Page 25 of The Jorogumo

"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 absorbthe 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 hewantedto 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."

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