their behavior. Tina was an innocent in this, he was sure. Certainly she had been in his bed and he would talk with her about this but the twins obviously had far more experience with clubbing than she did. Yet they appeared oblivious to the reason for his ire.

The two ladies were wearing their party clothes from the previous night so Ben was treated to expanses of glitter covered skin. He sighed as he realized he was going to have to throw out his sheets. There was no way he was going to infect his washing machine, and subsequently every piece of fabric he ran through them, with the Herpes of the Craft World. God, he hated glitter!

Their nervousness was reaching a critical point where they were trading glances with each other and Tina to determine what to do next. Ben had had enough.

"Lisa. Lori. It's clear to me that you have no idea why I'm upset. The fact that you don't understand is unsettling in itself. It's time you headed home. You're not welcome back until you fully grasp what you did wrong and what you should have done. Out. Now!"

The ladies jerked to their feet like he'd hit them with a cattle prod and scurried to the front door, Ben at their heels. They yanked on their jackets, slipped on their shoes and were out the door in seconds. Ben turned back to the kitchen and saw Tina standing in the doorway with a sad look on her face.

"I'm so sorry, Ben." she cried.

Ben opened his arms and she was against his chest in a blink. She cried and he stroked her hair until he smelled the scent of smoke coming from her. He held her back and she blinked up at him in alarm.

"Sorry, you need a shower. You smell of cigarettes. Do the twins smoke?"

"No, but we stood close to the smoking deck at the club as there were some young men Lisa and Lori were dancing with who smoked."

"Another strike against their good judgement." Ben grumbled and considered what to do next. He was very concerned about the twin's inability to grasp personal responsibility. They'd be taking care of children for Pete's sake! He got a grim look on his face.

"Please go wash that stink out of your hair." he said gently to Tina and she scurried away.

Ben picked up the phone in the kitchen and called Daphne.

"Hello Daphne? It's Ben."

"Hi Ben!" she said with a smile in her voice.

"I just sent your daughters home."

"They are just coming in... oh, they look very unhappy. What did they do this time?" she said with genuine concern.

"They're there? Good. Listen, I'm having concerns about their watching over Christopher."

"What?!? Oh my god! What did they do?" she shrieked.

"No, it wasn't what they did. That was just something stupid and potentially very embarrassing which I was luckily able to avoid. The problem is they don't seem to be able to understand they need to take ownership of their mistakes. Twice they've done something irresponsible and afterwards they had no clue that they did anything wrong so they made no efforts at all to apologize. Their actions have consequences. They have to understand that. I get that they're young but they're going to be watching over children, Christopher included. I'm not comfortable knowing they have trouble accepting personal responsibility." There was silence at the other end of the phone so Ben continued. "I'm sorry if I've offended you. I just have to put Christopher's safety first."

"Thank you for expressing your concerns Ben. I'll keep the position for Christopher open in case you change your mind. I'll also have a talk with the girls this morning and get to the bottom of this." Daphne made an uncomfortable sound in her throat. "I'm so sorry, Ben."

"Me too, Daphne. Me too. Good bye." He hung up.

He turned and saw Tina standing in the doorway with a nervous look in her eye. Her hair was still damp from the shower. He gestured her to come in and she immediately rushed in to sit on his knee. He'd intended for her to sit on the chair next to him so they could talk but she looked like she needed the physical contact. She looked in his eyes for confirmation that they were still good. He took her beautiful face between his hands and tenderly kissed her. He felt her tension melt away as she leaned into his kiss. He pulled back and she swayed a little until her eyes reopened. They smiled at one another.

"What will we do for daycare for Christopher?" she asked.

"If Daphne can't work out a way to get her daughters to understand then we find another daycare. This will not affect your going to University. I promise you that." Ben said firmly.

They'd spent the rest of the day mostly in silence. Ben didn't need Tina to explain herself and her actions from the previous night. She knew what she did was wrong and she owned up to it. It was done. They moved on. He let her know that his decision to bar the twins from his home shouldn't impact her remaining friends with them. She was certainly free to have any friends that she wanted. He just hoped she would be a better influence on them and keep them from influencing her like they had. He expected better judgement from her in the future. She agreed.

So now he sat waiting for Catherine while Tina worked on her friends. Ben hoped Daphne was getting serious about them as well.

There was a honk from the driveway so Ben got up and walked to the front door. Tina followed and gave him a kiss as he stepped outside.

Catherine popped the trunk and he put his overnight bag inside then got into the passenger side. She leaned over and he gave her a kiss. "Ready for some fun?" she said with a twinkle in her eye.

"Ready and raring to go!" he smiled back.

It didn't take long to drive downtown to the hotel. They parked and checked in. After dropping the bags off in the room, they resisted the urge to 'try out the bed' and made their way down to the banquet room. The charity dinner was to begin at 8PM and Catherine's assistants had done most of the preparation work. She just needed to check in with them by 7:30 to ensure there weren't any surprises. They poked their heads in the banquet hall and were stunned to see how beautifully decorated it was. Elegant, opulent, and classic, the décor spoke of wealth and success. Ben and Catherine shared impressed looks and made their way to the small office next to the banquet room. Ben saw three ladies leaning over a desk reviewing some kind of checklist. They looked up with bright smiles as Catherine swept into the room. She immediately gave them all big hugs and congratulated them on the fabulous job they'd done on making the room look stunning. They turned to Ben and Catherine made the introductions.

The tall very slim blonde hiding behind her oversized glasses was Ingrid. Catherine explained that logistics was her specialty. Her yellow blond tresses fell a little past her shoulders and she wore a pretty pale green dress with matching shoes. When Ben shook her hand she was blushing and trembling so he immediately recognized her shyness. He'd been the same way through high school. He gave her hand a sympathetic squeeze before he moved to the next introduction.

Darcy was just a little taller than Tina. Catherine said she was in charge of the finances for the dinner and tracking the donations as well. The woman wore her brown hair very short and she carried a little too much weight on her small frame. Her eyes positively gleamed as she ran them over Ben's body. She boldly asked Ben to save a few dances for her and Ingrid blushed at her audacity to say such a thing in front of their boss. Darcy just laughed at Ingrid's expression and straightened her low cut strapless blue dress to more favorably present 'the girls' for Ben's enjoyment. Ben blushed too which surprised Ingrid.

Ashanti was a lovely woman in her mid-thirties with skin the color of dark chocolate. She accentuated her skin with a gorgeous ivory colored dress which seemed to sweep around her slim body. She was apparently the designer of the group and had been primarily responsible for the look of the event. She rolled her eyes at Darcy's antics. Both Darcy and Ashanti wore wedding bands though Ingrid did not.

After Catherine thanked them again Ashanti pulled her aside to whisper something in her ear. The smile dimmed on Catherine's face but she patted her assistant's hand. She and Ben returned to the reception area in the hall outside of the banquet room.

She looked at Ben's questioning glance and smiled. "It's fine. Ashanti was just telling me about a last minute guest. An old nemesis of mine come to gloat over how her charity collected more in pledges than mine. The woman is tiresome. The charities are not a competition but she always finds a way to spoil the mood. Not this time! I don't care what she made. We had a very good year and with tonight's turn out we surpassed last year's pledges. Oh! Pardon me Ben, I have to go speak with that couple. I'll introduce you to them later, I just need have a private word with them."

Ben nodded and watched her move quickly and gracefully across the room to catch the eye of an older, white haired couple. Left to himself he looked around and saw the three assistants coming into the hall. He wanted to have a quick word with them so he caught their eye.

Catherine was glowing with happiness. Dinner had been delicious and well received by everyone she spoke with. She'd circulated during dinner to see how everyone was doing and once the meal was over she introduced Ben to a number of her favorite patrons. She'd even managed to avoid her nemesis. The dancing began shortly afterwards and Ben had practically swept her off her feet on the dancefloor. She was having a marvelous time. Their last dance was a slow number and Ben felt so good pressed up against her. Especially when he started to react to her.

As they returned to their table their path was suddenly blocked by a tall raven haired woman in an elegant black and white striped cocktail dress. Her smile was as fake as her breasts which appeared to be attempting to escape by floating up out of her dress.

Cat sighed and resigned herself to listening to the pompous airbag's gloating. It didn't really matter as nothing was going to spoil this night for her.

"Catherine, darling! So good to finally catch you as you scurry around your little fundraiser." the woman said with a light but condescending tone.

She saw Ben's hackles go up and placed a hand on the big man's arm. He immediately relaxed.

"Hello Jacqueline. So glad you could come."

"Oh I wouldn't miss it for the world, dear! And who is this fine fellow escorting you tonight? He's new! I don't believe I've ever met him at any of your previous parties or mine for that matter." The woman was devouring Ben with her eyes and he found it more than a little disturbing. Wait... did she just suggest he was a male escort?

"Ben Shepherd, this is Jacqueline Forrester. She heads up the Heaven's Heralds Foundation. Their fund raising sponsors the building of Christian churches and schools in villages in Africa. Ben is my neighbor and very good friend." Catherine said with a smile.

Jacqueline had been unabashedly enjoying the view of Ben's physique and her eyes widened with excitement when she caught the outline of his prominent bulge. She looked back up to Ben's eyes and her smile trembled a little as Catherine's words finally sunk in. "Your... neighbor?"

"Right next door. For years." he said, his tone making it clear he wasn't pleased with her assumption.

Jacqueline's face flushed and her mouth worked as she tried to think of a way out of her gaff. It was Catherine who came to her rescue.

"I understand congratulations are in order. You're charity is poised to be nominated as top fundraiser again this year. That will be ten years in a row! Very impressive!" she said with a genuine smile.

Jacqueline seized the lifeline and gushed her thanks to the woman.

Ashanti arrived at Catherine's elbow and whispered something in her ear.

"I'm sorry, I have to go speak with Darcy. If you will excuse me for a minute." She squeezed Ben's hand then slipped away.

Ben was left facing the woman whose face had returned to a look of embarrassment. The music started again and though he didn't recognize the piece Ben thought he had a way out of the awkwardness. "Would you care to dance?"

Jacqueline smiled and Ben led her to the floor. Just as they arrived the music's beat slowed and they realized it was going to be a slow number. Once more the woman's face flushed. Ben just took her hand, pulled her in and they moved with the others.

The dancefloor was full so they had to stay fairly close. This led to unintentional brushes against each other's body. Jacqueline's large breasts pressed against Ben's chest and occasionally her leg would bump into Ben's straining erection. More people joined the dancefloor and Ben found himself holding Jacqueline up against his body to avoid bumping into the other dancers. The woman was beginning to look a little glassy eyed and her breathing was getting heavier though she tried to maintain her poise.

Ben was getting worried that Jacqueline might pass out so he made to lead them from the dancefloor but the woman pulled him back with an almost frantic shake of her head and a quick smile to show she was fine. She began to grind against his erection subtly as they danced. Her face was flushed and her breathing was rough.

Then the music stopped and the lights brightened slightly. Ben pulled away and Jacqueline made an unconscious whining sound. A spot light lit up the stage and Catherine's assistants were standing together.

Darcy had the microphone. "Excuse me everyone, excuse me? We just have one brief announcement then everyone can get back to the dancing. We have the final results of this year's fund raising. Due to tonight's excellent turnout and a last minute anonymous donation of $300,000 we have surpassed last year's record. We've also catapulted into first place amongst all local charities! Thank you so much!"

There was a huge surge of applause and the crowd parted as Catherine walked up to Ben with tears in her eyes. Ben picked her up in his arms and hugged her tight. She burst into tears and laughter and kissed him. She knew who the anonymous donor was.

Jacqueline was stunned. The delicious tingle of her imminent orgasm suddenly vanished and her face lost all expression. She watched the woman she had come to crush steal away her victory. She struggled to control her emotions. She desperately wanted to scream and attack the blonde in the big man's arms but instead she forced a gracious if trembling smile on her face and joined the applause.

Ben gently set Catherine back on her feet and they turned to face the people around them. She shook the hands of many of her guests until she was facing Jacqueline.

"I guess congratulations are actually owed to you tonight Catherine." Jacqueline ground out through her teeth and fake smile.

"Thank you so much Jacqueline! Sorry for breaking your winning streak but there's no shame in being number 2." she replied with a giggle. Ben was behind her and wrapped his arms around her to give her another huge hug and Catherine's eyes lit up as she felt his stiffness pressed against her ass. She gasped and smiled at Jacqueline. "I guess I should thank you for keeping Ben all charged up for me. I'm going to enjoy that, all night long." she said with a wicked grin as she pressed back against him.

It was too much for Jacqueline whose smile finally cracked. She nodded, spun and stiffly marched away.

Catherine spun around in Ben's arms and kissed him deeply. "Ben, you are the absolute best!"

The band started playing one of their favorites so Ben pulled her out onto the dancefloor.

Three songs later Ben was sitting one out at their table. His calf had begun to ache so he let Catherine know that fast numbers were out for the rest of the night for him. She found some other dance partners and he was pleased to see her happily dancing the evening away.

Ingrid was passing by and Ben reached out to snag her hand. He'd seen her watching people dance but she never joined in. She jumped when she felt someone touch her. She looked down and saw Ben smiling up at her. She blushed and sat in the chair Ben pulled out for her.

"How are you enjoying the party?" he asked her.

"It's fine." she said with a shy smile.

"I was wondering if you would dance with me on the next slow number. I'm afraid I've strained my calf a little too much with the fast dancing so I'm down to slow dancing only."

Ingrid's eyes were wide and her face flushed. "I- I- I don't think that's such a good idea. I don't dance."

"Everyone can dance a slow dance. I'd really like it if you would share one with me. Please?" he looked into her eyes and she nodded.

"What happened to your calf?" she asked to change the topic.

"I was stabbed."

"STABBED?" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, a neighbor of mine dated a man who didn't like being told he wasn't worthy of another date. He got rough with her and I stopped him. He managed to stab me in the calf before I incapacitated him."

"Are you always this heroic?" she asked.

Ben winced. "No, I used to be crippled with shyness. I'm actually still pretty shy but I'm learning to speak up when it's important."

The next song began and Ben recognized a nice long slow number. He stood up and held out his hand for Ingrid's. She timidly placed hers in his and he led her to the dancefloor. He caught Catherine's eye and she gave him a big grin when she saw who he was with.

Once more the dancefloor was full so he pulled Ingrid up against his body and they began to move with the slow steady beat. He felt the woman trembling in his arms.

"Ingrid, it's alright. You're doing beautifully! You can relax." Ben said gently.

"I'm so nervous!" she gasped.

"Why? I'm not a scary man, am I?" he asked

"God no! You're beautiful-" she blurted then realized what she said and tried to escape in her mortification. Ben wasn't letting her go and kept her pinned to his chest.

"That was a very nice compliment. Thank you. I think you are beautiful as well." he smiled.

She looked up and blinked at him. "You think I'm beautiful?"

"Ingrid, a man would have to be blind to not see that. You've had several admirers watching you all night. The bass player in the band, the bartender, the man wearing the blue pinstripe jacket sitting at the table next to mine. All of these men watch you every time you pass by. Avoid the man with the pinstripes as I believe he's married but the other two are potential dating material."

She wore a look of shock as she tried not to turn her head to look at the men he was talking about.

"Next time you pass them by, if you like what you see give them a smile and see where it takes you. If you don't care for their look just keep walking. Trust me there are people who think you're hot! You just have to be open to the possibility of new relationship. Maybe it will work or maybe it won't. You have SO much to offer you should ensure they are worthy of it."

By this point their rubbing and touches were working their magic on Ben and he was beginning to press against Ingrid in intimate ways. She suddenly realized what the wonderful pressure was coming from.

"Oh my god!" she gasped.

"I'm so sorry! When we're dancing this close I can't help it." he blushed. "Maybe we should sit down."

"NO! I mean I- I've never felt that before. I don't mind. It- it's kind of flattering! But won't Catherine get upset?"

"Over this? No, she knows my body well enough to know I was bound to get excited dancing with you." Ben smiled.

"So... you and Catherine are... lovers?" Ingrid couldn't believe she'd had the nerve to speak with Ben like this. He just made her feel so comfortable, like she could say anything without fear of being ridiculed. She wasn't aware that she'd fallen into an easy pattern of dancing with Ben, their bodies pressed firmly together, slowly moving across the floor

Ben nodded. "She's a very special woman! I'm honored she's part of my life."

Ingrid began to feel a little flushed and the tingling in her body was intensifying. She was afraid to say anything about it as she didn't want it to stop. They continued to dance and Ingrid rested her cheek on Ben's shoulder. She remembered seeing couples on the dancefloor in high school. How were they holding each other? Oh right. She moved her arms around Ben's back and after a little pause he did the same to her. His hands felt so good on her body. They swayed to the music and Ingrid's body ground against Ben's. God, she was in heaven! If only she'd had the nerve to dance with the boys way back then. She'd missed out on so much pleasure.

Suddenly her body went stiff and Ben continued to sway to keep up the illusion they were dancing for the people around them. He felt her gasping into his collar as she'd turned her face inwards to hide the look on her face as a sweet release swept through her.

After she returned to her senses her mind slowly cleared until she realized what she'd just done. Her face went red and she tried to push away but Ben knew she'd have this reaction so he was prepared. He held her close and whispered in her ear that it was fine, she was beautiful, and he was very happy she was able to feel so comfortable in his arms. The song was ending so he led her from the dancefloor and sat with her at his table. When she was finally able to look at him he smiled gently.

"You were remembering your high school dances weren't you?" She nodded hesitantly. "I remember mine too. I didn't dance very much as I was always too shy. I'd watch the others and wish I had the nerve to ask a girl to dance. I had no idea they were just as nervous. We don't have to feel like that anymore. If you want to dance with someone ask them. If you'd like to get to know someone, speak with them. You're an amazing woman! Men are going to want to spend time with you. Just be careful you don't collect too many. Start with one." She grinned at that. She was looking at him with genuine affection and he leaned over and kissed her forehead.

"That's my signal to sweep in and collect my boyfriend before he's completely smitten." Catherine said as she stepped up to the table between the two. Ben looked up with a loving smile. Ingrid looked up with a guilty expression and Catherine chuckled. "Not to worry Ingrid, I know Ben's a physically affectionate man but I also know he loves me and that's all I really need to know." Ingrid's face showed her relief.

Catherine looked at Ben. "The party is winding down and I'd like to make a quick exit before I get roped into helping clean up." she grinned, knowing full well that they'd hired a crew for that task.

"Oh! Sure." Ben said. He turned to Ingrid. "Thank you for the dance! It really was lovely to meet you. Enjoy the rest of the party!"

She nodded and blushed looking at him.

Catherine pulled him up and led him through the dancers to the exit. As they walked through the lobby she occasionally stopped to say a few words to a departing guest. The general consensus was the party was a roaring success. As they passed the bar in the lobby Catherine stopped and stared at the figure slumped at the bar. The distinct black and white striped cocktail dress was a dead give-away. She looked at Ben in concern and they immediately went inside.

Catherine approached from her right side while Ben went left.

"Jacqueline? Are you alright?" she said gently.

The woman lifted her head from her arm on the bar and looked unsteadily towards the sound of the voice calling her name. Unfocused eyes swung around trying to see who was bothering her in her misery. When they finally locked on Catherine they went wide with exaggerated anger.

"YOU! You BITCH! You ruined EVERYTHING!" Jacqueline roared drunkenly.

"What?" Catherine pulled back from the blast of rum breath and spittle.

"Greg fired me! ME!" the woman squealed and tears burst forth.

Ben looked questioningly at Catherine. "Greg Masters. Head of the Ministry of Heaven's Voice." She explained.

"Yes, Greg Masters, bitch!" Jacqueline growled dragging a bar napkin across her eyes to dry the tears. "I told him you sabotaged our tenth consecutive win and he fired me!"

"Why?" Catherine asked.

"He had millions of dollars of sponsorship deals locked into our winning that tenth annual award. Now he has to pay them all back and there's no money! He called me an incompetent cunt!" More tears followed the confession.

Ben started the recorder app on his phone.

"Where is the money the Heaven's Herald Foundation raised Jacqueline?" Catherine said gently.

"It's invested." she mumbled.

"In what?"

"A casino! Okay? Greg is building a casino in Las Vegas." Jacqueline growled. She suddenly got this desperate look on her face like she had to justify herself.

"We used the foundations money and most of the sponsorship money to purchase the land and pay for construction costs. The remaining sponsorship money would have covered the minimal needs of the charity until the casino was built and income started flowing in from that. No one sees how many churches and schools we build! They're in fucking Africa! This year we were only planning on building one of each. Now we can't afford to do even that! We would have generated far more income from the casino than we would have squeezing those fossils for donations."

"If Greg fired you, his chief fundraiser, how is he going to pay the foundation and sponsors back?"

"I DON'T KNOW! YOU RUINED EVERYTHING!" Jacqueline raged and made to grab Catherine but Ben caught her wrists from behind and crossed them over her chest as he pinned her back against his body.

"Wha-" Jacqueline gasped as she looked down at the big arms encircling her. She looked up and saw Ben's stern face. "Oh god it's you! Why? Why couldn't you have been an escort? I would have hired you immediately and taken you home and done things to you that would curl your hair. I felt you. I know you have a huge cock. I would have taken that monster in my ass. This bitch could never do that for you!"

Jacqueline tried to hump her ass back against Ben's groin as he held her tight against her body. She almost fell off of her stool when Ben tried to angle his body away from her. To catch her he had to jerk forward to squeeze her to his body. The woman moaned loudly as she felt his hardening cock slam against her ass.

"Oh Catherine, please let me take him in my ass. I need it so bad. Greg only fucks me once a week and now he won't do it anymore.

"Greg's married to Helen." Catherine gasped, stunned by this additional confession.

"Yes, shhhh, don't tell her I'm getting some of her husband's wiener. Oh god, it's so small compared to this one. I could live without Greg's if I could have this one in my ass on a regular basis. Even once a week. Please!"

Ben's face was bright red but his erection was loving the attention from Jacqueline's ass.

Catherine was all grins at Ben's embarrassment but took pity on him and reached for his phone to turn off the recording as he couldn't reach it. She saved the file, mailed a copy to herself and one to Helen then walked a few steps away to make a call.

Jacqueline started to pull at her arms but Ben discovered she wasn't trying to escape. She was dragging Ben's knuckles over her stiff nipples. He held her tighter to stop that and she moaned in raw pleasure as his cock ground between her butt cheeks and his hands flattened her tits.

Catherine returned and saw Ben's discomfort and Jacqueline's agitated state. Sighing she looked around and saw they were alone in the bar. She reached between the woman's legs and rubbed quickly and firmly over the woman's clit through wet panties. She put her other hand over the woman's mouth as she was moaning too loudly. Seconds later, between the heat and pressure of Ben's cock wedged between her ass cheeks, his crushing grip on her tits, and Catherine's aggressive rubbing the woman screamed into Cat's palm and passed out.

Catherine went to wash her hands and was by Ben's side again when the police arrived.

Three hours later Ben and Catherine left the precinct where Jacqueline was recuperating in her cell. The police brought Greg Masters in as well. They found him in his driveway stuffing his suitcase in the trunk of his car. He was carrying his passport, fifty thousand in cash, and an e-ticket for a one way flight to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Officers from the fraud division had taken a copy of Ben's recording and statements from both of them. Catherine sent messages to several of her very wealthy and influential patrons who were also patrons of Jacqueline's charity to let them know what had happened.

By the time they got back to the hotel it was almost 4AM and they were both exhausted. They promised each other that first thing when they woke up they'd make up for lost time. They stripped naked and slipped under the sheets. Catherine tucked herself back against Ben so they were spooning.

"Uh Catherine, that's not such a good idea." Ben said sleepily.

"Mmmm." she murmured, half asleep already.

Ben's cock wasted no time in waking up and snuggling up between Catherine's legs. She lifted her top leg and his cock swung up to slap against her pussy.

"OH!" she jumped and dropped her leg to capture him in place. "Oh Ben, that's nice!" she said, feeling the heat of him trapped between her thighs and pressing against her pussy. Her hips began to twitch unconsciously, rubbing against the top of his shaft. Ben pumped his hips forward and back, sliding himself between her thighs and strongly rubbing across her now wet pussy. "Oh Ben, that feels so good!" she moaned. She moved her hands down and rubbed the head of his cock when it emerged from between her thighs. Ben gasped. He pulled back once more and she positioned him to enter her. As Ben pushed forward he slid smoothly into her wetness and Catherine sighed with contentment.

Ben put his hands on her hips and set up a nice slow long stroke which soon had Catherine crooning her pleasure. He felt his release quickly approaching so he slid his top hand up her side and around to her breast. He cupped the flesh in his palm and gently tugged on her nipple.

Catherine gasped and pushed down harder on his cock signalling it was time for him to increase his speed. Soon he was slamming into her, her ass making wet slapping sounds on his pelvis. The pounding sensation on her ass made Catherine think of Jacqueline's confession of her dark desire to have Ben large cock deep in her ass. This thought triggered her orgasm and her pussy clamped down on Ben's cock. His orgasm quickly followed and he drove in deep one last time and held himself there. They rode out their orgasms together.

Ben kissed her shoulder and made to roll away but Catherine's hand stopped him. He moved back sliding deep once more and Catherine moaned through an aftershock.

They fell asleep spooning with Ben's cock stiff and deep inside her.

Chapter 22

Ben walked in his front door a little after lunch time. When they'd woken up at 11AM Catherine immediately climbed on him and rode him through three orgasms for her and two for him. They left the hotel feeling well satisfied if a little worn out. They hadn't used any of their precious time for eating so Ben was famished.

Tina rushed to the front door and Ben gave her a big hug and a kiss. She smiled up at him then took his overnight bag from him and put it in his bedroom. When he walked into the kitchen to make himself something to eat Tina came rushing back into the room and directed him to the kitchen table. He grinned at her eagerness. He asked for a sandwich and she immediately moved to make him one.

While she prepared him lunch the phone rang and he got up to get it. He had to direct Tina back to the counter as she leapt to get to the phone first.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Mr. Shepherd. This is Lisa McKellan."

"Hi Lisa." Tina looked over curiously

"Lori and I were wondering if it would be alright for us to come speak with you today."

"I'm just sitting down to lunch so how about 1PM?" he said.

"Thank you. That would be great! See you then." She hung up.

"Do you have any idea what Lisa and Lori will be coming over to say? I hope there is an apology in there somewhere. If they think they can seduce their way out of this mess then nothing's improved. Did you talk to them about what they'd done wrong? Did they seem to get it?"

"I did tell them I was very disappointed in myself for letting them convince me that it would be a good thing to get in bed with you and Mrs. King. I told them I wanted to stay friends with them but they were never to do such things again. I do not know what they want to speak about today. I hope they have learned to be better." Tina said nervously as she brought Ben his lunch.

He kissed her forehead and tucked into his lunch.

One o'clock found him sitting in the living room reviewing the online engineering forums to see if any of the requests he'd flagged had been answered. He saw two had been so he cleared them from his list. Three others remained outstanding and one had an update from the frustrated author pleading for assistance. He updated the item with a note indicating he was on it.

The doorbell rang and Tina answered it. Soon the twins were being ushered into the living room and they took a seat on the couch facing Ben.

"Good afternoon ladies." Ben said.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Shepherd." they replied. They looked at each other and it seemed that Lisa was voted to speak for them both.

"We just wanted to let you know that we are very sorry for getting into bed with you and Mrs. King." Lisa said contritely.

Ben waited but there didn't seem to be anything more. He sighed inwardly. "Why?" Ben asked.

Lisa blinked and glanced quickly at Lori. "Why?" she asked him.

"Why are you sorry?" he said calmly.

Lisa was starting to look very nervous. "Because we weren't invited to get in your bed." Lori blurted.

Ben looked at the two young women and wondered how they'd grown up to be such lovely and pleasant women without a better grasp of how their actions might be seen by others and how they'd need to take responsibility for those actions.

Lisa was looking very nervous now. Bordering on panic. That triggered Ben's curiosity.

"What did your mother say to you?" he asked.

Then the panic definitely kicked in.

"Never mind. Is your mother home?" Ben asked and Lisa nodded. "Stay here. I'll be right back." he growled and they nodded meekly.

Ben slipped his coat and boots on and walked over to Daphne's house. She answered the door and ushered him in. They sat on the couch in the playroom.

"Your girls came over to apologize but they still don't seem to grasp their part in this. What did you tell them?" Ben asked.

Daphne looked like she'd had a bad night's sleep and was still a little shaken up. She looked up at Ben with pleading eyes. "I'm so sorry Ben. Scott was the disciplinarian in the house. I was never good at it so I wasn't allowed to punish the girls. That was Scott's job but once they got old enough they knew they had their father wrapped around their little finger, most of the time. There was only one thing I had left that I could use to control them. It's their dream to run a daycare. I told them that you were my silent partner and that you told me they couldn't work here until they understood the ramifications of their actions."

"Dammit Daphne! You know how I feel about lying! I can't be part of this!" Ban growled.

Daphne clung to Ben's arm desperately. "It isn't a lie! It isn't! You're not a financial silent partner. You're a moral silent partner. You're absolutely right. Until they can grasp why what they did was wrong and their responsibility for it they can't work here. I didn't know what else to do! I'm not equipped to discipline them and they're adults now. They've needed a strong hand in their upbringing and I can see now that they didn't have it. Please help me!" she begged with tears in her eyes.

Ben rocked back. "I- I've never been a parent! I'm no expert when it comes to disciplining!" he muttered uncomfortably.

"You have done an amazing job with Tina! They need the same firm hand. You know they listen to you!" Daphne pleaded.

"Only because they want to have sex with me!" he shouted.

She seemed to collapse in on herself and began to cry. Ben reached his own breaking point. He pulled her up against his chest and she gasped then clung to him as she cried. Ben rocked her gently and eventually her tears stopped and she just cuddled against him.

"I'm so sorry Ben." she mumbled against his chest.

He hushed her and thought about what he was going to do. He really wanted to speak with Gabriella but her flight wasn't getting in until 10PM. In the meantime, he needed to help Daphne. He sighed.

"Ok, I'll play the moral silent partner. I agree the daycare was the best leverage you have for controlling them. I seriously believe you did the right thing telling them they were out. Now that I know what they were after and why I can work with this. However, I can't promise they will cooperate. You're right, they aren't kids any longer. You say they need a firm hand. I can do that but understand one thing. We have to be unified in our efforts. You can't cave in when they come whining to get their way and you know they will."

Daphne looked at Ben with a worried expression.

"If it makes it easier for you, you can tell them it's my decision. If they were my daughters this is exactly what I would be telling them." he growled and Daphne sighed with relief.

"Ben if they were your daughters they wouldn't be like this." Daphne replied.

He took Daphne's chin between his fingers and looked her in the eye. "Tell me you are going to support me in this. If you aren't going to do your part I might as well walk away." he said sternly.

"Yes Ben, I will support you. Thank you!" she said timidly.

"Don't thank me until it works. I have to go back to my place and set the girls straight on where they stand. They may just tell me to go to hell but that will be their choice." Ben thought for a minute. "I want you to write up an ad looking for two daycare staff to replace them. Do it now so it will be ready when they get home. Leave it on the counter here so they'll see it. They need to know how seriously they are jeopardizing their future with their behavior."

Daphne's eyes were wide with surprise but she nodded.

Ben left and went back to his house. The twins were still on the couch when he walked back into the living room. They sat up straight and looked at him hopefully when he dropped himself into the chair across from them. That hopeful look faded quickly when they saw Ben's annoyed look.

"So you thought you could just drop by and say a few apologies and your mother would hear that I was satisfied and you'd get to work in the wonderful new daycare we built? Sorry, that's not going to happen. As of this moment neither of you has proven you won't be a bad influence on the children of the daycare." Ben said firmly.

"That's not fair! We worked so hard for this!" Lisa yelled.

"You want it so you should have it? Is that what you're saying?" Ben asked.

"Yes! No, I mean we deserve it" Lisa blurted.

"Would you smoke in front of these kids? Curse? Take drugs?" Ben said.

"Of course not!" Lori barked.

"Why not?" he immediately asked.

"Because they have young impressionable minds and they shouldn't be exposed to those things!" Lisa explained.

"What about stealing? Lying? Bullying? Sharing hurtful gossip? Would you do those things in front of the kids?" Ben asked.

"No, for the same reason!" Lisa growled.

"Yet you'll do things that hurt and embarrass people and not grasp you've done anything wrong or owe them an apology. How are you going to protect their impressionable minds against your selfish thoughtless actions?" He saw the twins take a moment to process that.

"We- wouldn't do that around them." Lisa stumbled.

"Do what?" he pressed.

"Thoughtless stuff!" Lisa mumbled.

Ben sat back, waiting for them to think it through. Lori was almost in tears. She was looking at her sister and hearing, maybe for the first time, how weak the case was in their defense. She looked at him and he saw comprehension in her eyes at last. He nodded to her.

Lisa looked like she was just getting angrier until Lori took her hand and pulled her to her feet. Lisa took one look at her sister's tear filled eyes and froze in confusion. With a final look back at Ben Lori pulled her sister from the room and they made their way home.

Ben hoped Lori could help Lisa make that cognitive leap. Now, if Daphne had done her part and written the ad for the ladies to see the severity of their situation it may just be enough of a catalyst to drive home the point. Ben doubted it would cure them from years of getting away with whatever bad behavior they desired but it would plant a seed at least. Vigilance would be required to ensure they didn't slip back to their old ways. Daphne said they needed a firm hand. He could do that.

He felt a gentle touch between his eyes and looked up to see Tina using her fingertip to smooth away the crinkled skin there caused by his frown.

"You looked too serious." Tina said with a sweet smile as she stood beside his chair.

Ben scooped her into his arms and pulled her over the arm of the chair to lie across his lap.

"What should I do to you to make me happier?" he growled playfully.

"Anything! Anything you want!" she gasped, loving the feel of his arms around her body.

Just then Christopher woke from his nap and began to call out for his mom. It was Tina's turn to frown and Ben kissed away the little wrinkles it made between her eyes. "Motherhood cares not for the needs of the woman." Ben teased. "I will make it up to you later. Can you arrange babysitting for a night next week?"

She nodded quickly with a big grin on her face then dashed off to see to her son.

Ben looked at the clock and saw there were hours left in the afternoon he could use to work on that engineering project. He planned on picking up Gabriella at the airport but he'd promised her to pick up Miriam and Daniel first. He took out his cell and sent a quick text to both to get them to send him the addresses of their friend's houses. Then he headed down to his workshop.

Three hours later Ben looked up from his drafting table. His head was filled with the work and it took him a moment to realize someone was knocking on the door to his workshop. He got up and answered. Tina was standing there with Christopher on her hip.

"Dinner is ready. I knocked but you did not answer. It made me worried." she said with a sad look.

"I'm sorry Tina. I'll leave the door open when I'm in here in the future. Old habits." He gave her a kiss on the lips and Christopher a kiss on the forehead and followed them upstairs after locking his workshop.

The boy was a delight through dinner but by the end he was yawning and nodding so Tina took him to his crib. The moment she was out of the room Ben quickly gathered up all of the dishes and put them in the dishwasher. He tidied the kitchen and washed and dried the casserole dish after putting the leftovers in the fridge. When Tina returned Ben was standing with his back to the counter with a big smile. Tina looked around and walked past Ben to wipe down the counters.

"Damn it! I knew I missed something!" he grinned.

She arch a brow at him and gave him a small smile. She went back to cleaning and Ben admired her pert ass cheeks in the tight yoga pants. That was something he was very grateful the twins introduced Tina to.

When she reached the island Ben slipped up behind her and pinned her to the counter with the hard ridge in his pants. She gasped and went still. "I have an hour before I have to head out to pick up Gabriella's kids then her from the airport. Since we both seem to have some free time I thought it might be nice to give you a little preview of our next date night. He slid his hands up from her waist under her shirt, around her torso and cupped her breasts.

Tina sighed and wiggled ass against Ben's cock. He rubbed his stiffness up and down the crack of her ass and she began to breathe heavily. Ben felt her nipples stiffen under his fingers. He gave them a gentle squeeze and tug and Tina moaned and bent forward over the island following the pull of his hands.

Ben moved his hands back down and pulled her yoga pants down in one tug. Tina sucked in her breath then moaned as she felt his breath on her ass cheeks. He slipped the pants completely off then slid her panties down her legs following them with kisses.

Tina squirmed and tried to thrust back but Ben held her against the island with one hand while the other pulled the panties past her feet. He stood and lifted her until her stomach was lying on the island and her ass was perched on the edge. This lifted her feet from the ground so she was trapped over the edge of the island and completely at his mercy. A deep shiver went through her body as his left hand rested on her lower back pinning her to the surface.

She yelped when she felt his teeth on her ass. Not painful but surprising and she felt herself beginning to get very wet. She jolted again as Ben ran his finger through the wetness on her pussy lips. His touch sent sparks through her body and she moaned loudly. He moved the wet finger up her crack to rub circles around the sensitive spot between her pussy and her anus. She laid her forehead against the cool stone of the island's top and began to pant in anticipation as his fingertip brushed closer and closer to her ass. Soon his finger would rub her tingling rosebud! She wanted that so much!

When Ben's tongue pressed against it instead her surprise was so great she cried out in Korean and her legs attempted to lift up but Ben had her trapped in her current position. He kept up the lapping, flicking, and probes with his tongue until Tina thought she'd go mad. Ben slipped two fingers into her drenched pussy and began to pump them in and out slowly, stroking her clit at the bottom of every thrust. His fingers began to make wet sucking noises and Tina stopped making coherent words aside from his name.

When he pulled them out and stopped licking Tina cried out for him to keep going as she was getting so close. She couldn't see what he was doing so when the heat from the head of his cock slid into her wet pussy she squealed and jolted against the hard surface once more.

Ben had wiped his slippery fingers all over his cock so he was well lubricated from her juices. Still, he took it slow and used short strokes to gradually force his thick cock deeper into her pussy while rubbing his thumb over her slick anus.

Tina was becoming frantic. She wanted to push back against him but she could only lay there while Ben held her down against the surface of the island and took his pleasure from her. His control over her body was complete and she loved it! When she thought she couldn't take any more Ben slammed his cock all the way in and pushed his slick thumb into her ass at the same time. Tina opened her mouth in a silent scream and began to shake uncontrollably as an intense orgasm rocked her body and overloaded her senses. Ben slapped his pelvis against her ass with quick little strokes while his thumb mirrored the motions in her ass. Finally he slipped his thumb from her and began to pump his cock with long fast strokes to reach his own orgasm. Tina wailed as peak after peak surged through her.

When Ben's cock erupted inside her she collapsed against the cool surface of the island and felt her body shudder through its aftershocks. Ben's thick cock filled her up completely as he pressed himself tight against her ass. God she loved the feel of him stretching her pussy and she loved being completely under his control! She purred with satisfaction.

When he lifted her from the surface of the island she realized he wasn't done. He held her pinned to his chest and carried her down the hall to his bedroom. He pulled her shirt off and socks off all while holding her against him with one arm and his cock buried deep in her pussy. His movements were starting a new cycle of tingles down below. He tugged his shirt off over his head as his pants, underwear, and sock were back on the kitchen floor.

Ben stepped into the shower and got the water going nice and hot. He stepped in with Tina and lifted her up and off of his cock. She gasped and shook and when she recovered she was being lifted into his arms facing him. The head of Ben's cock found its way back to her wet opening and he slid it all the way in to the base in one stroke causing her to cry out. His hands gripped her ass cheeks tightly and she sighed at the feel of his hands on her again.

He lifted her up until just the head was inside. Tina's lips were captured by Ben's mouth as he hungrily kissed her. Her mind spun from the raw sensuality. His tongue dipped into her mouth and caressed hers. She immediately began to suck on his tongue feverishly as Ben began to make short shallow strokes on the top half of his cock. He moved his right hand to the middle of her ass and slid his left up to the back of her head and into her hair. He took a good grip on her long black locks and gently pulled her back from the kiss.

Then he began to lift and drop her on his hard cock.

Tina curled her legs around his body and braced her heels over his ass. She could feel the strength there as he pounded into her. Her clit was slapping into Ben on each down stroke bringing her to another orgasm quickly. She felt Ben's muscles begin to tighten signalling his imminent release.

Then he was exploding within her and he slipped a finger into her ass as he lifted her up for another stroke. Tina's teeth clenched and she bared them as her body vibrated from another titan orgasm ripping through her.

Ben felt Tina shake in his grip, her pussy gripping his cock tightly before her muscles went limp.

He slid her up his body and his spent cock popped free of her gushing pussy.

Ben rested her head on his shoulder and turned her back to the main spray while his right hand cleaned her as best he could. He stepped out of the shower and grabbed a couple of the big towels and wrapped Tina's resting body in one. He placed the other one out on the bed and laid the woman out on it. Then he hustled back to the shower and quickly washed up.

After he dried off he tossed his towel on the floor next to the bed to dry off the floor where he dripped and saw Tina was still resting. He quickly brushed his teeth and got dressed. Looking at the clock he saw he still had a few minutes so he breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was a 'little preview'? I do not think I will survive the date." Tina said sleepily from the bed.

"Yeah, sorry, I got carried away a little but you bring that out in me." Ben apologized. He leaned over and gently kissed her lips. "I have to go pick up the kids now. Then I'm off to the airport to pick up Gabriella. I'll probably be back late tonight."

"Or not until the morning." Tina said sweetly. "Go!"

He kissed her again and headed out.

Once he was in his truck he punched in the location for Miriam's friend's house. It was the closer of the two and only took twenty minutes to reach the house. He sent a quick text to Daniel saying he was on his way and punched in the address of his friends place. Then he walked up to the door and rang the doorbell.

Seconds later the door opened and Ben was looking down into the wide eyes of a pretty young woman with beautiful chocolate brown skin.

Ben smiled. "Hi, I'm Ben. You must be Karleen. Is Miriam ready to go?"

Karlene didn't say a word. She just stood there gaping.

"Karlene! Where are your manners, let the man in." a woman's voice said from the living room. Karlene came out of her daze at the sound of her mother's voice and stepped back. Ben smiled and followed her inside.

When the mother stepped around the corner into the foyer she froze as she took in the big man standing in her hallway.

"Hello, I'm Ben. Miriam's neighbor." he said.

The woman visibly gathered herself and stepped forward with a broad smile and shook his hand. "I'm Michelle. Her neighbor?"

"Yes. I've lived next door to the Wallace's for years."

"I'll be right down Ben!" Miriam's voice called out from somewhere upstairs.

"Would you like to sit down while you wait?" Michelle asked.

"Sure." Ben said and slipped off his boots. They sat in the living room, Ben in a chair and Michelle beside her daughter on the sofa. The young woman still hadn't said anything but also hadn't taken her eyes off Ben for a second. "Is your daughter always this quiet?" he asked.

Michelle laughed and Karlene looked flustered.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to tease." Ben apologized to the young woman.

"It's OK. Miriam described you but she didn't say you were so..." the girl suddenly stopped as she realized she was talking herself into a corner.

"Tall?" Ben offered.

"Yes!" Karlene gushed in relief.

"I've heard that a few times." he smiled.

"So what do you do Ben?" Michelle asked.

"I'm a semi-retired Mechanical Engineer."

"Semi-retired?" her brows rose.

"I like to solve puzzles so I keep an ear to the ground for interesting projects and create solutions for them. I'm an independent so I work whatever hours I deem are required." Ben said and stopped when he caught himself staring at the two women on the couch. It was uncanny how closely they looked alike. "I'm sorry for staring but I don't think I've ever seen such a close resemblance between and mother and daughter in my life! You could be twin sisters!"

Both woman brightened significantly with Ben's comment. Karlene for being compared with a more mature woman and Michelle for being seen as someone so young. Ben thought they looked even more similar when they smiled and his appreciation must have shown on his face as their smiles just got bigger. Then he realized that what he'd said sounded a lot like flirting and he blushed.

Miriam came to Ben's rescue as she arrived in the doorway with her overnight bag. "All ready to go!" she said and saw her friend and friend's mom beaming at Ben who had a fierce blush on his face. She sighed and turned to the mother. "Thank you so much for letting me stay over Mrs. Bennett."

Ben stood up and the two ladies did as well.

"You are more than welcome to stay over anytime Miriam. And feel free to bring your charming neighbor along next time as well." she smiled at the big man.

Miriam just smiled and pulled Ben's arm to lead him back to the front door. He slipped his boots on while Miriam gave her friend a hug. Whispers and giggles ensued. Then she was ready and they left waving.

Once they were on their way to Daniel's friend's place Miriam turned to Ben. "Thanks for picking us up. Later than I expected."

"I thought your mother would appreciate it if we all met her at the airport." Ben said.

"Oh! I thought you were dropping us off at home first." she said, surprised.

"I could but don't you think she'd like to see more smiling faces?" Ben smiled. She returned it.

Miriam waited in the car while Ben went to the door to pick up Daniel. This time the door was answered by a woman, Rick's mom he assumed. He saw her eyes widen then narrow as she looked at him.

"Hi, I'm Ben. Daniel's neighbor. I'm picking him up for his mom." he said.

The woman was likely in her forties and super buff. Obviously she'd put in a lot of hours on hardening her muscles and losing body fat. There wasn't an ounce of it on her and she was displaying quite a bit of that toned body wearing her spandex workout clothes. Her short brunette hair hung down and curled in at her neck. She had piercing but lovely pale blue eyes and a strong nose, definitely the most prominent features on her face.

"Ah yes, he mentioned that you'd be by. Please come in. I'm Gwen." the woman said. Ben stepped inside and immediately felt the heat. The furnace must have been cranked up so she could walk around the house dressed semi-naked like that. He slipped his jacket off of his shoulders and held it in one hand.

She passed her eyes hesitantly over his chest muscles filling his shirt so well then turned her head and yelled down the hall. "Boys! Pack up your stuff Daniel, Jr! It's time to go, honey."

"We call him Daniel now." Ben said.

"What?" Gwen asked.

"We don't say Jr. anymore. Just Daniel." Ben corrected her gently.

"His name when he was born was Daniel, Jr. Why isn't that good enough now?" she pushed.

"Since the passing of his father, his and his mother's wishes are to call him Daniel. So that is what we do. It's about respect." Ben explained quietly. He was becoming a little annoyed with her belligerence.

"His father now there's a piece of work!" she growled.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Let's start over. Hi, my name is Ben. I am here to pick up my neighbor's son Daniel. Not to be disrespectful. Not to speak ill of the dead. Just a friendly little visit while he collects his stuff." Ben said exasperatedly.

"Sorry, I've been a little on edge this weekend. Daniel told me all about your... situation and I gotta tell you I'm not impressed." she began with the apology but ended with aggression again.

"My situation?" Ben asked, puzzled.

"You're dating his mom. And your other neighbor. And you have a live in slave." she said jabbing him in the chest with a finger as her face flushed with anger.

"WHOA! Hold on there! I DO NOT HAVE A SLAVE!" Ben growled back. Daniel showed up with his friend Rick with at that moment. Both were wide eyed. Ben turned to Daniel. "Did you call Tina a slave?" he asked incredulously.

"No, I said you live with a submissive." Daniel replied calmly.

"Oh. Ok, thank you. Please go sit in the car. I'll be right out." Ben said and heard Gwen choke on her anger.

"Rick, go to your room!" she said and he left. The moment he was gone she was back in Ben's face. "What kind of example are you setting for those kids? Isn't it bad enough that they lost their scumbag father? Now you have to treat their mother like a whore?"

Ben was rocked back by the venom in her anger. His own anger swelled but he realized a shouting match would help no one and he really didn't have time. He took a deep cleansing breath and released his tension on the exhale.

"Gabriella is NOT a whore. She is a strong, intelligent, independent, and loving woman who loves me. I cherish her with all of my heart. I show her utmost respect because she deserves it. The woman I live with is a submissive. It wasn't Daniel's place to disclose her nature as that was disrespectful to Tina. She also deserves and gets my love and respect. Don't mistake submissiveness to slavery. She has complete freedom to do as she pleases and love who she pleases and has chosen to grace my life for now. She also has a brilliant mind and a loving heart. I'm not about to waste my time trying to enlighten your closed mind. I can see you already have hate and pain in your heart. I doubt very much I was the cause that put it there but I'm very sorry you have to bear it. Good night!" He turned to leave and made it as far as the front door.

Ben's genuine words and calm tone hit Gwen harder than his fists could have. She'd been prepared if he got physically violent. It was why she'd been working out before he arrived. Daniel had mentioned Ben relationships shortly after he'd arrived on the Friday afternoon and she'd had all weekend to build her anger. The picture she'd formed of him in her mind and the words she planned on using to confront him had raced through her head for days. She'd been expecting to confront a misogynistic bastard like her ex had been. When Ben showed up looking like her fantasies come true it had thrown her off her game a little. She rallied and had just begun her attack when he derailed her again with his sincere words. When he got to the part of being sorry about the pain in her heart it was too much for her and she collapsed to the floor and began to cry as he walked away.

Ben wanted to just leave the house but the tears of a woman had always been his Achilles heel. He turned around and walked back to the woman and knelt down beside her.

"Please don't cry. I'm sorry if I've hurt your feelings." he said and her tears just got worse. Not knowing what else to do he did what he always did. He gathered the woman up against his chest and held her while she cried.

God, she'd missed this! To be held in the strong arms of a man who genuinely cared. She let it all out and clung to him like a life line. Five minutes later there was a gentle tap on the outer door. Ben and Gwen looked over to see Miriam looking at them curiously. Gwen rubbed her eyes and apologized as she gathered herself. Ben stood up and easily pulled Gwen to her feet. She marvelled at his strength then saw the tear stains on the shoulder of his shirt.

"Oh! I'm so sorry about your shirt! Let me get you a replacement." she hustled away and returned in seconds with a red flannel work shirt. "It should fit. My ex was a big man too."

Ben undid the buttons on his shirt and took it off. He wiped his shoulder with it and thanked the dazzled woman as he took the red shirt from her nerveless fingers and put it on. It fit well though he couldn't button the few top buttons.

"Let me wash that for you." she said plucking his tear stained shirt from his fingers. "Listen, sorry about the things I said. You're right, there is a lot of pain and hate in my heart. Put there by the man whose shirt you're now wearing. But he's out of my life and you aren't him so you didn't deserve the anger. I don't understand your relationships with these women but I shouldn't have judged you."

"It's ok. Sorry, I have to go now as I'm picking up Gabriella from the airport. Are you going to be alright?" he asked.

She smiled putting a hand on the hard muscles of his arm and relaxed. "Yes, thank you. I'll get this back to you this week, ok?"

"Sure. No rush." Ben smiled and left.

As they pulled out of the driveway Miriam saw the woman standing in the front window clinging to Ben's shirt close enough to get his scent. She recalled her mother behavior with Ben's sweater and she gave Ben a quick worried look which he thankfully didn't see.

They got to the arrivals area ten minutes after Gabriella's plane arrived but she still had to go through customs.

"Daniel?" Ben said to get his attention.

"Yes, Ben."

"Why were you discussing my relationships with Rick's mother?"

"She asked who was picking me up so I told her that you were going to do it. She asked me who you were and I said that you were my mother's boyfriend. And my neighbors boyfriend. And you lived with Tina who is a submissive." the boy said in a matter of fact tone.

"I see. May I request that you refrain from mentioning Tina's submissive nature in future conversations? It wasn't respectful to her to mention it to someone she doesn't know. People form incorrect opinions of Tina before they get to know her if you apply a label that most people don't understand."

"Oh! I'm sorry! That makes sense. Thank you, Ben!"

"While we are discussing social etiquette, perhaps it will be easier for people if you conclude your description of who I am by just mentioning my relationship with your mother. I'm certainly not ashamed of any of the relationships I'm in but once again misunderstandings can be easily avoided if you restrict your descriptions to those which you are directly related to, in this case your mother. It's much more polite as well because describing relationships you are not related to can be construed as gossip." Ben saw the young man absorb this and nod.

"Again, this makes sense to me. Thank you, Ben!"

"No, thank you, Daniel."

The boy smiled back at him and Ben couldn't help think of the two cartoon gophers Mac and Tosh whose conversations were ever so polite. He was getting used to speaking with Daniel this way.

Miriam suddenly started to jump up and down and Daniel joined in. There was Gabriella walking through the doors towards them with her small suitcase and garment bag. Her face lit up with joy to see her children with Ben and she rushed forward to gather them into her arms after Ben snagged the bags from her.

"Oh Ben, this is a wonderful surprise! Thank you so much!" she gushed.

"I thought you might like to see their smiling faces tonight." he smiled.

"Yes, I did! Now let's get them home as they have school tomorrow." she said and got groans from the two.

The drive home was filled with the kids telling their Mom about their weekend. Just before they got to their neighborhood Miriam mentioned Mrs. Bennett's invitation and spotting Mrs. Adams crying on Ben.

Ben understood she was protecting her mother so he wasn't offended. Before Gabriella could chastise Miriam for telling on Ben he spoke up.

"I mentioned to Mrs. Bennett how closely she resembled her daughter. Have you seen those two side by side? It's uncanny. I didn't realize that would be construed as flirting. As for Mrs. Adams, she was informed about our unique relationship by Daniel. I guess she had a bad experience with her ex-husband and said some angry things when I got there. She's carrying some bad emotional damage so I explained why she was wrong and that I was sorry for her pain and she began to cry. I didn't know what else to do so I hugged her."

"She has his shirt." Miriam added. Gabriella looked over the seat at her daughter and saw the girl mimicking the woman smelling it. Ben couldn't see this as Miriam was seated behind him.

"She cried all over mine and it was soaked. Luckily her ex was almost the same size as me and she had a spare shirt." Ben explained, oblivious to the looks passing between mother and daughter. Gabriella finally just smiled at Miriam who was satisfied that all was still well between her mother and Ben so she smiled back at her mother.

Ben drove into Gabriella's driveway. Gabriella asked Ben to come inside so she could fill him in on the business trip. Once inside she directed her kids to brush their teeth then get to bed immediately afterwards. She gave them kisses. Miriam stopped in front of Ben and he bent down so she could kiss his cheek. He kissed her cheek back and she blushed. Not to be outdone by his sister Daniel stopped for a handshake from Ben then the kids raced upstairs. Gabriella watched them go with a loving smile. They walked into the living room and she grabbed him in a tight hug.

"Ben! You are such a genius! Arriving on the personal jet was perfect! I got the contract! I put on my big movie star shades and stepped off the plane in my sharpest business dress with a bored look on my face and they were practically kissing my feet. I looked like money so they definitely wanted to do business with me. I played it professional and cool like I was flying in for a number of business meetings and just squeezed them in. My commission on the sales of their items is 5% better than I was getting from the previous supplier! My distribution chain was thrilled by the replacement products when I contacted them from the jet. Oh yes, they were VERY impressed when they saw I was video conferencing them from a private jet. They agreed to expand the territory for the products from just the west coast to include their east coast stores as well! I was able to amend the contract and get the signed contracts while I flew back!" She leapt in his arms and they laughed.

"That's amazing news! I knew you could save your business deal and it sounds like you made it even better!" Ben gushed.

"All because of you!"

"No! Be fair! All I did was put you on a plane. You did everything else. The deal would NOT have happened unless you were driving it forward. You took the opportunity and made it pay off!" Ben insisted.

Gabriella just looked up in his earnest face in adoration. She put her hand on the back of his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. He captured her lush lips with his and her tongue slipped into his mouth. He gently sucked on the tip of her tongue and pulled her body tight against his. She moaned and pushed him back to catch her breath.

"Can you stay tonight?" she asked.

Ben thought of Tina's earlier comment and smiled. "Yes."

Gabriella took his hand and led him upstairs. The kid's bedrooms were at the opposite end of the hallway so they had some privacy. Their doors were closed and their lights were off so Ben followed Gabriella into the master bedroom. She closed and locked the door behind herself. Ben raised an eyebrow and she grinned wickedly at him.

"We didn't get to finish our date on Friday." she said seductively.

"Yes, it was rather rudely interrupted." he agreed with a smile.

Gabriella prowled up to stand before Ben. She reached up and began to undo the buttons on his shirt. "Ben I want to do something special for you. The last time we made love you kissed me down there and I'd never experienced that before. It was incredible! This time I'd like to return the favor but I have to warn you. I've never done it before. You'll have to tell me if I'm doing anything wrong and let me know what you like. Would that be ok?" She looked up in his eyes as she leaned forward to kiss his nipples as she pushed his shirt off of his shoulders.

All Ben could do was nod.

He let the shirt fall to the floor as the tip of her tongue teased his nipples. She took one between her lips as her hands worked on his belt. His breath was hissing between his teeth as she moved to his other nipple and gently bit it, bringing a groan from him. Gabriella kissed her way down his hard stomach as she slid his pants, underwear, and socks down his legs. He stepped out of his clothes as she knelt before him and she tossed them aside.

Gabriella looked at Ben's hard cock and trembled nervously. She had no idea where to start. She looked up at him questioningly.

"Take it in your hands." he said.

She took a grip down near the base and gently cupped his balls in her hand. She marvelled at the heat of his cock and the weight of his sack. She gently rolled his balls between her fingers feeling their shape and texture. Curiously she ran her tongue across the surface and felt movement within. A little thrill zinged up her spine as she sucked one of his balls into her mouth.

"Be careful of your teeth. Sharp teeth and men's parts are not friends." Ben gasped as he watched her roll his testicle around on her tongue. Gabriella's beautiful green eyes twinkled with joy as she realized she really enjoyed this. She loved feeling his cock jump in her hand in response to her tonguing him. She switched to the other one and felt his cock become even harder in her hand. It was so sexy she moaned causing Ben to moan as the vibrations felt wonderful.

Ben's eyes closed as she worked on his balls. No one besides Shelly had spent this much time on that area. While Shelly was incredibly talented he put Gabriella at the top of this class.

Gabriella released his testicle and saw it was covered with her spit. She ran the flat of her tongue across both balls licking up towards his shaft. She moved her hand upwards as her tongue licked its way up the hot underside of his cock. Ben's breath was coming out in gasps and she took that to mean he was enjoying what she did. She turned her head sideways and kissed the bulging ridge running along the underside of his cock. She slid her lips up and down, rubbing the ridge against the flat smooth surface of her teeth. Nothing sharp there except the intake of Ben's breath as her lips caressed his cock.

She took a grip at the base again as she kissed and licked her way upwards to the thick mushroom cap on top of his cock. She was fascinated by its appearance, its softness and firmness, and its taste. She teased the ridge of the head with the tip of her tongue and felt his cock twitch again in her hands. Ben was moaning almost continuously now, running his hands though her thick, soft hair but not trying to direct her actions in any way. She loved the control she had over him and how much pleasure she was giving him. Her pussy was drenched and it took everything she had to keep her hands away from herself.

Finally she positioned her mouth over the head of his cock. It would be a tight fit but she thought she could do it. Her mouth began to water in anticipation.

"Remember, teeth." he said between pants.

Gabriella pressed her lips to the tip of his cock and was surprised to feel a wet sticky substance beaded at the opening. She smeared it across her lips then slowly slid them over the head taking the cap into her mouth. She moaned with the head resting on her tongue and Ben reacted to the vibrations with a shiver that ran through his body. She didn't know what to do with her tongue so she just ran it back and forth across his skin on the underside of the head. Ben gasped once more.

She began to slide her lips over the head and down the shaft a little more with each stroke. She was able to get almost half of his cock into her mouth. Ben was breathing very hard by this point. She looked up at him with his cock deep in her mouth and he groaned at how sexy that looked.

Ben reached down and took her hand which was gripping the bottom of his shaft and he directed her to begin pumping the bottom half of his shaft as she sucked the top half. She caught on immediately and got into a pattern. The spit running down the shaft made her hand slide more easily over his flesh and he began to make an involuntary pumping motion with his hips to get more of his cock into her mouth. She tried to go further down his shaft but her gag reflex kicked in. She tried again and gripped his cock where her lips would reach before the gagging began. She pulled completely off and looked at where her fingers ringed his shaft. She was amazed to see that she was past the halfway point, not much but some.

Gabriella looked up at him with a fierce joy in her eyes and saw the feverish look in his. He was close and that sent a definite thrill through her. She immediately slid her lips over his cock and began to make fast strokes from the head down to where her hand rested. She pumped her mouth over him faster and faster.

"Gabriella, oh my god! Gabriella, you're going to make me come!" Ben moaned deeply with his hands tangled in her hair. She felt tremors running through his legs so she increased her pace.

"Oh god! I'm coming!" Ben groaned and the first shot fired as she pulled up to the head of his cock. She froze as she hadn't considered what to do when he actually came. Jet after jet splashed into her mouth and coated her tongue as she squealed.

Gabriella kept her mouth over the throbbing head of his cock and she used her hands to pump the last few surges from him until he calmed. She pulled the head of his cock out between her closed lips carefully and got one last drop from it. She looked up at him and wondered what she should do with the large load she had in her mouth.

"You can go into the ensuite to spit that out if you like." he suggested pointing to the bathroom then watched her swallow a few times. Her face made some odd expressions as he watched her with surprise.

"A little saltier than I was expecting but I think I could get used to that." she smiled at Ben.

Ben lifted her to her feet and undressed her quickly. As the clothes fell his lips found and kissed the exposed skin. He paid special attention to her stiff nipples and returned the favor until she was moaning and pulling at his hair. He moved downwards.

As he slid her sodden panties down he pressed his mouth to her pussy and she grabbed the back of his head pushing his mouth against her more firmly.

Ben stood up and carried Gabriella to the bed. He laid her on her back then pushed her legs up so he could get his mouth on her pussy more easily. He ran the flat of his tongue over her lips and each time he stroked across her stiff nub of flesh her legs jolted. He dipped his tongue deeply into her, fucking her with his tongue and she began to whimper.

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

Keeping her legs braced back Ben moved up until his stiff cock was positioned at the opening of her wet pussy. He slid himself across her lips dragging himself across her clit. Gabriella dropped her head back on the mattress as shocks went through her body and she moaned deeply.

"Please, please, please, put it innnnn!" she begged.

Ben's cock was well lubricated so he lined himself up and pushed forward. The head popped in and Gabriella squeaked which turned into a deep groan as he pushed deeper and deeper into her. As he almost reached bottom she began to shake.

"Fuck, oh, oh, oh, so big! Sooooo deep!" she whispered with her eyes closed in concentration.

Ben couldn't recall hearing Gabriella swear before and it made him grin.

He pulled out to the head and pushed in again all the way to the base. Gabriella's breath gusted out.

"Ooo! Oh god, so good!" she cried.

Ben hooked her legs behind his arms and began to pound into her in long fast strokes. The impact at the end of each stroke made her squeal as her clit was slapped.

"Yes! Ben! That's good! Like that! Oh, oh, oh god!" Gabriella was becoming quite vocal and Ben loved it! He increased his pace until he was slamming into her like a machine.

"Yeeeeesssssssss! Oh my god! I'm gonna- I'm COMING!" Gabriella suddenly yelled as a huge orgasm swelled over her unexpectedly. "Ahhh god! Coming!" she squealed as her body went into convulsions. Ben's rhythm was broken by her jerking and her clamping down on his cock was all he needed to push him over top. He drove himself deep one last time and rode out his second orgasm with Gabriella grinding against him to prolong her pleasure. He felt her shake and jolt through a few mini orgasms after her major one. He rested atop the woman braced on his elbows after letting her legs back down.

"Oh Ben, that... that was wonderful!" Gabriella sighed. Ben saw her eyes begin to close and she made a mighty yawn.

He chuckled. "I'm glad you didn't do that during."

Her yawn broke into giggles and she playfully swatted his arm. Ben could see she was really exhausted. The jet lag from her whirlwind weekend had finally caught up to her. He pulled his softening cock from her and her eyes went wide as she trembled and smiled. "I'm just going to close my eyes for a bit." she murmured and was out.

Ben padded over to the ensuite and cleaned himself off. He made a damp facecloth with warm water then went back to the bed. Gabriella was still out so he gently cleaned her and pulled the blanket up. He considered going home but she'd asked him to stay so he slipped under the sheets and tucked her up against him.

Gabriella's sleeping face was so beautiful and peaceful he gently kissed her temple and closed his eyes. Sleep took him quickly.

The next morning Ben awoke to beautiful green eyes looking into his. Gabriella had a sweet smile on her lips.

"Good morning." she said.

"Good morning beautiful!" he replied.

"Will you stay for breakfast?" she asked.

"Sure."

She gave him a quick kiss then slipped out of bed. He headed over to the ensuite to freshen up a little and Ben got dressed. She came out in a big fluffy housecoat and he scooped her up in a hug. Once she was back on her feet they headed down to the kitchen. The kids weren't up yet.

Gabriella made a pot of coffee and Ben sat at the kitchen table watching her move around preparing breakfast for her kids and themselves.

"How went your evening with Rochelle?" she asked out of the blue.

"She was still having trouble with the emotional intimacy so I told her to just have fun. She seemed really relieved once I said that." He paused thinking how it almost ended very badly. Gabriella caught his frown.

"But..." she prompted.

"No, the evening was really nice and she slept over but when I woke the next morning at my back was Tina, Lisa, and Lori in that order, all naked." Gabriella gasped in concern for Rochelle. "They'd been out clubbing and got drunk and thought it would be a good idea to get into bed with Rochelle and I. Don't worry, I managed to get Rochelle out of the bed and house without waking the others. She's fine." Gabriella breathed a sigh of relief.

"Tina was immediately apologetic for her mistake but, again, the twins had no clue as to why I was upset. I kicked them out and told them they weren't welcome until they understood. I called Daphne and told her what they'd done and told her I didn't want Christopher in their daycare because of their issue with accepting personal responsibility. This is where the issue goes sideways. Daphne doesn't have the skills to discipline her kids so as a last resort punishment she told the twins I was her silent partner and I didn't want them working at the daycare until they shaped up."

Gabriella gasped again. She knew Ben wouldn't participate in a lie.

"The twins called me yesterday and came over to apologize. They still didn't have a clue. I went to speak with Daphne which was when she dropped that bomb on me. She broke down when I told her I couldn't be part of that and she begged me to help her with her kids."

Gabriella looked concerned as she knew how Ben had a weakness for the damsel in distress.

"So now I'm her moral silent partner. I spoke with the twins again and tried to get them to understand that their behavior isn't something the impressionable kids in the daycare should be exposed to." he said with a sigh.

"Did they get it then?" she asked putting breakfast on the plates.

"These are young adults who got away with this bad behavior for years so I don't expect them to change overnight but I think Lori got it. I'm hoping she'll be able to teach her twin." he replied.

"So the daycare won't be opening?" she asked.

"No, it will. I asked Daphne to create an ad for two replacement daycare certified workers. If she followed through the twins should see that and realize how serious the issue is and hopefully that will drive the point home. They desperately want to work in this daycare. If they don't turn their behavior around we place the ad and they don't get to work there. That would be a terrible shame for Daphne who I think was primarily doing this for them and to be with them. She recognizes that the made mistakes with the twins. Of course, Daphne might just cave in under the pressure of their whining. If that happens I walk away from the whole mess."

"What mess?" Miriam asked as she entered the kitchen.

"Good morning sweetie!" Gabriella greeted her daughter. "Can you go wake up your brother?"

The young girl frowned. "OK, but I want to know about the mess when I get back." She looked at Ben and he smiled and nodded. She smiled back and scooted back upstairs.

Gabriella stepped over to Ben's side to whisper. "Are the twin's still trying to... be with you?" She glanced at the doorway.

"Yes."

"Have you considered using that as a reward?" she asked

He looked at her earnest face in surprise. "Uh, no. I hadn't considered that. I was hoping to avoid adding that complication to an already messy situation."

"What mess, Ben?" Daniel asked as he preceded his sister into the kitchen. Miriam rolled her eyes.

"We are having some philosophical / behavioral issues with getting the new daycare open. If they don't follow a policy I feel is safest for the children I will walk away from participating in any way." Ben explained.

"Seems reasonable to me." Daniel agreed and sat down to eat.

Miriam had an unsatisfied look on her face then glared at her little brothers for sucking all the juicy adult stuff out of the answer. She looked plaintively at Ben who just smiled and shrugged.

They enjoyed their breakfast together then the kids got ready and were off to school.

"I think Miriam won't settle for the kid answers for much longer." Ben said to Gabriella who nodded and sighed. "I have some work to do so I have to go as well." he said.

"You found another project?" she asked.

"Yup and it's tickling my brain so I have to go scratch it!" he smiled.

"Thank you again Ben for everything!" Gabriella hugged him tight.

"Thank you for a wonderful date and breakfast!" he grinned.

With a lingering kiss Ben stepped outside and drove his truck over to his driveway. When he got inside he heard Christopher's excited chattering in the living room. He went in saw Tina playing with the boy on the carpet.

"Dada!" Christopher squealed reaching for Ben.

Tina's face showed shock then nervous embarrassment.

Ben sunk down to his knees and picked up the happy boy who squealed with excitement.

Ben looked at Tina who was trying not to look him in the eye.

"You've been teaching Christopher to call me that?" his voice trembled as he was conflicted. Half of him was horrified that she might be attempting to manipulate him while the other half wanted very much to be called Daddy. "Look at me, Tina."

Tina brought her eyes up to his and she had tears in hers. "Christopher will not know his true father and for that I am very happy for his father was a very bad man. But to know no father is a terrible thing for a young boy. A boy learns what it is to be a man from his father. I can think of no other man who could set a better example than you. I have not taught him to call you that. I have called you that when he is in my arms so that he will grow up knowing he is loved by both a mother and a father."

Ben looked into her eyes and saw the truth there. He nodded accepting her answer. "When he is old enough you will tell him the truth but for now Dada is fine." Ben pretended to bite the boy's nose and Christopher giggled.

Tina had tears pooling in her eyes as she gazed at Ben with love swelling her heart.

The three played in the living room for an hour then Ben felt the familiar pull of an unsolved puzzle tugging at him. He gave Christopher a kiss on the forehead then Tina was in his arms planting a very passionate kiss on him that left his head spinning. He smiled at her then went down to his workshop. As promised he left the door open and got back to work.

The next few days were pretty uneventful and he didn't hear back from Daphne or the twins. He put that in the back of his mind. The challenge had been issued and if it was going to work it would work.

Tina arranged for Trish to watch Christopher for them on Friday night so Ben turned his attention back to his work.

The engineering puzzle really got his juices flowing and he tackled it with everything he had. Tina had to drag him out of his workshop to eat and to sleep.

Finally he had his eureka moment and quickly modeled a prototype on his computer and ran it through a slew of virtual stress tests. It passed these so he contacted his custom milling shop and sent them the specs file for making a physical prototype. They said they'd have it ready for him on the following Wednesday.

Feeling confident of the design, Ben submitted his documentation to the Patent Office. He'd done it so frequently he had a script prepared to collect and submit the appropriate forms automatically. They Patent Office clerks knew him well.

He sent a quick note to the requester stating he had a solution in the physical prototyping stage and asked if they had a test bed. Moments later he received an excited response indicating they had one at their factory in Austin, Texas and would love to see the prototype ASAP. They sent him their corporate info now that they had reached the stage where they were no longer working through the anonymous forum. Ben saw the company was STURN Enterprises headquartered in Austin, Texas. Ben knew they dealt with oil as that was what one of the fluids the prototype was designed to deal with. He sent a reply that he would fly down with the prototype the following week once he confirmed the milling of the piece was successful. The immediate response indicated that they would send the corporate jet to pick him up and return him home. Once he'd indicated he was on the task they'd done their research on him. They'd looked up his forum ID on the engineering boards and found case after case where he'd provided successful solutions. They were thrilled he'd taken their task as their usual avenues wanted exorbitant advances just to look into the issue.

Ben wasn't surprised. You say 'oil company' you think 'money'. The point of the engineering forum was to strip away everything but the pure engineering puzzle. Someone anonymous posts a request for a solution, providing all of the known technical specs. If you had a solution and could provide one THEN you made arrangements to meet face to face or to just send them the digital file for the solution. Ben always made his own prototypes. These filled the cases lining the wall beside him. The new one was going to be rather large. He looked over at the wall and spotted an empty spot in one case that might fit.

Ben leaned back and enjoyed that lovely feeling of anticipation he got when he reached this phase of a project.

He made sure he had a backup of his work, locked up the workshop, and headed upstairs. Tina was in the living room on her tablet while Christopher played with his activity centre in the playpen. Ben realized his back was stiff from sitting in his chair for too long. He decided to soak in the hot tub.

Tina looked up from her tablet. "Ben, are you done working on your project today? If so, Lori would like to speak with you when you have a moment."

Ben turned back and felt his lower back muscles tweak. He grimaced and rubbed at the spot. "Uh, ok but tell her to bring a swimsuit because I'm heading for the hot tub. My back is hurting." He'd gotten into the habit of preparing the hot tub when he did these projects as he typically spent too many hours curled over either his drafting table or his keyboard.

Tina's eyes brightened and she tapped out a chat message on the table while Ben walked to his bedroom and put on his swimsuit. He headed outside onto the deck with his robe on over his trunks. The evening was clear and while the day had been unseasonably warm the air was now pretty cool. He lifted the lid on the hot tub and found the water temperature was perfect. He hung up his robe on the warming rack he'd built next to the tub and climbed into the steamy bubbling water. He instantly started feeling better. A few minutes later he heard a noise and opened his eyes to see Lori standing and shivering next to the tub in her robe.

"Don't just stand there! Put your robe on the rack and get in the hot water!" he scolded the young woman.

She pulled off the robe and Ben got a look at the tiny bikini she was almost not wearing. His eyes widened and he looked away as she climbed into the tub.

"I'm decent once more." she said with a smile once she was under the water.

Ben looked back at her and she had tied her long red hair up in a bun on the back of her head to keep it out of the water. This just accentuated her long slim neck. She gave him a brilliant smile when she noticed he was staring. He cleared his throat and looked away. "So you wished to speak with me?"

Lori's face took on a serious expression and she cast her eyes down at the bubbling water as she collected her thought. "Yes, I've done a lot of thinking about what you said and I thought about the times we've upset you and how we acted. It seemed so odd to us that there could have been a negative outcome to those events but I realized that was because we were only seeing it from our own perspective. Seeing things from the eyes of another isn't something we've had a lot of experience with. Understanding there was an issue has been a little easier for me as I've typically deferred to Lisa so I subconsciously already see from her perspective but it so closely matches mine the difference is almost meaningless. So I replaced Lisa with you and tried to consider your perspective on our touching you inappropriately and climbing into your bed uninvited then Rochelle's view on us being there too. I see now how uncomfortable it must have been for you and awkward for Rochelle. I'm sorry."

Ben was smiling at Lori when she looked up. "Learning to see the effect of your actions through the eyes of others is exactly what I was hoping would happen. I'm so relieved to hear you've managed to do it! The question is, have you been able to share your epiphany with your sister? Does she understand yet?"

Lori looked back down sadly. "She's fighting it. I think she understands but she's always gotten what she wants in the past, even with me, and she's trying to keep that."

Ben had a bad feeling about that. "She's been pressuring your mother to let her work at the daycare hasn't she."

"Yes, and it hasn't been easy on Mom. Now I can see what a struggle it's been for her. I let her know I support her decision. That really shocked her because Lisa and I have always been a team. For now she's standing firm."

"Then there has to be something else Lisa wants desperately that we can withhold from her until she is willing to listen." Ben said thoughtfully.

Lori smiled seeing Ben so clueless to the answer before him. "Ben."

"What?"

"It's you. You're what she wants the most, next to working at the daycare." Lori explained.

"Oh!" Ben's eyebrows rose. "But I'm already denying her that!"

"So she thinks it's an impossibility. That's what you have to change. She has to think it's possible, just not for her." Lori was grinning broadly by this point as Ben struggled to decipher the clues Lori was giving him.

She reached around her back and undid the knot on her bikini top. She then lifted it over her head and dropped it on the deck outside of the tub.

Ben's eyes widened as he finally caught on to what she was suggesting. Lori's smile faltered as she looked at him nervously, fearing his rejection once more. She could see his mind ticking over but his next words surprised her.

"Lori, this could put a serious rift in your relationship with your sister. Jealousy is an ugly, bitter thing and she might react very badly."

Lori looked at Ben, amazed at how easily he put himself in the place of others. Truthfully, while Lori could now see how it done it wasn't easy for her at all.

"Ben, I love my sister above all others and I know she loves me but you're right, she may react badly. But I won't let that sway me from helping her see what she needs to see. I won't lie to you. It's going to be a struggle. I truly feel that she will not fully appreciate the benefits of putting others first until she's felt your firm hand guiding her." she finished with a hopeful expression.

Ben looked at Lori and struggled with the decision but he knew she was right. He couldn't just let Lori lie to her sister that she'd been with him as he couldn't participate in such a lie. Decision made he reached out of the tub and pushed a button on a panel on the side of the tub. A privacy curtain descended from the outer edge of the awning over the deck. Soon the deck had complete privacy on all sides though much of the light still got through. Lori was surprised by the curtains and watched them enclose the deck. When she looked back at Ben she saw him dropping his trunks on the deck outside of the tub. She suddenly realized she was in a hot tub with a very large naked man. She trembled as she realized her dream was actually coming true.

He moved closer, his eyes on hers and she felt the knots on her bikini bottom come undone. His large hand lifted her under the water and she felt the bikini bottom tugged away. Ben dropped it over the side with the bikini top. Now they were both naked in the hot tub.

Lori was trembling and Ben took her chin between his fingers and looked into her eyes.

"It's not too late to stop. We haven't done anything yet we can't take back." he said firmly.

"I- I don't want to stop." she said, her voice quavering.

"May I assume you're not a virgin but you haven't been with a man as large as me?" he asked.

She nodded her eyes widening with her memory of the size of him.

"So we'll take it slow. I'll set the pace. Understood?" he said and she nodded, not trusting herself to speak she was so nervous. The dates she and Lisa had played with before had just been playthings. Good for fun but ultimately disposable. Ben was in a completely different category! He had experience!

Ben smiled and leaned in for a kiss. Softly at first. Just lips pressing and nibbling on lips. Lori leaned forward to kiss more urgently but Ben gently pushed her back.

"I set the pace." he said firmly and she nodded submissively.

He began again and Lori was feeling little sparks of pleasure tingling within her pussy but she dared not touch herself. When Ben's tongue caressed her lips and slipped between them she moaned and squeezed her thighs together as the tingle became maddening.

Ben sucked her tongue into his mouth and placed his hand of the back of her neck to better control the kiss. The fingertips of Ben's other hand slowly trailed down the skin of her chest and her breathing grew erratic as they approached her breasts. When she involuntarily thrust her chest up to reach his descending fingers he stopped and gently pushed her back. He lifted his fingers and began again. She got the lesson this time.

When his fingers met her breast this time it was all Lori could do to keep from screaming 'YES'! She couldn't stop from moaning into his kiss as he filled his palm with her tit and squeezed it. Lightning shot between her nipple and clit. He slid his tongue into her mouth more aggressively and moved his fingers to tug on the stiff pink nipple. Another shot of lightning fired and she whimpered with need.

Ben moved his mouth to Lori's throat and kissed his way downwards. His hand left her breasts and slid around to support her back as he lifted her to the surface of the bubbling water. Lori's head rested back on the pillowed edge of the hot tub as her stiff nipples broke the surface of the water into the chilled air. Ben took her right nipple between his lips and slowly sucked more and more of her tit into his mouth as he ran his tip of his tongue across the sensitive nipple.

Lori couldn't take any more and moved her hands behind Ben's head into his hair. She stopped herself from pulling him tighter against her tit. Ben gently scraped his teeth on the flesh around her nipple and Lori cried out arching her back. With a final kiss Ben moved to her left tit and repeated the process only slower.

Ben's hands were on her back, supporting her floating body just under the surface of the water. For his next move he had to make sure Lori took a more active role in supporting her body. He release her nipple with a pop and let her torso dip just below the surface once more. The hot water reached her overly stimulated nipples and her breath hissed through her teeth.

He looked up at her flushed face and locked eyes with her. "Get a grip on the rails on either side of your headrest and hold tight."

Lori's eyes widened and she quickly moved her hands into place. "Good girl." Ben growled playfully and a shiver went through her body.

Ben dipped under the surface while holding Lori's body up horizontally just under the surface. When he resurfaced he came up slowly with his head between her legs his hands cupping her firm ass cheeks. He gave her a quick squeeze and she moaned at the feel of the strength in his hands. He lifted her ass upwards until the small red triangle of pubic hair surfaced. Ben smiled down at this and pressed his lips to the patch and kissed it. Lori's hips jolted from the sensation but Ben had a good grip on her ass so he controlled her motions. Ben kissed down in the direction the triangle pointed and soon he was brushing his lips across her pink, stiff little clit. She cried out and he moved on leaving her with the aching need for his touch. He could tell she was a moments from her orgasm.

Ben ran his tongue from just above her anus up across the engorged pussy lips and circled her clit.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Suck it please! Suck my clit!" Lori finally gushed as the tingling exploded into a lightning storm inside her pussy.

Ben sucked her pussy lips into his mouth and thrashed them with his tongue until she began to gush juices. He moved his left hand to the center of her ass and rubbed two fingers of his right over her gushing pussy getting them nice and slippery. Then he slammed them deep into her as he clamped his mouth over the top of her pussy. Lori began to wail and thrash as her body rocked through an intense release. He began to pump his fingers in and out of her twitching channel.

"BEN! Oh Ben! FUUUUCK! FUUUUUUUUCK!" she began to squeal and make unintelligible sounds as her shaking increased. Ben could see she was deep into her orgasm so he slipped his thumb into her pussy with his fingers for a few strokes to get it nice and slick then he pressed it firmly against her anus.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Lori screamed as her orgasm soared to new heights. Her whole body went stiff and her eyes rolled back. When he felt her body going slack he moved his hands up to support her shoulders as her grip on the bars released and her head rolled. He pulled her against him and rested her head on his shoulder. A few seconds later he felt her beginning to come around.

"Wha- what? What happened?" Lori slurred against his shoulder. She felt like she was outside of her body. Everything tingled.

"You just had a little rest after your orgasm." Ben said gently.

"Oh. My. God. Ben! I feel so good! You feel so good against me! The water feels so good!" she gushed as she tried to get her muscle coordination back.

"I think we'd better get out of the hot water." he said. He scooped her legs up and carried her from the tub. The air trapped within the privacy curtain was warmer than outside but it was considerably cooler than the water. He set her down and steadied her as he pulled her robe from the warmer and put it around her. Then he grabbed his own and they went inside. There was a towel on the floor inside the patio door and a note from Tina saying she and Christopher were staying with Trish tonight. Lori was still a little wobbly so Ben sat her down at the kitchen table while he went back outside and put the cover on the tub and raise the privacy curtain. He went inside and locked the patio door. He saw Lori watching him with wide eyes from the chair.

"It's never felt like that before." she said.

"The sensations are there, you just have to be patient enough to build them up." Ben explained.

"But you didn't..." she said looking at him.

"No, and I don't every time. Sometimes it just works out that way." Ben said with a smile.

"I'd like you to. May we continue?" Lori asked, biting her lip.

"We may." he said and held out his hand to lift her to her feet. As they left the kitchen they heard pounding on the front door. They looked at each other then went to see who it was. Ben opened the door. Lisa was on the step and she was sobbing.

"You BITCH! How COULD YOU!" she screamed past Ben at her sister. Ben reached out and pulled her inside the house. Lori grabbed her arms so Ben could close and lock the door.

"Let go of me you back stabber!" Lori screamed as the tears poured down her face. "I saw your chat with Tina on your tablet. Then I saw Tina take Christopher to Trish's place. When I came over I heard your scream! I heard you screaming Ben's name! You had sex with Ben!"

She whipped around to look at Ben. "Why? Why would you have sex with Lori but not me?" she sobbed as she threw her jacket to the floor. Her blouse was showing a lot of cleavage.

"For one she doesn't act like a spoiled little brat when she doesn't get her way!" Ben growled deeply.

Lisa rocked back from Ben's anger.

Lori stepped in front of her sister. "I get it. I understand why Ben was so upset with us. I've been trying to tell you but you won't fucking listen!"

Lisa roared and reached for her sister with claws out but Ben caught her wrists and spun her around. He marched her into the living room and set her across his knees as he sat on the ottoman. He held her arms together behind her back with one hand and looked at Lori. "If you would do the honors please."

"Certainly." Lori said and pulled Lisa's yoga pants down to her knees. Ben saw she was wearing a thong so her ass was bare. All the better.

Lisa screamed and thrashed in anger until Ben's palm cracked solidly against her ass cheek. Then she screamed in surprise and pain but her body froze in shock. Without giving her time to recover he landed a second blow on the opposite cheek.

"You're not a teenager any more so stop" SMACK! "acting like one!" CRACK!

Lori knelt in front of her sister face and took it between her palms. "We have to start thinking about how OTHER people would feel before we do something. We kissed and groped Ben because we wanted to and we knew we would like it but we never stopped to think about if Ben wanted that."

Lisa screamed in anger again. CRACK! went Ben's palm on her already red ass. Lisa screamed and tried to thrash so CRACK! across the other cheek. She started crying in earnest now.

"Stop being so stubborn! We love you! We want you to feel better but you have to stop being so damn selfish! Mom needs our help and you are jeopardizing that by not accepting responsibility for being a self centered little brat! I admit I was one too! Then I saw what Ben was trying to tell us. We just have to be aware how other people's feeling might be affected by our actions BEFORE we do them. I know we've never really had to do that before but like Ben said, it's time to grow up. We aren't spoiled little teenagers anymore. Daddy would let us get away with almost anything but Ben won't. He will help guide us with a firm hand so we can be better people and have our dream job and make love with our dream man. But only if you are willing to admit you and I have been behaving badly and we need to change."

Ben placed his hand gently on the red flesh of Lisa's ass and she hissed through her teeth. Then he began to lightly caress the skin and Lisa started squirming as the pain started to change into something different. Then he stopped and she whimpered.

Lori lifted Lisa's face again and looked into her tear filled eyes. "You know it's true. I can see it in your eyes. I can feel you resisting. But that's only going to keep you from being happy. You have to understand that. We can't keep up this selfish behavior. It's hurting Mom and it hurts us. It will wreck our entire future if you keep it up. Please! Be the loving sister I know you are!"

Lisa burst into tears and Lori hugged her sister. Ben released her arms and she hugged Lori back. He lifted her to the couch and Lori sat with her wrapped up in each other's arms. After they had a good long cry Lisa sat back sniffing and winced. "My ass is on fire." she whined.

"Stop!" Lori said holding a finger up. "You know you deserved that! You have some things to say to Ben now."

Lisa glanced at Ben who waited patiently.

"Ben, I- I'm really sorry I didn't consider your feelings when we first kissed you in the car and when I got into your bed while you were sleeping with Rochelle. I was only thinking about what I wanted. Then you got angry and I didn't know why because I was only thinking of myself. I should have stopped and thought about how you'd feel before I did those things. I'm sorry."

Ben watched Lisa's face for any signs of her pretending to be remorseful but he saw it was genuine.

"I'll be expecting you both to be each other's watchdog. No sliding back to bad behavior."

Lori brightened up. "Does this mean we can work in the daycare?"

"On probation. Seriously, the first case I hear about one of you, just one of you behaving in that manner, and you will both he fired. Is that crystal clear?" he growled and they both froze.

"Yes sir." they said.

Ben didn't know where to go from here. He was feeling incredibly stupid and horrified at himself for having spanked a grown woman but he knew to show that to Lisa now would undermine the work he and Lori had done to help her have the change of heart.

It was Lori who rescued the situation. She turned to her sister.

"It's true that Ben and I were in the hot tub together but we didn't have sex. Well, not fully. He just teased my body then gave me the most exquisite oral sex I've ever had in my life. I actually believe I left my body when I came. I passed out!" Lisa looked at Ben desperately.

"Ben didn't get to have an orgasm. I'd really like to help him with that." She turned to him. "Would it be alright if my sister joined us, please?" Lori really poured on the charm as she pleaded with Ben to include Lisa.

Ben turned his eyes to Lisa looking for signs of her old selfish attitude but only saw submissive pleading in her eyes. "Are you going to behave?" he asked her, his voice a deep rumble in his chest.

Lisa trembled and the heat in her eyes kicked up a few notches. "Yes!" she breathed. "But Ben?" He looked at her again and her eyes dropped as she bit her lip. "Please... don't be gentle with me. How- how you took me just now... it was so fucking hot!" She squeezed her thighs together as her pussy dripped and her ass burned.

"God yes! I want that too!" Lori moaned.

Ben looked across at the two lustful beauties gazing hungrily back at him and sighed to himself. Another big shove out of his comfort zone. He'd never been with more than one woman at a time and certainly not twin sisters. He also didn't consider himself to be a rough sex kind of guy but that's what they needed him to be. He'd just have to give them his version of it.

He stood up and they watched him approach with anticipation. He reached behind Lori's head and released her hair from the bun. He ran his fingers through her hair to make it cascade over her shoulders like Lisa's did. Then he put his hand in her hair at the back of her head and took a grip. He forced her head back and she gasped before his mouth was on hers in a hungry, deep kiss. She moaned into his mouth. He pulled back and looked into her glassy eyes as she panted with her excitement. Ben turned his eyes to Lisa who fidgeted on the couch worried that he was going to reject her. When his hand slid around her neck into the hair on the back of her head he felt her actually relax as he took his grip. He ran his tongue across Lisa's lips and she desperately tried to capture it with her lips but his grip wouldn't let her move. He sucked her lower lip into his mouth and ran his teeth over it. Lisa whimpered with need and she wasn't prepared for him when he suddenly kissed her deeply. She grunted in surprise as his tongue caressed hers. He pulled back and a string of her spit clung to their lips.

He released their hair, stood up and stepped back. "Stand up." he growled. They stood quickly and faced him.

Lori was only wearing the robe but Lisa was fully dressed. He looked her up and down and saw her blush. "Get undressed." Her eyes snapped to his then glanced over to her sister. "Now."

Lisa's blush got deeper but she quickly pulled her sweater and shirt off. Her yoga pants were already around her ankles so she kicked them off then her socks. Soon she was just standing in her bra and panties.

"I said undress." Ben said looking at her underwear. Lisa's eye widened. She reached around and undid her bra then pushed her panties down. She was deeply embarrassed at being the only one naked but her pussy was dripping and he saw the lips were glistening.

Ben looked at Lori. "Drop the robe."

Soon he was standing before two identical naked women. He stepped forward and heard them suck in a breath in unison. He reached out and placed a hand on each of their bodies on a shoulder. He tracked his fingers down their chests and cupped a tit which brought gasps from them. He rolled and pinched their nipple a little harder than he normally would and they both went a little weak in the knees. Their eyes were getting glassy again. When he slid his hands to their other tit and gave them a firm squeeze Lori moaned and Lisa whimpered unconsciously pushing her tit into his hand. He squeezed hers harder and she moaned. He picked up that Lisa might need harder sensations than Lori did. He slid his fingertips down their tight, trembling stomach muscles and both wobbled on their feet as he got closer to their heat. He cupped Lori and pulled up slightly and she gave him an 'Ahhh!' while he slapped Lisa's pussy three timed quickly making her squeak. Both were breathing heavily and trembling by this point.

Ben took a step back and considered them. So far they seemed to be enjoying his 'performance'. Quite frankly he was enjoying the view and he'd begun to feel the beginnings of that familiar rise. Before it grew he wanted them to see it so they'd know what they were dealing with.

"On your knees." his voice rumbled and they immediately dropped down before him. "You need to see what I'm going to fuck you both with. Open my robe." Their trembling increased with his coarse words.

With a glance at each other they both reached a hand forward and undid the loose knot on the belt. They took a side and pulled the robe open. Their eyes widened when they saw his thick cock hanging down and twitching between his legs. He pushed the robe off of his shoulders and let it fall behind him. The twins released the robe.

"It's still sleeping so it's not as big as it's going to be when I'm driving it into you. I'm still not sure you can take someone my size. I want to fuck you hard but I don't want to ruin you. Lisa! Don't touch yourself!" he scolded her harshly and her hand snapped back to her side. She looked up at him desperately. He ignored her and turned to her sister.

"Lori, cup my balls in your hand. Feel their weight."

Lori reached forward and lifted his cock up to hold his heavy sack in her other hand. Her mouth dropped opened as she felt the heft and heat of them.

Ben was enjoying the feeling of her hands and this cock began to twitch more as blood began to engorge the flesh. Lori's eyes locked onto the stiffening flesh as she felt it move in her hand.

"Let go Lori." She did reluctantly. "That weight is either going to be slapping against your ass... or your clit if I choose to take you from behind."

Lisa began to whimper at the image of Ben slamming into her from behind. She couldn't take her eyes from his rising flesh. It was only half mast and already looking monstrous. The fat mushroom head was darkening and beginning to point right at them.

"Lisa, open your mouth and stick out your tongue." Ben growled.

She quickly licked her lips and opened her mouth tongue extended. Lori whined as she wanted him in her mouth.

Ben stepped forward and tapped his bobbing cock on her tongue. Lisa tried moving forward to capture it but Ben gripped her hair and held her back. "Patience." he said quietly. She nodded.

He moved forward again and laid the thick head on the tip of her tongue. Then he slowly slid it forward until it reached her lips. Ben was exercising every ounce of his self-control to not just shove his cock into her mouth until he reached the back of her throat. Lisa was trembling and moaning as the heavy meat slowly forced its way into her mouth. Ben stopped and held it there for a few seconds while Lisa felt it throbbing on her tongue. He slowly pulled it out of her mouth and she leaned forward unconsciously to get it back but he gently pulled her away.

"Lori, your turn." he said and she was already in position when he turned to her. He took a grip of her hair as well though he knew she'd already learned the lesson about pacing. The thick head touched her tongue and he slid it deep into her mouth, further than Lisa had been able to accommodate and he was definitely larger now. Interesting difference noted. She hummed and the vibrations went through his cock making it jump. She looked up with a twinkle in her eyes. He slid himself out of her mouth and stepped back. A few more throbs and it reached full size.

"Stand up." he said and they scrambled to their feet. Both were looking at his cock and the worried looks were back.

"Follow me." he said as he walked to his bedroom. When they were all standing next to the bed he looked at them like he was trying to gauge the possibility of his cock fitting inside them. He stepped up to Lisa and slid two fingers into her pussy with no warning. He knew she was wet enough as he saw her dripping down the insides of her thighs as her sister was. Lisa gasped and fell forward against him as his fingers slid in and out a few times. He pulled out abruptly and rubbed his slick fingers against his thumb as if testing her juices then he put the fingers deep in his mouth as he looked Lisa in the eyes and sucked her nectar from them. Her eyes were glassy and she was panting.

Ben set Lisa back on her feet and walked behind Lori. He wrapped an arm around her chest under her tits and slid two fingers from his other hand deep into her sodden pussy. Only his grip around her chest kept her on her feet as her legs immediately gave out. As he pumped his fingers she felt the heat of his cock pressing against the back of her leg.

He removed the fingers and repeated the thumb test and slurping her juices from his fingers. Lori regained her footing.

Ben turned to the end table and brought out a tube of lubricant. He turned to the two swaying women.

"Lisa, I got to eat your sister's delicious pussy in the hot tub. Now I'm going to start by eating your pussy while Lori rides my cock. When she's done and I've had my fill of eating you I'm going to fuck you." Ben knee walked to the center of the bed and the twins hurried to follow. He poured some lube on Lori's hand and told her to rub it on his cock. She began stroking him and made it nice and slick.

Ben laid down on the bed and directed Lori to squat over his cock. "Lisa, hold my cock in position for Lori." She swooped in and took a grip of him at the base and pointed him up.

"Oh God, it's so big!" Lisa moaned as she realized her fingers didn't quite make it all the way around. She looked at her sister with a worried expression. Lori had a determined look on her face as she lowered herself onto the thick head. The lubricant and her excitement helped ease the way for the cock to slide into her pussy.

"Go slow!" Ben growled recalling Tina's misadventure with rushing.

Lori froze then nodded at Ben and slowed her decent. She started to make little up and down motions to slowly introduce the thickness to her tight pussy. She began to whine as her legs were getting tired and she hadn't reached a depth where she could drop to her knees yet.

"Lisa. Stand behind your sister and hold her under her arms to take some of the load off her legs." Ben instructed and Lisa got into place. Lori immediately felt the reduced effort and smiled up at her sister. The smile turned into rolling eyes, biting lips, and groans as Lisa began to bounce Lori up and down on the end of Ben's cock. When he saw she was deep enough he directed Lori to slide her legs back and rest on her knees. Once she was there Lisa released her and Lori sank the rest of the way down. Lori threw her head back in a silent scream as he completely filled her.

Ben watched her face to make sure she wasn't going to pass out but she just wobbled for a bit and seemed to come around. "Just sit still for a while getting used to it. Lisa, bring your pussy down here."

Lisa eagerly moved to straddle Ben's chest finally about to get some relief for the maddening tingling in her pussy. She moved her pussy up towards his waiting mouth but she flashed back to a memory of how she used to tease her old boyfriend Scott by keeping herself just out of reach. For reasons even she didn't fully understand she reverted to this behavior for a moment pulling back twice until Ben gave her a stern look and sunk his strong fingers into the stinging flesh of her ass cheeks. She tried to move but he had her in unbreakable grip and she hissed in pain.

"Are we playing childish games or are we enjoying each other?" Ben growled deeply.

"No games! Sorry, no games! Please, please, please! It hurts!" she whined. Ben lifted her the remaining distance to his mouth and ran his tongue broadly across the surface of her wet pussy. She shrieked at the pleasure spiking through her. Then he spanked her ass and she shivered deeply at the delicious and confusing mix of sensations.

Lori's pussy was finally relaxing with his cock buried to the hilt. It felt so hot and she could feel it throbbing deep within her. Ben hadn't been kidding when he'd told her to go slow. She pushed with her thighs and raised herself slowly up then dropped herself down on him. It felt so incredible she had to stop and wait for her senses to return to her. Then she raise herself again and drop down. And pause while her brain spun.

Ben was fucking Lisa's wet channel with his tongue while he reached up and roughly played with her tits. He squeeze them, pinch and roll the nipples. Every so often he's slowly tug the nipples outwards as he thrashed her clit with his tongue. He'd counted two orgasms so far and she was quickly moving in on her third.

Lisa grabbed the headboard of the bed and ran her pussy over Ben's talented mouth. He was ripping the orgasms from her faster than she'd ever had and she felt a big one coming. As it rushed up on her Ben slid a well lubricated finger deep into her ass and she screamed. Her pussy began to squirt and drench Ben's face while he latched onto her clit, strumming it with this tongue.

"FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!" Lisa wailed as her muscles shook and locked.

Lisa lost muscle coordination and began to fall sideways. Ben moved his hands and gently laid her back on her back beside Lori but with her feet up by the headboard.

With Lisa blissfully coming down from Heaven, Ben could now concentrate on Lori who had built up some speed with her thrusting. Time to take it up a few notches.

Lori was now well lubricated and accommodating his girth so there wasn't any real obstacle to increasing the pace. He pulled her down on top of his chest and took her face between his hands and kissed her deeply. She was surprised by the taste of her sister on his tongue then the only thing she had in her mind was the explosion of pleasure in her pussy as Ben began to bounce her on his hips. He grabbed her hips and pounded up into her at a brutal pace. She felt his balls slapping her ass as he's said they would and this just added to her pleasure. She was on hands and knees over Ben's prone body with her head thrown back and her eyes closed as Ben pounded her pussy without mercy. Her mouth was open but nothing more than little squeaks and moans were coming out of it. His left hand moved to her perfect ass cheeks and slid down between them to massage her rosebud. His right hand was busy squeezing her tits and playing with her nipples.

Lori crashed through her orgasm and Ben picked up the pace of his thrusting lifting Lori off her knees with each impact. She shrieked and wailed as her pleasure just kept increasing. She was having trouble catching her breath and started to see spots before her eyes.

Ben rolled over away from Lisa and pulled Lori under himself. He made three more brutal thrusts and he was buried to the base when his orgasm struck. She felt the jets of liquid heat filling her. Lori looked up at Ben's rapturous expression and felt a deep satisfaction she'd never felt before. She'd brought this incredible man, her fantasy man, intense pleasure! She closed her eyes and rode the bliss her body was flooded with.

Ben looked down at Lori's happy expression and slowly pulled his cock from her trembling body. Lori was watching him with a hunger in her eyes and she glanced down at his hard cock.

"Is that for me?" she whispered.

"Yes, I told you I was going to fuck you and I will. I'm going to warn you though. We're not making love. This is going to be a hard fucking. But you need it hard, don't you." he rumbled at her.

Her trembling increased and she was staring at the monster that was about to be deep inside her. "Oh God yes! I need you to fuck me!"

"Have you ever had it that way before?" Ben asked.

"No." she whined.

Ben leaned down to put his head next to hers. "They you don't know what it feels like to be truly fucked. Two people ripping their pleasure from each other's bodies, no romance or softness, just pure animalistic sex. It's amazingly intense but it can leave bruises. Are you sure you can take it Lisa?" he snarled in her ear.

Lisa was almost coming from the images Ben was planting in her mind and the anticipation. This was what she wanted more than anything. "YES! FUCK YES! TAKE ME HARD-" she finished with a squeak as Ben flipped her onto her stomach and lifted her ass in the air. Her eyes flew open then she shrieked again as Ben drove his tongue into her ass.

"GAAAAWWWDD! FUCK MEEEEE!" she screamed as her body jolted from the sudden intense sensations. Her legs splayed out and shook as he rimmed her little rosebud. Before she could recover he lined up the head of his cock with her dripping pussy and slammed it in down the base in one even stroke.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Lisa screamed again, feeling her pussy stretched wide by the thick intruder. Ben pulled out and slammed it back to the depths by pulling her hips back to meet his thrust. His balls slapped up against her clit and she gasped.

"FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK! SO BIG!" she cried as Ben set up a steady pounding against her ass. Her reddened ass cheeks were being slapped again and the pain was mingling with the intense pleasure of the clit slaps his balls were making.

Ben reached forward and gathered up her red locks in his hand and pulled her head up as he increased his pace. Lisa started to whimper and squeal within a steady stream of breathy 'Fuck!', 'Yes!', and 'Ben!'

He placed his right hand on the top of her ass and slid his thumb down her crack until it was pressing on her anus.

"Yes! My ass! Please! Oh, oh, oh god, Ben!" she wailed as he circled his thumb over her little hole.

He picked up the pace once more and hammered away at her as he pushed his thumb into her tight ass.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEFFFFFUUUUUUUUUCCCCKKKK! YEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSAAAAHHHhhh!" Lisa's orgasm overloaded her senses and she whited out. Ben released her hair as he felt her body go slack and she slumped to the mattress pulling free of his cock.

Ben looked down at the unconscious woman. "Damn!" He'd timed that badly. He was only halfway to his second orgasm. He wasn't going to fuck her now.

"Ben?" came a tremulous voice. He looked over at Lori. She was lying on the bed with wide eyes. She'd watched the entire thing. "Do- do you want me to finish that for you?"

He saw she was frightened that he would be as rough on her as he'd been with Lisa. "No, it's fine. I'll just stroke it off in the shower."

Her eyes lit up. "I could do that for you! Or... you could fuck my titties?" She saw his cock twitch at the suggestion and she grinned. She scooched over on the bed and Ben straddled her torso. He looked down and recalled fucking Rochelle's prodigious breasts. In comparison Lori was positively flat. That didn't stop her from squeezing her soft tits around his shaft. It felt good and the lubrication and the pussy juices made for a very slick stroke. At the height of each stroke the head of his cock entered Lori's mouth and she'd swirl her tongue around it. That felt very good! Finally Ben just fucked Lori's mouth with the head of his cock and unloaded in her mouth. She squealed and swallowed as quickly as she could. She sucked the last drops out of him and he sat back on the mattress between the two sisters. Lori gave him a brilliant smile and allowed her eyes to close.

Lisa was still out and probably would be until morning. It had been an emotional roller coaster evening for her. Lori's eyes were closed and her breathing was slowing as she slipped into sleep. Ben scooped Lisa up and set her down head to headboard and crawled into the bed between the two ladies. He pulled up the blanket, set his alarm (doctor's appointment in the morning), and turned off the light. He'd wait until the morning to see what new difficulties tonight's events added to his life.

Chapter 23

Ben was the first one to wake (before his alarm) and he managed to get out of the room without waking the twins. He grabbed his workout clothes on the way and made his way to the basement to get his day started.

He pushed himself hard and was careful of his injured calf which seemed a little better every day.

He used the guest bathroom to shower and slipped into his room to get his clothes. After he'd dressed he heard noises from the kitchen so he slipped back out of the bedroom and went to investigate.

Tina looked up from the stove and smiled at him when he entered the kitchen. Christopher stood up in his playpen and raised his arms to he picked up so Ben scooped him into his arms before moving over to give Tina a kiss.

"Good morning!" he said.

"Good morning Ben. How many eggs would you like?" she replied with twinkling eyes.

"Two please." he smiled back. He sat at the kitchen table and played with the boy who giggled with his antics.

Soon Tina brought their plates over to the table and picked up her son from his arms. He went back into the playpen and immediately went for the activity center. Happy dings, chirps, and clicks soon followed.

Tina sat next to Ben and looked at him expectedly.

"Thank's for a lovely breakfast!" he said, ignoring her real question.

She pouted and he gave in with a grin.

"The evening went well. Lisa showed up shortly after Lori and I got out of the hot tub and she was more than a little upset with her sister."

"We heard Lori's screaming." Tina said with a wicked smile and Ben froze.

"Who's 'we'?" he croaked.

"Trish opened the door for me and we heard it then. Trish's eyes were so big!" Tina smiled at the memory. "Mrs. King was arriving home with her son and they were standing by their car and heard it as well. She looked over at us and laughed but her son seemed upset."

Ben put his head in his hands, mortified. "That's the last time I have sex in the hot tub." he moaned.

"I hope not! I would like to try one day!" Tina said with an upset look.

"Good morning Tina, Ben!" Lori said from the doorway as she hobbled into the room.

"Good morning Lori." Ben said with an embarrassed glance.

Tina was amazed that he could tell the difference between the sisters so quickly. She had trouble doing it at all. "Good morning Lori. Would you like some breakfast?"

"No thank you, just coffee if you've made some." she said and Tina pointed to the freshly brewed pot.

Lori joined them at the table with her mug of coffee and tenderly sat on a chair. Ben looked concerned but Lori just waved it off. "It was worth it Ben."

"I'm afraid our activities in the hot tub weren't only heard by Lisa." he said to the young woman whose only response was to look up with an interested expression.

"Trish, Tina, Rochelle and her son Jayden also heard us... you." Ben said.

"The only one in that group that causes me any discomfort is Jayden. The kid seriously thinks he's charming but comes across as a total skeez." Lori grimaced.

At Ben's blank look Lori explained. "A slimy little player. He's tried hitting on me, then Lisa, then suggested the both of us could party with him. He looks at women like they're already naked. Ugh!"

Ben looked sad. "Rochelle mentioned her son was emulating his father's behavior." He shook his head then looked up at Lori. "Is your sister awake?"

Lori grimaced. "Yeah but she's giving herself a little extra time as she's pretty sore this morning."

Ben frowned and got up from the table. He went to the bedroom and saw Lisa sitting on the edge of the bed. He knelt down in front of her and saw she was breathing heavily. "Are you ok?"

She opened her eyes and took in his concerned expression. "Morning Ben. I'm ok. Just some cramping and bruises. They'll go away."

Ben got angry with himself for hurting her and she saw it on his face. "No! Please Ben! I wouldn't change a second of our night last night. It was everything I dreamed of... more than I dreamed it would be. I- I learned things about myself. I feel... better about myself. More complete. Please don't regret something so special to me! Please!" she begged.

Ben wanted to apologize. To beg her for forgiveness. But he knew she would take that as a rejection of what they'd experienced together the night before. So instead he put his hands on her head and kissed her hard. She moaned and clung to him. He pulled back and his face showed his emotional turmoil. Finally he gave her a small smile and nodded.

He grabbed his dressing gown and draped it over her shoulders. Then he scooped her up and carried her back to the kitchen and gently set her on a chair. Lori got her a mug of coffee and they sat in companionable silence for a while.

He looked at the clock and realized he had to leave for his doctor's appointment so he gave each woman a kiss and headed out.

Ben sat in the comfortable chair across from Dr. Granger and contemplated integrity. She had asked him where he thought his difficulty with lying came from.

"There were people in my childhood who lied to me. Foster parents who said they'd take good care of me but didn't. Other foster kids who said they were my friends but weren't. Girls and women who said they loved me but didn't. I promised myself I wouldn't be like them. I promised myself I'd be someone others could depend upon." He paused and thought of his activities with the twins the previous night. Was he lying to them?

"Were you successful? Are you that person?" Granger asked.

"I thought I was. But after last night I'm not sure." Ben said.

"What happened last night?" she asked.

"I pretended I was someone I'm not." Ben said quietly.

"Can you expand upon that?" she pressed gently.

Ben sighed and squirmed a little in his chair. He had hoped to avoid speaking about sex with the councillor but he saw no other choice. "In my neighborhood there are two young women, twins who are 22 or 23. They've been... wooing me. No, it's not romantic. They've been trying to get me to have sex with them. Their mother and I have been trying to teach them to be less selfish, to take responsibility for their actions. During this effort one of the twins had an epiphany and came around. The other one had more difficulty as she was used to getting her way and didn't want to give that up. As a last resort I used sex as a bargaining tool to get them to change their ways. The problem is, they're attracted to the dominant persona I use for Tina, the submissive who lives with me."

"You have a separate and distinct persona for dealing with different people?" the doctor asked.

"Well... no, I guess persona is the wrong term. It's... it's more that for Tina I know that she needs me to be more dominant so I allow myself to be more dominant. The twins saw that a short time ago and found it... appealing. The thing is they needed a more extreme form of that dominance. The sex was... a little rough. This morning I wanted to apologize but they were so happy they would have taken an apology as a rejection of the evening before."

"You've described two situations where someone needed you to behave in a way you say is out of character for you but you did. Were you uncomfortable and awkward during the behavior? Did you have to struggle to maintain the behavior?" she asked.

Ben thought about his interactions with Tina and found no discomfort at all but then Tina was a very mature and level headed young woman with minimal drama. He examined his memories of the prior night and the morning after with the twins. To his surprise found that the only time he experienced emotional discomfort was when he saw Lisa was in pain.

"Are you perhaps discovering the behavior wasn't actually uncomfortable at all?" Dr. Granger asked gently.

Ben looked at her with surprise.

"Ben, you've described to me your need to protect, nurture, and support. Dominance is part of that. Have you interacted with more dominant personalities? Did that feel uncomfortable?"

"I'm not sure if I've encountered a truly dominant personality yet. I know some very strong women and I count them as my best friends. I certainly don't try to impose my will on them or their lives. I'm just delighted and grateful they share their lives with me." he said frankly.

"It sounds like your impression of the person you are may not line up with who you actually are. You didn't believe you were dominant but clearly you can be if the need arises. This is an excellent exercise in self-discovery. A very positive step. So last night you weren't actually pretending at all. Your integrity is safe."

Ben's eyebrows rose as that idea sunk in. He felt better and smiled at the doctor.

She smiled and glanced at the wall clock. "Our time is almost up and this is an excellent place to stop for today. I'd like to see you same time next week. That's Friday, May 22 at 10AM. We'll talk some more about those people who failed to keep those promises to you. Alright? See you then."

Ben left the office feeling a little better about himself which, he thought, was the point of speaking to the doctor in the first place. It felt like progress. He stopped by Hannah's office and gave her a big hug.

"What was that for!" she gasped, straightening her jacket.

"Just another thank you for connecting me with Dr. Granger." he grinned.

"I wish all my referrals were this happy!" she grinned back. "Now scoot! I have boring work to do!"

Ben headed home and as he was passing Rochelle's place he saw her car in the driveway. He thought he might pop in and apologize for the 'noise' he made the night before.

He knocked on the door and Jayden answered. Ben didn't have too many opportunities to speak with the boy. "Good morning Jayden, is your mother home?"

"What's it to you? It's not bad enough you sticking your dick in all the bitches on this street you have to come sniffing around after my mom too?" Jayden snarled.

Ben stopped and looked closely at the young man. He was really pissed. Bristling with anger and... jealousy maybe? Perhaps seconds away from physical violence. He'd try to diffuse this.

"I don't know of any 'bitches' living on our street. Your mother happens to be a friend of mine." Ben said calmly.

"After everything my Mom has been through I am NOT going to let you hurt her by adding her to your conquest list! Fuck off!" the boy said right up in Ben's face.

Ben took a calming breath but kept his eyes locked on Jayden's. He didn't see Rochelle rushing down the hall towards them. "If you want to protect your mother from being hurt, perhaps you should stop emulating the misogynistic behavior of the man who hurt her most!"

That struck home and the boy rocked back. Jayden idolized his father but loved his mother. There was already a conflict he'd buried to protect his image of his father. His jaw dropped and rage filled his eyes. Screaming, he launched himself at Ben. His first punch caught Ben on the side of his jaw. He deflected the second and caught Jayden's wrist on the third to pull him off his feet and twist him around. Ben pulled Jayden back against his chest grabbing his other wrist and wrapped his arms around him, pinning him to his chest. Ben took them both to their knees so the raging man couldn't kick him. Jayden screamed his frustration and slammed his head back but Ben had him pinned too low to strike anything painful.

"JAYDEN! STOP IT!" Rochelle screamed.

The young man opened his eyes and saw his mother looking down at him in disappointment. The same look she gave her husband every time she caught him cheating. He closed his eyes tight and thrashed in Ben's arms weakly.

"Stop hurting your mother!" Ben growled quietly.

"Fuck you!" he spat.

"Jayden! Apologize to Ben!" his mother yelled.

"I'm not apologizing to him! He's just trying to get you in his bed!" Jayden screamed.

"I've already been in his bed!" Rochelle growled.

Jayden froze staring at his mother.

"The difference is Ben likes me. He respects me. He's my friend. Ben won't take someone to bed he doesn't feel that way about and he certainly doesn't ignore them once he's bedded them. He's not trying to score. He's making a personal connection with another human being. That's what makes Ben a better man than your father ever was! I loved Devon with everything I had but he'd toss that aside for a quick fuck with a stranger. How do you think that made me feel? What do you think that does to a person's self-esteem? How do you think the girls you fuck and throw aside feel? Do you even care? You want to be as good a man as your father? You're aiming too low. BE A BETTER MAN!" She spun and entered her house, slamming the door behind her.

Jayden wasn't struggling anymore. He'd lost all of his steam. Ben released him and stood up. He held his hand out to help him to his feet but Jayden turned his face away. Ben walked back to his truck and went home. He'd talk with Rochelle later.

When Ben got home Tina rushed to the door to greet him and screeched to a halt when she saw the bruise on his jaw.

"What happened?" she squeaked.

Lori came to the door of the kitchen and saw the bruise as well. "Were you in a fight?" Lisa's voice from the kitchen called out. "What's happening?"

Ben hung up his coat and kicked off his boots. He walked into the kitchen with Tina and Lori in tow and Lisa gasped when she saw his face. "Who did that?" she gasped.

"Jayden King."

"Jayden?" three voices repeated.

"He took exception to my visiting his mother this morning. He accused me of basically being what he is and when I told him to stop acting like his father, POW! right to the jaw. Could someone get me the icepack from the freezer?"

Tina raced over to the fridge and located the icepack. She rushed it over to him.

"Thanks!" he said gingerly placing the icy bag against his jaw.

"Did you hit him back?" Lisa asked.

"No. I just pinned his arms. His mother lit into him about how his behavior with women hurts her and how his father hurt her the same way and that pretty much deflated the boy."

"He deserves a beating for the way he's treated women." Lisa insisted.

"Maybe so but I don't want that riding on my conscience. The boy loved his father but he had a poor role model. If he can accept that maybe he can turn himself around. As his mother said, be a better man."

"Go Mrs. King!" Lori smiled.

Ben tried to smile but winced instead.

Tina leaned in to whisper to Ben. "I will take a rain check for tonight's date. I want us to just relax at home."

"Thank you Tina." he whispered back gratefully.

"Ok, they're whispering to each other. That's our cue to go home. Thank you for a lovely evening Ben. Hopefully we can do it again, soon." Lori smiled. She helped her sister to her feet. "Ben, where did we leave my bikini?"

"Damn, our suits are probably still out on the deck." Ben said attempting to stand. Tina put a hand on his chest to keep him in his seat then went outside to get the suits. Seconds later she was back.

"They are still wet and very cold. I will put yours into a bag to carry home, Lori." Tina said when she returned.

"Was that all you were wearing when you came over?" Ben asked.

"Yes. That and my robe." Lori said as she opened the robe and flashed Ben a glimpse of her naked body.

"Hey! No fair! I'm totally dressed!" Lisa whined as she stood next to her sister.

"No teasing!" Ben growled and Lori quickly tied her robe closed.

"It's almost spring and I had my long winter coat on and my boots so I was warm enough." Lori said contritely. Ben stood up and walked to the front door. They put their coats on and turned to face Ben.

"Will we be able to do this again?" Lisa asked timidly looking up at Ben from under her brows. Lori was biting her lower lip nervously, thinking she may have damaged things with her flashing.

Ben gave them both an evaluating look. "We're on probation as well. I'll be watching and keeping in contact with Daphne to make sure you haven't slipped back into old habits. When I'm comfortable that you've taken the message to heart we'll play again. Understood?"

Both ladies nodded.

As Lisa was the most dominant of the twins Ben reached out and pulled Lori to him first. He kissed the woman passionately with a hand gripping the back of her neck and the other squeezing her ass. When he pulled back Lori was swooning and glassy eyed. Ben immediately grabbed Lisa and pushed her up against the wall. He took his kiss and pressed himself against her. She was still aching from the night before so her pleasure was mixed with little sparks of pain and her mind spun. Ben pulled back before she'd completely abandoned herself to the sensations so she moaned with need when they were gone.

"That's just a taste of what your reward will be if you hold true to being the responsible young women I know you can be." Ben growled and ushered the dazed twins out the door. He watched them lean on each other as they wobbled their way home. He quickly walked into the kitchen and called Daphne.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Hi, it's Ben. The twins are on their way home so I'll make this quick. They acknowledged their responsibility so we are good to go with the daycare. They're on probation so keep an eye on them to make sure they don't slip back to their old ways. You just need to watch them, let them know you are watching them, and let me know if they misbehave. I think they've learned but they still need watching... hello?" He heard crying. "Daphne? Are you ok?"

"Oh Ben, thank you! The last few days have been so hard!" she cried into the phone.

"I know Daphne and I want you to know I'm really proud of you for toughing it out. I know it wasn't easy for you. You've been a real trooper. Thank you!" Ben listened and heard more crying. "Seriously, are you ok?"

"I'm so happy! I haven't felt this good about myself in a very long time." she said after she composed herself.

"Well you certainly have reason to feel good about yourself. You did good! Take care and I'll talk with you soon." Ben hung up.

He looked over at Tina who was looking a little lost by the entrance to the kitchen.

"What's wrong Tina?" he asked.

"The way you kissed Lisa and Lori... I want that too." she murmured with a tremble.

Ben stalked over to Tina whose eyes began to get wider as he closed on her. He lifted her up against his chest with hand on her ass and slid the other into her long black locks to get a grip. She gasped and he kissed her hard while he rubbed his groin against hers. She moaned when she felt the bulge of his hard cock pressing against her mound. God, she wanted him bad! She opened her eyes and discovered Ben had carried her into the bedroom.

He set her down on her feet and roughly pulled off her yoga pants and panties. His pants and underwear came off in a flash and he slathered lubricant on his stiff erection. Then he rubbed the excess directly over the wet lips of her pussy and pushed two fingers inside to spread the slick liquid there as well. Tina yelped as the roughness of his need was making her so fucking hot!

Ben laid her back the edge of the bed and pushed her legs back. "Guide it in." he said, his voice rumbling with lust. Tina looked down as she reached between her legs and got a grip on his cock. She lined it up and Ben pressed forward. The head slipped in with a pop and Tina flopped back on the bed with a sigh. He started with short little thrusts gradually increasing the depth of each stroke. Tina was very excited so he was able to bottom out much sooner than last time. He held himself still, buried to the base and just rubbed his pelvis against Tina's. Once she relaxed he pulled out to the head then slammed himself back in.

Tina squeaked and bit her lip with her eyes closed. Ben drew out and thrust back in. His need was almost frantic and Tina was a more than willing vessel. She pulled at him and raised her hips to meet each down stroke their bodies slapped together wetly. Tina was swept away by Ben's passion and reached her orgasm quickly. Her mouth opened but no sound issued as she shook. Ben continued to pound into her, each impact building on Tina's rolling wave of pleasure.

Ben suddenly sped up and five thrusts later he exploded into her depths as he moaned with the bliss of his release. He let her legs go and dropped down over her to rest on his elbows, firmly pinning her to the bed and still deep inside. He dropped his head next to hers as Tina twitched and trembled.

"That was exactly what I needed." she whispered.

"Me too." he whispered back.

He slipped free from the woman and flopped down on the bed beside her. A minute later she rose and slipped into the washroom with her clothes. Ben rested on the bed with his eyes closed. He heard the toilet flush then running water. Moments later a warm facecloth was cleaning his cock and balls. The soothing sensations sent a tingle through him but he pushed it aside.

Ben opened his eyes and caught Tina's hand. She sat on the edge of the bed next to him looking down at his face with a smile.

"What you said about wanting what I gave Lisa and Lori, have I been a poor Dom for you?" he asked.

"No, Ben! You have been perfect! I am very happy you were with my friends as it seems to have helped you become more comfortable with your dominant side. I knew it was there. You are an excellent Dom and this will only make you better." she assured him.

He pulled her down over his chest and held her face over his as he kissed her lips sensuously. He pulled her back and she looked at him dreamily. "I will do my best for you." he said. His stomach growled and she grinned at him.

"Now go make me a sandwich!" he playfully growled.

"See! I told you that you were getting better at it!" she giggled as she pushed off his chest and hustled down the hall to the kitchen.

Ben watched her go and began to worry about how attached he was becoming to the young woman. He still believed their age difference would become an issue and that in the long run she should be with someone closer to her own age. He recalled what Gabriella said about Tina potentially meeting someone at University and his needing to be ready to let her go. Intellectually he was prepared but emotionally? He was starting to wonder how he would handle losing her.

Chapter 24

Monday morning Ben was just coming back upstairs from his workout when he heard a rumble outside. He looked out the living room window and saw a big moving van backing into the driveway of the Miller's house next to Catherine's. The 'nice young family from Texas' had arrived! Or at least their stuff had. Ben took his shower, got dressed, and had breakfast with Tina and Christopher. She brought Ben up to speed on the events transpiring at the Millers' place. While he'd been in the shower a minivan had arrived and parked next to the moving van. Driving was a young woman with three children. There were two teenage girls and an infant boy Christopher's age. They got out of the car and the woman had opened the house for the movers. The teen girls were taking care of the boy and the woman appeared to be directing where the boxes went. One of the girls had a cast on her wrist so the other one had the boy in her arms.

Ben smiled at how complete Tina's report was. He thought she'd make an excellent neighborhood watch mother.

Tina said she was going to head down to the University with the twins and Daphne was going to watch Christopher. They headed out shortly after breakfast.

As he walked down to the mailbox he breathed in the fresh spring air. The temperatures the past few days had been positively pleasant after the cold winter so he was looking forward to spending more time outside. His mail this morning consisted of just two envelopes which looked like royalty cheques. He looked up when he felt eyes watching him. The two teen girls were standing by their mailbox staring at him with a strange expression. Ben smiled and waved in a friendly manner and the girls spun and raced back to their house. He was confused by the panic he'd seen in their eyes as they saw him wave. Something in the back of his mind began to stir and he had an uncomfortable feeling.

"Hey Ben!"

Trish's voice startled him out of his thoughts. He turned around and saw her in her tight jogging suit. She was obviously returning from her run as sections of the striped green spandex was darkened with her sweat.

"Good morning Trish! Did you paint that suit on?"

"You like?" she smiled broadly at his surprised stare and subsequent blush.

"It certainly, uh, accentuates your form." he said feeling a little uncomfortable as his body responded to the sight of his sexy neighbor's clingy clothes.

"Mmmm... like your pants are accentuating how much you like my form." Trish purred as she watched his bulge forming. "You never came by to collect that reward. It's not nice to make a lady wait!"

"Yeah, uh... I've been pretty busy lately." he said becoming uneasy with this conversation. He really needed to adjust himself but didn't want the whole neighborhood to see him do it, especially the new people moving in.

"Are you busy now? I need a fix of Ben! And I want it fast and hard!" she growled sexily running her finger down his chest.

"Trish, please!" he said exasperated. He caught her hand before it got past his belly button and glanced over at the new neighbor's house but saw no one.

Trish pouted and bit her lip while looking at him with doe eyes. She crossed her arms under her tits and pushed the large orbs up and forward.

"Geezus." Ben whispered as he stared and his cock throbbed in reaction. "Fine! Come with me." He headed back up his driveway with a delighted Trish in tow. He didn't see the new woman's eyes track them all the way to the house.

Once inside Ben ripped his jacket off and kicked his boots from his feet as Trish kicked off her runners. As soon as she turned to him he peeled her clingy top off from her waist up and over her head. She giggled at his eagerness. When Ben couldn't find the release clasp he stared at her dauntingly complex sports bra in dismay.

"You don't think I'd jog with these big tits without excellent support do you?" she grinned. She did something he couldn't see and her breasts were free. She tossed the bra to the floor and rubbed her compressed tits as they pinked up. "God it feels good to take that off!"

Ben found Trish's self-massage to be highly erotic. He leaned in and pressed his lips to her right nipple. She gasped and pulled his head against her. He sucked more of her breast into his mouth and roughly thrashed her nipple with his tongue.

"Fuck! Yes, suck that hard Ben! So fucking good!" she hissed between her teeth.

He grabbed the other tit, pinching and rolling the nipple between his finger and thumb. He tugged on it hard. Tina squealed and pulled his head in harder. He used his teeth on her breast, scraping across her flesh and drew more hisses from the woman.

He stood up and kissed her, forcing his tongue deep into her mouth to tangle with hers. She sucked hungrily at his tongue as her hands clawed at his back. Soon they were both breathing hard and tingling madly.

Ben pulled back from the kiss and spun Trish around. He grabbed her around the waist from behind and carried her into the living room. He laid her over the ottoman on her stomach and yanked down her running pants. He grabbed her ass cheeks, spread them, and ran a stiffened tongue upwards from her clit to her anus.

"OH FUCK, BEN! YES!" Trish screamed and jolted.

He stroked her pussy with his tongue and each time she'd cry out his name. Soon her juices were flowing and Ben switched to fucking her with his tongue. Trish forced herself back on his tongue with a grunt. She began to make loud animalistic noises which fired up Ben's lust even further. He latched his mouth on her swollen clit and sucked it.

"AAAAAAFFFFFFFFUUUUUCCCKKK! FUCKFUCKFUUUUUUCK! BEN! FUCK ME!" Trish screamed as her legs shot straight out trembling.

Ben held Trish down against the ottoman with his left hand while he undid his belt and pants with his right. He yanked his pants and underwear down to his knees and slapped his hard cock hard against her pussy lips soaking the head with her juices.

"AH! FUCK! OH! OH! O-FUCK! FUCK! AH! Don't tease me god dammit! FUCK ME!" she roared.

Ben lined himself up to her opening and slammed his hips forwards, driving his cock in down to the base in one stroke.

"FFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCKKKKK!!!!" Trish screamed dropping her head over the end of the ottoman and biting the edge of it. Her legs were shaking and she reached back to grab at Ben to keep him from moving as she tried to adjust to the sudden fullness.

Ben could feel her clamping down fiercely so he waited but her body just kept trembling. He pulled out and slammed it home again. That time was much easier so he did it again and each stroke was wetter and faster. Trish was growling and lifting her ass with each stroke.

He reached forward and filled his hands with her big tits as he pounded deep into her pussy. He squeezed the flesh and felt her stiff nipples pressing against his fingers so he flicked them and her hips began to rotate each time he slammed home. She slipped a hand under her body and frantically rubbed her clit in tight circles.

"Ben! I'm gonna- I'm gonna- I'm- FUCK! COMING! FFFFFUUCKKKKAAAAHHHHHHH!" she wailed.

He felt her muscles trembling and her pussy clamped down on him pushing his own orgasm to its peak. He sped up his thrusts and slammed her ass harder. He growled as he felt his cock firing jet after jet into her body. The bliss overrode this thoughts as he buried his cock one last time.

A full minute passed as they each floated back to their minds. Ben pulled out of Trish and she gasped and relaxed again.

"That was wonderful! Thanks Ben!" she sighed.

Ben looked down at the physically spent woman with a conflicted expression. Why did she affect him like this? Why couldn't he ever say no to her? She'd made it clear she wasn't looking for a relationship and he kept saying he wasn't interested in casual sex but he just couldn't refuse her. It would be easier on him if he could think of it as therapeutic like he had for Beth or even a behavioral tool like he did for the twins. Trish had even told him to consider their sex as a therapy but somehow he just couldn't. He looked down at her lovely profile resting on the ottoman and his heart gave a little pang. It confused him.

He stood up and walked into the guest bathroom and quickly cleaned himself off. He brought a warm, wet facecloth back and handed it to Trish so she could clean herself up.

"Uh, I don't have any clean clothes to go home in. Can I use your washer and dryer for my jogging stuff?" she asked.

Ben didn't have anywhere else to go today so he shrugged. "Sure, you can go take a shower and use my robe when you're done. I'll get the washer started."

She tugged off the pants and handed them to him as she held the facecloth to her dripping pussy. "Thanks Ben! Excuse me." she hustled awkwardly down the hall into his bedroom. He watched her go.

Ben picked up the rest of her clothes and dropped them in the machine. He set it to synthetics and started the cycle.

He went back into the living room and noticed they'd made a bit of a mess on the ottoman. He unzipped the cover and took it off. He'd bought the furniture with removable slip covers so he could wash them easily. Ever the practical man. He dropped it in the laundry basket to wash later.

He moved into the kitchen to make lunch. He whipped up a garden salad and made egg salad for sandwiches. Trish wandered into the kitchen bundled up in Ben's oversize robe. She gave him a big grin. He smiled back then quickly turned back to the counter so she wouldn't see when his smile broke. "Would you like some lunch? I have egg salad for sandwiches and a garden sal-" he stopped when he felt Trish lean her body against his back and her arms reach around to hug him. She rested her cheek on his shoulder. He put his arms on top of hers.

"I'm sorry Ben. I know you need more. I keep telling myself to leave you alone but then I find myself at your door. You deserve better but I can't seem to stay away. I told Rochelle to leave you be if she couldn't find a way to open her heart to you yet I'm such a hypocrite. The idea of opening my heart is so terrifying. I- I'm just not ready." She rubbed her face on his back.

Ben couldn't trust his voice so he just patted her arms and gave them a squeeze. He moved his hands back to the task of making lunch and felt Trish pull away.

Ben cleared his throat. "So, is an egg salad sandwich and a small garden alright with you?" he asked.

"Sure, that would be nice. Just the egg salad with no bread for me though." Trish responded.

Ben set her lunch in front of her and heard the washer buzz. He moved the clothes over to the dryer got it started. The slipcover went into the washer with Trish's towels.

He went back to the kitchen and ate his lunch with Trish.

"Have you seen the new neighbors?" he asked.

"Yes, I met them when I started my run this morning. The mother's name is Ashley Beaumont. She's quite young. Mid-twenties maybe? The two teen daughters, Madison and Savannah, must be adopted as Ashley's too young to have had them. The baby Joshua is probably hers though. Apparently her husband is driving his car up from Texas and will get here later in the week. Must be taking the scenic route." Trish reported.

"Geez! Between you and Tina we have a neighborhood watch patrol! How did you get all this information?" Ben exclaimed.

"Simple. I stopped and said hello." she smiled at him.

"I saw the two teens when I got my mail and waved at them and they ran like I was some kind of monster chasing them!" Ben grumbled.

"Well you ARE a big monstrous man while I am a delicate lady in spandex. Much less threatening." she grinned and he had to nod.

"So the Beaumonts from Texas. She seem nice?" Ben asked.

"Yeah, a little shy and the girls did seem a little more timid than I expected. Almost unnaturally quiet but that's just my impression from a first time meeting." Trish said recalling the conversation. "I'm sure they'll warm up. If you don't go all monster on them."

Ben felt that uncomfortable feeling in the back of his mind again but it just wouldn't resolve into anything concrete. He shook off the feeling.

"So my network tells me the twins were finally victorious in bedding their fantasy man!" she grinned at him. "When I spoke with them they were actually at a loss for words to describe the evening. Lisa in particular seemed... different. Calmer."

"Don't think I didn't figure out it was you who was coaching them in their efforts!" Ben growled and she made an exaggerated expression of innocence. "Actually Gabriella suggested I could use their desire for me as a tool to reward them if they agreed to alter some bad behavior they suffer from. It seems to be working so far. Tina is happy about it too as she benefited as well."

"Tina? How?" she asked.

"Well... the twins wanted a more extreme form of dominance and Tina found this made me more comfortable being dominant with her. She seems... very happy." he explained with a blush.

"So all's well that ends well!" Trish smiled.

Ben looked at her in surprise then nodded with a smile.

"But is it the end for Lisa and Lori?" she asked.

"Well, no. I promised them a repeat if they passed their probation period at the daycare, no returning to old behavioral patterns."

"Ooo! I look forward to their next update!" she rubbed her hands together with a look of wicked glee.

Ben rolled his eyes.

The dryer buzzed so Trish jumped to her feet and dropped the robe. She pranced away completely naked as Ben shook his head with a smile.

Minutes later she returned dressed in her jogging suit minus the sports bra which she held in her hand. Her tits were seriously bulging out of the suit and Ben did his best not to stare.

"Mmm! Fresh and warm from the dryer!" she hugged herself making her tits threaten to spill out.

"Trish! Please!" Ben gasped.

"Sorry!" she said with a grin and gave him a quick kiss. She tugged the zipper up a little more and made her way to the front door. He gave her ass a pat as she headed out and she grinned back at him. He watched her leave and she gave him a show all the way down to the end of his driveway. He saw her turn her head to the right as if someone had called out to her. She jogged over to the driveway of the Beaumont's place, tits bouncing all the way, and Ben saw her speaking with Ashley and got his first look at the woman. Ben saw Trish gesturing towards the end of the block then pointing to the right. He saw the bra was still clenched in the hand she was gesturing with. Damn. Maybe the woman wouldn't notice? Maybe she didn't see Trish come from his place?

He sighed.

So much for first impressions.

Ben went inside. He decided slipping away to make a grocery run would be a good thing.

He made a list then looked through the fridge and cabinets to see if anything was missed. Then he checked the medicine cabinets and linen closet to see if he needed anything. He added shampoo to the list. As he was leaving his bedroom he spotted the almost empty tube of lubricant. He smiled and added that to the list as well.

Ben backed out of his driveway and saw the movers were packing up. They'd been pretty fast and efficient to be done so quickly. He saw no sign of the new neighbors but their van was still there.

He stopped to get gas and car wash. There was a bit of a line up as the clear spring weather brought the same idea to many motorists. Finally he was on his way with a shiny truck. He decided to stop at the drug store first.

Grabbing a basket he got the shampoo, some lady products Tina has added to the list, and then he was standing in the aisle facing a huge variety of lubricants. He was amazed at the different kinds and what they promised. Tingling, heating, cooling, flavors, and even numbing! He found some that didn't have any extra effects just lubrication. As a bargain hunter he was delighted to see they had a sale on the larger bottles when you purchased three. He checked the expiry dates but they were good so into the basket they went. Ben also grabbed a box of individual use packets of lubricant for those spontaneous moments. He could keep a few packets in his pocket.

Taking his purchases up to the counter he picked up a Popular Scientific magazine and browsed through it while he waited his turn. When it was his turn he emptied his basket on the counter.

"Sir, you're aware Ultra Glide isn't on sale anymore?" the clerk said.

He looked up in surprise into the kohl rimmed eyes of a short, plump woman with thick black lipstick, red streaked straight black hair and three nose rings. "Excuse me?" he blinked.

"The deal for three bottles of Ultra Glide ended yesterday." she repeated.

"Not according to the sale sign on the shelf." he said.

The girl sighed like life was ending and her soul was eternally damned to remain chained to the drudgery of customer service. She picked up the phone and paged. "Wally, price check on the three large Ultra Glide bundle, customer indicates sale price still displayed."

She smiled maliciously at Ben's embarrassment and pushed the three bottles to the side as she rang in the other products. Her smile dropped when she saw the box of lube packets. She looked up at Ben in surprise.

"I'm big." he said quietly and it was her turn to blush as her eyes unconsciously dropped to his pants then quickly away.

Ben heard the out of breath voice of 'Wally' who had the sale sign in his hand. "Sorry, I forgot to remove the sign. Customer gets the sale price." The clerk rang the three bottles through at the discounted price but avoided looking at him.

He turned to thank the man and saw the woman standing behind him in line was his new neighbor. Ben froze and his face flushed. Ashley was tall, almost six foot, with a slim body and long yellow blond hair currently tied back in a pony-tail. She wore no make-up. Her eyes were large and sky blue and perhaps a little weary. Currently those eyes were staring at him cautiously. Ben glanced behind her and saw the teen girls at her back, one wearing a wrist cast and the other with the baby in her arms. Even the baby seemed to be staring at him in shock.

This wasn't the time or place for introductions so he just smiled and nodded then turned back to complete his transaction.

He made his way out of the store and put his purchases in the back. Bad second impression. He sighed.

Ben drove to the grocery store and lost himself in the homey and mundane task of filling his cart with groceries. He took his time as it felt good to just be in the moment. There were some excellent cuts of beef and he spent some time talking with the butcher. He let the man talk him into a beautiful, if large, sirloin roast. He rationalized he would use the leftovers in lunches.

As always happened he found more than was on the list and had quite a full cart when he reached the checkout. He loaded the belt and waited for his turn when, in the lane next to his, he heard some arguing and the accent jumped out at him. The voice was like honey, smooth and pure but he heard a tremor in it like nerves pushed just a little too far. He looked over the divider and saw it was Ashley and her face was starting to become red. He thought he might have seen the beginnings of a tear as well. Ben moved through the lane to move over to hers.

"Please try the card again. I couldn't have reached my limit already." Ashley said to the clerk.

"Ma'am, I've tried twice already. The machine says you've reached your limit. Do you have another card?" the clerk said with an annoyed tone.

"Excuse me. I'm sorry for the awkward introduction but I'm Ben Shepherd. I'm your neighbor, two door over, number 16. I couldn't help overhear. May I?" Ben said, holding up his credit card.

Ashley looked like she might burst into tears at any minute. She looked back at the girls who looked scared but hungry. She dropped her eyes and nodded. She and the girls moved out of the aisle and Ben moved in to pay. He handed the receipt to Ashley. "I'll pay you back as soon as I get the credit card issue resolved." she blurted.

"It's not a problem. You have a good day!" Ben said and moved back to pay for his own groceries. The taller teen with the cast on her wrist was staring wide eyed at the meat and vegetables Ben was buying. He saw her lick her lips and swallow. He glanced back at the food Ashley was bagging and realized it was mostly instant food and TV dinners.

He bagged his groceries and stuffed it all in the cart they left together and the idea of the new arrivals sitting down to TV dinners in a house full of boxes just bothered him. As they got outside Ben called out.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Beaumont? Trish, who you met earlier, told me your name. Anyway I went a little overboard at the butcher shop and bought a roast much too large for myself and Tina." Suddenly he realized he didn't know what to call Tina. "She's a friend who lives with me. She has a son who is just about as old as yours. I was wondering if you would like to join us for dinner tonight. Tina is an amazing cook! It will save you the effort of having to make dinner on your first night here. Kind of a welcome to the neighborhood dinner?" he said with a hopeful smile.

"That is very kind of you Mr.... Shepherd?" He nodded. "But we've just arrived and the house is a mess of boxes." She looked at the teens and saw the taller girl was looking at her with pleading eyes. Her sister picked up the signal and started to campaign for the free meal as well. Ashley still looked unsure but her daughters seemed to sway her decision. "Uh, well... I suppose we could."

"It will take a little time to cook this roast so how about 7PM tonight?" he suggested.

She smiled and the girls smiled (finally) and Ben returned it.

"Excellent! Number 16, see you then!" he said and made his way to his truck. He loaded his groceries and began to pull out of the lane when he saw the teen with the cast running towards his truck. He rolled down the window. "What's wrong?" he asked to the breathless girl.

"The van's gone." she said.

"What?" Ben gasped. "Hop in. I'll drive you back to your mom."

The girl climbed in and buckled up. She guided Ben three aisles over at the edge of the lot where Ashley had finally had enough and was in tears. There was an empty parking spot and glass on the ground from a broken window. Ben turned off the engine, gave Ashley his handkerchief and sat her in the passenger seat. He directed the teen with the baby in her arms to strap the boy into Christopher's child seat in the center of the bench seat. The girls got in on either side of the boy and buckled up. He opened the back hatch and put their groceries inside. Ben got in then called the police. He handed the phone over to Ashley who gave the police the details. Ben heard her say the van was a rental from the airport. A few minutes later she hung up and handed him the phone back. He drove them all home. Ashley explained that the police said that model of van was targeted for their air bags. The van would be likely be found a couple of blocks away with all of the bags removed for resale on the black market for auto parts. They told her to contact the rental agency with the police incident report number.

Ben apologized for her first day in the city proving to be so trying. Ashley just looked at him like he's grown antlers. He backed into her driveway right up to the door and everyone got out. He opened the hatch and handed them their bags. Ashley seemed reticent to allowing him into the house so he didn't press and allowed them to move all of the bags. He slipped an extra bag from his into theirs containing apples and oranges. The taller teen looked inside then at him and he winked at her. She gave him just the hint of a smile then rushed into the house with the bag.

Ashley came back outside thanked him again for his help.

"See you all at 7PM?" he asked.

She nodded shakily.

He drove home and pulled into the garage. He made a few trips and carried all of the groceries into the house and Tina met him in the kitchen. He gave her a kiss.

"How did it go at the University?" he asked.

Tina was vibrating with excitement. "I'm all sighed up for the summer classes and enrolled for the Fall Term!" she cheered.

"Excellent news! Do you like the campus?"

"It is wonderful! I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful this is for me!" she gushed and gave him a big hug. "I will cook you the most amazing meal tonight!"

"Ah, well tonight I have a special request." he began and Tina looked questioningly at him. "I bumped into our new neighbors at the grocery store today. They were loading up on TV dinners and the teens looked like they really needed a good meal. Their credit card was denied so I paid for their groceries. Then someone stole their rental van so I drove them home. I invited them to dinner. Could you possibly cook this roast with the baby roasted potatoes, corn, and biscuits? Dinner for five people for 7PM? I'll help."

"You are such a good man, Ben!" she smiled "Of course I will do this!"

"Proving you are such a good woman, Tina!" Ben smiled.

Ben tried his best to help and not get in Tina's way but she finally kicked him out. Well, as far as the kitchen table. There was something that was bothering Ben and he had to discuss it with Tina before their guests arrived.

"Tina, when I was inviting our neighbors to dinner I mentioned your name and I froze on how to name our relationship. These are new people who are complete strangers. Trying to explain the relationships I'm in felt too daunting."

"What did you finally say?" she asked, her tone carefully neutral.

"I said you were my friend who lives with me with your son." Ben said.

"A safe answer." she said.

"But it felt wrong to me. Like I was cheating you out of acknowledging how important you are to me." Ben looked down at his hands on the table. "I think back on the conversation we had after our first night together. We're not boyfriend and girlfriend I said. Yet we are... aren't we?" He looked up and Tina was standing before him trembling.

"I told you back then that I was your willing servant for as long as I lived to repay the incredible kindness you continue to show me to this day but I had not expected or even dreamed to find myself so deeply loved, ever in my life. I cannot express in words the joy that fills my heart to be included in your life to any degree. Please know that you may use any terms to describe our relationship without protest from me."

Ben felt his heart do a flip flop and he took Tina in his arms. He kissed her passionately and she kissed him back with tears of happiness rolling down her cheeks. Finally she pushed back on his chest.

"I love this but I must finish dinner for we have company coming." she smiled at him. She turned and rushed back to her preparations.

Ben watched her for a few seconds then finished putting his purchases away.

He put the slip cover back on ottoman and it looked good as new. He still wondered at himself. Not long ago he would have considered it an impossibility if someone said he'd have sex anywhere outside the bedroom but he seemed to be proving that it was very possible indeed.

Ben set the table. Then he tidied up a little though Tina kept the house immaculate. He snuck into the kitchen to confirm they had ice cream for dessert. Kids loved ice cream, didn't they? Tina pushed him out again.

Ben sat in the living room banished from the kitchen. He went online and did some research on STURN Enterprises. When he got bored he reviewed the Engineering forums and became engrossed.

When the doorbell rang Ben resurfaced from his reading and Tina passed him with a smile to answer the door.

Standing outside was Ashley carrying her son and the two teen girls. They seemed startled to see the diminutive Asian opening the door. They looked nervous, like they might bolt at any time.

"Hello, you must be Mrs. Beaumont. I am Tina. Please come in."

The ladies on the step blinked a second time when Tina said her name but they moved forward as a group and entered the foyer. Ben appeared in the entrance and smiled at the new arrivals.

"Welcome to my home and the neighborhood!" he smiled. He saw them all breathing in the heavenly scents of Tina's cooking. "Ready for dinner?" he smiled. The teen girls returned his smile broadly and Ashley smiled timidly.

"Please come this way." Tina directed them to the dining room and Ben followed. Christopher was playing in his playpen and giggled when he saw the other boy.

"This is my son Christopher. He will be one year old next week." Tina said stroking her son's hair. Ben made note to have a party for the boy.

"This is Joshua. He turned 1 year last week." Ashley smiled. The teens were introduced as Madison, the girl with the cast, and Savannah.

"If you like the boys may play together or I could get you a highchair." Ben said.

Ashley looked at the teens who looked nervously back. "A- a highchair would be good, thanks!"

Ben brought the chair from the kitchen and set it up next to the guest of honor position at the end of the table where Ashley would be seated. She seemed to be a little taken aback by the gesture. The teens sat next to each other on one side of the table. Ben went into the kitchen with Tina to bring out the meat and vegetables food. They shared a look about how nervous their guests appeared. They returned with large serving dishes containing the roast potatoes, corn, and biscuits. Ben then carried out the large platter of the roast which had been cut into slices. Everyone sat and Ashley and the girls clasped their hands together and bowed their heads. They said a silent prayer while Ben and Tina sat silently waiting.

Ashley looked up gratefully after they concluded their prayer.

"Dig in!" Ben smiled.

Arms reached and the food was passed around until the plates filled and forks began to carry the food to happy mouths.

Ben realized they only had a jug of water on the table. "Would you like something else to drink? We have milk, orange juice..." he looked at Tina and she was thinking too. "I'm sorry that's about all we have except water. I guess I should have picked up a bottle of red wine for this meal but I don't drink anymore so the house is dry."

He saw his guests visibly relax when he mentioned he no longer drank alcohol.

Madison looked at Ashley then back to Ben and said in a timid voice. "Orange Juice?" Ben caught Savannah wincing. "Coming right up." Tina rose first and patted him on the arm to remain seated. She returned in a moment to pour the juice into Madison's glass. Savannah looked at her sister's glass so Tina offered her some as well. Savannah gave her a small smile and a nod.

Soon everyone was enjoying their meals. The look of bliss on the faces of the teens was amazing. They slathered butter on the potatoes, corn, and biscuits but they certainly weren't in danger of being overweight. In fact all of them looked a little too thin.

"There's hot mustard for the roast beef if you'd like to try it. Start with just a dab as it can be a little too spicy for some." Ben said pointing to the small bowl of yellow brown sauce.

Madison was the brave one and scooped a little mustard onto her plate. She dipped a piece of beef into the mustard and placed it on her tongue. Her eyes closed in happiness as she chewed and after a few seconds she swallowed and started waving at her tongue like it was on fire. Savannah and Ashley started to giggle and Ben handed her a roll. "Bread is good for neutralizing the heat." he said with a grin. Madison chewed on the bread and the blissful look returned. Her next piece of beef was also dipped into the mustard.

"What do you do Mr. Shepherd?" Ashley said with a shaky voice.

"Please, call me Ben. I'm a semi-retired mechanical engineer. I do freelance engineering... coming up with solutions for issues for individual and companies. I have a number of patents on stuff I've done over the years. That pulls in enough income to allow me to do the stuff I want to do when I want to do it."

Ashley looked at Tina and seemed unsure what to say so Ben continued.

"Tina is going to University this summer for some preparation courses for the Bachelor of Science in Accounting course she's signed up for in the Fall." he said with a proud smile.

Ashley's expression slipped for just a second. Intense longing showed before she pulled a smile in place. Ben missed it but Tina didn't.

"Your next door neighbor in the house between ours is Catherine McGovern. She's the CEO of Kids-2-Kids. She has three daughters all a year apart, two in University, Sophie and Rachel, and one just finishing high school, Megan who is bound for University next year. On my other side is Gabriella Wallace who has a business importing high end fashion accessories from Milan and Paris. She travels there to make deals with the manufactures. Her daughter Miriam is 16 and her son Daniel is thirteen. Next to them is Beth Wilson who's a Dental Assistant. She has a son John who is... 17 now? Her daughter Jane is 16 and good friends with Miriam. Then there's a retired couple the Walkers. You won't see them much as they spend most of the winter in Florida and the summer in their back yard garden." He smiled thinking of the older couple.

"Next to them is Daphne McKellen and her twins Lisa and Lori. I just helped renovate their house to turn it into a daycare. I expect to see 25 kids in there by summer. There is still space if you were interested in getting Joshua in."

"No, Eli wouldn't allow that. I mean- he's a firm believer of the mother's role and place. You say you renovated the building?" Ashley changed the topic uncomfortably.

Tina picked up the conversation as Ben was stuck on the 'wouldn't allow' statement. She touched his arm to get him to lower his hackles and Ashley caught the gesture.

"Ben is a master at everything he does. He renovated this house when he bought it. Every room! The kitchen is my favorite room as it is amazingly efficient in it use of space and work surfaces. The daycare is beautiful and the twins say it is the best one in the state and they are graduating from University this year in Early Childhood Care & Education. He also renovated the master bedroom, ensuite, and guest bathroom in Trish's home."

Ben was uncomfortable with the praise so he moved on. "Trish Campbell you've met. She lives next to Daphne and has a son Mason who is now or soon to be 12 I think. She has a young woman whose name is Lily, renting out a room in her house. Lily is the daughter of another neighbor two doors to the west of you who put her home up for sale and moved to Florida. Next to Trish is Rochelle King who lives with her daughter Sara and her son Jayden, both adults now. Then there is the Greens and the Robinsons who I haven't spoken with much. Across from the Robinsons at the west end of the street on your side are the Bakers, another retired couple, no kids. Then Luis and Jaclyn Hernandez whose son Ramon is getting married this year. Then there's Jacob and Emma Brown whose daughters Natalie and Victoria will be working with Daphne and the twins in their daycare. Hannah Cooper is next. She has a twelve year old son named Ryan. Hannah is the Hospital Administrator of Western Mercy. A good lady to know." he smiled.

"Yes, she saved Ben's life after he was injured saving Christopher from being stolen from me." Tina exclaimed. Shocked eyes turned to Ben and he had a pained expression.

"I'm sure no one wants to hear that story." he grumbled.

"You are TOO modest Ben!" Tina scolded with a smile. She had everyone's attention so she began.

"The house for sale next to Hannah belonged to Joanne White, Lily's mother. But the house for sale next to yours once belonged to my husband. After he died his mother came from Korea to steal my son. She had a very bad man with her. Ben was outside and saw me crying. He came to help me and the bad man attacked him with a metal club. Ben fought him off and made my mother-in-law flee back to Korea. Ben was hurt. He thought it was just bruising but he collapsed when we got to Catherine's house. Hannah called the ambulance as she knew it was bad. I was told that he died four times but they saved him. When he returned home he found the bank was going to take my home away so he took Christopher and me in."

Now all eyes returned to Ben and he squirmed. "Anyone for more roast beef?"

Madison nodded with wide eyes. Ben placed a slice on her plate and tried to ignore the stares. She took a bite but in her inattention she had a huge blob of hot mustard on it and was soon dealing with watering eyes. Savannah started to giggle at her sister and passed her another biscuit. Madison put the entire thing in her mouth. More giggles ensued.

Ben gave Tina a look to get her to stop with the stories and she dropped her eyes and nodded with a smile. She was proud of her man. Again Ashley caught the interchange.

"So there are two houses for sale on the street?" Ashley asked.

"Yes, but Tina's is tied up in bank red tape so there hasn't been any movement on it. I check every day and I have the bank manager keeping an eye on it. There are some legal issues with the estate of Tina's late husband. Luckily none of them can touch Tina but the house must be tied up in that mess. Joanne White's house went on the market and there was a bidding war. I placed a bid but the other two bidders just kept the bid rising. The last time I looked the highest bid was ridiculously high. I haven't heard if it sold yet. I feel bad for Joanne as it should have sold by now."

"You were going to buy another house?" Madison asked in shock. She surprised herself with her bold question.

Ben smiled at the girl. "Yes, it would be a good investment."

"Ben owns Trish's home and she rents from him." Tina said and saw Ashley's body stiffen and eyes narrow as she looked at Ben. The reaction surprised Tina so she continued. "Trish was going to lose her home to the bank after her husband died but Ben bought it from her so she could pay her debts and continue to live in the neighborhood. Her son and Hannah's are best friends."

Once more eyes turned to Ben and he looked at Tina pleadingly. She dipped her head in apology.

Ashley was getting more and more confused about Ben. His house was the smallest on the block but the inside was beautiful. He lived with a young Korean woman and her son but she couldn't tell what their relationship was. She'd seen that Trish woman enter his home with him when Tina was not there and when she left she wasn't wearing her bra. Did this indicate some kind of sexual activity happened? He owned her house. Was he demanding sexual favors in return behind Tina's back? Then there was that embarrassing event in the drug store. But he came to their rescue at the grocery store twice. Would he start making demands in return? Eli would be there soon and she was worried how they would get along. Either they were the same and life could get harder or they were opposites and life might get ugly. Either way she was getting nervous. She'd have to tell him everything and she was expecting him to get mad.

"Does anyone want more?" Ben asked unaware of Ashley's darkening mood. As the teens pushed back from the table they smiled and shook their heads.

"No room for ice cream and chocolate or caramel syrup?" he said with a fake look of astonishment.

The girls grinned. "Chocolate!" Madison called. "Caramel!" Savannah chirped. Ben looked at Ashley but she just shook her head. Ben headed into the kitchen with some of the dishes. The teens gathered the other dirty dishes and followed Ben into the kitchen.

Tina looked over at Ashley, aware of the woman's conflicted look. "Is everything alright?"

Ashley saw a chance to speak freely but she wasn't sure if she should. Eli would be extremely upset if he found out she was interfering with a neighbor's relationship. Hell, he'd be angry for her speaking to an Asian woman at all. She had a sudden flare of rebellion. "I- I saw Trish go into this house with Ben. She wasn't wearing her bra when she came out." she blurted quietly keeping her eyes on the doorway. They could barely hear Ben's rumbling voice and the teens giggling responses.

Tina felt relieved when she heard Ashley's frantic confession. "It's OK. Trish is a woman of extreme desires. She uses Ben on occasion to 'scratch that itch'? It makes Ben sad because he loves her."

Ashley gasped when Tina admitted that Ben was in love with another woman. Tina smiled again. "Ben is also in love with me and I love him. He is the most kind, generous, loving man I have ever met. He is also the best neighbor you could have. If you have any trouble you can count on him."

Ben walked back in with the girls in tow. The dishes of ice cream they had were loaded with syrup and whipped cream and a cherry on top. They sat and dug in with big grins on their faces. Soon all three were wearing as much ice cream as they were eating as they tried to race each other.

"Ben! Behave!" Tina scolded with a smile.

He put on a hang dog look which triggered more giggles. Then with a mischievous look he returned to gobbling his ice cream. He suddenly stopped when he got brain freeze and the giggles turned into outright laughter.

Ashley couldn't help but laugh along. Then she wondered how long it had been since they'd all laughed together. She couldn't... recall the last time. Her emotions suddenly became too much and she held a napkin up to hide her tears. Her shoulders shook as she stifled her sobs. The room got quiet.

"Momma? It's ok. We're sorry for being noisy." Savannah said.

Ashley shook her head violently. She clamped down on her emotions and dried her eyes. "No baby! It's not that at all. I was just so happy to hear you girls laughing and I was just so tired from the traveling and moving and the problems we had today that my emotions got all mixed up. I love hearing you two so happy! We should laugh more! But right now I think we have to thank our hosts and say our good nights as we still have to put together our beds, find and unpack our linens and get to sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day." She put a smile on her lips and turned her attention to a concerned looking Ben and Tina. "Thank you very much for dinner and your welcoming us into your home. I look forward to becoming good friends with you both." The girls beamed when she said this. She turned her eyes to them expectantly.

"Thank you very much Ben and Tina!" they said in unison. Ashley looked at them appalled by their use of the first names.

Ben held up his hand. "I insisted they call us that. If you'd like I'm pretty handy with assembling furniture. I could give you a hand?"

"NO- I mean, no, you've done enough. The girls and I will take care of the rest. Thank you!" Ashley stumbled through her response. Ben nodded.

"Well if you need a lift anywhere tomorrow, I have no plans for the day so feel free to ask." Ben said and Ashley realized that she did have several errands that would be impossible without transportation. Errands Eli would not except excuses for being incomplete.

Tina leaned forward. "I can look after Joshua or we can take the two boys to play at Daphne's daycare while you run your errands."

Ashley was feeling a little overwhelmed again so she just nodded. Ben saw the tears coming back.

"It has been a long day. We'll let you get settled in. Tomorrow if you need anything we're here, ok?" he said gently.

Ashley nodded and smiled. Ben and Tina walked he family back to the front door. Ben had Christopher in his arms and the boy was reaching for Joshua who was in his mother's arms reaching back. "Looks like someone else wants to be friends." Ben chuckled.

Ashley had a sudden stricken look on her face and looked away. Ben saw it but didn't know what to do to help. "Thank you both. Good night!" the woman said and stepped outside. The teens followed and waved at Ben with smiles. He smiled back.

Once they were gone Ben looked back at Tina with a very worried look. She shared it with him.

"Something is not right and I'm definitely getting the feeling it's the husband. There's too much fear-" Ben froze, his mind flashing back to a suppressed childhood memory. For a moment he saw the outline of a man. Large, dark and imposing. He smelled whisky, heard screaming, and felt a flash of heat. Then the memory was over and he was back in the foyer with Tina who was taking Christopher from his arms. She was speaking to him and he couldn't understand the words. He blinked a few times as she touched his face.

"Ben! What's wrong?" she asked, her voice filled with worry.

"I'm ok." he murmured suddenly confused as the memory faded.

"You went still and you didn't hear me for a minute." Tina said her voice trembling.

He turned to her and kissed her forehead. "I'm not sure what that was. I was thinking of something and now it's gone." He felt than uneasy sensation in the back of his mind and shied away from it. "Let's clean up the kitchen." he said rubbing his hands together. He led the way into the dining room. Tina followed with a concerned look.

Later that night Ben headed off to bed and Tina said she had a little more work to do in the kitchen. When she heard his deep breathing noises she went to the kitchen and picked up the phone. She dialed Hannah's number. It was late but she thought the woman might still be awake. After the third ring the phone was answered.

"Hello?"

"Hannah? This is Tina."

"Hi Tina. What's wrong?"

"Ben had a strange moment tonight and it worrying me." Tina said.

"Can you explain 'strange moment' a little?" Hannah asked.

"We had the new neighbors over for dinner and they are very nice. The husband wasn't there. Just the mother and three kids. They all behave a little differently. Nervous maybe? Anyway after they left Ben said something about there being too much fear then he just froze. I asked him what he meant but he didn't answer. He wasn't moving. He just looked at something far away and I took Christopher from him. Then he came back. He said he was thinking of something but he couldn't remember.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOOOOOO!" came angry screams from down the hall. Tina dropped the phone and raced back to the bedroom. She burst into the room and Ben was sitting up in bed panting, his eyes wild. She crawled onto the bed and took his face in her hands looking into his eyes which were now just showing confusion.

"Tina? What's wrong?" he asked.

"You were screaming in your sleep, Ben!" Tina gasped.

"I was?"

"You don't remember why?" she asked.

Ben shook his head. He looked exhausted. He kissed Tina and apologized then flopped back down.

Tina watched him slip back into sleep then she hustled back to the kitchen. She picked up the phone and heard Hannah's frantic voice. "Hello!"

"I am sorry for dropping the phone but Ben was screaming in his sleep!" Tina said.

"Screaming frightened?"

"No, screaming angrily! He screamed NO twice. When I got to the room he was sitting up and his eyes were frightening but he again does not remember screaming or why. I am frightened for Ben!" Tina said, tears coming to her eyes.

"Tina, it's OK. These are likely suppressed memories resurfacing. Something in Ben's past triggered by the new neighbor's behavior maybe. There are still too many holes in his past. I will call Dr. Granger in the morning and let her know. When he gets up tomorrow tell Ben to call me at work. And Tina? It'll be alright. If he's suppressed something that's coming out now then that's a good thing. We can help him heal if we can access the memories."

"Thank you Hannah!" Tina cried.

"Hang in there, Tina!" Hannah said and Tina hung up. She rushed back down the hall and snuggled in beside Ben. She felt his body relax and she trembled with relief.

Chapter 25

Ben drove Ashley and her kids to the bank the following morning to set up the local accounts and to ask about her credit card limit. Ben went in to speak with the manager regarding Tina's house and discovered the Bank was ready to put it on the market. The bank had attained legal ownership over the house and its contents so it was no longer tied to the lawsuit. Ben found out how much they were going to ask and told the manager he could have a sale today if he'd let him buy it at asking for house and contents. The manager contacted head office and got permission to accept the offer. Ben called his lawyer who already had the paperwork ready and they made the transaction happen.

With a big smile on his face Ben walked out into waiting area and saw a despondent woman sitting with her kids. His mood dipped. "What's wrong?"

"I don't understand. I was sure I had a credit limit of $3000 when I left Texas but now they tell me the card is limited to $600. I don't know what I did to make that happen. I can't afford to do anything I need to do before Eli gets here." Ashley said, her lips trembling.

Ben thought for a second. "Are you authorized to change the limit?"

"What?" she asked.

"Can you call in and ask them to increase the limit? Are you authorized on the account to do that?" he asked.

"I didn't set up the card. Eli did."

Ben caught the eye of the bank manager who was also feeling really good because Ben had saved his branch a lot of money in realty fees and headaches. The man came over with a smile. "What can I do for you Ben?"

"Dan, is there any way to find out when a credit card limit is changed and by who?" he asked.

"Sure, I can just speak with the credit card company and ask for an activity report." the manager said.

"Can I ask you to check for activity on this card for the past three days?" Ben handed him Ashley's card. Dan nodded and walked away.

Ashley was looking at Ben with a worried expression.

A few minutes later the manager returned, handed the card back and said that the card had been reverted to the initial credit limit at the request of the primary card holder at 10AM yesterday morning via a telephone request.

"So the primary card holder called the credit card data center, gave his validation information to prove he was who he said he was, and then requested the limit reduction? And he is the only one who can do that?" Ben confirmed.

"That's right." Dan agreed.

"OK, thanks very much Dan!" Ben smiled and shook the man's hand.

He turned back to Ashley with a grim look. "Do you know of any reason why your husband would send you all the way up here to deal with opening the house and getting your services online only to take measures to ensure you didn't have the required funds to do it?"

Ashley looked scared and the girls were wide eyed as well. Ben realized he was growling. His face dropped. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I wasn't angry with you. Please forgive me! As you heard from the manager this wasn't your fault at all. I just don't understand your husband's actions. I haven't met him yet so I'm trying to not form any impressions but this is very confusing."

Ashley nodded and bit her lip as she tried to think of what to do next.

"When is your husband going to be arriving?" he asked.

"I don't know." she said, sounding lost.

Ben looked stunned at the woman. She had no money because her husband had limited her funds. She was in a strange town with her three kids. There were loads of things she had to do to get their lives started in this new location, she had no money to do them, and no idea when the man who could resolve the money issue would arrive. Ben couldn't help her set up the services as they had to be set up on her own working credit card but he could make sure she and her family were fed... wait a minute. "There's no power on at your place is there? Heat? Water? Telephone? Cable?" he asked.

She shook her head with sad eyes. "So you can't cook the food you bought at the grocery store. You haven't had breakfast!" The girls looked at him nervously but hopefully. "Let's go take care of that now."

Ben led them out of the bank and across the street to a family restaurant. He told them to order whatever they wanted, his treat. The teens ordered pancakes and bacon and chocolate milk. Ashley was going to have coffee but Ben insisted she needed to keep her strength up for her family so she ordered scrambled eggs, bacon and toast with her coffee. Ben didn't order anything as he'd had breakfast. While they ate Ben discussed next things they could do including registering the girls for school. He sent a text to Catherine quickly explaining Ashley's situation at home and asking if he could order some pizzas and bring the neighbors to her place to visit.

Before brunch was over Catherine responded with a yes for pizza dinner, she'd pay, and an invite to let the ladies sleep at her place until they got their services running. He sent her a thank you.

"OK, we have dinner plans tonight at Catherine's place. I hope you like pizza!" Ben smiled at the teens and they grinned with powdered sugar from their pancakes on their faces. Ben turned to Ashley. You also have a warm place to stay tonight with running water. Catherine will put you up until your husband arrives to resolve these issues. Her two oldest daughters are staying at the University so their rooms are available."

He saw Ashley beginning to get teary eyed. "Please stop. No water works. This is just the hospitality you get when you move into our neighborhood. There are some really amazing people living there. I think you'll like them." Ashley pursed her lips together to stop her tears then smiled broadly at Ben. "That's better!" he smiled.

"Gabriella will likely want a turn as well. Tomorrow I'm picking up a prototype I designed and probably on Thursday I'll be flying down to Austin, Texas for a little work. I'll likely be back on the weekend." Madison's and Savannah's eyes lit up when he mentioned Austin. "Is that where you're from?" he asked. They glanced at Ashley and she nodded.

"Savannah and I were born there but we moved to Houston where Momma died and Daddy met our new Momma." Madison explained and Ben nodded with a smile but he felt a pang of sadness.

They finished up their meals and Ben paid. Then he drove them to the high school where Ashley registered the teens while Ben took care of Joshua.

When they were done Ben had one more stop for himself. He picked up his passport and the girls had a giggle at the bad photo of Ben inside. Then he drove everyone home. Ashley said they still needed to unload boxes so they would do that while they had daylight. He suggested that they pack some clothes and toiletries for a couple of days and meet at Catherine's place at 6:30PM. Before he left he asked what they liked on their pizzas. He made gross, silly suggestions for toppings until he got the answers from the girl's. He sent the order over to Catherine by text.

He went home and dropped himself in his chair in the living room. He wanted to punch someone. Specifically someone driving up from Houston, Texas.

Tina walked into the living room and sat on the ottoman by his feet. "Did you call Hannah?" she asked.

Ben smacked his forehead. "Sorry Tina, I completely forgot. I got some excellent news at the bank. I now own your house. I'll pick up the keys from the bank tomorrow. It's the house and the contents. So unless someone stole something the house should still have all of the stuff you had before." She looked at him nervously. He caught on immediately. "No, I still want you here with me! Just if there was anything you wanted from it hopefully it will still be there. Do you know how to drive? What kind of car did James have?"

"A BMW." she said relaxing a little.

"Ugh. I'll be selling that immediately." Ben growled.

"What you will do immediately is call Hannah!" Tina growled.

"Sorry! Dialing." he said lifting his phone to his ear.

"Administrator Cooper." she answered.

"Hi Hannah! It's Ben."

"You were supposed to call me this morning!" Hannah growled.

"There's a lot of growling going on!" Ben replied.

"Tina has reason to growl if you don't listen to her instructions!" Hannah complained.

"Sorry! It was a busy morning!" Ben explained.

"Well, you missed the opening I was able to get for you. You'll just have to take it up with Dr. Granger on your session on Friday morning."

"Yeah, about that. I need to travel down to Texas on business so I'm going to need to reschedule my Friday session." he said expecting a blow up.

"Ben, you need to put your mental health ahead of everything else. You know that!" Hannah said gently, surprising him.

"Agreed, if there was something concrete to work with at this time. I had a momentary brain fart and a nightmare. That's it. And I don't even remember any details to discuss with the doctor. I have some people waiting on this solution I've designed and it will only take a few days to see if it works. Then I'm home and we will see if there are any further issues then. Thank you both for your concern but for now I'm ok. Can I ask you to reschedule me for next week? I'll even do Monday if you want." Ben asked.

"I'll see if Dr. Granger has an opening early next week." Hannah said but she didn't sound happy.

"Thank you!" Ben replied.

"Call me when you get back from Texas!" she insisted.

"I will Number 4." he grinned.

"Oh hush you!" Hannah huffed but Ben could hear the smile.

They said their goodbyes and hung up. Tina was still looking at him with sad eyes. "I'll talk to the doctor. Next week. Hannah is setting it up. OK?" he touched her chin gently.

"OK."

Ben pulled Tina onto his lap and she rested her head on his chest.

"We're having pizza at Catherine's with the new neighbors. Their services aren't on yet so no power, no heat, no water. They're staying with Catherine overnight or until her husband shows up to adjust her credit card to get the services running."

"If you don't mind I will stay home tonight." Tina said as she ran a finger over his chest.

"You don't like pizza!?!" Ben said incredulous.

"I don't like pizza." she said snuggling in.

"Fine." Ben chuckled and wrapped his arms around the petite woman. This felt like a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.

It was shortly past 6:30PM when Ben met up with Ashley and the teens on Catherine's front step. They had a couple of small suitcases with them and Ben was carrying the clamp-on highchair for Catherine's dining room table. Ashley smiled at his thoughtfulness.

"Is Tina not coming?" she asked.

"Tina's otherwise occupied this evening and incredibly, she's not a big fan of pizza. Crazy, right?" he said to the teens who gave him a grin. He could see they were becoming much more comfortable around him.

Catherine pulled the door open with a big smile and welcomed them in. Ben made the introductions and their host insisted they all call her Cat. She explained that her daughter Megan was with her study group and would join them later. Ben affixed the highchair to the side of the table then waited in the living room while Cat led the ladies upstairs to drop off their bags in the rooms they would sleep in. She led them all back down to the living room and told them the pizzas were on their way. Everyone got comfortable.

"How goes the unpacking?" Ben asked.

"I'm so forgetful! I can't find the bolts to assemble the bed frames. I put them in envelopes and I was sure I taped them to the headboards but they're all missing. And the hoses for the washing machine. I was sure I put them inside the machine as I recall draining them but they aren't there. I was so sure but..." She shook her head in frustration and worry.

Ben was watching Ashley when his mind suddenly locked on an image of an older woman, her face a picture of her broken spirit, and a purple black bruise on her cheek.

Catherine asked Ben if he had any spare hoses and noticed he was staring off into space with a grim look on his face.

"Ben? ...BEN!" Catherine called becoming a little concerned. He finally turned his head and blinked.

"Sorry. What?" he asked, a little dazed.

"You OK?" she asked.

"Yes, just a little tired I guess. Sorry, what were you saying?" he tried to get his mind back in the conversation.

"I was asking if you had any spare hoses for the washing machine." Catherine repeated.

"No, they're easy enough to pick up at a hardware big box store but you won't get to use them until you get your water turned on which requires Ashley's husband to get here." He turned to Ashley. "He'll just have to go to the store when he gets here. It's just past the grocery store."

She nodded but looked down.

The doorbell rang and Catherine popped up. "Pizza's here! I'll need helpers to carry it. Not you Ben! You'll eat it all before we get to the dining room." she teased for the girl's benefit. They giggled as Ben frowned sadly. Ben led Ashley into the dining room. Ashley insisted he sit in the guest of honor seat and she sat on the other side of the high chair after she got Joshua situated. Moments later Catherine, Madison, and Savannah walked in loaded with boxes and bags.

There were three large pizzas, chicken wings, two kinds of salads and a variety of soft drinks. Madison and Savannah looked like they were in heaven and Ashley smiled at the teen's happiness.

Once more Ashley and the two teens clasped their hand and closed their eyes in prayer before they began to eat. The woman gave a grateful look to Ben and Catherine for waiting and remaining silent through their prayer.

Megan arrived home and introductions were made. Ben informed the young woman that they'd registered Madison and Savannah at Megan's high school that day. Megan proceeded to fill in the two teens about the amazing clubs and after school programs offered by the high school. The girl's moods took a nose dive and Catherine discreetly signalled to Megan to change the subject. She switched to talking about which teachers were good and how to manipulate the not so good ones. Madison and Savannah perked up but Ben could see they were still sad about the clubs. Ben tried to keep a smile on his face but the idea that their father would prevent the girls from participating in the clubs adding yet another black mark on his impression of the man.

Ashley looked at Catherine and saw how she looked at Ben. She was very confused at the relationships going on in this neighborhood. She saw Ben was a very nice man and would go out of his way to help his neighbors. She was grateful for his assistance and for introducing her to these nice people. She knew that once Eli arrived she would have much less contact with them so she was really enjoying herself now. She'd be punished later but that was later.

She saw there was a lull in the conversation so she thought she's see if Cat knew any anecdotes about Ben like Tina did. "Last night when we had dinner at Ben and Tina's place she told us the story of how Ben saved her son. He saved us from a long walk home with our groceries the first day we met. Did he save you as well?" she smiled at Catherine who was grinning widely by this point. Ben looked nervous.

"Many of us think of Ben as a white knight riding in to our rescue and he has certainly proven willing to step up to that role when necessary. My fairy tale is a little different. When Ben was injured by that man with the club he was rushed to the hospital and it was touch and go for a time. It was so bad that he died four times before they finally managed to stabilize him but by then he was in a coma. For over two months Ben rested in a sleep he wouldn't wake up from. Gabriella went to the hospital every day and sat by his bed reading to him, freshening his flowers, giving him sponge baths-" she froze as she realized she's divulged a secret. Ben's eyes went wide as did Ashley's. Catherine pushed forward. "Anyway, Ben had been in a deep sleep for over two months. I visited most nights after work and Gabriella and I discussed measures for waking him." Ben's face began to go red as he figured out where this story was going. "We'd exhausted everything and were getting a little desperate. We were standing next to his bed, looking down at his peaceful face and I called him Sleeping Beauty. Gabriella suddenly looked at me with this big smile and said she was going to try kissing him awake. I heard the nurse coming so I told her there wasn't time but she went ahead and did it. She kissed him and she jumped when she felt him returning her kiss. When I looked Ben still wasn't moving so I kissed him as well and he kissed me so sensually it sent tingles right to- well, it was very, very good. Then his eyes opened and he was back!" She smiled at Ben drinking him in with her eyes.

Now Ashley had no question in her mind that Catherine and Ben had shared more than just that one kiss. She looked at Ben and saw the blush burning up his neck and cheeks. He was studiously avoiding her eye. She thought the blush was charming but how many women in this neighborhood were involved with him? With the kids at the table this wasn't the time or place to ask that question... if she ever asked it.

"When you meet Gabriella she has an amazing story to tell- OH! and Rochelle has a white knight tale of her own now!" Catherine gushed with a wicked smile on her face her eyes practically twinkling with mischief as Ben scowled at her.

"Enough!" Ben growled and Catherine tried to suppress her smile but the teens and Ashley visibly twitched in fear. Ben immediately regretted his outburst. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be so loud! Please forgive me." he said contritely.

Megan saw the fear in the eyes of Madison and Savannah slowly fading and she recalled a film they'd just watched in her social studies class on spouse and child abuse. She recognized the signs the girls and Ashley were displaying. She connected the dots to when she'd discussed the after school activities. The Dad must be the source of the trouble. She wasn't sure if she should ask them about it. She'd speak to her Mom later.

Ben thought it might be a good time to bow out before he put his foot in his mouth again. "Thank you Catherine for a delightful meal. I think I'm going to head home. I'm beat! Ashley, I'll be out running errands tomorrow so I don't know if I'll see you but I believe Gabriella would like to meet you. I expect to be away until the weekend but if you have any trouble please feel free to contract Tina, Catherine, or Gabriella and they can get in touch with me. Hopefully your husband will get here and resolve the services issue soon." Ben winced and shook his head as a headache suddenly spiked behind his eyes. He rubbed his temples.

"You ok, Ben?" Megan asked.

"Yeah, just a headache." he sighed.

"When did that start?" she asked.

"Just now. I should get going. Good night everyone!" He stood up and bowed to Madison, Savannah, and Ashley getting a smile from them. Out of character for the private man he pressed a kiss to Megan's temple and kissed Catherine on the lips in front of the guests, surprising both Megan and Catherine who popped to her feet and followed him to the front door.

"Are you sure you're ok, Ben?" she asked, concerned.

He looked back and rubbed his temple. "Yeah, it's just a headache. Thank you so much for looking after them." He looked again at her worried, loving eyes and he leaned down and caressed her lips with his and gently nibbled on her lush lower lip. Catherine sucked in a breath and gripped his jacket as tingles shot down her spine. A quick caress of her upper lip with the tip of his tongue fired more sparks and he pulled back with a gentle smile. "Goodnight!"

Catherine's eyes flared with need. "I thought you said no more kisses like that before we go our separate ways!"

"Oh, right! Well, next time." he grinned as he stepped outside.

He walked home and went inside. Tina was in the living room and she came to see him when he grimaced and rubbed his temple.

"You are home early. What's wrong?" she asked.

"I just need a couple of pain killers. Got a headache." he grumbled. Tina hustled down the hall to the master bathroom as he followed. He sighed as he could have gotten his own pain meds. The sink ran then she was before him with two tablets and a glass of water. He gratefully took them and swallowed the water. He pulled off his clothes and Tina collected them. Then he crawled under the covers.

He opened his eyes and Tina was standing beside the bed looking at him with a worried expression.

"Tina, please! It's just a headache. I'm going to shut off the light and go to sleep. In the morning I will be fine." he said and she nodded. She emptied the pockets of his pants onto the dresser and left the bedroom as he shut the light off. Then she dropped his dirty clothes into the laundry bin in the hall. Tina walked back and waited in the hall outside the door until she heard his breathing deepen indicating he was asleep. She made her way to the kitchen and dialed Catherine's number.

"Hello?"

"Hello Catherine, it is Tina."

"Is something wrong?" Cat immediately asked.

"No, he took headache medicine and now he is sleeping. Did something happen with Ben at the dinner?" Tina asked.

"No, I don't think so. He left earlier than I was expecting and I don't remember Ben ever having a headache before." Cat said.

"Did he behave differently or strangely?" Tina pressed.

Catherine thought about it. "Well, he was a little distracted earlier but only for a moment. He got the headache later. Aside from that he seemed fine when he left. That man's kiss takes you half way to the moon! Megan! You didn't hear that!" she said to the side of the phone. Obviously her daughter was nearby and listening.

Tina actually felt a little better hearing Ben was able to get affectionate with Catherine. That was expected behavior. She sighed and smiled. Tina suddenly recalled she'd been on the phone with Hannah the previous night when Ben had yelled in his sleep. "Thank you Catherine! I will speak with you tomorrow." she hung up and listened for Ben but there was only silence. She relaxed and finished tidying the kitchen.

Ben was sitting up in bed, his eyes wild and his throat locked in a silent scream. Finally, his body relaxed and he sat there panting and confused. He flopped back down and in seconds he was asleep.

Tina slipped into the room, undressed and got under the covers next to Ben. His body relaxed as she pressed against him and Tina smiled.

Chapter 26

Ben left the bank with house keys in his hand and a smile on his face. He wished all his transactions at the bank went this smoothly. The manager, Dan, was very accommodating to one of his best customers of course. Ben was eager to hand the keys over to Tina for her to explore and he would as soon as he'd done his inspection and had the home's services restarted.

Climbing into his truck he set course for the custom milling shop to pick up his prototype. Earlier that morning he'd received a note from the tech who'd run his piece through the machine to say it was ready. They were on the outskirts of town in an industrial park so it took a little time to get there.

Ben reviewed piece with the tech. Seeing one of his creation in three dimensions for the first time was always the best part of the design process for Ben. While his practical side was satisfied to resolve a technical issue there was also an artistic side that delighted in the process of bringing a concept to physical existence. Each new piece was a sculpture for him even if they were often not that pleasing to the eye.

Ben took measurements to ensure the milling and polishing process produced a result that exactly matched the design specs. The smallest variance would have a significant impact in the performance of the piece so he had to make sure now, in the shop, that the prototype met his specs. It took him an hour of painstaking work to capture every dimension but finally he was satisfied. He shook the tech's hand and settled up his bill. This piece was much more expensive than his previous creations but it was also the largest one he'd made. Delighted with the end result he sent a text to his contact at STURN Enterprises.

"Prototype ready for test bench. Can travel to Austin tomorrow."

A response came back before he left the shop.

"Corporate jet already at your airport if you are available today."

Ben's eyebrows rose. He hadn't considered they'd be this desperate. He wondered how much it cost to park a jet at the airport and how much they were losing every day because of the issue. He decided that he could go today. He sent a reply.

"Will be at the airport in three hours."

Seconds later the details for the jet came in and a big thanks. Ben looked forward to meeting these fellas.

He drove home and wrapped the prototype in bubble wrap and put it into a large duffle bag. He quickly packed his suitcase with a change of clothes for four days. Then he got his briefcase ready with his laptop in case he needed to make some design changes onsite.

Seeing Ben's truck in the driveway Tina came back at lunch from visiting Daphne. She saw the suitcase and duffle by the door.

"I thought you weren't leaving until tomorrow at the earliest." she said.

"They actually had their corporate jet parked at the airport in case the prototype worked out. They must be losing a lot of money while they're waiting for this solution. The sooner I go the sooner I will be back." Ben replied.

Tina gave him a big hug. Ben squeezed her in return and kissed her forehead. "I have the keys to your old place. I'm going to make some calls to get the utilities back on then I'm going to go over and do an inspection. Would you like to join me? We can bring back anything you'd like. It's all our now."

"Sure! Would you like lunch first?" she asked.

"Just a sandwich maybe? I'm not very hungry." he admitted.

Tina gave him a look for his lack of appetite then walked into the kitchen to make lunch while Ben made the calls.

They ate and she asked him what he intended to do with the house. He admitted he had an idea but he wasn't ready to disclose the details yet. Tina said that she didn't really have much use for most of the contents of the house as it was all in James' taste which didn't care for at all.

Ben and Tina then made their way over to the house and let themselves inside. It would take a little while for all of the services to restart. Some required a technician to come to the house and Ben made appointments for those next week when he'd be available.

Ben inspected the furnace, water heater, water shut off valve, and electrical panel in the basement and everything looked fine. He found no split water pipes (they'd drained them earlier). He made his way upstairs and found Tina in the master bedroom standing at the foot of the bed with a sad look on her face.

"What's wrong?" he asked gently.

"This is not a good place for me. So many unhappy memories." she said with a sniff.

Ben scooped her up in his arms and kissed her. When he was done her frown was gone and her eyes were twinkling. She had a silly grin on her face.

"What's with the grin?" Ben smiled back.

"I was imagining the look on James' face if you had done that in front of him!" she giggled.

Ben laughed. "I would LOVE to have done that in front of that son of a bitch! Come on, let's go home." He set Tina back on her feet.

They locked up and Ben glanced in the garage door window. Sure enough, there was the BMW. He sighed then they went home.

He gave Tina another kiss then he grabbed his bags and sent a quick text indicating he was on his way to the airport.

The drive wasn't too long as the airport was on this side of the city so he avoided most of the traffic travelling around the core. He parked in long term parking and made his way into the terminal. He met the pilot who had been informed of his arrival and they made their way to the jet. It was shiny, sleek and fast looking. The pilot promised him the jet was very fast and they would reach their destination in only a couple of hours so he boarded and got comfortable.

Soon they were in the air and Ben tilted back in his seat. He expected it might be a long evening running tests in the test bench so catching a few winks now would help.

Ben woke up when the pilot shook his shoulder. Ben looked up at him blinking the sleep from his eyes. The pilot said they'd arrived. He followed the man out of the plan and realized they were at a private strip next to a large factory. He saw the corporate name STURN printed in huge letters across the side of the building.

A tall thin man with a huge grin on a weary face rushed over from an electric cart. He wearing a rumpled sports jacket and well worn jeans. He thrust a big paw out at Ben who shook it. "I'm Bill Freeny, chief engineer here at Sturn. You must be Ben Shepherd! So pleased to meet you at last." the scarecrow of a man boomed with a thick Texan drawl. He obviously hadn't shaved in days and his straw yellow hair was wildly pointing in all directions.

"Great meeting you. I get there is a big time crunch so let's get started!" Ben smiled.

"That's what I was hoping you'd say! Come on!" he grabbed Ben's suitcase and strapped it into the cart with the briefcase. He eyed the duffle between Ben's feet as they both settled into their seats. He grinned and got the electric vehicle up to speed quickly and racing back towards a low rise white building next to the main factory.

"Do you have an onsite milling system or will you be outsourcing the construction of the production pieces?" Ben asked over the wind noise. He was a little surprised at how fast they were going in an electric cart.

"We can make them in-house. We have state of the art equipment. We just lacked the know how to use that equipment to resolve the issue. I gotta tell you there are a lot of people in this building holding their breath."

Ben smiled. "Well, tell them to take a breath. Nobody gets any work done without breathing."

"Our yearly bonuses are locked up in this project and some of the damn fools have already spent theirs!" the man cackled.

They pulled up to the building and Bill snapped the power off on the cart before they'd even stopped. He grabbed the suitcase and led the way into the building, Ben carrying the duffle and his briefcase. They entered the first door on the right and six men in different states of exhaustion looked up. They perked up immediately when they saw the stranger with a large duffle smiling back at them.

"It's here?" a short plump man with a dark bushy beard blurted.

Bill grinned. "Time to get to work fellas!"

The energy levels instantly increased and they fell into step behind Bill who led Ben further into the building. Soon they entered a lab which housed a full scale model of one section of a raw petroleum processor. Near the left side of the assembly was a gap in the extensive pipework. A folding table was set up next to the spot. Bill showed Ben he was putting the suitcase in the control room where they'd be sitting when they ran the tests. He put his briefcase down with the suitcase and carried the duffle out to the table where five men stood eagerly awaiting the unveiling. Two others were prepping the test bench.

Ben set the duffle on the table and opened it up. He pulled the prototype out and removed the bubble wrap exposing it to their sight for the first time.

You could have heard a pin drop as the men stared at the shiny new component. Then they were all talking at once. "What the fuck?" "How?" "Well damn!" "It looks- interesting!" "That's it?" "Geez I hope this works!"

Ben barely heard their exclamation as he ran a critical eye over the connections he'd need to make in the test bench. There weren't any surprises. The specs he's received from Bill were good. That man was grinning from ear to ear as he saw the simplicity and elegance of Ben's design and he just knew it would work. Ben carried it over to the test bench and the two men proceeded to integrate the prototype into its place on the tester. Once they were both satisfied that the coupling was sound everyone retreated to the control room. They'd carried the folding table into the control room as well so the test chamber was empty aside from the test bench equipment.

This part was all foreign to Ben and he watched with interest as the team spent considerable time bringing their machines up to operating levels. Measurements were constantly being read out and recorded and baselines were set. The prototype handled standard operating conditions like a charm. Then they began the real testing. A couple more hours of introducing the real life scenarios they'd been experiencing with substantial levels of pressure and back pressure, and one of the most critical issues they were faced with, hydraulic shock.

Some of the men were confused by the results of the new tests and asked to have the test bench inspected for leaks and to have it calibrated once again as they weren't seeing the results they expected.

Bill just smiled back at Ben who nodded. They powered down the test bench and Bill's crew went in to inspect the tester.

"I think you saved our bacon Ben. We'll set up a 48 hour stress test at maximum load with spontaneous load shocks but I'm optimistic based on what I've seen so far." Bill said once they were alone. "The old man told me he wants to talk with you once we've confirmed we have success. I assume you've filed for a patent." Ben nodded. "I'm ready to send you his way tonight or we could set up something after breakfast if you'd like to wait for the result of the stress test."

"I'm confident of the design as well but I'm actually a little tired so I think I'd prefer to wait at least until the morning." Ben said rubbing his stiff neck.

"Sure! I've set you up in the hotel just down the road. The penthouse suite with all the amenities. I'll take you there myself once we've got the test running." Bill smiled.

"Sounds perfect!" Ben smiled.

Twenty minutes later the men were all back in the control room. No leaks had been found and the integrity of the previous tests was confirmed. They started up the test bench once more and locked it into a stress test at maximum load. Once it ran for fifteen minutes the men were all grins and they came by to shake Ben's hand and slap him on the shoulder in their enthusiasm. Six of them would be taking turns watching the machine in groups of two for two hours shifts while the others slept.

Bill led Ben from the building into the main parking lot. They loaded into Bill's Suburban and drove to the hotel. Bill said he'd be by in the morning to have breakfast with Ben in the hotel restaurant at 8AM then he'd take him back to the lab. Ben got his room key then headed up to his room.

It was a nice room but what Ben was looking forward to most was a nice hot shower spray to soak his stiff neck muscles under. Before he did that he dropped off his bags and went back downstairs to check out the hotel gym. It was pretty well equipped so be made plans to revisit in the morning. He ordered dinner from room service and was told it would be up in 30 minutes so he hopped in the shower and stood there while the heat worked its way into his muscles. Twenty five minutes later he stepped out and dried himself in a big fluffy towel. The hotel gown was actually large enough for him which was a pleasant surprise.

Ben heard a knock on the door and opened it to see his dinner had arrived; the biggest, juiciest steak they had with a baked potato and steamed vegetables. He signed for it and set it up before the big screen TV. Before he tucked into his meal he made a quick call home.

"Hello?"

"Hi Tina, it's Ben."

"Ben! How are you?" she said excitedly.

"Doing good! The prototype is working as expected so I'm going back to the factory tomorrow to talk with the CIO who's probably going to try to buy the patent from me. There are too many applications for this new design so he's not going to get it but he can certainly license it from me for a decent price. How is everything at home? Any sign of Ashley's husband?"

"We are good here. He has not arrived yet. Gabriella is having Ashley and her family over for dinner. Catherine is taking her over now. I can see them walking by." Tina said waving to her neighbor who waved back.

"OK, well I was just checking in. I'm going to have my dinner, watch a little TV then hit the sack early. I have an early start tomorrow. I love you! Sleep well!" Ben said.

"I love you too, Ben. Sleep well!" Tina said sweetly.

Ben hung up and dug into his meal as he flipped on the local news. He wondered what the fuck was taking that asshole so long to join his family at their new home. He felt the dull throb of a headache starting behind his eyes.

Gabriella opened the door and saw Catherine standing there with a very tall blond woman with a baby on her hip. Catherine's smile was wide but she saw the new woman looked a little intimidated. Behind her stood two teen girls who also seemed shy. She welcomed them into her house and Catherine stood to the side as the women entered. Miriam and Daniel were standing in the living room entrance. Once everyone was inside Catherine and Gabriella made the introductions. They moved into the living room.

"Dinner will be ready in ten minutes. I hope you like spaghetti and meat sauce!" Gabriella said.

Madison and Savannah smiled brightly and Ashley nodded with a small smile. She was looking between Gabriella and Catherine. She couldn't get over how lovely both women were. Both were well dressed and had stylish hair, make-up, and manicures. She felt like dishrag next to them. She'd had the chance to have a nice shower and she'd done her hair today at Catherine's but she couldn't compare to these two ladies. She began to worry about Eli's reaction to all the beautiful women in this neighborhood and her own appearance. Her confidence took another hit.

Gabriella had a long conversation on the phone with Catherine that afternoon. It seemed Megan had recognized some behavior in their new neighbors that suggested they might be in an abusive relationship. As the husband had yet to arrive the source was likely him. She saw Ashley was feeling out of sorts so she did her best to be friendly.

Ashley caught Gabriella's eye. "When we had dinner at Ben and Tina's he told us you travel to Italy and France. Can you speak the languages?" she asked.

Gabriella smiled. "Yes, I had some background in Italian from my parents but I took courses in French and Italian in University as well as Business Administration. The best education is just being there and speaking with the people. Immersion in the other culture and environments really accelerates the learning curve. Do you have an interest in languages?"

"I can speak Spanish." Ashley said almost reluctantly though Gabriella caught the merest touch of pride.

"That's a beautiful language!" Gabriella gushed and Catherine moaned that she wanted to learn Spanish.

"You can teach us Spanish and we will teach you French!" Gabriella exclaimed excitedly.

Madison and Savannah looked at Ashley with nervous expressions and her smile was a little brittle. The woman just nodded.

"Well, I think dinner is ready, Catherine could you get our guests situated in the dining room?" Gabriella changed the subject. She was beginning to agree with Megan's assessment. She wanted to help but she'd have to tread carefully so as to not frighten them off.

Miriam was aware of the odd behavior and looked at her mother with a troubled expression when she entered the kitchen to help her bring the food out. "Mama?"

"Just be their friend." Gabriella said with a smile. She proudly watched her daughter absorb that and give her a firm nod.

They carried the plates of spaghetti with rich meat sauce from the kitchen to place them in front of their guests. Once more Ashley had managed to take a chair on the side of the table and Daniel was sitting in the guest of honor spot. Joshua was sitting in Ben's clamp-on highchair Catherine brought from her place between his mother and Catherine. On the opposite side of the table were Miriam, Madison and Savannah. Gabriella sat at the head. A basket of garlic bread was passed around.

Ashley looked at Madison and Savannah and they bowed their heads. Daniel looked guiltily at his mother with a piece of bread in his mouth but she just smiled and indicated he should be quiet.

Once the prayer was over everyone dug in and were soon enjoying the meal. Daniel gave Madison and Savannah a lesson on the proper way to use a spoon to assist in the twirling of spaghetti. Savannah in particular found this charming though Miriam rolled her eyes.

When they were finished the meal Miriam, Madison and Savannah jumped to their feet and cleared the dishes. Daniel excused himself politely and assisted with the cleanup then headed upstairs to his room to finish his homework. Miriam brought the teens up to see her room.

Ashley turned to her host. "I've been very impressed with how kind everyone has been since we arrived. Everyone has been very respectful of our desire to say a prayer before our meal. So many people have stepped forward to greet us and welcome us to the neighborhood. I haven't felt that level of hospitality since I was a child living in a small town in rural Texas. I've lived in the city for years and while people can be friendly there it certainly didn't approach this level."

Catherine smiled at Gabriella who answered. "I think much of that is due to Ben. He'd been a driving force in the neighborhood since the accident that took the lives of so many of the husbands.

Ashley's eyes widened. "What?"

"You might have seen it on the news around six month ago. Nine men, husbands, from this neighborhood died in a plane crash in Las Vegas. It was a very bad time."

"This is that neighborhood!?!" Ashley gasped.

Gabriella was a little unsure how to proceed as Ashley's face had gone white. "Uh, yes. I'm surprised your realtor didn't tell you in advance."

Ashley had a troubled look. "It was Eli's decision. I wasn't included in selecting where we moved." She was recalling Eli's excitement when the story was on the news. "The Khaleel Sisters." she muttered recalling the disgusting things Eli had said about them. What he'd like to do to them.

Catherine heard her and shuddered recalling that particularly nasty moment in time. "We change our surnames to my maiden name McGovern. My marriage was over by that point anyway. My husband treated me no better than property. He had no respect for me and treated his children like a burden. I was about to file for divorce when it happened." Ashley looked at Catherine in surprise.

"My husband loved his children but he stopped loving me a long time ago. I hadn't felt loved in years. If I'd been as brave as Catherine I would have filed for divorce myself. But I lacked the confidence in myself. My marriage was cold but it was safe. We had no idea our husbands were cheating on us. If I had I would have divorced him the moment I found out. No one should be treated that way.

"But you- you had something to fall back on. Your business! Your education!" Ashley blurted.

Gabriella nodded. "That's true. But Ben said something to the group of widows when we got together that day he was injured by the man with the club. He told us that we were all good people and we could rely on each other when we needed help. I think we'd been so caught up in our own individual miseries that we'd forgotten we could care for others and others could care for us. Once we realized that our friendships strengthened incredibly. That's the true strength of a community. Caring. The willingness to lend a hand, to support each other if we have trouble of any kind. Even just knowing someone nearby is ready to help has given me a peace of mind like I've never known before. Ben exemplifies those values of community. He is the first one to raise his hand to offer his time and effort. He's very protective. And he never, ever expects anything in return, not even praise. That's something you will see once you get to know him. Ben has an issue with praise. It makes him really uncomfortable. We try not to say how much we appreciate him when he's nearby as it drives him away. He's actually seeing a councillor about that.

Ashley was watching Gabriella and Catherine talk about Ben and they obviously loved him. But Tina said he loved her and Trish. She was so confused. "Are you... in love with Ben?" she finally asked.

Both women immediately said 'Yes.' then laughed. Gabriella explained. "Ben had a very rough time growing up and we haven't heard the full story yet. There are some dark hidden events in his past. When he moved into the neighborhood he got married and when they found out they couldn't have kids his wife, who was sterile, she left him for another man. That emotionally knocked Ben off his moorings. He was in pretty rough shape. He drank a lot." She saw Ashley stiffen. "But he was just a sad drunk. Not violent in any way." Ashley relaxed and Gabriella continued.

"One day a man drove into the neighborhood and tried to abduct Miriam. He got her into the back of his van and was about to escape when Ben got to him. Ben wasn't at his best but he managed to pull the man from his van and beat him against the side of it. In desperation the man shot Ben three times in the torso but Ben just knocked the gun away. I managed to get Miriam out of the back of the van by that point. She was traumatized and wailing in my arms. Ben looked at me and I looked at him. I saw the rage in his eyes and I knew he could feel my terror at almost losing my daughter. He lifted that monster in the air and snapped his neck like a twig. Then the police tackled him and he passed out from blood loss. They rushed him to the hospital and managed to save him but he fell into a coma." Gabriella took a deep breath and saw she had Ashley's rapt attention.

"I was at a particularly low point in my marriage at that time. And Ben had just killed a monster who was trying to steal my daughter. I knew he did it for me and Miriam and I fell for him hard. I went to the hospital as often as I could and I took care of his house. My husband was annoyed by how much time I was spending on Ben but outside of that he didn't care. Ben was in the coma for four months and it took eight months of physiotherapy before he got to go home. I brought him home but I never told him I was in love with him. He was still mourning the loss of his marriage. His self-worth had taken an almost fatal blow when that woman left him. I secretly loved Ben for years as my husband just grew more distant. Catherine was also in love with Ben and at first I was threatened by that. I didn't understand Ben well enough and I didn't understand the truth about love. Ben is capable of loving completely. Whatever damage was done to his psyche during those rough years of his youth somehow it failed to diminish his incredible capacity to love. He loves me. I know he also loves Catherine and Tina... and Trish though she's a little sensitive about that. Once I was able to accept that his love for them didn't diminish his love for me in any way I was able to open my heart to him as he'd opened his to me. I love Catherine like my best friend and a sister combined. I would never deny her Ben's love and there's truly no reason to. Please understand. Ben isn't trying to get as many women in his bed as he can. He's actually very shy and uncomfortable with people noticing his looks and coming on to him. He's not a flirt, or a player, or any of those things. He's just a nice man... who happens to also be gorgeous, brilliant, strong, sensitive, generous to a fault, and great listener."

"Don't forget he has an amazing body and the libido of a teenager!" Catherine grinned.

Ashley blushed.

Gabriella scowled at Cat. "Yes, well, the most important thing to take away from this conversation is that you are surrounded by people who care. That event six months ago may have been horrible and life altering but from it we've forged a new community comprised of people you can turn to no matter what. No judgement, just help. Catherine, Ben, Tina, Daphne, Trish, Rochelle, and myself. Any of us will be there for you. You just have to ask. Ok?" she looked into Ashley's eyes seeing the message was getting through. She'd planted the seed. Hopefully, should an episode of abuse arise she'd recall Gabriella's words. She smiled at the woman.

"Anyone for coffee or dessert?"

Ben had a poor night's sleep. He put it down to sleeping alone for the first time in a while. He'd begun to get used to having someone, typically Tina, in his bed.

He used the gym and got ready the day. He went down to the restaurant and saw Bill sitting at a table by the window.

"Good morning Bill!"

"Good morning Ben! Sleep well?" the man asked.

"Well enough I suppose. I prefer my bed." Ben replied.

"Do you travel much?" Bill asked.

"Actually, this is the furthest from home I've been." he said honestly.

"I've travelled to Las Vegas once for a trade show but that's it. I prefer the comforts of home and the missus prefers me home as well." Bill admitted. "I don't like being away from my kids. Do you have a missus and kids?"

Ben smiled and shook his head then paused and smiled more broadly. Bill's eyes twinked. "What's that smile mean?"

"I was married once but it didn't work out. We didn't have kids. But I'm living with a woman right now who has a one year old. It's... it's nice to hear him call me dada." Ben said with a guilty smile.

Bill's grin cranked up as Ben shared his happy secret. He knew Ben was good people.

The waitress arrived and took their order. She promised it would be right out.

"So I told you I'd take you to see the old man this morning but he called me last night to say that I wasn't to schedule anything for him until the evening as he had to fly to Las Vegas on family business." The man explained with a grimace. It looked like he had a bad taste in his mouth.

"Oh! Has there been some tragedy?" Ben asked, concerned.

"What? Oh! No, nothing like that." Bill said then frowned. Obviously there was something bothering the man and he wanted to talk about it but something was holding him back.

"What's on your mind?" Ben said in a deep casual tone, using the old bartender trick to start a conversation. He kept his expression neutral as well.

Bill needed to talk with someone about this. As a senior level manager he had no one to vent with and know it wouldn't get back to his boss. Ben was a good listener and Bill somehow knew he could trust his discretion. "The old man... he's great with us. I mean sure he's a tough old bird who doesn't give an inch but he's fair and generous enough. Working at Sturn has been really great for me and the team but a while back we almost all quit. The old man has one blind spot and that's his boy Ray. In high school the kid was some kinda football quarterback prodigy and he got picked up on a football scholarship in University. Something bad happened involving a party, too much alcohol and a girl. The next game none of the defence would protect him and Ray got injured, pretty bad. Some say it was retaliation for what he'd done to the girl. He dropped out of University and his dad brought him into the company. He tried grooming Ray for management, to take over the company when he passed on but Ray developed a bad temper and a cruel streak. We lost more female employees during those years than we ever had before. Company parties were the worst as he got mean when he drank."

The waitress arrived with their food and they ate in silence for a few minute. Ben didn't press him to continue but remained receptive if and when he decided to start again. He liked Bill. He seemed like a recent decent man and this was really eating at him. Bill set down his fork as he was ready to continue.

"Finally someone talked to the old man and he seemed to get control over his son. Things got better for a while and a woman took interest in him which seemed to calm him down a little more. When the first baby was announced Ray seemed to be growing up. The second one followed a year later and we had almost forgotten he'd been such a headcase before. Then we had a Christmas party and Ray got to drinking and took a fancy to one of the secretaries. A married one. The husband took offense and ended up in the hospital when he got the shit kicked out of him in the parking lot.

We knew who did it but couldn't prove it and the old man only saw his dutiful son with grandkids. Ray started acting up again and I think his wife bore the brunt of it. He was a cruel bastard. He made life miserable as work as well. It took an organized protest from the entire engineering department to get the old man to listen but all he did was transfer Ray to the Houston office. About three years ago Ray's wife died. Overdose. He'd isolated her so none of her friends had known what kind of pressure she'd been under. I feel bad for his kids. Not a year later he started dating a poor young blond from the Houston office secretarial pool. It wasn't too long before he knocked her up. The old man threatened to fire him if he didn't marry the girl but I'm not sure if that was a favor."

Bill leaned in so Ben did as well.

"Something bad happened in the Houston office. Something no one will talk about but the old man had to move Ray and his family once more. Now I got word that Ray got into a drunken altercation with a prostitute in Las Vegas. She's in bad shape. The old man flew over to bail him out, again."

Bill fixed Ben with a look. "With the money he's spending getting his son out of trouble and the money he may be spending to deal with this Houston situation we really need to get this prototype of yours into production. Once they're in place we'll be able to triple our output safely and that will give an immediate financial boost for the company. Not to mention the jobs it will protect, mine included! I know you aren't likely to sell the patent to the old man. I know there are many industries and applications that would benefit from your design. Are you looking at licensing it to us?"

"Yes, and the rate will be fair. I don't need to get rich off this one design. The volume of license deals I can make will take care of generating a decent revenue stream."

Bill sighed and relaxed. "Should we get back to it then?"

"Lead the way!" Ben smiled.

Bill signed for breakfast, Ben's stay was going on the corporate account, and they headed back to the lab. When they got there the shifts were changing and the men seemed rested and calm.

"Morning Bill, Ben! Uneventful night." the short bearded engineer said.

"Morning Dale! That's excellent news!" Bill said all smiles. They went through the logs and the test bench had thrown several calamitous events at the prototype but there was no sign of excess heat, strain, but most pleasing of all there had been no occurrences of hydraulic shock. None. Not even a ripple.

Ben went through the numbers and he asked Bill for a schematic of the full assembly. Bill's eyes lit up as he could see the wheels turning in the engineer's eyes. Ben pulled out his laptop and fired it up. Once the drawings were in front of him he ran some calculations and pointed out a particular section on the drawing.

"Do you have sensors on this section for heat build-up?" he asked.

Bill smiled seeing where this may be going. "Yes, that's one point in the process where we encounter that."

"Can I get the specs for this piece here?" Ben said to Dale who was leaning in over the drawings.

"Coming right up." Dale said.

Soon other members of the team were getting involved. Bill and Ben reviewed the entire refinery schematic and between them they found four more places where Ben's component should be installed over the existing four places they'd intended. The net effect of this would allow the system to handle five times its current load. They'd be five time more productive.

When the team finally sat back in exhaustion they were all dazed by the events. By utilizing the valve Ben had designed for the nuclear power plant in place of the standard valves the entire system was safer and five times more efficient. Output would be five times higher meaning five times more cost effective and five times the revenue.

No retooling would be required as the connections were all standard. The valves weren't exorbitantly expensive and could be ordered from the manufacturer online. Dale immediately got on that. Ben worked out a rough agreement with Bill that Sturn Enterprise could be the exclusive licensed manufacture for the new hydraulic shock reduction component he'd designed for them. The final agreement would have to be done through Sturn's CEO, Jacob Sturn. It was finally time to see the man. Ben shook the hands of each member of the team. He'd never worked with a group of engineers directly before and he complimented Bill on his team. The man was rightly proud.

Bill drove Ben in the electric cart over to the large office tower standing apart from the factory. He'd made the call and the old man was ready.

The two men made their way to a large boardroom on the top floor and made themselves comfortable. The view from the room was spectacular and they were enjoying the sunset when they heard the door opening behind them. They stood and shook the hand of Jacob Sturn, a man in his sixties but currently looking like a man in his eighties.

"Is everything ok sir?" Bill asked, worried about strain showing on the man's face.

Jacob's sharp eyes jerked to Bill but saw only concern there so he nodded and smile. "Yes, thank you Bill."

He turned his eyes on Ben and a little bit of vitality seemed to return. "So this is the man who engineers miracles?"

Ben smiled as Bill slapped him on the shoulder. "The miracles just keep coming. The component he designed surpasses expectations and we just spent the day making adjustments to the refinery design using his new component plus some valves he designed years ago. With these new adjustments and components in place we can safely boost the output of the refinery by five times!"

Jacob's eyes snapped back to Bill. "What? Five times? Are you 100% sure of that?"

"Yes sir. The engineering is sound. We're ordering the valves. We need about a dozen of them and they only cost $1500 each. Ben's new hydraulic shock reduction component, we can manufacture those here so they'll only run us around $500 each and we need eight. Best of all Ben and I worked out a rough agreement to allow Sturn Enterprises to be the exclusive licensed manufacturer of these. The market will be enormous as they'll work for many industries."

Jacob was looking more and more pleased with his chief engineer. Life was returning to his eyes which at the beginning of the meeting were anything but lively.

"Jesus Bill, I had no idea you had the business chops to work out such a deal!" the old man grinned.

"Well, it's just the frame of a deal. Pending your approval and review of course!" Bill shrugged.

Jacob looked like a man who'd been thrown a lifeline. He was nodding and looking at Bill in a new light.

"I've done this before as I have a number of designs I've licensed manufacturers to provide. I have a licensing contract I can send you which you can have your legal team go through. Once that is signed I'll give Bill here the manufacturing specs for the component and he can get his team started."

Jacob looked back at Ben and there was steel in his eyes once more as the businessman resurfaced. "What are the fees for licensing going to be?"

Ben was ready for that question and flipped open his laptop. The contract was on the screen in seconds and the fees page just a few seconds later. "I use a pretty standard rate which I believe you will find fair." He spun the screen towards the CEO.

Jacob read through the page, then reread the text. His eyes returned to Ben. "This seems lower than I'd expect."

"As I mentioned to Bill, I don't need to get rich from this one design. I believe as Bill does, the market for these is very large. Keeping the price down will mean much higher volume which guarantees a steady stream of income. Stability and long term growth is more interesting to me. Bill impressed me. He got that immediately and saw how Sturn could not only utilize them for the company's own immediate benefit but as the licensed manufacturer you could increase the company's revenue stream and diversify your offering to protect the company against market fluctuations in oil futures.

Jacob was back to looking at Bill. Ben could see Bill having a brighter future at the company now.

"Send me the contract. I'll have my team look at it overnight and we can sign it tomorrow morning." Jacob said. He stood and they rose with him. Jacob shook Ben's hand and surprised him with the tightness of his grip. Ben thought it was a stupid game but he gave back what he got plus some and the CEO grinned broadly and nodded. Bill was obviously ready for the grip and Jacob smiled brightly as he turned and left the room.

Once he was gone Bill turned to Ben. "Man! You did me a solid with the boss!"

"Don't sell yourself short. Nothing I said wasn't the absolute truth. I think you are just what Mr. Sturn needs for his company to succeed and grow." Ben sat down again and modified a copy of the contract to reflect the relationship between himself and Sturn Enterprises naming the parties including Jacob and Bill, and the component they would be manufacturing including his patent submission ID. He emailed the contract to both Jacob Sturn and Bill. "OK, that does it. We get a signature on this tomorrow morning and by lunch you are making the components. And by the afternoon I'm on my way home!"

"Can I bring you home tonight for a home cooked meal? My lady insists." Bill grinned showing the text from his wife.

"I'd like that!" Ben said.

They made their way back down to the electric cart and made a quick stop by the lab. Once Bill explained what had transpired to his team there were even more smiles, handshakes, and pats on the back. The future of the team looked promising too.

As Bill drove Ben to his home they talked about how unhappy Jacob had been when the meeting began.

"I know he loves his son, as any father should, but Ray's a grown man now and he has some serious issues that are not getting addressed. He's hurt people. He needs to take responsibility for himself but I think he knows his dad will just keep protecting him."

"Maybe this time the trouble is larger than Jacob can deal with. You mentioned he was arrested." Ben said.

"Maybe so. I actually hope that's the case."

Bill took Ben to a lovely two story home in the suburbs of Austin. As they pulled into the driveway a boy and girl charged out of the front door and rushed up to the car. Ben smiled seeing the kids. "Twins?" he asked as they exited the truck.

The man nodded. "This is my son David and my daughter Emma. Kids, this is Ben." he introduced the 10 year olds clinging to his legs. "Up there on the porch is my lovely wife Melissa."

Ben nodded to the kids and waved at the woman and they all moved inside.

"Supper is in ten minutes. Go get cleaned up! Ben you can use the bathroom in the hall if you'd like to freshen up." Melissa said. She was a good foot shorter than her husband but sturdy of body. The smile on her face seemed a permanent fixture.

Ben washed his hands and face in the little bathroom and met the family in the dining room.

"What would you like to drink with your meal, Ben?" Bill asked.

"Water please." he said.

"Sure. We have beer if you'd like one." Bill offered.

"I don't drink anymore." Ben explained.

"Ah! Sorry." Bill said and nodded. He filled Ben's glass from the water cooler in the corner.

Melissa entered the room carrying a large platter of fried chicken. On the table already were steaming bowls of mash potatoes, corn, greens, and biscuits and gravy.

The family sat down and said grace. Melissa did the honors and mentioned Ben's presence as their special guest which made him smile.

The kids were super excited to have a guest and Ben enjoyed getting them to smile and giggle. The food was excellent and Ben told them stories about the deep winter snows they sometimes got back home.

Finally dinner was over and the kids were off like a shot to get in some last minute playing before bed.

Ben, Bill, and Melissa retired to the seats out on wide front porch and enjoyed the cooler air of the evening.

"Mel honey, Ben did me a real favor today. He talked me up to the boss and old Jacob is looking at me like he's just discovered treasure in his backyard." Bill exclaimed and Melissa turned her brilliant smile on their guest.

"Like I told your husband, nothing I said was less than the absolute truth. Your husband runs a tight ship, has a great and loyal team, and knows his stuff. He can easily rise to the challenge. It looked like Mr. Sturn was ready for some help too." Ben said.

"What happened?" Melissa asked.

"It's his son again. This time he was arrested in Las Vegas for beating up a prostitute." Bill growled.

"That man frightens me. I never liked going to your company parties when he was working there." Melissa shuddered. "Maybe this time he'll go to jail!"

"Not if his dad keeps bailing him out and hiring big time lawyers to win the cases on technicalities." Bill griped.

"Let's talk about something nicer. You're really good with kids, Ben! Do you have any of your own?" Melissa asked.

Ben smiled and realized that question no longer hurt like it used to. "No, but I'm living with a woman who has a 1 years old who calls me 'dada'. That feels... good!"

Melissa and Bill were all smiles. They chatted about homey stuff and Ben admitted to being a home renovation junky. Bill too and they swapped stories. It was a very pleasant end to the day. Bill drove Ben back to his hotel and promised to meet him for breakfast the next day.

Ben called Tina and caught up. Apparently Daphne and the twins hosted the Beaumont's that evening and Trish joined them. Ben worried about the stories Trish might share with Ashley. Tina finished with news that Ashley's husband had finally called her and would be arriving the following evening but more likely the day after.

Ben told Tina that he expected to be home the following evening. This made Tina very happy. Ben hung up with a big grin on his face. It would be good to be home.

Ben woke up feeling exhausted. He couldn't recall his dreams but he felt a lingering anxiety. He really wanted to just go home but he still had some business to attend to. He got ready and packed his stuff back into his suitcase. Taking his suitcase and briefcase he went down to the restaurant and met Bill.

The man picked up on Ben's mood immediately so they had a quick breakfast and headed in to the lab. The test had completed and the results were perfect. No issues with any of the loads they threw at it. The test bench was shut down and the prototype was removed from the assembly. Ben and Bill did an inspection and there was no sign of wear or damage. Ben packed up the unit in his bubble wrap and put it in the duffle bag which he strapped to the suitcase.

Bill had asked if they'd be able to keep the prototype but Ben was clear that it would be returning with him.

Next they headed over to the office tower to meet with the boss. They went up to the boardroom once more and met Jacob and two of his in-house council. There were only two amendments they wanted in the contract. The corporation named in the license was to be Sturn Manufacturing and only Bill Freeny was to be specifically named. The new corporate entity Sturn Manufacturing had be set up overnight and Bill was being given the title of its CEO. The new business had purchased the building and equipment from Sturn Enterprises and was not legally tied to the parent company. Bill was stunned and delighted. Ben was curious but knew better to than to ask. He smelled a lawsuit somewhere in the background. A lawsuit the new corporation was being set up to avoid financial entanglement with. Maybe the trouble in Houston office?

"What do you need to start selling these units?" Jacob asked.

"We'll want to get some made and install them in the new refinery so we can demonstrate a real live scenario and see the performance improvements. We have the test bench result and they're excellent but they're also dry facts. Seeing the product in actual use is far more impressive. Once we have that we market them online and at as many appropriate tradeshows as we can get to. We will also spread the word on the online engineering forums to generate the word of mouth. There will be global demand for these so we'd better look into the logistics and distribution channels." Bill rattled off the top of his head. Jacob had a huge grin on his face and Bill stopped to smile back.

Signatures were made and hands were shaken. Ben was given his copies of the document and he placed them in his briefcase. He pulled out a memory stick and a manila file folder containing printed schematics for the component. Bill reviewed the paper work and confirmed the contents of the memory stick on his tablet.

They were done. Jacob let him know that the corporate jet was fueled and ready to take him home. They shook hands once more and Bill walked him down to the lobby and into the electric cart. He drove Ben back to the airstrip and unloaded his luggage. Bill gave Ben a surprise hug as he was so overwhelmed with the changes that the past few days had made to his life. Ben smiled and patted his back. He liked Bill but he was aching to go home.

Ben climbed back into the jet. He strapped in and a short time later they were shooting down the runway for the journey back home. He tilted the seat back and rested his eyes. The pilot's gentle prods to his shoulder woke him at his destination. He thanked the man, exited with his bags and made his way back to his truck.

The drive home was short and Ben was happy to turn into his street. He saw new car in the driveway of the Beaumont's driveway so he assumed the husband finally made it. Hopefully he was getting that credit card fixed so he could get the services on. Ben pulled into his own driveway and pulled into the garage. He closed the garage door and went in the side door with his bags. Tina squeaked in surprise when he entered the kitchen from the garage.

"Ben! You scared me!" she yelled frantically.

Ben watched the young woman and thought her reaction was just a little extreme for the fright. He put his bags down and opened his arms. Tina was against his body in a second, clinging to him and crying.

He got a little frightened. "Tina, what's wrong? Is Christopher ok?"

She slowly got control of herself and nodded.

"Talk to me. What happened?"

"Ash- Ashley was having lunch with me. Madison and Savannah were here too with Miriam. The boys were playing together. They were so sweet. Then we heard some loud honking. It went on and on. I went to the door and saw it was Ashley's husband. He had arrived early and was standing in his driveway leaning on the horn of his car. Ashley was so frightened but she picked up Joshua and took the two girls with her. Everyone was so scared. They got outside and the man started to yell at them. He said such awful things as they walked home. I stepped outside and he called me a 'fucking chink' and told me to mind my own business."

Ben stiffened when he heard what the man called her. He kissed her forehead and gave her a squeeze.

"We have not heard from them and I am worried." Tina began to cry again.

"Did Miriam hear what he said as well?" he asked and Tina nodded. "Ok, good. She went home?" Another nod.

"I'm going to go welcome our new neighbor and I'll see if I can see any signs that she's ok or not." Ben said calmly and Tina gripped him tighter. "I'm just going to say hello... after I put on a dry shirt."

Tina finally nodded and stepped back. She took his suitcase and led him down the hall. Ben slipped off his shirt and put on a black t-shirt. He walked to the front door and put on his leather jacket and black boots. With a nod to Tina he stepped outside.

The spring air felt good on his face as he walked over the Beaumont's house. Ben walked up the drive and looked at the sleek black BMW sedan. The windows were tinted almost black and the rims gleamed silver even in the dim illumination of twilight.

He stood at the door and listened. Nothing but silence. Could be good, could be bad. Only one way to find out. Ben rubbed his temple then pressed the doorbell. Twenty seconds later, nothing so he pressed the doorbell again. He counted another twenty seconds and pressed the doorbell for a third time. Finally the sound of heavy footsteps approaching the door.

The inner door yanked open. The hall light was off so the figure in the doorway was heavily shadowed and only his edges were backlit. He was silent for a second then Ben heard a deep gravelly voice.

"Who the FUCK are you?"

"I'm Ben Shepherd, your neighbor Mr. Beaumont."

There was a long pause. "What the FUCK did you just call me?" the voice went quiet and sinister.

"Mr. Beaumont?"

"The CUNT'S name is Beaumont! I ain't no fucking Beaumont!" the man spat through the screen door in his anger.

Ben smelled foul breath and whisky and suddenly he wasn't at the door anymore. He was standing in the backyard of a house with a pool, a barbeque, and a picnic table looking up at a big man in the shadows. Ben saw the man's knuckles were bruised and cut. Then he saw the woman on the ground behind the picnic table.

"ARE YOU FUCKING DEAF?" a voice yelled in his face and the reek of whisky washed over him. Ben blinked and looked at the bleary eyes behind the screen.

"What?" he tried to focus.

"I said who the FUCK told you I was a Beaumont! Did the bitch tell you that?" the man sprayed.

Ben felt a pressure in his head building. The big old man with the bruised fists smelling of whisky overlayed the man behind the screen every time he yelled.

"Who are you?" Ben managed to say.

"I'm Elija Ray Sturn, motherfucker! That's who the FUCK I am!" the man growled and pounded his fist on the door jamb. Ben's eyes caught the redness of his knuckles. Split. Bruised. Bloody. The picnic table. The woman lying dead or dying behind it.

Shifting ever so slowly to the left he looked behind the shadowed man. There... on the floor just poking into the doorway was a hand. Fingers twitching desperately.

Ben's punch went through the screen and into the soft center of the large man. He hooked his fingers behind the large, ornate belt buckle and pulled with all his might as he screamed his rage at the old man for killing the sweet old woman.

Glass and metal shattered and screeched as the man crashed face first through the storm door. Ben released the man on his way down to the driveway surface. Chin, nose, teeth, and forehead hit the asphalt first and teeth shattered but Ben was already stepping past, into the house, rushing to drop to his knees by the bloody and broken body of- Ashley Beaumont? Ben was confused. This wasn't Margaret Cosburn. It- it was Ashley and she was alive!

Ben blinked and looked up at the sofa. He saw two bruised teen girls clinging to each other, eyes wide with terror. He was afraid to touch Ashley. He could hear Joshua crying in the other room.

There was the sudden sound of an engine roaring to life and Ben raced to the door to see the sedan careen backwards down the driveway. It clipped a post at the end of the driveway and shattering a tail light. Then the car surged forward and raced away down the street. Ben went back inside and stood over the injured woman. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed 911.

"911, what is the nature of your emergency?"

"I need an ambulance at 13 Ashburn Court. Send the police too. The bastard beat her pretty bad. She's breathing but she's unconscious. There are two teen girls who look pretty bruised too but they are conscious."

"OK sir the ambulance and police are on the way. Please stay on the line. Can I get your name?"

"Ben. Ben Shepherd."

"Are you a member of the family?"

"What? No, I'm a neighbor."

"And what is your address?"

"16 Ashburn Court."

Ben looked over at the girls. They were crying and looking at him. "Are you ok?" he asked gently and they nodded.

"Did- did you kill daddy?" Madison asked in a quiet voice.

"What?!? No, he drove away just now." Ben gasped. "Can you look after your brother?" He then realized he had no memory of how he got into the house. That troubled him until he heard the sirens. "I can hear sirens." he said to the 911 operator as he walked to the front door. He looked at the wreckage of the storm door on the driveway. Shards of glass and blood. Small white bits in the blood that looked like Chicklets. Ben looked blankly at the damage. Then he saw people on the street moving towards the house.

The police cruiser arrived first. Then a second and third. Ben told the 911 operator they were there and hung up.

"Sir, step outside please." an officer said firmly. Ben stepped down onto the driveway as the officer's partner approached.

"Just Ashley, Madison, Savannah and baby Joshua are inside. The husband just drove off moving fast." Ben said then his muscles said enough. He sank to his knees and the policeman moved closer.

"Did you do this, sir?" the officer said pointing to the damaged door.

Ben looked at the door from his new angle and it looked so foreign. He shook his head. "I don't think... I... don't remember."

The officer saw Ben was bleeding from his temple. "Sir, you've been hurt. Your head. Were you struck on your head?"

"I don't remember." he said as he touched the spot on his head. He pulled his fingers back and saw the blood. He froze looking at his fingers. Something about blood covered hands...

The ambulance arrived and the officer directed them inside. Tina rushed up the driveway to get to Ben but the cop intercepted her.

"Maam! You can't be here. Please go back to the sidewalk."

"I must go to Ben! He needs me! BEN!" she called out. She saw he was staring at the blood on his fingers. "BEN? Please! Something is wrong. I must go to him!" She pushed ineffectively at the cops arms.

The paramedics were coming out with Ashley on the gurney. Ben caught the motion and his head snapped to the right. From his angle he couldn't see Ashley's face. His mind took him back to the night Margaret Cosburn died. Her charred body wheeled out on a gurney covered by a blanket. The blood on his hands.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! MRS. COSBURN!" Ben screamed then collapsed.

"BEN!" Tina screamed.

Chapter 27

Ben woke up in a hospital bed. He looked around and didn't recognize the room. Minimal furniture, none of the usual medical machinery, not even a get well card or a vase of flowers. The walls were painted a color he couldn't even recognize. There overall impression hinted at a subtle sense of desperation in the room. Then he noticed the restraints pinning him to the bed. That was also new. He looked around and didn't see a call button for the nurse. Not that he could reach it, he realized.

"HELLO?" Ben called out.

He heard approaching footsteps. Then he heard the door unlock. His eyebrows went up again. An orderly entered the room. He read Ben's chart then nodded to Ben and left. The door locked and footsteps moved away.

Minutes later two sets of footsteps approached. Again the door unlocked and opened only this time it was the orderly and Dr. Granger. The orderly remained outside after he opened the door for the doctor.

"Oh thank god! A familiar face!" Ben exclaimed.

"Hello Ben. How are you feeling?"

"Fine. Why am I here and why am I in restraints?"

"Police orders. You had a psychotic break and evidence suggests you injured someone." The doctor stated. Ben twitched when she mentioned him hurting someone. She took note of that.

"The police found pieces of someone's teeth, a lot of them, and quite a bit of blood on the driveway. None of this was from you so it was determined that it belonged to Mr. Sturn. 'He was inside the storm door then he was on the driveway.' That's a description the police received from a Mr. Barry Walker, a neighbor who was watching with binoculars from directly across the court. Do you remember confronting Mr. Sturn?" the doctor asked.

Ben thought back to the event. "I got home and talked with Tina, is she ok?" The doctor nodded. "She told me what happened when Sturn got home. I went to see if I could tell if Ashley was alright." He frowned as something flashed by in his mind. "I rang the doorbell a few times until he showed up. I couldn't see-" Ben stopped as the old man stood before him in the dark breathing hard, fists clenched, foul breath reeking of whiskey.

"Ben!"

"Sorry... what?" Ben blinked.

"Why did you stop just then? What did you remember?" the doctor pressed.

"Remember? Uh... I was in the driveway... then I was kneeling next to her but it wasn't-" the crumpled and broken body of the sweet old woman who loved him was curled in a fetal position on the ground behind the picnic table. She wasn't breathing!

"BEN!"

He jolted against his restraints and looked around frightened and confused. His memory had holes.

"Who is Mrs. Cosburn?" Dr. Granger asked.

Ben stared at the doctor blankly then his eyes rolled up and he was out.

She checked his pulse which was a little fast then she left.

Hannah sat with Dr. Granger and listened to the woman describe her meeting with Ben. "Damn! Something in his past really hurt him. How do we find out about this Mrs. Cosburn?"

The doctor looked grim. "I am assuming, hoping actually, that she was one of his foster parents. If she was then there may be records of what happened. I've got a call in to my contact at Child Health Services to see if I can get the records of Ben's time in the system. The police are investigating from their side."

"Can he have visitors?" Hannah asked.

Dr. Granger looked at the administrator. She knew Hannah had feelings for her patient but she trusted the woman's concerned for his well-being was stronger.

"Yes, but the restraints stay on." she said pinning Hannah with her gaze. The administrator nodded.

Ben woke up in the room again. He looked around but the doctor was no longer in the room. He went back to her questions. His mind shied away from something there. He found himself pulling at his restraints so he relaxed as best he could. Ben's head was pounding from a headache. He called out to see if the orderly could get him some pain killers.

The wait this time was much longer but when he heard footsteps he could tell there was more than one coming. The door unlocked and Hannah came in. The relief to see her face was almost physical. He smiled and tears welled up but he blinked them away and took control of his emotions.

"Hi Ben."

"Hi Hannah. I'm in your hospital? This doesn't look like your hospital." he said with a shaky voice.

"Psych ward. Oldest section in the building. It needs some updates." Hannah nodded as she looked at him with sadness in her eyes.

"Is everyone ok?" he asked.

Hannah snorted. Ben's in the hospital and he's worried about the others. "Yes, Ben. They're ok."

"Ashley? Madison? Savannah? Joshua?"

"Ashley will be going home in a day or two. She has some broken ribs, a concussion, bruises over most of her body and three broken fingers on one hand. The girls are better. Bruises only. Madison needed a new cast. Joshua wasn't hurt at all. When Ashley leaves she'll be staying with Tina at your place. That's where her daughters are now. Daphne's taking care of Joshua."

"Ashley's husband?"

"Elija Ray Sturn is in the wind. He may be badly hurt. He lost teeth, skin, and blood on the driveway but he hasn't shown up in any hospitals or walk-in-clinics. The police are hunting him. He was out on bail from attacking a prostitute-"

"-in Las Vegas. I know." Ben finished.

Hannah looked at him stunned. Ben saw the look and explained. "I didn't know who he was when I met him here. I just returned from Austin, Texas where I was doing some work for a company called Sturn Enterprises. The chief engineer told me the CEO was in Las Vegas bailing his son out of jail for assaulting a prostitute. He said the man's name was Ray Sturn. He told me the whole story about how bad this guy was. How he drove his first wife to commit suicide. How he hurt people all the time and was a mean drunk." Ben twitched but seemed unaware of it. "I got back and I thought the new neighbor's name was Eli Beaumont. I stupidly never connected the two together." Ben thought about that madman still on the loose.

"You have to do something for me." Hannah looked nervously at his restraints. "Call Tina and give her a message." She relaxed. "The code to my workshop. 1-9-7-3-#. If there's trouble she is to get everyone inside and press the red button on the wall under the flip up plastic plate. The shop doubles as a panic room. The room will seal and the police will be called. To re-open the door AFTER the police arrive she just presses the red button again for three seconds. Can you tell her that?"

"Yes. Now, how are you doing?" Hannah asked.

"There are holes in my memory. I'm just noticing. I don't know how long it's been happening. It's scary." Ben admitted.

"Dr. Granger and I have spoken with Tina and Catherine. They've indicated that you've been having moments where you seem to... go away. It's only been recent though and it seems to be combined with headaches and nightmares. When you were brought in we gave you an MRI and a battery of other tests and found nothing physical to explain these symptoms. Physically you're healthy as a horse. Dr. Granger has some ideas but she'll speak to you about that." Hannah said brushing the hair from his forehead. Ben pressed back against her fingers as best he could.

Hannah smiled down at Ben and leaned down to kiss his forehead but he tilted his head up intentionally this time to reach her lips. She stopped before she reached him and looked into his eyes. He looked lost and he was looking for a connection. She allowed her head to descend further until her lips were lightly brushing his. His breath caught and he gently pressed his mouth against hers. He stroked her bottom lip with his and it was Hannah's turn to gasp as tingles raced down her spine. He captured her top lip between his lips and gently nibbled his way to the corner of her mouth. Hannah was trembling and rested her hand on his powerful chest feeling it rise and fall with his breathing and the thump of his quickly beating heart.

Ben sucked at Hannah's lower lip and ran his teeth over its surface tantalizingly. Hannah wanted to pull off her tight business suit and to climb on Ben but... he needed her help more than he needed this.

She closed her eyes tight and pressed her lips against his one last time before she pulled back, escaping the almost magnetic pull of his mouth. Ben's eyes were half lidded and searched hers when she reopened them.

"You need to get better Ben. Speak with the doctor, ok? Let her in. Let her help you. Please!" Hannah gasped quietly. Ben couldn't trust his voice so he just nodded while he kept his eyes on hers. She pulled away and walked from the room not looking back. Not wanting to see the effect she'd had on his body. Stepping out the door she stumbled to a stop as she almost bumped into Dr. Granger. Her face went red as she realized the doctor had seen everything.

"Checking up on me Dr. Granger?" she asked roughly.

"Confirming my faith in you was justified." the doctor replied.

"Well?"

"It was." Granger smiled. She walked back towards her office and Hannah followed after a moment.

Once they were seated the doctor unlocked her drawer and pulled out a thick dossier. She looked at Hannah. "Ben's past. His foster care records."

"How did you get them so fast?" Hanna gasped.

"I'd like to say it was magic but the fact is they were here in the building! The original Child Welfare Office was in the basement of the hospital years ago. Now it's just records storage. My contact at Child Services got back to me and he told me that for records as old as the ones I wanted they'd be in the stored here. I went down to the basement and the filing clerk there is a savant and found Ben's records in minutes. Some of these were sealed by the court but as his doctor I'm allowed to review them for his treatment."

"Sealed by the court? Ben was in trouble with the police as a youth?"

She nodded. "I found Mrs. Cosburn. These were the sealed records. Ben was twelve when he went to live with Foster parents Walter and Margaret Cosburn. Walter was a machinist. A big man and an alcoholic. Margaret was a petite woman who was very caring and nurturing. One night Walter got drunk and beat his wife to death with his bare hands in the backyard of their house. Ben and another foster care boy named Richard Fenn arrived home late from school and the police suspect Ben fought with Walter because Ben was beaten badly. Ben may have beaten Walter with a monkey wrench as his finger prints were on it. The monkey wrench was also used to damage the home's gas meter and the barbeque. Something ignited the gas causing a massive explosion which destroyed the house and ultimately killed Walter and Richard. The police report indicated that they found Ben soaking wet and kneeling in the scorched earth of the backyard holding the burnt and broken body of Mrs. Cosburn. He must have been in the pool during the explosion but he was catatonic and couldn't recall any of the events. They took him to trial but the judge found there was insufficient evidence to prove Ben had been responsible. They simply put him back in the system without therapy and sealed the records."

Dr. Granger looked at Hannah. "He suppressed the memories. Abusive father figure. Murdered caring mother figure. Friend killed in the blast. Ben was twelve and took responsibility for all of their deaths. He stepped up and tried to save the woman but it was too late. He tried to stop the abusive man and was beaten. For his efforts they all died. Tina told us that he was staring at the 'blood on his hands' when he was in the driveway. His memories surfaced that night and he relived them."

Hannah had her hands over her mouth as she looked at the doctor in shock. The idea that a twelve year old Ben had held himself responsible for those deaths was sickening. The idea that he still blamed himself and continued to relive it was horrifying.

"Wait! So he wasn't responsible for his actions against Eli Sturn then! He was acting on the suppressed memories and post-traumatic stress." Hannah gasped.

"Is that your clinical diagnosis Hannah?" Granger smirked.

"Sorry, but it's true, right?" Hannah pushed.

"Yes, that would be my diagnosis as well." she agreed.

"So the restraints-"

"-remain in place to protect him from himself. Ben needs to be treated for his suppressed memories first." the doctor insisted. Hannah paused then nodded. She left the doctor's office and walked back to her own. She had call to make for Ben.

Chapter 28

Ashley carefully went up the stairs leaning heavily on Trish's shoulder. For all Trish's slimness she was solid muscle and Ashley took comfort in the firmness of her grasp around her waist. Two more steps and she was inside the door Tina held open for her. Madison and Savannah were inside with tears in their eyes. Guilt played over their faces as they looked at the woman they'd witness their father beat unconscious the day before.

Ashley reached out and the two girls were against her, crying and telling her how sorry they were. She shushed them, then kissed the top of their heads, telling them they weren't to blame for her beating and she hadn't expected them to fight off their father who was so much bigger than them. Their hugs were hurting her ribs and Tina caught her wincing so she stepped in and suggested the girls go turn down the sheets on Ashley's bed and prop up the pillows so she'd be comfortable. The two immediately disappeared down the hallway. Ashley said a silent thank you to Tina who smiled and nodded.

Trish and Tina each took an arm and helped Ashley down the hall into the first guest bedroom. They set her on the edge and the girls helped her lean back comfortably. The pain left Ashley's features as she relaxed. "Ahhh, that's so much better!" she sighed and the girls beamed big smiles at her. "How is Joshua?" the mother asked.

"Daphne, Lisa, and Lori are taking excellent care of both Joshua and Christopher who have become inseparable friends." Tina smiled.

The last crease on her brow relaxed and Ashley closed her eyes.

"We'll let you get some sleep and we'll look in on you in a couple of hours. If you need anything please call. We're right outside and will come running." Tina said gesturing for the teens to leave the room with her. They walked out into the living room and took seats.

Trish leaned forward to speak quietly. "Did you want to do another trial run for the panic room?"

Tina looked at the two young women and shook her head. "They are ready. Thank you so much Trish!"

The redhead looked uncomfortable. "It's the least I can do. Well, if I'm not needed I'm gonna head home, get changed and go for a run. I have my cell so call me if you need me."

Tina rose and walked Trish to the door. They hugged and Trish jogged home.

Tina locked up and went back to the living room. The girls were on the tablet chatting with Miriam and Jane Wilson, Beth's daughter, who Miriam introduced the previous evening.

She smiled at the healing power of friends.

Dr. Granger left her office and made her way towards Ben's room. Now that she knew what to look for she could begin the healing process with Ben. She intended to use hypnotherapy to regress him back to the date of the original event and identify the triggers which made the memories resurface. Once she had that she was going to take Ben back to the date and have him watch the events as an observer so he could describe what happened that day. She'd be able to show him how he wasn't responsible for the actions of Walter.

When she got to the ward Hector wasn't at his post. The orderly should have been at his station. Then she saw the streak of blood across the control panel of the desk. There was more blood on the floor and coming from under the closet door. She grabbed up the phone and dialed.

"Security." a man answered.

"This is Dr. Granger in the Psych ward. We have an emergency situation. I need a security team and send a medical team as well." She opened the closet door and stifled a scream. Hector's dead eyes stared back at her from the crumpled body on the floor. "Call the police! Hector's been murdered!" She looked away and looked across the screens at the patients. Her eyes locked on the screen showing Ben's room. There was a man leaning over Ben's body. He was beating on his chest. NO! HE WAS STABBING HIM!

The man with the knife suddenly began to scream and Dr. Granger heard him all the way down the hall. A high pitched squeal of agony. He was trying to get away from Ben's hand which had a firm grip on his groin. Finally he managed to tug away and he fell to the floor retching his stomach contents out. He managed to stagger to his feet holding his groin. Dr. Granger thought he was going to start stabbing Ben again so she leaned out in the hall and yelled.

"Security and Police are on their way! Put your weapon down and lie on the floor!" she growled with her loudest most authoritative voice. On the screen the man's head whipped towards the door then he went back to the bed and slashed Ben across the face. Dr. Granger screamed and the man ran out the door and up the hallway towards the security station. She locked herself in and stared into the maddened eyes of Eli Sturn as he ran past to get to the exit.

Thirty seconds later the first security officers showed up. Dr. Granger opened the door and ran to Ben's room. Ben was unconscious and bleeding from his chest and the slash across his face. The medics burst into the room behind her pulling a gurney. They undid Ben's restraints and pulled him over onto the gurney. They strapped him in and rushed him out of the room with Dr. Granger in pursuit.

Administrator Cooper was standing in the gallery of the operating room they brought Ben into. Dr. Granger entered the gallery and immediately went to her side. "How is he?"

Hannah looked at her and her face was white. "He looks like a pin cushion! How many times was he stabbed? What happened to his face? It's covered in blood."

"Eli Sturn killed Hector and got into Ben's room. He was stabbing Ben in a frenzy. Ben was still locked in his restraints. But the man was leaning over Ben and Ben grabbed and squeezed his testicles hard. In retaliation he slashed Ben's face. I called out and he fled, right past me. The man had no upper or lower front teeth. He looks horrifying!"

"Dr. Padme has begun." Hannah said watching the operation with complete attention.

Tina made a light dinner for Ashley and the teens and they ate on trays in Ashley's room. The conversation was light and smiles were gradually replacing the nervous looks. Tina was closest to the door. She heard a strange tearing sound. She got up to investigate and the sound was coming from the kitchen. She flipped on the deck lights and she saw a hand with a knife cutting through the stiff curtain they'd lowered around the deck as extra protection.

While her heart leapt up into her throat, Tina immediately headed back to Ashley's room and addressed the teens in a calm voice. "We must go to the panic room. Now. This is not a drill."

Madison and Savannah froze but jumped when Tina clapped her hands together. Ashley didn't know what was going on.

Tina took Ashley's tray away and Madison grabbed one arm while Savannah grabbed the other. They helped their mother to her feet and walked her out of the room towards the stairs to the basement. The going was slow so they just reached the top of the stairs when Eli slammed his shoulder against the glass patio door. The three screamed but he just bounced off and slammed to the deck.

"Downstairs, NOW!" Tina barked and the three started moving again. Tina would not allow them to stop and look at Eli's futile effort to break through the armored glass. Ben hadn't wanted to give thieves an easy way in so he'd invested in the toughest glass panels available then double plied them. Eli saw his target disappearing and Tina following. He screamed at them but they didn't stop. He pushed his way back through the hole he's made in the curtain.

When the group got to the bottom of the stairs Tina went around them, down the hall to the lock panel to the work shop. She punched in the code and the door unlocked. She stepped inside and the lights came up. She urged the teens and Ashley to move faster. There was the sound of wood cracking and the three moved faster. They could hear Eli's screams of rage.

Finally Ashley was inside and Tina pulled them to the side. She closed the door. She flipped the panel on the wall and pressed the red button. There was a deep rumbling sound and the little monitor on the wall by the door flickered on. They could see an armored panel on the other side of the door was sliding over the doorway. The camera was focused looking down at the entrance so it must have been in the ceiling. Suddenly Eli was against the wall pounding on the exposed part of the door. Everyone shrieked and jumped back. He pushed at the sliding panel but it continued on its path without any sign of his interference. They heard a final 'thunk' and the panel was closed.

A voice came from the speaker next to the little monitor. "911, please state the nature of your emergency."

Tina looked at Ashley then back to the speaker. "Hello, my name is Tina Lee. I am at 16 Ashburn Court and I need to report that a bad man has broken into my house. He is trying to kill us."

"Mrs. Lee, are you able to get to a safe room and lock yourself in?" the voice said.

"Yes, I am in a panic room in the basement. I do not believe he can get in." she replied.

"OK, police are on the way. Please stay on the line."

"ASHLEY... MADISON... SAVANNAH! Open the FUCKING door RIGHT NOW!" Eli raged.

They watched him on the monitor as Eli looked around for something to open the door. Every now and then he'd stop and hold his groin and moan. Then he looked up and made an excited sound and left the picture. Seconds later he was back with a big sledgehammer in his hands. Madison and Savannah began to cry and Ashley hugged them. Tina saw their fear.

"It will not work." she said with contempt in her voice.

The girls perked up and looked at her confident smile.

Eli was trying to see where to hit the door. There wasn't much room to swing the big hammer in the basement and the whisky he'd drank to dull the pain from his teeth was fucking up his coordination a little. On his first two attempts he hit the drywall ceiling above his head.

Tina snorted.

Eli's third swing hit the door with a mighty boom... but it held.

Eli got into a pattern and began to make a big dent in the door panel. He was determined to kill the bitches.

Trish had been coming back from her late jog when she heard the cracking of Ben's front door. She looked down the street and saw the shape of a large man slamming a huge rock from the ornamental garden against the front door. She immediately ran into her house and called the police to report the break in. She gave Ben's address and her name then hung up and ran into the basement to get the fighting sticks she and John used to spar with. Fifteen inches long and made of solid hardwood, she'd learned a few nasty tricks with these. After sparring she and her husband would have the most aggressive sex! She pushed that from her mind and raced back upstairs almost colliding with Lily and Mason. Bouncing on the balls of her feet she told them to stay inside and she raced out of the house towards Ben's.

Eli was tiring quickly. Sweat dripped down his face and onto the floor. The sledgehammer was so fucking heavy and it started bouncing on the surface of the door as his swings weakened. Each impact against the door made the pain in his balls spike and his face was hurting so fucking much too. He needed a drink so bad!

He swung the hammer back for one more mighty swing when his concentration was broken.

"HEY! SHIT FOR BRAINS!" a woman's voice yelled.

He staggered forward and the hammer went right up into the drywall ceiling and got jammed there. He tugged at it but the handle just hung down. He spun around and saw a tall redhead standing at the base of the stairs partially in shadow.

"What the fuck is it with you interfering bitches?" Eli growled.

"I think you'd better put your fucking ugly face on the floor with your hands on the back of your head. The police are on their way shithead!" Trish growled in return.

Eli pulled out his knife. "No, I don't think I will. See this. I used it to make a dozen deep holes in the asshole who did this to my face. Now it's going to add a few more holes to you."

Trish froze. "You hurt Ben?" she said quietly.

"I FUCKING KILLED HIM! I'll carve you as his tombstone, CUNT!" Eli screamed as he lunged forward, knife jabbing towards her chest.

Trish screamed in primal rage and snapped her left hand down. The stick smashed into Eli's right wrist snapping the bones and spinning the knife off to the side. The point of the right club caught him in the sternum stopping him in his tracks. His eyes bugged out as he couldn't get a breath.

Trish was still screaming in rage as she spun the sticks once more. She broke his jaw with the right and cracked a rib with the left. Up came the sticks again as she spun them faster. His broken nose flattened under the left club and his elbow snapped under the right. He was trying to scream but he still couldn't get a breath. She kicked him in the chest hard and he careened back, knocking the handle of the sledge hammer up to the ceiling then he crashed into the armored door. He took two steps forward and fell on his face.

He lay there senseless and Trish stepped back heaving deep breathes as the reality of what Eli said finally sank in. Ben was dead! The man who loved her was gone! She sunk to her knees dropping the sticks which rolled away under the furniture and she wailed.

With the slightest squeak to announce its release the 20 lb sledge hammer slipped from the fragile grip of the torn drywall and fell. It struck Eli at the base of his skull with a small snap, breaking his neck.

Tina was in shock. Ben was dead? That couldn't be right! He was with Hannah in the hospital. He was safe!

She pulled out her cell phone and dialed Hannah.

"Hello?"

"Hannah! Is Ben alright?" she gasped.

Hannah was still in the gallery above the operating theatre watching the Dr. Padme struggle to save Ben's life. His heart had stopped twice but the doctor brought him back each time.

She had forgotten to call Tina. "Oh my god! I'm sorry I should have called you. Ben's in the operating room now. He's been stabbed multiple times. He's in critical condition and the doctor is still working on him."

Tina slumped to the floor and felt tears begin to well up. Then she shook herself angrily and lunged back to her feet. She walked back to the little monitor and saw police coming down the stairs into the outer room. She lifted the panel and pressed the red button again. The deep rumble began but this time it was accompanied by a screeching whine as the dented door scraped against the wall. Tina yanked open the inner door and once the outer door was open sufficiently she ushered Ashley and the teens through and closed the inner door behind her. She heard the lock click shut. Tina made for the stairs.

An officer was kneeling beside the still body of Eli Sturn when Tina rushed past. "Miss! Wait!"

Tina stopped and spun around. "I cannot! I must go to the hospital! Ben is badly hurt!"

"Ben's not dead!?!" Trish seized on this news and looked hopefully at Tina who turned to her and shook her head. "Hannah says they are operating on him now. He is in critical condition. I must be with him!"

"I'll drive!" Trish gasped and leapt to her feet.

"No one is going anywhere until we get statements!" the officer yelled pointing to the body on the floor.

Trish gave him a frustrated look. "The fucker was pounding on the door with the hammer. It got stuck in the ceiling. He pulled a knife on me and I disarmed him and kicked him back against the door. He fell. I didn't see what happened to him after that." Trish growled.

"The hammer fell on his head." Madison squeaked and all eyes turned to her. She looked up at the police officer. "I saw it on the TV screen in there." she said pointing back to the work shop.

"I must GO!" Tina stomped her foot.

"Officer Jackson, escort these two ladies to..." the first officer began.

"Western Mercy." Trish said.

"Western Mercy and stay with them. Take their statements there." he finished.

Officer Jackson led the two women outside to his patrol car. He helped them into the back then headed off to the hospital.

"And you are?" the first cop, Officer Grant, asked the woman looking down at Eli.

"I'm Ashley Beaumont. That's my husband Elija Ray Sturn. These are his daughters, Madison and Savannah Sturn. I was watching the TV screen as well. What Trish said is what happened. I mean, I saw Eli pounding on the door with the hammer and then it got stuck in the ceiling. He turned, pull a knife out and jump forward. Then all I could see was his back until he flew back into the picture when Trish kicked him. He hit the hammer's handle and then the door. He fell then the hammer dropped and struck him." Savannah and Madison were both nodding with big eyes. They were trying not to see the body of their father on the floor.

Officer Grant led them back upstairs into the living room. The woman moved very slowly and he was told that this was because the deceased had badly assaulted her the day before. The teens gathered pillows and made her comfortable on the sofa then sat on either side of her resting their heads on her shoulders. The officer then slowly had them go over what happened again as he took notes. The forensic team came in and began their work. Ashley worried about all these strangers walking around in Ben's house.

Of course they were all police and her husband was dead so she was feeling safer than she had in a long time.

Officer Jackson led Tina and Trish through the hospital directly to the gallery of the operating room where Dr. Padme continued to work on Ben.

Tina rushed up to the window and looked down at Ben's unconscious form.

She spun to Hannah. "How did this happen in your hospital? I thought he was safe here!" she cried.

Hannah looked guilty. "It shouldn't have been possible. We don't know how he got in or how he found Ben. When they catch him we will ask him."

"He's dead." Trish said.

"WHAT?" Hannah gasped.

"He went to Ben's to find his wife and kids, probably to finish the job he'd started. Stupid fucker tried to attack me with a knife." She glanced at the cop who was paying close attention. "I disarmed him and kicked him against the door. He fell. The sledge hammer he was using fell from where it was stuck in the ceiling and landed on his head."

"How on earth did you know how to disarm a man with a knife?" Hannah asked.

"John and I sparred. A lot! Remember, if it was physical and dangerous John wanted to do it. I was better at it than him though." she smiled but it dimmed immediately. "How is Ben doing?"

"Most of the wounds are superficial or in non-critical places. His aim with the knife was thankfully poor. But a few were very bad." She didn't mention his heart had stopped, twice.

"Why is Ben's face bandaged?" Tina asked.

"The man slashed his face. Dr. Ramsey was in earlier and took care of that. I don't know how bad it was or how bad the scar will be. Dr. Ramsey is a specialist for those kinds of wounds." Tina's eyes welled up with tears.

Hannah's phone chirped. She looked at it in annoyance then guilt. She immediately sent a response. Moments later an orderly guided Gabriella, Catherine, and Rochelle into the gallery.

Gabriella and Catherine immediately went to Tina and hugged the woman. They pulled Trish into the group hug. Rochelle was wavering on the edge but Trish pulled her in then Hannah.

Dr. Granger arrived and took in the group hugging by the window. She caught Hannah's eye. "Any change?" she asked.

Hannah shook her head.

Trish suddenly got a puzzled look on her face. "Wait! How did he manage to stab Ben so many times? Ben kicked his ass the first time they met. Was he asleep? Drugged?" She saw Hannah was looking at Dr. Granger so she turned to face her too. Soon the entire group was looking at the psychologist.

The doctor felt incredibly uncomfortable under their scrutiny. She drew herself up and girded herself for their reaction. "For his safety", she paused when she saw the irony there, "Ben was in restraints."

The explosion from the group was frightening and violent. Catherine had to hold Trish back as she lunged for the doctor. Hannah gestured for her to leave, quickly. She did.

"MOTHERFUCKER!" Trish yelled. "He had to lie there helpless while that asshole stabbed him again and again!" She suddenly looked green then she rushed out of the gallery and across the hall to the washroom before her stomach heaved. Officer Jackson stayed close.

Gabriella, Catherine, and Tina were all crying while looking down at Ben. Trish came back into the gallery after freshening up and rinsing out her mouth.

Suddenly the machines connected to Ben started wailing. His heart had stopped for a third time. There was a frenzy of activity but the machine continued to drone. The women all held each other and their breath. Dr. Padme looked up at Hannah. His weary look was grim.

Chapter 29

The family trip to Paris went ahead as scheduled. It was paid for after all. There had been some argument whether they should be going at all but this was a trip of a lifetime and wiser heads prevailed so off they went. Some last minute adjustments had been made to compensate for changes in list of travellers. Some destinations were switched out as well.

It was an overnight flight and the lights had been dimmed as people prepared to sleep on the flight over.

Gabriella leaned back in the plush first class seat and sipped at the champagne she hoped would help her sleep. A shiver went down her spine as her mind flashed back to that horrible night a little more than two months earlier. Catherine looked at her curiously to know what had caused her friend's face to suddenly look so sad. Gabriella forced a smile back on her face and shook her head to dispel the memory. She looked at Miriam and Daniel who were so occupied with their tablets they were missing the entire first class experience. She whispered to them that they should try to get some sleep as well.

Catherine turned back to her daughters who were busy arguing over whether or not they were going to visit Jim Morrison's grave at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris or not. None of them were really familiar with the singer but they'd been told it was the 'thing to do'. They'd have extra time in Paris due to the itinerary changes so they were trying to work out how to best fill the time. She smiled at the beautiful young ladies. This trip was such a gift. To spend time in France with her daughters was something she'd never have been able to do without... She had to stop as she was getting too choked up. She didn't want to cry and arrive in Paris with her make-up running down her face.

Tina was the last minute addition to the trip. She had made some adjustments to her University summer courses to be able to go on the trip. She'd be taking night courses to compensate when she returned. Daphne was watching Christopher and with Joshua to play with he'd be fine while she was away. Tina was dwarfed by the first class seat but she just tucked her legs up and tried to relax. She was glad she was here. She couldn't remain home alone. It was too soon. She wasn't ready. She shivered and her bottom lip trembled.

Gabriella noticed Tina's upset first and reached across to her. Tina took the offered hand and they squeezed each other's hands. Catherine leaned forward and asked if she was ok. Tina nodded shakily and Catherine raised an eyebrow. Tina smiled guiltily, caught in the lie. Cat checked her watch and nodded at Gabriella. Gabriella leaned over to Tina. "It's time."

Tina undid her seatbelt and quickly stepped over to the window seat. She lifted the corner of the blanket and snuggled in next to the sleeping man. She gently nudged him until he woke up.

"It is time for your medicine, Ben." she whispered.

He sighed. He'd been having a lovely dream. To be woken just to take a stupid pill that he probably no longer even needed... he sighed again. He knew he couldn't argue with the ladies. His health was their number one priority. Gabriella came over with a cup of water and the pill. Just something to prevent infection in a wound that had healed weeks ago.

Right! Don't argue. He took the pill with a smile.

He felt Tina trembling so he put his arm around her. He looked up at Gabriella in worry. Tina had taken his 'death' the hardest. She was still having nightmares and couldn't be out of contact with him for longer than a day. Ben was going to have her see a councillor when they got back.

The third time Ben's heart stopped Dr. Padme made a dangerous decision. The final wound he was working on was right next to Ben's heart. The pressure of its beating was making it impossible to safely suture the large, dangerous wound so he decided to leave the heart still while he quickly finished. The women became frantic as the heart monitor drone went on and on. When he finished he used the paddles to restart Ben's heart but he wasn't responding. He tried three times but Ben's heart remained still. His gamble was for nothing. When the doctor leaned back the women screamed for him to try again. Tina had been the loudest. She wailed for Ben to come back. He didn't know if it was due to the residual charge from the shock paddles or if it had been the sound of their cries but Ben's heart began to beat on its own and he rallied once more.

Ben kissed the top of Tina's head and felt the trembling ease. Gabriella gave the young woman a fond smile then leaned in to get a kiss from Ben which he gladly gave. Ben's mind whirled as her sensual lips took his breath away. As usual he had difficulty ending his kiss with Gabriella and she seemed reluctant as well. Her eyes promised a continuation later.

As she pulled back Ben saw the attendant was standing behind her giving him a surprised look. She did a double take when she caught sight of the fine white line that crossed his cheekbones and bisected the ridge of his nose. He recalled Trish's words when she got her first look at his new facial feature.

"Damn! I like it! It gives you a really dangerous badass presence. It's really hot! Yeah... you're one bad muthafucka- HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Trish howled with laughter for quite some time as she caught the truth behind her words. Catherine also admitted to him later that the scar made her hot. Ben realized the attendant was still staring so he blushed which just accentuated the white line. He looked out the window breaking the woman's daze and she moved on.

Gabriella took her seat again and buckled in. She put on the complimentary sleep mask and reclined back with a satisfied smile. Cat saw the look and moved across to see Ben as well.

"Think you're up for a visit to the lavatory?" she asked with a cheeky grin.

Ben grimaced. If she hadn't mentioned it he likely wouldn't have noticed but now he had to go.

Tina got a kiss and a squeeze and headed back to her seat. Catherine helped Ben up. She'd taken the task of assisting Ben as, at first, his chest had been a little tender with the dozen or so puncture wounds only newly healed.

The plane was becoming quiet as everyone settled down for a good night's sleep. Ben looked forward to getting back to his dream. He stepped into the washroom and Catherine waited outside to help him back into his seat afterwards.

Ben was surprised how much more room the first class washroom had. It was still cramped but he could at least turn around. He did his business and cleaned up. When he flicked the lock open the door tugged open and Catherine stepped inside. She locked it behind her.

"Ben, it's been too long!" she moaned quietly as she rubbed her palms across his groin and kissed along his jawline.

"Catherine! We're in the washroom for Pete's sake!" he growled quietly.

She bent her knees and dropped down to rub her cheek against his swelling cock. "Just like the first time!" she said with a wicked grin. Ben recalled the embarrassing event and he got harder.

She unzipped his pants and pulled his cock out the opening. Instantly her mouth sucked in the thick head and her tongue was swirling all over his hard flesh. She began to take his cock deeper into her mouth and Ben had to put his hand over his mouth to stifle his groans of ecstasy. That felt so good and it HAD been so long. He wasn't allowed to be too energetic hence the change in some of the activities they'd planned for the holiday so he leaned back and let Cat's amazing mouth bring him to full size.

Cat pulled back and looked at the slick cock in her hand. She stoked it once to ensure it was well lubricated. She struggled back to her feet then tugged down her own slacks and panties. She turned around and thrust her ass back at Ben. He got the idea and guided his cock up to her wet entrance. God, she was ready! She tried to open her legs wider but her slacks weren't helping. Ben pushed the fat head against her puffy lips and steadily increased the pressure until he popped inside.

Catherine yelped and slapped a hand over her mouth. She and Ben held their breath and waited but they heard no one. Ben was still slowly sliding deeper into Cat's hot, wetness and she was beginning the tremble from the incredible sensations.

Ben reached forward and gripped Catherine's hips. He pulled her back while thrusting and drove it home. Cat squeaked then bore down on the huge cock filling her up. It felt so heavenly! Ben moaned from the sensation of Catherine squeezing her pussy around his cock. They went still again and listened. Still nothing. Ben pulled his cock back then slammed it home. Cat made a muted grunt from behind her palm and her eyes rolled up. He did it again and felt her getting wetter as the thrust was easier. He began to pump her hard and fast as he knew they were pressing their luck at getting caught. Catherine's moans were leaking past her fingers and Ben increased his speed. He was careful to not jostle himself but the wet slapping noise of his pelvis hitting Cat's ass was becoming louder. He felt Cat's orgasm begin as a ripple of pressure ran down the side of his cock. She was breathing hard and squeezing her eyes shut as he slammed home three more times. He pulled her ass against his pelvis and rocked side to side to maximize his pleasure as he shot blast after blast into Catherine's trembling sex. She threw her head back but stifled her scream, resting her head on his shoulder. He slid his hands up her sides and around to her small breasts. He cupped them with his hands and gently squeezed her nipples. He felt the reaction on his cock as she rocked through an aftershock.

Ben leaned back against the counter and slid his cock free. He wiped himself clean as best he could as Cat leaned forward to rest her forehead against the cool surface of the door jamb. "That was so good Ben!"

He got some tissues in place as she began to drip. She took over and cleaned herself. Ben helped her get her panties back up her legs then her slacks. He stuffed his semi hard cock back into his pants. She turned to face him and gave him a deep passionate kiss.

"Hey! We weren't supposed to kiss like that when we are separating for the night!" he growled.

"Oh, right! Well, next time." she grinned and stepped out the door as he recalled his own words.

He was about to step out when Tina stepped in and locked the door behind herself. She placed her palm on his zipper and smiled to feel the firmness there. With deft movements dropped her yoga pants and panties to the floor. Then she unzipped him and slid his cock out onto her palm. In her other hand were two packets of lubricant from his stash. She smiled up at him and tore one of the packs open with her teeth. She squeezed it over his cock and spread it over his skin. She dropped the packet into the trash and tore the second pack open. She slathered it onto his flesh as well. Her touch began to feel very good and he went rock hard. She pushed Ben back and ran her slick hand over her pussy and pushed two fingers deep into herself to spread the lube around. She gasped at the feel of her fingers.

Ben lifter her up to sit on the edge of the counter. He braced her there as he guided himself to her opening and rubbed the fat head against her swollen lips. He pushed inside and the lubricant helped ease his way deep into her. Ben ran his fingers into Tina's hair and he took a grip with his left hand. He felt her begin to tremble with need so he pulled almost all the way out and slammed it home. He muffled her cries of joy against his chest. He found her a comfortable spot and she clung to him as he began to pound deeply into her.

Tina's breath was coming in gasps and she felt totally overwhelmed by his need. It was Heaven! She screamed silently into his shirt as he wiggled a finger down between her cheeks and stroked across her rosebud. Suddenly she was coming and her clamping was so strong she wrung Ben's second orgasm from him. His head went back in bliss as jet after jet surged into her depths.

They rested against each other for a few minutes then Ben pulled out. Tina was ready with the freshening wipes to get them both clean. She tucked him away then pulled up her clothes. He leaned down and gave her a deep kiss until she wobbled a little on her feet. He pulled back and he could see exhaustion and bliss battling it out in her expression.

"Go get some sleep!" he whispered gently and she nodded. Opened the door and stepped out.

Instantly Megan stepped inside and pulled the door closed.

"Megan! No, I can't!" Ben growled.

She squeaked in surprise and spun around. "Ben! I have to pee! Get out!"

Surprise then embarrassment flared over his face. "Oh! Right! Sorry!" He was mortified by his mistaken assumption.

Megan opened the door and Ben squeezed by. He could have sworn that he felt a hand drag across the front of his pants as he stepped outside but he was too embarrassed to say. The same attendant was standing in the little galley when he closed the door. She gave him a scowl and his face flushed, except the scar. She looked away, suddenly intimidated. He caught her reaction and sighed. He made his way back to his seat. Catherine was waiting for him and helped him down. He didn't even feel a twinge any longer so he told her she didn't need to help him sit anymore.

"But I like you depending on me!" she said with a frown.

"Catherine, if you haven't caught on by now how much I need you... how much I need all of you, then you really aren't paying attention." he growled softly.

She smiled, gave him a quick kiss, and returned to her seat. Ben caught another conflicted stare from the attendant who couldn't seem to keep herself from watching him. He tucked the blanket around himself and settled in for a good night sleep or its airline equivalent.

His mind was buzzing happily from the first sex he'd had since returning home from the hospital. He tried to calm his thoughts so he could get back to his dream. Instead he immediately thought of Trish who would have been the first one to jump at the chance to have sex in a plane with him. She'd been exceptionally affectionate with him once he'd come home from the hospital. Something had changed for her.

Those first days home were a blur. The painkillers and the extended sleeping and Tina's constant vigil made the days blend together. Once he'd weaned off the drugs his mind cleared and the visits began. Ashley and her daughters were amongst the first as they had continued to live with them due to their house's services still being off. Ben discovered she was in some legal and financial difficulty. As a final insult from the grave Eli's estate was willed entirely to his father. Ben called his lawyer and paid for him to straighten that out. He also got on the phone and called Jacob Sturn to let him know his grandkids needed his support. The old man came through and Ashley got full ownership of the house, Eli's shares in the company, and a minimal lump sum insurance settlement. Unfortunately the home ownership transfer came with the mortgage as well. Ben bought her house from her allowing her to live there with a similar deal he'd given Trish and they finally got their services working. Ben promised her some amazing renovations once he got back on his feet.

Tina remembered Ashley's look when they talked about Tina's plans for the fall so she suggested Ashley might like to attend University as well. Ben fully supported that idea and told Tina to make it happen. Daphne, who was quite taken with Joshua, was delighted for Ben to pay for one of the last available spots for him in her daycare.

As Eli had destroyed his car during his drunken escape, Ben asked Tina to give Ashley the keys to the BWM SUV in the garage of her old house. Tina made the arrangements and Ben paid for the insurance. Now Tina would have a lift to University in the fall.

Ashley was overwhelmed by Ben's generosity and the support of her friends. Madison and Savannah looked at him with hero worship plainly in their eyes and Tina had to scoot them from the room before Ben got too uncomfortable.

He was pleased to hear Tina had gotten the house a replacement door the day after the break-in and Ben had ideas on how to improve on that and the panic room door which, while it worked, would also need replacing. He was itching to get to work on those tasks but Tina said NO!

Ben was also eager to work on her old house but aside from getting the services back on he'd have to wait until he was better. He had plans for that house and had already spoken with Luis and Jaclyn Hernandez about their son Ramon's upcoming wedding. It seems he and his fiancé were looking for a place to rent and had found what they could afford to be discouraging at best. Now there would be a happy surprise at the wedding.

Dr. Granger, who was not popular amongst the women in his life, had come to his house to give him an assessment. Ben didn't react at all when she mentioned the name Mrs. Cosburn or Walter Cosburn or Richard Fenn. He didn't recognize the names at all. The doctor seemed troubled by that but Ben felt fine. She told him she wanted him to start coming in for sessions when he could and he promised he would. She wanted to try hypnotherapy. That sounded like fun. Woo.

He was finally able to put his mind at ease. He'd done what he could for now and made arrangements for things he could do later. After the close calls he'd had he spent time with his lawyer and made sure everyone he cared for would be taken care of should lightning strike yet again but more permanently. That list of people kept growing but that just made him feel good. He was surrounded by so many good people!

All Ben had to do now is get some sleep and concentrate on enjoying his first trip to Europe! If they could just play it low key, keep to themselves, avoid drawing attention and risky activities... such as joining the Mile High Club, twice, they might just have a calm and peaceful holiday.

He looked across the happy faces of the beautiful woman beside him.

Yeah, who was he kidding?