The Shepherd of Ashburn Court Pt. 05

"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.