Warning: More sexytiems!


No Questions, No Hesitation

(Peeta)

The instant the meeting room door shuts behind us, I pull Katniss into the nearest shadowy alcove and tuck her up against my chest. She is so tense it's a wonder she can breathe at all. Is she bracing herself for an inquisition? I do wonder about that moment in her father's room – that moment of sudden terror she hadn't been able to conceal behind her smile – but I suspect she'll dismiss it as unimportant if I simply ask… and then she'll lock me out when I persist.

So I try another tack.

"I'm sorry I left you to manage our visitors." I breathe these words softly into her hair and relish the slight shudder of her body beneath my hands and against my chest. She enjoys it when I paint her skin with my breath. It tempts her, melts her stubborn resolve, but will it be enough to coax her into revealing what it is she's hiding? I'm not sure, so I offer up my own confession in the hope that it will prompt hers: "That was very cowardly of me. You deserve better than that."

She burrows her face into my neck and sighs. I try not to react to the warmth but it's impossible. She can dissolve me with a thought.

Her fingers clutch the back of my tunic in fistfuls. "No," Katniss argues. "Káto was stupid. He… um, attacked you. Now you are rested and stronger. Stronger than before."

"But I—"

"Resting – away from them – that is wise." She glares at me as I draw yet another argumentative breath.

Her admiration of me is baffling. "According to you, I can do no wrong. I am not perfect, Katniss."

"I am not perfect also," she admits. "But you, um, calm me. You show me my good things."

I blink, stunned. Do I do that for her? Do I banish her self-doubt and shore her up? "Then… let me help you now," I dare. "What is the matter?"

She scrapes her lower lip with her teeth before biting down on the inside of her cheek. "I don't know, but I… feel… a secret?" She pauses and then shakes her head, unsatisfied with her own words, "Something is wrong, I think. I don't know. Perhaps I am… um, it is a dream? Of my mind?"

"No, you should trust your instincts," I hurry to reassure her. "You know the ways of this place and you're seeing it with new eyes now, since your return."

"I see but know nothing," she grumbles, unimpressed by my show of faith.

"Then we'll find out together. Just tell me what you need. I will do it."

"No questions?"

"No questions."

"No wait?"

"No hesitation," I vow.

She nods, pets my beard and smooths her fingertips over my lips. "Thank you."

"Do not thank me yet," I implore, wary of promising more than I can deliver. I need a moment to absorb what she had described. If Katniss is sensing something beneath the surface, something moving in the shadows around us, some hidden agenda or concealed truth, can I really assume that she is safe? Not for the first time, I damn my inability to soak up the language here faster. If only I could understand the words… If only I knew the nuances of Samish gestures and tone…

I suddenly think of Gale.

I think of how much I've relied on him to watch over Katniss.

I think of that hard look in his grey eyes this morning in the corridor.

I don't know what to think.

My breath – heated by frustration – leaves my lungs on a noisy exhalation. "What happens next?" I ask, hoping Katniss hadn't been about to pose the same question to me.

She tilts her chin up. Our gazes meld. "Now we prepare for dinner."

I nod, and when she doesn't look away, I lean in for a kiss. Her lips are so soft and they are made softer still as they part in invitation. The feel of her in my arms, pressed against my chest, and her hips angled into mine makes me want so many things. I want her safe. I want her with me. I want her bare of clothing. I want her breathy sighs against my skin. I want her wandering and curious hands on me. I want her smile, her happiness, her being free of fear and doubt.

A door opens further down the corridor and I reluctantly pull back. The taste of her lingers in my mouth, the scent of her in my head. I miss the feel of her tongue moving against mine.

The footsteps on the wooden floor most likely belong to Haymitch. They move away and out of earshot.

"Right," I murmur, running my hands up and down the back of her arms, from elbow to shoulder and down again. I'm not quite able to separate myself from her just yet. "Dinner. What can I do?"

"Show Káto we need you here."

I laugh softly. She doesn't ask for much from me, my wife. "And how shall I do that?"

She smiles. "Come. Help me dress."

The cough of disbelief spurts out before I can stop it. "I doubt that'll impress Káto."

"Agreed," she allows. Her gaze moves down to my lips, further still along my throat, chest, and lower. "But I will enjoy it."

I grin. "In that case…"

I don't protest when she grabs my hand and leads me back to our room. We encounter no one in the corridor, but I somehow doubt it would have bothered Katniss if we had. We are behaving like the newlyweds we are rather than two people suspicious of mysterious goings-on around us.

Is this a pretense?

The thought crosses my mind as I kick the door shut behind us.

Katniss' mouth erases it.

She pushes me back against the wall and reaches out to slide the lock closed. "I must wear a gown tonight," she informs me, mumbling against my lips. "Do I wear it now or later?"

I don't even have to think about my reply: "Later."

"Hm."

It sounds like an agreement and then I decide that it could be nothing else as my wife's hands fumble beneath my tunic for the waist of my trousers. My fingers curl tightly in her hair as her dexterous hands decimate the trouser laces. My breaths quicken. Is she—?

"Curious," she purrs. "I am curious now, Peeta."

Her fingertips – warm and slightly callused. Her palm – warmer still – and when her hand finds bare skin, curls, grips, tightens—!

She breathes, "You promised you will not say no."

I can say nothing at all. I gasp. Every muscle in my body stiffens. She is— She is— I gulp, breath now locked beyond my reach. I cannot move, not until she does. I wait, drawn taut and at her mercy until her grip upon me finally shifts, tugs, pulls relentlessly. I sag back against the door.

"Wait. Katniss, wait." I need to lie down. There's nothing to hold me up except for her warm hands; my knees are already starting to tremble. "Bed. Please."

She steps back after a momentary – torturous – pause and I stumble for the fur-covered surface. When I move to unclench my belt, she stops me. "No. You will wear this tonight. You will remember this. You will think of me."

Words abandon me, leap from my tongue in the wake of the breath I suck into my lungs. Yes, I think wholeheartedly as her lips engage mine in a thoroughly possessive kiss. Yes, I nearly groan as her hands return to their earlier task. Yes, I mouth in silence as she pushes my knees wide and kneels between them.

I have no more words – silent or otherwise – after that. Her mouth leisurely parts from mine, replaces her hands, and speaks for both of us. I give her my undivided attention, forcing myself to release her braid from my grasping fingers so I can paw at the furs. My entire body flexes, riding the waves of sensation that roll through me unimpeded until her soft hums of encouragement and her hands, hot upon my hips, drive me past the point of sanity.

The world goes white.

Then, dark.

I open my eyes.

And then I groan. "Katniss…"

Her hands move over my bare thighs in reply. Where had she learned a thing like that? But then I remember her companions: she fights beside men. Other than her sister, I have not seen Katniss keeping company with any other women.

I'm not sure how deep of an assumption I should be making.

"Was that… um… good?"

She sounds so uncertain and curious that I have to amend my thinking. I force my trembling limbs to support me so I can sit up and meet her stare. She bites her lip, which glistens tantalizingly.

I nod helplessly, reaching for her and bringing her close for a kiss. She braces her hands upon my shoulders as I chase after her tongue. The kiss does not help us catch our breath, but I'm smiling when I pull back. "Very good," I finally manage to say. "Can I ask… how did you learn to…?"

She glances away on a quiet laugh. I thank the gods that I hadn't offended her.

"Um. Sigga explained."

"What?"

Katniss mimes a very expressive but familiar gesture.

I stare at her, mouth hanging open in shock. "When—? Why—? She told you—what—?"

Katniss attempts to speak while biting her lip. She can't quite manage it and, when the flesh slips free from beneath her teeth, it is deliciously wet and reddened. "When you, um, in the summer. You left with the sheep. I always met you there and Sigga said many things. Um. She told me…" Her blush speaks the words she doesn't know.

"Gods." I'm blushing with her. To think that old troublemaker had educated Katniss on the finer points of passion with little more than mumbles and gestures. I can't decide if I should ask Káto to pass on my thanks or not.

And then my awe slowly overcomes my embarrassment. If I am understanding Katniss rightly, then with nothing more than gossip for a guide, she'd decided to— "You are the bravest person I have ever known."

She tucks her chin down in silent denial. "No, you—"

I lift a shaky hand and press my fingertips to her lips. This one time, I beg her to abandon her words. She needs to listen to me now. She needs to hear this. "No, not me. You." I smile as I trace her mouth with my fingertips. "Because otherwise I might never have summoned the courage to return the favor."

"It is not a favor. I—"

I don't let her finish. Clamping my hands around her waist, I pull her up and lay her down beside me. She squeals softly, a startled yelp in the back of her throat, and my fingers reach for the laces upon her hunting vest. This and all the rest of it has to come off anyway if she is intent on changing before dinner. My assistance is well justified.

"Peeta, you do not—"

"You," I interrupt with a devilish gleam in my eyes, "did not give me a choice."

She blushes, bites the inside of her cheek, and holds her tongue as I swiftly loosen her clothing. And then, when she is bare, I take my time. There are so many things to learn. So many things I can give her. Good things, just like I'd promised.

I keep my promises.

The room grows dim with the arrival of eventide before I've drunk my fill of her, before her hands have fallen – loose and trembling – from where they clench in my hair and tunic to lie upon the furs. When she opens her eyes again, they are glazed and heavy-lidded. It takes a few attempts before they finally focus on mine. I hold her close, wishing I were as bare as she instead of fully clothed, but I cannot deny the effectiveness of her plan. Indeed, whenever I look down at myself or feel cloth moving against my skin tonight, I will remember this. Her mouth. Her taste. Her. She is both predator and prey. She is mine.

Her mouth curves as she lifts a hand to trace my lips. "This smile," she whispers. "Show this smile tonight."

I tilt my head to the side as I contemplate her motives. "And what will this accomplish?"

"The others will see it. They will know you are mine."

It hits me then, what she has done. And what a brilliant strategy it is! I would have laughed if not for the fact that— "They have never seen this smile before."

She frowns slightly.

I explain. "Uh, because I've never, um, been with a woman before. You are my first."

Katniss blinks. "Why—?"

She is so exquisitely stunned that my ego can't help but take notice. I love her defense of me. I see in her surprise the most precious of truths: she counts many good qualities in me. But I answer her, "No one wanted a boy who can only do the work of women and children."

"That is not you," Katniss retorts. Her scowl draws me in and her words puncture my heart. "You are a man. You do a king's work." Her hand smooths over my chest. "You give everything. Your every… thing. That is a king's work."

I shake my head and sigh. "I don't mean to. I don't know how else to be."

"Do not be… else. Be you. Peeta." She winds her arms around my shoulders. "Come to dinner. Smile. Listen. Help me fill the cups with ale." Her grin tilts into a sensual smile as her fingers pet the front of my tunic. "Think about me."

"And this will show everyone that I am needed?"

She nods. "It will show them." She pushes my hair back from my brow and concludes, "You belong here."

And because I belong with Katniss, wherever she may be, I do not argue. I kiss her, I hold her for a moment longer, and then I help her dress.