Define The Relationship Novel - Chapter 6

No, he didn’t.

He was just uncomfortable. Something bothered him. He was annoyed. But he didn’t dislike him. He didn’t feel like leaving. Karlyle defined his feelings this way.

Ash still harbored feelings for Nicholas White. In that case, for Kyle’s sake, for his brother’s sake, he needed to keep an eye on the man for now. No impurities should mix into his brother’s life, which was finally happy.

Yes, that was why.

“No.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

He knew there was no room for anyone else between Nicholas and Kyle, but it was more comfortable to keep any potential risks under surveillance. That was all.

“And Mr. Jones, if my actions made you uncomfortable…”

“I’m fine.”

“I’ve got it all out now,” Ash smiled.

“Then, since we’ve clarified what we dislike about each other, shall we get down to business?”

“And order food if you’re okay with it. I feel glares from behind us.” Karlyle lowered his eyes at the mischievous words. “Let’s do that.” His quiet voice was calm even.

While they ordered food, Karlyle received a call from Qatar. Ash leisurely watched him excuse himself and take the call. He had expected to do something else, but seeing Ash resting his chin on his hand and listening to Karlyle’s voice made it hard to concentrate. In the end, he quickly finished the call.

“…I must have bored you.”

“No, it was sexy, I liked listening.”

Ash lightly shrugged and offered Karlyle a fork. The food had already been placed. At the word “sexy,” his expression cracked for the first time. His lips parted slightly.

It wasn’t a word he had never heard before. Karlyle also knew the general level of his appearance. A flawless appearance was advantageous for business too. His face was worth just that much. So, he usually ignored such remarks. But in this situation…

“Is this the first time you’ve heard something like that?”

As if surprised, Ash’s eyes curved. The hand that had offered the fork stopped right in front of Karlyle’s hand on the table. Karlyle froze.

“Not exactly.”

“I would have thought you heard it a lot.”

It was time to return the compliment. Returning favorable remarks to each other was a basic act of socializing. However, exchanging compliments about the other person’s appearance or sexual appeal was a very unfamiliar territory for him.

“…Mr. Jones, you look that way too.”

“Thank you.”

Ash’s lips, which skillfully accepted the compliment, curved smoothly.

“Shall I cut it for you?”

Ash asked, looking at Karlyle’s plate of steak. Karlyle firmly refused.

“I’ll decline.”

“Let me know if you change your mind, Karlyle.”

Karlyle moved his stiff hand to grip the fork and knife. He quickly closed and opened his eyes, then skillfully moved his hands. The knife moved elegantly. The meat was cut smoothly without the clinking of cutlery. Ash watched Karlyle with interest, then changed the subject after a moment.

“Shall we go back to the conversation we were having earlier?”

It would be about their arrangement. Karlyle agreed.

“First, I was thinking about a period of two months.”

“How many times do you want to meet?”

“We both seem busy, so weekends would be good, right?”

“That would be good.”

They talked while quietly chewing and swallowing their food. Meanwhile, a leg moved under the table. Ash’s shoe touched the tip of his own shoe. Karlyle’s fork stopped.

“If something urgent comes up and you have to cancel, let me know two hours in advance.”

“I will inform you a day in advance.”

“If that’s more comfortable for Karlyle.”

A shoe nudged between his shoes. Even though no skin touched, he felt strangely thrilled. Karlyle finally put down his fork. His appetite vanished. Instead, something else slowly gathered inside him.

“…Then, are you thinking about eight times in total?”

“Yes, and if nothing changes after that… it might be good to see another specialist.”

Ash also put down his fork. Half of the red salmon dish Ash had ordered was neatly gone. Their eyes met. Ash’s eyes, mixed with the violet darkness and amber lighting, were deeper than before.

“Oh, there was one more thing I wanted to ask.”

“…Yes.”

This time, his ankle, slightly exposed beneath his suit trousers, brushed against Ash’s ankle. The sensation of their ankle bones touching was strange.

“Do you dislike being touched?”

Ash’s hand stopped in front of Karlyle’s hand, which had put down the fork. The very tip of his fingernail lightly touched him. It kept bothering him. That hand, hovering near his, almost touching. Those rounded fingernails.

“…Not particularly, no.”

“So, it’s okay to touch you?”

Yes, the answer came out muffled and broken. A quiet silence settled. Ash’s finger traced over Karlyle’s fingernail. A faint, ticklish warmth slowly spread through his finger. Soon, Ash’s hand overlapped his, on the back of his hand where the bones protruded. He held his breath at the soft, almost placed, overlap.

“Then it’s fine.”

That wasn’t the end. Their ankles met. Ash hooked his ankle around Karlyle’s, pulling him closer. He didn’t exert force, yet it felt as if he was being strongly pulled.

“From now on, I’m going to keep touching Karlyle.”

Ash’s finger rubbed the back of his white hand, where veins stood out. A crawling, ticklish sensation seeped beneath his skin. The sensation, burrowing into his epidermis, slowly spread up his wrist, up his arm, throughout his entire body.

“Like someone who never wants to take their hands off you…”

Because I’m going to keep touching you.

Ash, who had been tickling the back of his hand, gripped Karlyle’s wrist. His thumb gently pressed his wrist. The breath he had been holding escaped silently.

“Just know that.”

As the words ended, the hand pressing his wrist pulled away. Ash straightened his posture. His ankles, which had been tangled in a messy way, returned to their original positions. Ash, who had taken his hand away as if nothing had happened, picked up Karlyle’s fork and placed it in his hand. His fingers gently wrapped around his hand. It was a different kind of contact than before, making his blood slowly boil.

“I figured that in Karlyle’s situation, you probably wouldn’t want to sleep with me right away.”

Ash smiled as if he understood. The hand he held felt hot.

“We won’t have sex until you feel like it.”

He wanted to look in a mirror. He couldn’t guess what expression he was making. Karlyle suppressed the urge to raise his hand and touch his face, managing to maintain a blank expression. Then he asked one thing.

“If I feel like it… do I have to say something?”

Ash, with raised eyebrows, replied in a voice tinged with laughter.

“No.”

The hand that had bound him released Karlyle.

“You don’t have to say anything.”

Even though his hand was free, he still felt as if Ash was holding him. He didn’t understand. He couldn’t move. Karlyle, who briefly gazed at his own hand, looked at Ash again. Blue eyes, and gray eyes that resembled Karlyle’s own color. Their gazes intertwined.

“Because I’ll know.”

The softly whispered voice was terribly sensual.