Femme Fatale: The King's Deadly Temptress

Katherine smiled as she sauntered towards Damien's office. The door was wide open, a few directors and department heads working at the conference table on the other side of the room with many papers strewn about. Damien was on his desk, his head buried in a thick pile.

She hesitated to enter until she heard him speak without looking up, "Marcus. Where are last week's—"

"Sorry. Not Marcus. I didn't know you were still busy," Katherine said in a soft voice as she walked towards his desk.

The staff turned their heads her way at the same time that Damien snapped his head up, watching as she approached him. She quickly waved at them, and they smiled and nodded at her before turning back to their papers. Damien then checked the clock on the wall and cursed under his breath before letting out a sigh as he pushed his glasses up with his middle finger.

He reached for her hand with an open palm, and she placed her hand on it, squeezing him gently. "Where's Cortez?" he asked the others.

"She clocked out at five today, Sir. She asked your permission two hours ago if she could leave early for her daughter's birthday," one of them answered.

Realization dawned on him. He forgot about it already. Cortez was his new secretary—a 40-year-old woman Damien hired last week because he needed all the hands he could get. Cortez reminded Katherine of Edna from The Incredibles—short straight hair and round glasses. She was pretty efficient, fast on her feet, and she adjusted quickly working under Damien—even during his stressful times. He'd been pleased to hire her in his team.

As they were all busy, Katherine decided to be helpful, so she told him, "I can help. What do you need me to do?"

He thought about it for a second, not wanting to ask Katherine to do something for him, but when he saw the gentle look on her face, he knew she really wanted to help. So he nodded and asked her to look for a particular file from the secretary's desk. She smiled before turning around and disappearing into Cortez's space. It was as if Katherine knew everything by heart because she found it in just a minute and came back with a thick folder in hand.

Damien hadn't taken his eyes off her since she arrived. Now, a smile ghosted his face as she handed it to him. "That was fast."

"The system didn't change. It was where I thought I would put it." She shrugged.

"Right. Cortez said to thank you. She said, and I quote: Ms. Young's filing system is so organized. It's a breeze to learn where everything is. I'm not changing anything."

They both chuckled.

And then, as if he thought about something, he asked, "Were we supposed to go out for dinner, and I forgot?"

She pursed her lips as she contemplated and then shook her head as she smiled. "No. Not really."

Damien drew his brows together as he checked the calendar on his desk. Most of the dates this month were full except for today; however, nothing was written on it. The page was blank. And then it hit him. "Shit."

Seeing as he realized what day it was, Katherine stroked the back of his hand and reassured him, "It's okay. I'll help you get your work done. We can just order in with the team and—"

He shook his head at once and got to his feet, rounding the table so he could stand next to her. Then he addressed his staff at the conference table, "That's all for today. It's late. You should go home. We'll continue this tomorrow."

All of them let out a small sigh—of relief, she thought. Some of them glanced at her and mouthed "thank you" as they gathered their stuff and headed out, closing the door behind them with a click.

Once they were alone, he pulled her to his arms and kissed her on the lips, inhaling her addicting scent. "I'll take you out tonight. I can call L'Empereur Brulent to hook us up for a table."

Katherine looped her arms around his neck and smiled, remembering that the restaurant was where they had their engagement dinner last year. Tonight was a special night for them—February 18th. Six years ago today, they met each other again by chance at one of the hotels he was acquiring. They spent the loveliest time in each other's company, nearly ending the night together if not for what happened then.

Still, it was an unforgettable night as that was the last time they saw each other before Katherine lost her memories. A night where she considered being with him. Runaway with him, even though he was somewhat a stranger.

Right now, as she reminisced, she thought that perhaps she felt comfortable around him because he saved her on that tragic night. She didn't recognize him then, but maybe her heart did.

She had planned to take him to the same hotel and spend a couple of nights there, but they couldn't stay away for a long time because of the recent events. So they settled on having dinner tonight instead. She wasn't mad that he had forgotten. If it weren't for the reminder on her phone, she would have also forgotten it herself. They were both so busy.

Katherine shook her head. "Maybe next time. How about we go home, make dinner together, and watch a movie? I prefer to stay in. What do you say?"

For the past two weeks that they had been living in the Penthouse again, both of them worked late most of the nights, and sometimes they'd miss staying awake for each other by the time the other came home. So she wanted to just have a quiet night with him.

Damien loved that idea. "Alright. It's a date."

***

The couple cooked steak and mashed potatoes with veggies on the side—a classic meal they both enjoyed over a bottle of French wine from one of Damien's top-shelf quality stock.

They made a mess in the kitchen, but they worked in tandem with ease and familiarity that they appeared to be in sync with each other's movements—all while they chatted about some funny things that happened at work today or something that Bear did the other night.

After dinner, they loaded the dishwasher and settled in front of the TV, and cuddled on the sofa. They were browsing the list of movies they would watch when Damien thought about something.

"You know…" he started, "Your grandfather and I talked about merging in passing."

"Really? He hadn't told me that."

"Actually, Deborah sort of hinted at it first during our engagement party. She wasn't there when I asked your grandfather about it the next day, and he gave it a thought."

"Wow…" Katherine weighed the thought of the two companies merging, and she could barely fathom what that would mean in the future. "That's…a huge thing. What do you think about it?" She turned to face him, wanting to see his face up close.

"Well… It would make sense since we're getting married. It will open a huge door for us. The scale would be bigger. We could expand construction internationally by acquiring local construction companies from the city. Then we could restructure them according to YC's standards. We'll build more properties, smaller hotels or inns, and other establishments with Crown standards." He smiled. "We can build our empire, you and I, Kitten."

She beamed as she studied his face and saw the eagerness in his expression.

The way she looked right now made him smile too, and he let out a sigh because she hadn't smiled in a while. Then, she surprised him when the words tumbled out of her mouth so naturally.

"I want your babies."

Damien laughed. "You do?" That was so random, and yet, he was elated at the thought of impregnating her. Actually, the thought of Katherine carrying his baby excited him.

Katherine nodded. "Yes. I want a family with you, Damien. Maybe not now, but in the future. I want it."

He leaned in and captured her lips, stroking his tongue ever so gently and slipping it into her mouth as he cradled her face in his hands, kissing her deeply for what seemed like forever. When he pulled away, he kissed her nose and her forehead. "We'll make that happen. We'll have as many mini Kittens as you want."

"Or mini Damiens." She chuckled and kissed him once more. 

Damien grinned. "Then let's get to practice."