A/N: I am SO SO SO overwhelmed by the response this story has gotten. I wasn't expecting reviews or story alerts or favorites or any of it, and SO many of you have done one or all of the above. I don't like to beg for reviews, but I am totally fangirling over the Hunger Games right now so if you like this kind of story and you'd like to see more, please consider an Author Alert to let you know when I publish more.
I've also been known to fangirl over Harry Potter, and though I can't make any promises I would totally consider one-shot (or two-shot) requests :)
My weight rests on my left elbow as my right hand slides to her hip. I rub circles into it with my thumb, and the movement moves her top ever so slightly until I am touching skin. The tiniest contact sets me on fire.
She moans into my mouth and I move my entire hand to rest on her side. I can feel the heat burning between my legs and she grinds into me again. I push my pelvis into her, an almost completely involuntary response. I slide my hand up, stopping mid-ribcage, but she squirms and lets go of my hair and pushes my hand higher up with her own.
Her breasts are perfect, beautifully shaped flesh that fits into my cupped hand. She sighs again as I gently apply pressure. Her leg hooks around my hips and I roll, pulling her over so she straddles me. We stop for a moment as she sits up, running her hands down my body from my shoulders to the place where our bodies meet through layers of clothing. Katniss keeps her weight on her knees, but she grinds into me a little as she leans down to kiss me again.
With both hands free I am able to touch her body - her thighs, her hips, her back, her chest. She moans loudly when I touch her. She used to be quiet, but I think she realized that the noises she made turned me on. A lot.
Her breathing is fast and hard, and suddenly she breaks away from me. For a moment all I can feel is the distance between us, but when she comes back to me she is all skin. I flash back to a poolside, a towel, the first time I ever touched these breasts, and I am still the awed teenage boy I was back then. Katniss' skin is not cool and damp now, though, it's dry and warm and pushing into me with the desire to be touched.
I sit up suddenly, pulling Katniss up with me so that she straddles my legs while I take off my own shirt. It lands on the floor next to the bed and when she and I touch again it is skin to skin. The warmth of her, the feel of her touching me is unbearable and I must have more. Her hands are on my face, in my hair, fingertips on my shoulders and her palms on my chest and when my fingers move to her jeans she unbuttons them while I go for the zipper.
Suddenly, it is awkward as we try to shift into a position where she can take off her pants, but there is no way to do so without breaking contact so I slide to the edge of the bed and stand. The candlelight casts strange shadows and my silhouette flickers over her as she wiggles out of her jeans. I take mine off, quickly, and return to her embrace, crouching over her as she leans back to rest on her elbows.
"Candles really do make all the difference," she says as she looks up at me.
"Lighting," I say. "The tiniest detail can change the mood."
"Like cupcakes."
"Cupcakes?"
Katniss blushes, a rare occurrence for her, and she nods.
"Your cupcakes," she says. "I mean of course the cake is good, but when you get really into it, with the decorations and the fondant - I've seen what you can do to a cake, and your attention to detail is exquisite."
"Whatever I can do to a cake," I tell her, "it doesn't compare to what I'm willing to do for you."
It comes out sounding like a bad metaphor turned into a cheesy pickup line, which is exactly what it is. Katniss chuckles, and reaches up to touch my face with her hand.
"You always go the extra mile for me, Peeta," she says. "That's why I love you."
The fire in my blood turns to ice. Katniss has never said this to me before, and though I hoped with all my heart that she knew it, I have not told her the truth, either. For a moment I am stunned, struck with the sledgehammer of joy and terror. She senses the change and frowns slightly.
"Peeta?"
"Yes?"
"Make love to me."
Love was in the fondant roses. Love was in the playful kisses I planted on her cheeks, on her forehead, on her nose. Love was in the very way that I looked at her, but love meant that I would have given her anything she asked of me.
We curl up side by side and resume our kissing, but the wildfire of passion has been replaced by a slower, deeper burning, a campfire of affection and tenderness. Katniss swings her left leg over my hip and I put my right arm around her to pull her closer to me.
"Katniss?" I whisper, and she kisses me again before opening her eyes.
"Yes?"
"I love you, too."
A/N: I just checked the story stats and there have been over a thousand hits in two days. I am positively floored.
Also, I lied. I'm stretching this out, they're just too cute together xD