Femme Fatale: The King's Deadly Temptress

Chapter 285: I Don't Bite

At half past eight in the evening, the air outside the Park mansion was quite chilly. The sky was dark and full of stars which were still visible despite the brightly lit lamp posts that surrounded the entrance of the mansion. 

There was a unique fragrance coming from a tree that Katherine wasn't familiar with. If only this wasn't the house of Frederick Park, she wouldn't mind staying in this estate.

"My dear," Nana held Katherine's hand in hers and squeezed it lovingly. The way she looked at her was that of a grandmother looking at her own grandchild. "Thank you for coming. Always remember that you are welcome here anytime, okay?"

Nodding her head, Katherine formed an appreciative smile on her face and said, "Thank you, Nana. I will come and visit you again."

"You make sure that Katherine gets home safely and let me know when you arrive home as well," Nana told Damien.

"Of course, Nana. I'll see you soon." He gave her a brief hug and a kiss on the cheek before ushering Katherine towards his Range Rover Sport.

Ever since the Aston Martin blew up a couple of days ago, he had been using this SUV. Katherine was reminded of what happened last Saturday when she got inside the passenger's seat and instantly felt guilty. That night could have ended differently. What if they didn't find the explosive device? What if they were too late and Damien had already driven the car and worse

She shook her head in an attempt to brush away the disturbing thoughts. It was another reminder of why they couldn't be together. She woke up from her daze when Damien got settled in the driver's seat and started the engine. 

He drove away, waving to Nana as he sped off. In a very subtle manner, he glanced at Katherine a few times as they exited the long road of the Park Estate. He wondered what she was thinking so deeply about that she was staring at the dashboard in front of her.

When they were on the road that led to the city, Katherine said in a soft voice, "You can drop me off at the Cherry station on 9th and 5th street."

Furrowing his brows, he probed, "Are you going somewhere this late?"

"Home. That's already near my place. I can just walk."

Liar. Slightly shaking his head, Damien didn't like that she tried to deceive him. Not wanting to give her the chance to lie anymore, he scoffed, "You're kidding, right? That's nowhere near your place. That's like ten blocks away."

Katherine snapped her head towards him and her heart raced realizing that Damien knew where she lived. "Caleb told you?"

"Were you really going to lie and keep that from me? Do you hate me that much for you to not want me to know where you live?"

His voice started to raise and Katherine didn't like where this was heading. "I'm not having this conversation with you right now, Damien."

"Why not? You're not doing anything else right now. Why not have this conversation with me?" He was truly curious.

Taking a deep breath, Katherine finally told him, "Because if I start telling you things, I won't be able to stop myself from saying another then another and another And I'm not ready for that yet. I don't know what I can tell you and I don't want to keep lying to you so please don't make me."

Damien calmed down upon hearing what Katherine said. He understood her but he couldn't help but feed his desperation by pushing her further, "How hard could it be? Why don't you start with small truths?" His voice was now calmer. 

"Small truths? About what?" She knitted her brows, confused where he was getting at. It wasn't only because it was hard to tell the truth, but rather she couldn't afford to let him know things because it would endanger him. 

"I don't know, Katherine Where the hell have you been for the past months? Couldn't you at least tell me that? I think I deserve to know."

Katherine became silent as she pondered upon what she could tell him. How would he even understand the things she did if she could not admit the whole truth about her identity? 

As she was thinking quietly, Damien patiently waited. A few minutes passed and he thought that she really wouldn't tell him anything. He was about to tell her to forget about it until she started, "I didn't lie at dinner today. I did go to those places I told Nana."

"You did? What were you doing there?"

"That I can't tell you"

He knew she would still keep things from him but at least she was starting to warm up to him again. So he asked her another question, "Did you at least see the Hollywood sign like you told Nana?"

"Yup. While I was on the plane." She smiled.

Damien mockingly laughed upon hearing her answer as he found her amusing. 

"What? I did see it!" she insisted, laughing with him and playfully slapped his arm.

"Fine," he snorted.

The atmosphere in the car became light while he realized how different Katherine seemed to be yet also so familiar. Their relationship at the moment is so fragile that he was afraid to keep pushing her and end up having her run away from him again.

However, he didn't know when he could ever have another chance with her like this so he pulled up on the side of the road and pressed the hazard lights of the car. They were still half an hour away from the city, surrounded by a vast area of wheatfield on the left and some trees on the right. It was quiet and there were no other cars.

"What are you doing?" she wondered.

"Taking advantage." Damien got out and walked around the car, opening the door to the passenger's side and pulled her out.

Katherine didn't understand what was going on but because she was bewildered by what Damien was doing, she just gaped as she allowed him to move her to the backseat of the car, letting her sit in the middle and then he followed suit.

She watched as he pressed some buttons and adjusted their seat, letting the backrest tilt backward slightly so that when they lean back, they were looking up through the moonroof where the night sky had a party of stars twinkling and scattered like gold dust.

Katherine was still sitting, unsure of what to do at the moment as she didn't anticipate for this to happen at all. There was no escape as they were in the middle of nowhere. 

Damien inhaled deeply and leaned back, his eyes gazing up in the sky, wondering when was the last time that he had appreciated such a beautiful night like tonight. His eyes shifted to the side and saw that Katherine was still sitting upright, making him chuckle.

"What are you doing?"

"Huh?"

He patted the space on the backrest next to him. A playful smile appeared on his face as he said, "You need to relax." He slightly tilted his head to the side. "I don't bite Not unless you want me to."

That's the thing Katherine didn't know if she wanted him to.

Pressing her lips in a thin line, she slowly leaned back and looked at the view above her, seeing the beautiful view that only came second to the man who was sitting closely next to her that she could feel the heat radiating from his body.

Who was she kidding?

Of course she wanted him to. She sighed.

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