Chapter 5

I'd planned on sleeping for a little and then waking up to give Peeta that 'later' I'd promised him, but truth be told, I hadn't realized just how tired I'd be. Sex was exhausting.

When I did finally wake up, it was already mid-morning and every muscle in my body, including a few I didn't know I had, felt like they'd been stretched in a taffy pulling machine like the one Peeta and I had looked at a few days earlier to have installed in the bakery.

I felt the heavy weight of Peeta's arms around me and the telltale heat of his breath on my cheek as I blinked open my eyes and rubbed the sleep out of them. I stretched slowly and felt my joints pop, my muscles protesting even the simplest of movements. I grinned to myself and turned my head slowly to find Peeta was still asleep and didn't look likely to wake up anytime soon. I lay there watching the gentle breeze from the window rhythmically sway the curtains back and forth.

I moaned softly, remembering the rhythm Peeta and I moved with last night, and felt a blush spread from my neck to my cheeks. I quietly slipped out of the bed.

The throw I'd wrapped myself in had loosened at some point during the night and I tightened it as I climbed off of the bed and went to look out the window.

I couldn't help but smile at Haymitch, hollering at a pair of geese who had strayed from the flock and chasing after them with his cane. I was so caught up in watching him that I didn't feel Peeta coming up behind me until his arms were around my shoulders.

"Morning, beautiful." He murmured with a sleep roughened voice that made me weak in the knees. I reached up to grip his forearms where they were folded across my chest and kissed the bicep nearest to my lips.

"Morning, sleep well?" I asked with a grin as I turned my head enough to look up into his face. His eyes were still half closed and he had a slight 5 o'clock shadow dusting his face. He'd literally never looked sexier.

"Mmmm…only the best ever…" he whispered and swayed gently back and forth with me still wrapped in his arms. He chuckled watching Haymitch with the geese and blew a raspberry on my neck before hopping back over to the bed and throwing himself on top of the covers spread eagle on his back.

I turned from the window, raising my eyebrows at him and leaning back to perch on the edge of the sill. He was just opening his mouth to say something when the telephone rang and he leaned over to grab the handset off of the nightstand.

"Hello?" He asked sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Thom…hey…yeah…" he made surprised face at me and leaned backwards to look at the clock. "Oh shit! Yeah, sorry I guess I…slept in….not feeling well?" He asked, testing the words as he thought about whether they held the key to his getting to stay home for the day rather than go take the finalized plans to look over with Thom, the foreman on the bakery build. "Uh…yeah…I guess that might…might explain it…" he said trying not to smile. "Sure…I'll bring em' by first thing tomorrow…uh huh…you too…later." Peeta dropped the phone back into the cradle and flipped back over, smiling devilishly at me. He burst out laughing when he saw the mock shocked and disappointed look on my face.

"Peeta Mellark!" I gaped and strode over to the edge of the bed, sitting down heavily and shaking my head. "I certainly hope my lack of good manners isn't rubbing off on you." I said trying to sound like Effie.

"So what if it is?" He asked reaching out and grabbing me around my waist, pulling me down to the blankets with him. "I like you rubbing off on me." He whispered and pushed his hips suggestively against mine. I gasped at his double entendre and swatted him on the chest playfully.

Peeta just chuckled heartily and settled his full weight on top of me, leaning in to kiss my lips softly. I could already feel his growing erection stirring against my belly between us and I hiked the hem of the throw blanket I had wrapped around me up so that it rested just above my knees. Peeta reached for the top where it was tucked under my armpits and slowly began to unwrap me.

"I love you." I whispered and melted into his kisses.

"Love you too." Peeta whispered back and unwound the blanket from my body until I was lying bare beneath him. He reached for the box on the nightstand and removed another package from it, laying it next to my head as he deepened our kisses, his hips already beginning to move like he was inside of me.

I reached down and pushed his shorts to his knees and fumbled for the little package next to my head. Peeta smiled against my neck as he kissed his way down to my chest and back to my lips, pulling back briefly to watch me frantically trying to rip open the condom.

"Mmm…I can't wait either…" he gasped and sat up on his knees, watching as I rolled the condom onto his length to make sure I was doing it right. I scooted myself back to the pillows and slid under the covers, holding them up so that Peeta could join me, which he did.

He kicked his boxers the rest of the way off and climbed on top of me under the layers of blankets, peppering kisses up and down my body. He seemed to know enough about this to realize that I needed a little bit more foreplay than he did. Not much at this point, but a little.

When we were once again face to face, I pulled his face down to mine, kissing all over it tenderly as I felt him lining his hips up with mine and entering me with just the tip at first. I moaned loudly and thrust my hips up to meet his, looping my arms around his torso and gently beginning to run my nails up and down his smooth back.

This was all the encouragement Peeta needed. He kissed me long and hard as he pushed my hips back down to the bed with his, entering me slowly at the same time. It wasn't long before we were both thrusting against each other searching for release. I hadn't reached my climax the night before, having psyched myself out with the enormity of the act we were engaging in. I planned on making up for that.

I surprised myself by how quickly I was nearing my peak as Peeta tried to do all of the same things he'd done the night before to bring us both pleasure. I still felt a little pain where we were joined but nothing bad enough to dampen the good feelings. I moaned into his mouth and pushed my hips up harder against his, letting him know that it was okay to move faster and harder too.

Peeta picked up on my cues pretty well for this only being our second time doing this and soon we were both tumbling over the edge together and collapsing in a heap of sweaty limbs beneath the covers. Peeta rolled off of me and discreetly disposed of the condom before rolling back into my arms.

"Do those…feel okay?" I asked nodding towards the box on the nightstand and propping my head up on one arm as I moved my hand across Peeta's head, twisting little curly-cues into his blonde hair playfully.

Peeta looked thoughtful for a moment and then shrugged. "I don't think I feel as much as I would without them, but they're okay." He answered in the most unconvincing voice I'd ever heard.

"I could call Effie…see if she can suggest something…I…I heard there's this…shot they can give to girls. It lasts 3 months and we wouldn't have to have anything between us." I ran a thumb over his bottom lip and leaned in to kiss it gently. "That'd be nice." I whispered and nuzzled his cheek with my nose.

"Sure, I mean…only if you want that." Peeta said propping his own head up on an elbow and reaching out to play with a strand of my tangled hair. I could tell just by the ghost of a smile on his lips that my hair must have been a wild mess.

"That bad huh?" I chuckled and reached up to touch my hair. Peeta chuckled and I sat up, letting the covers slip to my waist. "Wanna help me get the knots out in the shower?" I said with a grin and slid off the end of the bed, offering him my hand to help him up.

"Uhh..let me think about that one…sure." He laughed and threw off the covers, scooting himself to the edge of the mattress and taking my hand. I looped his arm over my shoulders and we were just heading into the adjoining bathroom when there was a knock at the door downstairs.

"Ugh…Haymitch." I grumbled and helped Peeta into the bathroom, turning on the water to let it warm up. "You okay a second while I run down and kill him?" I asked grabbing a robe from the back of the door and pulling it on.

"Sure, don't be long…I'll help you get rid of the body later, just tuck it under the porch steps for now." He quipped and I winked at him as I tied the robe and hurried out the bathroom door and down the steps. I rolled my eyes when I heard him knock again.

"Alright, alright! Jeez, Haymitch what's so freakin' important that it can't wait until after noon when…" I trailed off as I yanked the door open and my jaw nearly dropped to the ground.

"Gale…" I was surprised I even managed to force his name past my lips.

"Hello, Katniss."