A/N: I almost never do two chapters in one day but since these are pretty short chapters, I thought I'd make an exception. Enjoy! WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SLIGHT VIOLENCE AND SEXUALITY.
Beauty and The Brute: Chapter One
He was sprinting through the forest, leaves and branches whipping his exposed flesh as he ran. His weapon was held firmly in his right palm and the blood of the other tributes stained the sharp blade. They were gone now. All accept one. The Girl on Fire.
She skipped ahead of him through the trees, fearlessly dancing away from the tip of his blade. With each dodge, she laughed spitefully in his face, taunting him with her scathing grin. The girl was always just out of his reach. But Cato was not a quitter. He wouldn't stop until her blood stained his hands.
The soil grew dark and oily under his feet, which he meant that they were encroaching upon a river. His prey would be trapped, cornered with no escape. He peeled back a layer of leaves and followed her into a large clearing, eagerly anticipating the moment his blade would pierce her flesh. An unexpected sight met his eyes. Fire Girl stood waist deep in the river, every inch of her olive skin exposed. She wasn't malnourished, like the tributes from her district usually were. Cato couldn't keep his eyes from travelling down her lithe, muscular frame. She delicately lifted her palm and beckoned him forward.
A strange sensation came over his body as Cato instinctively moved forward into the creek. His mind was screaming for him to kill her, but his body would not comply. He slowly stepped into the icy waters of the stream, stopping only once her body was against his and they were wrapped up in each other. She wrapped her bare legs around his waist and began to plant kisses along his strong jaw. He groaned in satisfaction and pulled her tightly against him so that her body was molded into his.
She pressed her lips against his ear and, in a voice that could only belong to an angel, whispered, "I win."
"What?" he panted coarsely, too perplexed by the euphoria spreading through his body. He had been with many woman before but none had provoked this much desire.
"I win," she repeated boastingly. As her voice echoed in his ear, a sharp, searing pain coursed through him. Blood poured from every vein in his body and Katniss bathed in it, shrieking madly with laughter as he bled out into the river…
"CATO!"
Cato jerked awake, dripping in sweat. Clove, looking far too innocent in a frilly Capitol nightgown, stood above him with a devious smirk plastered across her face. Sometimes, he really wished he could beat some sense into that girl. Of course, the game makers would have none of that before they stepped foot in the arena. He groaned, turning and pressing his face into his pillow so he wouldn't have to face his smug friend.
"Having a pleasant dream, Cato?" Clove asked in a sing song voice.
"Fuck off," He snarled, annoyance obvious in his tone, "Or I'll-"
"You'll what?" Clove continued, hovering dangerously close to his face, "Throw a pillow at me?" she giggled madly at her own joke, "That's the most you can do without getting thrown out of the Games. And then you would miss out on your chance to face your precious Katniss in the arena-"
He narrowed his eyes at Clove, a glare any sensible person would tremble under. Clove simple responded with a sickly sweet grin. "What are you going on about?"
"Cut the bull shit, Cato," Clove said with an eye roll, "I heard you moaning that bitch's name not two seconds ago."
His reply was quick and almost too defensive, "Only because I want to see the life leave her pathetic eyes when I kill her." At least, that's what he thought he wanted before Katniss Everdeen had chosen to appear in his dreams.
"Right," Clove retorted sarcastically, "I think your-umm, little friend down there disagrees with you-" slyly glancing below his waist, where his "little friend" stood proudly just under the sheets.
"Look Cato," she continued, before he could intercede, "I don't care what lust you have for that District Twelve rat. Do what you need to do. Fuck her, for all I care. Just don't let it negatively affect our game in the Arena. Or I swear, I'll kill her before you even get the chance." She pecked him affectionately on the cheek and danced out of the room before he had the chance to swat her away.
As the door closed behind her, he thought about what she had said. Clove was right, as usual. That didn't surprise him. He had always been the brawn of their duo, just as she had always been the brain. And her words over his lust for the district twelve tribute haunted him. Ever since that moment when he first saw her on the streets of the Capitol, Katniss Everdeen had swarmed through Cato's mind like an annoying bug. But all bugs could be squashed and as sure as he would win the Hunger Games, Cato would squash Katniss.
The twitch below his waist gave him an exasperating reminder of the girl on fire. No matter, he could easily take care of it by himself. Especially with the images from his dream still in mind.