Page 9 of The Jorogumo (The Sanctuary #2)

Haruto

After a lunch where I spent the whole meal marveling over how quickly Liam had become comfortable around everyone, we returned to my house. I was grateful Touya had helped me move my daily chores to a different day so I could spend today with Liam.

"Your friends are all really cool," Liam said as he kicked his legs, making the hammock sway gently. We were sitting side by side on the larger one I slept in, a few of my legs pressed against Liam's thigh. He didn't seem discomfited by them, so I hadn't pulled away. I liked the way I could feel the warmth from his skin soaking into mine.

"They are. I don't spend a lot of time with them, but I do care for them all." Social situations made me tired, and there was only so much time I could spend around people—or rather, people who weren't Liam—before I wanted to hide away in my home.

"I understand. I've always been very social, and I like making friends," he said, then shrugged, his eyes sliding to his hands. "Not that that helps most of the time."

Brows furrowing, I tilted my head, watching him curiously. "What do you mean?"

He shot me a look, like he wanted to check if I was serious. Whatever he saw on my face made him relax, because he sat up straighter as he sighed. "Nothing. Most people are too intimidated by me to want to be friends, I guess, no matter how non-threatening I try to be."

I blinked, thrown off guard by his statement. I tried to look at him objectively, to see whatever the humans saw that made them feel scared of him, but I couldn't. I knew him too well, and all I could see was the sweet, gentle, thoughtful man who'd installed a button so I could open his shop's door without ever mentioning it.

"It's their loss," I said with a shrug. "Anyone would be lucky to have you as a friend, Liam. You're sweet, kind, thoughtful, and the gentlest man I've ever met. The people who are worthy of your friendship can see that. Like Dustin," I reminded him, since Dustin had known Liam before I met him.

Liam smiled at that, then chuckled. "Considering who Dustin's boyfriend is, I don't think that man is scared of anything."

That made me laugh, because I couldn't disagree.

"But yeah, I know what you mean. I have another close friend, Diego. He's blind, so we got to talking before I made any kind of impression on him, and we became friends. "

I smiled, glad to know he'd had some people in his life he could count on before we met. "And now you have a pocket dimension full of potential friends."

"Yes! I would like to meet more of them. One-on-one I mean. Am I allowed to go into the other areas?"

"Of course. Only the houses are off-limits without invitation, but everything else is public space."

Liam grinned at that, then turned so we were facing each other better. He gazed at my face for so long I got lost in his dark eyes, noticing for the first time the small specks of yellow that ringed his pupils. His eyes were so beautiful, so soulful, like the rest of him.

"Liam, may I kiss you?" The words were out of my mouth before I'd consciously thought of them, before I could prequel it with a reminder of my limits, and Liam's eyes widened just a little, his lips parting on a soft gasp.

"Yes." The word was an exhalation that brushed my lips as I closed the distance between us, and I placed a hand on the back of Liam's neck, sparks of electricity snapping to life between us.

Our lips hovered millimeters apart, and I searched his eyes for any sign that he didn't want this, that he'd changed his mind, or even that he wanted more than I could give him.

"Please." This time, the words were murmured right into my lips, and I couldn't have stopped myself from pressing forward if my life depended on it.

Liam's lips were soft, so unbelievably soft, and he made a small, needy sound as I wrapped my other arm around his waist, pulling him close. Our lips moved in a delicate dance, and it felt so right, so real . I'd never experienced anything like it before, and my body came alive as I kissed my mate for the first time .

"You're mine." The words spilled into our kiss without compunction, and it took me far too long to realize I was the one who'd said it. Before I could regret them, or apologize, Liam made another soft sound, pressing closer to me.

"Yes, all yours," he gasped into my mouth, and I slid my tongue into his, his words breaking my hold on my control. I needed to be close to him, to make sure he was reminded with every touch that he was mine.

It wasn't a sexual need—no, it was something deeper. Something strange and unfamiliar, but something that felt so very right. It felt like my soul itself had laid claim to Liam, and there was nothing I could do but make sure he knew he was mine. My mate.

"Haruto," Liam gasped into my mouth, his fingers digging into my skin as he clung to me, refusing to put even an inch of space between us, not that I'd allow him to.

His kiss had broken something inside me, some restraint I'd wrapped around myself a long, long time ago. I didn't know what it meant, but I knew I couldn't keep secrets from Liam any longer. He had to know what he meant to me. He had to know he was mine. Only mine.

I pulled away from the kiss, cupping Liam's jaw as he caught his breath. Sucking his lower lip into my mouth, I gave it a soft bite, just enough to bring his eyes back to mine.

"You're mine," I repeated, and he nodded quickly, his face flushed, his eyes dark and hooded. His arousal was like a living, breathing thing around us, and my hunger pulsed deep in my gut, begging me to let it feed.

I kissed him again, and spoke the words I'd been hiding into his lips. "My mate. "

Liam

My mind was so foggy from the all-consuming kiss that it took me a moment to realize Haruto had said something. It took another minute to process the words, and they were strange enough to make me pull back—regretfully—from the kiss.

"Mate?" I asked in the space between us, my breaths coming out in uneven pants. I sounded like I'd run a marathon.

Haruto's eyes met mine, the deep brown warm and cautious. "Fated mate. The one whom Fate picked for me. My perfect match."

I blinked, puzzled. I was his perfect match? But I was human.

"But...I'd grow old. I'd die." And Haruto would be alone. How was that fair?

He shook his head, reaching up to push my hair away from my forehead. "You won't. If we bond, you'll get my long lifespan."

I stared at him, stunned. I'd live as long as Haruto? Wait, let's back the fuck up.

"So you've known I'm your mate all this time?"

"I only found out recently," he said, sounding hesitant, and I frowned.

"How? Is there like a beacon or something?"

Haruto snorted. "No, Liam, there's no bat signal. I, uh, I sensed your desire. Toward me. And it—it didn't make me uncomfortable, and I recognized it."

Trying to wrap my head around that wasn't easy, and I put some space between us so I could think. Haruto's face suddenly went blank, and he turned to face the front, clasping his hands together over his legs. It'd taken me a moment to absorb the way he'd first sat down on the hammock with all his legs hanging out front and his body balanced on his bulb-like torso, and this new pose with his head bowed and hands clasped wasn't any less odd.

"If you find it too strange—"

"Nope." I shook my head, drawing his gaze back to me. "I just need some space so I can think because being close to you made my brain go all foggy."

My cheeks flushed hot at my words, but I didn't want Haruto to misunderstand me. I felt more turned on than I ever had before—and apparently he could sense it?—and there was no way I was letting him think otherwise.

"I need to understand this better. You said you don't experience sexual attraction or desire yourself. You also said you don't feed on others' desire for you because it makes you uncomfortable, but mine doesn't? So what does that all mean? Can you tolerate my desire because we're mates?"

I still didn't know what being mates meant in its entirety, but I got the gist of it, and I needed this part clarified first.

"Yes, but I can more than tolerate it. I...I want to feed on it." Haruto watched me with wide eyes, as if expecting me to freak out, but...eh. I'd known what he was when we first started dating, and honestly, the thought that he wanted to feed on me when he'd abstained for decades, when he didn't like being desired by anyone else...it made me feel good. Like I was special, like I could offer him something no one else could.

Haruto blinked at me, and his eyes widened even more. "You like that."

I blushed hot, jerking my eyes to my lap. Of course, he'd felt it. He knew every weird thing that turned me on. Shit, had he sensed it when I'd gotten turned on by his strength too? He must've .

Fuck, kill me now.

"Liam." The warmth in his voice forced me to look up, and he smiled when I did. Reaching over, he took my hand in his, squeezing softly. "I like it when you feel desire for me, when you want me. I can't give myself to you in the same way, but I can still give you pleasure, if you'll allow me."

There was no hint of uncertainty or discomfort in his voice, and I swallowed hard, forcing myself to speak, to clear all doubts before I agreed to what I desperately wanted.

"Tell me your limits. Tell me what I can't do."

Nodding, he settled back into the swing, pulling me with him until we were on our backs with our legs hanging over the side, hands still clasped.

"No penetration," he said softly, eyes on the ceiling as he spoke, as if he didn't want to see my reaction, as if he was afraid of it. "It's not possible in this form anyway, but even if I took a human form, it's not something I wish to do."

"It's a take-it-or-leave-it thing for me anyway," I said with a shrug. I'd topped most of the time I had penetrative sex with someone because it was expected of me, and the few times I'd bottomed, it hadn't been good anyway. It'd felt like the man I was with was punishing me for being bigger and stronger than him, and it'd left me with a bitter taste in my mouth. I'd wanted to be taken care of, not punished. I hadn't done it again.

"I would like to pleasure you, to make you come with my hands and my mouth."

"And that wouldn't make you feel uncomfortable? I don't want to do anything that only one of us enjoys."

Haruto glanced over at me then, a soft smile on his face. Reaching over, he cupped my jaw in his hand, his eyes gazing right into my soul. Fuck, he was so beautiful. " I will enjoy it. Not the same way you will, of course. But I will consume your desire, and it will give me power. And making my mate feel pleasure will satisfy me to no end."

"Consuming my desire will enable you to take a human form, right?" I asked, and he nodded. I wondered what he would look like. Stunning, I bet. "But you wouldn't want reciprocation for anything sexual?" He nodded again, and I hummed thoughtfully. "I can still express my feelings in other ways, right? Like hugs, cuddles, kisses? You don't mind those?"

Haruto gave me big, brown eyes, staring at me like he'd never seen me before. He didn't say a word, and when he was silent for a whole minute, I prodded gently. "Haruto?"

He blinked rapidly, then swallowed hard. "Yeah, yeah, I'd like that."

Smiling, I closed the distance between us and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "I want to know more about the fated mates thing, but for now, I'd really like it if you kissed me some more."

Haruto still looked a little stunned, but he reacted quickly, pressing his lips to mine and pulling me into a kiss I wouldn't forget anytime soon.