Ch. 396..400: Forbidden Heat R18 Chapter 396-400

Chapter 396: Reiner – Curious Question

**A week later**

Although it had been decided that Charles would help out on the project, things didn’t work out quite as I had expected. At first, I thought that he would be spending time working with Reiner and me at the office on the project. However, as it turned out, Charles working on the project meant that he would engage in a few calls with Reiner to give advice each week and if required, he would come to meet Reiner in person.

I wasn’t sure if this was the original plan or if this was what Reiner decided afterwards and I had no way of finding out. However, from this arrangement, I had next to no exposure to Charles at all for the project. It wasn’t like I was eager to meet or talk to Charles in the office. After all, I could meet him at the bar or elsewhere if I wanted to. It was just a shame that I couldn’t learn more from him even though he was acting as the expert on our project.

Of course, it would be a suicide mission to voice this concern to Reiner because he definitely would have taken it the wrong way. So, in the end, I just kept this to myself. After that meeting with Charles in the office, Reiner had been in a bitter mood. Although it had been a little over a week since then, his mood showed no signs of improving and I didn’t quite know what to do about it. We continued working together at work, but Reiner spoke to me a lot less and he didn’t seem to enjoy working with me like he did before.

Precisely because of that, I found my work daunting and dealing with him became difficult once again. That didn’t mean that I didn’t try to make things better between us. I tried a couple of things.

“Knight, want to go out for lunch? You don’t have any meetings this afternoon,” I suggested with a beautiful smile.

“I’m a little busy. You should go ahead,” Reiner replied without a second thought.

Inviting him out to lunch took a lot of nerve on my part and he turned me down just like that. Just remembering it made me scrunch up the recycled paper that I was holding. After that, I tried finding new topics related to work to report to him so that I could start a conversation with him. That didn’t work out very well either.

As a result of my depressing day job, I started working at the bar after work more often during the past week. Seeing Kat and my other colleagues made me feel better. I learnt that there are many things in life that gave me happiness and meaning to go on even if my love life and relationships were in shambles.

“Are you working at the bar again tonight?” Reiner asked.

I looked up from the report that I was reading and stared at him in wonder. I wondered what amazed me more, the fact that he spoke to me first or the fact that he was interested in what I was going to do. Then the way he phrased his question gave me pause. We haven’t really been talking this past week, so when did I tell him that I’ve been working at the bar?

Perhaps, he just naturally assumed that I had been working at the bar?

“Oh, yes. It’s my shift today and one of the staff called in sick so I really need to help out over there,” I replied, trying to sound casual.

“I see...” Reiner said softly.

Just like that the short-lived conversation between us died. I couldn’t help but wonder why he was asking but then decided that it must have been nothing. The workday ended uneventfully once again, and work started to feel boring. The project was making much better progress, though. With Charles stepping in to help review the current team training courses and schedules, we should be getting insights on where we could improve very soon.

...

The bar wasn’t too busy at the start of the night, thankfully so, because we were understaffed. Jamie was in a jolly good mood as he drank beer with some of his regular customers. They were an old and very loud bunch, but I loved how they looked like they were having the time of their lives. Kat, on the other hand, was in a bitter mood.

“What happened?” I asked.

“Bad guy troubles...” she replied before rolling her eyes upwards.

I watched her jerky movements as she arranged some plates and utensils on a tray. It wasn’t new news that Kat was having guy problems. I grinned at her while I wanted to tell her that I understood her pain. My life had been storm after storm of bad guy problems.

“Want to tell me about it?” I asked.

“No. It’s over and done with. I’m all up and ready for a new guy. Hopefully, he’s mixed in with tonight’s crowd,” Kat said as she eyed the crowd on the floor.

“Aha...” I mumbled.

“Yeah, so I’m gonna go over there...” Kat said before flashing me a sexy smile.

I nodded my head as I watched her walk away into the crowd. Guess there was nothing for me to worry about. Someone surely moves on fast. I haven’t learnt the name or face of her old guy and now she is out hunting for a new one in tonight’s crowd. Awesome.

Since meeting Charles in the office on that day that he had a meeting with Reiner, I have only seen him once at the bar. It had been a few days since then and I had started to wonder if he was on another dangerous mission again. My conversation with Charles the last time that we met was surprisingly casual considering what had happened. However, that conversation made me realize that Charles was a lot more perceptive than I gave him credit for.

Chapter 397: Reiner – Perceptive Man

“Your boss seems overly protective of you. I never imagined that Knight would be a boss like that,” Charles said with a teasing laugh.

I served him his beer before he invited me to take the seat opposite him at his table. Charles had probably figured that if he made sure to be the first customer of the night, he could get some time to chat properly with me while the bar wasn’t too busy. I took the seat as invited and smiled at Charles. I knew that sooner or later; he would ask me about Reiner.

“You’re right. I’m sorry that things got a little awkward back there...” I apologized softly.

“I found it very surprising at first, but it actually makes a lot of sense. I would feel the same way if I had a secretary as beautiful as you,” Charles said and the way his eyes met mine told me that he wasn’t just joking around.

I didn’t miss the hidden meaning in his words, and I wasn’t so dumb that I couldn’t read between the lines. Now, what and how much should I tell him?

“I’m not so sure...about that...” I mumbled softly after breaking eye contact with him.

Not sure where I should look, I glanced down at my hands that were clenched together on my lap. I wondered what Charles was thinking or feeling and how he could appear so calm and collected. Perhaps what happened didn’t have any affect on him at all. It would be great if that was the case.

“Is he the reason why you were so distracted the other day?” Charles asked suddenly.

I glanced down because I couldn’t meet his eyes. Charles was very perceptive, and it seemed like he had seen through everything including my own confused feelings. I knew that I couldn’t lie to him, so I didn’t even bother trying.

“Yes,” I confessed in short.

I wasn’t sure what I expected Charles to say, so I was a little surprise when he didn’t say anything, he just nodded and took it at face value.

“I’m not surprised that he is interested in you the same way that I’m interested in you,” Charles said with a thoughtful face.

Once again, I was surprised that he didn’t seem bothered. However, I think he got it a little wrong because Reiner didn’t think of me that way, although, I’ve confessed to him a couple of times directly and indirectly.

“Knight isn’t interested in me. He...doesn’t think of me like that,” I quickly corrected.

“What makes you think that?” Charles asked as he arched an eyebrow curiously at me.

“Well, he told me as much...” I replied in a soft mumble.

“I see. Well, if I were you, I wouldn’t be so sure...” Charles said with a small laugh.

I wished that he was right. If only he was right, then Reiner and I wouldn’t be stuck in this situation. We’ll be together as a happy couple or something along those lines.

“I’m not sure...” I whispered.

Charles just looked at me with an amused smile on his face. I wasn’t sure what he was thinking, but one thing’s for sure, he didn’t view Reiner as his competitor at all. Feeling very embarrassed and not wanting to discuss this topic any further, I made up some excuse that I had to start working now so that I could leave the table. However, just when I turned to leave, Charles called after me.

“Natalia, can I drive you home?” he asked.

“Sure, thank you for the offer,” I replied.

I turned around to face him and saw that he was smiling warmly at me. He really is such an amazing guy. Since then, it had become a new norm for Charles to drive me back to my place whenever he came to the bar. He would wait for me to get off work before driving me back to my apartment. Not so surprisingly, I enjoyed spending time talking to him during our ride home.

...

Charles was also here tonight, and he came early. After chatting with him and sharing some small talk, I made an excuse to get away to spend some time with Kat and to prepare for when the bar would get busier later in the night. Although I made an excuse to get away by using the excuse that work was busy, it wasn’t really a lie. As it got later into the night, bar was packed with people. It made me started to think that Jamie must be a very rich guy if his business is doing this well.

I glanced over at Jamie, who was laughing very loudly with two blonde girls. He really was living the life. Despite her guy troubles the other day, Kat seemed to have gotten over it already, and she was cheerfully chatting with another hot customer. The tables were full and so was the dance floor. It was pretty hectic. I served food and drinks to our customers both on the dance floor and also those seated at the tables.

Halfway through the night, my feet were already killing me, and my arms felt like they were going to fall off. I never had a moment of break and I kept thinking to myself that I should tell Jamie that we were understaffed. He should hire more people. Seriously, I made it my number one agenda to talk to Jamie about this when we had free time.

“Kat stopped flirting and came over here! Help me out...” I snapped at her.

She looked at me with wide, innocent eyes, as if she didn’t know what I was talking about. However, she did wave goodbye to the hot customer that she was chatting to and proceeded back to the bar to help me serve food and drinks. By closing time, I was fully exhausted. I couldn’t wait for the last of the customers to leave so that we could close our doors and I could change out of my clothes.

The high heels that I had on were killing me and I promised myself that when I get my paycheck, I would invest in more comfortable high heels. My feet were not used to wearing shoes made of synthetic leather. I guess I really need to invest and cough up the price genuine leather shoes. I flopped down on an empty chair as I sighed.

Jamie walked in at that perfect moment, and I thought that this was the perfect opportunity for me to talk to him.

“Jamie, I think we’re overworked, and we’re understaffed,” I said while trying not to sound too whiny.

“I agree. I almost died out there. We need more people here, Jamie,” Kat quickly supported my point.

Chapter 398: Reiner – Why Are You Here?

The other staff only nodded, and I wasn’t sure whether they didn’t want to speak up or were just too tired to do so.

“I get it. I’ll try to hire more hot girls,” Jamie said with a laugh.

He was clearly enjoying himself.

“I wouldn’t mind if you hired some buff guys who could carry multiple trays of food at the same time,” I suggested.

Kat burst out laughing at my straightforward suggestion.

“I wouldn’t mind that. We need more hot male colleagues,” Kat agreed a small laugh.

While Kat was just teasing and enjoying herself, I was being serious.

“Ok...Ok. I’ll look into that, and I’ll let you guys know. I’ll hire two or three more people and see how it goes,” Jamie quickly agreed before the conversation would get out of hand.

“Thank you, Jamie,” I said with a sweet smile.

With how well his business was doing, I was sure that he could afford two to three more headcount to walk the floor.

My body was sweaty from working so hard that busy night that I decided to change into more relaxing clothes before I went home. I knew that Charles was waiting, so I rushed through everything so that he wouldn’t have to wait for too long.

“How are you going back?” Kat asked curiously.

I knew that she suspected that Charles would be driving me back.

“Charles is waiting for me out front. He’s driving me back. Do you need a ride too?” I asked in case she needed one.

I knew the cat lived nearby, but I was sure that Charles wouldn’t mind dropping her off.

“I don’t need one. Enjoy your time,” Kat said enthusiastically.

I think she was looking forward to my ride with Charles more than I was looking forward to it myself. After changing and packing everything away in my bag, I waved to everyone and said my goodbyes for the night. Honestly, I couldn’t wait to get back home to get some shut eye. Sleep was high on my priority list right now.

When I open the door and walked out of the bar, Charles was there waiting for me, just like he had promised. I felt a little guilty for taking up on his generosity. He was such an honest man, but honestly, I couldn’t feel the same way that he felt. I felt guilty, but it seemed like Charles was willing to take care of me even though he sort of knew that I didn’t return his feelings. Perhaps he thought that my feelings could change. I didn’t blame him for being hopeful because I knew very well that human emotions could change. My feelings are no different, and perhaps my feelings would change too one day.

“Did you wait long? Sorry, I was sweaty so...I decided to change,” I said apologetically.

“Don’t worry so much. It’s fine. Ready to go?” he asked as he offered me his large hand.

It wasn’t the first time that he would hold my hand, and we’ve done more than handholding, but I still felt a little nervous and hesitant to take his hand. He smiled warmly at me, and I found myself smiling back with ease. Slowly, I reached out my hand and he took it in his.

“The car is parked right around here,” Charles said as he began walking forward.

Although I knew that Charles was trying to walk slower so that I could keep up with him, the fact that I was struggling with the many things that I was holding made it difficult for me to keep up. I had my bag from the office, my bag of outfit and also a shoe bag. We didn’t get very far before Charles realized that I was struggling with everything that I was holding.

“Let me carry them for you,” He offered.

His hand gestured to all the things that I was holding.

“That’s OK, I can manage,” I replied with a weak smile.

He was already doing so much for me and I was giving him nothing in return. His outstanding level of kindness and dedication made me feel guilty to the core.

“Just give it to me. It’s Ok,” he said a little impatiently.

And I had to give in and hand him everything that I was holding except for my handbag. Thank you for always helping me out. I thanked him honestly. I wish there was something I could do for him in return, but I wasn’t in the position to offer anything.

“That’s alright. I keep telling you not to think too much,” Charles replied with a smile before we started walking towards his car once again.

We were almost at the main road when I tripped disgracefully over my own foot. As I braced myself for my fall, Charles was there to support me immediately. His arm wrapped itself around my waist as he supported me and kept me from falling over on my face. My little fall gave me quite a fright and I was thankful for Charles’ help again. It always seemed like he was there to help me whenever that I needed. I could feel the warmth of his arm around my waist as I straightened up again.

“Watch your step...” Charles warned, a little too late.

“Sorry and thank you for helping me just now,” I said before smiling at him to hide my slight embarrassment.

“You don’t need to thank me, just try not to fall next time...I might not be here to catch you next time,” Charles said teasingly.

He was right. I knew that he was teasing but that he was still right. In a sense, I couldn’t keep relying on his kindness to support and save me forever. He was only teasing, but he was right. One of these days he may no longer be with me. He reminded me that I needed to stand on my own two feet.

I was too wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn’t realize that someone had approached us. Charles, on the other hand, reacted immediately by pulling me behind him protectively. That was when I realized the shadow of a tall and large man standing right in front of us.

“Why are you here?” the man asked, and I knew that the question wasn’t addressed to me.

Chapter 399: Reiner - Torn

“I could ask you the same thing. Knight, why are you here?” Charles replied casually.

However, the way his hand tightened a little around my wrist made me aware that he too was on edge. He was shielding me behind him to keep me away from Reiner as if he was a threat to me. That was the only part that Charles got wrong. Reiner would never do me harm.

“I’m here to pick Natalia up and take her back home,” Reiner stated coldly.

His eyes searched for mine and I had to admit that I felt very torn in that situation. No matter how hard I thought, I didn’t know what was the right thing to do. I also didn’t know why Reiner turned up so suddenly to pick me up. He had not told me anything at all.

“That won’t be necessary. We’re actually on our way back. I’ll drive her back,” Charles replied casually.

A very awkward silence settled in again as the atmosphere tensed even further. I could tell that Reiner didn’t like what he was hearing or seeing. Reiner, turning up here and offering to drive me home was truly unexpected. I wondered what was bothering him and why he decided to turn up to the bar. Then I recalled that he had asked me earlier at work if I would be working at the bar tonight.

Did he intend to pick me up since then?

“Knight, it’s ok. Charles will drive me back. I don’t want to bother you,” I replied, trying to keep the mood light.

“No, I’ll drive you,” he said resolutely.

Reiner approached us and the grip that Charles had on my wrist tightened. For a moment, I was scared that a fight would break out between the two men, and I wasn’t sure what I should do.

“Is something the matter?” I asked Reiner in a soft voice.

“You should come back with me,” he stated sternly.

His blue eyes held amid mine, and I could tell that he was dead serious. I had no idea what he was thinking or why he wanted to drive me back, but something made me feel that if I didn’t go back with him. A fight might break out. I hesitated, not knowing what to do.

“Sory...” I whispered as I spoke to Charles from behind his back.

He turned his head slightly and glanced over at me.

“I’m so sorry about this, but for today, can I get Knight to drive me back?” I asked in a soft voice.

Charles’ eyes met mine and he seemed to understand my concern. After a moment of hesitation, he smiled at me and patted my head.

“If that’s what you’ve decided,” he said warmly.

“Thank you, Charles...and I’m so sorry,” I said apologetically.

I could feel Reiner’s eyes burning into my skin as he watched the interaction between Charles and me. Without waiting for us to share our farewells, Reiner’s hand grabbed the top of my arm and yanked me away from Charles. I let out a small cry of surprise, although it didn’t really hurt.

In the next moment, I was already standing by Reiner’s side. Charles looked at us with a calm look on his face, as if he had anticipated something like this. I wasn’t sure why, but I felt so ashamed to be caught up in this type of situation. I knew I had caused a lot of harm and hurt to Charles.

“I’m so sorry,” Charles I whispered as I felt tears sitting in the back of my eyes.

That was all that I could say to him. I was so ashamed that the situation had gotten so out of hand. I had no idea what Reiner was thinking because usually he would never act like this. Charles nodded at me, as if he understood, and that only made me feel even worse about myself. Reiner didn’t say a word to me before he started dragging me behind him and as he walked away.

I glanced over at Charles, and he offered me a sad smile. I made a promise to myself that I would apologize to him and make it up to him. I’ll do it the first chance that I get. I knew that Reiner was angry without him having to say anything. We continued walking in silence as he dragged me away behind him. By the time we reach his car, I realize that I have forgotten all my belongings with Charles. It wasn’t like that was important at that moment.

Reiner yanked the door of the passenger seat of his car opened and shoved me inside before slamming the door closed. My sense of guilt and shame had transferred into anger towards Reiner and what he was doing. His anger and violence outbursts made me more angry than scared.

Reiner got into the driver’s seat and started driving the car without saying a word to me and I didn’t remember telling him where I lived, and he didn’t ask. After a while of driving down a very dark road, I wondered where we were going.

“Where are we going?” I asked Reiner; however, he didn’t reply to my question, and I wasn’t surprised

I knew that he wanted to talk to me, and I wondered what we needed to discuss. I was just waiting for him to start our discussion. I knew that something had been bothering him since the day that he ran into Charles at the office and found out that Charles and I knew each other. Things between us weren’t the same since that day. And perhaps Reiner has been holding in something that I didn’t realize up until now.

I knew that it would probably be better if I explained everything to Reiner. However, a part of me felt like I didn’t owe him any type of explanation. He wasn’t my boyfriend or anything, so why did I have to explain to him that another guy was interested in me? He’s supposed to be just my boss now, right? Suddenly the car came to a stop on the side of a very dark road. Peering outside, I could see nothing but the woods and a distant streetlamp located a few meters away.

Chapter 400: Reiner – Punishing a Bad Girl

“Where are we?” I asked softly.

“Doesn’t matter,” he replied flatly.

I agreed that it probably didn’t matter where we were. What matters was why he had decided to stop the car. Silence settled in the car between us and suddenly I started to feel a little intimidated.

“Have you slept with him?” Reiner asked abruptly as he turned to face me directly.

What sort of question was that? He probably thinks I sleep with everyman that I talk to. Sorry to disappoint but that wasn’t quite the truth.

“Who I sleep with has nothing to do with you,” I snapped.

Why do I owe him answers and explanations? Who I sleep or don’t sleep with has nothing to do with him.

“So, you’ve slept with him...” Reiner said in a low voice as his face darked.

My body froze a little at his intimidating gaze as he stared back at me. His blue eyes narrowed with clear displeasure and anger.

“Maybe. Instead of worrying about who I sleep with, you should worry about who your fiancée sleeps with...” I suggested sarcastically.

No, it didn’t and never slipped my mind that Reiner was engaged to someone else. They should be getting married very soon. I could still remember the look on King’s face as he seemed to rush his son to get married to produce the next heir to his empire.

“Rachael’s a good girl, I don’t have to worry about her,” Reiner replied with certainty.

The say his tone softened when he said her name annoyed me and made me even angrier than before. If he’s so concerned about her then he should be with her now instead of fight over me with Charles on who gets to drive me back home. Calling her a ‘good girl’ and all that...

“Am I supposed to apologize for being a bad girl? Fuck off,” I spat with disgust.

I knew that I was far from perfect but how dare he try to compare me with his dear Rachael. So what if she’s a good girl...and I’m not...

Reiner’s blue eyes widened in slight surprise at my words before narrowing at me. I knew that I had crossed the line and he was getting angrier by the second. However, I wouldn’t go as far as to say that I regretted my actions or my words. What he did pissed me off more than I can even begin to describe. How can he act so possessive of me when he doesn’t want a relationship with me? Everything was just so twisted and wrong.

While I was fuming in anger, the door on my side was yanked open. Reiner stood there with an unreadable expression on his face as he stared down at me. His hands reached for my wrists before he began pulling me out of the car. I exited the car on shaky legs, dragged by the force of his strong arm. He pulled me away from the door just enough for him to kick the door closed loudly behind me.

The car’s door closed behind me with a slam and suddenly, I felt the hardness of steel behind my back as Reiner pushed me back against the car. His large frame sandwiched me between him and the car, completely blocking my escape.

“What do you think you’re doing?” I cried out in frustration.

My choice sounded so insignificant as the wind blew it away into the slightly cold and empty night. I looked around and realized once again that we were in the middle of nowhere. Turning my head back, I faced Reiner and he was staring down at my face with his intense blue eyes.

It happened very slowly as I watched his face come closer to mine. I closed my eyes a split of a second before his warm lips captured mine in a heated and very demanding kiss. Reiner moaned softly as his lips continued to kiss mine firmly. His lips crushed against mine repeatedly before he began sucking softly on my lips. I opened my eyes to see that he was observing my reactions. His warm tongue probed my closed lips before slipping in between them, demanding for access.

His large hand cupped the side of my face and held it. The heat from his hand seeped into the side of my face, making me realize that my face had been slightly cold from the wind. I heard myself let out a soft whimper when his tongue thrusted firmly and deeply into the wet depths of my mouth. His tongue found mine immediately and began engaging in a fervent dance. I could taste his familiar taste as he also tasted me.

I was breathless and my body felt weak from his kiss when he eventually broke our wild kiss. His eyes stared deeply into mine and a shiver ran through my body. The wind around us howled and the night felt even darker.

“Punishing a bad girl,” he finally replied.

“Wait!” I exclaimed when I felt the heat and wetness of his lips on the side of my neck.

He kissed me there before he started sucking on my sensitive skin. A loud moan escaped my lips as he threatened to devour me. The sound of his wild sucking filled my ears and made my legs feel weak as I leaned desperately against the car. His tongue lapped at my skin before he started licking the side of my neck with the tip of his hot tongue.

“Ahh...Ahhh...” I moaned even louder when his lips reached my earlobe.

His tongue flicked against my ear before it entered it and made lewd sucking sounds. He knew that my ears were very sensitive, and I couldn’t help but get very turned on by his seductive advances. My body grew hot as my lower abdomen started throbbing with need. Desire swirled around in my brain as he filled my mind with lust.

His hands were all over my body as his hips grinded against mine. I could feel his hard cock against my belly as he continued to grind his hard-on against me. A pleasurable ache stirred in my lower abdomen as my pussy started clenching with desire.