Page 16 of The Jorogumo (The Sanctuary #2)

Haruto

My phone buzzed in my shirt pocket as I was helping Silas take some logs of wood up to the second floor of Khush's place. I ignored it since my complete focus was on maintaining the integrity of my webs so Silas could use them to pull the logs up—while he could carry them up one by one, this was faster—but when it started buzzing again, I got worried.

Other than my friends at the Sanctuary—most of whom were right there with me—Liam was the only one who'd call me, and the fact that he'd called more than once and during the workday meant something had to be wrong.

I excused myself as quickly as I safely could, and pulled my phone out, calling Liam quickly.

"Haruto," he greeted, and I couldn't tell from his voice if something was wrong.

"Hey, Liam. Is everything okay? "

Liam was silent for so long I got worried the call had dropped.

"Liam?"

"Ah, sorry. I just—my boss came for a visit."

"Oh. Did something happen?" I asked, confused about his reaction. He'd told me about his boss in a previous conversation, and from the way he'd talked about her, I knew she was a good woman.

"Yeah. She just told me something, and now I don't know what to do."

"What did she say?" I asked, showing Silas my hand, fingers spread, to ask for five minutes. He waved me off with a grin, hefted up two logs—one above each shoulder—and headed merrily on his way.

"She's selling the store."

"Oh."

"And she wants me to buy it. She says no one else will take as good care of it."

"Oh! That's amazing, Liam. And she's right, you know."

"I don't have that kind of money, Haruto."

I bit my lip, stopping myself before I could offer to pay. Human pace , I reminded myself.

"She must know that, right? What did she say?"

"She said she's willing to sell for less if it's me. I don't feel right about that. And what if I can't take care of it? What if I mess things up and the store goes into loss? What if I lose it? I don't know how to run a business."

I blinked, surprised at his statement. How could he even say that?

"Sweetheart, you've been running that business for almost a decade. You'll be just as good at it with your name on the deed. If the money wasn't an issue, would you want to own the store?"

Liam was quiet for a long moment, but when he spoke, I could hear the sincerity in his voice. "Yeah, yeah, I would. I love this store. I don't want it going into the hands of some stranger."

"Okay, then. There's your answer."

"But the money is still an issue, Haruto. I don't want Mrs. Warner to take a hit. It's not fair to her."

You know what? Fuck the human pace.

"What if I paid for it?"

The silence on the other end was deafening.

"Liam?"

"You want to buy the store?" I couldn't quite read the tone of his voice, but I answered honestly nonetheless.

"No. I want to pay for it so you can buy it."

"But why?"

"Because you're my mate, and I feel things for you I'd much prefer to tell you in person. I want you to be happy, and I know this will make you happy. I have more money than I'll ever need, Liam. It's not a problem for me. Plus, it's a comic book store. It's where we met ! We can't let some random human get their grubby hands on it."

Liam chuckled, and I relaxed for the first time since I'd answered the call.

"We should talk about this later," he said after a moment of quiet, and I hummed in agreement.

"Yours or mine?" And how soon could it be ours ?

"Yours. I'll come over after closing."

"Sounds good."

There was another pause, and then Liam spoke. "Haruto?"

"Yes?" I asked, a smile in my voice, and Liam exhaled shakily .

"I feel things for you I'd rather say in person too."

The call ended before I could reply, and I could just see the blush heating up his cheeks as he gripped the phone tightly. The thought made me grin, and when I returned to Silas, he waggled his eyebrows at me, clearly amused by my unusually high spirits.

I helped him finish up, then went off to see if anyone else needed my help. I'd already finished my assigned chores, but I was feeling remarkably social today.

While I didn't usually act like it, the people at the Sanctuary, my family, were very important to me. The way they'd accepted Liam just solidified it. I wanted to be around them more, so I was going to try to change some of my antisocial tendencies.

Hours later, Liam arrived just before dinner, so I took him straight to the Dining Room, where we helped the Lakes residents set up for dinner. The responsibility for cooking and doing dishes was passed on from area to area every day, but my favorite were the days Ocean—that was, Jacinta—got to cook.

People started filtering in just as we were getting done, and then Liam and I sat with our friends and shared a meal. I could tell that chatting and laughing with Keoni, Khush, and Silas helped Liam stop worrying about the store for a minute, and I was glad.

I knew he'd be wonderful at it, and I could tell why the store's owner wanted to sell her beloved shop to him.

Liam took care of that store like it was his already, and I just needed to get him to see that.

Luckily, I had a few tricks up my sleeve. One way or another, I was going to convince Liam .

Liam

After dinner, we stayed there talking for a while, until we were shooed out of the kitchen by the cleanup team, which looked to be from the Desert area, judging by the hard scales lining the backs of the arms of the person who carried the trays of dirty dishes into the back. Not to mention their slitted eyes with vertical pupils.

We walked as a group to the Forest, but once inside, people drifted off in pairs and on their own until it was just Haruto and I.

Haruto clasped his hand around mine, then gave me a smile, and I smiled back at him. We walked back to his house in silence, and my cheeks heated up once more when I remembered what I'd said to him before ending our call.

We'd basically told each other "I love you" without using those words, and I didn't know how to act now.

I knew this was too fast, at least by human standards, but I'd been talking to Dustin, and he said it was par for the course when it came to supernaturals. Actually, he'd said Khush and him had been even faster, while Silas and Touya had taken longer.

Conclusion: There was no 'right speed' to dating a supe. Things happened when things happened.

"Come on in," Haruto murmured, and I realized I'd just been standing there while he held the door open.

Sure my face looked like a tomato at this point, I stepped inside.

Making my way deeper into the house, I settled on one of the seats, and Haruto stopped in front of me, head tilted curiously.

"Are you okay? "

I sighed, then rubbed my palm over my face. I was anxious, but I couldn't quite decide what exactly I was anxious about. Was I worried about my store, or the fact that I'd practically told him I loved him?

After he said it to you first , my subconscious reminded me, and yeah, that helped a little.

"I'm okay. Just a little worried about the store thing."

Haruto was silent for a long moment, but then he lowered himself in front of me with his crazy, stretchy spider legs.

He cupped my jaw with his right hand, tilting my face up, and I exhaled shakily as I met his gaze.

"You will be an amazing owner, Liam."

"I think you're a little biased."

Haruto rolled his eyes, and I gave a very manly shriek when he leaned down and picked me up like I weighed nothing.

Walking over to his hammock, he sat me down before settling beside me, and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me as close as physically possible.

"The first time I came to your store, I was so damned nervous. I hadn't been out and about in the human world for quite a few years at that point."

I glanced over at him, surprised. Whatever I'd been expecting him to say, it wasn't this.

"Dustin had told me about you, about the store, but of course, he'd skipped how good-looking you are. Or how big." He shot me a smile, pressing a kiss on my cheek. "Don't get me wrong—I wasn't scared of you. You're human, after all. But I'm not good with people, and I was worried about saying stupid things or just generally doing something wrong."

I hummed to tell him I was listening, my chest all warm and gooey with the knowledge that even when he didn't know me, Haruto hadn't been afraid of me. I'd rather be a weak human in his eyes than someone to be afraid of.

"But then you smiled," Haruto said, his voice warm and ringing with a smile of his own. "And suddenly, I could relax. You answered my questions. You helped me find the comics I was looking for. You made socializing easy ." The way he said it implied he'd considered that to be an impossibility.

"I was just doing my job," I said with an awkward shrug, and he shot me a grin.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. You did your job, and you were great at it. When you saw I had to get someone else to open the door for me, you quietly made adjustments without ever mentioning it. You help Diego shop even though he doesn't actually buy anything from you."

I shrugged, swallowing hard. All this praise was making me uncomfortable, and my cheeks felt like they were permanently red.

"Your store isn't just a store, Liam. It's a safe place for all the geeks, misfits, socially awkward comic lovers, and everyone in between. You're the one who did that. You're the one who turned a simple store into so much more. And I know you'll continue to do even better things when you have full ownership and control of the place, like that comic-themed get-together we talked about before."

Haruto sounded so sure, so confident in my abilities, and I glanced over at him. How could he have so much faith in me when I didn't?

Even my own parents had washed their hands of me when I decided not to study what they wanted me to, and I was barely more than an acquaintance to them now .

How could this man, who was so much more powerful than me, who'd only known me for a few short months, have such confidence in me?

"Okay," I found myself saying, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Okay?"

I nodded. "I'll buy the shop. And I'll—I'll pay you back."

Haruto rolled his eyes. "How about a lifetime supply of free comics?"

I snickered. "Considering how long you'll live? Sure, that sounds fair."

Haruto grinned widely, and I marveled at how this man could feel so happy for me . I'd never had someone in my corner like this before, someone who cheered me on and encouraged me to do better, to be better. It felt amazing.

"Now, since you've been so good, I think you deserve a reward," Haruto declared, and my brows shot up.

"A reward?"

He nodded emphatically. "Yes. Ask for anything."

I stared at him for a moment, and my cheeks heated up as I decided what I wanted. Clearing my throat, I pressed closer to him, then tucked my head against his shoulder so he couldn't see my face.

"I want you to make me forget everything. Everything except you. Please?"

Haruto's arm tightened around me, and he exhaled slowly.

"Whatever you want, my precious mate."