Damon cocked a brow at her, his grin widening.
"Yeah, I..." She spun around. "Zipper." Holding her hair up, she waited, breath held. She was about to turn back around when she heard his footsteps behind her.
Damon touched her shoulders, sending a shiver through her, igniting the fire between her legs. Leaning into her, he bent down and grazed his lips up the side of her neck. "You smell incredible," he murmured, his lips moving closer to her ear lobe.
She closed her eyes and leaned back against the hard wall of his chest. His cologne overtook her, sweeping her up. She longed to lose herself in his arms and in the smell of his cologne. Damn, she wished they didn't have whatever charity function it was that they were going to attend and that they could just spend the evening naked and in each others' arms.
"So do you," she managed to choke out.
He straightened back up and slowly tugged her zipper up, the bodice of her dress tightening around her modest breasts. "Stay there a second and I'll put the necklace on you."
Chewing at her lower lip, she nodded. Excitement welled up within her. She really was going to be the princess of the ball. Her... Katrina Alexander... a banquet server for a hotel in Bangor was being lavished in diamonds and beautiful clothing. It had to be a dream. Any minute she'd wake up and it would be all a cruel dream and she would be going back to her life as a server, avoiding the landlord because she didn't have the rent for him.
Damon stepped up behind her and then slipped the diamond necklace around her neck, the yellow sapphire landed just over her breastbone. Despite her building excitement over going to whatever event he was taking her to, she was craving his touch, the apex between her legs becoming increasingly wet.
"Okay," he whispered, his lips less than an inch from her ear. "Turn around. I have another surprise for you."
Another surprise? She doubted she could handle many more. She turned slowly, allowing her hair to slip from her fingers and cascade down her back. She was once again struck speechless as Damon fell to one knee with a small velvet box in his hand.
He cleared his throat and began to look slightly nervous. A smile tugged at the corners of her lips at seeing him looking so uncomfortable.
"Last night I really didn't get to do this properly." He motioned towards the bedroom. "This isn't exactly the way I'd envisioned proposing to you either, but," he sighed, "It is what it is."
"This is perfect Damon." And she meant it.
His body relaxed slightly as he took her left hand in his. "Katrina, when I think back over my life. And I've been doing that a lot lately, the only time I really felt happiness was when I was with you. You were my best friend, my first love..." He chuckled, glancing up and catching her eyes, "My only love. I swear to you now that you'll never want or need for anything again. You, and if we're lucky our baby, will be my world. I want to give you the world Katrina. I've loved you from the day we met and I'll love you for the rest of our lives and beyond."
Oh God. The tears. She fought them back, knowing the make-up she'd spent a half an hour to apply would be for nothing if she let the flood gates open.
"So." He opened the case and she gasped. She'd never seen a diamond so perfect. He pulled the ring from the case and stuffed it into his outer jacket pocket. "So will you, Katrina Alexander, do me the immense honour of being my wife?"
"Of course. I love you Damon. Of course!" He slipped the ring onto her finger and stood.
Oh, here we go!
"Damon Garratt, you bastard." The tears began to stream down her face trailing long streaks of black in their wake. She sniffed and grabbed for a tissue, trying to salvage her make-up. "You've made me ruin my make-up!"
He chuckled, pulling her into his arms. "I'm sorry baby."
"You are not!"
He laughed louder.
Sliding her hands up his chest she laced her fingers behind his neck and pressed her body tight against his. "Are you sure there's no way we can skip the thingie and just stay here?" She kissed the side of his neck lightly, and he groaned.
"Wish we could. Besides, you look stunning. We don't want that to go to waste."
She kissed his neck a second time, hoping to entice him.
"Not going to work woman." Despite his words, his cock told a different story as it began to harden against his stomach. He groaned a second time as her hand slipped between them to stroke the ridge of his shaft over the layers of clothing. "No. No, no, no." Damon pulled away and stepped out of her embrace. He tapped the bridge of her nose. "Later. Besides, we won't stay long. We have a long day tomorrow, and the following day..." His voice trailed off leaving her anxious to hear what he had in mind.
"Which is..."
He shrugged. "I'm not at liberty to say, Miss Alexander."
"Damon!" She heard the high pitched whiney note her tone took and winced, but he didn't seem to be bothered.
His grin widened and he shook his head, determination in his gaze. "Nothing you can do will change my mind, so you might as well finish getting ready. Don't want to be late."
Katrina sighed and turned towards the large mirror connected to the double dresser. Oh-my-God, I look a mess. Her smeared make-up made her look like a crazed clown.
"Ten minutes sweetie. Then we gotta leave."
Ten minutes to fix this! She groaned and prayed she could get cleaned up fast enough.
Chapter 13
Damon could feel the nervousness and tension within Katrina as she clung to his arm and they entered the ballroom.
"I'm freaking scared Damon," she whispered as they began to descend the black marble staircase that lead to a ballroom with roughly three hundred people fraternizing. There were twenty-five tables set up with twelve place settings per table. Dinner was to be served in a half hour with an up-and-coming blues band providing the music for the evening, after the supper.
"Why?" He glanced down at her frowning.
"Look at all the women. They're gorgeous. And they all look so..." She nibbled at her lower lip, considering her next words.
"Snotty?" he offered.
She laughed, her body relaxing somewhat next to his. "Yeah. But they're all nice people right?"
Damon's eyes surveyed the crowd with seriousness and then shook his head. "Most of them are pompous assholes, but they're business associates and people that can be useful so we have to endure I'm afraid." She looked up at him and caught his gaze. "And play nice."
She rolled her eyes at him. "I work as a server; I spend a good chunk of time pretending to like people I can't stand each week. Nothing new here. But it feels like they're watching us."