Page 62 of Until the Ink Dries

“Whenever your daddy says it’s okay.”

“When is it okay, Daddy?” she immediately followed.

Benjamin chuckled. “We’ll set something up.”

We ended up talking to her the whole time we ate breakfast. She wanted to introduce me to her grandparents, but Benjamin told her he wanted to introduce me in person. We ended the call with her blowing both of us kisses. I swear, she warmed my heart. I wanted children of my own someday, and if they were anything like Charlie, I’d be a lucky mom.

After breakfast, Benjamin loaded the dishwasher, and we retreated to his room to shower. Well… we didn’t shower right away. As soon as the clothes came off, the heat between us amplified. The next thing I knew, he had me up against a wall, fucking the shit outta me.

We moved from the wall to the bed to standing in the middle of the floor going straight to pound town. By the time we made it to the shower, I was spent. Much to my surprise, Benny gave me the most amazing after care. Not only did he wash my body, but he washed my hair as well. I almost fell in love as he massaged the shampoo through my coils while kissing me slow and deep.

There was so much intimacy and passion laced in such a simple act. It was sweet and selfless, not to mention, it put me a little in my feelings. Little things like this were what I was missing in my relationship with Ellis. He thought throwing money at me was supposed to be meaningful, but it wasn’t.

Maybe I didn’t have as much money as him and his family, but there was nothing he could buy me that I couldn’t buy for myself. What I couldn’t buy in cash, I had A-1 credit and could finance it. It wasn’t that I was trying to compare the two of them, but there were clear differences between the two men.

Those differences mattered.

After showering and getting dressed, Benny and I left the loft and got in his car. I wasn’t ready to leave him just yet, but I knew he had to get Charlie and he was probably spending time with his parents since it was Sunday.

As we neared my house, I noticed an unfamiliar car in the driveway. Maybe it was a relative or a friend of my mom or dad. I wasn’t sure. What I was sure of was the uneasy feeling brewing in the pit of my stomach as we pulled in next to the car.

My eyes widened when they landed on the last person I was expecting to see… Ellis.

“Son of a bitch,” I said in disbelief.

“What’s wrong?” Benny asked.

“It’s Ellis.”

“Your ex?”

“Yes. What the fuck is he doing here?”

I groaned and tossed my head back. It was a bitch to experience such a high with one man, only to have to next take it all the way down. He looked past me and into the car at Benny. A frown formed on his face as he opened the door and got out.

“Is this what we’re doing, Willow?” he asked.

He pulled at the door handle and Benjamin sprang from the car.

“Watch yourself,” he said, firmly. “Don’t touch my shit. She’ll get out when she’s ready.”

“Just who the hell are you?”

“Don’t worry about who I am. I ain’t your concern.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. This is my fiancée?—”

It was my turn to jump out of the car. I swung the door open, hitting him in the process.

“I’m not your fiancée!” I yelled. “Ellis, why the fuck would you show up here uninvited and unwanted?”

“I came to fight for you, Willow. You told me you needed some time to think, but here you are showing up with this wanna be ass thug?—”

Benjamin laughed, but I knew he found nothing funny.

“Thug?”

“Thug. All those tattoos, pants hanging low. Do you even have a real job?”

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