Chapter 2: Seduced

Darius shows Prim and I into the Head Peacekeeper's mansion. It is opulent, matched only by the Mayor's House and the mansions lining Victor's Village (only one of which is occupied).

"Primrose, your bedroom is here on the first floor, just off the kitchen," Darius says. My baby sister happily scampers off to claim her new quarters. "Katniss, if you'll follow me, your bedroom is upstairs, adjacent to mine."

I lug the suitcase up the staircase after him, and we enter what are to be my chambers. I set the suitcase down on a chair in the corner. I hear Darius closing the door behind me.

"You will sleep here," he instructs. He points to a door on the right. "That will lead into my room, should I ever need you. The door on the left is your washroom." He crosses to the bed, and I move to glance out the window.

"Well, this is... very generous, Mr. Head Peacekeeper. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must see to my sister..."

I am moving to the rear door when I feel a set of firm hands grab and start caressing my hips. I unconsciously lean into the touch, feeling hot breath on my neck as someone begins to suck on it. It is then that I remember who that only other person in the room is.

"Darius, what are you...?"

A warm hand cups my cheek, turning my face back before Darius silences me with a kiss. I spin my head away.

"Don't!" I squeak, wiping at my mouth, spinning fully to face him.

"All right, not there." Darius dips his mouth into my neck. "But how about there?"

I instinctually tilt my head back as Darius starts to kiss up my neck. Whirling me back around, his calloused, strong hands grab my hips again. He continues to plant pecks along my throat. One giant paw of a hand reaches up and boldly cups me, groping my breast through my dress.

"Do you like it when I touch you, Katniss?"

"N-no," I say, trying to convince my mind what my body is currently disputing, as I sag my body against his. I can feel a hard, wild thing brushing up against the curve of my rear. Darius squeezes my breast again, and I clap a hand over my mouth. Another twist of my nipple, which rises to meet Darius's talented digits and I moan piteously into my palm.

"I've wanted you for so long," Darius hisses in my ear.

Despite my self-imposed vow of chastity, I know that I have wanted him to. I can feel dampness pool between my legs, and my thighs start to shiver.

"You... you've only ever wanted a kiss from me," I gasp through my fingers, remembering the times Darius would ask to trade a carcass of squirrel for a kiss. I thought it was nothing more than a flirtatious joke.

By now, Darius's other hand has released my hip and is inching up my thighs, underneath my dress to play with my knickers. "My sister!" I cry out. "My sister would never forgive me if we - Mmmmm..." His mouth claims mine once more, and this time, I allow it, but only for a moment. I turn my face away. "I said don't." But my voice is a quiet whisper.

"Only you and I will know what happens here, Katniss." Darius murmurs. Wordlessly, almost entranced, I nod.

Behind me, I feel the straps to my blue dress come undone, and it pools to the floor. I step out of the garment, kicking it away as I turn around. I am in nothing but my simple bra and panties - a complete coincidence that either of them match. Darius takes me by my waist and pulls me close. "All woman," he growls.

Then, his fingers sink into the supple flesh of my ass. Picking me up by my buttocks, Darius carries me to my bed and deposits me down on it, before scrambling on top of me. This time, when he kisses me, I don't fight it, kissing him back. Darius takes his own sweet time undressing himself and I squirm beneath him.

"I thought we would skip the foreplay and go straight into the lovemaking," he posits.

I wriggle. "Oh, just get it over with already."

There is a sharp pause as our gazes lock. Flushing rouge, I bite my lip. Goodness, did that come out wrong.

"Katniss, if you don't want this..." Darius is eyeing me with concern.

"No!" Surprised by my own boldness, I flip him, swinging my long leg over so that I am now straddling him. "I want this. I do." And before he can say anything further, I sink down onto his erect member.

Both of us gasp, and then groan, on impact. I had not meant to be so rough about it. After giving myself a moment to adjust to the pain, I place my hands on Darius's chest and begin to bounce fervently on his member. I only get a few in before Darius is grabbing my thighs and flipping me onto my back.

"I'm the one who wants to make love to you. Remember?"

He seizes my left leg and tosses it over his shoulder. Using the headboard to brace himself, he begins to drive into me. All I can do is grip both of Darius's arse cheeks in my palms while nipping and sucking and kissing any spare inch of skin within my reach. All the while, my moans grow louder and louder. Darius is also making pitiful noises and I only pray that Primrose doesn't hear.

"Uhhhh... Huhhhh... Guhhhhh! Mmmm... Hmmmm... Darius... I'm... I'm going to... Oh, fuck!"

Heat bursts and spreads through my body like a tidal wave. My back arches, my toes curl, my thighs quake and my nails dig so deep into Darius's backside that I am positive I draw blood. I feel Darius soften inside of me before he collapses on my limp form.

Mind scrambled, I curl into his naked warmth and fall asleep.

Only a little while later, Darius and I are awake, wrapped in each other's naked embrace and stroking each other. Darius presses his lips into my temple. "Katniss?"

"Hmm?"

"Will you marry me?"

I look at him. Curious and even a little amused, I run my fingers through his long, red hair. As Head, Darius is the only Peacekeeper in this whole district who is allowed to marry and have a family while stationed here. And while I have never wanted to marry, Mother had always hoped for that for me. She would be pleased that her eldest daughter might marry so well. And... this could be my ticket out. As the wife of a district official, I would never return to the Community Home again. But... what about...

"I'll take care of both you and Prim."

And that does it. Decision made, I dip my head and gently kiss him.

"Yes," I murmur, accepting his proposal with my gaze solemn.

Primrose helps dress me in the wedding gown that once belonged to our mother. Our most precious family heirloom, Mother stole it when running away to elope with our father. Someday, Primrose will wear it after me.

My sister holds up my bridal train as I stride into Town, to the Justice Building where Darius and I are to be married. Standing before the District Clerk, I in my dress and Darius in his uniform, we exchange rings and vows. We both affix our names to the marriage license - I will take Darius's last name (Freeman), which is the generic last name that all Peacekeepers share. Lifting my veil, Darius bends and kisses me. Closing my eyes, I kiss him back.

Returning to our home, Darius carries me across the threshold of the mansion. Prim stokes up the fire, while I change from my wedding dress into my blue Reaping frock. When a woman gets married in District 12, it is a tradition for her and her husband to toast a bit of bread over their hearth and share it. No one in Twelve feels truly married without the practice.

Darius expertly burns the bread with the poker. Splitting it, we each feed each other a piece. Tilting my head back, my grey eyes glinting in the firelight, I permit my new husband to kiss me. Pulling him close, I throw my arms about his neck and deepen the kiss as my eyes flutter shut. Prim applauds giddily. My tongue licks greedily along Darius's lips and he opens his mouth to me. Soon, our tongues are swimming in each other's mouths, entwined as our arms are about each other.

And as Darius and I embrace and kiss, I am content in the knowledge that I am the Head Peacekeeper's wife. Mrs. Darius Freeman.