"You"re such a bully." Katherine had her back face Damien as she laid on her side.
He laughed, clearly amused by her reaction. But compared to how he was feeling earlier, he was definitely, definitely satisfied now — except for the fact that he badly wanted to have a shower to cool himself down but he stayed in bed with her as she refused to look at him after what he did.
Obviously, it wasn"t a punishment and he knew that he was teasing her too much.
"And you"re even happy that you"re being called a bully," she scoffed.
Closing the gap between them, Damien snaked an arm on her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder, "Are you mad?"
Katherine rolled her eyes and refused to respond. A smile threatened to form on his face but he suppressed it to pacify her and asked, "Didn"t you like it?"
Heat crept up on her neck and her face was flushed. "Oh my G.o.d. Stop asking ridiculous questions."
She grabbed her Damien pillow and covered her face with it, hitting Damien"s face in the process. He pulled back and his grin was wide when he saw the Damien pillow on her.
"Do you like me that much?"
"You like my scent?"
"You can"t sleep without hugging that pillow, huh?"
He bombarded her with questions and she finally snapped, "Damien!" She turned around and was about to hit him with the Damien pillow but he caught it with his hand and tossed it to the side of the bed.
"You don"t need that right now… Here"s the real thing right before your eyes." He had his arms open wide as though he was asking her to pounce on him but Katherine only knitted her brows.
The two of them laid on their sides while facing each other and as much as Katherine wanted to pounce on him, she still felt she was being bullied earlier.
Lowering his hand, he reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear as they exchanged gazes. "I"m sorry…" he said.
Katherine"s gaze became intense as she studied his eyes. "No, you"re not."
A wide grin was immediately visible on his face. "Yeah, you"re right… I"m not even the slightest bit sorry."
"a.s.s…" she muttered.
"A handsome a.s.s." He winked.
"Ugh!" Katherine groaned, "Can you stop that?"
"Stop what? What did I do now?" His silly grin was still on his face, he was enjoying it too much.
"Stop being so… so… Damien!"
His shoulders shook as he rocked his head back when he laughed. "That doesn"t even make sense. I am Damien."
Cla.s.sic. Damien was really just being Damien and that was what she liked about him — and what annoyed her as well.
He rolled out of her bed and went to get himself some water. "Do you want some water?"
Katherine shook her head but followed him to the kitchen and sat on a chair, watching him as he grabbed the nearest cup and poured water in it.
She watched as Damien drunk from the cup, his lips touching the rim and his Adam"s apple bobbing whenever he swallows. She must be crazy - even she found that hot.
The cup was such a lucky piece of thing. Just earlier, his lips were on her leg… now they were on that cup. She suddenly wanted to be a cup. "Can I be a cup? Let me be a cup."
Damien wiped the moisture on his lips with the back of his hand and raised a brow at her, "What"s on your mind, Kitten?"
She profusely shook her head and saw him walk towards her. She gulped when he stopped in front of her and stuck his palm out.
"Come here." His large hand captured hers and lightly pulled her to him. "Come on, Kitten… I want to hold you…"
After a long sigh, Katherine gave in. How could she not when she also wanted him to hold her?
As soon as she got up, her breath hitched when she felt his arms wrap around her waist and his cool lips were pressed to hers. Her hands that were on his chest slid up and stroked the sides of his neck as he kissed her deeply.
When their lips parted, Damien hoisted her up, made her sit on the kitchen island counter, and settled in between her legs.
"Before…" she started, "Did I also like you before?"
Damien held her hands and placed them on his shoulders as he answered, "You mean before you lost your memories?" He saw her nod and he smiled when he added, "I hope so. I mean… at least, I think you did."
"Why didn"t you convince me?" She looked into his eyes as she searched for answers. "When I came back the next day in your office, why didn"t you tell me… convince me of what we had before?"
"The very first day I saw you after the longest time, I lost all my cool, dragged you into my office, ended up with my b.a.l.l.s getting kicked, you quitting right after that… and you ran away."
He patted the side of her head when he saw her purse her lips into a thin line and her cheeks blus.h.i.+ng at the memory.
"I only learned what happened to you later. You know what could happen if your memories came back and I didn"t want to risk that. Because… what if you run away again? And whether you had amnesia or not, people can change with time. What you were before… you could be different now. It didn"t feel right to force you just because of our interactions in the past. I wanted you to like me… as the present you…"
Katherine felt suddenly warm because of his gaze. She only asked a simple question and did not expect him to say so much.
"What if… I regain my memories and decide I don"t like you anymore?" she asked the question that suddenly hit her that very moment and she regretted the second the words left her mouth because she saw the evident look of sadness on his face.
Why was her mouth faster than her brain?
However, the next second, Damien curled the corners of his mouth up and kissed her nose. "Then, I"ll just have to woo you all over again."
"What?" she chuckled.
"I"ll persuade you everyday if I have to. I"ll make you like me again and I won"t give up."
She closed her mouth and found her heart was beating faster than usual. Damien could surely make her fall and she probably already had fallen.
"For the third time, Katherine, I will not allow you to go back on your word. Sorry, baby, but you"re stuck with me."
She couldn"t help it. Her smile revealed too much of her feelings and she didn"t hide it from him. Looping her arms around his neck, she pulled his mouth to hers and quenched her thirst with Damien"s amazing kisses. "Please do that… I don"t mind," she whispered to his mouth.
"I wish I could bring you with me tomorrow." He pulled back yet his hands remained on her waist.
"Right… you"re leaving. And so early too." Katherine pouted when she remembered that he needed to do a routine check on a few resorts he owned and some important meetings overseas.
"I"ll be back in a few days. I"m sorry I have to bring Markus with me… are you sure you"ll be okay attending those meetings by yourself?"
"I"ve been studying and you"ve taught me well too. I can handle them, Boss."
"What if I let Markus stay and bring you with me instead?" Damien tilted his head as he looked at her.
"As much as I want to go with you on this trip, you need Markus with you."
He ran his fingers through his hair and strands of hair fell above his brows, making him look even s.e.xier than he already was. Will she be able to last in the next few days that he"ll be away?
"When we come back, I"ll let him teach you what you need to learn about the businesses overseas so I can bring you with me next time." They had only gotten together and they now had to stay apart for a few days — he wanted to laugh at himself for he began to become one of the shackled boyfriends, though the only difference is that: he wanted to be shackled to her.
"I"d love that."
Damien had the s.e.xiest crooked smile that he gave her just now and she swore she could feel her heart jump in her chest for feeling so stupid and giddy at the same time.
All of a sudden, a surge of confidence overtook her senses as she blurted, "I want you to stay here with me tonight."
"You don"t expect me to go back to my place when l have to be away from you for a few days, right?"
He could feel her gaze penetrating in his skin when she added, "Good. Because I"ll miss you when you"ll leave."
Damien loved this boldness of hers. He loved hearing it when she spoke truthfully. He has grown more and more fond of her, so he promised himself that he was going to dote on her even more when he returns —"Brace yourself, Kitten."