Page 49 of Until the Ink Dries

He left us and I took a seat on an unoccupied bench, rocking Charlie from side to side.

“Best day ever…” she mumbled sleepily.

I smiled. “Ditto, kid.”

By the time Benjamin returned, she was out cold. He took her from me, and we headed back to his car. Carefully, he strapped her into her seat while I made myself comfortable in the front. Once she was settled, he rounded the driver’s side and climbed in. Much to my surprise, he remembered the directions to my parents’ house.

When we pulled into the driveway, he left the car running and came around to open my door and help me out. An awkward silence fell between us as he walked me up to the front door. For a moment, we stood there with goofy looks on our faces, neither of us saying anything.

When Benjamin’s face turned serious, my breath hitched in my throat. He stepped closer to me, slipping an arm around my waist, then pulling me into his chest. His eyes shifted from mine to my lips as he licked his.

“We kind of missed this moment earlier,” he said quietly.

I nodded, unable to say anything, as my eyes lingered on the kissable set of lips on his face. He reached out and palmed my cheek, allowing his thumb to trace my bottom lip.

“I don’t usually do this…” he said, eyes trained on me.

He leaned in, then pulled back to stop himself.

“This shit is crazy, Willow,” he mumbled. “What the fuck did you do to me and my baby?”

“N-Nothing. I?—”

I was cut off by the feeling of his lips pressed against mine. Time seemed to stand still. I couldn’t hear anything outside of my heart beating a mile a minute. His lips captivated me… unnerved me. I closed my eyes and palmed the side of his face in return as I kissed him back.

It was raw.

Passionate.

Sensual.

So… fucking… delicious. When he slipped his tongue into my mouth, I released an unintentional moan. That only seemed to make him kiss me deeper. My hormones were in a frenzy. I had to remember where I was and as the front door opened, I was thankful for the reprieve because I was more than a little hot and bothered.

My father cleared his throat.

“Mr. Davis.”

Benjamin swiped at my lip gloss on his lip.

“Uh, good evening, Mr. Dawson.”

“Hey, Daddy,” I said, putting some distance between us.

“Princess. You two had a good time?”

I nodded. “Great time.”

“That’s good.” He stepped back and opened the door wider. “Thank you for bringing her home. I might have to talk to that Shirah Granger. If I didn’t know better, I’d say she was ditching you on purpose.”

I gave a nervous laugh. “You know Shirah…” I turned back to Benny. “Thank you for a good time and a ride.”

“It was no problem. I should, uh… I should get Charlie home.”

I nodded. “Right.”

He leaned in and kissed me again, this time on my cheek. “Goodnight, Willow. Mr. Dawson, it was nice seeing you again.”

“Likewise.”

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