L*ck Me If You Can-Chapter 173

Ashley furrowed his brow but said nothing.

Koi mumbled on from below.

“You’re an Alpha, so of course you’d have sex with Omegas. I’m sure you’ve done it plenty before... You probably said that stuff out of habit. I don’t care. Really, it’s fine.”

Koi kept talking. But Ashley was thinking something completely different.

He had no idea what Koi was even trying to say.

None of it was what Ashley had expected—or hoped—to hear.

“Koi.”

“Y-Yeah?”

Koi clamped his mouth shut mid-ramble. Ashley’s voice was quiet as he continued.

“I’m not really sure what you mean by all this... Do you even understand what we did yesterday?”

That low, measured tone made Koi swallow dryly. He forced his voice to sound light and easy as he answered.

“Of course I do. I know exactly what kind of relationship this is. Don’t worry. If you meet someone you like, I’ll just go back to the West.”

If there was one thing Koi prided himself on, it was knowing his place. He’d always thought that way. And now, more than ever, he had to remember it.

Don’t get carried away. Don’t cross the line.

He warned himself.

They were friends.

Ashley had made that clear.

All this meant was that Ashley needed someone to sleep with for now, and until a specific someone came along, they’d just be... friends who had sex.

When that person showed up, Koi would step back. Go back to being a regular friend.

He was even prepared to leave the city, to disappear back into the West without a word.

So until then...

Until then, can I stay by your side?

Koi felt tears welling and forced his breathing to steady. His heart pounded uneasily while he waited for Ashley’s response.

What would he say?

“...Really?”

Ashley asked after a long silence.

The calm, quiet tone caught Koi off guard, and he hurriedly nodded.

But the pause before Ashley spoke had unsettled him. Maybe he didn’t believe him?

Trying to reassure him, Koi rushed to add,

“Yeah. I mean it. I’m fine. My body’s totally fine. Like I said—I’ve slept with Alphas before...”

He wasn’t lying.

Even though he still ached and felt like he had no strength left, strangely, he didn’t feel like he’d been torn up or wrecked inside, the way Ashley had warned.

I’m not really built for this kind of thing, though...

Koi decided it must’ve been Ashley exaggerating out of concern.

Kind Ashley... You really are sweet.

Relieved, grateful, and strangely touched, Koi’s anxious heart began to settle.

How lucky he was, he thought, to be someone who could help Ashley.

He even felt a little proud of himself.

Until—

“...Ah!”

Ashley’s hand, which had been wrapped around Koi’s waist, suddenly pressed harder against his stomach.

The pressure made Koi gasp and cry out, a sharp yelp escaping before he could stop it.

But Ashley didn’t ease up.

He pushed even harder.

Koi squirmed instinctively, but Ashley paid it no mind and continued pressing hard across different parts of his belly.

When his hand landed with force on one particular spot, Koi froze.

The pain stole his breath.

His vision went hazy.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Then Ashley’s low voice came, almost murmuring.

“Right here.”

Koi had no idea what he meant.

Still gasping, limp and half-conscious, he let his head fall against Ashley’s shoulder.

Ashley looked down at him for a moment, then picked him up without a word.

Carrying Koi past the wreck of their bed, he entered a different room and gently laid him on a clean, untouched bed.

He looked at him quietly, then leaned down to kiss Koi’s forehead before straightening up again.

Ashley left the room and headed straight for the shower.

By the time he came out, he was already getting dressed.

He slipped into a white shirt and started tying his necktie when his phone rang—it was his secretary.

— Mr. Miller, are you all right? It's already past time, and you haven’t come in yet.

Balancing the phone between his ear and shoulder, Ashley replied,

“It’s nothing. I went into rut.”

— What? But that’s not your scheduled period.

The secretary’s voice cracked with rare surprise before she quickly returned to her usual businesslike tone.

Ashley picked out his cufflinks and replied casually,

“Yeah. It was short, and I barely lost consciousness afterward. But it was definitely rut.”

He couldn’t possibly mistake that feeling.

Not after experiencing it for over ten years.

What was strange was how suddenly it had come on—and how mild the aftereffects were.

This had never happened before.

— Shall I schedule a clinic appointment?

She was probably already checking his calendar.

But Ashley waved it off before she could go any further.

“Forget it. It’s nothing.”

It really wasn’t worth fussing over.

Because right now, what mattered most wasn’t an unexpected rut.

Switching to speakerphone, he gave her instructions while ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) finishing his preparations.

With a freshly brewed espresso in hand, he crossed the living room and headed to his private elevator.

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

— Understood.

As his secretary replied, Ashley pressed the elevator button.

When the doors opened, he stepped inside, sipping his coffee while watching the numbers change on the display.

Sex friends, huh?

He let out a hollow laugh, past anger simmering into bitter amusement.

Where the hell did you even learn something like that...

The high-speed elevator quickly reached the ground floor.

As soon as the doors slid open, Ashley strode across the lobby with long steps.

I’ll make you mine again, Koi. My sweet, stupid Koi.

“Have a good day, sir.”

The doorman greeted him with a polite bow.

Ashley didn’t even look back.

He tossed his empty espresso cup over his shoulder—and it landed perfectly in the trash can behind him.

*

“Uuuuugh...”

The low, pained sound escaped on its own, slowly dragging Koi back to consciousness.

At first, he didn’t even recognize it as his own voice.

When he finally opened his eyes, he found himself in yet another unfamiliar room.

It was smaller than the one from earlier, but still large and elegantly furnished.

The bed beneath him was soft and perfectly made.

Realizing this, Koi went still for a moment.

It had to be Ashley.

No one else would’ve taken care of him like this.

And just like that, his last memory came rushing back—

He instinctively reached down to his belly.

The pain from earlier felt like a lie.

Now, he was perfectly fine.

Why did that even happen?

Koi couldn’t understand Ashley’s behavior.

He was trying so hard to respect the boundaries Ashley had set between them...

So why had Ashley gotten so upset?

The frustration suddenly weighed heavy on him.

Shoulders slumping, Koi quickly shook his head.

Maybe I said something that upset him.

If he asked, Ashley would tell him.

Koi believed that.

His body was feeling better now, so he slowly stood and made his way out to the hallway.

The strange, almost eerie silence made him instinctively hold his breath.

He strained his ears, but heard no sounds at all.

The bright sunlight pouring through the massive windows told him it was already working hours.

On any other day, he’d be caught up in his own busy schedule by now.

The unfamiliar calm felt surreal.

He walked carefully and went downstairs.

The quiet confirmed what he’d already suspected—

He was alone.

He gathered his clothes and dressed before checking his phone.

There was only one message, but it was a powerful one.

[How did it go? Tell me everything.]

Seeing Ariel’s text, Koi hesitated a moment before replying.

[When are you free? I’ll call you.]

The response came instantly.

[Call me right now.]

He almost wanted to run away, but there was no disobeying Ariel.

Koi drew in a shaky breath, then dialed. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

She picked up before it even rang three times.

— Well? Did you see that bastard?

Her voice was sharp and straight to the point.

Koi fumbled, flustered.

“B-Bastard? Don’t call Ash that...”

He tried to scold her gently, but she just snorted.

— If you understood who I meant right away, then he’s definitely a bastard.

Koi had nothing to say to that and only mumbled quietly.

Still ignoring him, Ariel pushed on.

— So? You saw him, right? What happened? He agreed to take the case, didn’t he?

“Wh-What did you even say to him? He called me directly...”

Koi couldn’t help but ask, curiosity getting the better of him.

Ariel replied boldly.

— I told him that if he truly wanted you to be happy, then he had to help you.

Koi let out a quiet sigh.

So Ashley really had meant what he said.

Which meant even that offer to be just friends... he’d meant that too.

Koi was grateful, but at the same time, his heart felt strangely empty.

Still—thank god he’d suggested the whole “sex friend” idea first.

Even if it felt like he was taking advantage of Ashley’s kindness...

“I can’t even afford his fee... Ash is expensive.”

— So what? He’s loaded. Let him do at least one good thing as a lawyer. Now what? Tell me the conclusion—hurry.

Rushed by her urgent tone, Koi squeezed his eyes shut and confessed.

“...We... we slept together.”

A cold silence followed.

After several long seconds, Ariel finally spoke again.

— What did you just say? Slept together? You and Ashley Miller??

“...Y-Yeah.”

He answered in a trembling voice.

Then Ariel exploded.

— That bastard asked you to pay his fee with your body?!