Reiner - His Gentle and Caring Side

I felt the softness of what must be my bed against my back and realized that somehow, I had arrived back to my room. The last thing I remembered was talking to Reiner in his car while we were driving back from the office to the mansion. If that was the case then sometime during the drive, I must have fallen asleep in the car. Did Reiner carry me back to my room?

He probably did. My eyelids and body felt heavy from sleep.

Drowsily, I opened my eyes a little to see Reiner sitting on the side of my bed. He was looking down at me and when I opened my eyes slightly, our eyes met.

“You’re awake,” Reiner said softly.

“Hmm…R?” I called his name softly as my hand reached out towards him.

My hand reached his leg but stretching out my arm made me wince slightly in pain. My arm felt slightly stingy and sore. Did carrying all those documents hurt my arm? My muscles felt sore, and I couldn’t think of another reason so that must have been it.

“What’s wrong?” Reiner asked and I could hear worry and concern in his voice.

He’s still so caring even though he doesn’t like to show it anymore.

“My arm hurts a little. I didn’t realize it before until I stretched it just now…” I murmured softly.

“Where does it hurt?” Reiner asked as he came closer to me.

“I don’t know. My arm just feels sore. I don’t think it’s anything serious, you don’t have to worry,” I said before smiling weakly at him.

I wasn’t sure if my exhaustion from working long hours was worst or the pain in my arm was worst.

From my experience, something sore like this would probably worsen overnight and I would wake up with very sore arms tomorrow morning.

“You shouldn’t have carried those documents…” Reiner muttered.

“I thought you wanted me to…” I whispered as I averted my gaze.

“This is why I keep telling you not to bite off more than you can chew. Stop trying to work so hard,”

Reiner complained.

“What is that supposed to mean? I want to work too. I want to be useful…” I said desperately.

“Let me see…” Reiner said as he reached for my arm.

I watched silently as he focused on rolling up the long sleeve of my shirt. Slowly, my arms became exposed, and I could feel his eyes on my skin. I bit my lower lip to keep from making any sounds when I felt the heat of his fingers slowly stroking its way up my arm from my wrist before slowly heading up towards my elbow. I knew that he was just inspecting my arm because my muscles were sore but his familiar touch on my naked skin made my body feel sensitive all over.

“Does it hurt?” Reiner asked before glancing up to look at my face.

His intense blue gaze met mine and I hurriedly looked away. Why am I feeling so embarrassed at just the slight touch of his hand on my arm? I was surprised at my own reactions because it didn’t make any sense. Reiner seemed undisturbed as his hand slowly progressed further up from my elbow until he almost reached my shoulders.

“It doesn’t hurt unless I move my arm a lot…I guess…” I managed to reply softly but I couldn’t meet his eyes.

“You’ve probably strained your muscles too much when you carried those documents. This is what happens when you overexert yourself when you usually don’t even exercise at all,” Reiner scolded me softly and sternly.

For a moment, the tone of his voice reminded me of the time when he worked at my butler. I smiled a little to myself at the thought of how much I missed this version of Reiner. It was good to see him back even if it was just a small glimpse of his old self.

“I guess you’re right. I’ll be more careful from now on…” I replied obediently.

“Wait here. I’ll grab some muscles relaxant gel…” Reiner said as he stood up from the bed.

“It’s ok. I think I’ll be fine so there’s no need for you to…” I protested softly.

“If your arms are sore now, they’ll be useless when morning comes. Stop being so stubborn,” Reiner said sternly before he turned and left the room.

I watched him leave until the door closed completely behind him before I heaved a long and loud sigh.

He’s being so nice to me again and it was a strange yet pleasant feeling. This was after I told him not to be so nice to me or I’d start to misunderstand things again.

‘Please…don’t do these things for anyone else. When you’re too nice and you do these things, it’ll just make the girl think that you’re in love with her even if you’re not. So please, promise me that you won’t do these things for anyone else…unless…you really love her. Sometimes, kindness can become something mean…’

If I recalled correctly, that was what I told him. After arriving at this island, Reiner had fulfilled my request so well. He was cold, unpleasant, and very distant. I couldn’t control how my heart leapt just now when he touched me so gently and treated me so kindly. Even though I was the one who told him to stop doing these things, I was also the one who misses the kind and caring side of him. I let out another sigh when I realized that my emotions were a mess, and I was very confused.

The door opened while I was still sorting out my messy emotions and Reiner entered the room. He sat down on the bed casually and started turning the lid of the muscle relaxant tube open. I watched the movement of his long fingers as he opened the tube while my mind wondered if I wanted him to touch me. Once again, I asked myself if I was willing to settle for his pleasurable caresses while not getting any closer to his heart.

--To be continued…