Damien knitted his brows and saw that she was wearing a different dress from earlier. "You changed… Are we going out? Do I need to change?"
"Nope. Just… wanted to wear this for the cake," she blurted. "What?! For the cake?! Who dresses up for a cake? Apparently me." She could hear the panicked voice in her head, making her hands clammy.
"O-kay…?" Damien obviously didn"t believe her but he didn"t press on it. "Sorry, work took a while. The chain in Thailand had a problem."
"Is everything okay?"
"One of the executives was doing something that was against hotel policy. We may be facing a lawsuit but it"s already been taken care of, so don"t worry about it. Come…" He held out his hand and brought her to the coffee table in the living room where the cake and a bottle of champagne were prepared.
Just as they sat down on the sofa, Katherine winced. She blew out air and lightly swept the cover-up dress to the side of her thigh to take a peak, revealing the tattoo that she got that afternoon.
"Does it hurt that bad?" He worried, leaning over to check on it.
Afraid that he would notice something under her dress, she covered her thigh again and denied. "No, it"s okay…"
Damien was taken aback by her reaction but he just brushed it off and chuckled, thinking that she was just feeling shy. Pouring champagne on the gla.s.ses, he said, "We should come back here."
"We should. Let"s make it a tradition. What do you say?" Katherine was now all smiles, receiving the gla.s.s from him.
He brushed her hair away from her face and responded, "That would be nice. I would love it as long as I get to spend time with you."
"Happy birthday, Damien…" She leaned in and kissed his lips.
When they broke the kiss, they clinked their flutes and took a sip. She lit the candles on the cake and let Damien make a wish before blowing.
"What did you wish for?" she asked.
Clicking his tongue, he pinched her cheek. "I can"t tell you that… or else it won"t come true."
Katherine scoffed and chuckled. Reaching for something on the side, she held a small blue box in her hand. "I honestly don"t know what to give you for your birthday. I kinda suck at giving gifts… And it"s even harder because whatever I buy, I"m sure you can afford." She bit her lip. "G.o.d, you might even find this silly too."
"What are you talking about? Whatever it is, I am going to love it. Even if you don"t give me any presents, it doesn"t matter… I am already happy that I get to spend it with you." He caressed his thumb on her cheek.
"Promise you won"t laugh?"
"I… can"t promise but I will try."
She gazed at him and saw his innocent smile before she sighed heavily. "Well… okay… here…"
Damien received the box and carefully opened the lid. What he saw inside immediately lifted the corners of his mouth up. Sitting inside the small box was a pair of silver Kitten cufflinks — stretching its limbs and tail.
Picking up the tiny Kittens and setting it on his palm, he chuckled. "You really are marking your territory, huh?"
"You said you won"t laugh!" Katherine buried her face in her hands and slumped on the sofa.
"I didn"t say that… I said I will try." Damien laughed some more. From the ties he got yesterday, the silver Kittens were his next favorite. He actually couldn"t wait to wear them.
He placed the cufflinks back in their case and put it on the table. "Come here…" Pulling her close to him, he swiftly wrapped his arms around her. "Thank you, I love it. Just like the ties… I love them."
"Now you"re just saying that so I won"t feel bad, aren"t you?" She raised her head and pouted at him.
Hooking his fingers on her chin, he tipped it up to him and placed a swift kiss. "No, I"m telling the truth… I think it"s cute and I love it. I will enjoy wearing all of them while I think about you."
"Aren"t you going to be embarra.s.sed wearing them? You"ll look like a single old cat lady with hundreds of cats in the house."
Damien threw his head back and laughed. "I won"t. I"ll be the s.e.xiest man wearing Kitten ties and cufflinks." He gestured for her to come closer and let her sit on his lap.
Katherine straddled on top of him, her legs on either side of his hips, giving him a peck on the cheek as soon as she placed her hands on his chest. "Why are you letting me do this to you? You should be afraid that I"m turning into a possessive girlfriend."
"I don"t mind. I have no intention of looking at other women anyway. So you can claim me yours as much as you want and I would still love you. I will love you even more."
Katherine scoffed and rolled her eyes but a smile played on her lips. She caught sight of the tattoo on the part between his shoulder and neck - the top of his trapezius muscle. On it, sprawled a simple word tattoo that read: onyx.
She slid the neckline of his s.h.i.+rt on the side to reveal the small print that was only 2.5cm wide. It was a simple text but with meaning that only the two of them would understand.
She brushed the skin around it, careful not to touch the wound as it was still healing. "I like it…" she said, lowering her head and placing a kiss on the side.
"And here I thought your favorite part of me is my abs…"
"What?" Katherine straightened up and stared at him. "I… just don"t want to put it there…" She did think about putting the tattoo on his ribcage but decided against it and chose another part of him that she loved instead — a part of her not wanting him to go topless, showcasing his tasty abs while a lady tattoo artist worked on him.
Damien swept her dress to the side and trailed his fingers towards the tattoo on her thigh. It was high enough to be covered by her casual dresses but would definitely show when she wears one of those high slit dresses that he loves on her.
"Why did you choose that spot?" she wondered.
"Because it"s mine…" He stroked his finger on the skin below the tattoo, his touch sending jolts of electricity to her abdomen. "I love it there," he said before he lifted his head and met her stare.
Raising his hand, he brushed her neck and cupped the side of her face. Katherine"s eyes landed on his lips at the same time that he ran his thumb on her bottom lip. He pulled her towards him and he leaned in, capturing her lips with his own.
Carefully avoiding the tattoo on her thigh, Damien slid his hand under her dress and squeezed her bottom, noticing the lacey underwear that she wore. His brows slightly furrowed but he continued to kiss her while his hand trailed up her smooth back and felt another lacey material, making him break their kiss.
With their lips still touching, Damien asked, "Baby, are you wearing my second birthday present?"
Katherine"s heart slammed in her chest. She totally forgot about the lingerie that she was wearing underneath the dress. "Um…" She swallowed. "Maybe?"
She gasped when he gripped her waist and squeezed. She instantly felt him poking from underneath her through his lounge pants.
Quirking a smirk on his devilishly handsome face, he spoke in a low and s.e.xy voice, "Naughty Kitten… Would you like to know what I"m going to do to you?"