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Gale's POV:

I took advantage of the shuttle ride home to begin sorting the day out in my mind. I can't ever remember a day at work that was filled with more tension than today. From the moment Ember spoke at the meeting until she smiled when I told her I'd see her tomorrow, my mind and body were engaged in perpetual warfare. It is going to be one hell of a long week.

I was attracted to her, no doubt about it. I have operated at half mast and worse all day. Struggling to hide the super-sized bulge behind my button-ups is my new favorite pastime and I have to get creative to keep it from becoming obvious. Images of her are burned into my mind and even though I want to, I can't close my eyes and escape. I am threatened by how drawn I am to her. She is like gravity and I am being pulled defenselessly against my will. I feel like a rod of iron near a strong magnet. I can't remember any woman having such an immediate effect on me. I'd only met her this morning. One day. Shit, what was wrong with me?

All day I observe and study her like I would prey. I watch her body language, listen to every intonation of her voice, and study each expression that crosses her face. She is addicting and I think I am helpless against becoming dependent on my next fix. This isn't healthy. It can't be. I feel like I'm falling, not in love, but off of a high precipice with no assurance of a safe landing.

My mind recreates her fragrance. She smelled soft, like fresh washed laundry that had been hung to dry in the sweet, warm sunshine. I caught myself inhaling deep breaths hoping to catch her scent. How ridiculous is that?

Ember is smart and clever. During our quick tour of the fueling stations and warehouses this afternoon, I was impressed by her knowledge of the operations. She is passionate about her work. She definitely knows what she is talking about and even suggested a couple of small changes that would increase productivity. Smart women are sexy as hell! She is not intimidated by me nor did she come across as an in-your-face, pushy, self-assertive bitch that was climbing the ladder of success while you are the lowest rung on the ladder. Confidence is hot! She is professional and classy. Seductive.

And she is completely unaware of her effect on me. Damn, I think her lack of subtle gestures and innuendos is as arousing to me as her physical beauty.

After the award winning first act I gave this morning, I have my work cut out for me if I ever hope to get past "co-worker" status. I am aware that I'm not the ugliest guy in District 14 - not by a long shot. I work out every day to help minimize my frustrations and my body has reaped the benefits. I've seen the way women look at me and they definitely like what they see. Hell, I've even had some brush against me in passing to cop a feel! Evidently membership to the sexually frustrated club is still high.

But the one thing I've never had, the one thing that I want above all else, is a woman willing to stick around long enough to figure out I am worth keeping. Not even Katniss offered me that.

Ember strikes me as the type that is looking for more than a quick toss between the sheets and I find that more alluring than I care to admit. It's what makes me keep myself in check, apply some control.

The woman I am looking for will have a heart that won't be easy to snare. She'll want a man who she deems worthy of her, her heart, her love. She will be careful and cautious like a rabbit that has picked up the scent of a wolf. I will be the wolf so near, yet hidden in the shadows, careful, stealthy, quiet until I have her where I want her. I want to capture her, but not destroy her. My instinct compels me to protect her, to be what she needs to survive, to live, to love.

After a quick meal in the kitchen I shower and go to bed. I turn out the light and close my eyes, willing sleep to take me quickly, but all I can see is Ember. My mind drifts over the day and I channel my favorite moments. The swell of her breasts and hips I noticed at the meeting, the sunlight on her hair at lunch, her soft, full lips, and her eyes. I focus on the way she looked at me and listened, really listened, when I spoke to her.

I groan and roll flat on my back. I'm hard as a rock with no relief in sight. All I can think of is what her lips would feel like under my tongue and on my skin. I wonder what it would feel like to take her hair down and run my fingers through it. How soft would her skin feel against mine? Would we fit together perfectly? Oh, god. I'm killing myself slowly and for all the control I had today, I have none tonight. Knowing I will not be able to sleep in this condition, I reach under the covers and take my swollen, aching iron in hand, envisioning that it's her. Breathing her name out loud as though she could hear and react to my voice, I propel myself towards release and temporary relief.

Physically sated but emotionally unsatisfied, I lay here alone, ashamed of caving in to my need for immediate gratification and violating her unwitting image. I am powerless to the guilt tinged hunger that even now threatens to burn me alive from the inside out. What has come over me? I want this woman. I want to possess her body, her mind, and the passion I perceive lying underneath the defensive armor she has enveloped herself within. Exhaustion overtakes me and I fall asleep to haunting dreams of her calling my name while she runs away from me, just out of my reach.