(Mrs. Mellark)

These past few months, Peeta had finally come to his senses. Well, he had been right about Katniss being a district-crosser, I thought angrily to myself. And it was the mayor's daughter sinking to that level! So it took that Seam rat being a queer to get the point across, but Peeta had finally realized that he ought to find a nice Town girl instead. Raven Castle seemed to be one, relatively speaking. Although her sister had poor taste in men, Peeta's change of heart still seemed like an improvement to me.

He had never seen anything more than a friend in that Delly Cartwright – a relief, since she was too nice, just like he was. The state his father was in showed what happened to pushovers. At least Peeta got over the girl he had loved and lost, whereas Phillip still hadn't.

Adultery or physical violence looked much worse to District divorce judges than the psychological tactics I fully admitted to using, at least to myself. So even had my loser husband worked up the nerve to strike back or leave me for someone else, he would have lost a disproportionate share of the bakery business.

Raven was getting Peeta to actually act somewhat like a man for once in his life, if the Games didn't interrupt the process.

(Raven Castle)

All I heard the escort say was not Castle, not any of our friends or their friends and relatives. So I was able to block out the aftermath yet again, although I knew there were some people who wouldn't be able to do anything of the sort. Being around Gale because he was dating my sister and friends with my brothers, I had heard plenty of what he thought about the Games.

Now I wanted to let Peeta know what I thought of him having at least another year. A year that he could spend much of making me very happy. My sister Robin and I now had the rest of our lives left as far as the reaping was concerned. We walked home from the square together while we waited on our boyfriends to stop by their houses first. Peeta was also celebrating his brother Pumpernickel's last. Gale was done too, and was also happy for the reprieve after his brother's first. He definitely would have taken his little brother's place and maybe even won the thing, but he didn't have to.

Peeta, living nearby in the district, was the first of the boys to arrive at the bedroom I shared with my sister. I pretended to not notice the lovely young man walk in as I motioned to Robin and said "Could you help me with this?" I meant the zipper of my dress, which she gladly pulled down as I turned to face Peeta.

Raven left the room. We were incredibly close, but not so close as to want her in the room for what was about to come. Well, maybe I would have, like we had with some other boys in the past, but this one was fast developing a singular affection for me in particular.

Peeta was glad to stand there and stare, his eyes bombarded by my beautiful body. I didn't want to wipe that grin off his face; I wanted to make him even happier, I thought as I cast further airs of seduction. "When I said I wanted some more of your sweet kisses, I meant I wanted them here," I purred as I cupped one of my breasts. Like lightning, he put his lips to my nipples. He seemed to know to gradually trace his mouth lower, and I finally got to feel his strong hands on my bare ass as he lifted my hips up to his face. He was apparently good with his tongue there too. I could tell he hadn't done this before, but the passion in trying to please my pussy had me wanting to throw my head back anyway.

I laid down on my bed and spread. He nearly tripped while getting out of his pants. I knew he would fill me quickly, but he knew he didn't have to worry – he had stirred me all up real good before he frosted my muffin.

(Robin Castle)

Watching, then hearing, my sister make a man out of Peeta got me even more excited to make an even bigger man out of Gale. He showed up soon after they got started. I leapt into his arms, not only to get a kiss from my much taller boyfriend, but to press up against his bulge. I ground my hips up against his as his tongue attacked its counterpart. Even I was surprised by how much more of a bulge I felt as he swelled for my wonderful sexy self.

"You've made it pretty clear you want some of this," he said raggedly.

"I want some of you," I clarified, "and it seems like you've got plenty for me."

He reached under my waistband to find no underwear, only desire. His arms bent me over and steered me towards the wall of the hall. Already beyond turned on by my handsome rogue, it was all I could do to keep from begging at the top of my lungs as I thrust my hips back out at him and shook my ass. He pulled his hand out but only to roll up the skirt; my blouse had long since come loose, so the hands above my waist found only the skin of my midriff.

He was big even compared to some boys I'd had before, but I was shivering with anticipation to such an extent that he still slid in me easily. And out, then back in, oh yes. He knew what a catch he had this time, and his body sure showed it. He and Katniss had picked plenty of birth control herbs from the Capitol's woods for both me and my sister, for all our benefit, but right now I focused on how much I liked his pulsating member sending seed flowing through me.

Avoiding the Reaping was something we shouldn't have to celebrate, but we sure had made the most of the occasion anyway.