Chapter 240 - Tryst 2

In the balcony, fresh air greeted Katherine as soon as she stepped out, but that didn't last long as the memory of last December's kiss in Onyx Mountain Hotel played in her mind. There were three empty tables out there so it was pretty quiet although the faint sound of music from inside the bar could still be heard. For the past hour, it had been playing mellow music, setting the atmosphere to be somewhat relaxing.

Did Damien perhaps plan all this to get her alone again? Nah… he wouldn't.

Would he?

The door behind her opened and out came Damien with two glasses of red wine. "Here," he said as he handed one to Katherine.

"Thanks." She didn't flinch when their fingers briefly touched but her gaze shifted to his and they stared at each other longer than they should have. There was a slight electric shock on the tip of her fingers when they grazed against his and from the way that he was looking back at her, she knew that he felt it too.

What was that? She had never experienced that before. Was that static? That couldn't be. It felt so good she had this crazy urge to want to try and touch him again.

Chris's image appeared in her mind and she forced herself to look away, turning towards the view of the city. For the past year, something changed with Chris and she couldn't figure out what it was. He seemed somewhat elusive but then sometimes he would show his care. He's been so hot and cold towards her and she also rarely saw him recently. Everything changed.

Spending time with Damien like this and then thinking about Chris made her feel bad. This wasn't a date and she hadn't been on a date with Chris either, yet she couldn't help but compare the two of them. 

Nothing can happen between her and Chris because agents in Shadow could never be in a romantic relationship. And unfortunately, so is someone from outside of Shadow. She couldn't be with Damien for the same reason – Shadow.

"Do you often go on dates?" Damien asked, standing next to her and drinking his wine.

Katherine ignored his question and asked him the same instead, "Do you?"

A chuckle escaped from his lips and he shook his head. This woman avoided his questions most of the time, what else was new?

"I'm pretty busy on most days because of work but I do go on dates from time to time. None of them are as interesting as this one though…"

"You find the groupie daughter of the hotel owner interesting?" she laughed.

"No. But you are."

Katherine's head snapped towards him and she found him staring at her. He was talking about her. He meant this date was interesting… Date?!

"This is a date?" she asked, her voice very soft like a murmur.

His gaze slowly lowered and settled on her lips, his Adam's apple bobbing like he was thirsty. Her lips were so tempting that Damien wanted to throw away all his morals and just ravage her right now.

"If you're okay with it. We could call this a date," he said when he looked at her again, waiting for her to agree.

Katherine's insides felt like it was melting. His stare was just so intense that she had to look away. "Ha. Are you always this smooth with women, Mr…" she cleared her throat. "I mean… Damien?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He winked at her and she smiled.

The wind blew against them and though it was cold, Katherine found it refreshing when it hit her skin. She inhaled deeply, her chin raised and her smile widening as she relished the coolness of the air. She rarely got to enjoy and appreciate nature but now felt like a good time.

A warm material covered her shoulders and she looked to the side realizing that Damien had placed his coat on her. It was the same coat that he used to cover her lap and now it was shielding her from the wind.

She loved the cool air… but for some reason, she loved the warmth that his coat brought her… the very same coat that he wore earlier—only now, she was wearing it. And the delicious smell of his fragrance wafted through her nose.

"Thank you…" she said.

Damien was still standing behind her, his hands slowly sliding from her shoulders down to her arms. It wasn't skin to skin but she could feel the heat from his hand through the material of the coat.

Crazy.

She swallowed as she fought the urge to turn around and press herself against him.

If it was any mission, she would have the guts to play the bold one, seducing targets to gain the upper hand. But this was different. No one was watching her. This wasn't a mission. She could be anyone she wanted to be, however, something was holding her back. Or maybe she just wasn't drunk enough.

But the other times that she met him, she wasn't drunk either. So what changed? Was it because they already kissed? But that was just a kiss… a hot… fervent kiss… 

To her panic, she took a large gulp of wine and heard Damien chuckle as he moved next to her. Did he just play her? Was he expecting her to get flustered?

"You still haven't answered my question. Do you often go on dates?"

Katherine bit her lip as she thought about how to answer but there was no other way than to be truthful. "I don't… I've never been on dates. Real ones, at least."

Damien's brows furrowed, not understanding what she meant. "You've never been on… real dates? What do you mean?"

For missions, yes. But her personal life was boring. No action there.

"Let's just say... I went on a few dates for work. Nothing romantic."

He stared at her for a long time. How could that be true? She was too beautiful not to be taken out on a romantic date. Were the men around her blind?

Whatever the reason was, he was somehow feeling glad that she hasn't. That would only mean that he has a chance to show her what she's been missing… right?

Noticing that he hasn't spoken for a while after what she said, Katherine looked at him and instantly blushed when she caught him still looking at her. "What?"

"Let's date."

Damien's voice was so calm and assertive… and sexy… it made Katherine's heart beat wildly in her chest. This man was really just too dangerous for her. She was afraid that her heart couldn't take it if he kept on doing what it was that he was doing to her.

But for one crazy unknown reason, she blurted out, "I thought this was already a date?" 

An extremely brief surprised look flashed on Damien's face upon hearing Katherine's words before a slow smile appeared. His evening had gotten more and more interesting and he was loving it.

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