Lick Me Up If You Can Novel (Completed) - Chapter 173

Ashley frowned and said nothing. Below, Koi chattered on.

“You’re an Alpha, so it’s natural for you to have sex with Omegas. You must have done it all this time… You probably just said those things out of habit, I don’t mind. It’s okay.”

Koi kept talking about something. But Ashley was thinking completely different thoughts. He had no idea what Koi was talking about. At the very least, these were not the words Ashley had expected or hoped for at all.

“Koi.”

“Oh, yeah.”

Koi, who had been rambling on, quickly shut his mouth. Ashley continued in a quiet voice,

“I don’t quite understand what you’re saying right now, but are you sure you properly understand what we did yesterday?”

At the cautious, subdued voice, Koi swallowed dryly and forced a bright tone to reply.

“Of course, I know. And I know what our relationship is. Don’t worry, when you find someone good, I’ll go back to the West.”

He had always thought that if he had a strong point, it was knowing his place. Now was even more the time for that.

Don’t get carried away and cross the line.

Koi warned himself. They were friends. Ashley had already made their relationship clear.

It was just that Ashley needed a sex partner, so they became friends who ‘also’ had sex until he found someone specific. When that person appeared, Koi would return to being just a normal friend without a second thought. He was even prepared to go to the West to be completely out of sight. So, until then.

Can I stay by your side until then?

Feeling as if tears might come, Koi quickly suppressed his breath. His heart pounded uneasily as he waited for Ashley’s reply. How would Ashley react?

“…Really?”

Ashley asked after a long pause. Koi, startled by his calm and quiet voice, quickly nodded. The strange silence before his answer bothered him. Perhaps he’s suspicious. Koi hastily added to reassure him.

“Yes, it’s really okay. My body is fine. I told you, I’ve slept with Alphas before…”

This was sincere. Although his body was numb and weak, making it difficult to control himself properly, surprisingly, he didn’t feel like his bottom was torn or his belly was a mess, as Ashley had warned.

I probably wasn’t born that way.

Koi arbitrarily concluded. He thought Ashley was just trying to scare him with exaggerated words out of concern.

Kind Ash, you really are good.

With gratitude and emotion for him, Koi’s anxious heart settled a little. How fortunate it was that he could be of help to Ashley. It was when he even felt proud of himself.

“…Ah!”

Ashley, with his arm around Koi’s waist, put force into the hand stroking his belly. A short gasp and a scream involuntarily escaped him from the pressure on his belly. But Ashley, instead of releasing the pressure, pressed harder.

Koi unconsciously struggled, but Ashley paid no mind, pressing hard here and there. The moment his hand pressed hard on one side of Koi’s belly, Koi was so surprised that his whole body stiffened. His vision blurred, and he couldn’t breathe from the pain. Ashley’s low voice vaguely reached him.

“You know, here.”

He couldn’t understand what he was saying. Ashley, who had silently looked down at Koi, completely limp and gasping, suddenly picked him up. Koi, half out of his mind, rested his head on Ashley’s shoulder and only breathed shallowly.

Ashley left the messy bed and headed to another room. He gently placed Koi on a clean bed that showed no signs of being used by anyone, then quietly looked down at him, kissed his forehead, and stood up again.

Ashley, who had left the room, quickly finished showering and got ready for work. As he put on his white shirt and tied his tie, his phone rang. It was his secretary.

“Mr. Miller, are you alright? You haven’t come to work yet, and it’s past time.”

At the familiar voice, Ashley answered, holding the phone between his ear and shoulder.

“It’s nothing, I had a rut.”

“Pardon? But it’s not your period now.”

His secretary, uncharacteristically surprised, quickly reverted to her professional tone. Ashley, choosing his cufflinks, said,

“Yes, the period was short, and the time I lost consciousness after the rut was very short too. But it was a rut.”

Could he mistake that sensation? He had experienced it for over 10 years now.

The strange thing was that it was a sudden, unexpected abnormal symptom. Moreover, the period was short, and there were almost no usual after-effects. This was a first.

“Should I make an appointment at the clinic?”

His secretary asked. She was undoubtedly flipping through her schedule to check, so Ashley prevented unnecessary trouble.

“Leave it, it’s nothing.”

It was truly a minor matter. What was important to him now was not an unexpected rut.

He switched to speakerphone and finished getting ready for work while giving instructions. Ashley, holding a freshly brewed espresso, crossed the living room towards his private elevator and said,

“Tell them I won’t be attending tonight’s party. Donate 1 million dollars.”

“Understood.”

When his secretary replied, Ashley pressed the button, and the elevator door soon opened. Ashley stepped into the elevator, drank his coffee, and stared at the changing numbers on the display.

Sex friends, huh.

He was so angry he let out a hollow laugh. Where did he learn such naughty words?

The high-speed elevator reached the ground in an instant. As soon as the doors opened, Ashley strode across the apartment hall and thought,

I’ll turn my cute Koi back to how he was.

“Have a good day.”

Ashley threw the empty cup behind him without looking, as the doorman respectfully bowed. The espresso cup landed perfectly in the trash can.

“Ugh, ugh, ugh…”

He slowly regained consciousness with involuntary groans. Koi was momentarily bewildered, realizing it was his own voice. When he finally opened his eyes, it was yet another unfamiliar scene. The room was smaller than the one he had been in before, but it was still large and spacious, filled with furniture that looked impressively expensive.

Confirming that the bed he was lying on was soft and dry, Koi paused his movements for a moment. No matter how he thought about it, there was no one but Ashley who would have done this for him. Soon, his last memory resurfaced, and he unconsciously brought a hand to his belly. The pain from before felt like a lie; now he felt nothing.

Why did that happen suddenly?

He couldn’t understand Ashley’s behavior at all. He was trying his best to maintain the boundaries of a friend that Ashley had set, so why was he angry?

Koi, feeling inexplicably sad, his expression gloomy, straightened his slumped shoulders and quickly shook his head. I must have said something that upset him. If he asked, Ashley would answer. Koi trusted him.

His body feeling better than in the morning, he managed to get up and carefully stepped into the hallway, unconsciously holding his breath at the unbelievable silence. He strained his ears, but there was no sign of anyone. The bright light streaming through the large glass window in front of him indicated that it was prime working hours. At any other time, he would have been engrossed in work. This idleness felt somewhat disorienting.

Koi carefully moved his steps and went downstairs. The continuing silence clearly told Koi that he was alone. After gathering and tidying up his clothes, he belatedly checked his phone. There was one message, but it was the most impactful.

[What happened? Tell me the result.]

Seeing Ariel’s text, Koi hesitated for a moment, then sent a message.

[When are you free? I’ll call you.]

The reply came instantly.

[Call me right now.]

He momentarily wanted to run away, but he couldn’t disobey Ariel. Koi took a trembling breath and called. Less than three seconds later, Ariel answered.

“What happened? Did you meet that bastard?”

At the abrupt question, Koi stammered in embarrassment.

“Bastard… Don’t call Ash that.”

He gently chided, but only received a snort in return.

“You understood right away, so he must be a bastard.”

Koi had nothing more to say and just mumbled, “Still…” Ariel ignored him and continued.

“You met him, right? What happened? Of course, he said he’d take the case.”

“W-what did you say? Ash called me directly.”

Unable to suppress his curiosity, he asked, and Ariel confidently replied.

“I told him if he truly wanted Koi to be happy, he should cooperate.”

Ah, Koi sighed softly. What Ashley had said to him was truly sincere. Then, his words about being friends must have been sincere too.

He felt grateful, yet also empty. He thought it was really good that he had suggested being sex friends at least.

It feels like I’m taking advantage of Ash’s goodwill, but…

“I can’t even pay the legal fees… Ash is expensive.”

“It’s fine, he has enough money to spend lavishly for a lifetime, so what’s the big deal? He should do a good deed as a lawyer once in a while. So, what happened? Just tell me the conclusion quickly, hurry up.”

At her impatient urging, Koi squeezed his eyes shut and confessed.

“I… I slept with Ash.”

A chilling silence was felt from the other end. After a few seconds of pause, Ariel spoke.

“What did you just say? You slept with him? You and Ashley Miller?”

“Uh… uh-huh.”

When he replied with a trembling voice, Ariel, who had been quiet for a moment, suddenly yelled.

“Did that damn bastard tell you to pay the legal fees with your body?!”