Lick Me Up If You Can Novel (Completed) - Chapter 196

Ashley tightened and then loosened his grip on Koi’s shoulder. With just a light push, Koi fell back onto the bed. Ashley leaned over Koi, whose knees were bent, dangling off the side of the bed. With one knee on the edge of the bed, Ashley’s face, as he looked down at Koi, was devoid of any expression, like a mask.

Koi felt his heart tremble in a different way than before. He wanted to run, but his body wouldn’t move. Like a pedestrian frozen in place, watching an oncoming car, he lay there, simply staring at Ashley.

Ashley’s gaze slowly scanned Koi’s body, as if determined not to miss even a single remaining mark.

But there was nothing. Even after stripping off all his clothes and thoroughly examining Koi’s naked body, no new wounds were visible.

He should have felt relieved, but he couldn’t. Ashley’s rage, now directionless, began to spiral out of control in all directions.

“Ash, Ashley.”

Koi urgently called out to him. Golden flashes rapidly appeared and disappeared in Ashley’s eyes. Koi almost got up and ran. It wouldn’t have been difficult. All he had to do was push Ashley away and bolt. He couldn’t think of anything else—not that Ashley would catch him immediately, or that no matter how hard he pushed, Ashley wouldn’t budge, or what he would do even if his plan succeeded.

Ashley violently bit into Koi’s neck, gripping his arm tightly. The sensation of Ashley’s teeth digging in and grinding made a scream tear from Koi’s throat.

“Ah, it hurts, it hurts, Ash! Stop it!”

He cried out repeatedly, but Ashley didn’t listen. He bit his shoulder, his chest, his arm, everywhere. As if he intended to devour Koi. Koi had never been so terrified of him. Ashley’s eyes, completely covered in gold, continued to bite at Koi’s trembling, ashen body.

Was he in rut?

Koi swallowed dryly, but his thought was wrong. Ashley was completely sane. He knew exactly what he was doing, and that only drove him crazier.

“Why?”

Ashley, who had buried his nose in the spot he had bitten and inhaled deeply, lifted his head. With a dazed expression, he opened his mouth.

“Why is there no reaction?”

He couldn’t understand it. He had poured out so much pheromone, yet Koi showed no reaction. He must have presented. Why was he completely unmoved? Why didn’t he react to his pheromone? Why?

“That’s because…”

Koi swallowed dryly. Noticing the situation from Ashley’s words and his shifting golden eyes, he struggled to continue.

“I’m a Beta… I’m sorry.”

“Huh,” a sound of disbelief escaped Ashley’s lips. That can’t be. That was definitely a womb back then. My child should be growing in this belly.

But it’s not? Was I mistaken?

“Don’t lie.”

Ashley growled through clenched teeth. Immediately after, he bared his teeth and bit Koi’s earlobe.

“Ah… Ack!“

A different scream from before burst from his mouth. Ashley biting all over his body had hurt, but this time, the pain was so intense it made his vision go black. The delicate flesh tore instantly, and blood flowed. Koi thrashed for the first time, trying to push Ashley away, but Ashley didn’t budge, continuing to bite and suck on his ear.

And when he lifted his head, his heart shattered completely, tangled in an unspeakable desolation and emptiness.

“The mark…”

He mumbled as if to himself.

“The mark won’t stay…”

Koi stared at him with wide eyes, as if he couldn’t comprehend what was happening. But Ashley’s eyes remained fixed on his ear. Blood was flowing from his ear, but it was just a common wound, not a mark.

“Ah, ow, it hurts, stop it, stop it!”

Koi screamed repeatedly. But Ashley bit his ear again and again. Yet the result was the same. No mark remained. Only Koi’s battered ear and crying face filled his vision.

“Ha…”

Ashley exhaled a short breath, like a sigh. He was so dumbfounded he wanted to laugh.

Koi has never reacted to my pheromone.

Suddenly, a forgotten fact resurfaced in his empty mind. Since Ashley’s presentation, Koi had been exposed to his pheromones numerous times. But the result was always the same. Koi had never felt Ashley’s pheromone. Not once.

That wasn’t all. For a while now, Ashley hadn’t smelled any scent from Koi. He inhaled deeply several times, burying his nose all over his body to check, but there was no pheromone scent. Only a very faint natural skin scent and the sweet scent of his own pheromones that he had poured out. That fact drove Ashley completely insane.

I definitely felt it.

In a state close to panic, he recalled.

It was always there, from you.

The pheromone scent that lured me.

Ashley felt dazed, as if his mind was about to snap.

But why is there no scent now? Am I crazy? Or am I dreaming? What the hell is going on?

“Ash…”

Koi opened his mouth, his voice trembling. Ashley gasped for breath and slowly lowered his gaze. Koi was looking at him with an ashen face. A low sigh escaped Ashley’s lips. Only then did he clearly realize what he had been doing.

Koi’s body was covered in various bruises and bite marks, large and small. All of them were his doing. If new marks had appeared on top of them, he would surely know. Of course. Ashley remembered every single tiny detail about Koi.

Yes, I know everything.

Even those fearful eyes.

Ashley thought. And that brought back an unpleasant memory.

The same eyes Koi used to look at his father.

“…Haa.”

Ashley sighed again. He wanted to laugh, but his face twisted as if he were about to cry. Seeing that expression, Koi’s heart sank. Even though Ashley wouldn’t cry, he reached out his arms, not knowing what to do.

“It’s okay, Ash. I’m okay… It doesn’t hurt, really.”

Koi repeated the same words, desperately trying to soothe Ashley. That only made Ashley feel more miserable. Even though he was such a mess, he was still trying to comfort Ashley. Even though Ashley was the one who should be apologizing.

“…I love you.”

After a long silence, Ashley opened his mouth, his voice hoarse. Koi, who had flinched at the whisper in his ear, soon embraced him tightly and replied.

“Me too, I love you too. You’re the only one for me.”

Koi continued desperately.

“Nothing really happened. There’s no way I’d do something like that with someone else, you’re the only one I love… Please believe me, I beg you.”

“Please,” Koi added, and Ashley mumbled in a voice that sounded utterly drained.

“I believe you.”

His voice still sounded lifeless.

“I don’t doubt that you love me.”

But Koi grew even more anxious. Ashley had said he loved him and that he didn’t doubt his sincerity, but why did he feel this way? Things were different now from back then.

What’s different?

Suddenly, another voice echoed in a corner of his mind. Now we’re both adults, and we’ve had a relationship. We have each other’s everything. Koi tried to reassure himself.

But his heart was already cracked. Ashley’s expression clung to his retina, unforgettable. He held Ashley and struggled to speak.

“I’m sorry I’m a Beta.”

No matter how much pheromone Ashley poured on him, it was useless. Koi felt miserable, fearing that this relationship might end again.

“I wish I had presented like you.”

“No, Koi.”

Ashley said without hesitation to his lamenting murmur.

“Whether you’re a Beta or an Omega, it doesn’t matter to me. In fact, it’s better if you’re a Beta.”

Koi hesitated, then spoke.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Ashley replied briefly.

“I don’t need Omega pheromones.”

He mumbled that to himself, as if making a vow. Ashley hugged Koi tightly, as if to reassure him, and inhaled deeply. Still, no scent came from Koi.