Peeta...
I can't concentrate much lately. Not because of my flashbacks or episodes, because Katniss has awoken some carnal desire within me. It's taking over. Of course I thought about sex before, a lot. But then it seemed like a pipe dream and something far from reality that I could push the thoughts from my mind. Those nights on the train were as close as I thought I would ever get. I didn't want anyone else.
Now I can't stop noticing her body, the curve of her hips, how she licks her lips, tucks loose strands behind her ear...I'd noticed it all before, a million times or more but now I ache with possibility.
The door goes, must be Delly or Thom. I wanted to thank them and I also wanted this house to have some life in it. Maybe we could grasp some sort of normalcy. Katniss bounds downstairs, she's wearing a dress and I'm surprised. She also has her hair pinned up. Can't wait to let it fall loose later.
I need to focus. Delly enters and greets us both and I invite her to sit at the table. I also partly wanted to give Delly a hand with Thom. She likes the guy but he hasn't made a move and I know she's too shy.
Katniss grabs a basket of bread rolls and places it on the table.
"Maybe we should have invited Haymitch?" She asks.
"There's no liquor here, he would have declined. I've already taken dinner over."
I wanted tonight to be civilised and fun, if Haymitch got too drunk his usual sarcasm turned to aggression and Katniss would often antagonise him. They are too much alike sometimes.
Thom arrives and we have a nice dinner. He tells us about the people he met in District 13 and we discuss mutual acquaintances. I throw in comments for Delly to involve her in the conversations, she looks like she could hug me. Even Katniss appears to be enjoying herself and around the time for desert, I feel her hand under the table take mine. It surprises me at times, how she can go from denying that we have anything to days like today where she took my hand in town and this gesture under the table. Although I know jealousy mostly spurred her on earlier, I didn't care.
Thom tells us about a guy who lived in District 10 who told him about the livestock they kept there on farms. He's considering starting his own cattle herd or something. He also talks about how they use domesticated dogs to herd the animals. He said they could be trained. I remember in a book for school we read about dogs being trained to hunt, I wonder if this would be a solution to Katniss issue with the woods. No one really kept pets before the war. Some caught a few song birds and of course Prim had Buttercup, but mostly people were so starving that animals were only a potential food source. Well we could afford the extra mouth to feed now. I make a note to check with Haymitch if he has any contacts in District 10.
After desert is over Thom announces he needs to get going. I suggest he walks Delly home, for safety reasons of course. Thom agrees and they leave, Delly looks like all her birthdays arrived at once.
Katniss and I clean the kitchen and feed the cat.
"You look really pretty tonight." I tell her.
"Only because this dress covers the scars."
"Your scars are beautiful." I tell her. I mean it, every scar she has signifies what we have been through to get where we are now.
She puts her arms around me and plants a kiss on my cheek. My minds starting to wander again, wonder how she would react if I push her against the wall and slide my hands up her thighs, hitching up her dress...As if sensing my thoughts Katniss gently taps my cheek.
"I'm going to bed." She announces.
I lock the door and head upstairs behind her.
Katniss doesn't let me touch anything other than her breasts again that night, I'm happy to oblige. She does explore my body with her hands though and again I come apart in her hand. After she cleans me up, she leans forward and kisses her way up my stomach and over my chest. Onto my neck where she lingers, kissing the hollow softly. I wonder how long it will take before she lets me touch her in this way. She falls asleep and I lie there wondering how to make her want me to touch her. Soon I fall asleep, no nightmares come but I dream of Katniss whispering into my ear.
For the next few weeks I am so busy with the bakery opening I don't have much time to think about seducing Katniss. She helps with stock checks and sometimes counts the money for me at the end of the day. When we get home we are both so tired we fall asleep instantly.
I had decided to hire two part time staff to cover some shifts, particularly a Saturday. Then I could spend more time with Katniss. I still rose early so she wouldn't notice me slip out this morning. She's sound asleep as I slip on my prosthetic, I head downstairs and dress quickly. There's a train getting in at 6 and I have something to collect.
The train hasn't arrived when I get to the station so I sit on a bench and wait. Vartan, one of the station crew comes over to chat and before I know it the train arrives.
The station crew begin to offload the cargo and sort it. As a favor, Vartan lets me leave with my crate instead of waiting on it to be processed. I sign the papers quickly and head back home. I want to be there before she wakes.
When I enter the house I listen carefully to see if she's up. When I don't hear a sound I try to be as quiet as I possibly can, taking the crate upstairs. It's not too large but the contents may be noisy. When I get to the bedroom I see Katniss still asleep. I prise the crate open in the hallway and look inside at the tiny puppy cowering within a blanket. "Hey little guy," I whisper. He's chocolate brown in color and I have to admit, cute as hell. I I lift him and he whimpers slightly, probably confused as to what the hell has just happened to him. I carry him to the bed and put him down. He sniffs around at the bottom of the bed first then decides it's safe, he begins to climb up over Katniss toward her face. I watch in amusement.
He's pressed against her chest and sniffing her neck. Katniss stirs, the pup begins to lick her.
"Peeta, fuck off it's too early." She complains. I can't help myself I burst out laughing as she opens her eyes to the little brown fluff ball licking her nose.
"What the...Peeta?"
"I thought you could use a new hunting partner." I say.
She's still confused from being roused from sleep. Katniss puts her hand out to the puppy and he licks it.
"He'll chase away all the game." She half complains.
"Not if you train him. He's called a Labrador retriever, they used to be known as gun dogs." I'm glad I did my homework.
"I don't know how to train him." She protests.
"I have some books you can use as a guide." I tell her.
She scratches the dog behind the ears. He leans into her clearly enjoying it.
"Peeta?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you."
I only ever want to make you happy, I think to myself. I kick my shoes off and lie in bed beside them while we debate names.
Katniss devotes herself to training the puppy. I was a little nervous as to how she would react at my replacement for Gale but she accepted it easier than I thought. We name the puppy Wren and spend the first few weeks trying to toilet train him.
"Katniss! He's peed on my prosthetic and in my shoe!" I yell.
She's howling with laughter at this, I'm starting to regret getting him.
She's been taking him out to the woods every day on a leash.
"I think I'm going to let him off today," she says.
"You are confident he will come back?"
"He's doing well, he responds to all the commands I have taught him. You should come with us, we'll go to the lake and he can swim."
I have today off. "Sounds good," I say giving her a kiss.
I pack us some food and grab some extra bread for Haymitch.
Katniss waits outside for me while I go to check he's still alive.
Haymitch is actually up and frying some eggs when I enter. The house is a mess. I should look into getting him another housekeeper.
"I brought you some bread." I tell him.
"Ah good I'm starving."
Wren starts barking outside, presumably at the geese. Took us a few weeks to get him to stop chasing them around.
Haymitch looks out of the window and sees Katniss waiting for me.
"Look at you two, living together and now with a baby."
"About as close as I'm going to get." And I mean it because Katniss doesn't want kids and she still won't let me touch her.
"Well you have persisted this long, won't kill you to wait a bit longer. God knows how it hasn't by now."
I suspect Haymitch knows we are not having sex. I don't think I want to talk to him about this anyway.
"Well we are off to the woods for today, be back with dinner."
I leave and when Wren sees me he strains on his leash to get to me.
Katniss commands him to sit and he does.
"Separation anxiety I think."
"You or him?" I joke.
She rolls her eyes at me and we begin our hike out into the forest.
When we are far enough out Katniss let's Wren off his leash and he runs off. We both wait to see if he returns, we find that when he can't see us behind him he runs back. Eventually we descend through the trees and I can see the lake In the distance. There's a small beach area that Katniss leads us to and we sit and rest as I take in the beauty of it.
"It's beautiful here."
"Yeah, my dad and I spent a lot of time here. I love it."
Wren bounds off to the water and finds himself a stick. He runs toward us and flops down at Katniss feet and begins to chew. She leans back to bask in the sun, she looks beautiful too.
We have something to eat and drink then Katniss suggests we have a swim. I'm a terrible swimmer, there were never any opportunities for me to learn.
"Relax Peeta, I won't let you drown." She starts to remove her shirt and my heart starts pumping in my chest. She's in her underwear and running down to the water. I hastily remove my clothes too. Wren is already bounding after her into the water.
I stand with my feet in the water, unsure of it.
"C'mon!" She splashes me. I go further out and splash her back, I'm up to my shoulders and I can still feel the ground beneath me. This feels okay.
Katniss swims farther away, showing off.
"Unfair advantage Katniss!" I exclaim. I try to follow her farther out but I end up lingering, floating slightly in the shallows. Katniss dives and doesn't reemerge. I feel something tickle my leg, I jump. Katniss breaks from the water laughing. She leans forward to kiss me and I grab her hungrily. I can't help but notice her nipples through her wet bra. My hands slide up and down her back then grab her breasts, teasing her nipples. She sighs against my lips and I slide my hands to her back and unclasp the hook of her bra.
"Peeta what are you doing?" She asks.
"Getting closer." I peel the wet bra off and throw it away then bring her lips back to mine. Her chest rises and her breasts make contact with skin. I kiss my way down her neck and over her collarbone, I knead her breasts before grabbing one and taking it into my mouth. She gasps as I gently nibble on it and stroke the pointed tips with my tongue. She pulls my head closer to her, stroking my hair. The short gasps she makes sound so good, I can feel myself getting hard. I lift her up so that she can put her legs around my waist. I position her so she's just settled around my crotch. I push my hips into her as she kisses me, the fabric of my underwear meeting hers. She's grinding herself into me and it feels so unbelievably good. I get so caught up that i accidentally lose my footing and we both tumble into the water. We emerge laughing.
"Peeta, where is my bra?"
I don't care, gone I hope. "No idea, floating away farther out maybe."
Wren is back on the shore lying lazily in the sun. We head back and grab our clothes and the bag. To my disappointment Katniss puts her shirt back on.
I'm aching to be touched and in my wet underwear it's impossible not to notice the protruding erection.
"Come, I want to show you something." She says, taking my hand and leading me along the banks of the lake.
I follow with Wren not far behind. She leads me to a small ruin of a house, probably an old cottage. We go inside and there are the remnants of an old fire and some animal bones. The roof has deteriorated and you can see parts of the blue sky above. Katniss lays a blanket out from the bag and tethers Wren by his leash at the door. He whines but lies down.
"When I was a kid I used to dream that I lived here."
"You are probably the only kid to have been here in years."
"Yeah probably. I used to play and pretend it was my fortress...I met two women from District 8 out here, they were on the run to thirteen. Bonnie and Twill. I don't think they made it as I never saw them again." She says sadly.
We sit on the blanket and I reach up to push strands of her hair back. Katniss memories like mine always seem to be mixed, something good with the bad.
I pull her towards me and kiss her. "I love you." I tell her, because it's true and I need to say it out loud. She doesn't answer but her kisses become more desperate. My hands run all over her body, I whisper in her ear, "Katniss, relax."
I trail my finger down her stomach and over her underwear. They are damp from the lake anyway. I tease her gently through the fabric. It feels soft and warm, when she inhales deeply I push one hand inside and stroke long lengths across her folds.
"Do you want me to stop?" I ask. She's arching her back, I hope she says no.
"No." She breathes out. I tease her gently using her soft moans and sighs to guide me. I can feel her slit becoming wet under my fingertips and I gently slide one into her folds to test. She groans and I grin slipping in another finger, curling them and gently sliding in and out. She feels so good and I want to know how she will feel around my cock but not today. Today I'm satisfied that I got this far. I slip in a third finger and increase my speed. She's pushing her hips forward inviting me to go deeper, I push in further gently. I can't believe how wet she is. Wet for me. Her hands come up to her breasts and she strokes and squeezes them. My cock twitches. I use my thumb to rub her outer lips, trying different things. Suddenly she lets out a husky groan. I think I may have find the spot she likes. I keep going until I feel her tighten and shudder around my fingers. I'm pleased with myself, I managed to give Katniss an orgasm for the first time. I take my hand out and lick my fingers, she watches me. "You taste good," I tell her.
I bring myself back up to meet her lips. I feel Katniss hand straying down to the bulge in my pants and slide beneath the waistband. She gets me off with long slow strokes of her hand, it doesn't take long. My body is so excited by what just happened. Afterwards I hold Katniss. Being initimate together is becoming more frequent.
"How do you feel?" I ask her.
"Totally relaxed," she replies stretching her legs.
We lie for a while longer before Katniss suggests we swim before heading home. Out here, Katniss seems so alive. In her element. I wonder what will become of the lake as District 12 expands and more people discover that it's here.