Lick Me Up If You Can Novel (Completed) - Chapter 135

“It’s finished.”

Hearing the monotonous voice, Ashleigh opened his eyes. The medical staff who had removed the injection from his arm were tidying up the surroundings. He got up from the bed, pulled down his sleeves, and adjusted his clothes.

Suddenly, his reflection in the mirror on the wall came into view. His hollow eyes and the shadows under them stood out particularly on his pale face. It was nothing new, so he ran a hand through his hair and turned around.

Ashleigh, wearing a white shirt with a couple of buttons undone instead of a tie, and a suit jacket, walked out, and the woman standing in the hallway straightened her posture.

Ashleigh walked past his father’s secretary, who had waited for several hours while he received his injection, without even glancing at her. As if she had already expected his reaction, the secretary readily followed him, speaking.

“Are you feeling alright? Steward said a lot of pheromones had accumulated.”

“They’re gone now.”

Naturally. He had received an injection to remove the pheromones. She continued to walk with Ashleigh without permission.

“Dominique Miller asked me to check on your condition. He’s concerned about you constantly removing pheromones with medicine like this.”

At those words, Ashleigh suddenly laughed aloud. The secretary fell silent at his nervous laughter.

“Concerned? That man? About me?”

Ashleigh asked, his voice still laced with laughter. His sarcastic tone was now almost habitual. The secretary added with her usual expressionless face.

“He was wondering if the reason you can’t remove pheromones through normal means is perhaps because of that child.”

For the first time, Ashleigh’s steps faltered. But his agitation didn’t last long. He soon resumed walking and said.

“Normal means? You mean dozens of people naked and entangled in sex?”

“Most extreme Alphas do that.”

At the secretary’s reply, Ashleigh turned his head. His face, looking at her, was filled with scorn.

“If the majority does it, is it normal?”

“…So, is it because of Mr. Niles?”

Surprisingly, the secretary avoided answering. Ashleigh averted his gaze from her and started walking forward again. If he said it was because of Koi, that man might tell him to do it that way now. That it was better than injections. But now, Ashleigh refused.

If I met him again, I might kill him.

As they exited the building and headed to the parking lot, the secretary spoke.

“If you don’t want to remove pheromones at parties, he suggested finding a regular partner. I’ve selected a few candidates, so it wouldn’t be bad to meet them.”

By then, they had reached Ashleigh’s car. Before Ashleigh, who had gotten into the Bentayga, started the car, the secretary first handed him a folder she was holding. To Ashleigh, who reluctantly rolled down the window and took the folder, the secretary said.

“I recommend meeting all of them if possible, but if you’re not inclined, please select a few you like from this list and let us know. We will arrange the date and location.”

Instead of replying, Ashleigh carelessly tossed the folder onto the passenger seat and started the car. The secretary stood there, simply watching the car drive away.

After leaving the parking lot and entering the road, his car soon merged with the busy traffic. The constant honking of horns was now familiar, and he paid it no mind. Ashleigh rubbed his arm, where a stinging pain still lingered, and stared straight ahead.

Dominique, who had been silent until now, probably made this suggestion because his graduation was approaching. Graduation and marriage, a cliché and boring pattern. But also, safe.

Throughout college, he had never dated anyone. It wasn’t that he intentionally avoided it; he simply had no desire to. He had gone to pheromone-releasing parties a few times. But after repeatedly feeling nauseous and almost fainting from the disgusting scent of Omega pheromones, the only remaining option was to remove pheromones via injection.

Thanks to becoming a test subject himself, the medicine gradually improved, and the severe stomach upsets and days of lethargy he experienced at first became less frequent.

Dr. Steward, who was in charge of him, clearly felt sorry for Ashleigh but also seemed delighted to have a rare extreme Alpha sample. With hardly any institutions researching extreme Alphas, volunteering to be a test subject was certainly uncommon.

Of course, he wasn’t doing it because he wanted to. There was simply no other way. But now, he was slowly getting tired of this method.

Dominique’s words weren’t wrong. If he had to constantly remove pheromones anyway, getting married was the safest and most rational method. It didn’t matter who it was.

Just as his car stopped at a traffic light, Ashleigh took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. A deep inhale of nicotine brought a sense of calm.

He had started smoking because he couldn’t stand the mixed pheromone scents at parties, but now he smoked constantly. He had tried alcohol and drugs too, but extreme Alphas never got drunk or addicted. His life had become truly boring.

The light changed again, and Ashleigh started the car. Wind, along with exhaust fumes, rushed in through the still open window. He pressed a button and closed the car window.

Her name was Melanie. Someone said she and Ashleigh would make a good pair. He met her after already meeting six other partners.

Considering Ashleigh’s type, Dominique had chosen all partners to be Omegas. The reason they were all women was because Ashleigh’s previous partner had been a woman.

Only Koi was an exception, being male, and based on that, Dominique had concluded that Ashleigh would be more interested in women than men.

In Ashleigh’s case, it was actually the same no matter who it was. Whether it was a woman or a man didn’t matter. Since that day, he had lost interest in everything. Life was boring, boring, and just boring. He would die someday living a predetermined life. That was his only comfort.

Because of that, he had no particular expectations even when he arrived at the appointed time and place. He had rejected previous partners simply because he didn’t like their scent.

A couple of them had such strong pheromone scents that they made him vomit. In that regard, he liked this partner from the first time they met. She barely had any pheromone scent.

“Um, my scent doesn’t really come out unless it’s during my heat cycle…”

She trailed off shyly. But Ashleigh preferred that. They had a pleasant conversation over dinner, walked together, and then he drove her home in his car.

“…Um.”

Melanie called out to Ashleigh, who was turning to leave after escorting her to the front door. Melanie hesitated, then spoke to him as he stopped and turned around.

“Can we… meet again?”

Her voice was faintly trembling. Ashleigh, however, felt no emotion at her clearly nervous demeanor. Anyway, he had to marry one of the people on the list.

Thinking it wouldn’t be bad to meet her again, he nodded. Melanie’s face immediately brightened, and her cheeks flushed red. Ashleigh stood there, watching Melanie, and then spoke.

“Shall we watch a movie together this weekend?”

“Oh, yes!”

Melanie immediately agreed. Ashleigh offered a faint smile. At Melanie’s momentarily stunned face, Ashleigh spoke in a softer voice.

“Then I’ll pick you up at 4 PM on Saturday. Is that alright?”

“Yes, of course. It’s fine, it’s very good.”

She repeated the same words several times, then, with a bright red face, she hurriedly said goodbye and went inside. Ashleigh stood there for a while, then turned and got into his car.

She was different from his previous partners in many ways. His mind, which had thought he would just marry anyone, changed a little. He wanted to meet her more. And the weekend dates quickly became more frequent, happening every three days, and soon they were constantly exchanging messages.

The two families seriously began discussing marriage one day, about a month before graduation.