Page 58 of The Jorogumo

Nodding, I kissed him back, wrapping my arms around his neck as I slid closer to him until there was no space between us. All eight of his legs hung awkwardly over the side of the hammock as he twisted at the waist to face me—he'd assured me multiple times that his legs were extremely bendy and unbreakable—one hand cupping the nape of my neck while the other clutched my hip.

Haruto pulled back after a moment, giving me a chance to catch my breath as he rested his forehead against mine. "I love you, Liam. And that's never going to change."

Swallowing hard, I murmured a reply, "I love you too. More than anything in the world."

Haruto smiled, faint crinkles forming around his eyes, and I'd never seen anyone more beautiful than him.

Placing my hand on the center of his chest, I pushed, and he raised a brow as he allowed me to get him horizontal. I climbed on top of him, straddling his torso as I pulled him into another kiss. While he wasn't interested in coming, Haruto loved being touched, and I enjoyed touching him.

I wanted to show him just how much I loved him, how much I wanted him.

Sitting back, I reached for his shirt, and slowly started unbuttoning it. He watched me with a faint smile but didn't stop me, trusting me to know his limits, to not try to push past.He'd told me before how he'd given up on being with anyone after people kept doing that, kept thinking they'd be the one to 'change his mind.'

The fact that he trusted me so completely despite his previous experiences made something warm and fuzzy settle deep in my chest, and I pushed the lapels of his shirt to either side, letting my eyes roam over his smooth torso because he liked it. He liked that I found him attractive, that he turned me on. He enjoyed consuming my lust, and I enjoyed feeding him.

We were a match made by Fate, his strength to my softness, my desire to his hunger.

Leaning down, I pressed a soft kiss on his chest, right over his steadily beating heart, then glanced up at him.

He gave me a soft smile, and I smiled back as I placed my palm over his chest, soaking in the warmth of his skin.

Instead of watching another movie, we spent the rest of the morning just like that, with me exploring every inch of Haruto's skin, and him feasting on every drop of my arousal. It wasn't about me just then, and I didn't ask or want to come. All I wanted to do was show Haruto how much he meant to me, how much I loved him, and judging by the soft look in his eyes as he watched me, I'd succeeded.

Twenty-One

Haruto

The headmaster made usa portal between Liam's apartment and the Forest, despite my insistence that we could manage without it.

There weren't many things Liam owned other than his clothes, comics, and figurines, and it took us only a few hours to box and move everything to my place.

The headmaster also added a magical security alarm spell to the shop's door since Liam had been worried someone might break in and he wouldn't find out until the next morning.

With that fear allayed, Liam was all smiles as he carted boxes through the portal, and once we'd moved everything over, the headmaster closed it with a wave of his hand.

"Thank you so much for allowing me to live here," Liam said, holding a hand out to Headmaster Morrigan.

The headmaster shook Liam's hand, a smile on his tired face. "You don't have to thank me for that, Liam. Haruto's family, and now so are you. Welcome to the Sanctuary."

If it was possible, Liam's smile would've widened even more. Instead, he shot forward and gave the headmaster a tight hug.

Headmaster Morrigan froze, his eyes flicking to me with a 'What am I supposed to do?' look, and I chuckled. After a moment, he wrapped his right arm around Liam's back in a loose hug, giving him a soft pat.

Liam moved back, smiled sheepishly, then slid to my side again. I wrapped an arm around his waist, then placed a soft kiss on his temple because I just couldn't resist.

"I'll leave you to unpack and settle in. See you at dinner?" the headmaster asked, and we nodded, then watched him leave.

"Does he always look so tired?" Liam asked after the headmaster had disappeared from view, and I sighed.

"He didn't use to. Something's up, and he won't tell us. He insists everything is fine, but..." I trailed off with a shrug, and Liam nodded as he opened a box of clothes.

"Does Touya know?"

"Not really. Whatever it is, the headmaster won't talk about it to anyone, not even his assistant."

"That's...not good."

"Right?" I asked, then shook my head. There was no point talking about it until the headmaster was ready to, and anyway, I had much more important things to talk about.

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