Ch. 386..390: Forbidden Heat R18 Chapter 386-390

Chapter 386: Reiner - Take Me Home

“Go home...” Reiner said as he stood up from the chair.

He turned on his heels and began walking away without looking back. As far as he was concerned, the conversation between them was over. He didn’t want to stay to answer any of her questions or confirm any of her suspicions.

“I won’t give up. We’re going to get married no mater what!” Rachael called out stubbornly from behind him.

Reiner ignored her words complete as he continued walking away. The situation had gotten much worse than he initially estimated. Rachael was supposed to help him until he was done with what he had intended which was to send Natalia back home. She was never supposed to be in love with him. When he broke off their engagement years ago, he had been certain that she was happy and relieved to have the freedom to choose her life partner on her own. How did things turn out like this?

...

It ended up being a very busy night at the bar and I didn’t get a chance to talk properly to Charles again until it was closing time. Charles was no longer at the bar when it came close to closing time. He probably left sometime during the night while I wasn’t paying attention. It didn’t worry me at all because I knew that he would keep his word and that he would be waiting for me right outside the bar after I had finished working for the night.

“You have to tell me all about it,” Kat hissed into my ear as she grabbed my arm tightly.

“All about...what?” I asked, not quite sure I understood what she was referring to.

“How he is in bed, of course!” Kat replied with widened eyes.

I was sure that she was getting the wrong idea about this whole ride back home thing.

“There won’t be anything to tell. We’re not...going to do...those things...” I replied sternly.

“You never know. They say one thing leads to another...” Kat replied with a grin.

“I’m heading back. You should head back home too,” I said curtly to end our conversation.

...

I gathered my things and headed out of the bar. Not surprisingly, Charles was standing there, and he flashed a smile my way when he spotted me walking out of the bar. I felt his eyes on me and I began to wonder if what they said was true about one thing leading to another...

“Sorry, have you been waiting for long?” I asked with an apologetic smile.

“No need to be sorry. I was the one who offered to drive you back,” Charles replied.

I walked at his side as he led me towards where his car was parked. It was late and it was quite dark apart from the streetlights. The decorative lights of all the bars had been switched off by that time because it was past closing time.

“Watch your step,” Charles warned.

“Sure...” I mumbled in reply.

It was a short walk to his car. I didn’t know much about Charles, but I could tell from the car that he drove that he was more than well-off. Unless the price of cars on this island varied widely from other countries or where I came from, then this car costed a small fortune for sure. I glanced over at Charles, and he offered me a kind smile.

Yeah, I guess he doesn’t owe me an explanation of how he funded the purchase of his car or anything like that.

“Watch your head,” Charles advised as he opened the passenger door for me.

Just like all sports car, the car was low compared to normal ones and watching my head was what I always had to do when I entered these types of cars. Zak loved these types of cars and so I had a lot of experiences from getting in and out his cars.

“Thank you,” I whispered before the door closed.

Charles got into the driver’s seat before turning to ask me for my address. That was when I realized that I had to give him the address to my place. It felt quite strange that no one else knew where I was living now except for Kat and now Charles was going to be the second person to know.

“Let me type it in for you...” I offered and he readily agreed.

“Do you live far from here?” He asked.

“Sort of. Sorry for the trouble...” I replied.

“Not at all. I was just curious. This is somewhere in the business district, isn’t it?” Charles asked as he eyed the address that I had just typed in on the map.

“Yes...it’s closer to the office for my day job,” I explained.

“I see. It looks like a good location,” Charles said before he began driving.

“Yeah, it’s very convenient. I just moved there but I think I’ll get used to it in no time,” I replied confidently.

“I bet you’re working hard on your day job too,” Charles said.

I wondered if he would answer me if I asked for his help regarding my work. Charles would probably know something about it, and he was the only one that I knew besides Reiner that may know something about improving an agent’s survival rate.

“Umm...I don’t know if I can ask you this but...at work, we’re trying to improve agents’ chances of survival on missions. So, I was wondering if you have any ideas about this,” I asked a little hesitantly.

Charles was silent as he seemed to ponder my question. I looked at him as he continued to drive with his eyes on the road ahead.

“What do you want to know about it, specifically?” Charles asked.

He didn’t seem against sharing me some of his knowledge, so I decided to continue on with the conversation on this topic.

“You told me before that trust and compatibility between team members can determine the team’s survival on missions. I would like to know how we can tell whether agents are compatible with each other, you know, before we put them into the same team,” I inquired seriously.

Chapter 387: Reiner – Irresistible Foolishness

“I see...that’s one hell of a project that you’re working on,” Charles said, and he seemed interested.

“Yeah...honestly, we haven’t gotten very far at all and...that’s probably because I’m not at all knowledgeable about this topic...” I admitted a little sadly.

“I wish I could give you an easy and simple answer, but the reality is, it’s not easy at all. There are too many factors and uncertainties involved in a mission,” Charles replied followed by a sigh.

“I understand that but there’s got to be something that we can do to help...” I said, not willing to give up on this.

“Well, there are many things that could indicate that agents are more likely to be compatible but there is no sure formula and no guarantee that they will be...” Charles said sternly.

“Such as?” I prompted as my eyes widened in interest.

Charles turned to smile at me, and I could tell that he was slightly amused at my intense curiosity regarding this topic.

“Such as skill level, experience working together, religion, personal beliefs, similar tastes in food, having grown up in the same hometown and the list goes on and on,” Charles said with a light laugh.

“Honestly, that’s not really useful and definitely not specific enough,” I muttered regrettably.

“Exactly. Do you know why?” Charles asked while looking my way.

“Why?” I asked, curiously.

“It’s because, I believe that the only way to make a team compatible with each other is to get them to practice, practice, and practice even more at working together. Mock missions, trainings, group exercises, and everything along those lines. If you ask me, everything else aside, the most important thing is the experience that they have working together under harsh and stressful conditions. There is no short cut,” Charles stated confidently.

Practice. Experience in working together. There is no short cut.

There is nothing in the data that I saw that could predict compatibility to the extent where I could be sure that the team would be perfect. The agents need to practice and train working in a team with each other. Why didn’t I think of this before?

Were the agents that were sent on mission together trained enough beforehand as a group and not only as an individual? I need to look into this.

“Thank you, Charles. I think you just gave me the best idea ever,” I thanked him happily as a smile curved my lips.

“I’m glad that I was able to help you out a little,” Charles replied like it was no big deal.

However, it was a huge deal. I should have looked into something like this before I even tried to figure out any data on agent profiles. Perhaps, even if their profiles showed that they were not really compatible, after going through harsh training and working together as a team, those agents might be able to pull off any mission.

“I think we’ve arrived. Is this the place?” Charles asked as the car came to a stop.

I was too wrapped up in my thoughts about work based on Charles’ suggestion that I had lost track of time and where we were on the road. Looking out of the car window, I could see the building of my new apartment and knew that this was indeed the right place.

“Yes, this the place. Thank you so much for driving me back,” I quickly thanked him.

He smiled at me and nodded. I offered him one of my best smiles before turning to open the passenger door. Unexpectedly, I felt the touch of his hand around my arm. I turned around and his face was right in front of mine. He’s so close and he’s coming closer...

I closed my eyes and in the next instant, his lips were on mine. His lips felt warm and soft against my own as he kissed me gently. His hand caressed the side of my neck as he continued to kiss my lips softly. His action stunned me, but I didn’t push him away. After a short while, Charles was the one who pulled back.

“Sorry, I guess I missed you a lot...these past few days...” Charles said a little shyly.

“Charles...” I whispered his name as his eyes met mine.

In the back of my mind, I saw Reiner and that girl smiling and laughing together as she hugged him tightly. Why am I seeing this now?

Charles reached out a hand a cupped my cheek in his large hand. His hand felt so warm and so comforting. Slowly, my eyes drifted close, and Charles’ lips were on mine once again. He kissed me more passionately than before, his lips pressing firmly against mine. He kissed me from various angles before the wetness of his tongue slipped out and probed my closed lips.

She said that she’s supposed to come over for dinner. Did she end up staying over with Reiner?

I moaned softly in my throat as my lips slowly parted. Charles pulled me closer to him as his wet tongue thrusted into my mouth. He tastes good. His large hand on my body feels so reassuringly strong and warm. His tongue danced around teasingly with mine as our kiss got wetter and more heated. My body started reacting to him and soon his hands were exploring the curves of my body as I moaned into his ardent kiss.

If Reiner has moved on...then maybe I should too...

His hand found my breasts and began caressing it through my clothes gently and slowly. He’s making me feel good. His large manly hand kneaded my breasts and my body writhed in pleasure. His seductive caresses felt amazing and soon I was desiring more of him. I could tell that he was experienced and so skilled at this. The way he’s kissing me made me feel like I was about to melt. His large hand and his large frame remind me so much of...

What am I thinking?

Charles broke our kiss, and I was left panting to catch my breath. His hands withdrew from my body as he leaned back on his driver’s seat. I couldn’t understand why he suddenly pulled back. I thought that he wouldn’t stop.

Chapter 388: Reiner – His Realization

“We should stop for now. I can tell that your mind is elsewhere...” Charles said gently.

I was shocked at how understanding he was. Then I was shocked that he could tell and that made me feel very ashamed of myself. He’s so kind to me and I was just using him to comfort myself.

“I’m sorry...” I apologized guiltily.

“It’s ok. We don’t need to rush this. Goodnight, Natalia,” Charles said as he reached out and stroked my hair softly.

“Thank you. Goodnight, Charles,” I said softly before getting out of his car.

...

Reiner woke up with a throbbing headache the following morning. He stretched as he got out of bed and headed for the shower. His instinct told him that today would be another bad day. The event that unfolded with Rachael last night ended in a complete disaster. He had told her to go home while she was crying her eyes out and he was beginning to regret it right now. He looked at his phone and saw no miscalls from Rachael. She’s probably mad right now, not surprisingly.

He took a quick shower, got dressed and left his bedroom. Regardless of what happened yesterday, there was something that he needed to check on. It was a long walk from his room to the guest wing where Natalia’s bedroom was. The hallway was empty and quiet when he arrived. Reiner stood in front of Natalia’s bedroom door as he hesitated to knock.

He hadn’t seen Natalia all day yesterday. Perhaps it was also because he was busy dealing with Rachael from morning until night. However, not seeing Natalia and not knowing where she was made him feel uneasy. It’s Sunday morning now so she should be in her room. He glanced at the time on his watch to check that it wasn’t too early to knock on her door. Natalia wasn’t a morning person and if he woke her up, she would be in a grumpy mood, and he didn’t want that.

Since Reiner woke up slightly later than usual, it was already quite late. Natalia should be up, unless she’s oversleeping like crazy, he thought as he lifted his hand and began knocking on her door. After three firm knocks, he paused and waited for the sound of movements on the other side of the door. However, even after a while of waiting, Reiner couldn’t hear any sound from the other side.

He frowned slightly as he lifted his hand and knocked on her door again, louder this time. Again, he waited in front of her door for her to open the door for him. However, that didn’t happen, and he couldn’t sense her presence on the other side of the door.

Is she not here?

Slowly, his hand reached for her doorknob and then turned it. Surprisingly, the door was unlocked. Reiner narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he felt that something was wrong. Pushing the door open, he was shocked at the sight of the empty room in front of him. The room seemed inhabited and everything that belonged to Natalia was gone. Reiner strode in and looked around the empty and deserted room. There was nothing left in her room apart from the furniture. The bed had no bedding, there were no clothes in the closet and the bathroom was empty.

Reiner turned around just in time to see a confused-looking maid standing in the doorway with some bedsheets in her hands. His eyes narrowed as he approached her. She backed away in slight panic at the look of panic and frustration on Reiner’s face.

“Where is Natalia?” Reine demanded to know in a loud voice.

“Umm...I don’t know...but Queen asked us to clean this room since yesterday...” the maid replied in a fearful whisper.

Reiner cursed as he walked past her and headed out the door. The maid stared after him in shock with a hand pressed against her chest. Reiner made his way out to the hallway while calling Natalia’s mobile number.

Where is she?

The beeping sound was the only thing he heard, and the line refused to connect. Why isn’t she picking up her phone? He growled in frustration as he redialed her number over and over again. After multiple calls, Natalia still didn’t answer her phone.

“Where is Natalia? I went to see her in her room, but she wasn’t there,” Reiner asked as he stormed into Queen’s personal study.

“If you’ve been to her room then you’ve figured it out already, haven’t you?” Queen asked in return, sounding calm and collected.

“Where is she?” Reiner asked again.

Queen sighed before putting down the report that she had been reading onto the table in front of her. Then she turned to look straight at her only son.

“She moved out already,” Queen stated bluntly.

“Since when?” Reiner asked immediately.

“Yesterday morning,” Queen replied calmly.

“Why didn’t you tell me anything about this?” Reiner demanded to know as he approached his mother and stood right in front of her desk.

“Well, you never asked. Why do I have to tell you? If she wanted you to know, she could have told you herself. So, she didn’t tell you anything?” Queen said with a shrug.

“Where is she?” Reiner demanded to know once more.

Queen stared into her son’s blue eyes and knew that he was greatly disturbed by Natalia’s disappearance.

“I don’t know,” she replied frankly and honestly.

“What?” Reiner said in disbelief.

“I said, I don’t know where she is. She didn’t tell me where she went or what her new address is,” Queen answered clearly.

Knowing that he won’t get any useful clues or information from his mother, Reiner turned on his heel and headed for the room’s exit. Queen watched him go.

“Knight!” she called after him.

Reiner stopped in his track before turning his head around to face her.

“What?” he asked.

“She’s gone, are you happy now?” Queen said as her face transformed into a look of misery.

...

Once he left Queen’s room, Reiner started dialing another number. He was sure that the owner of this number would pick up his call for sure. It was his job to pick up.

“I need you to find someone,” Reiner commanded immediately after the line connected.

“Send me the details,” the voice of a man replied.

“I want her found today. Don’t approach her,” Reiner instructed firmly.

“Noted,” the voice replied before the line disconnected.

This island wasn’t large so it wouldn’t take a long time to find Natalia if she was still on this island. Reiner ran his fingers through his red hair in frustration. Why did she leave so suddenly?

He returned to calling Natalia on his phone, although he knew that she wouldn’t answer any of his calls.

Chapter 389: Reiner – Facing Him

Monday arrived and I was determined to make it to work on time despite the heavy Monday morning traffic in the business district. I would be lying if I said that I didn’t feel anxious about going to work today. Honestly, I didn’t know what kind of face to make when I met Reiner after seeing him and his fiancée together on that day. I was spying on them, and I was paying the price for that dishonest act now.

I got into the elevator, and I was on my way up to his office. There was no point running away from it. Unless I give up this job entirely, he’s going to remain as my boss and I’m still going to be his secretary. Reiner called me countless times yesterday. Of course, I didn’t answer any of his calls. The reason was obvious, I didn’t know what to say to him and I wasn’t exactly in the mood to have a pleasant conversation with him either. I didn’t even wonder why he was calling me. He probably found out that I had moved out of his mansion, and he was probably glad about it.

The elevator opened and I sighed loudly before making my way towards his office. I should have known since he announced his engagement to Rachael that sooner or later, she was going to come around to visit him at his place. Why would he want me there since I’m just going to get in their way?

No man would want to be caught in an awkward situation of having to explain to his fiancée why his house was hosting a female guest. I bet that just like I didn’t know how to explain our relationship, Reiner probably had the same issue of explaining it to other people. The simplest relationship that would be understandable by society right now is that I’m his secretary and he is my boss. Period.

When I walked into the office, I was surprised to see Reiner leaning on my desk as if he had been waiting for me. He turned to look at me when I entered the room.

“Good morning, Natalia,” he greeted me casually.

“Good morning, Knight. Can I help you with something?” I said before smiling politely at him.

“No,” he replied.

“Umm...the schedule for the agent interviews is here. The secretarial department should have inputted it in your calendar as well so you can see them there. There are three interviews today. Each are scheduled for 30 minutes but if that’s not enough you’re more than welcomed to go over time. The first interview starts at 1:30PM,” I informed him with a smile.

“Thank you. Do you want to sit in as well?” he asked.

“May I?” I asked.

“Of course, you may,” Reiner replied.

“That would be great. Thank you so much,” I replied before plastering on one of my cheerful smiles.

After staring at me for a moment, Reiner didn’t say anything more and headed to his personal office. I watched his back as he retreated into his personal office. That didn’t turn out as bad as I had thought it would. Plus, I get to attend the agent interviews in the afternoon. I looked forward to that more than I was willing to admit. I wonder what the agents would be like. Would they be cool like spies and secret agents that I usually saw on television or in the movies?

...

The first agent that we were interviewing was a man in his forties. He’s a professional sniper who used to work for the police force. I didn’t like to judge people from appearances alone but the photo in his profile made me believe that this guy must be on hell of an introvert. I chose this agent for the interview partly because three of his teammates have died before on three separate missions. However, the main reason that I chose him was because for his whole career, he had been working mostly independently or very loosely associated to group missions. However, due to changes in the nature of the work in the industry, for the past two years, his missions have shifted to be more team-based.

The thin and tall man that was escorted into Reiner’s office looked more like an introvert now that I’ve seen him in real life. It was like he wasn’t interested in talking or interacting with anyone. A polite greeting never exited his mouth as he sat down opposite Reiner at his table. He was dressed in simple casual clothes. A black short sleeve shirt pair with grey pants and white sneakers. If wouldn’t pay any special attention to this man if I walked past him on the street. He seemed normal and there was no way that I would suspect that he’s a professional sniper.

“You’re Brooke, right? Thanks for agreeing to a meeting with me,” Reine said politely.

“Knight...” the man with the codename Brooke said.

I didn’t have any doubt that that wasn’t his real name. It was a codename and it seemed like all agents operated strictly under a codename.

“Well then, since we don’t have that much time. I’m going to start asking you some questions and I’d appreciate it if you could answer them honestly and openly,” Knight instructed with a warm smile.

“...Sure,” the thin man said.

I doubt that he would do much talking during this interview, but it was good enough that he was cooperative. I watch the two men converse and it wasn’t long before Brooke began opening up and talking more. His answers to the questions were concise, direct, and they seemed very honest.

The second interviewee was a man famous for his close-range combat abilities. Frankly, when I watched the man shake hand with Reiner, I was shocked at how tall he was in real life. Reiner was very tall, but this man was like a mini giant. He was much taller than Reiner and his muscles were unbelievably bulky. Close combat abilities indeed. Now, unlike the man before, I would definitely pay attention to this guy if I walked past him on the street. He didn’t look like a common guy at all.

Chapter 390: Reiner – Real Work Starts After Work

“Zero, thanks for coming. It’s been many years since we last met,” Reiner said before smiling pleasantly.

“Don’t worry. I remember you well enough, Knight,” the huge man said, and his voice was surprisingly light and cheerful.

Unlike the stern and scary-looking photo of him in his profile, this man smiled a lot and seemed to have a good sense of humor. He shared some small talk with Reiner before laughing loudly. The way he laughed made me feel a lot less intimidated by him. It was like, this giant of a man had a human touch to his character. He seemed like a nice and very friendly guy. When he turned to smile my way, I found myself smiling back at him with ease.

“Right, let’s get down to it. We want to improve agents’ survival rate on missions and my secretary here believes that talking to you and asking you some questions will help us achieve that. So please, answer all questions truthfully. There’s no need to hold anything back,” Reiner explained.

“I never hold anything back,” Zero said confidently.

Finally, it was time for the last interview for the day. Unlike the other two interviewee before, this agent was a woman. Famous for her strategy work in the field and her ability to command teams on the ground, this woman has been an agent for more than fifteen years and she started out very young.

“Hi there, I’m Karin,” the woman with curly auburn hair said seductively.

There weren’t many female agents employed at this agency and perhaps there wasn’t that many female agents to begin with in this world so getting the opportunity to see one up close and in person seemed like a privilege to me. She’s very big for a woman and very muscular. Her face is super pretty though and she wears mascara and light make up too. I guess even female agents care about their looks. Wow...

She’s so pretty. Even prettier than the photo on her profile. Karin was tall and had a well-toned body. I could see it clearly because she only had a pair of very short shorts on along with a crop top that did nothing to hide her bare arms and stomach. Her legs were long, and she had an authentic tan. She eluded confidence and I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.

“Thank you for agreeing to this interview. I’m Knight,” Reiner said politely.

Karin narrowed her sharp eyes at him before nodding and taking her seat.

“You look like your father,” Karin said with an alluring smile.

“I guess, I do,” Reiner replied smoothly.

“You have questions for me, right? Ask away...” she said as she stared intently at Reiner.

...

By the time we wrapped up the final interview, it was around 6PM which meant that we had just done one hour of overtime. Honestly, I didn’t mind at all, and it was a surprise that the interviews did not run overtime. It was also good that the secretarial department was consider enough to arrange for time between each interview. It gave me time to go through my note and jot down anything that I may have missed the first time around.

It’s time to head back now. Reiner seemed to be reviewing his notes. Silently, I slipped out of his office and closed the door behind me. After gathering my stuff, I was prepared to leave the office to head back to my apartment. Since I was no longer staying at his mansion, there was no need for us to share a ride back anymore and that meant that I could leave at any time. I placed my handbag onto my shoulder before heading towards the door.

Just when I opened the door to leave, I heard the sound of another door opening. I turned to see Reiner walking out of his office and I could feel his eyes on me.

“I’m done for the day so I’m going to head out now. I’ll see you tomorrow,” I excused myself politely.

Reiner approached me until he was standing right in front of me. His large hand planted itself flat against the door and pushed it firmly closed behind me. The door closed with a solid thud, and I found myself trapped between Reiner’s large frame and the closed door.

Great. What does he want with me now?

“I called you many times yesterday, why didn’t you answer my calls?” Reiner asked in a low voice as his eyes searched mine as if he could find the answers that he was looking for in the depth of my eyes.

“You called me? Sorry that I missed your calls,” I said, sounding apologetic.

“Why didn’t you call me back?” he demanded to know.

Because I didn’t want to talk to you?

“I guess it just slipped my mind. Also, it was a Sunday, and I don’t work for you on Sundays. It was work related, right? You know, the thing you wanted to talk to me about,” I replied, trying to sound as normal as I could.

“You should have told me that you were moving out,” Reiner whispered and for a moment it sounded like he was in pain.

It must have been my imagination and nothing more.

“I told Queen about it. I thought you would hear it from her,” I replied.

Reiner stared at my face silently as if he didn’t know what to say to me. As for me, I had nothing to say to him either. I just want to head back to my apartment.

“Why did you leave so suddenly?” Reiner asked as his voice softened.

Was he worried because there’s no need for him to be.

“You don’t have to worry. I was planning to move out sooner or later. I can’t stay as a guest at your mansion forever. Better sooner than later, right?” I said before smiling bravely at him.

“I see...” Reiner said softly.

“I should head back now. If there’s nothing else, I’ll see you at work tomorrow,” I said politely.

“Is your place around here? I can drive you back,” Reiner offered.