Kiss Me if You Can Novel Completed - Chapter 48

Chase just stared at him in silence for a moment. Josh rested his arm on the car roof and brought a cigarette to his lips. A cloud of smoke partially obscured Josh’s face before vanishing without a trace.

Chase simply watched him. If he refused, how would this man react? Would he get angry, asking if Chase couldn’t even do this much after being rescued? Or would he scratch his head awkwardly and back away? Or perhaps…

He found it absurd that he was even having such thoughts. Shouldn’t he be yelling at him to stop talking nonsense? Shouldn’t he be furious, asking what this damn bastard dared to utter?

Even as he thought that, Chase merely watched as Josh tilted his head. At this rate, their lips would touch. His intention was clear. But if Chase simply leaned back while seated, everything would be over. Then Josh’s attempt would fail, and Chase could mock him as he wished.

Yet, knowing all of this, Chase remained unmoving. He didn’t lean back, didn’t turn his head, and didn’t even push Josh away in anger. All he did was wait. For Josh to kiss him.

How could he refuse this man who had bled so much for him?

Josh’s long eyelashes slowly lowered before his eyes. Only after Josh closed his eyes did Chase finally close his own. Their lips met after that.

“Ah,” he inadvertently sighed. Only then did Chase reluctantly admit it. Even if this man hadn’t risked his life for him, he would have kissed these lips.

Chase reached out and pulled Josh’s head closer. He wanted to deepen the kiss, to taste more within.

As he opened his mouth wide and extended his tongue, it immediately intertwined with Josh’s. Josh’s tongue, as if it had been waiting, skillfully caressed Chase’s. Soft saliva mixed, and slick tongues licked his surface, stroked beneath, and wrapped around again.

Chase let out a moan between their locked lips.

My god, he was truly a good kisser.

Josh pulled back slightly, then changed direction and kissed him again. As if retaliating for even that brief pause in the kiss, Chase bit Josh’s lower lip, baring his teeth. He felt Josh smile.

As Chase opened his mouth, their lips, briefly bitten and released, met again. The tongue that plunged inside lightly licked his lower teeth before retreating seductively. Their lips, which had briefly parted, reconnected at a different angle, and this time Josh dominated Chase’s mouth.

Saliva pooled and trickled down the corner of his lips. A thick tongue exited Chase’s mouth, traced his jawline, swept over the corner of his mouth, and re-entered.

Josh’s hand touched the nape of Chase’s neck. Firm fingers stroked the back of his neck with absurd softness. Chase unconsciously flinched, his shoulders hunching.

It didn’t end there. The fingers, which had been slowly and gently caressing, subtly wrapped around his neck, then effortlessly untied his bowtie. Soon after, the fingers that had been fiddling with his narrow shirt collar lightly undid a button with a simple movement, and through the parted shirt, Josh’s hand entered without hesitation.

“…Ugh.”

When Josh tilted his head and bit Chase’s neck, Chase inadvertently let out a deep moan. In the meantime, Josh’s hand found the hidden skin beneath. When his fingers brushed against his nipples, hardened with excitement, Chase stopped breathing.

“Mr. Miller.”

Josh’s lips returned to his ear, lightly biting and releasing his earlobe as he asked in a low voice.

“May I continue?”

He wasn’t so naive as to ask, ‘What?’ Chase reluctantly opened his eyes and looked at his face. Illuminated clearly by the bright moonlight, Josh’s expression was still smiling, just as before.

Chase had no idea what this man’s true intentions were. Was he just saying it, or was he serious? Was he nervously awaiting an answer, or just teasing?

Josh seemed to wait for an answer for a moment, then tilted his head again. Chase knew their lips would meet. Just like before, they would kiss and their tongues would intertwine. The difference was his hand, now boldly inside his shirt, caressing his bare skin.

What would happen if he just let it be?

As if to answer that question, Josh’s hand slipped out and touched Chase’s third button. At the same time, their breaths mingled, and just before their lips touched, Chase parted his own and whispered.

“Get lost, you bastard.”

Josh’s hand paused for a moment. He might stubbornly open the button, ignoring Chase’s wishes. He might enter the shirt and grope his bare skin further. No, he definitely would. It was only a second or two, but Chase was certain.

So when Josh gave a wry smile and lifted his head, he was momentarily bewildered, unable to accept the reality before his eyes.

“Too bad.”

That was all. Josh’s hand came into Chase’s view. His hand, which had approached without hesitation, suddenly slipped into Chase’s jacket. Warmth grazed his skin over his shirt, and Chase held his breath.

This time, he thought. Without even choosing whether to mock this man or push him away.

But his expectation vanished in vain. Josh had conspicuously taken out a cigarette case from the inner pocket of his jacket. That was all. As if completely uninterested in Chase’s bare skin, which was clearly exposed before him, he withdrew his hand briskly.

Chase stared in bewilderment as Josh discarded his finished cigarette and put a new one in his mouth.

Wait, why am I bewildered?

He was momentarily flustered, then realized. It was because that crazy bastard hadn’t begged him to sleep with him. The realization made him even more exasperated. If he was going to back off so cleanly, why did he even suggest more in the first place? Chase gritted his teeth.

Josh, however, once again misunderstood his fierce expression.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

He apologized for some unknown reason, lit the cigarette, took a drag, and then suddenly put it between Chase’s lips. Chase paused for a moment, but Josh paid no mind, readily stood up, took another cigarette from the case, and put it in his mouth.

Chase just stared in disbelief at Josh’s refreshed face as he brought the newly lit cigarette to his mouth and exhaled smoke.

What kind of guy is he?

For a moment, he even wondered if he had been toyed with. But the anger that had surged up subsided as the dried bloodstains on Josh’s cheek came into view.

He truly looked exhausted. And no wonder, he had fought alone against several coyotes and protected Chase. That man was battered, yet amazingly, Chase didn’t have a single scratch.

In fact, a truckload of cigarettes wouldn’t have been enough. The thought that he had done nothing while Josh got so messed up suddenly flashed through Chase’s mind. Then the boiling emotions cooled.

“…? What’s wrong?”

Josh, who had inadvertently turned his head, noticed Chase’s expression and asked, puzzled. Chase disliked everything about him: his disheveled hair, his entire body covered in blood and dust, and even his handsome, wounded face. He felt so awful he wanted to curse, but all he did was irritably brush his hair back.

Josh was still smoking. Chase simply watched him, his eyes narrowed, slowly inhaling and exhaling smoke. While he had been uselessly unconscious, that man must have been protecting him like that. Thinking that, an inexplicable emotion, along with self-reproach, surged within him.

“Mr. Miller?”

He called Chase again. When Chase, belatedly coming to his senses, flinched, Josh smiled again. It was a refreshing smile that anyone would find endearing. Seeing that face, Chase inadvertently tried to speak, but then realized that the cigarette, which he had no desire to smoke, was still between his lips.

For a moment, he stared blankly at the man who had put it there. Josh was still waiting for his words. Chase removed the cigarette from his mouth before speaking.

“…Are your injuries, ahem, okay?”

His voice was unnecessarily hoarse, so he had to quickly clear his throat. Josh didn’t mock him and replied.

“They look worse than they are. I wasn’t hurt much.”

“Still, you were bitten.”

Chase’s voice trembled faintly. Josh silently brought the cigarette to his mouth. Chase irritably ran his hand through his hair. Josh, who had been silently observing his extreme agitation, exhaled a long stream of smoke and then spoke.

“That’s my job, protecting you.”

Chase slowly turned his head. Meeting his gaze filled with disbelief, Josh gave a short laugh.

“Don’t be hurt, I just did my job.”

“Who’s hurt?”

Chase gritted his teeth. Josh, this time, spoke nonchalantly.

“Then it’s a relief.”

“…”

After glaring at him for a moment, Chase opened his mouth.

“Do you do everything you’re told?”

“If it’s possible?”

Josh replied, mimicking Chase’s tone. He wanted to somehow ruin that relaxed, grinning face. Chase narrowed his eyes and asked.

“Can you even kill someone?”

For the first time, the smile disappeared from Josh’s face. More precisely, he fixed his gaze on Chase with the same easygoing expression, but without any hint of a smile. Chase liked his eyes, which were completely devoid of amusement.

“I cannot become a criminal.”

A stiff reply, different from before, came back. Chase let out a small laugh.

“I thought so.”

Josh watched him in silence. With the half-burnt cigarette in his mouth, he took a deep drag. Josh spoke after exhaling smoke a couple more times.

“Who do you want to kill?”

Josh’s expression was serious. Chase narrowed his eyes and asked.

“Will you do it?”

“No.”

At the immediate refusal, Chase chuckled. But it was too early to be sure of victory. Josh’s face broke into his usual playful smile.

“If you kiss me as payment, I’ll consider it.”