Tremble

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Peeta woke up alone. In Cato's house. Again. Man, was this becoming a habit? Thankfully, this time he was wearing clothes, the only thing that seemed to have been taken off being his shoes. Why did Cato flounce off? He changed so suddenly last night, maybe he had changed his mind about wanting to do anything with Peeta. The thought made his stomach sink. Oh God, if that was true then it was going to be just the incentive he needed to crawl into a hole and die in his pit of loneliness.

Peeta propped himself up on his elbows and looked around. Sunlight streamed through the curtains, pooling on the carpet and spreading warmth around the room. Now that his brain wasn't clouded with endorphins he could clearly see that this was a different room than the one he woke up in yesterday. He wasn't surprised. Cato probably had hundreds of rooms in this palace-like house.

He was just considering climbing out of bed when he heard footsteps on the stairs. Shit. The next thing he did was completely done by impulse. Peeta buried his face into the pillow and pretended to be asleep. Why? He didn't know. It wasn't like Cato would be angry if he saw that he was awake and yet here he was acting like he was still sleeping as if he would get his head bitten off if he were any different.

The door creaked open and Peeta held his breath. It closed again and Cato approached the bed. It dipped under his weight as he climbed back into it. Every hair stood up on Peeta's body, standing to attention at the proximity of another body. Another really hot body. The body heat of two caused the bed to warm up like an oven.

A hand touched his arm and it took everything Peeta had not to flinch or melt into the touch. Warm breath brushed past his ear and Peeta couldn't contain his shudder. "I know you're not asleep," Cato purred.

"I could be," Peeta mumbled, keeping his eyes shut while he spoke.

"No you couldn't, your mouth was shut. From what I've seen of your beautiful sleeping form over the past two days you sleep with your mouth open," Cato replied, pressing a tentative kiss against the younger boy's ear.

Damn it. Why did he hold his breath? Peeta gave in and opened his eyes, turning around to face Cato on the bed. "Where were you?" he asked.

"I had to take a business call," Cato answered. His eyebrows lifted in curiosity. "You didn't think I'd ditched you, did you?"

"Wouldn't you think the same thing?" Peeta demanded. It was hard not to get swept away every time he laid eyes on Cato. He was gorgeous. Painfully so. Why would a man like that even want to give someone like Peeta the time of day, let alone want to take them on a date and share a bed with them?

"I am many things Peeta Mellark but a sleeze is not one of them." As if to prove the point, Cato leaned forward and pressed a firm kiss against Peeta's lips. As chaste as it was, the action took Peeta's breath away. "You just looked so utterly content lying in my bed that I did not wish to disturb you by shouting at my good-for-nothing assistant over the phone." He swiped a thumb over Peeta's eyelid, enjoying the way they fluttered in response. "Your eyelashes flutter when you're really deep asleep. It's actually very cute."

Peeta found this hard to believe. He wasn't the cute sort. Sure, maybe when he was a tubby toddler but not now.

Cato kissed him again. His fingers tangled themselves in Peeta's hair while his arm wound around his waist, drawing him closer and pressing their bodies together. Surprising himself by being so compliant, Peeta closed his eyes and opened his mouth, a soft moan escaping him as Cato folded his bottom lip into his mouth and sucked on it like a lollipop. His heart was in his throat, his face burning like a fire.

When Cato pulled away, a curious expression on his face, Peeta frowned. "What's wrong?"

"I can't do this," the older man concluded.