Page 2 of The Jorogumo (The Sanctuary #2)

Haruto

I kicked with my back leg, sending my web hammock swinging gently as I flicked the page, my thoughts drifting again to the big, sweet human who ran the comic book store. Liam.

It'd been almost a week since I met him, and for some reason, my mind refused to let go. I wasn't sure what it was about him that had me hooked. Was it the self-deprecating way he'd compared himself to the big green superhero? Or was it the way his face lit up when he smiled?

Like Dustin had said, he was remarkably similar to Silas, and yet I'd never spent hours thinking about the half-troll. What was it about this human?

I'd thought about talking to Dustin, but I was worried he'd say something ridiculous, like that I might be interested in Liam .

Romance was a complicated topic for me, made more so because of what I was.

Jorogumos fed on sexual energy. Traditionally, a jorogumo would take on the appearance of an attractive person and seduce a human, then wrap them up in their webs and feed on them to increase their powers. Over time, our species had evolved to feed on the sexual energy humans exuded when we seduced them.

I could take on a human form if I wanted to seduce one, but otherwise I needed power to do so. Power which I would get from feeding on a human's sexual energy. Which I didn't want to do because being the object of someone's lust made me extremely uncomfortable.

Being asexual when your powers depended on sex was not fun, and like many other supes in the Sanctuary, it was why I was here. All of us had some or the other reason for not having a human form. For Khush, it was a disability. For me and Alaric—the kelpie who lived in the Lake region of the Sanctuary—it was our self-imposed dietary restrictions. Everyone had a reason, and everyone had a home in the Sanctuary.

While I would love to fall in love with someone someday or find my fated mate, the thought of finding someone who would accept my boundaries was too daunting for me to try again.

I put the comic away as I realized I hadn't processed anything I'd read over the last fifteen minutes and decided I couldn't go on like this. I needed to talk to someone, and there was one person I could trust to give me straight answers without trying to spin it into something romantic.

Climbing out of my hammock, I walked over the webbed walkway to a shelf, slotting the comic in with the other issues before making my way to the front door .

Thankfully, I didn't run into anyone on my way out of the Forest area where I lived with Silas, Khush, their mates, Draven, Zamir—a shtriga—and Keoni, a centaur and the baby of this area.

The hallway outside was lined with doors leading into the different areas of the Sanctuary: Lake, Ocean, Mountains, Desert, Arctic (fondly called the Ice Age), Dining Room, Library, and at the very end was the one I was headed for, Darkness.

Darkness was home to just one supe, Shade. A supe of unknown origin, it was painful for him to be in the light, so he had his own area completely immersed in the dark.

I knocked on the door once before entering, and closed it quickly behind me.

"Shade?" I called out into the dark, waiting for my eyes to adjust.

While most supes could see well in the dark, even their eyes weren't made for the complete and utter darkness that ruled this place. Some species—like mine—had better eyesight than others, and I could make out the shadowy human-like shape of Shade as he came closer. That was all I could see of him, all any of us had ever seen of him.

"Haruto! Hi!" For someone who lived in the shadows, Shade was an upbeat guy, and most of us enjoyed his company. We made a point to visit him often, and make him feel included as often as we could. I knew Khush and the gang came over to have a meal with Shade often, and I knew he enjoyed it. Shade was a people person—unlike me—and I hated that he had to spend most of his time all alone.

"Hey, Shade. May I hang out with you for a bit? "

"Of course. You know I'm always up for company. Dustin told me about your trip to the human world. Did you have fun?"

Smiling, I settled into a comfortable position as Shade situated himself on a floating shadow, his legs crossed and elbows on his knees, his chin balanced on his linked hands.

I told him about the comic book store, and about Liam, and he listened with rapt attention, nodding at all the right places.

"Why can't I stop thinking about him?" I asked once I was done, the frustration clear in my voice.

Shade hummed thoughtfully, then tilted his head from side to side. "It sounds like you two really hit it off."

Oh hell. Please don't say it , I begged him mentally.

"Maybe..." he continued, and I sighed, bracing myself. "Maybe your mind is trying to make you realize you could be friends."

"Huh?" I asked as my mind stumbled over what I'd been expecting to hear and absorbed what he'd actually said.

"Yeah! You both like comic books, and Dustin likes him, so he must be a good guy. You could be friends with him. It's not like there's a rule saying you can only be friends with supes."

I stared at Shade, feeling so damned happy.

"Shade?"

"Yes?"

"I love you, buddy. Don't ever change."

Shade was quiet for a moment, then chuckled softly. "Uh, thanks. I guess."

I stayed for a while longer, and Shade told me about the books he'd read recently, and the ones he thought I might enjoy. He could see perfectly in the dark, which I was glad for. I couldn't imagine how bored he'd be if he didn't have his books .

By the time I went back to Forest, my mind was at ease, and I'd decided I'd try to strike up a friendship with Liam. I imagined it would be fun to talk about comic books with him.

Liam

Haruto returned two weeks after his first visit, this time with a different friend who left after a short conversation without entering the shop. I hadn't had a chance to install the buttons yet—it was harder to find the devices than I'd expected, and I'd finally placed an order two days ago—so I held the door open for him, and he shot me a smile as he wheeled inside.

"Hey, Haruto. Welcome back!"

"Thanks, Liam. I've been looking forward to this visit," he said, smile still in place, and I grinned. I'd worried for a moment that the ease he'd felt around me last time would be gone now that it was just us in the shop, so I was happy to see that wasn't the case.

"I've got the newest issues set aside for you." It wasn't something I did unless I'd been asked to, but I'd hoped he would return, so I'd kept copies of the latest issues from the series he'd bought last time.

"You do? That's awesome. Thank you!" Haruto's dark eyes shone as he spoke, and I found myself tongue-tied for a moment. "Are you busy?"

I blinked, and it took me a moment to process his question. I shook my head quickly, then explained, "It's a slow day. Weekdays usually are until evening unless it's a new issue day. What do you need?"

"There are a few issues I've been looking for to complete various collections. I couldn't find them online, at least not without paying obscene amounts of money. Do you think you might have them?"

"It depends on how old the series is, and how popular it still is. But we do have some of the older, rarer stuff downstairs. How about you tell me the titles and I'll check for you?"

One of the tasks I'd taken up when I first started working here was digitizing all the inventory, and it had taken me close to a year to do it. Along with this store, the owner also had an environment-controlled storage unit where she kept most of the older, rarer comics. That one had been a pain to catalog, but I'd gotten it all done. The owner had been so impressed by my work she'd given me a very nice bonus.

Haruto pulled out a folded piece of paper from his shirt pocket and held it out to me. Our fingers brushed when I took it from him, and I ignored the sparks that raced up my skin.

Nope. Not going there. Haruto was a customer, and he was being nice to me. That was all.

Unfolding the paper, I read through the list, remembering where I could find a few of them instantly. Still, I wanted to double-check them and the rest.

"Give me a minute."

Walking behind the counter, I woke the desktop and pulled up the database, searching the issues on Haruto's list one by one, and jotting down where I could find the ones I had available.

"Okay, I have six of these, and I think I could find the other three for you at reasonable-ish prices, but it might take a while," I said as I walked back around the counter with the list in my hand.

"Really?"

I grinned at the excitement in his eyes, and we shared a moment of geeky solidarity before I cleared my throat. "Yeah. Though two of the ones I have are in a storage unit, so I'll have to get them for you later. Maybe you could come again next week to collect those?"

"That works. I don't live too far from here, so it's no trouble. I didn't think you'd be able to find all of them."

"I haven't yet," I reminded him, and he waved me off, like the fact that I'd said I would was all he needed. That kind of implicit faith was foreign to me, but it made me happy that he felt he could trust me.

We started talking about Spider-Man after that, since he was Haruto's favorite superhero, and our conversation moved seamlessly from topic to topic without either of us noticing the time passing.

I was surprised when my phone buzzed to remind me it was lunch time, wondering how we could've possibly spent the morning chatting. I'd never talked that much with anyone in a long fucking time, and yet it'd felt so effortless with Haruto.

"Would you like to continue our conversation over lunch? Or do you need to go back home?" I asked, and Haruto pursed his lips.

"I need to check in with my friend first. I'm not sure where he went."

"Of course."

While he did that, I straightened up a few things around the store before changing the Open sign with an ' Out for Lunch. Back soon! ' sign.

"Okay, he says he needs another hour, so I'd like to join you...if that's okay?"

"Of course! Come on around back. We can eat there."

Haruto blinked, then tilted his head. "You have a packed lunch?"

"Yeah. Just sandwiches and a salad, nothing special. "

"Oh. I can't eat your food then. You need it."

I waved him off as I led him into the backroom that I used as an office. There was nothing but a desk and a chair on one side, so Haruto had plenty of room to move around.

"I packed too much. And I can always get a snack from the bakery across the street if I get hungry later."

Haruto looked like he wanted to argue, but then he sighed and relented, making me grin.

As I pulled out the paper bag with my lunch, I snuck a glance at Haruto as he scanned the room, his eyes lingering on the action figures I'd placed around the room. Those were from my own collection, and I liked being surrounded by them when I did the boring work that came with running a store.

Haruto was...he was beautiful. There was no better word to describe him. He had dark, soulful eyes, and his short brown hair looked soft and very very touchable. His off-white shirt clung to his shoulders, the sleeves ending just above his biceps, showing off his slim muscles and smooth, pale, slightly tan skin that reflected his Japanese heritage.

He was an attractive man, but it was his personality that made me want to get to know him better. He was sweet, kind, and his love of comic books rivaled mine. As I'd discovered today, I could spend hours talking to him, and I'd never connected to someone so quickly before.