Suzanne Collins: Your only defense can be you were so madly in love yo...

He tilts his forehead down to rest against mine and pulls me closer. His skin, his whole being radiates heat from being so near the fire, and I close my eyes, soaking in his warmth. I breathe in the smell of snow-dampened leather and smoke and apples, the smell of all those wintry days we shared before the Games. I don't try to move away. Why should I anyway? His voice drops to a whisper. "I love you." That's why.

Suzanne Collins

eye love-you moving

For there to be betrayal, there would have to have been trust first.

Suzanne Collins

betrayal trust relationship

Sometimes things happen to people and they're not equipped to deal with them.

Suzanne Collins

catching-on catching-fire people

The numbness of his loss had passed, and the pain would hit me out of nowhere, doubling me over, racking my body with sobs. Where are you? I would cry out in my mind. Where have you gone? Of course, there was never any answer.

Suzanne Collins

numbness pain loss

I'll tell them how I survive it. I'll tell them that on bad mornings, it feels impossible to take pleasure in anything because I'm afraid it could be taken away. That's when I make a list in my head of every act of goodness I've seen someone do. It's like a game. Repetitive. Even a little tedious after more than twenty years.

Suzanne Collins

taken morning years

Remember, we're madly in love, so it's all right to kiss me anytime you feel like it.

Suzanne Collins

hunger-for-love kissing humor

Well, I knew that goat would be a little gold mine," I say. Yes, of course I was referring to that, not the lasting joy you gave your sister you love so much you took her place in the reaping," says Peeta drily.

Suzanne Collins

gold would-be joy

Each time I wake,I think, At last, this is over, but it isn't.

Suzanne Collins

lasts thinking

And then he gives me a smile that just seems so genuinely sweet with just the right touch of shyness that unexpected warmth rushes through me.

Suzanne Collins

smile sweet love

And there I am, blushing and confused, made beautiful by Cinna’s hands, desirable by Peeta’s confession, tragic by circumstance, and by all accounts, unforgettable.

Suzanne Collins

confused beautiful hands

I'm sure they didn't notice anything but you. You should wear flames more often," he says. "They suit you.

Suzanne Collins

suits-you suits flames

I guess this is a bad time to mention I hung a dummy and painted Seneca Crane's name on it.

Suzanne Collins

president-snow bad-times names

Shame isn't a strong enough word for what I feel. "You could live a hundred lifetimes and not deserve him, you know," Haymitch says.

Suzanne Collins

catching-fire shame strong

So that day, in music assembly, the teacher asked who knew the valley song. Your hand shot right up in the air. She stood you up on a stool and had you sing it for us. And I swear, every bird outside the windows fell silent...and right when your song ended, I knew - just like your mother - I was a goner.

Suzanne Collins

mother song teacher

Want a sugar cube?" he asks in his old seductive voice.

Suzanne Collins

seductive voice want

We have to joke about it because the alternative is to be scared

Suzanne Collins

scared jokes alternatives

You’re not leaving me here alone,” I say. Because if he dies, I’ll never go home, not really. I’ll spend the rest of my life in this arena, trying to think my way out.

Suzanne Collins

leaving home thinking

They'll either want to kill you, kiss you, or be you.

Suzanne Collins

envy kissing want

Well, don't expect us to be too impressed. We just saw Finnick Odair in his underwear.

Suzanne Collins

president-snow witty funny

The cat that Prim got hates me, I think partly because I tried to drown it.

Suzanne Collins

cat hate thinking

Your only defense can be you were so madly in love you weren't responsible for your actions.