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Chapter 22

Things have become much better in the past 2 weeks since finding that cabin in the woods. I managed to build the roof fairly quickly and have even build two bedrooms off the long hallway that once led to nowhere. One is for the boys and the other for the girls. Of course Katniss and I usually sneak out during the night and end up sleeping in the main part of the house, allowing us a little privacy. It doesn't always go according to plan.

I slip out of my room with my pillow and two blankets into the dark living room. Looks like I got here first. I spread out one blanket and use the other to cover me as I lie down on my pillow. All I can do now is wait for Katniss to get here. The longer I wait the more I believe that she is not going to show. I feel the drowsiness set in and I'm not sure how much longer I can hold on. After another 10 minutes, I give up. It has to be past midnight by now. I close my eyes and sink into the depth of my exhaustion. Before I lose total consciousness, I feel a body next to me.

"Wake up." she whispers before kissing my lips. My eyes slowly open and I see the most beautiful creature leaning over me.

"I thought you weren't coming." I murmur.

"Took my mother a while to fall asleep." Katniss comments.

"I'm glad you made it." I say as I wrap her in my arms.

"You think I'd miss this?" she asks with a small smile.

"I like this too." I agree before kissing her. She joins in and things are soon getting hot and heavy with lots of touching and moving against each other.

"Aren't you supposed to stop me?" I ask with heavy breaths as I kiss her neck.

"What?" she asks confused.

"We both know this isn't safe. Besides, I don't know if you could keep quiet." I mutter in her ear.

"I could." she says, with a hint of stubbornness. I suck on her earlobe, producing a loud moan that she quickly tries to stifle. I laugh at her and she glares back at me. If there's one thing I know, it's that Katniss doesn't like being wrong.

"You know I love the fact that I can get that reaction from you." I whisper, nuzzling my face close to her. "Just not here."

"But I want you." she whispers seductively as her hand teases me through the fabric of my pants. I let out a moan matching the intensity of hers at her surprise attack.

"And I'm the loud one." she snickers at me.

"Well-played Catnip." I laugh back. "We might need to take a trip to the cabin tomorrow."

"We'll see." she says, taunting me some more.

"Ok." I say, too tired to play along anymore. I wrap my arm around her and bring her close to me. "Goodnight Catnip."

"Goodnight Gale." she whispers.

I wake up to the feeling of someone tapping my back repeatedly with their shoe. The sensation of Katniss against me tells me it's not her. I open my eyes and find Rory standing above me with a wild smile on his face.

"What do we have here?" he asks mischievously.

"It's not what you think." I say sitting up to face him.

"I think it's exactly with I think. Katniss and Gale sitting in a tree k-i-s-s." I cut off his singing and dancing by jumping up and taking him outside.

"What the hell are you trying to do, wake up the whole house?" I growl at him.

"How long has this been going on?" he asks.

"A couple weeks." I reply.

"A couple week!" he repeats me. "What the hell Gale!"

"Listen, we're not ready for anyone to know yet."

"I don't know if I can keep quiet about this." he jabs at me.

"What do you want?" I ask. This isn't the first time we've bribed each other.

"I want to go hunting with you."

"You're too young."

"I am the same age when you started hunting."

"But that was different." I tell him.

"I wonder what Mom would think about the two of you sleeping so close together every night…or better yet, I wonder what her mother would think of that." he says with a devilish smile. Looks like I underestimated him.

"Or I could tell Prim about your little crush on her." I fight back, using information he told me from the first time in the woods.

"How did you know!" he blurts out.

"Oh come on it's so obvious, the way you insisted on coming with me whenever I had to take something to the Everdeen house."

"Please don't tell her." he begs me.

"You keep my secret, and I'll keep yours." I suggest. He nods furiously. We go back inside. It's too cold to be out without a coat and shoes on. "You didn't see this." I tell him as he walks back to his room. He nods and disappears. I join Katniss and wake her accidently.

"We've been discovered." I mutter.

"Who?" she asks with fear.

"Rory."

"Oh." she says, slightly relieved.

"Hopefully he won't blab."

"We're doomed." she says, knowing Rory isn't one to hold his tongue.

"I was convincing. I'm not the only one with secrets."

"Maybe this isn't a good idea." she says.

"Us?" I question as my body stiffens with fear.

"No. Our sleeping situation." she says. "You really think I'd give up on you that easily?"

"I don't know what to think sometimes."

"I'm not going anywhere." she says, giving me a peck on the cheek. She slowly stands from where we were sleeping.

"Where are you going?" I ask her.

"Back to my room before anyone else can find us."

"I guess I should too." I say, collecting my things. I follow closely behind her. "I'll see you later." I say, kissing her cheek as I reach my door. She smiles at me before continuing to her room. I quietly make my way back into my room. Vick is still sleeping but Rory is awake now. He's gazing up at the ceiling thinking about who know what.

"Do you love her Gale?" he asks me.

"Yes, I do." I reply.

"How did you know?"

"I've known for years. Wasn't really sure how to tell though."

"Years?" Rory says with exasperation. I can't help but laugh. "Will I have to wait that long too?"

"Rory, you don't…you can't. You're too young." I stumble along with my words.

"I'm almost 13."

"You're too young." I repeat myself.

"You think she could ever love me?" he asks.

"Sure. Why not?"

"How long do I have to wait?"

"You have to wait for a signal of some sort. I wasn't sure about how Katniss felt until we left District 12."

"Ok." he says, although I know he is still not pleased. The air is silent and I take it that our conversation is over. I lay on my back for as long as I can until I am tired of being still. There is no way I'm getting any more sleep today. I quietly leave the room and see Katniss sitting by herself at the table. I join her, sitting in the chair beside hers.

"Couldn't sleep either, huh?" She shakes her head. "What shall we do Ms. Everdeen?" I ask taking her hand.

"We could go for walk." she says with a glimmer in her eyes.

"Ok." I say, intrigued. We both bundle up and then are on our way. I let her lead the way and it isn't long before I know that she's taking me in the direction of the cabin. I can't help but smile when I think about what might happen there. Will we finish what we started on the living room floor last night?

We reach the cabin and walk inside. I'm surprised at how clean the place is. The cobwebs are gone, the floor looks clean.

"This is what I've been doing while you were busy building." she tell me.

"You came here by yourself?" I ask.

"I was careful." she responds, knowing that I worry about her.

"It looks nice." I tell her, giving her a kiss before going outside to collect some firewood. I arrange the wood in the fireplace and use a match from the box on the mantle to start it. I then go look to find Katniss and find her sitting on the edge of the bed, staring off into space. My foot squeaks on a floorboard and she looks toward me. I approach her and she stands to meet me. I wrap my arms around her waist and hold her close to me.

"Why did you bring me here Catnip?" I whisper to her.

"You know why." she murmurs, her cheeks blushing a lovely shade of pink as her eyes avert mine. I free one of my arms from her and guide her head up so I can see her face. She's nervous. I kiss her lips, hoping this will relax her. She responds to me and I can feel her body press into mine. My desire for her that I felt last night quickly returns and I don't want to waste any more time. My hand travels between us and I nimbly unfasten her pants. It isn't until I start sliding her pants and underwear downwards that she jumps and releases herself from me. Her nerves are back though I'm not sure why.

"What's wrong?" I ask her.

"I've never done this before." she mutters.

"Never?" I ask. It's something I haven't thought about before.

"Gale, who would I have…?" she trails off.

"I don't know. Katniss if you want to wait—"

"No. I just need a minute." she tells me. I take a step back and begin to undress, starting with my coat. "What are you doing?" she asks me with a laugh.

"I thought it might help if I go first." I say, flashing her a smile, kicking off my boots and removing my socks. I get another laugh from her, one my favorite sounds in the world. I continue, lifting my shirt up, revealing a good amount of skin. Next come the pants and I'm left with only my underwear.

"Well this is it." I say before sliding them down my body, adding them to my pile. I stand up tall and let her take me in. Her eyes explore every inch of me and her blush deepens.

'When you're ready, Catnip." I say, once her eyes have met mine. She starts with her shoes and socks, adding them to my pile. Next comes her coat, then shirt and pants. She stops for a minute, knowing her next move will expose herself to me. I can feel the anticipation building inside me. She reaches behind her back and unclasps her bra, letting it fall to her feet. I get my first look at her and I like what I see. Her fingers linger over the edge of her panties and I've never seen her look so vulnerable. I can't help but find it sexy. Her breaths quicken and I'm mesmerized as I see her bare chest rise and fall.

"Need some help?" I ask, stepping closer to her. She nods. I move closer, slide my hands under hers and Iightly slide her last bit of clothing down, letting it fall to the floor. I close what little space there is between us and I feel her body spring upward as I brush against her. My lips find hers and she reacts, kissing me back. I move my hips into hers and I can feel myself getting harder with each movement.

"The bed." I whisper in between kisses. She breaks away from me and gives me this look that is equal parts innocent and sexy. I rip the covers back and climb in, waiting for her. She kneels beside me and gazes at my erection in awe. I take her hand and wrap it around my shaft. I place my hand over hers and start a rhythm that she has no trouble replicating on her own. I bring my mouth back to hers as she continues to stroke me. As amazing as this feels, I want more from her. I want to be inside her.

I remove her hand from me and shift our bodies so that I'm hovering above her.

"Are you wet yet?" I whisper to her. She doesn't answer me. Instead, her hand guides mine between her legs, feeling her slickness.

"Mmm." I moan as my finger glides against her. I tease her entrance before sliding my finger inside her, produce a light moan from her. I slip in another digit and play with her, her moans growing with each motion. I add more to the mix as I lower my mouth to her breast, slowly sucking on her newly formed peak.

"Gale." she moans, clutching onto my hair.

'No more fooling around. Time for the main event.' I think to myself. She stops me for a minute, explaining to me about pills Effie gave her and how she's been taking them for the past few weeks.

"Good…that's good." I say, not really sure how to respond. "This might hurt a little." I tell her. It sounds silly saying this to a girl that made it out of the Hunger Games, who went through more hurt than I've certainly experienced. She pulls me down to her and kisses me, perhaps to drown any discomfort she may have. I slide inside of her, pushing through until our hips meet. Her lips open and a painful cry escapes her.

I don't like this sound. I slowly start to thrust into her, hoping that her cries of pain will be replaced with pleasure.

"How is that?" I ask her.

"Ok." she pants.

"Let me know if it's too much." I tell her. She nods. I resume my work, and I am slowly rewarded with the sounds of her moans piercing the air. I don't relent until she comes, creating noises I've never heard from her before. It isn't long before I find myself in the same place, my body stiffening as I come inside her. I collapse beside her and pull her into my arms, our heavy breaths filling the air.

"We definitely couldn't have done that last night." I joke.

"You would have waken up the whole house." she sarcastically adds, causing us both to laugh. Her laugh is replaced with a lethargic grin followed by her resting her head on my chest.

"Tired?" I ask.

"Very." she replies.

"Close you eyes." I murmur.

"We should get back." she disagrees, lifting her head off me. I grip her arms before she can get too far away from me.

"We will be fine." I insist.

"They'll start to wonder…" she begins.

"We're hunting Katniss." I easily make up a lie.

"But if we don't bring anything back—"

"We've come back empty-handed before." I reason with her as I play with her braid.

"Fine." she says, giving in, cuddling close to me. I grin, knowing it's no easy feat convincing her. I wrap my arm around her and close my eyes, basking in my victory.

Rory knows! Do you think he'll blab?

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