Note from Author: Hey guys! Thanks for all the reviews and subscriptions. I just wanted to let you know that there is some Lemon in this chapter. Quite a bit, actually. So if you'd like to skip that I promise I won't be offended. Otherwise I'd love more reviews, this is my first time writing this sort of thing, and feedback would be lovely. :D Thanks a bunch, enjoy!
Alice looks positively precious up on stage, her light brown hair in thick curls framing her face and a dress of pale blue flowing around her. Her makeup is minimal, and yet she looks like a china doll. The audience ooh'es and ahh'es as she speaks, laughing and clapping whenever she blushes or does something cute. I am so impressed by her performance, so astonished. She has the audience in the palm of her little hands, and I see people writing down her name and District as her Interview draws to a close. Just as she is about to walk away she hugs Caesar and blow a kiss to the audience, and I see several people try to catch it, just as they had with my kisses. They were so predictable, it is almost comforting.
When it finally comes time for Darren I sit forward in my seat, my hands up to cover my lips and jaw. It is then that I turned sideways to see my face has come up on the screen, with a wide shot of my hand and the glittering diamond on it. Almost everyone in the audience gasps, begging to know what it is and who has given it to me. They murmur and called out, and Caesar has a hard time reeling them back in. I curse under my breath, would they even remember how sweet and cute Alice had been now? I look sideways at Cinna, and I almost wish I hadn't. There is a look of pure horror on his face, though most would not notice it is there at all.
Cinna always has such great control of his features that he almost seems emotionless at times, but I can see it in his eyes, in the tight set of his jaw. He is staring at my ring, and his face has drained of all color. His hands gripped his armrest so hard his knuckles turn white. I look away in shame, we would have to talk about this tonight. There would be no way around it. I had hoped to be able to tell him what was happening before he saw it, there had been no time before now. "So Darren," Caesar says loudly, finally getting the audience under control. I send Cinna one last sideways glance and this time his eyes are locked on mine, and I've never seen such pain in a pair of eyes before. I have to look away before I break down.
"How did your family react to your name being reaped?" I glare at Caesar, what kind of question is that? Still Darren hardly shifts in his seat.
"Well, my father died when I was young," the audience sighs. "And my mother died of fever last year." At this they all seem to slump back in their chair.
"So you have no one at home waving around little 'Darren' banners right now?" I sit back in my seat and grin, I could not have planned it better myself.
"Oh, I do." He says with a grin, and I can't help but wonder where that look came from.
"Grandparents?"
"Nope."
"Aunts and Uncles?"
"Nope."
"Ah, so a girlfriend." Caesar says, and Darren nods. "What's her name?"
"Emmi." He says, and the love in his voice shocks me. He says her name so gently, so delicately; you could hardly believe a man as big and intimidating as Darren could break a heart with a word like that.
"Ah, pretty?" Caesar elbows him playfully, and Darren smiles and looks down.
"Especially now." He replied, and before Caesar has a chance to ask why that is Darren looks up at the audience. "She'll be giving birth to our little girl next month." And the audience breaks into a frenzy. Nothing like this has ever happened before. We've never had a pregnant tribute or a male tribute with a girl back home expecting. Caesar stumbles for a moment, another thing I've never known to happen.
"She's… she's pregnant?" Caesar asks, and Darren nods.
"Eight months." He says and reaches into his pocket. "Want to see a picture of her?" The audience yells its approval, and Darren holds a small black and white picture up for the cameras to see, and I hold my breath. She's gorgeous. Tall and curvy with long light hair that hangs straight around her waist. She's not eight months pregnant in the picture but she is showing. Darren is looking down at her as if she is the whole world.
"Wow." Caesar breathes out. "She's beautiful." Darren nods and puts the picture back in his pocket.
"And Ashley is going to be even prettier. That's the name we've chosen, Ashley." The audience mimics the name, breathing life into it. "Before I left I promised her, Ashley, that I would win, that I would come home. I never knew my father, he died a few months after my mom found out she was pregnant." He shakes his head. "That won't happen to Ashley, she will know her father. She will know how much he… how much I love her." There isn't a single dry eye in the audience, and I have my hand over my heart. How could anyone in the room remember my ring, let alone the other tributes, in the wake of the bomb Darren just dropped? They didn't stand a chance. Suddenly the buzzer went off, and it took Caesar a moment to compose himself.
"Well Darren, I think I speak for all of us when I say we hope you do get home to that little girl of yours." He shakes Darren's hand, and the Tributes stand and the Anthem plays and the cameras come out. Before they can get another picture of me I usher my Tributes away from the stage, back to our quarters, and into their beds. I know what tonight will be like to them. They will not get a wink of sleep, not an ounce. They will sit on their beds, or pace their room, and try to make sense of what will happen to them. It's the worst night by far; even the nights in the Arena are not as bad as the night before. Well, assuming they both make it till night fall tomorrow.
When I finally make it to my room I find that Cinna is already waiting for me, and I can't even fathom how he beat me. I rub the sides of my arms, looking down at my feet, very aware that my ring is facing him. "I don't know where Darren pulled all of that from." I whisper, in a way of breaking the tangible tension in the room. "He really-"
"Who, Kat?" Cinna asks, and I curl in on myself a bit more. "Who?"
"I…" I start, looking everywhere but him. "I don't know." When I raise my eyes to look at him he is leaning against the window frame, biting his knuckle.
"How… how long have you known?" He places his hands on his hips.
"President Snow came right before the interview." I answer flatly, and Cinna breaks for a moment, laughing manically. He fists his hands in his hair and turns away from me.
"And he told you, what? That you were getting married?" There is spite in his voice, and I know what he's thinking. He's thinking I've known about this, that I've been using him. I take a few steps closer to him but he holds up his hand and I stop.
"He said… I have duties as a victor." I mutter. "He… he sold me, Cinna. He sold me!" Cinna looks up at me slowly, and I can't place the look in his eyes. Anger, jealousy, hatred, fear, and desperation all rolled into one. I tighten my arms around me.
"When?" He looks back out the window, his hands braced on the window frame. I shuffle my feet nervously.
"At the end of the Victor's Tour." He hangs his head, and I can see that his body is shaking with the effort he is using to keep his control.
"No." He says as he shakes his head, turning to look at me. "No."
"Cinna." I whisper. "President Snow-" He crosses the room and captures my face in his hands.
"I said no!" He whispers intensely. "No, I will not watch you marry another man. A stranger that you don't even know." His hands go to the back of my head and press my forehead to his. "No." I knot my hands in the front of his shirt and pull him closer.
"How can we stop it?" I ask, and he sighs.
"Marry me, Kat." He sighs. "Then the Capitol gets their wedding, you haven't come out and said who he is-"
"Are you crazy?" I hiss. "And anger Snow to the point where Prim's name might just be slipped into the bowl a couple hundred times? Maybe every slip will have her name on it!" I grip him tightly but I shake my head. "There's got to be another way." I can see it now, running off and marrying Cinna tonight. Snow would lose however much money the man had paid him for me, and then what would happen? He couldn't hurt me, not when the public loves me like they do, but that doesn't mean Prim and my mother are off limits. I can't allow them to get hurt, not because of me.
"We have to… I can't… Kat, I can't lose you." He meets my eyes, and I don't understand how eyes can be that green. Greener than any tree I had ever seen in the forest, greener than any blade of grass, with flecks like sun drops.
"You won't." I lick my lips. "You won't, lose me. Not ever." He dips his head down and presses his lips against mine, and what I know he had meant it to be a short sweet kiss, but it was like adding gasoline to a fire. His lips taste of tears, and his cheeks are wet where they touched mine. There is an urgency in his kiss, a thirst for something deeper than I can give him. Still, I respond with everything I can muster, all the passion and love I have inside of me. It might not be enough, but it's something. He might not have been able to have me forever, despite my reassurances, but he can have me tonight, and as many nights as we can steal between now and my wedding. I wrapped my arms around his neck as his deft hands untie the laces on the back of my dress. I allow it to fall and pool around my feet, a cloud of yellow fabric. His hands are everywhere at once, running down my back, over my arms, cupping my breasts, pulling me towards my bed.
I pull his jacket down and begin unbuttoning the tiny buttons of his black silk shirt, tearing the last button off when I become too frustrated. He takes his hands off me for just long enough to get the sleeves off his hands before his lips come crashing down on mine. He captures my lower lip between his teeth and I let out a soft moan, he grabs my hips and pulls me against him as I fumble with his belt buckle. Why does he always have to wear such complicated things? After a few more moments of clumsy fumbling he laughs softly and undoes it with one swift movement, allowing his pants and undershorts to fall to the ground at the foot of my bed. I try to think of something witty to say but he silences me with his lips once more. I revel in the feeling of our skin touching, the warmth of him against me. He hooks one arm under me and lifts me onto the bed, laying me on my back before crawling ontop of me.
His lips trail down from mine across my chin and jaw, finding all the places on my neck clumsy first times had revealed to be my favorite. While he supports himself on one elbow he uses his other hand to explore my body, and every time he does this it is as if it is the first, with all the wonder and excitement of first lovers. His fingers trail gently down the curve of my breast, stroking the soft flesh before closing in on the rosy peak. They pinch and tickle and tease and all the while I feel a fire light within me. With a grin he lifts his head from my neck and brings it down on my nipple, taking it into his mouth gently before nibbling on it, his tongue flickering across it as his hand kneads my other breast. I gasp; my back arching as he catches it between his teeth and pulls gently before allowing it to fall back into place. "Cinna…" I gasp huskily, and he covers my mouth with his.
"It's me." He says breathlessly. "It's me you're supposed to marry. Not some man who's in love with the public image of you." His hand drifts down from my breast across my stomach, and I feel myself tighten with anticipation. I know what is coming next, and I feel myself knotting.
"You don't have to convince me." I press my head back into the bed as his fingers thread through the soft curls, teasingly skipping my core to stroke my inner thigh.
"I'm the one who loves you." He adds, his eyes meeting mine. "You are the world to me." As he says it his finger flutters over my opening, and I groan. His finger strokes the small nerved filled bud and I jerk slightly. His eyes fill with a mixture of mischief and desire. He buries his face in my hair as his hardness presses against my leg. I angle my hips up towards him as he slips a finger inside of me, and my nails dig into his shoulders. "Tell me what you want, Katniss." He says airily, and my head is swimming.
"You." He pulls away slightly, his eyes meeting mine. "Forever. Just you." I add, and for a moment it is as if he forgets his desire, for pure love floods his eyes and I can't help but feel my heart jump in my chest.
"You already have me." He uses the hand that is not driving me mad to brush my hair back. "Always." I lift my head and press my lips to his, and he hums. His fingers, so adept at sewing and creating now massage me with such fervency that I feel the tension growing stronger and stronger within me. I squirm as his thumb finds my bud once more, rubbing it gently as his fingers slip in and out. "Say it again, Kat."
I wrap my arms around his shoulders as I feel the fire consume me until I really am on fire. "I want you, forever." I whimper, and he chuckles throatily. He presses deeper, and I come undone. I arch my back as waves of pleasure roll over me, and Cinna bites into my neck. I gasp and murmur his name, threading my hands in his hair until the throws finally calm down, leaving my tingling and wanting more. He shifts himself slightly, positioning himself just outside of me.
"I love you," he positions his elbows on either side of my head. "I would risk everything for you." He kisses the tip of my nose, and I giggle.
"So would I." With that he slides himself into me, he hisses and I see stars. Still sensitive from moments before I feel every press against me, every inch of us rubbing together.
"God, Kat." He grunts as he kisses my cheek, his hips moving against mine. "You're so beautiful." He presses his lips against mine as he moves within me, and I let out a soft moan. He hides his face in my hair as he thrust, whispering sweet nothings into my hair as I feel the tension growing once more. I run my finger nails down his back as he picks up pace, digging himself deeper into me.
"Cinna." I moan, and he grabs a fistful of my hair. "Oh, Cinna. I'm-"
"Let me hear you sing, Katniss." He whispers as he pulls my hair, and I come. Knowing just how thick the walls around us really helps, and over the years I've perfected just how loud I can be without being discovered. I cry out softly, pressing myself into him as I tighten around him. This little extra sensation pushes him over the edge, for soon his cries are mingling with mine, and when he finally stops we are both breathless and covered in a light sheen of sweat.
Cinna drops onto the bed beside me, his eyes fever bright and his smile even brighter. "I love you." He says again, and I turn to face him.
"I know, Cinna." I say as I cup his face. He takes my hand and presses it to his lips, holding it there for a long time.
"We'll think of something." He sighs as he pulls me against his chest, holding me tightly in the cool darkness. "He won't take you away from me." He says firmly, and I nod.
"He can't." I add, though I know President Snow has the power to do just that. If he wanted to he could pull me from Cinna and I would never see him again. I grip him in the darkness, no, that will not happen. If I were to lose Cinna, I shudder, I can't even imagine something that horrible. Cinna wiggles slightly before throwing the blanket over us, pressing his lips to my forehead once more.
"Sleep, Kat. Tomorrow the Games begin." I can hear in his voice that he is drifting off. I open my eyes and the sight before me causes me heart to tighten. The diamond ring on my finger shines in the pale moon light mockingly. I grip the blankets and hold onto him.
"Yes, they do." I say before closing my eyes, knowing that like my Tributes I will probably get no sleep tonight either.