Page 50 of A Soul to Touch

Screw this.

She threw the blanket off and used a match to light her indoor lantern. With the dim light, she went to the storage room in search for her long-sleeved tunic and some underwear. She also threw on her robe and a jacket, but nothing she wore was going to protect her from the bitter subzero temperature she was about to expose herself to.

Not wearing any pants and feeling her legs prickle with terrible goosebumps, she headed straight for the Duskwalker she could see curled up in the corner.

Her shivers were violent, and they made her wobbly and unsteady on her feet.

She saw his orbs flash yellow right before she gently kicked him. It was obvious he hadn’t been deeply asleep – if he’d even been asleep at all.

“H-Hey y-y-you,” she chittered through chattering teeth. “W-wake up,”

Fuck. It’s so freaking cold out here!She folded the arm not holding her lantern so she could shove her freezing hand under her armpit.

“What’s wrong?”he asked before pawing at his face. Then his orbs turned white before he lifted his head.“Has something happened? Why are you outside in the middle of the night?”

“I-I don’t have a-a-any firewood. I’m fre-eezing.”

Faunus immediately got to all fours, revealing to her that he was in his more animalistic form. His voice should have given him away, but it’d been too dark see properly, and she wasn’t paying attention.

“I will cut you some more,”he said, his orbs remaining white as though with worry.“You will become sick if you stay cold.”

“That w-will take too long,” she argued. “C-can you just c-come inside and k-keep me w-warm?”

Mayumi knew from when they’d been cleaning out the gutters together that he was deliciously warm. She’d been able to feel hisoverwhelming body heat even through her leather trousers when she’d been sitting on his shoulders.

Faunus took a wary step back.

“Come inside and warm you?”He lowered his head while twisting it slightly.“You mean... hold you?”

“Please?” she begged. “I w-w-wouldn’t be out here a-asking you if it weren’t s-serious.”

Sure, there was a sense of ulterior motives. She could be patient and wait for him to quickly obtain her some firewood, but this seemed like a faster option.

She alsoverymuch wanted to snuggle with him.

She wanted to be showered in his heat, covered in his soft looking fur in the form he was in, holding him while taking in his yummy lemongrass and lime scent. It sounded like heaven.

What better way to stay warm?

Thank goodness he didn’t come here in the summer.She loved the heat, but the idea of sweating all over him didn’t sound compelling or sexy.

Faunus took far too long to answer, and her knees knocked together the entire time. She thought he was going to reject her. Just when her feet were becoming painful, he stepped forward and gently bumped her shoulder with one of his ram horns – the good side.

“Inside, human. I will do as you have asked.”He bumped her again to direct her.“Quickly, before you freeze.”

Mayumi ran into her house.

She pulled her blanket from the bed as he slowly came inside, having to shove his large body through the doorway while twisting. She gestured to her futon mattress for him to lay on it. It was way too small for him, but she thought it was better that he lay on it, so no part of her body touched the bitter ground.

The ground underneath the house would be cold, making the flooring feel like ice.

“How do you want me to lie?”he asked as he came over and tilted his head at the futon with his orbs a dark yellow.

“I-In a ball, I g-guess?” she asked as she removed her robe and jacket, leaving herself only in her shirt and underwear so he could warm her more easily.

Faunus curled up with his shoulder resting against her pillow. Mayumi didn’t hesitate to crawl straight on top of him to lay with her back resting against his hindlegs, so she was facing him. Heat enveloped her on three sides, and she drew the blanket on top of her to help shield her further.

It took a while for her trembling to stop, for Mayumi to regain feeling in her extremities, but when she did, she gave a blissful sigh.

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