Katniss thought Peeta didn't exist until he showed up vowing to talk to her mother about letting him stay with them. He has come to help with the farm question is will Katniss's mother accept his help and will Peeta be able to use his magic?

Special thanks to Norbertsmom for being the best beta and friend - I don't own the Hunger Games

Also, today is my birthday and I wanted to say thank you to everyone for following, reading, and waiting patiently for this story.

Katniss was speechless, as she moved behind him.

Her mother was outside with the wash when she spotted them.

"Good day, my lady," Peeta greeted.

Katniss saw the way her mother scowled and narrowed her eyes at Peeta. This was not going to go well.

"Good morrow," Her mother answered frostily.

"I've been speaking to thine eldest, in regards to finding employment."

Primrose stood in the shadow of the doorway. Her face glowed at the sight of Peeta and she smiled toward Katniss. Katniss rolled her eyes at Prim's apparent glee.

"Employment," Her mother said through clenched teeth.

"I can plow thine fields for thee, for room and board."

"Regretfully we have laborers in mind, we have our kin-" her mother began but Primrose cut in.

"Oh, mother, ye very well know Hazelle said she would send the boys when they finish their fields. That may take weeks."

Their mother turned sharply toward Primrose.

"My lady, what if I work only until thine kin arrives," Peeta gave her mother his most dashing smile.

Her mother's scowl grew. "Fine, ye can sleep in the barn. Work begins as sun-up, and ye might as well wash up for the evening meal." Her mother walked away and Primrose skipped outside.

"I am Primrose Everdeen."

"Prim," Katniss groaned.

"Peeta of the house of Mellark." He bowed as if Primrose was a gently brought up lady of a great estate instead of a girl from a cottage at the edge of the woods.

Just as Prim giggled, their mother poked her head out of the cottage.

"I have to go help mother," Prim sighed heavily.

"Come, the well is this way," Katniss said, walking. She was sure this would not end well. She had seen her mother's unhappy glare.

She drew water for him, expecting Peeta to wash his hands and face. Instead, he removed his shirt, and his pale skin glistened in the sunlight. She had never seen a man without his shirt on, not one ripe with youth and vigor. He was muscular and broad-chested with a trail of dark blond hair that trailed into his pants. Katniss could feel herself blushing. Her mouth went dry when she saw him splash water on his chest. The water caused his skin to glisten as if formed by the stars instead of dry earth.

Peeta grinned as he walked to her. "I know what vex's thee."

Katniss blinked at him, not comprehending what he said.

"Ye are vexed because I did not lie with thee," Peeta said, sliding his hand up her arm to cup her cheek.

Heat blossomed in her chest and crept up to her cheeks. "I," she sputtered.

"I will lie with thee Katniss. I will sup from thine lips and drink from the sweet nectar of thine body," he spoke thickly. His words cast a spell around her heart, and heat spread down into an unknown portion of her body. He kissed her and she lifted her hands to touch him.

Peeta pulled away. "No a mo chuisle, we do not have time; thine mother is waiting. I dinna think thine mother approves of me, and I do not want to test her."

He placed one more lingering kiss on her lips. Peeta was right; they couldn't make her mother upset. As it was she'd been less than cordial when agreeing to Peeta staying. Katniss hoped her suspicions were incorrect.

Her gut feeling was true. As the days slipped by, her mother grew colder toward Peeta. It was not going well. Peeta tried to win her mother over. For three days Peeta worked hard. The fields were toiled quickly, but her mother was not impressed.

Katniss could not sleep once again. Though ever since her father's death she found it hard to sleep. The last time she'd slept actually was when she'd been bedridden with illness.

Tonight she tossed in her bed worrying about Peeta. He was a fairy, he levitated and had the ability to disappear into the aether in the blink of an eye.

Katniss was worried that he was not used to such hard labor. She got up and snuck into her mother's salves, before sneaking out of the house and into the barn. She was almost afraid she would not find him present or even floating.

"A mo chuisle," Peeta softly said.

Katniss found him sitting up in the makeshift bed she and Prim made for him. Her mouth went dry at the sight of him shirtless once again. Her stomach flipped as her eyes followed the line of his broad shoulders and well-defined muscular arms. An odd sensation grew in her belly, a desire to touch him. Her eyes followed down the planes of his chest to the fine blond hair that led into his pants.

He got up and closed the door behind her. "What are ye doing out of bed?"

"I came to…ah…help…touch thine body."

"Ye want to touch my body?" Peeta asked, passing her by and sitting on the bed.

"I mean ah…spread myself on thine body." His eyes sparkled as she blurted.

"I don't think thine mother would like that, a mo chuisle."

"No, that's not what I meant!"

Peeta lay back on his elbows. "Then what did ye mean?"

He was having fun at her flustered state. Katniss held out the balm. "Put healing balm on thine chest."

"I do not think ye can," Peeta taunted.

"I can too," Katniss rushed forward then she caught herself. "Oh no, ye don't. I am not falling for another one of thine tricks."

He laughed, before saying. He held out his hand. "I can put on the balm myself."

Katniss saw his red chaffed hands and grasped, "Thine hands."

"They are fine. I haven't done hard work like this in a long time. I've become soft."

Without a second thought, she sat on the bed and took his hands. "Allow me."

Peeta said nothing as Katniss got the pitcher of water, a bowl, and a clean cloth and gently washed his hands before applying the balm. She wrapped them up with a clean cloth.

"Thank ye a mo chuisle," he whispered.

Impulsively she leaned forward and kissed him, not the rough kiss she had given him when he came back, but a soft plain kiss. He moaned at her action and Katniss was encouraged to slant her lips across his. Peeta gently kissed her back, taking her bottom lip and suckling it. She felt a spark run through her entire body and she moaned.

Katniss pushed back onto the bed and climbed on top of him. Peeta looked surprised but did not make a move as if waiting for her to take control. Katniss sat astride him and with tentative fingers, she placed them on his warm chest. His skin was smooth and soft, but she could feel the muscle underneath. She was filled with a mix of curiosity, glee, and a primitive sense of ownership.

Peeta moaned, his eyes closed briefly as she ran her fingertips across his chest. She leaned down to kiss him and demanded, "Put thine arms around me."

Peeta slowly wrapped his arms around her. Katniss did not kiss Peeta, instead, she tested if she liked being in his arms. It was not constricting nor was it frightening. It was comforting and she felt safe. Instead of kissing him, she put her head on his chest. She hadn't felt truly at ease since her father passed away. Katniss could hear the gentle beat of his heart and within moments, she fell asleep.

When she woke up, she was snuggled against Peeta's chest, his hold was firm but gentle. She looked up to see he was still asleep. Thread, the rooster stood at the foot of the bed, glaring at her. He clucked and spread his wings.

"Oh, go away, ye irate fowl," She grumbled.

"I see ye're not very good with animals either." Peeta's sleepy voice caused her to shiver.

"Not with that nasty rooster; he likes to peck at me when I collect the eggs. A fox can steal in here and take all of the eggs and Thread will not lift a feather. I will enter the barn, and it's as if I've issued a declaration of war."

She could hear the rumble of Peeta's laughter as it traveled from his chest to his lips. Katniss shyly watched him. The hairs on his head were askew, he glanced at her with sleepy promise. She wanted to kiss him. However, she was stopped by that cantankerous Thread, who leaped on the bed.

"Thread," Katniss bellowed.

Peeta laughed.

"Stop laughing, this is serious," Katniss growled.

"What is serious is getting ye back into thine bed before thine mother finds out."

"Huzza!" Katniss proclaimed. Peeta was right, she had lost all sense of time and propriety. She rushed across to the door. She stopped short, turning around, Peeta seemed to materialize in front of her pressing her to the barn door, kissing her until she was breathless.

"Go, I will follow shortly." Peeta gave her the balm.

Katniss nodded but she knew her cheeks were red; she could feel the heat. When she arrived at the house, she was relieved that her mother was not up yet. Katniss put the balm away and ran to her bed, climbing inside. Her mother awoke shortly after and Katniss promised herself she would not go to Peeta anymore.

The following night, she lay in her bed touching her lips. The memory of the kiss played in her mind. She could taste him, and he tasted of that wine. Her heart rate increased and threaded throughout her body, bringing a heady mix of want and desire. She could feel pressure building between her legs, something Katniss had never experienced before. She rubbed her legs together, but it didn't help relieve the ache she felt there.

Groaning, she turned onto her side. Her body clamored to be with Peeta once again and for more just the pleasurable task of kissing. Last night had been the first night she had been able to sleep in a long time. She was tired and needed to rest, and she had found it in his arms. Katniss wanted to find a reason not to go, but could not find one. The temptation was too great. Her enticement stemmed from a combination of being tired, her comfort in Peeta's arms, and wanting to kiss his lips.

Getting up, she quietly took the balm from her mother's supplies and snuck out once more, using the excuse that she was only going to apply balm on his hands.

"Ye should be in bed," Peeta's voice said as she closed the barn door behind her.

"I came to heal thine hand."

"Ye could have done this after dinner."

Katniss blushed, having been caught. "I…"

Peeta looked at her expectantly before sighing and making a space for her. "Come along, don't think I haven't noticed the dark circles underneath your eyes."

Katniss went to him and settled her head on his chest. She sighed in pure contentment at the sound of his beating heart.

"Sleep a mo chuisle," Peeta whispered into the top of her head. It was the last thing she heard before she fell asleep.

This began her nightly ritual of putting balm on his hands after dinner so that her mother would not question the disappearance of her precious medicine. After the house was quiet, she would steel herself to the barn. Sometimes they would sleep, other times, like tonight, they would chase other pleasurable endeavors.

During the daytime, Peeta found ways to make her smile. With little bouquets of wildflowers, a crown of clovers, and her favorite, the bread he made. Peeta had constructed an oven in the exterior of the house. Every few days he would make batches of bread. He made bread so soft, it made her mouth water. Her mother never complimented Peeta for his ability to cook, but she did not forsake eating the bread either.

Katniss was surprised he did not use his magic to win her mother over. He could, fairies were known to cast strange incantations over mortals to make them blindly loyal. But Peeta did none of that. He put in an honest day's work. His focus was on her.

It was almost as if he were courting Katniss. Peeta sang little ditties to her to make her laugh on a hard day, praised her abilities to hunt, and found berries for her mother and sister. Prim cared for him, but her mother had yet to warm up to Peeta.

Katniss worried, but she tossed those worries away at night. Because at night the real hex began, the one on her heart and flesh.

At night Peeta's entire focus was on Katniss. The night he worshiped her breasts first with his hand and then with his mouth. Katniss careened into another world. She thought he would take her that night but he didn't. The night he allowed her to kiss him and caress his chest in the same manner though, she'd brought him to his knees when he gasped her name, tangling his fist in her long dark strands. His fierce wild look made her blood hotter than a blacksmith's fire.

Each time he drew her to new heights with his hands or his mouth. Tonight, rain fell from the heavens. It drowned out their noises in the barn. Katniss lay beneath Peeta, her leg twined with his.

Peeta's hands were tangled in her hair, but as the nature of their kiss changed, his hands drifted south. Every time they were together like this, their physical expressions progressed a little further. His hands were caressing her body through her shift and hers were squeezing his buttocks through his pants.

His fingers sought purchase to the area betwixt her legs. She mewled grateful for his presence, the pressure there was unbearable. His fingers delved within her secret garden, her petal-like flowers parting, allowing for his gentle yet urgent touch.

Katniss felt as if she was in the midst of a tempest within her body that hadn't come to its peak. His fingers sought and found a secret pearl, and with each caress, Peeta brought her toward some invisible point.

Katniss could feel the tightening in her womb as his fingers did things to her nether regions. She felt his magical fingers swooping inside of her hidden channel causing her body to coil for some great promise she did not understand. "Peeta," she gasped.

"Let it happen, a mo chuisle," he grunted, shifting forward to watch her. He applied more pressure with each swipe of his fingers. He leaned down and whispered magical words in her ears, words that transported her beyond this world to a realm of celestial delights. A storm of fire just beyond her reach.

The storm of pleasure brewing inside of her body intensified. Katniss thrashed in the bed. Peeta's fingers flexed within her, and she felt a current of lightning burst forth within her and she cried as she was pushed into an abyss where there was nothing but pleasure. He grunted as he watched her buck against him. Katniss felt weightless as she came back to herself.

He held her tightly. Placed chaste kisses on her cheeks. Her lashes fluttered open and she lazily smiled up at him.

"A mo chuisle," Peeta whispered over and over again.

Katniss sighed and fell asleep.

When she woke it was right before dawn. Thread was watching from a bale of hay, judging them.

Peeta awoke and gave her a stirring kiss. Katniss gripped his shoulders as she lay beneath him.

"Ye are lovelier each and every morning."

Katniss laughed, then turned her face, "Nonsense."

Thread jumped down from his perch and clucked and half crowed.

"Ugh, it is time for me to leave."

"Ye know, I should be the one finding excuses to make my way into thine bed every night."

"Ye would not be able to do it," Katniss said, sitting up.

"What, ye doubt my ability at stealth?"

"For a fairy, ye have a very heavy tread when ye walk."

"I resent that," Peeta said in an outraged voice, but his demeanor suggested he was amused by her observation.

Katniss laughed as she straightened her shift. She gave him a rousing kiss. "See ye tonight."

"Katniss," Peeta called.

She turned around before opening the door.

"Ye do know I do not see ye as a plaything, or a prize. I see ye as my partner, my other half," he rubbed his hands through his hair. "I gave up on a lot to be here with ye."

It then occurred to her that in the entire time he had been with her she had not seen him use his magic. Peeta had been using his brute strength in the fields. He could have snapped his fingers to clear and toil the land. His feet were planted firmly on the ground. He did not float when standing or walking like on that first night. Peeta had not even evoked magic to help him bake. He had the ability to have food appear out of the aether. Everything he had done with his own hands and corporeal strength. Katniss walked up to him. "Thine powers. Are thou mortal?"

"I am stronger than most men, I've retained my golden tongue, but I cannot use magic anymore. It is the bargain I made to be with ye."

Peeta had sacrificed himself to be with her. Katniss ran to him and held him. She knew of no man save one, who would give up what they held dear for a woman. Her father was that type and so was Peeta.

Katniss wanted him, wanted to be with him and only him. She kissed him sweetly before her feet touched the floor and she ran back to her house to sleep. But she could not sleep, she had too much energy. Getting dressed, she took her bow and set out to hunt. She caught rabbits in the woods and caught fish in the river. Her mother liked to fish and Katniss hoped this would make her mother's sour disposition improve.

Humming softly, Katniss left her weapon outside of the door before entering her home. It was the first time since that night in the clearing that she's sung. She entered the house to find her mother sitting at the table, darning.

"Katniss, prithee, come here."

Katniss walked to her mother.

"Ye look different." Her mother's eyes quietly examined Katniss.

Katniss was not sure what was going on, but her mother seemed different. "I went fishing this morning, caught a few great specimens for supper, and some rabbits. I know how much ye enjoy fish." Katniss lay the fish on a bench that contained bowls for the game she caught. She washed her hands and noted the warm tea. She prepared a cup for herself.

"So ye were not in the fields planting? I would have thought ye would have been with him."

The way her mother said 'him,' when referring to Peeta always let Katniss know the level of annoyance she had toward Peeta. She said it in a low tone, which meant she was aggravated by something he'd done. Katniss wondered what transpired this morning between them. "No, I will be heading out to the field shortly. It is hard work, but with Peeta, things are going quickly."

"Hmm," her mother said, raising an eyebrow.

Katniss sipped her tea observing her mother's posture. Her shoulders were very stiff. Katniss had only seen her mother become this way when she had bad news to tell a patient's family. It occurred to Katniss her mother was trying to come up with a way to say something difficult.

"I am quite sure, and he works so hard with his hands."

"It is back-breaking work, the balm is working on his hands and shoulders."

"Is that where ye were last night, rubbing his shoulders?"

"I am sorry," Katniss was not sure she heard her mother correctly.

"What I am trying to say is…," her mother took a breath before continuing to speak, "…I know ye were with him last night."

Katniss felt heat hitting her cheeks and cold spread in her fingertips, she had been caught. And judging by her mother's cold words, there was no way she could deny it.