Author's Note: This is a one-shot that was written for Day 3 (Modern Locations) of PromptsinPanem on Tumblr. The visual prompt I choose was Europe, which is featured in the cover image for this story. "Barile de Amore" translates to "Barrel of Love" in Italian. My name over on Tumblr is also Pookieh, so feel free to stop in!
The loose hairs that had fallen out of her braid whipped across her face as he pulled her along the back rows of the vineyard. Katniss had panicked when Peeta had tugged on her hand to lead her away from the tourist group that they had decided to tag along with once they had arrived at the winery. The voice of the tour guide grew more and more distant as Peeta hastened their pace and they weaved in and out of the long lush rows of vines.
"Peeta!" Katniss hissed as she tried to dig her heels into the ground to slow their pace. "What are you doing? We're going to lose the group!"
"That's the point!" he called over his shoulder as he tugged on her arm again.
Neither of them could believe that they were actually here. After the wedding, they had every intention of taking some well-deserved time off from their busy lives to go on a honeymoon. However, the nagging urge to tackle the responsibilities of real life, such as paying off their outstanding wedding bills and the mortgage from their fixer-up bungalow, began to outweigh those of a dream vacation.
So Katniss had been caught completely off guard when five years later, Peeta had presented her with two roundtrip tickets to Italy. At first, she was unsure of what she felt more: excitement or guilt. The excitement of jetting off from their busy lives for a week to submerse themselves in a totally different culture was tempting, but she knew it just didn't fit in their tight budget. But before she could pester him on how and where he had come up with the money, he said not to worry, it was all taken care of.
As it turned out, Peeta had been in contact with her father's cousin, Haymitch, who had moved to Venice years ago. As a belated wedding gift, he had offered to pay for a trip for them to fly out to Italy to visit him. But when Peeta had mentioned that they had yet to go on a honeymoon, Haymitch had said not to worry and that he'd take care of all the arrangements.
Their seven-day whirlwind trip was quickly coming to an end. Their travels had taken them from Rome to Florence and finally to Venice, hitting up all the top tourist locations along the way. Peeta had decided it would do them some good to slow things down and take a break from cramming as many activities that they could manage into a twenty-four-hour time span. At the end of almost every day, both were too worn out from the walking and sight-seeing that they would collapse in bed the minute they returned to their hotel room. Their lack of romance in one of the world's most romantic places, had led Peeta to believe that their honeymoon would of course be memorable, but not for the reasons he had hoped.
So when Peeta had mentioned to Haymitch that they wanted to take a break from the bustling tourist route, he suggested that they visit one of the local wineries. They awoke bright and early on their last day of touring and had to force themselves from the confines of their beautiful room at the quaint agriturismo in Santo Stefano. As much as they just wanted to opt out of the winery tour in favor of spending the rest of the day wrapped up in each other arms beneath the sheets, they had to meet Haymitch. He had offered to chauffer them to a local winery that a good friend of his owned just on the outskirts of the tranquil village.
"What about Haymitch?" Katniss argued as she glanced back over her shoulder hesitantly, unable to see the group anymore.
Peeta laughed. "He'll be fine on his own."
They finally slowed to a walk when Peeta spotted the large wooden structure ahead of them. The dark mahogany boards were held in place by thick bands of black metal and a small wooden ladder was propped up against the side.
Her nerves and heartbeat raced as Katniss spun her head from side to side to ensure that they hadn't been caught. There wasn't a soul in sight. She could see nothing but rows and rows of vines, the leaves and plump bunches of grapes swaying gently in the breeze.
Peeta dug his hands into his pockets and fished out his wallet and cell phone, which he tossed into the grass at his feet. Then he loosened the band of his watch, and it too joined his other belongings in the grass. As he began to roll up the sleeves of his oxford shirt, he noticed Katniss motionless beside him.
He tried to stifle his laugh, but Katniss was just so damn cute when she was nervous and doubtful. "Just take off your shoes."
"What? Why would I do that?" she frowned as she crossed her arms tightly around her chest. "And just what do you think you're doing?"
Katniss noticed the sly smile play across Peeta's face as she followed his eyes to the ladder that led up to the top of the large wooden barrel. The top of the barrel towered over her head, and every so often she caught the pungent scent of ripening fruit on the breeze.
"Oh, no. No, no, no…there is no way you're going in there!" she shrieked as she stomped over to collect his things off the ground.
"Oh yes we are!"
"We? There is no we in this! You're on your own for this one, Mellark. Whenever you're done playing around in the grapes, you can find me back with the rest of the group!"
She spun on her heel to leave, but Peeta was too quick and caught her arm before she could storm off. Katniss huffed in annoyance, but when she turned back to glare at him, the boyish grin he had plastered across his face stirred something inside her. Her frown softened, and she rolled her eyes before she spied him staring at her out of the corner of her eye.
Peeta's eyes slowly roamed down her body, taking in the subtle curve of her breasts and her hips in the red-and-white-checkered dress he had convinced her to wear. He told her it was his favorite because of the way it hugged her body in just the right places and tied around her neck. The ends of the straps that dangled precariously between her bare shoulders as she moved…the dress just…did things to him. He shifted his weight to one side in an attempt to adjust the tightness in his pants that was no longer possible to ignore, but it was quickly becoming a lost cause. He had to have her.
Peeta stepped towards her to close the gap between their bodies. He pulled her to his chest, knowing full well that he would have to pull out all the stops to get her to agree to this. According to most of their friends, even after five years of marriage, they still considered Katniss "pure" for her opinionated views against public indecency. To him though, she was perfect.
He could feel her body stiffen as he grazed his teeth lightly across the edge of her ear and gently tugged on her lobe with his lips. He traced the curve from her ear to jaw with the tip of his tongue before he exhaled into her ear and whispered, "Please?"
He knew she was putty in his hands when he saw her eyes flutter shut as she inhaled sharply.
"Fine," Katniss breathed as she relaxed her muscles and leaned in to his embrace.
Peeta caught her lips in a chaste kiss but pulled away quickly with a laugh. "Good, now off with your shoes."
Katniss sighed loudly in one last attempt to express her disapproval of what they were about to do, but he had already set things in motion, and her body was pulsing with anticipation and desire for his touch. She quickly stepped out of her ballet flats and kicked them off to the side, but when she turned back around, she stopped in her tracks.
In front of her, bent over with his pants tight against the curve of his backside, was a sight she would never grow tired of seeing. She watched Peeta's nimble fingers as he untied the laces of his shoes and removed them along with his socks. He tossed them up next to his wallet and cell phone. As he folded up the cuffs of his khakis, the beads of sweat that had collected along his hairline start to trickle along the side of his cheek and down his jaw.
Mesmerized by how the muscles in his back visibly rippled through his shirt with his every movement, Katniss swallowed the lump in her throat to keep from groaning out load. The muscles below her stomach tightened at the sight and the dampness that began to collect in her underwear was impossible to ignore.
When Peeta finally stood up, he cocked his head to the side to crack his neck when he finally spotted Katniss staring at him hungrily, as if she was about to devour him at any second. He grinned back at her and motioned to the ladder. "Ladies first."
Katniss padded over to the foot of the ladder and grasped the closest rung above her head to pull herself up. When she was about halfway up, she felt Peeta's calloused fingers slide up the inside of her thigh, which caused her step to falter on the next rung.
"Excuse me!" she hissed through her teeth once she steadied herself. "Hands to yourself if you want me to go through with this."
Peeta quickly retracted his hands and placed them behind his back as he looked up at her sheepishly.
"That's better," she huffed and continued up the ladder until she reached the edge. She swung her legs over the brim of the barrel and looked down at the sea of purplish-red grapes below her. At least there was a soft landing if she slipped. Katniss glanced back over her shoulder to Peeta, who had already begun his ascent. She took a deep breath and pushed herself up off the ledge.
The grapes felt odd under feet, cool and almost bubbly as they burst beneath her weight and the juices ran between her toes. Peeta hoped down from the ladder a second later and laughed playfully as he landed in the mess of grapes around him. He turned to face Katniss and smiled at her wickedly.
Katniss felt her cheeks begin to flush from the way his eyes lingered over her mouth. She knew the intensity of his stare all too well. "I can't believe I let you talk me into th—"
Peeta cut her off with his mouth and his tongue licked at her lips greedily until she granted him access. She could feel his hardness straining through the front of his slacks, and she eagerly bucked her hips forward to satisfy the noticeable throbbing at her center. The friction sent shivers up and down her spine, but as she shifted her weight to lean into him more, her feet gave way from the slippery grape skins beneath her feet that had collected on the bottom of the barrel.
"Oh!" she cried out in surprise, but Peeta had already wrapped his arms around her securely to catch her before she could fall.
"Don't worry, I got you," he chuckled before he released one of his hands from his grip around her waist. Their eyes locked into a lustful stare as Peeta inched one of his hands lower until he caught the hem of her dress and dragged it up her legs, exposing her bare thighs. His other hand soon followed and he cupped her backside before he pulled her up in one swift motion to lift her off her feet.
Katniss wrapped her legs tightly around Peeta's hips to steady herself as he walked them to the edge of the barrel. When her back hit the solid wood it caused his hardness to press into her. Peeta moaned in appreciation as their mouths found each other's again in a heated kiss. A sudden urgency washed over them, and their bodies burned with desire. One of Peeta's hands found the edge of her panties and in one quick motion; he shoved them to the side with his thumb, causing his knuckles to graze teasingly over her center. Katniss involuntarily arched her back at the sensation and moaned into his mouth eagerly as he plunged two fingers into her, pumping them swiftly in and out of her.
Katniss screwed her eyes shut as waves of anticipation washed over her, and she could feel the familiar tightening below her stomach. She tried to keep her primal noises at bay in fear of getting caught, so she was thankful when Peeta deepened his kisses to swallow her moans with his mouth.
Katniss was already at the tipping point of pleasure, but she wanted them to find their release together. She dropped her hands from the hold she had on his neck and dragged them down across his chest and then to his waist in search of his belt buckle. Once her fingers found the cool metal, she tugged at the leather strap to loosen it from his pants. She cupped him over the fabric and slid her palm up and down his length.
"Katniss,'' he hissed through ragged breaths when her fingers finally found the zipper, and she struggled to free him from the strain of his pants.
Suddenly they were interrupted by a loud thud that echoed through the barrel. They both froze in place. Katniss' eyes widened in fear, and she held in her breath so as not to make a sound.
"Hey! If you two ruin this batch of Pinot with your shenanigans, you had better think up a better excuse. As understanding as Plutarch is, I'm not covering for you!"
Peeta burst out in laughter as Katniss released the breath she was holding before her face contorted into a disapproving scowl.
"You're a perverted old man, Haymitch!" Peeta yelled back as he shook his head.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just hurry it up and get back before anyone else notices you're gone!"
They stayed quiet and still for another minute to make sure that Haymitch had actually left. When their eyes finally met, Peeta could see the embarrassment still written all over Katniss' face, so to lighten the mood he leaned in and nipped at the ticklish spot along her collarbone.
Katniss pursed her lips into a tight line and tried to compose herself, but she couldn't hold in the laugh that started to bubble up her throat.
"Okay…okay…stop! Enough!" she shouted between laughs as she squirmed against him and tried to swat his head away.
"As you wish," he grinned playfully as he narrowed his eyes and dragged his tongue along his lips to wet them. "Now…where were we?"