Ch. 431..435: Forbidden Heat R18 Chapter 431-435

Chapter 431: Reiner - Buying Time

Reiner doubt that this was just all about money for King. The business had been booming since he set it up. King and the company were extremely wealthy, and all their income were not taxed by any government. King’s main problem is where to store and hide his wealth and not how to acquire more wealth.

“What do you really want?” Reiner asked as he slowly stood up from his seat.

There was something very suspicious about the details and the timing of the client’s request; however, Reiner knew that the request was real. King wouldn’t fake up something like this no matter what he had to gain from it. The request was real and that meant that if he didn’t do something about it a very talented assassin would be assigned to the job to finish it up quickly and hopefully quietly. It didn’t help that Natalia was walking around freely on this island where the agents were based.

“Nothing. As I said, I just thought that I should let you know. You are my son after all...” King replied like none of this concerned him at all.

“Turn down this request. I’ll pay you and the company whatever the client wants to pay,” Reiner demanded as he leaned across the table towards his father.

If it’s money, then...

“You know that I can’t do that. If I do, how will the company uphold its reputation. We will work on all requests from all clients as long as it follows our protocol,” King said resolutely.

Reiner sighed as his worst suspicion had been confirmed. It wasn’t about the money. King would die to live by his beliefs and his so called ‘protocols’.

“Protocols...” Reiner muttered as his mind raced to figure out a solution.

“The mission can’t be delayed for long. I’ll give you 24 hours to figure out what you want to do. Remember, we always follow our protocols,” King stated while stressing on every word.

Great, now King is using time to assert even more pressure and Reiner noticed this in less than a heartbeat. This old man is so hard to deal with, he thought as he tried to remain calm while remember to keep his emotions from showing on his face. He could feel King’s eyes on him, and he knew that King was reading all the signs. One wrong move and this whole game could change for the worst.

Reiner quickly realized that 24 hours isn’t a long time at all. Even if he could convince Natalia to somehow leave the island, she wouldn’t get very far in 24 hours. Whoever King decided to send would catch up and find her in no time at all. Reiner didn’t know anyone who could guarantee Natalia’s safety or anyone who could protect her.

Being hunted by the company is pretty much equivalent to death. The success rate of missions was extremely high and killing a simple target is considered an easy mission. Even if an agent were to fail, the company will take responsibility and send in other assassins until the mission is completed.

You can’t run from King and the company. From his personal experience working for both the man and the company, he knew that best of all.

What should I do?

For now...

“I’ll take on this mission,” Reiner said without hesitation.

Reiner was surprised to see the look of surprise on his father’s face at his sudden request to take on this mission himself. Not knowing what to do with the situation, he decided that the best way was to stall for time. Time to think, time to find a solution and time to prepare things. Time. What he needed now was time, and the only way to get time is to convince King to assign the mission to him.

The company never assigns the same mission to multiple agents unless it is a team-based mission. The reasons for that were simply because it creates confusion while also being cost inefficient. The only way to make sure that no one is after Natalia is for him to be assigned as her assassin.

Reiner knew that it wasn’t the best solution at all. Furthermore, he knew that it wasn’t even a solution. He was just buying time, but it was better than nothing at all. He’ll use the time granted to him to figure out his next move.

...

“Hey. Sorry for calling out of the blue like this...” Reiner spoke through the phone.

“That’s ok. I know that you just returned. There’s no need to act so distant...” a sweet woman voice replied.

“I need your help. You’re still working at your family business, right?” he asked hopefully.

“Of course, I am! That aside...wow! I never dreamt that you would be calling me for help about this...” the woman said followed by a teasing laugh.

“I never thought so too...” Reiner replied, and it was clear that he didn’t find any of this amusing.

“It’s urgent, isn’t it?” the woman asked, catching on fast.

“Yes. I’m sorry but...” Reiner began asking.

“No worries. Come over to my store tomorrow morning. 8AM? 7AM? Earlier? I’ll help you with everything even before the store opens,” the woman readily offered.

“7 in the morning it is. Thank you, Charm...” Reiner whispered.

“Anytime. I can’t wait to see you...and you know who...” Charm said teasingly.

After hanging up the call, Reiner immediately dialed Natalia’s number. He did see her text but hadn’t had the time to reply to them for obvious reasons. Now he just needed to tell Natalia that he would be slightly late to pick her up for their date tomorrow. He knew that she wouldn’t mind because she wasn’t really a morning person to begin with...

...

“So...what do you think?” Charm asked as she stared at Reiner’s stressful face from across the glass counter.

Charm couldn’t help but giggle at the baffled and confused look that her childhood friend had on his face as he stared down at the large array of loose diamond stones and diamond rings that she had on display in her store.

Chapter 432: Reiner - Finding the Perfect One

“Now you see how difficult my job really is. It’s not a walk in the park to pick the perfect ring, is it?” Charm teased mercilessly before laughing loudly.

Reiner shot Charm a stare before letting out a loud sigh. She was right, he hadn’t expected that choosing a ring for Natalia would be this difficult and he also never knew that there were so many options available and multiple combinations of factors to consider before he could pick out the perfect ring.

“I never said that your job was easy...” Reiner retorted softly.

“You always act so high and mighty about your job when you just run around shooting and killing people. So, which stone and which setting design?” Charm asked with her hands planted on the sides of her hips.

Reiner stared down at the seemingly endless options of diamond stones and rings that were on displayed. He had never felt so helpless and lost before in his life. Every stone looked pretty and sparkly enough. All the rings looked fine and that only made it harder to select the right one.

“I don’t want to remind you but based on your time constraint, I only have around two hours to get the ring ready for you and you haven’t even made up your mind yet. You’re not the only one rushed for time here!” Charm cried out loudly as she wrung her hand helplessly.

“Can you lower your volume? You’re giving your client a headache...” Reiner complained as furrowed his brows.

Charm rolled her eyes as she continued observing her old friend scan his eyes over the rings and diamonds on display. She knew that he was hopeless at something like this and bet he couldn’t even tell the difference. She let out a loud sigh before turning around and lifting up another large tray to present him with even more options.

“There’s more...?” Reiner mumbled in disbelief.

“Of course, there are loads more. My family runs one of the largest diamond trading companies in the world in case you have forgotten. We have them all from clean diamonds to blood diamonds...” Charm stated proudly before dumping more loose stones onto the counter in front of her friend.

“Is there...a way that you can help me choose?” Reiner inquired.

Charm lifted a brow at her friend before she smirked at him. She gestured with her hand for Reiner to take a seat while she also did the same.

“It’s going to take a while but if you cooperate, we should be able to pick out something within the time limit that we have. Mind you, I don’t have the magical power to custom make a ring setting for you from scratch right now...” Charm explained before letting out a small sigh and closing her eyes momentarily.

“Thank you, Charm,” Reiner said sweetly.

“Save your sweet talk for your bride. It doesn’t work on me,” Charm snapped as her eyes also snapped open.

“Right...” Reiner muttered softly.

“Well, first off to pick the pile. Which do you want between normal diamonds, blood diamonds or stolen diamonds?” Charm asked bluntly.

“Normal ones...” Reiner replied.

“What’s your budget?” Charm asked.

“I don’t have one,” he replied.

“I love the sound of that. Is your old man chipping in by any chance?” Charm asked with a pleased smile.

“No, he’s not...” Reiner replied with a hint of annoyance.

Charm made a face before she nodded her head a few times while she jotted down some notes onto a small piece of paper.

“Please continue...” Reiner said as his eyes glanced at the clock on the wall.

“You know the 4 C’s in choosing a diamond, right? Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat?” Charm asked.

“Sort of...” Reiner replied truthfully.

“Well, most people can’t tell the different with their naked eye so let me show you a few stones and you can see for yourself. These are all the same except for carat weight which determines the size of the diamond and obviously, they are all in the standard round heart and arrow cutting. So, let’s start with size. Which one looks about the right size?” Charm asked after explaining and laying out the diamonds.

Reiner looked down at the row of stones that were arranged from smallest to largest and although he could tell that they were different in size, he had absolutely no idea which one Natalia would like.

“Bigger is better, right?” Reiner asked after failing to come up with an answer on his own.

Charm gave her friend a ‘are you kidding me?’ look before shaking her head at how hopeless she found him at this.

“Not necessarily. Fine, lets try something more obvious to start with. The shape of the stone. Which shape do you think she would like?” Charm said as she slid a small tray towards Reiner.

Reiner looked down at the row of diamonds all in different shapes. The stones sparkles and looked very pretty. He thought that they all looked beautiful in their own way. Once again, he wasn’t sure which shape Natalia would like. He thought that every shape would look good on her no matter what and that thought didn’t help him make up his mind at all.

“Can’t decide again?” Charm said knowingly before heaving another sigh.

“I’m sorry...” Reiner mumbled.

“Knight, dear...time is ticking by. You want to try another approach?” Charm asked as she leaned her face into the palm of her hand.

“There’s another approach?” Reiner asked cluelessly.

“Of course. You can describe your bride-to-be to me, and I’ll make some recommendations. Don’t worry, I’m a pro at this. Oh, it’s going to cost you loads...no worries there either,” Charm said before flashing a smile full of her whitened teeth.

“Right, let’s go with that,” Reiner replied without hesitation.

“What is she like?” Charm asked.

“She’s...very hard to handle. She’s very unique and full of contradictions. She’s very selfish but very kind at the same time. She knows what she wants and isn’t scared of going after it. She’s very smart but she can be very ruthless and do stupid things at times. She’s very beautiful...” Reiner said before trailing off.

“No buts for that last one, huh? I’m quite amazed that you can say all that with a straight face,” Charm said, clearly impressed as she nodded her head.

“So, which diamond is it?” he asked.

“How does she normally dress?” Charm asked for more information.

“It depends. She wears everything depending on the occasion...I guess...” Reiner replied after a moment of thought.

“I see. Wait here,” Charm said.

Chapter 433: Reiner – You Just Know

Reiner watched as Charm waltz away through a heavily secured door towards the back of her shop. His eyes glanced over to the clock once again before he sighed. He clearly underestimated the task of picking out the perfect ring for Natalia. With how things were unfolding, Reiner didn’t exactly have the time to figure all the details out in advance.

“I’m back! Take a look at this,” Charm announced proudly.

Reiner looked down at a big shiny diamond that Charm held out towards him in a small black leather box. For some strange reason, the stone looked different from the rest, and he felt like it was what he was looking for. Was it Charm’s genius at the work that she does or perhaps he was just being illogical about all of this, he didn’t quite know.

“It’s perfect, isn’t it? Pair this stone with this classic yet timeless setting here in platinum and boom! It’s the perfect ring for your perfect bride,” Charm said confident before thrusting a platinum ring in Reiner’s face.

Reiner was speechless as he stared back and forth from the loose stone to the platinum ring as he imagined the stone fitted on it. He hated to admit it, but Charm was right, it does look perfect. Reiner was frankly amazed at how Charm could pick something like this out for him so easily.

“I guess this is the most expensive stone that you have...” Reiner said teasingly.

“Are you kidding me? This is nothing and stop acting like you weren’t born on a mountain of gold,” Charm snapped.

“It’s very beautiful. Thank you, Charm,” Reiner said with a smile.

“You’re welcomed. I look forward to meeting her. Please introduce her to all of us at the class reunion or something, ok?” Charm requested sweetly.

“Sure...” Reiner mumbled in reply.

“You better invite me to your wedding...” Charm said without backing down.

“If we end up having one...” he muttered softly as if speaking to himself.

“What did you say?” Charm asked loudly as she strained her ears to hear.

“Nothing. Thank you...” Reiner quickly replied.

“This is the setting that I’ve chosen. I have it in stock in all sizes, I just need to get one of my craftsmen to mount the stone on. It won’t take long. Now, the ring size, please?” Charm asked with a bright smile.

“Umm...” Reiner mumbled as he looked unsure.

“Seriously...?” Charm asked in disbelief.

Reiner just smiled sheepishly at her as Charm rolled her eyes up towards the ceiling.

...

I stared at Reiner as my entire face and lips felt numb from shock. My body wouldn’t move, and it felt like time had frozen. I was beyond stunned and I didn’t know how to react. My mind couldn’t process his words and a part of me didn’t believe that I even heard him right.

The cool wind blew against my face and my body shivered a little from the slight cold. My hair blew in front of my face, but I couldn’t move my hand to whip it away. The sun was fast dipping below the horizon. We will miss the sunset at this rate, but I couldn’t care less about that right now.

My heart beat so fast and hard in my chest that I could hear the sound of it beating ringing in my ears. Reiner was silent as he waited for my response while I couldn’t make a single sound.

What did he just say? It’s not possible...

“Wait. What did you...just say?” I asked after partially recovering from my initial shock.

Somehow, I got my voice to work again. With substantial effort, I forced out the question that had been on my mind.

“I told you to listen carefully,” Reiner said with a hint of complaint.

I was listening. Well, I thought that I was listening carefully.

“No...it can’t be. Say it again...please...” I begged him in a small voice.

“No. I already told you that I’m only going to say it once,” Reiner refused stubbornly.

“It can’t be...” I murmured, still finding hard to believe that he proposed to me just now.

“Your answer?” he asked as he looked deeply into my eyes.

People say that when you know, you just know. I have never truly understood that saying until just now. They were right, I couldn’t explain it no matter how hard I tried. I had no idea why I felt that way but, in that moment, I was so absolutely certain. Everything felt so right. Every weight on my chest and my shoulders felt light. I didn’t even need to think with my head or feel with my heart to know that it was right.

You just know...

I’m going to cry. Shit.

I never knew that I could feel this happy. What is wrong with me?

“Yes, let’s get married. I really want to be yours...forever...” I replied clearly.

It was like my answer eased his worry and Reiner smiled at me. Did he honestly think that there was a chance that I would not accept his proposal? Even after I’ve been chasing him all this time?

Reiner pulled me into a tight hug, and I could feel the heat of his body against mine. The warmth of his palm against the small of my back as he pressed me even closer against him. His other hand held the back of my head and stroked my long hair. I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply as I tired to capture everything about this moment in my mind and in my heart. Just when my eyelids slid closed, warm tears flowed down my cheeks.

If we end up having children and if they end up having children of their own, I’ll tell all of them about how shamelessly I had to chase Reiner just to get him to propose to me. It wasn’t easy for us to get to this point, but I was beyond thrilled that we made it here. I hugged Reiner back tightly as if I was scared that he would change his mind and try to escape from me again.

After being locked in each other’s loving embrace for a long while, Reiner finally relaxed his hold on me just enough for him to look down into my face. I stared up at him before a smile curved my lips. Getting up on my tiptoes, I placed a sweet kiss on his lips.

 

Chapter 434: Reiner - The Start of Our Wedding

He moaned softly as he began kissing me back, his arms tightening around my waist once again. I guess that was the first kiss that we shared as an engaged couple. A soft giggle escaped from me when our lips parted.

Reiner gave me a confused look that demanded for an explanation for my reaction. I offered him a sweet smile after my laughter had stopped.

“Sorry, I was just thinking that that was our first kiss as an engaged couple. You’re my fiancé now, right?” I asked before laughing a little.

“You cry and then you laugh, I’m seriously confused right now...but I guess you’re right. I’m sorry that we won’t have a very long engagement, though,” he replied regretfully.

I wasn’t sure what he meant by that as I cocked my head to the side and gave him a confused look. Reiner didn’t seem like he was going to offer up any kind of explanation and I was burning to know if his words meant anything specific or special. It wasn’t like I minded how long our engagement period was before our wedding or anything like that. It was simply already more than good enough that he wanted to marry me.

“Come with me for a bit,” he said softly as he took my hand in his.

“Ok...” I murmured as I started following him.

It didn’t take long for me to figure out that our destination was surprisingly very close to where we were. Reiner turned around from the cliff where most part of the sun had already dipped below the horizon, and it was slowly getting a little dark. Slowly, he led me towards the cave that I was busy admiring just before.

Are we going in there? Why?

“Umm...are we going in there?” I asked, unable to keep my voice from shaking.

“Are you scared?” Reiner asked, immediately sensing my fear.

“A little...” I admitted shyly.

The last of the sun rays dyed the scenery a golden orange and I knew that it would be getting dark soon. Reiner’s hand tightened comfortingly over mine before he turned to smile at me encouragingly. His presence truly does make me feel like everything would be just fine. He’ll take care of me. I knew that without a doubt.

“I’ll be ok...” I said softly.

“The entrance is a little narrow, but the cave is quite big inside,” Reiner explained as he continued leading me inside the cave.

He supported my arms to make sure that I didn’t fall over on the uneven and slightly slippery rocks that lined the floor of the cave.

“Have you been in here before?” I asked curiously.

“I have,” he replied as he semi-carried me over a large rock.

I couldn’t guess the reason why he wanted to take me into the cave, but I had a feeling that I was about to find out very soon. Luckily, the cave wasn’t very deep, and Reiner was right. After passing through the slightly narrow entrance, the cave widened into a very large area. There wasn’t much light but the flashlight from our phone was more than enough for us to see around.

“What is this place?” I whispered in awe as I looked around the large cave.

At first, I had thought that this was just a cave left in the wild nature to its own devices, but I was proven to be very wrong. There were many man-made things in the cave that showed signs that it was in use before and then deserted. There were paintings that looked old and tribal on the walls depicting what must have been scenes from the tribe’s daily lives such as hunting, dancing, celebrations, and harvesting. The paint had faded here and there from age. There were sculptures of animals in an art style that I had never seen before. At the very end of the cave was a large structure resembling an altar that was heavily decorated with patterns matching the art style of the sculptures.

“It’s an ancient religious site of sorts use for special ceremonies by the tribe that used to inhabit the island. Well, that’s what we were all told. I have never met these people before and neither did my father. By the time he moved to settle here, the tribe was probably already gone,” Reiner explained.

I turned around to see him working to light up a fire and realized that there were many candles in the cave.

“Based on the legends and the stories, this place is still used sometimes for special ceremonies,” Reiner continued to explain.

“Such as?” I asked curiously.

“Weddings,” he replied casually after successfully light up a fire.

My body froze in place at the mention of that word. This place was used for weddings? Is that the norm on this island?

Judging by how isolated and slightly deserted the cave was, I doubt that it had been in use recently. Although the space inside was larger than I expected, I doubt it could fit more than thirty or so people so large celebrations and ceremonies involving many guests were out of the question here.

That isn’t the main point!

“Umm...are we...?” I began asking before trailing off.

Reiner ignored me as he busily lighted a bunch of candles and began placing them on the candle holders stationed at various points around the cave. By the time that he was done, the entire cave was lit up in warm candlelight. Now that I could see better, the cave did look breathtakingly beautiful in a very mysterious and spiritual way.

“There’s no scientific proof of it beyond some drawings and stories told about this place. My father took a real interest to learning about the ways of the people who used to inhabit the island when he took over,” Reiner said as he approached me and took my hands into his.

My heart skipped a beat and began beating faster and harder automatically in response to his touch and how intensely he was gazing down at my face. His blue eyes captivated me, and I couldn’t look away. My throat felt dry, and I began feeling nervous and anxious.

Chapter 435: Reiner - First Night Ritual

“Maybe he was overly obsessed with the whole thing, but in the end, he decided to incorporate a couple of the tribe’s wedding ritual into the traditional wedding of this island as well. Of course, times have gone by, and King isn’t strict on the other people on this island following in his tradition when they get married...” Reiner continued to explain before smiling a little at me.

Since I was paying extra focused attention on what he was saying I didn’t miss the way he stressed on the ‘other people on this island’ part and that started giving me a bad feeling about the fact that the two of us were alone in this place. If King wasn’t fussed about the other people, does that mean that he’s still fussed about his son following in the traditions that he had set?

“What about us?” I asked in a soft whisper.

“If we want him to recognize our marriage then we probably have to follow in the tradition that he’d set,” Reiner said with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

“Ok...” I replied softly with a brief nod of my head.

I’ve come all this way and I’ve been through many things. Following in some strange traditions set by King based on some ancient tribe’s beliefs and way of life couldn’t be too bad...I guessed.

“Great. Then let me explain a little on how this works,” Reiner said, clearly satisfied that I was willing to do what was necessary.

“Sure...” I said with a firm nod.

Reiner’s hands tightened firmly around mine as he gave them a firm squeeze of encouragement and I squeezed his hands back in return. I waited patiently for him to explain what we needed to do.

“It’s believed that back during the days when the tribe flourished, many religious ceremonies were held here including the wedding of leaders and prominent members of the tribe. A lot of details are missing, of course, but with what is left behind, we could figure that the bride and groom would say their vows here in front of the alter and in front of their god,” Reiner explained before he turned to gesture with his eyes at the statue of what must be the god worshipped during that time.

Behind the altar was a very large statue that was probably as tall as the standard man. However, the god statue wasn’t that of man but more of a hybrid between a man and a few animals such as a bird as shown by the wings, a dog or wolf of some sort as shown by the ears and snout and then there were signs of other animals that I couldn’t quite identify for certain.

“I see...” I murmured.

Reiner turned me around so that I faced the god statue directly and then his arms were hugging my waist from behind. He held me close, and I leaned back into his hard and large frame. Our bodies fit together so perfectly, and I enjoyed the feel of his warm embrace around my body.

“After that the couple would spend the night alone in the cave...” Reiner whispered seductively into my ear.

The small hair at the back of my neck stood up and I wasn’t sure if I was excited or scared. It was probably a strange combination of both feelings. Are we supposed to spend our wedding night here together?

“The tribal people believed it to be a blessing to the newly married couple to have their god witness their first night together,” Reiner continued his explanation before kissing my earlobe softly.

I trembled slightly in his arms as my body began reacting to him instinctively. His arms around my body tightened as he pulled me even closer against his body. My eyes widened as the proof of his desire hit the small of my back. Reiner’s hardness pressed firmly against my back as his warm breath stirred close against my ear.

“Reiner...” I whispered his name without knowing what else to say.

“The gemstones that were once in the statue’s eyes are gone now...so I’m not sure if the god can see us...but...” Reiner whispered as if in wonder as his hands began stroking along the sides of my waist.

I felt goosebumps from on my naked skin from his seductive caresses and soon I was moaning softly as I enjoyed the pleasure from his touch. For a moment, I wondered if we would really do it here in this cave like our lovemaking was some kind of ritual, but the way Reiner was rubbing his hard cock against my back told me that it would be very difficult to stop him.

His large hand splayed across the flat plain of my stomach as he began stroking my naked and sensitive skin. The bikini that I had on provided very little coverage and Reiner had access to a lot of my exposed skin. The shawl that I had around my waist was quickly loosened before it fell down to the floor at my feet. Reiner’s lips planted soft kisses along the side of my neck, and I arched my neck to the side to grant him further access. I moaned softly and my voice echoed so loudly in the cave that I was shocked by how loud I sounded that I gasped.

“You can cry out as loud as you want, no one will hear us here...” Reiner said reassuringly to calm me down.

My eyes wandered to the lifeless face of the statue, and it felt like we were truly being watched. Of course, the statue was lifeless and there was no proof that the god even existed. Although I knew that it was all in my head and I was just slightly spooked by the story that Reiner had told me, I still felt like we were being watched. The statue seemed like it was staring at us as Reiner’s hands slipped up my body and firmly cupped my breasts through my bikini top. My breast filled his hands and Reiner sighed in satisfaction as his hands began kneading and massaging my breasts.