A/N: A new story with Eric and Fox... this one gets a little dark in places, with a few trigger warnings, please be careful if you are sensitive.
"Hurry up and get out here so we can see your hot ass!"
Fox rolled her eyes heavenward, stifling a snort. "This is stupid, why the hell did I agree to this?"
"Because the Dauntless Singles Auction is the hottest event of the year!" Christina chirped. "All the guys and half the girls are going to be bidding on you."
"It's still stupid."
"Get out here."
Fox rolled her eyes again and stormed out of the changing room. Tris and Christina were waiting and their eyes lit up as they saw the dress Christina had all but crammed Fox into herself. Mid-thigh length and tight on her hips, the black dress had a plunging cowl neckline cut almost to Fox's navel, and the back was almost non-existent, exposing the black angel's wings Fox had tattooed on her shoulder blades, below the 'fallen angel' tattooed on the back of her neck.
Tris eyed her critically. "You're going to need a lot of double-sided tape."
"Nope, 'cause I'm not wearing this."
"Yes, you are!" Christina stepped forward, grabbing Fox's wrists. "You need a boyfriend, it's been what, six months since Curtis? You're going to grow shut soon!"
Fox barked a laugh and pulled away, "don't be ridiculous!"
"C'mon, lots of guys are going to want you!"
"And with my luck I'll get the biggest Neanderthal in Dauntless!"
"Unlikely, the Neanderthal's won't be able to afford you, you're looking at a leader's salary!"
Fox snorted, "I am a leader, I work with these people; besides, all the leaders are married."
"Not all of them," Christina sang.
"Fuck off, he won't even be there!"
"Yes-"
"And even if he is, he's had what, almost two years to make another move? And he's been a total asshole since Sofia dumped him!"
"True, but you did shut him down pretty hard not long after initiation, at that leader's party; and Sofia really did a number on him, cheating on him with his best friend? Telling him in the mess hall while she all but fucked Daniel at the table?"
Fox rolled her eyes. "He was drunk and getting handsy, all I did was break his nose; besides, it's not going to happen, Eric doesn't need to pay to get a woman's attention, he's whoring his way through Dauntless quite easily."
Christina grinned widely. "Jealous?"
"Jealous?! My ass!"
Christina laughed, "your ass is looking mighty fine in that dress, you are going to wear it! C'mon, think of the points you'll help raise."
Fox snorted and Tris and Christina traded a grin. Fox, although Dauntless born, had been raised in the very orphanage this charity singles auction was helping raise money for. The proceeds would be divided between a number of Dauntless institutes, including the annual Christmas party organization, but the orphanage was received the majority of the profits. Fox couldn't say no now.
Fox curled her lip in distaste. "Fine," she grumbled, flicking her flaming auburn hair irritably over her shoulder.
"And next up we have the smoking hot Fox LaRue! Initiate-Training Leader and resident redhead!"
Fox snorted as she stepped forward. Zeke was enjoying his job as Master of Ceremonies too much. He slung an arm over Fox's shoulders and blew whiskey breath in her face.
"What'll we start at for this fine-ass woman?"
Voices began yelling out bids and Fox's eyes widened as the amount quickly rose. Zeke was loving every second, doing some impromptu dance moves as he pointed to each bidder, bellowing each new amount with more and more excitement. The crowd was buzzing, heads snapping back and forth as the bidding narrowed down to two people. Fox could only see one, and her heart began to race. Tyson Reed was a Patrol Commander, tall and dark-haired with a wicked smile and he had been flirting with Fox for months, Fox had been playing hard to get, but she wouldn't mind if he'd finally caught up to her.
"Going once...Fox going twice...and sold to the bidder in the back!" Zeke crowed.
Fox huffed in disappointment, Tyson had lost; but who was the winner?
"Winning bidder, please step forward!" Zeke called, craning to see.
The noise of the crowd began to pick up as the winning bidder moved through them on their way to the front by the stage. Fox squinted, the lights in her eyes. Who the fuck had won? The figure finally separated from the audience and Fox's stomach dropped. He stood there, arms crossed over a massive chest, a cocky grin on his face, enjoying every second of this.
"Winning bidder, Eric Coulter!" Zeke announced, throwing a wide grin in Fox's direction, her fists clenched as she itched to punch the smirk right off his fucking face.
Eric climbed the stairs onto the stage, looking admittedly quite handsome in black jeans and a fitted black button down shirt, the sleeves rolled up to show his maze-tattooed forearms. He strode confidently towards Fox, his eyes never leaving hers. Fox tensed as Eric wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to his body.
Leaning into her neck, his lips brushed her ear as he whispered. "Oh c'mon baby, at least pretend you like me."
Fox bit back a snarl and leaned over. "You wish, Coulter," Fox bit back a grin as she flicked Eric's ear with her tongue and he shivered, pulling his head back to eye her. Fox straightened with a smirk, returning her attention to the cheering crowd.
Without warning, Eric wrapped both arms around Fox and dipped her to the side, pressing his lips to hers in a theatrical kiss. His arms pinned hers to her sides, Fox's head swam and a tingle shot through her body. The crowd went crazy, fuelled by alcohol and excitement, Zeke egging them on. Pulling away but keeping Fox off-balance, Eric smirked at her and licked his lips.
"Mmmm," he murmured.
"You'll pay for that."
"I already did."
Eric pulled Fox back upright, grabbed her hand in his and raised them, playing to the crowd. Zeke high-fived him and Fox ground her teeth together, her heart stuttered in her chest and she was a damn sight more turned on by Eric's surprise kiss than she'd ever admit. Fuck, his lips had felt good, softer than you'd expect, warm and tasting faintly of smoke and bourbon, Fox buried the treacherous, traitorous thought of 'Fuck, I'd do that again!' deep and locked it down tight. Fuck.
Turning on her heel, Fox yanked her hand away and stormed off the stage, ignoring the drunken cries behind her. The sky-high stilettos Christina had conned her into wearing were a bitch to walk in and Fox ripped them off in anger.
"Fox!" A voice yelled behind her. Fox turned the next corner into a deserted corridor and began to jog, her tight dress keeping her from a full-on sprint. Thank god Tris had thought of double-sided tape.
"Hey!" A hand grabbed Fox's shoulder and she jerked away, her shoulder colliding painfully with the stone wall. Her eyes narrowed.
"Piss off Coulter."
Eric smirked at her, showing his perfect teeth. Why does such a handsome man have to be such an asshole?
"Where're you going?"
Fox snorted, "not that it's any of your business, but home."
"Ah c'mon baby, don't be like that." Eric's grin was widening by the second and Fox clenched her fists to keep from breaking his nose again. Eric was pleasantly tipsy, relaxed and completely unlike the dickhead Fox had been working with for the last two years.
Fox clamped down hard on the traitorous little girl voice in her head that was breathing heavy and cooing to give Eric another chance and snarled instead, "fuck off with that 'baby' shit, you bought dinner, not a relationship!"
Eric froze, his shoulders sagging slightly and Fox took the opportunity to escape, trying to ignore the hurt that flashed through his eyes. No matter, he'd go find some willing pair of legs to spread, hopefully would forget all about buying Fox for dinner. Yeah right, man's got a mind like a steel trap, you're in his sights now boo, be careful. Reaching her apartment, Fox ducked inside and slammed the door behind her. Faintly, she heard footsteps approach and held her breath as she heard them pause just outside, then exhaled in relief when they continued past.
Grumbling to herself, Fox stripped the dress off and hurled it into a corner, storming into the bedroom. Ten minutes later she was curled on the couch, wearing a simple tank and boy shorts, catching up on training reports. She yawned, stretching her arms to the ceiling and glanced to the side as her phone beeped. Frowning, Fox picked it up and tapped the screen. A message popped up: dinner, my place, tomorrow 7
Fox curled her lip and snapped a reply: no fucking way
I bought you.
You bought shit.
Think of the children.
"Fuck," Fox growled. If she reneged, Eric would be well within his rights to withdraw his bid and the orphanage would be the one to suffer. Damn him, he knew this.
If you insist, tomorrow at Pierson's, 8:00, Fox smirked, Pierson's was a high end restaurant in Erudite, where leaders and other higher-ups spoiled their dates. It was haughty and nauseatingly Erudite, full of snobs and mucky-mucks, the last place Eric Coulter would want to go.
A long pause, then: Game on. Pick you up at 7:30.
Fox smirked and tossed the phone to the side.
Christina and Tris attacked Fox the next morning in the mess hall. Fox was eating on the lower level, intent on avoiding Eric as long as she could and nearly choked on her toast when Christina dive-bombed her, Tris snickering as she slid in beside her.
"It worked!" Tris chirped.
"Eric won!" Christina added.
"Fuck off, both of you."
They shrieked in laughter and Fox rolled her eyes, catching sight of Eric on the second level, where the leader's usually ate, he was looking over the railing down at her, an unreadable expression on his face. Fox snapped her head back down and pushed Christina away irritably.
"So? When do the lovebirds meet for dinner?" Christina smirked.
"Never."
"Oh come on!" Tris begged.
"Tonight at Pierson's."
"Pierson's? Holy shit, the man's already dropped serious points on you and then he's taking you to Pierson's?" Christina laughed.
"I insisted on it."
"Oooh, you bitch!"
"Well, I may be had, but it ain't going to be cheap."
Tris and Christina howled again, hanging onto each other and Fox rolled her eyes, jamming the rest of her toast in her mouth and standing to leave; the two girls clawed at her, trying to keep her from leaving, but they were laughing too hard to have much effect. Fox found herself glancing up at the second level and her eyes connected again with Eric's. His expression was still unreadable, but as their gazes met he mockingly threw her a kiss. Fox threw it back and stormed away. Asshole.
The morning was uneventful and Fox stayed busy in her office. Choosing day was coming up soon and Fox would have a new batch of initiates for her and Tris to train. There were a few changes coming to Dauntless' initiation procedure so Fox was going to have to schedule a meeting with Eric sooner rather than later to talk about it, but she was seriously dragging her feet, unwilling to be too close to her moody co-worker, especially now. They usually ended their meetings with a 'fine!' and a slammed door, and frankly, Fox wasn't sure why Eric hadn't requested a transfer for either one of them to another department yet. He probably got off on their fights, fucking weirdo.
She was just shutting her computer down to head out to lunch when her phone beeped. Organizing some papers, Fox distractedly grabbed at it and tapped the screen. Goddammit. It was Coulter.
Meet me for lunch, doll?
Drop dead. And I'm not your goddamn doll.
Don't be that way, I'm taking you out to dinner tonite.
Big whoop.
Lots of girls would love to be taken to Pierson's.
Good, take them.
I'm taking you, I bought you, remember?
You didn't buy anything, I'm not a whore.
You may be had, but it ain't gonna be cheap, right?
Fuck off butt-head.
Fox threw her papers down and stormed out her office, gritting her teeth. She could hear Eric laughing all the way down the hallway.