Author's note: This was written for joan-of-park for everlarkbirthgifts on Tumblr. Go check out the page for some great fics. The request was for a class difference period piece. I plan on writing more of this eventually.

Many thanks to my bestie and fellow writer who helped with this title (and many others).

Happy reading!

Peeta hosted and attended several dances and dinners trying to find a wife suitable for his station as the Duke of Mallory. But none of the women in attendance (usually the same batch every time) were interesting enough to entice him to even consider courtship, much less marriage.

What he really wanted, he couldn't have.

Her name was Katniss. And she was a cook in his household. He once caught her singing to herself when he was looking for the head cook. He was so taken by the clearness in her voice that all thought escaped him and he had completely forgotten what he'd ventured in there for in the first place.

He often snuck down just to listen to her singing. One day she spied him. He turned and started to leave.

"You don't have to go, your grace." She said softly. She was the only person in the kitchen, peeling potatoes.

"I'm afraid I do, Katniss. You're a woman alone." He turned.

"Didn't stop you from spying in the first place." She said with a sideways grin.

"I was looking for Mrs. Mason." He explained.

Katniss nodded. "She is rarely ever in the kitchen at this time of day." She looked up and Peeta nearly fainted at her steel gaze. "And you knew that, didn't you, your grace?"

He swallowed and opened his mouth to say something.

"If you wish to stay, at least come out of the shadows." She put the potato she peeled off to the side and reached for another.

He stepped into the room. "I have a lot to do before tonight's festivities."

"You aren't the only one." She looked up under her lashes. "Do you think you'll find her this time?"

"Who?" He picked up an apple out of the basket in the corner and examined it before he took a bite.

"Your wife, of course." She said. "Everyone has been talking about how much you need a wife."

Peeta swallowed his bite and looked at Katniss. No woman of whom he'd made acquaintance matched this one in beauty. But they had rank within the peerage and Katniss was a servant in his household.

"Unless you never plan to marry." She sat the potato aside and picked up another. "Which some would say is foolish. All men must create legitimate progeny if they are of the peerage. But why be unhappy just because you need to have an heir. Am I right?"

Peeta watched her a moment. No servant spoke to him in that way. She was so frank and knowledgeable. It was a little unsettling.

"But it is, of course, none of my business." She started putting the potatoes into a pot. "Do you need to speak with Mrs. Mason?"

"It is no trouble. I see everything is in order here." Peeta turned on his heel and left the kitchen.

The dinner party was boring. They always were. He was seated between a pair of very insipid girls. They tried to be interesting, but they failed horribly. Perhaps it was just Peeta.

He couldn't stop thinking about Katniss. She didn't seem like a servant. She had an air about her of something more. Was it just that she felt like she was better than her station?

Peeta made a note to find out more about her.

By the time the last guest left, Peeta was ready for bed. He made his way slowly up to his room. His valet was waiting for him, helping him change into his nightclothes.

But even though he was exhausted, Peeta couldn't seem to settle in to sleep. He finally decided to get up and walk through his home. It was massive. And he'd never liked visiting his grandfather here.

His childhood home was significantly smaller owing to his father preferring a smaller setting to raise his family. Still, that home had ten bedrooms. This one had three times as many along with a ballroom and two dining rooms. There were five sitting rooms. And a library stocked full of books Peeta knew he would never read.

And there was a study. It was small compared to the other rooms in the whole house. Which is to say it was about the size of the bedroom he had as a child. He was just about to slip into the room to look over his books when he spotted Katniss watching him from down the hall.

He waved her closer.

On silent feet, she made her way over. She stopped in front of him and looked into his eyes, almost as an equal. She was wearing her usual day dress, but she held herself with all the dignity of a woman in a ball gown.

"Katniss, why are you up at this hour?" Peeta asked.

"I always awake at this hour, your grace." Katniss responded. "I have to get the fires started."

"I am the only one in residence." He pointed out.

"Mrs. Mason expects the kitchen to be run as though there are at least six people at every meal." She raised her chin a fraction. "And why are you alone here, your grace?"

He swallowed. "Surely you know that my family has all passed. You seem to know everything about me, Katniss. And I know nothing of you."

"There's nothing to know, your grace." She looked away. "I must be going."

She turned to leave, but he grabbed her arm. "Please, Katniss, five more minutes of your time."

She looked down at his hand were it wrapped around her wrist. She must have felt the heat in the moment. She covered his hand with hers and looked up into his eyes. "Your grace, I cannot be one of those girls."

"One of what girls?" He asked as he moved closer to her.

"The girls that are used by the lord of the house and then sacked when they get in the family way. I cannot afford it. I have a sister to support." Katniss gave him a steady look.

Peeta nodded. "I am in a position to give you more. A home. Monetary support yourself and your sister and any progeny that should be produced. No more work in a kitchen. A life of leisure. Servants of your own."

She considered it a moment and then nodded. "Should we settle it with a contract?"

"I can have something drafted for you, certainly." He pulled her into his study. "But I can seal it another way."

"I haven't much time, your grace." She said with a little laugh.

"I don't need much time at this rate." Peeta closed the door and lifted Katniss onto the desk.

"I suppose I should tell you I'm not a virgin." She said as she pulled at her skirts.

"Well, neither am I, so we are the same there at least." He removed his robe and nightshirt and stepped between her legs, pushing them apart further.

"We may not be so very different in other ways, your grace." She wrapped her arms around his neck.

"You'll have to tell me some day." He covered her mouth with his. Slipping his hand between them, he found her core warm and wet. Her clit was hard. He circled his finger around it as he cradled her head and mirrored the movement with his tongue in her mouth.

Katniss clutched at his arms and pressed herself into his touch. Peeta swallowed her soft moans. She wrapped her legs around him and started stroking his hard length.

She broke the kiss and panted, "Please, your grace."

He shook his head and thrust into her hand. "Call me Peeta."

"Peeta." She sighed.

"And what would you like me to do, Katniss?" He kissed her again and sped up his rubbing.

Her breath caught. "You know what I want."

"I want to hear you say it." He removed his finger and rested both hands on her thighs. He kneaded his thumbs into her skin. "I want the words to come from your lips."

She looked into his eyes. "I want you inside me, Peeta."

He lifted her up by her hips and pressed her back against the wall. There was a bookcase built in and she gripped the closest shelf with one hand while the other wrapped around his shoulders.

He slipped inside her and immediately began thrusting. He covered her mouth again, mostly to muffle his own grunts. There were bound to be other servants about and the last thing he needed was for someone to hear. Of course the moment she walked out of the room, someone was bound to see. At least his servants were paid well.

Peeta pushed those worries away and focused on the task at hand. A beautiful, intriguing woman was surrounding him and matching him for every stroke. And the sweet little moans that escaped her encouraged him to go harder.

He turned and laid Katniss out on the settee in the corner. He lifted her skirts up higher. One knee rested on the couch and helped him to drive into her over and over. And their voices grew louder, but neither of them paid it any mind. Especially him.

In his final moment, he threw his head back in a triumphant cry that rang through the room.

He sat down on the end of the settee and rubbed his face as he came down from the high.

A hand spread out over his back. "I need to light the fires, your grace."

Peeta nodded and turned to look into Katniss's face. "This will be the last time you will ever have to."

"Perhaps." She stood and smoothed out her skirts. "Until you grow tired of me."

He shook his head. "If we decide never to continue with our union, I will provide for you for the rest of your life. You have my word."

"Your word is good enough for now, but I do expect something in writing." She turned on her heel and left the room without another word.

He shook his head as the door closed. He definitely would have fun with her for as long as she'd have him.