Femme Fatale: The King's Deadly Temptress

Hearing him say those words, Katherine felt even more elated. It was as if some part of her life has been unlocked and her past didn't seem so dark anymore. For five years, she had been wondering. For five years, she had been feeling both frustrated and excited to be able to recall some of her memories. But during those five years, she had never felt more emotional than at the moment — finding out that she indeed met Damien in the past.

There was a part of her that wished she would never remember the past. It was as though she was trying to protect herself from the unknown. There were times that she tried so hard and ended up crying because of frustration and also because of fear — like her body knew that whatever happened in the past caused her irreparable damage and it was better that she didn't know about it.

But now that she learned that Damien was there with her all those years ago, seeing the look on his face and feeling the way she was feeling now, a surge of yearning washed over her and all she could see was him.

Katherine was panting. She could still feel the warmth of his kiss on her lips and she wanted more.

"Katherine?" Damien called when he noticed that she wasn't saying anything.

Meeting his stare, Katherine wanted to cry when she saw the look on his face — he was happy — and it made her happy, so she swallowed her tears.

Instead, she reached her hands out, grabbed him by the collar and captured his lips.

Damien was caught off guard by her actions. One minute, she was only staring at him — then, she grabbed him, and next, she was kissing him fervently as if she wanted to consume all of him. He couldn't help but groan in her mouth as he responded to her kisses with the same need.

He pushed her backward until her back touched the wall and he trapped her there, pressing his body and wanting to feel her more.

Katherine could feel the warmth of his body, emanating underneath his clothes. His lips brushed against her own, his tongue explored her mouth, and his hands roamed her sides… her arms… and the front of her breast. She whimpered when she felt him squeeze it gently — she didn't know she wanted it.

Damien was so close that she could feel the firmness of his body. How manly he was… how tempting he was.

Their kiss was so passionate that neither one of them wanted to break apart but Katherine was beginning to feel dizzy that her knees started to feel weak.

Noticing that, Damien reluctantly pulled away… both of their faces were flushed — and both of them were breathless.

Katherine nuzzled her face in his neck, wanting to keep him close and smell the scent that she loved so much. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his head on hers, stroking her hair as he did. 

"Where did that come from?" he asked, wondering why Katherine suddenly became so eager.

She shook her head as she snaked her hands through his unbuttoned coat and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I'm just as happy as you are."

They stayed still for a couple of minutes more before Damien pulled her down to the sofa with him, making her sit on his lap and holding her in place.

"Tell me what you remember. I need to know what it is that you know…" Damien stroked her arm and kissed her bare shoulder as he stared at her, impatient to know what was on her mind.

Nodding, Katherine stared at her hands that were resting on her lap and started recalling the farthest that she could remember. She closed her eyes and started, "I don't know when it was… or why I was there…"

…

Sometime 6 years ago…

The scene took place in an event hall and it was a charity gala where a lot of important people were present.

Katherine wore a black floor-length off shoulder evening dress with a sweetheart neckline. She blended right in — rather, she was unimposing and did not attract much attention compared to those around her – people in the high society who wore flashy outfits.

She was standing at the far end of the room watching an auction taking place when a man in a tailored suit approached her from the side.

"I knew it was you…" Damien stood next to her and handed her a glass of champagne.

Katherine was surprised to see him but nevertheless, she received the glass he offered.

Smiling, Damien took a swig from his flute before he said, "Are you also friends with the owner of this hotel?"

For some reason, Katherine felt shy because of what he said and all she could do was smile back and say, "Is there a reason why you're talking to me?"

"Actually, yes. You disappeared that night when I explicitly told you to stay where you were. Shouldn't I, at least, get an apology?" He spoke while his eyes were fixated on the stage.

Katherine chuckled, "I don't owe you anything."

"Not even your name?" He turned his head to her and looked at her in the eye.

Returning his intense gaze with her own, she replied, "Not even my name." She beamed before she downed her champagne and giving the empty flute to the waiter. "I'm a nobody."

"You're very mysterious… No name… yet you keep appearing in social events like this. I don't think you're a nobody at all."

Katherine shrugged, "Well… you're going to be disappointed."

"I like challenges…" She heard him say just before she felt his fingertips brush her arm and his hand settled on the small of her back, making her breathing hitch because of the sudden contact. 

Her skin was so smooth that he wanted to keep touching her. Feeling her tense up, Damien masked a small smile on his face and asked, "Tell me, my unnamed beauty… What do I have to do to get to know you?"

Just because of his question, Katherine suddenly felt like playing with him. "You want to know me?" 

Damien tilted his head at the same time that he slightly tightened his grip on her waist, his action telling her that it was a "Yes."

As if there was a switch, Katherine played along with him. She turned her body towards him so that she was facing him diagonally and raised her delicate hand on his chest, sliding her fingers so that she was playing with his collar. "What can we do? I'm always busy… If you want to talk to me, you would have to buy my time." She dragged her gaze up from his chest until she met his fiery stare.

Enjoying the game that she was playing, Damien quirked the corner of his mouth up and told her, "Money is not a problem, darling… all you have to do is tell me a number."

Patting the bow in place, she pushed herself off of him and gestured the waiter to come over. "I have a better idea." 

Damien never left his eyes on Katherine. He was watching her every move as though he was afraid that if he so much as blink, she would abruptly disappear again. She whispered something to the waiter who nodded his head before he left and headed somewhere.

"Is money really not a problem for you?" she suddenly asked.

An amused smile appeared on his face as he studied the mischievous expression on the woman before him. He didn't know what he got himself into… 

But one thing's for sure – Damien was going to enjoy every bit of it even if he comes to regret it later.

With a devilish, sexy smile on his face, he said, "They say it's easy to say you don't care about money when you have plenty of it. So… by all means, my unnamed beauty, take advantage of me all you want."