Catching Fire: Rekindling Outtakes

By: Jamie Sommers

Chapter Two: Letting Go

This story continues from the last chapter. It is still Katniss and Peeta's wedding night (found in ch12 of Catching Fire: Rekindling). There is one more installment of their wedding night then it will move onto another section of CF:R. This story is told out of love and full of details so if you are not a believer of natural acts of passion DO NOT READ! If you are not above the age of 18 DO NOT READ! If you don't agree with K/P lemons DO NOT READ! If you want to find out how they got to this point, feel free to read my series. It starts with the 74th Hunger Games Challenge and continues with Catching Fire: Rekindling. If you like it, please feel free to leave a comment. If you don't, I will survive. Feel free to follow me on tumblr at jamiesommers23 dot tumblr dot com

Catching Fire: Rekindling Outtakes

Peeta tugged at the blankets Katniss had tucked under her arms. "I'm not trying to pull them down, Katniss," he reassured her, "I'd just like to be able to get closer to you." She was wrapped up like a butterfly in a cocoon.

Katniss lifted her arm to grant him access to her and slid it under the covers between them.

There were times over the past few months when she had imagined moments like this with Peeta. Times in which they allowed themselves the freedom to love one another without worrying about the consequences, but they were always fantasies…something out of reach. Sure they had, on many occasions, experienced temptations from kissing one another. Their hands had become familiar with many parts of their bodies, other than the forbidden areas that led to situations such as these, but she and Peeta had always put a stop to their actions before they got out of hand. She was always berating herself for getting carried away afterwards too, but tonight she didn't have to worry about getting carried away. That was the whole point and though she was looking forward to not putting a stop to their physical expressions of love, she had to admit, she was a bit apprehensive at the thought of being alone in the quest to reach the ultimate pinnacle.

She closed her eyes in an attempt to let go of the tension that had instantly built up in her body. Trying her best to shut her rambling thoughts up. 'This is no big deal. You were practically begging him to touch you downstairs. Hell, you were digging your fingers into his scalp when he had his mouth on your…' "Oh…" She turned her head to the side in an effort to hide her rapidly blushing cheeks from Peeta.

"Hey," Peeta could see that she was putting herself through hell. "If you don't want to do this, we don't have to." But, God how he wanted to.

Katniss gave her head a quick shake and said, "No. It's okay. I'm just a little…" she still couldn't face him.

Peeta ran his hand over her bare shoulder, down her arm and over her clenched fist. He pulled her fingers out of their deadly little grip and slid his through them. He lay on his side close to her and rested his head on the same pillow. "Why don't we take it slow this time?"

"No," she thought it would be best if they just jumped right in and got it over with. She quickly turned her face to his for a passionate kiss, but the moment her tongue entered his mouth, he pulled away.

'We're going slowly whether you like it or not, Katniss,' Peeta thought to himself. He intentionally held his lips away from hers.

She gave him a curious stare, wondering why he pulled away then Peeta moved in slowly. Again when she pushed her tongue into his mouth he tugged his head away from hers. She wondered what game he was playing at. What he was trying to do.

'You only get one wedding night, Katniss,' he thought to himself, 'so I'm going to make it a night you'll remember forever.' He brushed his open lips against hers; ready to withdraw again if she initiated anything further. Thankfully she didn't.

Katniss could feel her pulse beginning to race as Peeta's mouth brushed against hers. She was tempted to grab his face and make him kiss her, but she was afraid he might back off again so she let him take control of the kiss. Not an easy thing to do for her. She could feel the warmth of his breath against her skin with each passing of his lips. His fingers, which were entwined with hers, released their hold and slowly traveled back up her arm, slightly across the side of her plump breast finally resting lightly against her throat.

"Relax, Katniss," Peeta's voice sounded like a melody on a breeze. "You're so tense." He brushed her hair off of her shoulder. He ran his lips over her cheek…the edges of her lips…her jaw… Peeta knew why Katniss was getting so stressed. Why the woman that gave him a devilish grin after bringing him such pleasure was reverting into a timid girl. "Don't be afraid Katniss."

"I'm not afraid." When the words left her mouth she wasn't sure if she was saying them to convince Peeta or herself.

Peeta brushed the hair on his forehead against hers. "It's okay if you are, but you don't need to be. I'm just kissing you."

Katniss continued telling herself there was nothing to be afraid of. "Why would I be scared, Peeta?" Where his voice was soft, low and breathy, hers was even and conversational.

He honestly didn't know if he should tell her what was going through his head…if he should make her face her fears or if he should continue letting her live a life of delusion. Peeta opted for the truth. He ducked his head towards the side and trailed tender little pecks across her face, going from one side to the other, speaking between each kiss. "Because…you like…to be…in charge…of every…situation." His lips landed on hers. His eyes remained opened as he waited and watched for her response.

'Does he think I'm on some kind of power trip?' She thought to herself. "That's not true. I like it when…oh…" Peeta grazed his knuckles along the side of her breast.

He watched her lashes flutter close and let the back of his fingertips reach out, barely touching her already stiff nipple. "You like it when…what, Katniss?" He urged her to finish her statement while his lips crawled along her collarbone.

She couldn't think clearly anymore. Peeta was asking her something, but dear God she had no idea what it was. How was she expected to concentrate on anything when he kept teasing her this way? She gripped the sides of his head and began pressing his face downward towards her aching bosom.

Peeta lifted his head away from her and tenderly said, "No, Katniss."

"No?" Was he actually turning her away? "Don't you want me?"

He smiled down into her eyes and told her, "More than I want my next breath, but…I want you to let me do this for you, Katniss." There was a gentle pleading tone in his voice. "I know you want to control what's happening here, but I promise…if you give me a chance… All I want is for you to give yourself up to me." He swept the hair that started to cling to her cheeks away from her face. "In the past, you've allowed me to take the reins every now and then when it came to taking care of you, but only when you needed to." He confessed to her, "Katniss, you can't tell me you haven't known you were the one controlling this relationship…you've always had power over me."

Katniss let her eyes drift to the side at his words. She had loved relinquishing little bits of her life's worries over to Peeta , but only when it suited her. In the back of her mind she always knew she could put an end to that in a split second. He was right about their relationship too. She was the one that told him to propose to her on national television, she was the one that finally admitted she wanted to marry him and when she did, instead of planning something with him she set up a wedding without his knowledge expecting him to fall in line. "Peeta…it's not that I can't lose…let myself…" She looked at him as she tripped over her obvious falsehoods.

"No, Katniss…you can't," he laughed a little. "You have no idea how to let yourself go. How to put yourself in someone else's hands and simply enjoy the feeling of…" he sighed. "…freedom." Peeta began to run his lips against her jaw line. "I'm not complaining." He let out a hot breath next to her lips. "I love who you are." Another breath against her ear. "For the most part…it drives me wild." He pressed his arousal against her thigh as if proving his point. "But right now…" He flicked the tip of his tongue against her earlobe. "…I'm asking you to let yourself go." He took her chin into his mouth and gave it a little suck. "Let me set you free because I want you to. Not because you need me to." He swept his fingertips against the searing mound between her legs.

With every touch of his lips against her skin, every word that reached her ears, Katniss felt herself succumbing to Peeta's wish. Once she did, there would be no going back, she would no longer be the one in charge in their relationship. This moment, though she didn't know it at the time, would set the tone for their entire marriage. They would be equals on every level. Katniss lifted her eyes to Peeta's and felt her heart race at the sound of her own voice when she spoke in a husky tone, "Set me free, Peeta." She had expected him to plunge his tongue deep into her mouth, that's what she wanted; instead he tickled the tip of his against hers. Tantalizing her mouth into satisfying compliance. She could feel her jaw going slack as his fingers danced their way up and down her torso, spreading them out between her breasts, never touching her where she was burning to be touched. Her toes began curling and uncurling into the sheets. Her fingers doing the same.

Peeta noticed her little whimpers had disappeared. All the moans…tiny cries of pleasure that he'd heard so many times before, were no longer there. He studied her expression as his fingers mapped out her body beneath their blankets. Her eyes were tightly closed, her nostrils continually flaring and the way she was biting her lip made him think it would start bleeding at any minute. "Katniss," he whispered to her as his palm grazed the tense point of her right breast repeatedly. 'If anyone's going to bite your lip, it's going to be me,' he thought to himself. He flicked the tip of his tongue across the white spot her teeth were causing from clenching her lip between them. "Kiss me," he whispered to her.

The moment she released her lip a strangled cry reverberated through their bedroom, "Peeeetaaah."

He lapped at her tongue with his, slowly, deftly until their lips began to swell. He could feel her entire body squirming under the blankets; see her hands fighting to make their way towards her breasts. He rolled his body onto hers in an attempt to stop her from satisfying her own needs then ran both of his hands down her arms and grasped hers gently, pulling both of her arms above her head. He rested his forehead against hers. "Stay this way for me. Hang onto the headboard if you have to." He didn't want her to touch herself. More than that, he was too tempted to pull one of her hands between them so she could touch him once again.

Katniss gazed up into his eyes and nodded. Her mouth hung open occasionally brushing Peeta's as he spoke to her. She loved the sound of his voice. It sent shivers down her spine. "Peeta?" She didn't know if it was an odd request or not. At this point in time, she didn't particularly care. "Can you talk to me?"

Peeta's breathing had turned into deep, heated pants. "What do you want me to say?" He ground himself against her and ran his hands down her hips, lifting her up to him.

"Aaaaaa…anything." She flicked the tip of her tongue against his lips. "I want to…" jerky breaths had become the norm, "…hear your voice."

He ran the flat of his hand up her body and cupped the side of her breast. "My, God your skin is soft." he flicked his thumb over her taut nipple.

She ran her foot up and down his muscular calf. "Oh, God, Peeta." Her body was becoming flush with excitement. The weight of him pressing her into the mattress felt impossibly good. "Keep talking," she requested in a husky tone. The sound of his voice caused goose bumps to spread out across her skin and she couldn't get enough of it.

Peeta's eyes were glued to her when he told her, "I don't want to stop touching you." To prove it he ran one hand down around her waist and gripped her hip, the other concentrated on her soft breast with the turgid tip. "Whenever I touch you…" the air was getting thicker with each word he spoke between them, "…I go crazy." He ground his erection into her thigh and felt the muscles in her legs flex. "I can barely breathe, Katniss."

Her fingers dug into the pillow underneath her head, she wrapped both of her legs around his calves, tucking her feet beneath them and quaked as she felt the heat of his arousal being pressed against her causing a warm, tingling sensation to shoot between her legs.

Her nipples tightened into little pebbles at his desperate confession, "Katniss I want you so badly."

She had never, in all of her life, craved anything as much as she did the man on top of her. "I want you too."

Peeta's desire to bury himself deep within her grew out of control. There was nothing in this world he wanted more than to feel her feminine heat surround his pulsating member, but this wasn't about his needs. This was about her. This was about Katniss' needs. He lifted slightly off of her, moving his body downward in order to pull himself away. He dragged his moist lips across her throat, down her neck and over her shoulder. From the sounds that were escaping from Katniss and the puckered ends of her milky white mounds, he knew she was aching for him as much as he was for her. He bathed her soft padded flesh, circling her nipple, with his tongue then finally latching on as his fingers gently tugged at the other. The scent of her lavender bath soap was accentuated by her body's heat and filled him with a exhilarating awareness of how feminine Katniss could be when she allowed it. He quickly took both of her breasts in his hands, cupping them, brushing their tips with the pads of his thumbs. He sucked one into his mouth, leaving it moist and engorged then moved onto the other nipping at it with the edges of his teeth.

Katniss' entire body was wriggling beneath Peeta's with a longing she could no longer keep hold of. The feel of his hands…his mouth on her was causing her body to cry out. It was desperately in search of the answer to a mystery. She didn't know what the answer was but oh, how she wanted it. She pressed her feet flat against the mattress, arched her back, reached upwards, grabbing onto the headboard, threw her head back and called out his name, "Peeeetaaa!" as he pressed her breasts closer together…moving…darting his tongue over one than the other in rapid succession. "Peeta please? Please?" Katniss was begging him to end this magical torture.

Peeta could hear the drumming of her heart in succession with his. "Katniss…" his swollen lips captured hers. "I want to touch you," he spoke into her mouth, "but I don't know how." He kissed her again and felt her hips rising upwards. "Tell me, Katniss." His hand slowly traveled past her ribcage. "Tell me how to touch you…" He pressed his palm against her flat stomach. "…how to make you feel good." His fingers threaded through her downy patch and curved between her thighs.

The instant Peeta's hand reached their destination; Katniss threw her head to the side. She could barely breathe. The contradiction of the cool night air to the thick, dense current flowing between her and Peeta's faces, was striking. She could feel the tips of Peeta's fingers gliding up and down the outside of her slit, but she wanted him inside. She instantly understood why Peeta couldn't speak when their roles were reversed earlier. Katniss was certain her vocal chords had gone missing. She released the headboard that her fingers had been digging into, plunged her hand beneath the covers, causing one of her nipples to peek out as the blankets pulled slightly down, and wrapped her hand around Peeta's. She tucked his fingers inside of her and let out a strangled, "Aaaah," when he spread her slightly open.

Peeta stared down at Katniss, reveling in her pleasure. 'My God,' he thought. 'You're beautiful.' He could feel her attempt at trying to maneuver his hand, but she had come this far without taking over the situation and he was determined to keep it that way. "Move your hand, Katniss." His eyes darted downward glimpsed the rosy tip atop her white flesh. He was momentarily distracted by its beauty until he felt her pushing his fingers further into her so he pulled his hand away, captured hers and lifted it up to the headboard. The look of shock on her face brought a smile to his. Before she could say anything he flicked the tip of his tongue against the perfect breast that had been taunting him and let his hand travel back down between her legs. "Don't show me, Katniss." He breathed against her puckered skin. "Tell me." He spread her velvety folds open with two fingers and ran the middle one up and down listening to her reaction. When he reached the little nub and heard her whimper, felt her grind herself against his finger, he knew he had found a pleasure zone. 'There you go. Keep telling me,' he thought to himself as he explored her femininity. 'What else do you like, Katniss?' He studied her face, her hands, the pulse pounding at her throat as he pushed a finger inside of her. When she let go of the headboard and punched at the mattress, he thought, 'Okay, now we're getting somewhere.' He held his finger inside of her, taking in the liquid warmth that surrounded him. The silky smooth center of her body. He began to slide it out of her and noticed her shoulders shimmy against the bed. The corner of his lip lifted in a half grin. He pushed his finger inside of her and her body pushed back. 'I got it now,' he smiled down at her. In and out…in and out, he let his finger slide up her slit concentrating on that little nub again and Peeta's eyes dilated when he heard Katniss' words.

"Dear God, what am I letting you do to me?" She had never felt so wonderfully manipulated in her entire life. At that moment Peeta could have anything…do anything to her and she would've allowed it. She was putty in his hands.

Peeta could feel her heat radiating against the palm of his hand. He slipped another finger between her swollen folds, captured one of her pink peaks with his lips…sucking it deep inside of his mouth and felt her lips pressing hard atop of his head.

Katniss was desperate to grasp hold of him and press his face harder against her wanting breasts. She fought to keep her hands off of him like he had asked. The need to throw him onto his back and feel him deep inside of her was more than she could stand, but she battled the desperation to manage the situation and allowed him to take her on his journey. It was as though he was leading her to a cliff and left her teetering at the edge of it. The question was, which way would she go? Would she fall with him or would she take the safe path…go her own way?

He could hear her gasp for air as he moved his lips to her other breast and gently squeezed that little nub between her moist crease. He knew this was the spot that would take her where he wanted her to go. His fingers manipulated it as his mouth took turns between her lips and her breasts. He could feel his own desire burning for her. He pressed himself against her leg with the intention of relieving some of his tension only to find out that the warmth of her thigh, the softness of her flesh against his was just as erotic as the touch of her hand. "Oh, God." The words escaped from him between frantic tries for air. He pushed his fingers inside of her, pulled them out, and ran them over her swelling clit, then back inside again.

"Yes, Peeta! Yes!" Katniss began pumping her hips up and down against his hand out of pure animal instinct. She grabbed hold of his face and begged him to, "Kiss me. Please, Peeta." She barely got his name out before his mouth was devouring hers. His tongue plunging…swirling…dipping. His fingers between her legs, pushing…pumping…teasing. She could feel him moving his digits in and out of her, but she wanted it all so she asked, "Can you…" air was suddenly a luxury, "…can you rub that spot at the same time?" Oh, how she hoped he could.

Peeta looked into her smoky eyes and watched her as he turned the palm of his hand upward, leaving his fingers inside of her and began maneuvering his thumb over her aching desire. "Like this?" He asked, knowing full well that's what she wanted. He could feel her fingers digging into his scalp as he rested his forehead against hers. His nose was brushing up against her nose. Their lips a hair apart. The rhythm of his hand became a graceful dance between her thighs. His fingers gliding in and out, his thumb had suddenly become the paintbrush and she his canvas.

Katniss was standing on a precipice. There was a choice to be made. She could follow her instincts as she had her entire life or take Peeta's journey into the great unknown. Her toes dangled on the edge of the cliff Peeta had brought her to with the safe, flat earth at her back and Peeta's unknown below her.

He could feel the walls of her tightening around him. He needed to watch her. To see what she had seen when she did this for him. "Open your eyes, Katniss. Look at me." Shimmering silver eyes met sky blue ones. "I love you, Katniss Mellark. I love you."

She had expected to fall over the edge instead she was lifted to a place she never dreamed existed. Katniss moved her lips as she let herself soar into the safe, secure arms of the man who spent his life adoring her.

Peeta watched as her body convulsed. Felt her legs tremble, her hips rise up and up, pressing him harder against her flesh. He saw her lips move, forming the words, "I love you," as her orgasm took over her entire body. It was the most remarkable thing he had ever experienced in his life.

She was slowly floating down from her high, never quite touching the ground. There was more to be had, more that she needed from him and from the look on Peeta's face he needed her too. Katniss slowly nodded her head, granting permission to his unasked question. She could feel the rigid evidence of his desire sliding up her leg then resting between her thighs against her feathery patch. The feeling of emptiness that consumed Katniss, when Peeta's fingers left her body shook her to her very core. She could feel him gently moving one of her thighs to the right. The other to the left. Leaving her ready and anxiously awaiting his entrance.

Peeta held himself just at her opening; common sense invaded his wanton thoughts. "Katniss, I don't want to get you pregnant." He couldn't. The thought of their child going into the arena was almost enough to make him swear off love making for the rest of his life…almost. He slid the tip of his aching manhood between her silken folds. The electrical sensations that ran through his body had him quaking from head to toe. He rested his forehead against hers as he pushed deeper inside of her. "Please don't get pregnant," he begged no one in particular as he slid all the way in.

Katniss could hear what he was saying, she knew what to do, but the words weren't coming. "Peet…aaah…aaah…" she dug her fingers into his upper arms as he held himself inside of her. There should've been pain, but there wasn't. Perhaps her vigorous lifestyle, her many scrapes, falls, even the physical damage she went through in the arena could've rid her body of the thin membrane that should've prevented his easy entrance. She didn't care why it was gone, she was simply grateful the pain she knew would come with her first time, wasn't tainting the overwhelming pleasure of it. The feeling of him sliding almost all the way out of her, then back in again was causing her whole body to ripple with delight. When he pushed down, she met him with her eager thrust. When he pulled away, she pulled too. She didn't know where the words came from, but they spilled out of her, "Don't finish inside of me. You have to take it out."

Peeta gripped both of her hips and pulled them up to meet his. He held her there softly grinding himself inside of her. He swallowed hard. "You won't get pregnant? Will that work?" At this point he didn't care if it worked or not.

"I don't know…I think so." She really didn't give a shit if it did or didn't. All she was concerned with was the way he made her feel at that moment in time. She ran her hands down his back and rested them against the apples of his buttocks, encouraging him to push himself deeper into her.

"Katniss," he whispered her name hoarsely as he plunged a hand through her hair and took her mouth on a wicked journey. When he felt her legs wrap around him he reached down and grabbed hold of one of her thighs…squeezing…pulling as his body moved back and forth in time with hers.

Katniss ran her hands up the sides of his body. She could feel the muscles in his back flexing over and over again. She scraped her nails over his shoulder blades then held on as he sank deep inside of her. She felt like she was experiencing the worst pain of her life, but it was like no other pain she had felt before. She wanted this…craved it…her desperate need for more had her begging for it. "Please! Dear God! Peeta!" She had never hurt so good.

In one swift move he rolled them onto their sides so they could face each other, never breaking their intimate connection. Their arms wrapped around the other's body, their mouths a fiery storm of lips, tongues and teeth. He could feel the perspiration that had built up on their stomachs as their torsos fought to get closer…melting into each other. Then he felt her swell all around him. He could feel her muscles contracting and a rush of fluid pouring down around him with each of their loving strokes. She moaned into his mouth as her body twitched and jerked. He ripped his mouth away from hers. "I love you…love you."

Katniss felt like the most intimate part of her body was letting out a high pitched squeal. She knew now that this was what she had been yearning for. This feeling of completion. She squeezed her legs and ground herself against Peeta, wanting to take as much as he was willing to give. When she was sure it was almost over she heard his profession of love and it started all over again. The muscles in her lower abdomen tightly clenched. The sweet swelling of her femininity…a liquid rush…the strong spasms concentrated on the center of her being. "I love you, Peeta," it came out over and over again through her heated breath. She could feel him getting larger, the sense of being full quickly flashed through her mind. She heard him as he grunted…felt his fingers clawing at her bottom…trying to get deeper into her. She could see his once blond hair, now dark and stuck to his forehead from the sweat that had broken out across his brow. Her breath caught in her chest when his eyes bore into hers.

Peeta clenched his teeth. The thought of ripping himself from her at this moment was unbearable.

Katniss couldn't stand the thought of him leaving her. She wanted him to stay inside of her…to feel what she had felt.

Peeta pulled himself out at the last possible moment and spilled himself onto their stomachs. He threw his head back and let out a throaty moan.

Katniss held onto him, pressed herself against him as she felt the heat of his orgasm flowing between their bodies. She understood now. She understood how the people in the districts, that were threatened by starvation…by the threat of the Games… by the power of the Capitol… Katniss now knew why these people allowed themselves to have a child. 'And God forgive me,' she thought to herself. 'I'm one of them.'

They lay on their sides, taking in deep swallows of the cool air that surrounded them. As their hearts and pulses returned to normal they began thinking about what they had just done.

"You okay?" Peeta pushed a piece of her hair behind her ear.

"Yeah," Katniss answered in a positive way, but truthfully she wasn't sure if she was okay or not. Her eyes drifted towards their bedroom window, staring at the moon through the sheer fabric that hung over the large picturesque glass.

"What's going through your head, Katniss?" Peeta could tell she had something on her mind. He only hoped she didn't have any regrets about their actions, or worse yet, marrying him.

She looked at the twinkling stars, the dark sky and thought about the thousands of starving children in their country that would have their lives put in danger for the Capitol's entertainment in just a few short months. "We can't have kids, Peeta."

He swallowed the regret that instantly formed in his throat and said, "I know." He hoped with all his might they didn't make a mistake tonight. "We probably shouldn't have done that, huh?"

Katniss turned her head slowly towards his and said, "Don't say that." She ran her hand down his cheek and rested it against his chest. "I'm in no way sorry for what we just did…at all," she gave him a tender, loving smile. "That was incredible, but…I will admit…" she sighed, "…during…I honestly didn't care one way or the other whether or not I got pregnant and…" she turned her head into the pillow to hide her shame.

"I get it," he placed a kiss against her head. "I felt the same way." He held onto her, watching the shadows play against the wall. "The first year I stood in the square for the reaping, I wondered how anyone could have a kid. I didn't get it." She lifted her face to his. "I do now though. I'm not saying I want one…but I understand how it can happen."

"We have to figure something out, Peeta. Talk to Effie…Portia…someone." She hated the fact that the Capitol outlawed birth control in the districts under the guise that they were trying to keep up the population of the nation, when everyone knew it was a form of punishment for the rebellion that occurred so many years ago.

"What about your mom?" Peeta asked. "Can't she help?"

Katniss shook her head. "The herbs and roots she would've given to me are in the woods and now that the fence is on…" She didn't have to finish her sentence.

"Oh…" Peeta let out a sigh. "Should we…I mean…maybe we shouldn't…" He didn't even want to suggest that they not express their love for one another again.

"What?" Katniss smiled up at him. "Shouldn't do this again?" She let out a little laugh. "Yeah…like that's going to happen."

Peeta chuckled a little and said, "Okay. Dumb idea." He thought for a few minutes then asked, "Do you think…I mean…the way we did it…will that work? Think it'll prevent you from getting pregnant?"

Katniss lifted a one of her shoulders and said, "My mom talked to me about it last week. She said one season when the woods were too dangerous to enter and they didn't have access to any herbs or roots that's what she and my dad did." Katniss gave Peeta a blank stare and said, "Needless to say…it was an awkward conversation."

Peeta let out a little laugh and said, "Well, at least we know it worked."

Katniss played with the ends of Peeta's hair, curling it around her finger and said, "It did for the majority of the year and then…" she sighed, "…Prim."

"Oh," Peeta let his eyes travel to the side. He began letting his mind race. 'The next time you see Effie you better talk to her and see about getting her to sneak you some type of birth control for Katniss. She'll do it. Effie will do anything to help us.'

They lay there quietly for several minutes before Katniss finally said, "Know what? I'm tired of acting like we just killed someone because we made love to each other on our wedding night." She kissed his chin and said, "Personally, I'm feeling pretty content right now…starving, but content."

"You're hungry?" He smiled at her.

"Yup. So why don't you get me something to wear and we can go eat that food mom and Prim brought us?"

He got up and this time she didn't divert her eyes as he walked to his dresser and pulled out a pair of his pajamas. He pulled on the bottoms and threw the shirt to her. "Here. I'll use the downstairs bathroom to clean up. You can use this one."

She went into their bathroom to freshen up then met him at their kitchen table for their first meal together as husband and wife. It was cold, the floor and table was a bit sticky from the spilt grape juice, but the food was scrumptious. Peeta made her a cup of mint tea, spoon fed her some lemon tart, but she preferred eating it directly from his fingers. Katniss had never known food could be used as a form of foreplay before.

When they were through Peeta carried Katniss up to bed and held her as she fell asleep. He watched her sleep, then gathered the papers the mayor had left with them earlier. Peeta hid them amongst something in the spare bedroom he used as an art studio. He had gotten engrossed in one of the portraits he had painted while they were on their Victory Tour.

"Peeta?" The sound of Katniss' voice pulled him from his memories.

"Hey," he went to her and held her hands in his. "Did you have a nightmare?"

"No," she shook her head. "I rolled over and you weren't there," she paused. "Did you have a nightmare?"

Peeta's heart felt like it was overflowing with jubilation. "No," he threaded his fingers through her hair and stepped closer to her. "But I'm pretty sure I'm dreaming." He had to be. "Katniss? Did yesterday really happen?"

She placed her palms against his chest and lifted her face to his. "Yeah. It did." She said it as though she couldn't believe it herself. "You're my husband."

"My wife," Peeta kissed her. "Mrs. Katniss Mellark," he breathed against her lips and felt her whole body shudder.

"Say it again," she whispered hoarsely. Originally she hadn't wanted to take his name until she heard her new name rolling off of his tongue. The sound of it did wondrous things to her insides.

Peeta smiled before kissing her once more. He whispered into her mouth, "Mrs. Katniss Mellark." He heard her whimper and felt her fingers digging into his skin. He pulled her face away from his and stared into her stormy eyes, "I love you, Mrs. Katniss Mellark."

"Prove it," she whispered against his lips.

And their wedding night continued on.