The Bride Swap

Part 6 - The Wedding

Part 6 - The Wedding

Prim raced up the small front steps of her tiny Seam home, carrying a covered basket that swung dangerously from her arm. Her step was light and dainty but she strode with purpose to the door, rapping loudly until it swung open, a breathless Katniss appearing at the doorway.

"Aren't you dressed yet?" she exclaimed, glancing at Madge and Mrs. Everdeen seated at the kitchen table, the contents of a makeup bag spread before them.

"I wanted your help, little duck," Katniss said with a shaky voice. She didn't want the braid her mother had labored over to come undone, but she also couldn't imagine dressing for a day like this without her sister at her side. "Madge just finished my makeup."

"It's simple but it makes you look - different, even a little more sophisticated," Prim said approvingly, studying the details of Madge's work.

"I didn't want to go overboard on the shimmering powder but she looks like a fairy, doesn't she?" Madge said with pride. The compliment made Katniss more fidgety, for she wasn't used to all of this attention and she'd just as soon have it all over.

"No one could ever mistaken Katniss for a fairy - she's too grouchy!" Prim chortled, her laugh falling from her lips like hiccups, causing Madge to join her and Katniss to scowl at them both.

"Well, are you going to help me dress or not?" she said impatiently, though her irritation was only a cover for her nervousness. How could anyone get angry, especially with their sister, on their wedding day?

XXXXX

One Week Earlier

"I can't believe we just did that," Katniss said, coming up for air from under the covers. "I wonder if this is illegal? It feels like it should be illegal."

"And who's going to file the complaint?" Peeta asked, uncovering himself also, cooling his overheated body. "You'd have to confess first, and give all the details..."

"No," Katniss purred. "I think I prefer to be an outlaw." She stretched her limbs languidly, arching to get a small crick out of her back. She found it hard to concentrate on anything except for the languid feeling of satisfaction that permeated every pore of her body. "Brain's not working right..."

"Good," Peeta kissed her again. "You don't need it for what I want to do to you." He hadn't stopped since they'd snuck away that morning. Katniss found it difficult to protest. She was full of anxiety but he was happier than she'd ever seen him. "How can you be so giddy?" Katniss exclaimed, caught between an urge to shout with joy or wail in fright.

"Because," he hovered over her and kissed her again, his lips trailing down her neck, across her collarbone, resting in the valley between her breasts. "Soon, I'm going to be legally married to you."

"Not if your mother flips out and sets us both on fire, after she tosses us out onto the street and tramples on us! Have you told her yet?"

Peeta's face became serious as he sat up. "No...I haven't found the right time..."

Katniss scowled at him. "You have to tell her! I don't think Madge can take it anymore. She said yesterday she had to hide in her closet to avoid your mother. That's no life."

"I'll tell her today, I promise," he said, nipping at her breasts, sucking on them until her belly was as warm as melted chocolate.

"Well, you get no more of this..." she said, pushing his mouth away from her, "unless you take care of that."