This chapter delves into Katniss's past. Most of my stories in the past have centered around Peeta being an abuse victim because that is technically canon, but this one focuses more on Katniss. Let me know what you think at the end, I'm really excited for this story and I have some really fun ideas for it!
Edit: I just re-edited this chapter, I didn't like the version I posted and it didn't flow as well with chapter 3, so here it is!
"Okay, so you like it rough and kinky in bed." Peeta cleared his throat. Katniss was surprise after surprise today, and he was getting whiplash.
"Is that too weird for you? I can do vanilla but I can rarely get off with just that…" She tried to backpedal, but Peeta was starting to get into it.
"Hey hey hey, I told you I'd keep an open mind, didn't I?" He reminded her, caressing her hand gently. She blushed lightly, smiling ever so slightly. "I have to say, though, I don't love the idea of hurting you like that, even if you like it." He admitted.
"You don't have to do anything you do want to, it's consensual on both sides, not just mine. Testing things out is the best way to see what that might be."
"Do you always do pain and pleasure, or is there sort of a minimum pain where you can still… finish without getting too far into it?" Peeta asked. Katniss shrugged.
"I haven't done vanilla in a long time, so I don't know what my limits are. I like bruises and hickeys best, and you don't have to be very edgy to get there." She shrugged, setting down her empty wine glass. Peeta followed suit, moving closer to her on the small couch.
"What about safe words?" He asked.
"I usually have two, one means back off and the other means stop."
"What are the words?"
"Mashed potatoes means stop for me, at least with the last relationship." She smiled, and Peeta laughed quietly. "Usually if you say that, it completely breaks the mood. Back off last time was chamomile."
"Alright, mashed potatoes is stop, chamomile is back off. Got it."
"I don't talk much during, so it's pretty obvious when I'm getting into it and when it's going too far."
"Okay, so remember the safe words, no hitting or calling you ugly names. Anything else I should stay away from?" Peeta asked, finding himself looking for excuses to touch her. He brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear, his hand lingering behind her jaw.
"That's pretty much it." Her voice was soft and gentle. "Wanna tell me what you like?" She prompted.
"I mean, I've been pretty vanilla up until this point," he admitted. "I like having my hair played with, I like my ears sucked and my neck bitten, pretty standard stuff..."
"Well, that does help me a little." Katniss smiled at him, moving closer to him on the couch. His arm moved of its own accord down to her shoulders to pull her closer. Her hand timidly traveled up his arm, across his shoulder and into his hair. He felt his eyes slip closed at the tender touch, and she twirled a lock of his hair around her finger.
"It's very soft." She said so quietly, he barely heard her. "I like it."
"Thank you," he responded absently. He pulled her tighter against him and stroked her arm, his eyes meeting hers. The intimacy of the moment excited him, he could feel how easy it would be to stay with her for the rest of his life.
Peeta leaned in slowly, licking his lips. Their eyes were locked, and he saw her bite her lower lip in response. His eyes closed as their lips met, and finally he was kissing Katniss. She held his head still so he couldn't pull away. Her gentle hand in his hair turned into a grip that tightened when he slipped his tongue into her mouth. She sighed, scooting even closer to him on the couch. By now, she was practically sitting on his lap. Peeta had daydreamed of kissing Katniss for over a decade, and he put those years of longing into his kiss. She responded in turn, pulling him tighter against her and breathing heavily. Peeta nibbled her lip gently, eliciting a tiny jagged breath from Katniss. He bit down harder, and Katniss moaned longingly into his mouth.
His hands wandered from her sides to her back, slipping under her shirt where he ran his fingernails up and down her skin. Katniss was whimpering against him. He couldn't tell if it was a good whimper or not, so he pulled away slightly, opening his mouth to ask. She beat him to it, murmuring against his lips in a lust-filled voice.
"Keep going." Katniss started to feel herself get wet, so she climbed onto Peeta's lap and moved her hips for some friction. He moved his hands to grab her thighs, gripping them hard enough to bruise and guiding them to grind against his throbbing erection. Peeta pulled back slightly from her lips to ask,
"Is my pretty baby a little needy?" He teased, licking her lips and biting down on them. He moved from her mouth across her cheek and to her neck.
"I'm a little needy, Daddy." Katniss whined back, tipping her head back as he sucked and licked her throat. "Harder." She panted, pressing his face against her neck. Peeta bit down, tasting a hint of blood and surprised when Katniss moaned loudly. He licked at the bite, and Katniss gyrated her hips harder against his. One of his hands came up to her throat and gripped it, partially cutting off her airway. Katniss wheezed, one of her hands moving down and into her waistband to stimulate her clit. Peeta didn't want to go too far on the first day, so he started to ease off, releasing her throat and leaning away from her neck, wincing when he saw the cherry red bite mark there. Katniss whimpered again, trying to push Peeta's mouth back against her neck, but he caught her hands and held on.
"Sweetheart? Baby, look at me?" He tried, patting her cheek before she would open her eyes.
"Why did you stop? It felt so good." She whined, pouting at him. Peeta shook his head.
"Babygirl, I want to be with you more than you can imagine, but I want to take it a little slower, is that okay with you?" He asked. Katniss nodded.
"Okay Daddy." She sighed, suddenly sad. "Now I'm really horny though." She complained. Peeta smiled at her.
"Let's cool down a little bit for now, okay?" He held her hands gently, and she looked at him, still pouting. "We're spending time together for the first time in awhile, let's take our time."
Katniss gave him the tiniest smile.
"Aw, you have such a pretty smile, love. Do you like cuddles?" He asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and smiling at her when she nodded vigorously. "Okay, why don't you let Daddy cuddle you for awhile then." He suggested, leaning back against the couch and holding his arms out for her.
"Can I take this off?" Katniss asked softly, messing with the hem of her top.
"If you want to. Do whatever you want to get comfy, baby." He smiled at her.
In response to his words, Katniss brightened up, getting off the couch and stripping down completely, surprising Peeta once again. Not that he was complaining, he licked his lips seeing her gently curved hips and small perky tits.
"Do you want me to take off my clothes too?" He asked, confused. Katniss shook her head, leaning forward to undo the top several buttons of his shirt.
"I like feeling your clothes and your skin." She explained, crawling onto his lap and nestling herself against his chest, one of her hands resting underneath his shirt on his stomach. It was a very pleasant feeling.
"Alright, babygirl." He wrapped his arms around her, rubbing little circles on the smooth skin of her back, still striped red from his nails. "Do you want Daddy to talk or cuddle quietly?"
"Can Daddy tell me a story?" Katniss asked in the softest, tiniest voice possible. Peeta smiled.
"Of course, babygirl. Hm... Once upon a time… there was a beautiful, brave princess and a shy, goofy prince. The princess came from a kingdom where the people were unhappy, and she didn't like it there. The prince came from a different land, and all he wanted to do was to make the pretty princess as happy as she made him. He got up every morning with one purpose: to make the beautiful, mysterious princess smile." Peeta felt Katniss sigh and snuggle closer into his arms. He continued the story.
"Every day, the prince would get up and go to… royalty school, where they teach the princesses and princes from all around. Every day, the prince would see the lovely princess and try to make her smile. At first, it felt impossible. The princess didn't want to talk to the prince at all, and he couldn't get her to smile. But then one day, he told a joke to his other friends, and he saw the princess all the way across the room smile, just a tiny bit.
"The prince was so excited, he went home and learned every joke he could find, telling them all over school just to see if the princess would smile again even if he was still to scared to tell them to the princess herself. Sometimes she did smile, and sometimes she didn't. But the little prince kept trying every day, just in case. Finally, he found the courage to walk up to her and tell her a joke he'd thought of just for her. And guess what?" Peeta paused, looking at Katniss to see if she was still awake. He couldn't tell, but her eyes were shut peacefully and she had the tiniest of smiles on her face. "The princess finally smiled for him." He ended.
He had treasured the memory of the day he and Katniss had first spoken. How nervous he was, how excited when he finally found the perfect funny story to tell her, the thrill of having her smile back at him.
He felt Katniss's soft breath brush across his bare chest, and he rubbed her arms gently, smiling to himself as she relaxed in his arms. He'd wanted Katniss to let down her guard for so long now, and finally, she had let him inside her walls. He looked at the small, vulnerable form in his arms and pictured her as he'd known her in school: the tiny little girl with ratty dresses and two braids who could sing like a bird, but was too beaten down to do so.
Anger burned in his veins as he thought of the one time he'd ever seen her at home. The fury of her foster father as he threw things at the walls and chased her out the front door. Katniss was a tiny little thing, and she was no match for the fully grown man. He caught her, scooped her up and ripped off the ragged remains of her ratty dress before he glanced up and saw little Peeta standing there, his mouth hanging open in shock and horror. Katniss met his eyes then, so wide and full of fear. She shook her head at him as she was carried naked back into the house, where Peeta could only imagine what was done to her.
Older Peeta shook his head as the memory faded away. At the time, he had no idea what to do. He'd always thought Katniss's foster father to be a kind and reasonable man. He came in for career day and talked about his business at the law firm. When he tearfully told his oldest brother what he'd seen, Brandon had told him 'alcohol turns people into beasts.'
It was little Peeta's personal life mission from then on to make up for all the love Katniss didn't get at home.