Fourth installment from the Cassie universe.

I almost think it can't be real. It feels like a dream; like any moment I'll wake up and find myself alone in my old apartment, lusting after my sexy neighbour down the hall.

Not standing at the altar of a tiny church, waiting to become her husband. Waiting to become a family.

Prim walks down the aisle first, lovely in deep blue, and winks at me as she moves to stand beside the minister. Just wait, she mouths, and I grin. She's been tormenting me all week. I consider sticking my tongue out, but then another elegant blonde appears at the end of the aisle.

My little Cassie.

When Cassie heard that I wasn't allowed to see Katniss's dress before the wedding, she insisted her own be a secret too. Now, practically skipping along the pale grey runner to a chorus of awwwws, she's a fairytale princess come to life. Her dress is a fluffy confection, gauzy layers of white silk that reach almost to the floor, cinched at the waist with a blue ribbon the same shade as Prim's dress. Her crazy curls have been tamed into an updo, and I laugh when I realize that, yes, she's even wearing a tiara.

"I'm a princess, Daddy!" she stage-whispers when she reaches the altar, to the chuckles of our friends. I crouch down to hug her.

"The most beautiful princess ever," I whisper. She giggles.

"Mommy's waiting for you." She's been referring to Katniss as mommy for a few weeks now, and every time she does I feel a warmth bloom in my chest.

Cassie has always been a sweet, easygoing child, but since Katniss came into our lives she's been so much happier. They'd built a strong relationship, just the two of them, even before the engagement. But in the six months since, Katniss has really become a mother to Cassie. Has filled a void in my little girl's heart.

Prim reaches out her hand to Cassie, who practically floats over to grasp it.

The music changes, and the assembled guests all stand in a hushed cacophony. My heart beats so loudly in my ears that I can barely hear the string quartet we hired playing Here Comes the Sun. It's such a fitting choice, such a damned fitting choice, because Katniss, my Katniss, is standing at the end of the aisle, and she's as radiant as the sun.

"She'll be fine, Peeta," Prim tells me for about the fiftieth time. And I know she will, but that doesn't make it any easier. I kiss Cassie one last time, then watch as my new sister-in-law leaves the hotel to take my little princess home.

Prim will be staying with Cassie at our new house, while Katniss and I honeymoon in Jamaica. They've been giggling like schoolgirls all week, full of plans for all of the fun they're going to have together. Crafts and movie marathons and probably far too much sugar.

I'm a man torn in two.

Half of me, more than half of me, most of me, is so damned excited about a week alone with Katniss; the first time we will ever have been completely alone together in nearly two years of dating. I've spent a month envisioning all of the ways I'm going to make her scream my name.

But this trip will also be the first time I'll have ever spent more than a single night away from Cassie. Ever.

It's not that I don't trust Prim, I do. She's fabulous with Cassie, the perfect auntie, caring and fun but still responsible. And a hell of a lot more reliable than my mother.

Katniss's soft hand in mine pulls me out of my worrying. "Are you ready?" she asks, sultry silver eyes lidded and glowing for me. My eyes slide down her white silk clad body, the gorgeous dress I've been itching to take off of her all day. I've never been more ready in my life. And as she guides me through the throng of straggling guests, through the lobby of the hotel to our room for the night, all I can think about is her.

I'm drawn from slumber not by the alarm, nor by a seven-year-old wildcat jumping on my chest, but by a pair of soft lips drifting down my body. I muffle my groan into my arm, and her head pops up. She grins wickedly from between my legs. "Peeta," she says in a voice so sexy it makes my dick twitch. "You don't have to be quiet here." Then she takes me into the heat of her mouth.

Katniss is incredible, always so generous, always knows exactly what to do to drive me insane. And she doesn't hold back, her throat massaging my tip as she takes me deeper than she ever has before. Free to be loud, I am, moaning and calling her name over and over.

I come with a shout I'm sure everyone in the hotel hears.

She grins at me wickedly as I gasp and pant, still shuddering with aftershocks. But when I grab her hips and flip her under me, her smile slips. "We have a flight to catch," she whispers.

"Then I'll have to be quick," I smirk, shifting down her smooth, supple body. I part her folds with the tip of my tongue. She's already so wet for me. That it excites her to give me head is just one of many things I love about Katniss.

I don't play games with her, grabbing her ass and lifting her to me, her back arched so invitingly. Her hands wind in my hair as she wails. It's so fucking hot, listening to Katniss come undone; hearing her chant my name, completely uninhibited. By the time she comes, keening and begging, I'm hard again.

We barely make our flight.

The brochures didn't do this place justice. Our resort is incredible, right on a crystal blue beach and with every amenity imaginable. And our room, holy shit, our room is like something out of a magazine. A huge bed all in white, ensuite bath with a gorgeous jacuzzi tub, and private balcony overlooking the resort, with glimpses of the ocean.

And standing beside me is my wife. My wife. My gorgeous wife, gazing at me through her thick black lashes. The narrow ribbons holding up her soft orange sundress beg me to tug them.

So I do.

We make love languidly, lulled by the ocean sounds lilting through the balcony doors, an unhurried exploration.

With nowhere to be and no one needing us, we spend our first day-and-a-half in Jamaica naked, for the most part. Making love over and over, but also just lounging in bed or in the hot tub, ordering room service, talking without fear of interruption, without ever needing to censor ourselves.

We emerge from our cocoon on the evening of our second day. After a candlelit dinner, we walk the beach hand in hand, enjoying the last streaks of sunset across the cerulean sea. The whole way back to our room, Katniss talks excitedly about the resort amenities that we're planning to try out the next day.

In our room, I pull out my laptop and we Skype with Cassie and Prim, catching Cassie just before bedtime. She'd been happy and perky yesterday when I phoned home, but today she's subdued, and I'm concerned. Prim assures me that everything is fine, that Cassie is just tired from a busy day and from staying up a little late to wait for my call.

I can't help but worry. Katniss notices my distraction, and she soothes me, the way she always does.

Katniss has a full day planned for us; an off-resort trip filled with scuba diving and sightseeing, a romantic dinner and dancing at the chic nightclub just down the beach from our room.

And it's incredible. Katniss is like a mermaid, twisting sinuously in the water, all bronzed skin and itty-bitty bikini. I spend far more time watching her than looking at the fish. By the time the tour bus stops in a charming little village for our land excursion, I'm so hard I have to drag Katniss into the bathroom of a touristy coffee shop and fuck her bent over the sink, while she bites my arm to keep from yelling.

It only whets my appetite. My mind and dick are preoccupied by thoughts of Katniss all day long.

We stop in our room to shower and change before dinner, and I open my laptop to quickly check in at home. It's not our agreed-upon time to chat, but I've been worried and just need a little reassurance. But they don't answer. I send Prim a text, to try to arrange another time to talk with Cassie, a few minutes between dinner and the nightclub maybe.

Then Katniss emerges from the bathroom, wearing a short, clingy black dress that makes her tits look incredible, and sky-high heels. She looks like a fucking model, with legs that go on forever, and I decide that I can hold off on Skyping until tomorrow.

There were no messages from Prim last night, and nothing this morning either. She didn't return my texts, and hasn't logged into Skype, though I've been trying to reach her all morning.

Katniss tries to calm me down, reminding me that Prim has a full itinerary of exciting things planned for Cassie. She's certain Prim even mentioned this morning specifically as one where she was taking Cassie someplace special. But I am freaking out a little that I haven't been in contact with them for more than thirty-six hours, I'm aggravated and just so damned worried.

"Please, Peeta, let's go down and have breakfast at the buffet. We can try again after." It's half-past ten. She's been waiting two hours for me already. I know she's hungry and probably sick of sitting in the hotel room while I fiddle with my laptop and fret. But her calmness is just making me even more upset. She should be worried too, should be thinking about more than whether our plans for the day are going to be disrupted. When I tell her that, she frowns. "I trust Prim," she says softly. "Don't you?"

"It isn't that," I start.

"Well then trust if there was something wrong she would let us know," she says, too reasonably.

"You just don't understand," I snap. I'm met with silence. When I look up again, Katniss's lovely face is creased with annoyance, and maybe something else.

Something suspiciously like hurt.

"You think I don't understand?" Her voice is low and dangerous. She shakes her head, and I look away, turning my attention again to the computer.

By the time I give up on Skype and close my laptop, Katniss has already left. The suite is silent. I step out onto the balcony, look over the lush palm trees and white sand. To the azure water beyond.

This is easily the most beautiful place I've ever been. And instead of enjoying it with the most beautiful woman I've ever met, I'm holed up in my hotel room, alone. Like a tool.

I'm a man on a mission when I head down to the restaurant. I have some serious begging to do. But Katniss isn't there. She isn't at the beach, nor by the pool either. And my phone is silent.

I flag down one of the hotel staff to ask whether he's seen my wife. His grin is wide as he nods. "Ah, Mrs. Mellark, yes, she be at the transportation concourse."

I try to keep my expression pleasant as I thank the young man, then dart away. The transportation concourse. She must be planning to get on one of the tour buses. To do whatever today's planned excursion is, alone. My heart clenches, not only because she's leaving me behind, but because she's brave enough to pick herself up and carry on.

The large foyer is filled with people; an airport shuttle must have recently arrived. Couples, and a few families, cling to each other, eyes wide with awe, breathless anticipation hanging in the air. Exactly what Katniss and I must have looked like just four days ago. It's like a punch to the gut.

But I don't have time to analyze that feeling before a voice I know so well shrieks, "Daddy!"

I swear I'm hearing things, but when I turn I see Cassie's curls bobbing. She's grinning widely, held aloft in Katniss's arms. Prim trails slightly behind, towing two suitcases.

"Daddy!" Cassie yells again when Katniss sets her down. Then she's running across the lobby to me, and I catch her as she launches herself into my arms. "Surprise!" she shouts in my ear, her little body vibrating with excitement.

"How?" I start as my wife and sister-in-law stop in front of us. Prim's smile stretches across her face. Katniss, too, is smiling, though it doesn't reach her eyes.

"Mommy said we couldn't tell you, so you'd be s'prised." Cassie babbles happily in my arms, no trace of the quiet girl from two days ago left. The girl who was quiet, apparently, because she was trying so hard not to spill the beans of her big secret. The girl who was unreachable this morning because she was on a plane.

As the pieces fall into place in my head I can see the careful orchestration so typical of Katniss. The way she planned everything, from our itinerary to the times we agreed we'd chat online, with the goal of keeping Cassie joining us here a surprise. For me.

Katniss leans up to press a kiss to Cassie's flushed cheek. "Why don't you help the ladies get checked in," Katniss says, not quite meeting my eyes. "I'll meet up with all three of you for lunch. I have something I need to do first." She turns and walks away, black braid swaying.

I have never felt like a bigger asshole.

Cassie chatters the whole time that Prim checks in, telling me about the plane ride, the cool trees she saw from the shuttle window, the pool Prim promises has a waterslide. And while I'm so happy to see her, my heart aches for my Katniss, for my wife. I need to see her.

Prim looks sideways at me as we walk away from the desk, towards the family section of the resort. "You know," she starts. "Cassie and I had a big breakfast at the airport. Pancakes." Cassie nods in agreement, beaming. "It's too early for us to have lunch now. I think we'll change and hit the pool first."

Cassie whoops in glee, skipping ahead. "Bye Daddy," she calls over her shoulder.

Prim reaches for the suitcase I'm towing. "We'll meet you in a couple of hours, okay?" I can only nod.

I find Katniss in our suite, on the balcony, looking out over the resort. A gentle breeze makes her sundress dance around her legs, blows wisps of hair around her head. She's a cyclone and I'm sucked in. Though she certainly hears my approach, she doesn't look at me. I move to stand beside her, leaning on the railing, our elbows just brushing. "I'm sorry," I tell her. She only nods. "I - I can't believe you did this for me." On top of everything else, I'm in awe that she anticipated my fears and planned something so incredible.

"I didn't do it for you, or not only for you anyway. I didn't want to go a whole week without seeing her either." Katniss sighs. "I thought we would have the best of both worlds. A few days of honeymoon, just for us. Then finish with a few days of family vacation." She turns to me, and the pain in her quicksilver eyes takes my breath away. Katniss is always so stoic, but clearly I've really hurt her. "Don't you know how much I care about Cassie? How much I love her?" It's barely a whisper.

"I do," I say, and then cringe at the reminder that I said those words only five days ago and already I've fucked things up.

As if she's reading my mind, she continues. "Weren't you listening, during our vows? I promised myself not just to you, but to us, to our family." During our wedding, Katniss had recited a special vow to Cassie and presented her with a medallion embossed with three rings. A symbol of her commitment to our family. And while my mother had dismissed it as some kitschy new-age thing, I knew it was important to Katniss. Only now am I truly seeing why. Only now do I really realize the level of her devotion.

"I know. I'm so sorry, Katniss." I reach for her hands, and she lets me hold them.

"I do understand how you felt."

"I know."

"You need to trust me, Peeta," she whispers. "We're a team now." She twists the new golden band that encircles my finger. The symbol of the promises we've made.

"We are." I lift our joined hands to my lips. "I do trust you." Her beautiful eyes search mine. "Katniss, I know I was an ass this morning. I fucked up. And I'm going to fuck up a lot I think. It was just me and Cassie for so long, it's going to take some time to get used to having someone else to depend on."

She nods. "I'll be here to remind you." It's all I need to hear, that in spite of all of the ways I have and will screw up, she'll be by my side. Always. I cup her face in my hands and then lean down to kiss her.

"I need you," I whisper. "Please." I need to hold her and kiss her and make love to her until I forget where she begins and I end.

I can feel her smile against my lips, and I smile too. "Cassie?" she murmurs.

"Prim took her to the pool," I say between gentle kisses.

"Then let's not waste any more time," she grins.

She lets me carry her inside and lay her across the bed. I peel away the layers between us with a breathless reverence, worshipping her gorgeous body with hands and mouth. Painting my penance into her trembling flesh.

When I finally slide into her I'm already right on the edge. I hold her gaze as I move inside her, telling her wordlessly how much I love her. How much I respect and adore her. My Katniss. I think back to the first time I saw her, nearly three years ago. That gorgeous, cosmopolitan woman in apartment 3G, so captivating and so completely out of my league. And now she's my wife.

I am so lucky.