Page 193 of A Soul to Touch

He did it one more time and then swiftly turned to her.

His yellow orbs were brighter than usual, the glee in them obvious before they turned bright pink.

She had a split second to realise he’d moved before she found herself squealing. He tossed her in the air, her arms and legs cartwheeling as her stomach dropped before he caught her and laid her torso over his very face.

“I feel no pain, Mayumi. I don’t feel like I’m slipping away anymore. My face is as strong as it was before.” He nuzzled her entire damn body like he’d been waiting an eternity to do so. “I don’t know how you did this, but I will be eternally grateful for the rest of my life – especially with you by my side.”

She began to slip back and fell onto his forearm. She was seated on it like it was a perch or a swing, and he wrapped his other arm around her middle to hold her steady. Her legs swayed underneath his forearm, her chest smooshed just above his while her knees were bent and pressing against the hard and warm plane of his abdomen.

He nuzzled the end of his snout underneath her chin, until he leaned forward to rub the golden streak underneath it instead.

The intense, vibrating purr that followed tickled her senses with affection. “Do you know how long I’ve wanted to just rub my damn face against you? It was nearly unbearable to deny myself the urge.”

Mayumi couldn’t contain the laugh that burst from her.

“Are you usually this joyful, or are you just happy to see me?” she teased, needing to tease him to know she could again.

“Both,” he answered with his own chuckle. “I once believed my eyes were yellow because I am quick to be gleeful but also very curious.” He licked at her neck as he added, “As you have discovered.”

She wrapped her arms around his entire head and cuddled it, thankful she didn’t have to worry about hurting him. Her chest throbbed with such a blissful tenderness that she knew she’dnever experienced anything like its intensity. It even caused more tears to well in her eyes, but for a completely different reason.

He’s back. He’s alive.

When he pulled his head back to gaze at her with his orbs a bright pink, the smile that curled her lips was soft yet filled with adoration.

“I told you that you are not allowed to cry these kinds of tears for me,” he rumbled as he dabbed the tip of his tongue against one of her wet cheeks. “The only tears I want to see are the ones you give me when you’re lost in abandon, moaning that second name you have for me.”

Mayumi, trusting that he wouldn’t let her fall, lifted her hands so she could cup the corners of his jaw. “They’re tears of relief, Faunus. I didn’t think I would get to see you again, and I’m so happy you’re alive.”

“I don’t care, my fierce bride.” He bumped the end of his snout against her lips to steal a kiss. “Not when I can see you have been crying for a while. Your face is all puffy and red.”

“Oh, just shut up and take me inside.”

Since he wanted a kiss, she lathered little pecks against the gold streak on his face when he began walking to her porch steps.

He made it about two steps before he let out a choke and lunged back. Then he did that creepy thing where he twisted his neck to look over his shoulder, discovering he was attached to the tree.

“Why am I leashed like a pet?”

“Sorry about that,” she laughed as she untied the loop around his neck. “Here, let me free you.”

He brought his head forward. “You will have to explain what has happened.”

“I will, but later,” she whispered with her lips brushing over the top of his snout once he was freed and walking. “For now, I just want to feel you. I want to feel that you’re really here and that you’re stuck with me now.”

She felt herself bouncing on his forearm with each step he took, her legs swinging underneath his arm. There was no need for surprise that he could hold her like this; he was her Duskwalker, strong and magnificent.

“That sounds foreboding,” he said with the warm chuckle she’d missed terribly. “I was going to promise you eternity, but if you wring me dry, perhaps we both will perish from your insatiable desire.”

Her lips curled into a smirk as she tried to think of a witty retort.

Thankfully she’d been wise enough to remove her charms, so they didn’t harm him just in case he came back to her. It gave them the unimpeded freedom to walk up the porch and through the doorway of her home.

“Faunus?” she asked once they were inside, and Faunus did nothing but hold her.

Faunus had one hand wrapped around her thigh while the other was wrapped around her middle, their chests compressed against each other. The warmth of her was soothing to the side of his skull as he nestled it against her neck, enveloped by her chin above it, her gently pulsing jugular to the side of it, and her shoulder beneath.

“I don’t want to put you down,” he admitted, squeezing her tighter like his existence in this world depended on it.

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