Page 66 of The Jorogumo

When I found Haruto again, he was practically buzzing with excitement. I assumed his talk with Dustin had gone well, and butterflies fluttered in my belly as I thought about when he'd pop the question.

God, was I going to feel like this the whole time I waited?

Dinner was a boisterous affair as usual, and I laughed with our friends as Keoni told us about the trouble he'd gotten in earlier today when he accidentally fell into one of the lakes.

Luckily for him, he'd fallen in the kelpie Alaric's lake, so he'd been rescued quickly.

"It took hours for my cart to dry out, and I had to stay in one place so the dirt and grit wouldn't get stuck to the wheels. I almostdiedof boredom."

Shaking my head, I imagined doing this every single day for the rest of my—very, very long—life, and realized there was no other way I'd prefer to spend it.

Twenty-Four

Haruto

Since I'd told LiamI'd ask him to marry me, he'd turned into something similar to a hyperactive teenager.

He got excited at the drop of a hat, he always had eyes on me like he expected me to go down on one knee—metaphorically, of course—at any moment, and he was absolutely insatiable in bed.

His constant desire was getting a little distracting, but I still wouldn't change this in any way.

It'd been three days since I told him I'd ask the question, and I didn't think he'd be able to take much more of it. Luckily for him, I planned to ask him the day after tomorrow.

We'd returned from dinner a few minutes ago, and were now curled up in bed, Liam's head in the crook of my shoulder as he watched the show playing on his tablet while I lay on my side.I'd gotten distracted by the way his hair gleamed in the light, and I had no idea what was going on.

Suddenly, Liam turned the tablet off, then sat up facing me, his knees pressing against my front. Liam's eyes roamed over me, darkening as his desire thickened.

Sometimes I was still surprised by how much I wanted his attraction, how comfortable I felt being the center of his attention.

"You know, I've never actually explored you properly in your true form. I want to know everything there is to know about you."

I blinked, a tad surprised by what he said. I thought he'd want my hands on him.

"Uh... you're welcome to."

He grinned, and I felt my cheeks heating up for some reason. Out of the two of us, he was usually the one to blush, but I had my moments too.

"Hmmm... I've seen you weaving your webs. Can I ask how you make the silk? Or is that a rude question?"

I shook my head, smiling softly. "You can ask me anything you want, Liam."

Gesturing toward my abdomen, I explained, "There are spinners or spinnerets at the back of my abdomen that create the silk threads from a mix of protein and magic stored in the bulb-like part, and then I use my back legs to weave it into patterns or shapes. I can use my front legs too for more complex patterns, but it's easier to use the back ones."

Liam nodded thoughtfully, reaching out to brush his fingers over the part where my pale, human-like skin melded into dark gray, then the black of my lower half.

"Can I?" Liam asked as his hand moved lower, and I nodded quickly. There was nothing sexual about his touch, despite hishumming desire. Instead, he touched me like he was exploring me, like I was a piece of art, and I wanted him to know every inch of me, just like I was starting to know him.

"Oh wow. I felt it against my legs when we cuddled and stuff, but I didn't realize quite how fuzzy you are," he mumbled, a grin on his face as he ran his hand over my abdomen.

I chuckled softly, marveling at the look of wonder on his face, at the fact that it was for me. I was the one making him look like that.

His hand moved lower before coming up again, and he brushed his palm against the top of my front leg, giving me a questioning look. I nodded, and he smiled as he stroked his hand over my leg, making a sound of surprise.

"They look so sharp, almost metallic, but they're fuzzy too."

"It's an illusion of sorts," I explained, twisting my leg this way and that to show how the light reflected from the soft black hairs covering it.

"Wow. You're beautiful, Haruto," Liam murmured, and my cheeks heated up as he gazed into my eyes.

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