Katniss huffs in exasperation. Sunday morning has rolled around and she tries to shut the world out from under the covers. It gets more difficult when both kids find their way into the master bedroom.
She hadn't slept well the previous evening for all of the wrong reasons. Saturday nights were usually reserved for mind blowing sex with Peeta. Instead she went to bed angry and unsatisfied.
Peeta sleeps hard beside her, while the two tykes were currently pulling her in two different directions. One wants juice. One wants to play. Katniss just wants some relief for the tension in her body, built up from Christmas chores. It's a new-old holiday for Panem to celebrate, so everyone is still getting the hang of it. Her mother, Annie, and little Finn are traveling to District 12 soon too. Gift shopping and wrapping, menu planning, and cleaning have taken a toll on her and she has really been looking forward to an orgasm or four. Christmas is next week and she's been nice all year long.
"Peeta, the kids are down and in their own beds," she called in a sing song voice out the back door.
"Okay, I'll be inside in a bit. Thom and I are just burning off the last of the extra tree limbs." Peeta promises.
She smiled and relented. Peeta doesn't get much time to let off steam with friends anymore since everyone started having kids. They had both watched as their neighbor started up a fire in the backyard earlier in the evening. Peeta pled with eyes for a little time and she conceded him an hour. He grabbed a ciders and headed out the back door toward Delly and Thom's house. She figured she could use the time wisely to get the house squared away and slip into something silky and sexy for him.
She tidied up and selected a new tank and pants PJ set. Enough material to keep her warm and still pique Peeta's interest with a low cut neckline in his favorite hue. She thought she heard their voices dying down outside so she headed to their bedroom. Candles, massage oil, and a cracked window all set the mood for their regular Saturday night date. They have sex as often as possible throughout the week but reserve Saturday night to really take their time and enjoy one another.
She arranged herself on their bed, like a fine meal to be devoured once he crossed the threshold. She waited and waited but also didn't want to get up and ruin his surprise.
She's broken from the fresh memory by the sound of their daughter fetching the juice jug from the fridge herself.
"Oh well, I guess I'll get to that," she tosses over her shoulder in a passive aggressive tone. "Daddy can't play with you, pumpkin. He stayed up till 3 a.m.," she tells her son as she sits up in bed.
If Peeta responds, she misses it in the muffled snores. Must be nice to hide under the covers from all of the morning chores. She stands, stretches, and reaches toward the window to shut out the chill. She walks their son to his room and lays out some puzzles for him to work while she heads to the kitchen. She catches the jug before disaster happens with the orange juice. Katniss pours her daughter a cup and sits her down at the kitchen table to draw while she prepares breakfast.
With coffee brewing, eggs scrambling, and banana bread warming, Katniss' mind drifts to her husband. What was so damned important to stay away from their bed? She stabs at the cooking eggs angrily, trying to map out the day, with a heavy stress on punishing Peeta. She's beyond caring if it puts her on the naughty list – he just better have a good explanation for missing out on last night and have an elaborate plan to make it up to her.
She lost track of how long she waited, anticipation grew into frustration, and then anger. She curled up under the covers and screwed her eyes shut. Shit. She remembered the candles and stomped around the room, extinguishing all the flames. She wrapped herself in the covers and tried to sleep.
She startled awake to hear Peeta plodding up the stairs. She turned in the direction of her bedside clock to see what in the hell time it was. 3 a.m. 3 A.M.? What the fuck? What happened in the last five hours? She was seething by the time he stumbled into the bedroom. He headed straight to their bathroom and then she heard the shower start. She lay there and tried to control her breathing. She couldn't blow up now, not at this hour, not without waking the kids. He re-entered the room and slipped into his own pajamas, seemingly unaware of the storm brewing in their bed.
"Didn't want the bed to smell like campfire," Peeta mumbled before kissing her cheek and rolling over to find sleep immediately.
"Breakfast! Breakfast is ready!" Katniss announces to the house. Her son runs to the kitchen from his room and her daughter goes about retrieving napkins and flatware for everyone. Peeta ambles down the stairs with a slight limp, no doubt from his four hour nap. He yawns the entire length of their living room, finally closing his mouth once he's seated at the table only to drop it open again once he notices what she's wearing. She's left her silky pajamas on to torment him.
"Thank you, Mommy," he proclaims a little loudly to the table and is joined in a chorus by both kids. "This looks delicious," he adds with a wink.
"Well our regular cook had a late night, so I did the best that could given only four eggs and left over banana bread," Katniss grumbles and leans over the table ever so slightly, offering and then withholding the view down her top.
Peeta delivers his best sheepish look and rises to greet her properly. "Good morning, gorgeous." He tries for a kiss that she ducks and then a hug that she side steps. He's not getting away with this that easily. He returns to his place at the table and his breakfast after she successfully fends him off. She's not one to shirk affection so she hopes her displeasure is beginning to dawn on him.
"I've made you a chore and grocery list," Katniss declares while he chews. She thinks she sees him consider a reply and then decides against it, instead keeping his mouth shut.
"I want to build a snowman!" their daughter chimes in with her plans of the day.
"Well, Mom is going to take a few hours to herself – so hopefully your daddy can make time for that," Katniss chides.
Young, hopeful faces turn to Peeta and he yields to them quickly. "Well, I guess we better get started!" he adds.
The trio scampers off to clean up and get their day underway. Katniss excuses herself to the woods for a long morning hunt. Despite the weather, she's able to snag a few kills, enough to help fill the pantry for the upcoming holiday feasts. When she returns from the woods, the house is mostly clean and very empty so she draws a hot bath. In her haste to warm up, she neglects to lock the door to their bathroom suite.
She's just closed her eyes as the warm water soothes her muscles as Peeta steps in the room. She flashes him a look of annoyance before noticing that he's carrying a large package.
"Where are the kids?" she asks.
"The baby is sleeping and big sister is with Haymitch, feeding geese for a long while," Peeta replies.
Katniss' scowl levels him and he drops his sweet smile.
"Katniss, I am sorry that I stayed out last night. I'm sorry that I missed our regular time together." He volunteers with a look of pure contrition on his face. "Would you like to know what I was doing?"
"As a matter of fact, I do," she retorts icily.
"I was working on your Christmas present, with Thom's help." Peeta admits.
Surprise dances across her face, as they had agreed to focus on the kids in gift-giving this year. She softens at the notion though. She just wishes it wasn't at the expense of their private time – which is already limited.
"I was going to wait a few days, but I can see that option is no good. Christmas needs to come early." Peeta states, a smile quirking up his lips.
"Well then, get on with it," Katniss pleads.
"First, I need you to get out of the tub. I want to give my wife a proper kiss," he requests.
She pulls the drain, stands, and reaches for the offered towel, giving him the full view of her body. He's seen it every day but always gazes at it like it's the first time. It's endearing to her. She wraps the towel around herself and steps out, stabilizing the movement with his hand. He pulls her to him, trapping her in his arms. He dots apologetic kisses along her cheeks and nose. He starts chastely and gently at her mouth until she parts her lips and grants him access. His tongue swoops into her mouth and soothes her bitterness towards him. He walks her to the bed as she breaks the kiss and turns her head toward the door.
"It's locked. He'll be down for at least an hour and Haymitch knows to keep her until later this afternoon," Peeta whispers.
She sits on the edge of the bed, eager to see what he's wrapped for her.
He hands her the heavy package, about three feet tall by three feet wide and about six inches thick.
Despite her earlier reservations, presents make her slightly giddy as her fingers seek out the ties. She pulls back the paper to reveal three hand crafted targets. They are not the crude circles on straw matting she learned with from her father, but hand-painted animals – a turkey, buck, and squirrel, with wooden frames around the perimeter.
"Peeta, they are too beautiful to shoot at!" she exclaims.
"Well, if you're going to share your skills with the kids one day, I figured they should have something better to practice with," he explains. "I needed Thom's woodworking tools and time to paint them."
Katniss' heart swells with emotion. She sets the targets down on the ground and grasps for his hands, pulling him to her.
"Thank you, Peeta. I'm sorr—" she tries but is halted with more kisses. He shakes his head knowingly, intimating that her apology isn't necessary. He pushes her gently to the bed, her body splayed out for him now like it was last night before this all started. His kisses wander her body, like a traveler in search of a treasure as his tender touch turns insistent. Once his mouth reaches her center, she breathes his name aloud.
"Shh…" he warns, "the baby's napping down the hall" before returning to lap at her. He swirls his tongue within her folds and reaches up to pinch her nipples. She responds in kind, bucking into his face.
It feels too good, too quick. She must be more pent up than she previously realized. With hands tugging at his hair and his head locked between her thighs, she'd be content to have him pay his penance with his mouth the whole time, but she really just wants him inside of her. She yanks especially hard on his head to get the point across.
He crawls up the bed to her, one arm bracing himself and the other aided by her to shed his pants and boxer shorts. He barely has them down to his knees before she's hooking her calves around his ass, urging him up to her. He moves into her and they both sigh as they're finally connected. The moment does not last long as they both spur into action, knowing that the clock is ticking on their alone time. She gazes up at her husband, meeting the snap of his hips with upward thrusts of her own. It feels good, impossibly good, but the angle is not right for her. She can tell from his look of concentration that he feels it too. Peeta motions his head to the right and Katniss nods, rolling him to his back. His feet are on the floor, still tangled in his pants as she adjusts on top of him. Peeta's hands find purchase on her waist to help hold her to him.
"Better," she utters and he smiles in agreement as she sinks down the full, firm length of him.
She begins to ride him like a woman possessed. Her thrusts are shallow, but powerful. This is her orgasm, robbed from her last night, and she's going to get it now. Her clit gains friction across his pubic bone as she rocks on him, squeezing with every forward motion. She senses her climax approaching and bears down harder on him. He bites down hard into his lower lip, probably hanging on to the last shreds of restraint he has left in him. She rocks into him one more time and a burst of white heat blossoms behind her eyes. She feels him grip her hips, bouncing her a little further up and down on him to bring forth his own orgasm. She can feel herself still clenched around him as he comes. She collapses on top of him as he deflates, still tucked inside of her.
"I'm sorry, Peeta. I hope the lists weren't too brutal," Katniss confesses into his ear. "I love my Christmas present and appreciate you."
He turns her head so they can see one another and strokes her cheek.
"No, I'm sorry. I should have budgeted my time better – so I didn't take away from our special Saturday night," Peeta admits. "Besides, feel free to torture me with your silky, skimpy pajamas any time I'm out of line," he jokes.
"Oh, you like your early Christmas present too?" Katniss teases.
The End