Chapter 25: Girl On Fire

Even though our steamy mood had been broken by our intruders, the ride home in Peeta's truck was still so electrically charged it made the hair on my neck stand on end. I kept sneaking little glances at him as he drove, barely resisting the urge to jump him the minute he pulled up to a stoplight. He was grinning from ear to ear as he always did after we kissed or groped or did something else fun. I almost laughed; it was a good thing we weren't teenagers. Someone like Peeta would have a heck of a time acting innocent after barely getting caught by his parents. He was grinning happily as he drove, his black hat pushing his blonde curls over his forehead. His cheeks were a ruddy shade of pink from the cold, and his tongue kept darting out to lick his slightly chapped lips that had felt so perfect against mine.

He noticed me staring at him and it made him smile even bigger.

"The tree will look nice babe. You picked a good one," he said, patting my hand.

I slid over closer to him on the seat so that our thighs were touching. "You helped pick it out," I said innocently.

He nodded, his eyes flashing back to the road. The car behind us honked for him to speed up, which he did with a snort. "Sorry, sorry," he muttered under his breath.

My skin pricked anxiously as I chewed my bottom lip. His mouth on my neck had felt utterly sinful and delicious. His weight pinning me to the snow had felt strangely comforting and familiar. I had barely been able to feel the cold beneath my back as his warm hands had run up my shirt and down into my pants. I squeezed my legs together and almost bit through the soft flesh of my lip as I remembered our near tryst in the snow just minutes before. My body was still completely charged and turned on and ready for action. I wanted more.

"It's a perfect tree for our first Christmas."

"Agreed."

"I'll never forget going to the Christmas tree farm to pick it out," I said knowingly.

Peeta's cheeks got a little redder. "Me either," he replied with a smirk.

I tried my best not to laugh later that night as Peeta sat on the floor, his blonde brows furrowed as he struggled to untangle a giant ball of Christmas lights. Our new, freshly scented tree was up in front of the large windows, standing proudly yet pathetically bare. The entire loft smelled like wintery pine and it seemed like it was ushering in the Christmas season for us. The tree would be a reminder of our turning point in the woods.

I was guessing it would stay bare for another couple of hours before Peeta got the lights untangled. I snickered to myself as I heard him cuss under his breath and heave a sigh.

"I don't think I'm making any progress," he said finally, tossing one measly strand to the side. "When I pack these up again this year after Christmas, please smack me to remind me how much work this was. Never again…never again am I putting myself through this."

"I won't smack you, but I'll remind you," I snickered as I wound a strand of garland around the railing leading up to the loft. Peeta cracked his back below and growled to himself as he continued struggling with the lights.

"Do you think we should just go out and buy all new ones?"

"Do you want some help?" I laughed.

I padded back down the steps and stood behind him to admire the tree. It was nearly ten feet tall and the most gorgeous thing I'd ever seen. After the mood in the woods had been sufficiently squandered by the intruders, I had watched Peeta chop it down with skill. Lumberjack Peeta was definitely something I was adding to my mental list of naughty thoughts for the shower. I'd have to take one later, I thought. It took us twenty minutes to drag it back to his truck and tack it securely to the bed, but it was worth it. Reaching my hand out, I ran my fingers over the branches and smiled.

"It's so beautiful," I sighed.

Peeta rolled his eyes for what I'm sure was the first time ever and gave me a pleading look. "It will be prettier with lights," he added hopefully.

"Fine," I laughed, moving over to sit beside him. He was right. The sun was quickly setting and I'd hoped to at least have some lights on the tree by dark. I was looking forward to gazing at the tree with Peeta and a glass of wine later, so I sat down and quickly got to untangling. Working together, we soon unraveled six of the longest strands of lights I'd ever seen. With the help of a ladder and the edge of Peeta's drawing desk, we were finally able to get the lights on the tree.

"I say we do the rest tomorrow. I'm tired," he laughed, flopping down on the couch.

"Fine," I laughed, flipping off the rest of the lights. Even without garlands, ornaments and bows the tree looked like something magical. It stretched up past the tall loft's windows, the full branches taking up almost the entire corner. I was still sore from helping Peeta drag it to the truck, but seeing it now made it worth it. The only light in the large living room was coming from the soft, white lights of the tree. I sighed in contentment and gazed up at it.

"So pretty," he mused, leaning back against the cushions. His hair was still wet from his shower, and that reminded me that I needed one. I didn't exactly want to smell like a sweaty forest if we did happen to pick up where we left off earlier.

"Alright. It's shower time for me. I'll be back so we can continue out Christmas movie marathon, yeah?" I asked, leaning down to put my face dangerously near his. I could still smell the lingering scent of sugar cookie on his breath. Silly goose thought he was sneaking them behind my back in the kitchen earlier.

Peeta grinned impishly. "Deal."

I leaned forward and kissed him, swiping my tongue out to enjoy the traces of sugar on his tongue. Damn, I love how obsessed this man was with sweets. He almost always smelled like heaven and tasted like sugar. I broke away, returning the smile and laughing at his suddenly hazy eyes.

"Hurry back," he managed to mumble. He grinned at the TV and shook his head like a cartoon character as I walked away. "Definitely hurry," he added.

I tossed him a sultry look over my shoulder and hurried up the steps.

Suddenly, I had to stop. My vision grew a little hazy and seemed to grow fuzzy at the edges. A strange sensation settled over me as if I had been there before.

Of course you've been here before. This is your house, my brain chided me.

But…it felt far more familiar than it had been the past few weeks. I gripped the handle of the railing and froze, willing my brain to cling to the feeling. This felt accustomed and normal suddenly. I looked around, pushing my feet up the last step. I stood in the middle of the bedroom I shared with Peeta as my vision continued to shake and blur. It was like déjà vu but more.

And then it was gone.

I gulped audibly and looked around, suddenly very confused. For a brief second I felt…normal.

I felt like myself and not an imposter.

But it was gone. I thought of retracing my steps to trigger it again, but figured it was probably useless.

"What the heck was that?" I murmured to myself as I grabbed my robe. My hands shook slightly as I peeled off my clothes, glancing through the open bathroom door to the top of the steps. Was there some sort of memory porthole in that spot? What had made my memory flash back to normal like that? I made a note to tell Cinna about it at my appointment next week. I had another check up with him and Effie both next week, so maybe I would bring it up then. Either way, I felt fine. I didn't want it to ruin the night I had planned with Peeta.

I jumped in the shower and lathered up, even opting to shave my legs. With things progressing between me and Peeta, I wanted to be prepared. Just in case.

But even though my excitement and thoughts of Lumberjack Peeta, my stupid brain kept going back to think about my strange little memory trip. It was all I could think about as I washed and conditioned my hair. What had that meant? Cinna had explained that the brain didn't heal like any other part of the body and he couldn't predict how or when my memory would come back to me. Were flashes all I would get?

I toweled off and stared at myself in the mirror as I combed my long hair out and winced at the snarls. As fun as falling back in love with Peeta was, I'd still give anything to pick up where we left off last time. We seemed so happy then. Not that we weren't now, I just…I could sense that even though Peeta acted happy to have me back a piece of him mourned the old me.

He missed Katniss his wife.

He had to make due with Katniss the girlfriend.

I knew it wasn't my fault, but I still felt awful that he had to start all over again with someone who looked at him like a complete stranger. Of course we were growing closer and closer by the day, but I still knew he wanted the old me back.

This ordeal had been so hard on him, and yet he had been utterly perfect with me. I smiled at myself in the mirror as I slabbed my toothbrush with paste and started to work.

I would pay him back. Somehow.

Once dried and fresh, I pulled on a pair of his baggy sweatpants and one of his soft, flannel shirts. He always complained when I wore his clothes, but I knew he loved it. He would grin and shake his head and pretend to be annoyed, but I saw right through him.

I paused at the top of the steps where I had my episode and waited. Was there something magical about the top of the stairs that would trigger it? I stood and waited, anticipating another blurry flash of memories.

Nothing.

"Weird," I muttered, walking down the steps. Peeta already had 'The Santa Claus' playing by the time I slid onto the couch next to him to spoon.

"Really?" I asked in mock disbelief.

He shrugged. "I like when the kid comes home from the North Pole and is pretending to drive the reindeer in his room…I might have done that as a kid," he laughed.

I pulled his arm around my side and pressed my back against his chest as we snuggled together on the couch. This was officially day two of our Christmas movie marathon, and I could stand a cheesy 90's movie if it meant I could spoon with Peeta. I could push my horny needs aside for a few more hours in order to have some cuddle time. I could tell the day's activities had worn him out.

"Nice shirt…and pants," he chuckled, hooking his thumbs into the waistband of his pants that I wore. I shivered at his touch, the contact of his finger on my hip making me smile against the couch cushion. They were too loose, but what they lacked in fit they made up for in softness. I snuggled down further on the couch and ignored him. Instead, I gazed over at our beautiful Christmas tree. I couldn't help but wonder what Christmas would bring me this year. Normally I remembered spending it with my mother and Prim. I could even faintly remember my father and Gale being there. Christmas meant family.

For the first time ever, I felt a little short on the 'family' part. My dad was dead, my mother checked out and Prim was still a little more than I could take in large amounts. I didn't know what the upcoming holiday would bring.

"So…"

"So?" he asked.

"So Christmas is in a few weeks."

He lifted his head up and let his breath blow across my ear. I shuddered and hoped he didn't notice.

"So…are we going to spend it together?"

He barked out a laugh and suddenly the wedding ring on his finger burned against the skin of my hip. "Sorry, but what? Of course we are. I mean...don't you want to?"

"Well yeah, I just…didn't know if you had other places to be or something?"

Peeta shifted on the couch and hugged me against him tighter. "I know we're just um…boyfriend and girlfriend, but that still means we spend holidays together," he chuckled. "Did you think I was just going to wake up on Christmas and leave you here alone all day?"

"Well…no, but I didn't know if there was something you needed to do that day." I admitted.

"Well, my dad invited us over Christmas day to eat with our family. I told him a tentative yes, but that I would have to run it past you."

"That sounds…nice," I admitted. "We can do that."

"We have a month, Katniss. Don't worry about it just yet, okay?"

"Okay," I nodded. I let my head fall back against the pillow he had stolen from the opposite end of the couch. His hand on my hip pulled me closer so that I was flush against the front of his body. I began to relax against his warm frame, laughing every once in a while at the cheesy movie as it played. I grew so relaxed in fact, that I fell asleep.

I woke up with a small start, forgetting where I was. Another movie was playing now, and it was completely dark out. The tree still glowed luminously in the corner of the room, making me smile to myself.

Peeta's breath was low and even against the bare skin of my neck and I knew he was asleep or close to it. I couldn't blame him – the B-list Christmas movie on the screen isn't anything really intriguing, so it didn't surprise me that we had both drifted off. I arched my back to stretch and my eyes widened as I realized two things.

Peeta was asleep.

Peeta was hard.

I froze as I felt his erection nestled against my ass. It was long and thick and warm against the soft fabric of his pants. I had the perfect opportunity to slowly wake him up and finish what we had started earlier that day at the Christmas tree farm, but something made me freeze. Was I ready? I sure felt ready. I could already feel myself growing slightly wet just thinking about the way his fingers has touched and teased me earlier. He had known how to touch me and how to make me shiver with pleasure. It was all so appealing I almost didn't know what to do. It was new and old at the same time, I realized. New for my mind, familiar to my body. I gulped. I was about to shift again when he inhaled deeply and woke. A pleasant shudder rolled over my body as he placed a wet, lingering kiss on my neck.

"Oh…sorry Kat. I…forgot," he mumbled sleepily. "Sorry about that, and…oh God," he muttered embarrassedly, shifting his hips away from me. He realized he had his naptime stiffy pressed into my back and he was obviously mortified.

I gulped away my nervousness and reminded myself how much I wanted this. If I hadn't fallen out of that stupid tree and we were just us, it wouldn't matter. I would turn around and take my husband right there on the cushy sofa without another thought. I turned and looked at him with wide eyes. "It's okay Peeta. I…you…you feel good."

I struggled to maintain eye contact after my words, but they seemed to pacify him. "Yeah?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yeah," I nodded "It's alright," I added, reaching up to touch his cheek over my shoulder. He smiled and leaned down, pressing another kiss against my exposed neck. I shuddered again and pressed myself closer, suddenly wanting to feel him – all of him. His free hand roamed up my side, pulling my shoulder over so that he could shift his weight. I glanced up at him and gave him an encouraging nod before lifting my head off the pillow. His eyes drooped slightly before finally pressing his lips against mine. It's slow and feather light, but it made my insides churn with an electricity I was almost afraid of.

Again and again we kissed, slowly getting bolder each time. His tongue languidly touched mine, invading my welcoming mouth. He seemed to melt against me as we kissed wildly, getting more and more frantic with need. We shifted on the couch and all of the sudden he was hovering over me, his knee between my legs. I groaned into his mouth and deepened the kiss we were sharing. He smiled against my lips and chuckled. His tongue caressed mine in the softest way it made me want to shatter into a million pieces. Pulling him down, I made him rest completely on top of me so that I could hook my leg around his back and use it to lift up my hips. His weight settled over me like it did back at the Christmas tree farm. It felt warm and inviting and right. The first time I ground my pelvis with his he hissed and let his lips fall to my neck.

"Peeta," I whispered, my voice more pleading that I would have cared to admit. I felt his lips turn upwards into a smile against my skin.

"Yes?"

"Don't stop."

"Who said anything about stopping?" He groaned. Peeta placed delicate, lingering kisses on the skin of my neck that seem to tingle all the way down my body to the apex between my thighs. The need was growing stronger to the point where it was almost unbearable and maddening.

I wanted more.

My fingers were clumsy as I reached around and pull at his worn t-shirt at the spot behind his neck. He grinned and pulled it off, exposing his broad, pale chest to me. I felt another tingling as I take in the masterpiece that is my husband – my Peeta. I trailed my hand down his chest, over his pecs, and over his abdomen and the light dusting of pale hair that disappeared into his flannel pants. All of the lifting and twisting and kneading he did in the bakery really paid off; I could hardly fight the urge to explore every crevice. He chuckled and whispered, "Careful, I'm ticklish."

"You are?" I laughed quietly.

He nodded. "Do you want me to stop?" he asked seriously. "I mean it; we can if you want. I know I asked, but…really."

He knew I don't want him to stop. My wanton gaze should have told him that. I could barely hide how much I really don't want him to stop.

I shook my head 'no' and gave him an encouraging smile. I think he knows I want this as much as he does.

Sensing this, he keeps himself propped on one hand while the other fumbled with the buttons on the shirt of his that I wore. Once it's open enough, he pushed it to the side and didn't hesitate to take my nipple into his mouth. My eyes rolled back in my head as he softly sucked and scraped his teeth against my skin in a delicious way.

"Oh…oh God, Peeta," I groaned without realizing. He pushed the shirt to the other side and treated the other breast to the same exquisite treatment. I fought to keep quiet as I ground against his knee and revel in the way his mouth is making me feel. His tongue swiped across the turgid peak, teasing and tasting and making me crazy.

"Take it off," I pleaded.

Peeta ripped at the buttons, his strong hands making a few pop off and go flying in the process. We both giggled as he pushed the shirt to the side, leaving my top half completely exposed. He kissed down my stomach, down my abdomen, and to the place where his too-large sweatpants were resting on my hips. He glanced up at me through his blonde lashes with hooded eyes and gave me a boyish grin.

"Is this okay?"

I could only nod and whimper at this point. "How do you know me so well?" I muttered, lifting my hips so that he can pull the pants completely off. "My body remembers you Peeta," I whispered.

He looked up at me with need, his blue eyes dilated with lust. I met his gaze and returned it, letting him know how badly I needed him. He clutched his pants in his hand and let his eyes rake down my body that was undulating with desire.

"Please…don't make me beg," I whispered urgently.

He chuckled again and tossed them on the floor. I'm bare to him at that point except for the flannel shirt that is completely unbuttoned; my mind was a little alarmed buy my body doesn't seem to be. Peeta ran his warm hands down my sides, his strong fingers giving the newly exposed skin the wakeup it needs. Goose bumps popped up on my torso as he slid downwards, pausing to kiss, suck, and lick.

I felt like I was on fire. Katniss Everdeen, the girl on fire, I thought with a smirk.

"I love this," he murmured against my skin. The vibration of his deep voice against my hip bone made me thrust my bare center against his knee.

My eyes fluttered shut as he placed a lingering kiss on my hip, his tongue darting out to wet the skin there. He groaned as he dropped his hand between my legs and lets his fingers brush my center. He resumed his work from earlier, his light touches and strokes falling on all the right places.

"Shit," he groaned, feeling my wetness. I matched his sentiment completely, my hips thrusting up of their own accord. Glancing down, I saw his eyes flash up to meet mine in question.

"I want you to," I muttered.

That is all the encouragement he needed. His fingers worked gently, stroking and touching my most intimate places. It still felt foreign and new at times but so welcome my head is spinning. I let it fall back on the pillow as he slowly achingly slowly finds the place I wanted him to touch the most. A pitiful whimper fell from my lips as I felt him begin to circle his thumb over me.

And then…

Fire.

Hot, delicious, soothing fire cascades over my limbs as Peeta put his tongue on me. It circled and lapped at my center as I fought not to writhe too much. I could feel the way his hands gently held my hips in place as he worked to bring me pleasure. His lips were warm and soft as they pause to place a few light kisses on my bud before he swiped his thumb across it again. Peeta's name came tumbling out of my mouth before I could stop it, and I anchored myself by running my fingers through his shaggy blonde hair. He groaned against me as I pulled lightly, the vibrations only pushing me further. His hands wrapped around my thighs and he used his new leverage to pull me even closer to him. This new assault on my body is welcomed, and before I knew it I am burning up. He sucked and lick with a new passion as my legs begin to quake and pull against his strong arms. But Peeta held on, his mouth sending me over the edge and into the flames. As I came I looked down to see him close his eyes and grip my skin tighter. His fingertips were digging into my skin, but I couldn't be bothered to care.

This time, I really did shatter into a million pieces. I fisted his hair in my palm and pulled him as close as two people could get. I exploded against his mouth and the lights of the Christmas tree blurred before my eyes.

I panted so hard I sounded like I'd just run a race. My body was covered in a thin layer of sweat and my heart was beating loudly in my ears but oh my god did I feel good.

I felt like flying.

Peeta rested his head against my naked stomach, his hand pulling away gently. We laid there together for a second, both of us staring at the bright lights of the tree. They blurred together like a Boca picture if I stared long enough. Finally, his lifted his head up and rested his chin on my abdomen.

"Hi," he said, smiling wolfishly.

I felt myself blush.

"Is it every day you make me come like that with your mouth?" I asked suddenly.

His blue eyes flashed.

"Before the accident," I clarified. "Did you do that to me a lot?"

Peeta coughed and shifted against the couch. "Whenever you let me, yes." he agreed.

I sputtered a laugh and pulled him up to be level with me. "You can always do that from now on," I whispered before pulling his lips to mine. e I I

He groaned into my mouth, his lips as needy as my body felt. We broke apart, nose to nose to stare at each other.

"Peeta…"

"Yeah?"

"I'm…I'm not ready to go everything tonight. Just not yet. But…would you like to go upstairs with me?"

He raised his eyebrows and gave me a playful grin. "That's what boyfriends do."

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

But no, it really is. Hope you enjoyed this little chapter! So hot these two - right?! Love writing Christmas smut. And yes, I'm already working on the next chapter. More Christmas -lovin' to come!

Thanks to Phantom Serenity for beta-ing! : )

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