Define The Relationship Novel - Chapter 38

Ash’s house was in Notting Hill. He also recalled that their second meeting—or what would have been Ash’s second meeting—was in Notting Hill. Karlyle felt an inexplicable excitement. Due to traffic on the outskirts of London, it took him about two and a half hours to finally reach Notting Hill.

Naturally, after hearing Ash’s words, which sounded like he was anticipating their meeting, Karlyle absolutely did not want to attend the formal dinner. While fulfilling social engagements was his duty and work, a gathering specifically to choose a fiancée was, for Karlyle today, an act he simply could not perform.

This was the first time this had happened. Everything involving Ash felt like an exception and a first, almost like a rule now. And that wasn’t the end of it. To avoid the dinner, Karlyle attempted to make up an excuse for the first time in his life.

The first person he spoke to was Kyle. Since Kyle knew less about business ventures outside of the UK than Karlyle, he didn’t question Karlyle’s claim of having an “urgent” meeting.

What was a little strange was that after looking at Karlyle for a long time, Kyle was the one who first offered to tell their grandfather himself.

While Karlyle found his grandfather Arthur very difficult, he had also dealt with him for a very long time. Kyle, on the other hand, had received his grandfather’s affection since childhood but didn’t often encounter him.

Even though it was relatively more natural for Karlyle to deal with his grandfather, Kyle returned with words like, “It seems urgent, so you should go quickly.”

However, with a somewhat uneasy feeling and a heavy heart from abandoning his duties, Karlyle couldn’t easily move. The guilt he had momentarily ignored began to rear its head, making him even think it might be better to stick to the schedule. It was then that Kyle called for a driver, resolving the situation for Karlyle.

The quiet street had many houses with white-washed walls or brick. Karlyle arrived at the address Ash had texted him and stopped nervously in front of the door.

The fact that he was invited to Ash’s house made Karlyle ponder what to bring throughout his journey to London. He had always only received from Ash, and Ash had also brought roses when he came to Karlyle’s house.

Choosing a small gift was truly difficult. Given Ash’s personality, he probably wouldn’t accept anything expensive. So, the scope of gifts narrowed down to more trivial items. Of course, there were many things he wanted to give: a watch, a wallet, a car, anything Ash desired…

Thinking about it, Ash had never shown much admiration or surprise regarding Karlyle’s wealth. This made it very difficult. After much deliberation, Karlyle had someone prepare a bouquet and wine. Then, on his way to Ash’s house, he stopped by that place.

Karlyle looked down at the purple flowers in his arms. For some reason, purple came to mind when he thought of Ash. The bouquet, skillfully intertwined with Dolcetto roses, lilacs, caspia, and anemones, exuded a subtle fragrance.

Unsure if Ash would like it, he trembled slightly, but Karlyle took a small breath and knocked on the door. Silence hung in the air, then a few seconds later, the door opened.

“You’re here?”

As if he had been waiting, yet naturally, Ash opened the door and said this. At that simple gesture, Karlyle stood rooted, tightening his grip on the bouquet. He trembled immensely. Because Ash spoke as if he had been waiting for him.

Ash was wearing a thin gray cardigan over a white shirt. His black hair, draped over his pale face, still had moisture in it. His gently curved eyes, which seemed docile, held a strange allure beneath his damp hair.

“…Good evening.”

“Good evening, Karlyle.”

Saying that, Ash lowered his gaze to Karlyle’s arms. His eyes crinkled, creating a melting eye-smile.

“Surely, those are for me?”

His fingertips tingled. Karlyle suppressed his surging breath, maintained his expression as much as possible, and slowly extended the bouquet. Ash took the politely and quietly offered bouquet and held it in his arms. Then he lowered his head to smell it.

“They’re beautiful.”

The bridge of his nose, extending below his slightly bowed forehead, was sculpted. The perfectly curved tip of his nose was buried among the purple flowers. His lowered eyelashes blinked softly, then Ash raised his eyes and curved his lips.

“As beautiful as Karlyle.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Ash reached out and took Karlyle’s hand. Karlyle looked down at his gently held fingers, then carefully intertwined them and stepped inside the house.

Ash’s house was spacious, neat, and very stylish. The long, extended house had three floors, including a basement. It wasn’t as huge and multi-roomed as Karlyle’s mansion, but it had plenty of open space.

The house was made of pale beige-toned wooden floors and white walls. Upon entering, a full glass wall was visible directly opposite. The glass wall connected the house to a garden of a few pyeong.

The accents were black and slightly darker wood tones. Ash led Karlyle to the kitchen. Ash briefly let go of Karlyle’s hand and skillfully took a vase from the kitchen shelf. Filling the clear, tall cylindrical glass vase with water, Ash looked at the bouquet and said,

“The more I look at them, the more I like them. The flowers resemble Karlyle.”

“I… thought they were colors that suited Mr. Jones.”

At the honorific “Mr. Jones,” Ash quietly looked at Karlyle. Karlyle hesitated, then corrected himself.

“…Ash.”

“Good boy.”

Ash, saying it as if satisfied, picked out a flower. It was a Dolcetto rose.

“This is the first time I’ve heard that purple suits me. Usually, people mention light pink a lot.”

That meant Karlyle wasn’t the first person to give Ash flowers. Though it was an obvious fact, Karlyle felt a subtle pang of disappointment and lowered his eyes slightly. However, at Ash’s action of bringing the rose to his cheek, he raised his head.

“Are you interested in flower meanings?”

“I know what I need to know, but I’m not particularly interested.”

He knew about common literary motifs and famous flower meanings. But Karlyle had never been interested in them, as he found such flower meanings somewhat emotional.

“I tend to enjoy them.”

Come to think of it, Ash had said he liked romantic things.

“In that sense, all the flowers Karlyle chose are a pass.”

The rose was withdrawn. Karlyle’s gaze followed the rose. Ash, who had delicately returned the rose among the flowers, took Karlyle’s hand again.

“Is this for me too?”

He seemed to be referring to the wine bottle in Karlyle’s other hand. Karlyle nodded. He was grateful that Ash knew, and at the same time, shyness washed over him.

“You like sweet things… so I prepared it.”

“It must be my birthday today.”

Ash said playfully and lowered his head. His lips softly touched Karlyle’s cheek. Even though it was a natural gesture when meeting Ash, his heart pounded painfully every time this happened. His head subtly turned away in embarrassment.

If he were someone whose face flushed or who couldn’t control his expressions, Karlyle would have shown many more embarrassing displays. Thinking that, his heart sank. He had already shown much immaturity in front of Ash.

“Thank you for inviting me.”

Ash quietly tilted his head and looked at him. A playful smile formed on his face.

“Are you happy to see me?”

Karlyle faltered at the unexpected question. Ash’s gray and blue eyes gazed at him with a grin. Karlyle tightened his grip on the wine bottle. He barely managed to resist the urge to step back unconsciously.

“………”

His lips parted slightly. Karlyle, with eyes that didn’t know what to do, finally turned his head. He desperately found another topic.

“Have you had your meal?”

“No, Karlyle, I waited without eating because you missed me.”

A firm, thick arm reached out and tightly gripped his waist. His body pressed close, as if to prevent him from escaping. Ash, who had approached, gently took the wine bottle from Karlyle’s hand. Skillfully placing the wine and flowers on the shelf, Ash whispered,

“You’ll answer me, right?”

Why did he want to hear such things? He felt as if he was being teased. It wasn’t that he disliked it, just that he was flustered. Karlyle, trapped in Ash’s embrace, placed his hands on Ash’s chest.

His body flushed hot at the firm sensation beneath his palms. Ash, who had been looking down at him trying to push him away with a little force, laughed playfully as before.

“For every second you delay…”

The hand that had been rubbing his waist moved up and stroked his lower back. Ash lowered his eyes. His lips slowly drew closer.

“…I’ll kiss you.”

A stern voice like a punishment, a smiling face, and soft lips overlapped. Ash lightly sucked Karlyle’s slightly parted upper lip. Karlyle flinched at the sensation of his flesh being drawn between his lips.

“Three seconds have already passed.”

Ash whispered lowly, then this time, bit Karlyle’s lower lip. The slight sucking force caused his lip to stretch a little. A shiver of pleasure ran through him. Karlyle’s hands, resting on Ash’s chest, tightened.

A tongue stealthily crept in. Karlyle exhaled a low, wet breath and half-closed his eyes as the tongue probed his inner lip as if tickling it. His mouth unconsciously opened a little wider. Ash’s tongue slowly entered the red opening.

From the moment they first kissed, Karlyle had been somewhat passively following Ash, but now, matching Ash’s slow, penetrating tongue, he slowly intertwined his own tongue. This was because the agonizingly slow movements made him impatient.

As if soothing him, Ash’s hand lightly stroked Karlyle’s spine. The hand, which had been moving over his suit jacket, slowly descended. In the meantime, the kiss gradually became imbued with heat. Their soft tongues rubbed against each other, then gently intertwined.

Ash, who had been melting him into a daze, left Karlyle alone today. The unfamiliar sensation made his stomach churn. His breath trembled.

Meanwhile, the hand that had descended slipped inside his suit and caressed his bare skin. As his fingers gently raked down his spine, Karlyle shivered. His sensitive body reacted fiercely to the sensation trailing down his back. Karlyle gripped Ash’s cardigan and tilted his chin back.

“Ash, ugh, stop.”

Karlyle bent his upper body at the unbearable tickling pleasure. He buried his face in Ash’s shoulder, shaking his head.

“Which part?”

Fingers that had been rubbing his well-defined spine moved down to his waist. A palm rubbed the small of his back, then this time, a hand slipped into his suit pants. Ash gripped Karlyle’s taut buttocks, then released them. Karlyle gasped, taking sharp breaths.

“This?”

Another hand also slipped behind his pants. Both hands spread his buttocks wide. Karlyle lifted his head at the sensation of flesh being gripped and his rear opening widely. Excitement surged terrifyingly. Heat gathered in his eyes. Karlyle’s pheromone, as potent as Ash’s, fiercely wavered. Ash chuckled deeply.

“Or this?”

The hand gripping his buttocks moved gently. Karlyle bit his lip at the light, circular motions. Ash, seeing his sensually distorted eyes, quietly withdrew his hand. Ash’s lips touched Karlyle’s ear.

“There’s something I want to eat before dinner…”

Will you let me? A voice laced with low excitement sensually grazed his earlobe. Karlyle quietly nodded a few seconds later, letting it serve as his answer.

Ash’s room was upstairs. Holding hands and climbing the stairs, Karlyle tried to think of other things to relax. But it didn’t work well.

It had been two weeks since he had sex with Ash, as they hadn’t after the rut. Although it wasn’t their first time, he was very conscious of it, and his mind went blank. This was due to recalling the embarrassing display during the rut.

In the past, Karlyle had deliberately buried anything related to sex with Ash, trying not to recall it. One reason was that it was filled not only with stimulating experiences that exceeded his capacity, but also because recalling it would unconsciously excite him and make him miss Ash.

For a similar reason, Karlyle had tried to bury the events of the rut. However, as he climbed the stairs and saw Ash’s broad back, the events Karlyle experienced that day kept coming back to him.

He was a little scared. The feeling he had before ejaculating, and the fact that he had been knotted while taking Ash’s penis from behind… no matter how he thought about it…

“Want to shower together?”

Karlyle, who had been seriously replaying their last encounter, stopped at Ash’s words. This floor had a slightly different structure from the first floor.

Upon climbing the stairs, there was a room straight ahead, a space that looked like a studio behind it, and a bathroom and a guest room. Like the downstairs, it was designed with light-toned wood and white walls, and the furniture was made of monochromatic wood and fabric materials.