A Shepherd Afield Pt. 04

He just smiled. "I would do anything for Catherine's happiness and this is going to make her very happy."

Chanel's eyes twinkled in anticipation. She hugged Ben tight then waved at the group as she headed off to her suite.

Gabriella got them organized and out the door. The night air was chilly and they rushed into the cab. Mom and children snuggled in the back as Ben sat up front with the driver. Both Daniel and Miriam were nodding off against their mother's shoulders from the late hour and all the excitement though Miriam's fatigue might have had an additional cause. Gabriella had given Miriam permission to have a glass of wine with the ladies and she might have had two... or three.

They got to the apartment and Ben carried Miriam upstairs as Gabriella guided her sleepy son. They put the kids into their beds and Gabriella kissed and hugged them. Ben kissed their foreheads then followed Gabriella into their own bedroom and closed the door.

Once they were alone they got ready for bed by just removing their clothes. They'd slept nude the previous night and Gabriella enjoyed the freedom of it. They brushed their teeth then slipped under the covers. Ben turned out the light then spooned Gabriella who rubbed her ass back against his cock. It began to wake up. She sighed and pressed back more firmly.

Ben went still as he looked at the shadowy outline of the beautiful brunette. "Are you sure? We had some difficulty being quiet last night. Oh shit! I didn't bring any condoms!" he lamented.

"I'm safe. I need to 'play' Ben. I need you!" she begged.

"I need you too," he said rolling her onto her back as he moved his body over hers.

He kissed her and her mouth was demanding, her tongue sliding into his mouth to stroke across his. He gave her the passion she needed and more.

When he tried to move his kisses down her body she pulled him back up. He looked into her eyes in the moonlight and saw her desperation. "I need you inside me, now!" she whispered.

Ben nodded and rubbed his hard shaft up and down against her wet pussy.

Her eyes flew wide and her mouth dropped open as she gasped quietly, clinging to him, kissing his shoulder and chest as he moved over her.

He shifted lower and felt her hand between them lining him up against her wet opening. He pressed forward and the thick head forced her open as it slid inside.

"ffffffuuuuuccckkkk! Ben, oh my god!" Gabriella moaned against his shoulder to stifle the noise.

He stopped and withdrew slowly then pushed himself inside a little deeper than before.

"Oh yes... yes... god you're so big!" she said breathily as she continued to press her mouth against his shoulder. She bit down gently and Ben smiled as he remembered Catherine's bite.

Once more he slid himself out then teased her with short strokes, dipping just the head inside and out. She gasped and wrapped her legs around him to pull him deeper. He resisted for a moment then let her pull him inside. She didn't stop squeezing until his pelvis settled against hers. He rocked his hips, grinding against her clit and she squeaked.

"Oh god Ben! What you do to me!" she hissed quietly.

Ben was basking in the incredible bliss of being in Gabriella's most intimate embrace, arms and legs wrapped around his body while his cock was deep inside her. She found his mouth with hers and his pleasure was complete. He gently caressed her full lower lip with his and the tip of her tongue slipped out to stroke across his lips. He caught her tongue with his lips and sucked it into his mouth deeply as she groaned in pleasure.

He couldn't get over how passionate she was being tonight. She was holding him so tight and kissing him so boldly. Her hands moved up to the back of his head to slip through his hair as her mouth explored his.

Ben pulled his cock halfway out until her legs pulled him back with a grind at the bottom. She gasped as her clit threw sparks through her body and Ben pulled out again only to be pulled back inside. They repeated the tug and pull actions and gradually increased their speed always ending with bumping their bodies together.

Gabriella's eyes were beginning to roll back from the impacts on her clit as the stimulation was intense and overwhelming.

"Ben! Fuck me! Please, take me! Fill me up!" she sighed to him and his pace increased. She lost the ability to be quiet, her moans beginning to fill the room, so he lifted her head to his shoulder once more. Her teeth fastened onto his dense muscles there and he jolted from the sharp sensation. His strokes became erratic as the pleasure was too much for him.

"Beh! Beh! BEH!" Gabriella grunted with her mouth against him.

"Fuck! Gabriella! I'm going to cum!" he gasped.

"Yeh! Do-" She pulled back from biting him. "Do it Ben! I'm right there!"

They were both past the point of worrying about how loud they were being as his hips went into overdrive. The dull thumps of Ben's body slapping hers against the mattress competed with her cries of joy and his growl as their pleasure crested.

Ben pressed his head to the mattress next to Gabriella's shoulder as he moaned in ecstasy. He ground his pelvis against hers as he came in surges. She pressed her mouth against his shoulder to block her howl as her pleasure spiked savagely.

It took some time to catch their breath and they felt completely spent once the waves of bliss finally ebbed. Ben pulled his softening cock from her body and flopped down on the mattress next to her. They gasped for breath staring at the ceiling.

"Oh my god Gabriella! That was wonderfully intense!" he managed to get out between deep breaths.

"It was amazing!" she sighed happily.

"We weren't too loud were we?" he asked nervously.

She looked over at him and realized they had been pretty loud. "Let me check on them," she said as she slipped from the bed. She wobbled on her feet and looked back at Ben with a grin. "My legs are a little wobbly after that!" She pulled her dressing gown on and slipped out into the living room. Daniel was snoring peacefully, oblivious to the world. She smiled down at him and moved his camera off the bed to the coffee table. She couldn't resist kissing his cheek and he smiled in his sleep.

Next she slipped into Miriam's room. The girl was sitting up but her eyes were closed. "Miriam?"

"Thirsty, mama."

Gabriella smiled. She got a glass of water for her daughter and watched her drink it all down before taking it back from her hands.

She kissed the sleepy girl and Miriam laid back against her pillow, out before her head touched down. She must have had more than two glasses of wine. The naughty girl was going to regret that in the morning.

Gabriella left the room and returned to Ben, dropping her dressing gown on a chair.

"Everything ok?" Ben asked anxiously.

She slipped under the covers and snuggled up against him as he put his arm around her. She sighed contentedly. All that mattered was this moment. "Yes, Ben. Everything is perfect!"

Chapter 26

Ben leaned back in his first class seat on the next leg of his journey, on his way to Melbourne, Australia. He shifted in his seat with a sigh as he realized he really had been spoiled by that jet flight. The first class seat on the commercial flight was far less comfortable.

He smiled out the window as he remembered how Miriam looked this morning when she got up.

"I'm never drinking again!" the young girl had moaned as she held her head.

"I told you one. One glass of wine does not result in this," Gabriella said gently to her daughter as she tried to get her to eat the dry toast and drink more from the tall glass of water.

Daniel shook his head at his sister and took a quick picture to capture the moment.

"Mom, tell him to stop taking pictures of me when I feel like this!" she complained.

Gabriella fixed a look at her son and he nodded with a smile.

Ben was sitting at the table enjoying the domestic moment.

"We have a van picking us up shortly so have you packed everything?" Gabriella asked. Daniel nodded and pointed to his suitcase and his camera bag on top.

Miriam nodded gently and pointed to her bulging suitcase.

Gabriella walked to the window and saw the van pull up. It was time to go.

They made their way to the van and stopped by the Brezza offices to pick up Chanel who was fidgeting nervously. Gabriella gave her a hug and the woman settled down with a grateful smile.

They arrived at the airport with plenty of time but security was insistent that they move through. They said their goodbyes to Gabriella who clung tightly to her kids then Ben before they headed inside. She'd wanted to know if he was going to be coming back in her direction but he'd let her know his return from Australia went through Los Angeles. She pouted so he kissed her once more until she was left panting and grinning. He promised to get back to her as soon as he could. He still remembered how lost she looked as they stepped through the door. His heart hurt but he knew he had to let her live her dream. He couldn't be the reason for her turning her back on her dreams. He'd never forgive himself if that happened.

"Mr. Shepherd? Is everything ok? Is there anything I can get you?"

Ben came back from his thoughts to look up into the hopeful expression of the first class flight attendant. Slim and surprisingly petite by airline standards, she was blue eyed and fair haired with a delightful sprinkling of freckles across her cheeks and her small snub nose. She tucked a loose strand of her blond hair behind her ear once more as she held his eyes.

"Ben, please. Could I get a cup of water?" he asked and she grinned as she turned away to fetch it. He didn't really need the water but it kept the woman busy and his continued negative responses were making her unhappy.

She'd been a little star struck since he'd walked onto the plane and almost bumped into her. She looked up at him and her jaw dropped as she recognized him from the scar across his face and his physical dimensions. She'd immediately assigned herself as his personal attendant though she did quickly serve the other passengers seated around him, glancing in his direction as she did in case he were to suddenly need her.

His seat was next to the window and the seat next to him was empty which was perfect. Across the aisle in the three center seats were three older but very well dressed women who were having a quiet argument amongst themselves and ignoring him. That suited him fine. The two men behind him were working on their computers and there was a grey haired couple in the two chairs in front of him. That took care of his immediate neighbors and the remaining passengers in first class were keeping to themselves so he breathed a sigh of relief. Now, if the flight attendant could find something else to do Ben would be set.

"Here you go, Ben," the woman said emphasizing his name as she handed him the cup. He took it and her hands lingered a little too long before she moved back with a smile,

"Thank you," he said returning her smile.

"Julie."

"Ah, thank you Julie," he said and sighed quietly with relief as she was called away by the other flight attendant.

"Excuse me?"

Ben looked across the aisle and the closest of the three women was trying to get his attention. "Yes?"

"My friends and I are having a disagreement you could settle for us," she said with an expectant look on her face.

Ben had a bad feeling about this but nodded as he couldn't think of a polite way to avoid it.

"You look familiar to us but we can't recall from where. Sadie, two seats over, says you work for Interpol with their special forces as she says she saw you on the news. Eleanor here says you're a movie star as she saw you in a magazine. I think..."

Ben stared at the woman whose face was turning red as she lost her nerve to continue. Her friend Eleanor leaned around the frozen woman. "Nadine thinks you do porn!"

His stare became a glare and his scar flared making the women nervous. "You're all wrong. I don't work for Interpol, I'm not a celebrity by any stretch of the imagination, and I've NEVER done porn!"

"Oh my god! You're the bronze man!" Nadine gasped as the facial scar linked her memories together and she suddenly realized why she'd thought he'd done porn. Eleanor and Sadie gasped too as they connected the dots.

Ben turned his face to the window. He was truly sick of that sculpture. He considered asking Stephanie to destroy it. Richard would have to get rid of the copy... and the mold and original clay sculpture if it still existed. He sighed knowing that wasn't going to happen.

He'd read his ticket wrong and hadn't realized how long this flight was going to be. This morning when he checked the itinerary he saw he'd be in the air for over 20 hours. There was going to be a stop in Dubai. He'd immediately sent a note to the company in Melbourne to let them know he'd be there a day later. Then he sent a note to Margaux explaining his mistake. He'd said he'd call her when he got to Melbourne.

Ben tried to relax but he could still hear the twittering of the three ladies across the aisle. It was going to be a long flight.

He must have fallen asleep as he jerked awake when he heard voices shouting from further back in the plane. He was a little dazed and his neck was stiff from the too low headrest but he twisted in his seat to see what was going on. The curtain was closed between first class and economy but the screams came through quite clearly. It was an angry male voice yelling something and a woman screaming angrily back but there was an edge of fear in her voice. Ben was on his feet and moving down the aisle before he was completely awake.

He went through the curtain and moved quickly down the aisle towards the noise. It was coming from further back in the plane behind the next set of curtains. He opened the first and saw the tense face of a flight attendant on the phone. He nodded to her and pushed through the next curtain.

He saw two flight attendants, one on either side of a confrontation, trying to calm a man in some kind of white gown, maybe in his late sixties, who had a grip on a woman's hair in his left fist. With his right hand he was trying to stab her with a fork. The woman in his grip had a hold on his right wrist but she was weakening as he yanked on her hair while screaming in her face. None of the passengers around the couple moved to stop him.

Ben rushed forward, gently moving the flight attendant from his path so he could reach the struggling couple. He seemed to fill the limited space in the aisle and the man came out of his rage long enough to look up at him in surprise as Ben yanked the fork from his grip, dropping it on the floor behind him.

"Let. Go," Ben growled menacingly.

"Go away. This has nothing to do with you!" the man barked angrily.

"Last chance. Let go now."

The man looked into Ben's eyes and saw the violence poised to crush him. He took in the white scar across his face. His nerve broke.

The man shoved the woman towards Ben and said something which made the woman stiffen and scream angrily back at him. Ben wrapped an arm around the thrashing woman and dragged her away down the aisle until they reached the central set of curtains and pushed through. He met the flight attendant who was still on the phone and the one he'd moved aside.

"I'm sorry for barging through like that," Ben said to the attendant he'd moved.

"It's fine. Thanks for the assist," the woman said as she turned to the shaken woman Ben was guiding. "Let me get something for those cuts," she said to her.

"They are merely scratches. The old fool hadn't managed to stab me yet," the woman replied in a lovely British accent. She looked up to Ben. "Thank you for stopping him. He was going for my eyes next."

Ben rocked back at the casual way she'd mentioned it.

A man pushed through the curtain from the front of the plane. Ben saw the man's uniform and assumed he was one of the flight crew. "Is this the man?" he said with a thick Australian accent, looking nervously at Ben.

Ben smiled at him and shook his head. Then he jolted and scowled as he felt something poke sharply into his back. He spun and saw the frightened face of the older man standing in the curtain with the fork gripped in his fist. The tine tips showed just a little red. Ben reached out and plucked the fork from his fingers, again, and leaned down to glare in his face. "You've just used up all of my patience. Go sit down in your seat. NOW!" he yelled and the man turned and rushed away. He stumbled a few times but he managed to get back to his aisle seat and sat down to look back fearfully. Ben gave him one more glare. "Leave that seat again and I will deal with you. Do you understand?" The man nodded vigorously. Ben closed the curtain and turned back to the group inside.

"Geezus! He stabbed you? Your back is bleeding!" the man said. The flight attendant immediately pulled out the first aid kit.

"I'm a doctor," the woman Ben rescued said and took it from her. She looked to Ben. "Let me see the wound."

Ben sighed and pulled his shirt off.

"Fuck me! Who ran you through the thrasher?" the male flight crewman exclaimed as he took in the scars. Ben ignored the question.

"I see now why you weren't frightened of a fork," the doctor said with a wry grin taking in the damage on Ben's chest. "Please turn so I can see where he stabbed you."

When he turned his back to them he heard the sharp intakes of breath that he expected when they saw the other signs of violence on his body.

"Compared to the rest these three tiny holes are nothing," the doctor said. "The wound is barely bleeding so it's not deep."

Ben felt her wiping something over the wound which stung a little then she applied a small square of gauze and taped it down.

"You can put your shirt on though you might want to clean it first," she said.

"I've got a clean shirt in my carry on," Ben replied.

"Where can we reseat Doctor..." the man said looking at the woman.

"Rahal. Dr. Nezha Rahal," she said to the crew and smiled at Ben.

The flight attendant frowned at the co-pilot as she pulled the passenger listing. "We're completely full. I'll have to find someone who doesn't mind changing their seat. We can't leave her in the back section where he can see her. Passengers in the mid-section won't be keen on moving back."

"There's an empty seat next to me," Ben offered.

The woman blinked and looked at the manifest. "I see no empty- oh, you're from first class. Yeah, it's against airline policy-"

"How much," Ben sighed.

The attendant glanced up at him. "There's an $800 upgrade fee."

Ben pulled out his wallet and the doctor looked upset. "What are you doing?"

"Sorry, we have a long way to go and I'm not going to sleep well knowing Stabby McFork Man is back here hunting you. So if you don't mind I'd like to offer you a seat in first class so we can move his target where he can't see it or get to it." Ben explained.

The doctor looked to the flight attendant who was nodding hopefully. She still looked doubtful.

"Consider it payment for the medical care," Ben said.

She snorted. "I applied a plaster!"

"You've never worked as a doctor in the States I take it," Ben grinned and her eyes got wide. "I may be exaggerating... a little."

"Oh... alright," she finally agreed, seeming a little dazed. "I'll need to get my carry on."

"Let me guess, it's in the storage above his seat," Ben sighed.

"I'll take her back to get it," the co-pilot said. Ben nodded and moved to let the man by. The doctor followed him through the curtain.

Ben finished the transaction with the flight attendant whose eyes kept slipping to his scarred chest.

"How... how did you get those?" she asked quietly.