The Burning Knot

by MimiLuvs16

A continuation with a mere peek into the lives of Nasira Grant and Eric Coulter. In this short tale, Eric and Nasira are engaged in a 'friends with benefits' relationship. She believes that she is capable of handling this kind of relationship with her son's father. So, what is going to happen to them, when she realizes that she cannot?

1. Chapter 1

*Enthusiastically waves like a dweeb*

Hello, again!

I am back with another one. This time, the short story will be placed all in one chapter (Update: There are two chapters). It'll appear as if it is a long-long-long chapter, when really it is the entire story.

In this short, like with "The Meek Shall Inherit", a lot of O/Cs will be involved and the "Eric" character will be non-canon and completely OOC. Any of the material from The Divergent Series will not make an appearance in this story. No Abnegation massacre. No War. No Divergent hunts. There is a few mentions of divergents in this one, as well.

WARNING: Due to adult language, adult content and multiple smut-tastic LEMONS in this story, it is not suitable for readers under the age of sixteen. Once again, I am being generous with the age restriction. I was sixteen once.

Disclaimer: Characters and plot lines that can be found in the Divergent Series does not belong to me. All of this literary goodness belongs to Veronica Roth.

*~oMLo~*

'You knew…' her conscience sighed. Her conscience decided to make herself known at the most inconvenient time.

"Aaaaaaaaa-ugh!" she moaned boisterously after Eric's member made one meticulous stroke at her walls. Her fingernails dug into the sweat-slicked skin that covered his lower back. She brought her knees closer to his arms' elbows. His stroking cock seemed to sink deeper into her wet sheath. Ripples of pleasure tore through her body and it left her with a chattering jaw and fresh hot tears leaving her eyelids. "Aaaaaa-Ohhhhh-ah-ah…" she continued to wail into the air.

Seconds later, her cheeks were cleaned by his thick hot tongue. Her flesh was subjected to licks that were seductive. A saliva-infused trail was expressed from her right cheek down to her right shoulder. His tongue drew circles and swirls on her flesh before retreating back to its lair. His teeth clamped down on her shoulder with a gentle hold. As he bit into her shoulder, her ears picked up the sounds of his hands moving along the sheet's surface. She opened her eyes just in time to witness his right hand latch onto the edge of her bed's headboard. Anticipation began to bubble up in the pit of her stomach. She began to feel giddy.

"Y-Yeahhhhhhhh-sssssss," her lips hissed.

Just as she expected from her late-night lover, his hips made a hard and sharp thrust, making his prick nestle deeply into her. His member once again stretched her walls and tantalized her nerve-endings. Her cunt squeezed onto his member with contentment and gratitude for his action. She picked up his moan. Then his hips and cock proceeded to incite the fire that was her arousal. There were strokes that were rough yet deep. His actions orchestrated a melody of blissful sounds, from her shuddering breaths to the sounds of her bed's wooden frame trembling.

"…aaaaaaaaaaaAAAAHHHHH—Mmmpphh!" Before her cry could escalate even further, Eric's mouth latched onto her lips. His thick tongue plunged into her mouth and sought domination over hers. She moaned into his mouth as her hands clutched his bearded face.

As soon as his lips parted from her own, he haggardly whispered, "Keep quiet. You'll wake The Kid".

A low moan escaped from her mouth. "But you feel so—Ah!" Her own climax cut her statement off. It snuck up on her like it was a snake in the grass. Her fingers clutched onto his bulky body as she quivered in between him and the bed. The muscles in her legs tightened and spasm as they were wrapped around his hips. Her cunt wept even more as she kept his pounding cock in a stranglehold.

Just as she was slinking down from her coital euphoric high, Eric managed to rise to his own. The teeth that she once felt on her right shoulder returned. His left hand latched on her right tit and squeezed as hard as he could. A series of uncoordinated moans and grunts fell from his trembling body. His hips pressed themselves against her spent and pliable body. Her limbs clutched onto him tighter and she continued to hold onto him as she felt his seed warm her thighs and sex.

"Nasira," he softly moaned into her neck and right shoulder, once he calmed down. He sounded vulnerable and full of emotion, to her. It caused a small walnut-sized amount of pressure to form in the pit of her belly and her chest to emit a dull ache.

'Stop that,' her conscience interjected.

Like always after a rut, she felt his larger body mold itself onto her smaller one. His head found comfort in her bountiful breasts and used them as a pillow. The thick and muscled bands of strength that he called his arms curled closely to her planks while his hands gently held her ribs. Her own body fell into a routine. Her arms loosened their tight hold on him and became relaxed against his broad shoulders. Her hands and fingers found senses of contentment by playing with his curly hair. Her legs were casually wrapped around his hips, butt and upper portions of his thighs. The back of her head rested against a pillow at an angle, so she would be able to stare at him as he drifted off to sleep. A purr of happiness escaped from her chest and throat as she lain there.

'Stop this,' her conscience requested. The level of contentment was now blown to smithereens. A deep frown was written on her face. Her head straightened itself out and she stared at her ceiling. 'You knew what you were doing, when you and him decided to do this,' her moral side pointed out. 'He has a girlfriend already! He—

'But he's here…with me, though.' She knew that this was her uninhibited side speaking. The same nameless, shapeless and invisible entity that told her to have sex with Eric, a few weeks ago. 'He's holding me and cuddling with me… and is about to get another chubby for—

Her inner, intrapersonal conversation was disrupted by the onslaught of cries that permeated the atmosphere. Her ears picked up the noises coming from two places: the hallway outside of her bedroom and from the baby monitor that was on her nightstand. She also picked up the low and subtle sounds of movement from her bed. 'Luke's awake.'

"The Kid is awake," grumbled Eric, into her breast.

Nasira sighed. "Well, lemme go see what's wrong," she reported.

With a groan of disappointment due the act of moving, escaping from his mouth, Eric lifted his upper body off of her. Even in the current state of being semi-aroused, his dick left a lasting impression as he exited out of her warmth. She felt a sense of emptiness fill her. Her eyes took in his nude body as he sought after the unused portion of her king-sized mattress. Then she slipped out of her warm bed. Her legs trembled as she stood up, a common effect from being with Eric. She sought after her discarded nightgown, which was on the floor and she slipped it on. Then she exited the bedroom and gone to Lucien's nursery.

Even with the nightlight's dim and colorful lighting, she was able to see Lucien as she entered his bedroom. His tiny shape was standing in his crib, by the railing. One of his arms were reaching out for her while he kept the other arm close to his body. His cries were bouncing off of the walls and were filling her spirit up with concern.

She strolled over to his crib. "It's alright, big boy, Mama is here now," she said sweetly into his hair. She plucked him from out of his crib and she held his small body close to hers. He continued to cry. "Sssh-sssh-sssh, alright Luke, what's wrong, baby?" She peered down at his face. She noticed that his right hand was practically inside of his mouth. She reached a conclusion immediately. 'He's teething.' She reached down and gave him a kiss on his forehead. She caught the sense of a slight fever from him. 'He's needs some ibuprofen.' She kissed him again as she walked across the nursery, to the exit. "My big boy is getting his new teeth in," she announced in a gentle version of baby talk.

She carried Lucien to the bathroom, where she would fetch a bottle of his medicine. Once fetching the bottle of liquefied ibuprofen, she held the toddler up to the light, so she could see into his mouth. She eventually learned that Lucien was going to be a recipient of two pairs of 'canine' teeth. She felt proud of her son, for a strange reason.

"Soon, you'll have all of your teeth," she announced into his curly hair while strolling into the hallway.

Nasira and Lucien made it into the dimly-lit, living room. The boy's cries were still decorating the walls and the furniture. She walked into the kitchen area and over to the sink, where the silverware drawer was located. She searched the drawer for a utensil that was small enough for the boy's mouth.

Lucien let out a whimper in between his cries and then a "Dada". The mother looked away from the drawer and stared at her son. He was looking towards the hallway with his left index finger pointing in the same direction. "Dada!" the toddler repeated with a soft whimper tattooed to it. She stared in the same direction. A millisecond later, Eric emerged from the thinned veil of darkness that was covering the other side of the living room. She immediately noticed that he was still bare-chested, but was sporting a pair of sweatpants.

"Hey, what's wrong with him?" he inquired as he approached the mother and son. He was rubbing at his left eyelid as he walked.

"He's teething…" she explained before peering into the silverware drawer again. Her fingers pushed several utensils out of the way. 'Okay damnit, I need a spoon. Where's one when I actually need it,' her brain lashed out. "…He managed to grow four more. I'm looking for a spoon, so I can feed him some baby-aspirin. It'll make the pain go away… At least for a little while."

"Oh… Cool," declared Eric. His statement made her stop with her search. Actually, it was his tone of voice that captured her attention. It was filled with lightness. He sounded…genuinely happy.

Her face frowned up. 'Oh…Cool…Why does he sound…normal?!'

Lucien writhed in her arms. He swayed his body into his father's direction. His arms reached out for Eric. The young father grabbed him and gently pulled the boy out of his mother's grasp. Once he held a secured hold on their son, the boy planted the side of his face on his chest. The baby received a kiss on his forehead for his effort.

Nasira watched the scene with interest. She felt a strong sense of gravity pull at her stomach, just as her heart began to pound against her chest. 'Stop that,' her conscience warned. She rolled her eyes and gone back to searching for a spoon. As she perused the drawer, she kept intermittently observing both father and son. Eric was murmuring words of consolation and about 'being a big boy' as he rocked the baby in his massive arms. Lucien continued to lay his head and was now mewling about his pain while his fingers pressed at his gums.

'Stop that.'

When her fingers came across a plastic medicine dropper, she murmured a 'Finally' under her breath. She rinsed the utensil off with cold, sink water and ingested the burgundy-colored syrup into the dropper. She brought the dropper's tip close to the baby's mouth, in hope of administering the medicine. Lucien didn't want to take it. His left hand pushed at her wrist. "Lukie, come on, baby" she softly cooed. She watched her son's face grimace and heard him grunt with distaste. She offered the medicine again and she received the same reaction from him. "Luke, come on. Do you want to feel better? You don't wanna hurt-hurt anymore?" she asked him. She watched his face frown up. She tried again. She pressed the tip of the dropper to his pouty lips. He sucked his bottom lip into his mouth, in defiance. A second later, she glanced at Eric with narrowed eyes. "He gets this from you, you know," she accused him with feign distaste.

Then, Eric proceeded to shock-the-hell out of her.

His soft and warm lips stretched out and formed a smile. It was a genuine smile that reached up to his eyes. His azure-hued eyes dazzled while her own eyes widened along with the sense of shock that ran through her soul.

He didn't notice her look of surprise. Instead, he peered down at their progeny. "Okay Luke, Mommy is going to give you something to make you feel better. Okay? So, just open your mouth for Mommy, okay? Come on and say 'Aaah'…" Both parents heard the baby whimper. "Come on, Luke. Just try for me, okay. Just try for daddy…"

'Daddy?!' her brain shrieked with shock.

"…Please, Luke. Pretty please? Come on, I'll do it with you. Say…" He opened his mouth and a second later, there was a sound coming from his mouth. "Aaaaaaahhhhh…"

Nasira decided to go along with Eric and opened her mouth to mimic him. She watched their son eye the both of them. He looked as if he was weighing his options. Seconds later, the toddler opened his mouth and his own 'Aaaaaahhhh' fell from his mouth. She took the opportunity and placed the dropper's tip into his mouth. Lucien's lips closed around the tip and the medicine was injected into his mouth. She saw the grimace return to his face. She pulled the dropper from out of his mouth. She made sure that he swallowed the syrup. She could tell that he hated the taste.

To make him feel better, she clapped her hands. "Yayyyyyyyy, Lukie! You did it!" she cheered. A weak smile grew on their son's face and his hands clapped.

"Yay, that's a good boy!" praised Eric. He gave the boy another kiss on the forehead.

Once again, her face frowned up, in sheer bewilderment. 'What's going on with him?!' she pondered silently. Eric wasn't behaving in his typical and normal behavior. The 'typical Eric' was like a slab of cement: sturdy, stoic and it took a lot of force to crack him up. As of this moment, he was warmer and open. As she cleaned up, she slyly observed the father and son. They remained holding onto each other. '…Maybe he is doing what he sees me doing, whenever I am with Luke,' she reasoned. 'Yeah, this could be it. He's been showing more affection towards Luke, as of lately.'

After placing the dropper into the drawer, she leaned against the counter and stared at the two of them. She noticed that Lucien was not crying anymore, but he did released a whimper or two.

"Let me put him back to bed," she told him. Nasira reached for the child, who spurned her advances by pushing her hands away. She put a grimace on her face and then feigned offense. "You don't want to come to Mommy?" The baby turned his head away and presented her with the back of his head. She made a squeak. Then she was presented with a family of juvenile giggles. "Well…" she scoffed. "Be that way then! I'm going to take a shower," she announced. She left the living room to the soundtrack of melodic, baby's laughter.

After fetching her bathrobe and a few toiletries from her bedroom, she locked herself in her bathroom to take a shower. Once she was alone, her conscience confronted her. She began to dissect the moments that led up to this latest hook-up. For Nasira, she knew that she was going to ask Eric for sex tonight. A full week had gone by without a chance of re-connecting, thanks to his leadership role and the preparations for the upcoming initiation trials. Of course when it came to asking for the sex, she had to ask for it in her own way, which was the act of promptly changing into a pair of skin-tight shorts and a figure-flattering tank top. Of course Eric being 'Eric', easily picked up on her cues and then proceeded to play mind games with her. He ignored her. He played with and took care of their son for the majority of his visit. By the time he stopped messing around with her and took her to her bedroom, she was almost weeping for joy…From her eyes.

'I don't know why I am such a scaredy-cat when it comes to asking him for sex. Shit… In Amity, the women were very open about getting what they wanted. And this was Amity, for flipping's sake!' Nasira grabbed the towel from the rack that was on the door. She proceeded to dry her legs. 'You know why you're afraid,' her conscience reminded. 'The dreaded oxytocin…' She sighed. 'Plus, the way he acts when he's around Lucien, is not helping you with this crush thing. That boy adores and loves his daddy.'

It was true. Since the night of their first introduction, Eric made sure that he was a constant presence for Lucien. For the past few weeks, the Dauntless leader would make a visit to Nasira's apartment, in the evenings. The visits' duration would range from an hour to a few hours. On some nights, the trio would have dinner together. Or, they would watch films from Nasira's video-converter. But he made sure that he was always there for the baby's bedtime rituals. It was during these particular moments, when she learned that Eric still possessed a little bit of Erudite in him. On one night, she randomly discovered the father reading excerpts from a hand-sized, paperback novel. He would sit in the rocking chair that was a few feet across from the crib and he would read as Lucien rested in his crib. On some of those nights, for a few minutes, she would stand on the other side of the wall and just listen to his voice. It wasn't until his eighth night of being a parent that she learned that he was reading from Charles Dickens' "Great Expectations".

This was also the same night that Nasira reintroduced Eric to her bedroom and to her body again. Before he had the opportunity to plunge his member into her warmth, she was aware that she wasn't fit to be anything other than the mother to Eric's firstborn. She well-aware of the fact that Eric already had his 'dream woman', his soul mate. This night's union only meant as a means to an end; a way to seek sexual gratification.

'BINGO!' She stood upright. 'It has nothing to do with him! You have a crush on him because he is taking care of Luke!' She nodded her head. 'Yup, this is it. This makes sense.'

After finishing with her maintenance in the bathroom, she returned to the living room. She expected to see Eric and Lucien sitting on her couch, watching a program from the vid-con. She was greeted with an empty, dimly-lit room. She assumed that they were in her bedroom, so she traveled back to her personal dwelling. As she stepped into the threshold, she was greeted by a splendid sight. 'Awww, would you look at…' She walked from the doorway to the foot of her bed. She stood in front of the footboard and spied the scene. She quietly enjoyed the view. Both Eric and Lucien were laying on her bed, asleep. Both males were laying on their right sides, spooning. Eric was the 'big spoon' who slept closest to the edge of the bed. His left arm was casually draped over the midsection of the 'little spoon', who slept with his thumb in his mouth. Both father and son lightly snored. '…that! My two— Oh, for flipping's sake, would you stop that?!'

Nasira huffed in annoyance and rolled her eyes. She backed away from the bed and traveled over to the chest of drawers. She fetched some clean nightclothes and threw them on. Afterwards, she gingerly slipped into her bed and turned off the light. She rolled onto her left side and attempted to watch the bed's other occupants as they slept. When she realized that she couldn't see them, she closed her eyes and just listened to their snores. She listened until she pulled into slumber's warm and cozy clutches. 'This is nic—

The sound of applause was the culprit that managed to knock Nasira from out of her stream of recollection. She jerked upright in her stone chair and her eyes wildly blinked before scanning the dimly-lit classroom. Her pupils and irises took in the sights of her fellow colleagues applauding just as a presenter was walking over to a darkened corner, the designated spot where all of the seminar's presenters were assigned to stand. Relief kissed at her spirit. 'This is finally over… I think.' She proceeded to clap her hands to the same melody that the other chief technicians were performing. She sighed. 'Oh thank goodness! This shit was boring!' Her eyes spotted the main coordinator for this event approach the edge of the small stage, which was facing the rows of 'students'. His all-blue outfit was a stark contrast from the sea of black that was presented before him. Nasira still found the occurrence of Erudite members visiting her home faction to be odd.

The coordinator continued to clap his hands for a few seconds before he came to a gradual stop. He turned to face the shadowed corner. "Thank you, Daniel, for that informative presentation! I also found that presentation to be entertaining as well. Once again, thank you!"

'Not all of us,' Nasira's brain quoted while the body stamp down on the urge to yawn.

"—presentation!" The seminar orchestrator then turned his attention to the classroom. His large hands performed a clap. "Before we can conclude with this seminar, I would like to know if anybody have any questions about the Star Pro-One's features?"

Despite the stone-covered room being laminated by the projection screen, Nasira still scanned the room, at her colleagues. 'Okay you shit-stains, don't you dare…'

A hand quickly shot up in the air. As a result, a wave of groans and hisses of disappointment filled the room. The orchestrator took it all in stride and proceeded to grant the inquisitive person permission to speak. With the point of his right hand, the person stood up from their seat. Based off of the curvy shadow of this person's profile, Nasira assumed that the person was a woman.

'A woman… Oh no! Please don't let it to be—

"First off…" the shadowed woman started off her statement.

Nasira recognized the nasally-pitched tone. A sense of disappointment flooded her core. A silent groan fell from her opened mouth while her eyes rolled. 'Got-damn it, Rayna! It's always you!' She settled in her chair.

"…I would like to say 'good morning' to all of you…" She proceeded to eye the technicians, the presenters and the seminar's organizer.

"Fucking Rayna…" It was uttered from under a man's breath. The statement, which was filled with scorn had come from the lead technician that occupied the desk and chair to her left. "…Now we'll all be here for another hour by the time you're done."

Rayna kept talking. "…I have a couple of inquiries…"

'Of course you do… Ya damn teacher's pet!'

"…Let's start with the very first slide, shall we?"

The classroom started to fill up with the sounds of groans, sucked teeth and the cries that belonged to the furniture as more weight were added to them. Nasira's own chair cried out as she settled deeper into the chair with her hand covering her eyes.

*~oMLo~*

After the seminar was declared over and the participants were granted permission to exit the room, Nasira made her way back to her department. As she drawn closer to her cubicle, she heard her desk's phone ring. Even in her high heels, she made a light trot over to her desk.

She snatched up her phone's receiver. "Good morning. Systems Analyst Department. This is Nas—

"Nassy, are you alright?!"

For a pair of seconds, Nasira did not recognize the voice of the caller. It sounded as if she was talking to her brother Trigger. But it couldn't be him. Trigger, despite having such an aggressive-sounding name, was a person that could've been best described as 'calm, warm and had an even temper'. This person sounded as if they were ready to kill or maim someone. "Trigger, is that you?" she asked.

"Yes, it's me! Now answer my question, please. Are you alright?"

'He saw them,' her brain concluded. 'The cameras.' Her dark brown eyes rolled in their sockets and stared up at the ceiling that belonged to the cavernous room. Her eyes captured the sight of numerous black domes that flickered green lights.

*~oMLo~*

"You remember how when Pops used to discipline all of us boys, when we misbehave in school… Some of those times were due to us beating some boys' asses because they were disrespecting you like you were some meat-trap…You would've noticed how all of the boys, and even the men, stared at you. Even now…"

It had been weeks since her conversation with Rogue, in which he uttered those words. She didn't even bother thinking about them, until today. It was on this day, when she finally understood the gravity of these statements.

She finally saw physical examples of what her brother had told her. It began once she left her home and was walking through her apartment building's lobby. She caught a few male passersby's ogling her. Then she managed to catch a few more examples as she walked to her Jeep Wrangler. She caught a break when she was in her vehicle as she traveled to get to work. She caught more examples as soon as she exited the vehicle and as she traveled to The Mind. There were men, and women, who were brazen enough to openly ogle her form as she walked. The more discreet people would wait until she had walked pass them before they started to peep at her. She felt their heated glares beating down her back and her ass.

'I don't know how I should feel about this,' she quietly pondered as she stood in line for the first security check-point. 'All I did was throw on a skirt and a sweater today and some heels.' She glanced down at her feet, which were decked out with some pointed-toe high heels. She stared straight ahead, at the person who stood in front of her.

By the time she arrived to her department, Nasira was very annoyed and downright itching to punch something. She also was feeling a little bit of regret for choosing to wear an outfit that made her a recipient of such vulgarity. The catalyst for her abrupt change in her mood were the Dauntless guards that manned each security check-point. During her first check-point, the pair of guards shamelessly tried to flirt with the computer technician. At first, she considered their attempts to be harmless and a wee bit funny. But then it teetered off into the 'annoying and irritating' territory, when one guard refrained Nasira from passing through the metal detector. He wouldn't allow her to pass through, and in effect enter the building, until she gave up her contact information. This action led to a delay, which led to several Dauntless members expressing their distaste towards her. Thanks to a high-pitched, verbal threat of notifying their supervisor from an awaiting worker, she managed to pass through the detector without handing out her phone number.

For the second check-point, which occurred near the elevators that led to the sub-levels of the building, she dealt with more unnecessary and inappropriate behavior. This time, it didn't come from a bunch of over-heated, horn-dogs. This tandem comprised of male and female Dauntless guards. The male guard responded to her in a typical, professional manner. He gave a casual greeting and then he asked to see her employee identification badge. Her trouble began, when she dug into her backpack for the badge. The female officer took it upon herself to cause Nasira' bag to drop to the floor, after she used her metal detector wand to rip the leather backpack from her hands. Then the woman used the little authority that she owned, to humiliate Nasira even more. She issued the order of another body scan, courtesy of her handheld metal detector. As shorter woman scanned and surveyed the younger Grant woman, her wand would "accidentally" strike her during the search. First, it was against her collarbone and chest, in the form of a hard thump. Then there was a hard strike against the chignon that was styled at the nape of her neck, which was followed by an "accidental" strike against the side of her face. This particular move caused her square-shaped, plastic eyeglasses to fly off of her face. Her eyewear landed on the cold, concrete floor. She quickly bent down to snatch them up, before the guard's foot could accidentally step on them. She slipped them back on as she rose up. Her eyes landed on the other guard as he stood by his podium. He tossed her a look of mild sympathy. Seconds later, she given a brusque grant of being able to leave.

The third check-point was built near the entrance into the second sub-level, which housed her department. Just like with the guards at the first check-point, these men attempted to flirt with her as she approached to go through the metal detector. However, unlike the first group of guards, these attempts didn't feel harmless and funny. They were scary and crass. They came from a trio of men that wore their aggression like they wore their uniforms. They gave off the notion that they wouldn't settle for a polite 'No' or the 'I have a boyfriend' lie. Her eyes kept making glances at the black, small domes that were mounted on the ceiling. When she walked through the threshold of the free-standing detector, one officer slipped his handheld device into the space, which caused the metal detector to emit a loud screeching noise. After she 'failed' the search, she was practically dragged to a corner by an officer for a 'more, thorough examination'. Her internal alarms were going off inside of her head as she was led away. Her mind was drawing a blank, when it came to a plan in which she had to physically defend herself. She was led to an unoccupied corner that was fifteen feet away from the check-point designated location. The gruff and aggressive guard instructed her to lift up her sweater and showcase her brassiere-clad breasts, for a quick search. Fear dissipated and righteous anger had taken its place, after she heard this pig-of a-guard's demand. With a tone that barely restrained her true feeling, she informed the guard that she refuse to satiate his perverted whims. Then she reminded him that she knew his boss, after all, she occasionally sat across from him during family dinners. If it wasn't for the fact that she was feeling enraged, she would've been pleased with the guard's sudden change in behavior. His expression quickly changed when he realized that she still stood in front of him. With a snarl covering his top lip, he ordered her to continue moving. She didn't want to acknowledge the sensation of relief while it ran through her veins. She continued on.

The fourth and final security check-point was considered a breeze, for Nasira. The pair of male Dauntless guards held a level of professionalism. One guard checked her identification badge as she passed through the metal detector while the other guard perused the interior of her knapsack. Once she was deemed safe by the two men, she was given a 'Have a nice day' and was permitted to enter the grounds. However, before she was out of an earshot, she heard one of the men classify her as a 'meat-trap trying to look like a lady'.

She entered her department and briskly walked to the closest women's restroom. She was relieved to see that the bathroom was empty. She barricaded herself in one of the stalls and she proceeded to scream into the hook of her left arm. She screamed in hope of expelling all of the anger and rage that burned inside of her. She screamed as images of violence and carnage flashed through her mind. The muffled cries of rage bounced off of the ceramic tiled walls, in the shapes of echoes. She stopped once she felt the strain on her vocal cords. She had taken five shuddering breaths before she reached for the stall's lock. Nasira and her backpack made their way to the sinks and mirrors, where she fixed her hair and wiped away the tear stains from her cheeks.

*~oMLo~*

"Yes, I can see you," he simply stated. She detected a small amount of amusement in his tone. "Are you alright?" he reiterated.

"Oh, yeah… I'm alright…Now," she stated as she tore her attention away from the ceiling. She pulled her rolling chair out from underneath her desk and then sat down. Her left hand snatched up her hot pink stress ball. "I'm still a bit pissed off, though," she confessed as she squeezed the ball. "How did you know about it? I thought you don't man the cameras."

Trigger gave a joyless chuckle. "You're right, I don't man the cameras. It was brought to my attention by Four…"

She rolled her eyes to the ceiling and a smile was written on her lips. 'Four… Always the boy scout.'

"…One of the men from his unit caught it and alerted him. He called me and I tapped into the feed. I know that you are pissed, sugar. I can hear it in your voice." He sighed. "And you don't have to worry about them fucks. They are going through the process of being transferred, as we speak. By noon today, their asses will be gone."

"Where are you transferring them?"

"They will be manning the wall… In the Northwest sector," he reported with glee.

She was quickly reminded of the reputation that the northwest sector of the wall possessed. It was the section that gave trouble for all of the five factions' officials. It was the section of the wall that was built to be an actual wall. Fifty-four feet of concrete that was lined with thick barbed wire. There were problems from both sides of the wall. The northwest section of Chicago was where majority of the factionless lived, thanks to the abandoned yet functional buildings. The factionless members outnumbered the small Dauntless platoon that guarded that sector, by eight-to-one. If it wasn't for the heavy artillery that the small group owned, an uprising would've surely erupted by now. Then there were the problems that occurred on the other side of that wall. According to some of the elder Dauntless faction members, the northwest section of the city also held the entrance to The Badlands.

Nasira winced. "Hell on Earth," she murmured.

"Yeah, it is. I want them fucks to understand that they are there to do a job, which is to protect y'all, in The Mind. Not to dilly-dally and try to use their miniscule authority to belittle women and force women into romantic endeavors. They took the oath and they failed to follow it. So now, they must pay for their actions." He was silent for a few sections, before he had spoken again. "I'm sorry that it had to happen to you, Nassy. But I am happy that I was able to see it."

"I'm happy that it happened to me, Trigger, and not some other woman," she confessed.

"I'm not happy that it did happen," he replied.

"They thought that I was a meat-trap, Trig."

"It doesn't matter what they thought, Nassy. You're a human being that deserved to be treated with respect, meat-trap or not a meat-trap. No woman should be treated in the manner that you were treated."

"You're right," she sighed. A multi-second stream of silence floated between the two callers. "So, how's Raquel? Are you going to finally make me an auntie or what?" she questioned, changing the subject. She had enough with the topic about being humiliated.

"I would like to get that woman to marry me first before we even touch that topic," her brother confessed. "So, what about you… and him?" Her brother's voice developed a coating of slight annoyance towards the end of that inquiry.

Nasira chuckled. "I told you already. Me and… The Big Kahuna are not dating. We weren't dating, when Luke was conceived. Plus, he has a girlfriend too."

"I still can't believe the fact that you and him had… You know…"

She laughed. "You are starting to sound like Rogue right now, Trigger."

"Trust me, we're not the only people who are thinking this way. Rogue and I are just the ones who openly admit it. Did you tell Dante yet? About you… And 'The Big Kahuna?"

"No. Nope. Nah. No way. Nah-uh. Nada. Nothing," she answered. "I don't want Dante to know anything… Right now. I know him. If he found out now, then he would drive all the way from Amity to here and he would've been on a massive hunt for Er— The Big Kahuna. He would then drag him and me to Candor, so we could get hitch in a courthouse. Nope, I don't need those kind of problems right now."

Trigger chuckled. "Well, make sure you tell him before Little Big Man's birthday celebration…"

Nasira smiled a bright one, after she heard her brother's nickname for Lucien.

"…next month. He and Trudy and the baby will be coming to the party, so…" his voice trailed off.

She huffed. "I know. He needs to know. Especially, if The Big Kahuna does show up—

"Wait… Did you just say that Eric will probably show up to the party?" She sensed the smile on her brother's face.

"Yes, he said that he would like to make an appearance at the dinner. Now will he show up? I don't know," she confessed. She hoped that Eric would make an appearance to their son's first birthday party. She didn't care if he show up during the first hour or the last several minutes of the party, she wanted him to be there.

"I think he will be there," reasoned Trigger. "I've only been in his presence a few times and from what I've seen, he appears to be a man of his word. If he said that he wants to be there, then I think he will be there…" Then in a tiny, gleeful voice, he uttered "…And here, Raquel and I were planning on staying for a little bit. Now I think we will stay for the whole party. I'm gonna bring my camera."

"You know what?" she breathed into the phone as she listened to Trigger's laughter.

"What?" he said into the phone with a chuckle attached.

Nasira placed the receiver back on the phone's cradle. A second later, her desktop phone rang. She picked it up. "What, Trigger?"

Her brother's laughter spilled from the phone's receiver. "You know that wasn't nice, Nassy" he lightly scolded in between his chuckles.

She attempted to fight the smile that was trying to mold itself on her face. "Bye-bye, Trigger."

There was a light wheezing noise and then a "Bye, Nassy. I love you, sister".

"I love you, brother. Now, go and stalk down some bad guys with your cameras."

Once she disconnected the call, she took a deep breath and reclined further into her chair. Her eyes scanned the cubicle as she acknowledged that she was in a better mood. The phone call with Trigger managed to calm the raging fire that was in her spirit. Her eyes came across the yellow, rectangular, strip of paper that was taped to her screen. It was a 'task ticket', a sheet of paper with an off-site assignment written on it. 'Speaking of which, why is this here? Rafe knows that I am on-site today and so does my men…' She reached for the yellow slip of paper. She immediately recognized Rafe's barely legible handwriting. 'Rafe, you son-of a-bitch… He could've given this to anybody else. Why me? Who…?' She started to read the information from off of the ticket. 'System's monitor is down. O.F.S. 38N. Leadership Wing…' Her sight landed on a familiar name. 'E. Coulter…Oh, of course! What-in the-hell does he want from me?'

The inquiry that was decorated with profanity was used again thirteen minutes later, when she entered the office-suite that belonged to Dauntless faction leader, Eric Coulter. She stood in front of the opened door, with her hands clutching her ample hips as she said it.

"You do realize that you've just addressed a Dauntless leader in such a crass manner?" the faction leader announced as he sat behind his desk with his eyes focused on his tablet. He did not bother to look away from his device to stare at her.

'Yup, and this is the same leader that had his mouth stuck on my pussy last night, as if he was born with it attached to his face,' she silently said to herself. A smug grin grew on her face. She had taken a few steps towards his desk. "I said that when we were in a public setting, then I would address you—

"Please make sure that my door is closed," he instructed as he continued to read whatever information that was on his tablet.

Nasira stopped mid-stride and turned back around. She strolled back to the door, which was left ajar. She pushed the heavy, wooden door closed and she heard a sturdy 'beeping' noise. Her eyes were drawn to the keypad that was on the door's handle. Her brow furrowed in confusion. 'Okay, I thought the keypads go on the outside of the door. Not on the inside.' She watched the small light panel that was above the keypad blink green lights for several times before it blinked one red light. 'Mmmm…oh well!'

She turned away from the door and then she proceeded to stroll up to her leader's desk. She detected the echoed noises that her stiletto heels made against the polished, black marble floors. The noises also alerted Eric as well. His blue eyes rolled in their sockets to form a fixed gaze on her. His head remained in the same position for a few seconds before turning to meet up with his eyes. Nasira's attention immediately captured the slight changes in Eric's form. His eyes managed to grow cold and emotionless. His body sat up straighter and grew rigid. His energy also became cold. It was this occurrence that caused her to halt. A strong chill clung to her exposed bits of skin as if it was a blanket, leaving a batch of goose-pimples in its wake. A ball of unforeseen pressure bit into her stomach and pelvis, which made her stomach muscles clench.

'What?' She slightly tilted her head to the left. "Eric, are you okay?" she inquired with a soft one which was full of genuine concern. He didn't respond to her inquiry. Instead he remained tight-lipped and kept his lingering, malevolent-inspired glower on her. So, she had spoken again. "Eric, are you—?

"Call me 'Sir'," the leader commanded. The left corner of his lips ticked.

She took note of the authoritative tone in his voice. It caused a sudden warmness to cover her skin. It rippled out in her body, causing her nipples to harden as well as her clitoris. A deep and gruff exhale slipped for her nostrils. She knew that she was not there for this. She needed to fix his computer. She built up a weak façade of professionalism. She licked her bottom lip. "Okay… Sir, are you alright?" she asked him. She had taken more steps towards his desk. Her eyes still leveled a gaze of concern at the leader.

"I'm fine," he reported. He leaned forward slightly to drop his tablet onto the desktop. His blue eyes were still focused on her. He gave her body a thorough and appreciative surveillance. "You…" His eyes stared at her face. "…look…different today."

Nasira peered down at her outfit of the day. Today, she wanted to look cute and indeed different than what she usually wore. She wore a figure-flattering, black cashmere sweater that held a 'V-neck' collar and quarter-inched sleeves. Along with the top, she wore a knee-length, A-line leather skirt and a belt that held a decorative gold buckle. Her feet adorned a pair of black, leather high heels which made her legs look longer and curvier. Her refined neck and wrists were adorned with gold jewelry. After her self-assessment, she glanced at the Dauntless leader. "Different? How? Is it a good different? Or, is it a bad different?"

A smirk kissed his lips while a bit of a glint blew out in his eyes. "You look…Nice," he remarked.

A rumbling occurrence happened in her stomach while her cheeks blushed. A millisecond later, she heard a simple 'Stop it' in her head. But she couldn't stop the smile from forming on her face. "Thank you," she said to him. She arrived to the front of his massive desk. "So I was told that you computer's monitor was broken… again." Her smile had taken on a whole new meaning. She was secretly referring to the times when she was summoned to his office-suite, so they could discuss her 'boyfriend-stealing' methods. "Is it true this time or are you fibbing?"

Eric unleashed his own all-knowing smirk. His left hand touched at the computer's monitor. "It's not working…" The smirk was still impish. "…honestly," he declared.

Nasira managed to place herself in a protective bubble as she became more focused. "So what's wrong with it?" she asked as she rounded the left corner of the desk. Her eyes and attention were focused on the monitor that she didn't realize that she stood close to him. She was welcomed by the sight of a black screen. Her thumb pressed the 'power' button on the monitor and eyed the impending results. 'Nothing', she said to herself, a second later. Her fingernails tapped several buttons on the keyboard, in hopes of making something happen. Her eyes were focused on the monitor. 'Nope, nothing.'

As she worked, she didn't sense the presence that was slowly creeping up on her.

She took a few steps to the side and she peeped the back of the monitor. She found the problem. A few cords were resting on the desktop and not in their rightful places. He… '…unplugged the cords,' she concluded. 'Such a sneaky son-of a-bitch.'

It wasn't until she felt his hot and heavy hands attach themselves onto her rounded hips, when she realized that she fell into his trap. He also managed to frighten her as well. A high-pitched yelp escaped from her lips while a flinch fell from her body. She immediately turned to her commanding leader. "Eric! You've just scared the shit—

The action of having his face drawn so close to her own caused her statement to cut off. Her widened eyes tried to survey his actions. She felt his lips graze her own plush ones with a seductive sweep. Then they drifted down to her jawline. He traced the soft edge before trailing up to her left ear. "I told you to call me 'Sir'. I advise you to listen to me," he notified her.

Nasira huffed as she tilted her head to the right, exposing her left side even more. "Fine… Sir," she recited with a fringe of sarcasm. She was covered with more of his body's heat, when he drew closer to her. His investigating lips found comfort in planting pecks on her neck. Out of instinct, her hands clutched his brawny shoulders before drifting up to his hair. Her back arched, drawing her chest closer to his broad one. "I'm starting to believe that your computer is fine… Sir," she purred into his left ear.

A smug chuckle was sung into her neck. "Maybe it is. Maybe it doesn't work," he murmured before his tongue made a wet-hot trail from her neck to her collarbone.

As his mouth suckled on heated and perfumed flesh, his fingers were gathering the soft leather of her skirt. The slow crawl caused the material to caress her nylon-covered thighs and caused a delicious friction against her skin. A ripple of light pleasure floated through her sex. The skirt was gathered around her ample hips. His hands sought after the supple mounds of flesh that was her ass. The elastic bands that made up her garters kept pinching at her skin as his fingers kneaded her heated flesh. She felt Eric pull his lips away from off of her skin.

"What…?" Her ears picked up his voice. He sounded less intense and more surprised. He took a step backwards to peer down at her hips and legs. He came to a standstill, as his blue-eyed gaze observe her lingerie-decorated lower body. He was silent and his body didn't move an inch. Then all of a sudden, there was the sound of a rushed exhale and the sound of a backwards step. His eyes flickered up to her face. "Take off your clothes," he ordered.

Nasira detected the hint of disapproval in his voice, as well as, anger at her. Her brow furrowed while confusion settled into her eyes. 'I don't understand…' Her lips parted.

"I said, take off your clothes," she heard Eric say once more, with more stoic-tinged authority. He made her feel like she was an initiate than the woman of his desire.

She eyed him as her fingers sought the ornate, golden belt buckle. She unlatched the fastening and then pulled the belt off of her hips. She dropped it to the floor. The belt buckle made a harsh noise once it landed on the floor. She quickly peered down at the item before she returned her attention to Eric. Her fingers then found the smooth, round button and the zipper of her skirt. She quickly unfastened the article of clothing. She wiggled her hips and shimmied out of the skirt. Once it pooled at her ankles and feet, she stepped out of it. Her fingers sought the hemline of the soft sweater. She pulled the article of clothing off and was briefly blinded from his heavy glare, as it traveled pass her face. The top joined her skirt and belt. She bent forward slightly to slip her right foot out of her shoe.

"Stop," he commanded. "Keep them on."

She obeyed. Now, she stood in front of the Dauntless faction leader, only in her underclothes and high heels. She observed the broad, brooding and imposing figure as he stood inches away, in front of her. She noticed the position that he placed himself in: arms were folded, his feet were hip-width apart and his entire form was straight as an arrow. It was a leader's position. She spotted no warmth in his eyes as he leveled her with a glare. Her skin buzzed, leaving her feeling both hot and cold.

"What—?

"Turn. Around," he instructed, cutting her inquiry's citation off.

Enlightenment struck her. She felt the corners of her mouth tilt. Her eyes peered down at the prominent bulge that he was sporting. Her eyes flickered back to his face. There was no emotion. But it didn't intimidate her anymore. With a knowing smile, she faced the desk. She stared at the door as her hands pressed themselves against the desktop. Her ears listened out from any sounds of movement. Seconds turned into minutes and she still waited for his move. The anticipation caused the buzzing to increase ten-fold. It also caused her layer of thrill to run through her. Her curiosity caught the best of her and she was about to glance over her right shoulder.

"Don't look at me," he demanded. "Keep your eyes on the door."

Nasira turned her attention back to the door and she waited. Just as she was about to disobey him by glaring at him, he made his move…

…And it was only to answer his telephone, which began to ring at that moment.

She growled in disappointment. She was instantly warmed by his body's heat as he stood close to her. She watched his sleeveless arm reach out in front of her and fetch the phone's receiver. "What?" she heard Eric say into the talk-piece.

"So rude," she muttered. A second later, she received a sharp smack on her semi-bared bottom. She flinched and then a low chuckle spilled from her mouth.

"Put him through," he ordered.

An idea struck her, at the moment. She made a sideways glance at his profile. He was still chatting on his phone. She took note of his diction. He was polite and expressive. She assumed that the caller was another authority figure. She drew her lips closer to his jawline, where she placed a kiss. Her eyes spotted the sideways glance. So, she slowly turned her body around and faced him. 'Oh,' her brain muttered in quiet surprise.

Eric stood in front of her, bare-chested and with the fastenings of his jeans loose. His hair-covered, sculpted chest and defined 'Adonis' belt' were on display. There was a peek of his underwear's waistband. Her fingernails danced along the edge of the elastic band. She saw his abs tense and then soften in response. A huff was issued, which she knew was a warning. She smiled. She planted a kiss on his collarbone. Her fingernails tantalized his nipples by lightly scratching at them. Her fingertips traced the outer rims of his areolas. There was an audible grunt expelled from his throat. Her lips captured the right hardened nub and suckled. There was a slight jolt and a deep grunt, a second later. A hand wrapped around the back of her neck, a sign of encouragement. Her eyes did a short glance at the underside of his chin before resuming with her task. Her mouth drifted off to the left nipple, where she administered the same amount of pleasure. Meanwhile, her right hand cupped his denim-shrouded hardness. Her palm and fingers stroked and massaged. Another rugged huff floated to her ears. Her teeth gave his hardened nub one last graze. Her pursed lips kissed each defined abdominal muscle as she slowly sank to her knees. The tip of her tongue dipped into his navel just as her fingers pulled the zipper down. Her tongue traced the Adonis' belt. Her fingers pulled at his jeans and underwear. She pushed his clothes down the dense columns of his legs. She cupped the backs of his thighs and she stared up at the leader.

Eric was stoic and tight-lipped as usual. But his eyes held emotion. He displayed his desire and his want…For her. The notion caused her sex to weep even more. She returned her attention back to his hardened member and bulging sacs. With a heavy moan falling from her lips, her mouth enveloped the bulbous glans. She felt the hand leave her neck and grab onto the ornate knot that made up her hair. His arm's strength applied pressure, a silent request for her to add more of his cock to her mouth. She complied by subjecting more of his length into her wet cavern. Her right hand pumped at the unsheathed portion. Restrained grunts coated the stoned walls and the polished floors that made up the office. She was pleased with the knowledge that she was making that steely façade crack.

"Ahhhh…." His mouth gasped just as she felt the muscles in his legs tightened. A split second later, her mouth was decorated with his seed. Her hand grabbed the base of his prick and held on as she slipped him from her mouth. She quickly swallowed the salty essence and watched his member dangle in between his thighs.

"I understand and it is affirm…"

Nasira glanced at his face. He was speaking into his phone's receiver. She had totally forgot about the phone call. His eyes were focused on her. His hand left her hair and cupped her right cheek. Her eyes peeked at the probing hand. Her bottom lip was subjected to his thumb's probing. The sole of his digit performed a few grazing sweeps before settling on the plump lip. He pressed down and forced her lips to part. Her dual-tipped tongue slithered out of her mouth and did its own probing. She licked at the fingertip before drawing it into her mouth. With a purr to her lips, she sucked on the finger with a strong pull. Her eyes stared directly into his eyes. Then her eyes peered down at his point of arousal and discovered he was fully awake again.

Minutes later, she found it to be amazing that he was able to take a phone call and her mouth's ministrations simultaneously. His voice did not reflect his current physical status. There wasn't a sign of the carnal pleasure that his body was receiving from this action. He was able to keep his brusque grunts and sharpened inhales from spilling into the talk-piece of the receiver. His body, however, kept showing off his pleasure. His body occasionally twitched and his thighs' muscles would squeezed underneath her hands. With every stroke from her mouth, his hand would squeeze at her skull.

This time, Eric came with a sharp inhale spitting from his nose. Fortunately for the leader, he was in the process of listening to the caller's speak. The hold that he had on her hair became stronger while his hips' thrusts were ill-coordinated and sloppy. His thick legs trembled.

Nasira swallowed as much as she could. Her fingers wiped away the amount that spill from her lips. She stared down at her ample chest and took note of the evidence of his eruption. 'Damn it. This is a new bra.'

"What about the participation from Johanna, in Amity?"

She looked at the leader as he continued to work. He stared straight ahead as he spoke into his phone. Her eyes followed his movements as she stay kneeled on the floor. He made large steps to his chair, even though the movements should've been restricted by the pants and underwear. He sat down in the executive chair and then relaxed. She kept her laughter to herself. 'It looks like my job here has been completed.' Nasira gingerly stood up. Her knees released dull pricks of aching as she stood. She eyed her items on the floor. She bent down to fetch them.

"Leader Holland, may you please hold on for a second?" she heard Eric announced. A second later, there was an "I didn't say that you could leave, subordinate".

She glimpsed at Eric. He was staring directly at her. The receiver was pressed into his left shoulder. 'Yup, he was talking to me.'

"Get on the desk," he ordered.

Her brow furrowed again. She wasn't expecting this from him. She maintained the expression as she obeyed his instruction. She made a few backward steps until her ass bumped into the edge of his desk. Then she politely slipped onto the surface. She crossed her legs at the ankles and placed her folded hands on her lap. She gave him a look of mild submission.

"Lean back on the desk," he instructed.

She obeyed his orders and she found herself observing the ceiling. In this lounging position, she felt uncomfortable. The weight from her dangling legs were added obscene amount of pressure on her lower stomach, hips and pelvis. To counteract the weight, she bent her knees and placed her shoe-adorned feet on the desktop. Her fingers wrapped around the stilettos.

"Open your legs," he commanded. After she complied with his order, he issued another command. "I want you to finger yourself." She heard the amusement in his voice.

'What?' Her head lifted off of the desk's surface and she glared at the leader. He still was sitting in his chair with his hand pressing the phone to his shoulder. His eyes were still focused on her face. In her peripheral view, she caught his other hand making lazy pumping motions against his lower extremities. Her line of sight drifted down to his groin. Her pupils dilated with rapt interest as she viewed his hand's actions. His fingers stroked at the semi-aroused member. She knew that he would reach his full state in no time.

"Go on," he further instructed.

Nasira gave him one final glance. Then she rested the back of her head against the smooth desktop and she stared up at the ceiling. 'Okay, Nassy, you can do this. You can do this…' She closed her eyes and she inhaled. She exhaled a breath as the thought of 'You can do this…' played in her mind. This lascivious act was one that she had never participated in with any of her previous boyfriends. She didn't consider herself to be a sexual prude. Over the years of her young adult life, she performed unconventional sexual acts, most of the acts that she enjoyed while there were some that she wouldn't entertain the notion of doing it again. However, the act of masturbating in front of man was one that she has never performed. Since her years of puberty-infused adolescence, one of her mother's lessons of sex was about committing the act of self-pleasure in privacy. At that particular moment, it became apparent to Nasira that the lesson managed to stick.

Using her natural-born logic, she realized that her imagination was the tool that was needed in order to complete this particular order. She performed a few deep breaths to calm her rattled nerves. Her body relaxed against the thickened wood. She dug through the layers of memories; the erotic and sensual events that she created with the seated man. Close to four weeks passed and they've managed to create plenty of them. She came upon one that she deeply favored. It was a memory that was created two weeks after Eric entered her life once again. He entered her home on a late night, when all of the occupants were sleeping. He crept into her bedroom and into her bed. He woke her up from her deep slumber in the manner, which he knew that she would appreciate. The night's ambiance was special. A heavy thunderstorm passed through the night, leaving the sky to light up with lightening and the room to fill up with the booming sounds. On that night, she believed the both of them were revved up with pent-up energy and need.

Her idea worked. Her body quickly grew over-heated with arousal. Her skin was hot while her sex grew hotter. The walls secreted her essence while emitting an ache. Her clit and nipples throbbed. Her hands and fingers sought those troublesome places to alleviate the discomfort. The fingers from her left hand attacked the elaborate-rhinestone clasp of her brassiere and freed her breasts. Her right hand slipped underneath the thin lace layer that was her underwear and sought after her sex-slicked pearl. Her fingertips drawn circles against her hairless, petals and hardened nub. Her fingers kneaded the mounds of supple flesh and erected nipples. Her rubbing fingers sank further down her slick seam to her cunt's entrance. Her saturated middle finger pushed pass the fleshy barrier and plunged into her warmth. The heel of her hand ground titillation into her clit. Her lips parted to allow a deep moan to spill from her mouth. Her pleasure tore through her semi-naked frame.

Her lips were soon covered by a meaty, hot palm. Her eyes snapped open and she was welcomed by the sight of a barely-dressed Eric Coulter. His fixed gaze was on her. The phone's receiver was still glued to his ear. Her eyes followed his hand's actions as he peeled the phone away from his ear and placed it on the phone's cradle. Suddenly, the office-suite was filled with various voices. Her eyes looked at the phone and saw that the speakerphone feature was activated. The line of sight didn't linger too long on the phone. Her attention returned to her leader-slash-lover, when his meaty paws pried her thighs further apart. The outer curves of her thighs were pinned down to the desktop. She lifted her head off of the desk and she stared at him. His left hand snatched up the seat of her panties and brutally yanked on the material. The fabric submitted to his strength. His thick, hot fingers removed her hand from her sopping sex and took its place. His fingers committed to a few swipes at her cunt before sheathing two of his fingers. Pleasure and passion forced her back to arch and a moan to spill from her mouth. Her hands cupped her mounds and kneaded the flesh. She continued to moan softly during the series of finger thrusting. His fingers pulled from her slit and was replaced with his prick. Her body flinched with pleasure as he subjected more of himself in her warmth. She heard his groan as he bottomed out. His mouth found the swell of her neck. The sensitive skin was already raw from his late night activities. The mixed sensations of pain and pleasure just added to her arousal. Her legs attempted to wrap themselves around his waist, but only one managed to complete its task. But it was for a brief moment because he removed the leg and placed the back of it against his chest. Her shin and calf draped over his shoulder.

His cock did a slow crawl out of her cunt. His member teasingly traced her seam with his glans. The bulbous tip occasionally tapped her clit with each passing swipe. A family of light gasps escaped from her mouth while her hands clutched his wrists. "Please, stop…teasing me," she whimpered. "Please, S-Sir."

His lips lined her jaw and chin with kisses just as he lined his hardness up to her womb's entrance. Without any signals, he sheathed his prick with her body. A trembling moan floated into the office-suite's atmosphere. His teeth gave her bottom, plump lip a nip. "Look at me," he commanded. Once she opened her eyes and gazed into his blue orbs, he continued speaking. "I. Plan. On. Fucking. Those. Glasses. Off. Of. Your. Face." With each enunciated word, his hips gave her a sharp, shallow stroke. Then he slid his entire length out of her before returning. His hips changed their pace and began to move at a moderate speed while striking deeply.

She was dumb-struck by the pleasure that encapsulated her mind, body, spirit and her heart. She was left with her eyes fallen to half-mast, her jaw slacked and her skin humming while burning. Inhuman-like moans bubbled up in her throat. Her fingernails dug into his wrists.

"Oh, fuck yes," she heard him grunt into her neck. "…You're so fucking tight for me, baby." His citation of that term of endearment caused her clit to release a deep pulsating sensation.

Her pulsating clit bled out a sensitivity that made every bit of movement against her feel ten-times better. The rough strands of his pubic hair felt heavenly, when his pelvis slammed against her, with every thrust. The feeling on his thumb caused several tremors of pleasure, when it flick at her clit while he continued to stroke. It managed to push her over the edge. Her right hand released his wrist and traveled to her mouth. She screamed into her hand as she climaxed.

"Put your arms around my neck," he grunted into her collarbone.

Nasira complied and soon found herself being carried by the Dauntless leader. Her legs finally met up with each other, around his waist. They crossed at the ankles just as his cock appeared to sink deeper into her wet cavity. Her body shook with residual orgasmic tremors. "FFFFFFFFFFFF…uuuugghhhhh-cccckkkk," she cried into the left shoulder. Her arms tightened even more around his thick neck. She felt his sweaty palms mold themselves against her ass while his fingers clutched onto her. Then, there was the first thrust. It was so forceful that it caused her teeth to chatter and a squeak to fall from her. The ones that followed caused her body to shake upon the impact of their joining. A thick layer of perspiration formed in between the two, semi-naked bodies and the sweltering humidity that clung to the air didn't help. But, his hands didn't falter when it came to their tasks. He continued to hold onto her as his cock doled out pleasure. The knot returned and it caused her belly to tremble. "I'm about to come," she moaned in the form of a whine. "Er-Eric," she moaned before unraveling once more.

There was a dip in the height, which was followed by a series of short masculine grunts. A millisecond later, there was a passing warmth and the sounds of water dropping to the floor. The skin that covered her bottom was tapped by the cold wood from his desk. She followed her instincts of releasing her hold on his body. Her palms slapped down the space behind her back while her feet touched the floor. As she sat on the edge of his desk, she took note of the spastic twitches that her quadriceps performed. Her whole body was shaking. Her watery eyes glanced at the beautiful man who was still standing in front of her. He was pulling his underwear and jeans over the luscious swell of his ass. His eyes were pointing at the floor.

Reality struck her with the same force that a spoonful of arsenic would do to a person. It was a slow build but when it struck, it was impactful with no point of returning to its former state. She realized that she just had sex with the father of her son, who happened to be a leader for her faction. A faction leader who was supposed to be participating in a conference call, currently. They could've been caught by his fellow leaders and they could've been caught by his secretary, who was probably in the next room by now. '…Plus, there's the other thing.' She was immediately reminded of it. Her heart began to pound while her stomach pulsated. '…I gotta get out of here.' She stood up. Her eyes scanned the floor. She spotted the pool of his spilled seed on the floor, which was millimeters away from her pile of clothes. "Please tell me that you have a bathroom in here that I can use," she inquired.

"Did you say something, Dauntless Leader—?

The inquiry came from the speaker of the phone. It was from one of the conference call's participants. Nasira realized that she had spoken too loudly and it was picked up by the caller. She immediately stared at the Dauntless leader. He was glaring at her with a mild sense of irritation, but she felt that it wasn't aimed at her, but at her minor mistake.

"No," he stated with his eyes still focused on her. "No, I have nothing to say. Please, continue." The office-suite began to be filled by the sounds of a monotone voice and a soft static noise playing in the background. Eric stepped into her personal space. "Why do you need to use a bathroom?" he asked, with a petty-fueled playfulness in his voice.

Nasira's right eyebrow twitched. 'Are you kidding me?' A short chuckle fell from her mouth. "I need to clean up—

"No." The answer was simple and precise. His tone was authoritative.

"But, I can't leave here, looking like…" She looked down at her soiled body. "…this. I have to—

He quickly snatched up the back of her neck and then kissed her. The kiss was a gentle one and could've been misconstrued as an affectionate one. But Nasira knew better.

"I said 'No'… Because I want you to keep my scent on you, that's why." His teeth nipped at her bottom lip. "I want people to know that you're mine…"

'…you're mine…'

Hearing those words made blood rush down to her sex, causing her labia and clitoris to become inflamed with need again. Her cheeks blushed with embarrassment. She knew that she should've found his words to be archaic and patriarchal dribble. But it turned her arousal into a full flame just hearing them.

"…After all…" he growled as he brought his lips to her neck.

Her thighs twitched as his fingertips plucked at her protruding pearl. A short, low gasp was spoken from her mouth. She turned her face towards his and her lips grazed his bearded cheek.

"…we are animals…"

Then she felt two of his fingers reintroduced themselves to her snatch. Out of instinct, she sat back down on the edge of the desk. Her thighs spread further apart and granted his digits permission to explore her slicked folds. A sharp gasp came from her and her head lolled backwards, after his hand slowly pumped into her.

"…right?"

"Eric," she gasped. Her hips began a slow winding motion on the desktop and against his probing fingers, adding more intense stimulation. "Eric," she moaned before biting into her bottom lip. She felt his puckered lips on her throat. His lips traveled up to her chin, where he planted a nip.

"You're mine…" he growled. His hand's ministrations increased. Now the heel of his hand was pressed against her clit. "…Tell me," he ordered.

Nasira moaned as her clit throbbed after he proclaimed his ownership over her. "Er-Eric," she moaned.

"Tell me, Nasira…" he grunted. "Or, I'll stop," he warned.

She wanted Eric to stop, but she didn't want him to stop pleasuring her. She wanted more than his fingers. She wanted another body part of his. "F-Fuck me," she whimpered.

Eric released a smoldering, but mischievous chuckle. "Not in a snowball's chance in Hell, baby." Then he pulled his hand away from her sex.

At the moment of emptiness, she unleashed a genuine sob. She was so close to cumming and he had callously taken it away from her. Her dark brown eyes gazed at him. She noticed the mischief dancing in his eyes. 'Bastard,' her brain cried.

"Unless… You tell me what I want to hear," he notified her with a sardonic grin gracing his lips.

'TELL HIM! TELL HIM! TELL HIM! TELL HIM!' Nasira didn't know if it was her body's instinct yelling at her or if it was her conscience. Either way, she wasn't a fool. She damned sure wasn't going to deny herself the pleasure. "I'm yours," she announced in a rushed whimper.

"No. No. No," he announced with a shake of his head. "I want you to tell me who you belong to," he said to her with a teasing lilt to his voice.

A slow whine fell from her lips. She swallowed and was reminded of the taste of his essence. "I…" she sighed. "I belong to you."

An arrogant chortle escaped from him. "You're mine, baby…" He gave her a kiss. "…Get off of that desk and face the door," he instructed. He continued to eye her as he drawn his fingers to his mouth. He sucked the remnants of her nectar off of his fingers.

Her widened. 'Well… Got… Damned.' She followed his command and positioned herself in the manner that he desired. For a few seconds, she was staring at the door and then she was staring at the sleek-looking phone that was on his desk. Her lower back was subjected to his pressing hand. His other hand was holding onto her left hip, guiding her ass into the right angle. The sounds of his clothes rustling reached up to her ears.

Both lovers groaned as they joined once more. He didn't allow her to adjust to his member's size. Eric performed with deep thrusts that struck every nerve in her. Nasira had to bite down into the heel of her right hand, in order to keep Eric's colleagues from knowing. It was during this deep fucking, when his hand slithered down to the spot in between her thighs. A second later, she felt his probing fingertips strum at her hardened bud. Her teeth clamped down harder on her hand while muffled cries permeated the air. When she came, she felt tears slip from her eyelids. The pleasure was too intense. It danced along the border of turning into discomfort. When her awareness returned, she was greeted with the sensation of lips on her back and silence, with the exception of her muffled panting.

Eric waited until she was calm and the last quivers subsided, before she felt his cock retreat. She was left with that shitty feeling of being emptied. His lips touched the curve of her right ear. "Get on your knees," he ordered.

On wobbly legs, she moved into the position. Once again, his thumb found purchase on her bottom lip. He applied a little bit of pressure. "I want to see that tongue of yours," he told her. His gaze was steady and it was aimed at her mouth. Once she put her modified appendage on display, his thumb slipped in between the crevice of the tips. Her tongue's tip embraced the digit. "Why did you get this done?" he questioned. He removed his thumb to allow her to speak.

Her eyes glimpsed at the erect appendage that stood ramrod in between his legs. Then she glanced at his face. "I got it…" She paused in order to cough out the hoarse texture that was lodged in her voice. "I got it, when I became an official member of the faction. I didn't want to do anything until I became one. I know a lot of initiates go and get tattooed or pierced because it serves as a motivation boost. Not me. I thought that I would jinx myself, if I did..." She sighed. "Anyway, I wanted my tongue to be split, ever since I was a kid. A tattoo worker that my father knew, had one—

"I know who you're talking about," he interjected. "He owns that shop in The Pit, the one that is almost in The Corners, right?"

Her cheeks blushed, when she realized that Eric was talking to her, about her. Usually they're conversations centered round three things: Dauntless, his itinerary for the day and about Lucien's well-being. She smiled as she nodded her hand. "Yeah… You're right. After the night in which the last results was revealed and it was certified that I was a faction member, I had gone to the tattoo place. I got it done on that day. I was given an aesthesia serum and I woke up hours later with this. It was a bitch to take care of it, because I couldn't eat or drink anything for the next twenty-four hours, though."

"What about your nipples? When did you get those done?" he inquired.

Her right hand reached out for his shaft, without any form of provocation. She gingerly pumped at the erect sex. His grunts were picked up by her ears. "My nipples…" She held onto his prick and managed to fetch the rolling chair that was behind him. 'Talk about multi-tasking.' She smiled. "…on the other hand, was something that I had chosen to do after an ex made the suggestion. I did it because I wanted to impress him." She patted the seat with her left hand, a silent suggestion for Eric to have a seat. He complied without being brooding. She slipped her body in between his opened thighs. Her full hand resumed its task. She watched her ministration of pumping at the hardened flesh. Her eyes did managed to catch Eric rest his head against the chair's headrest. His eyelids slowly rolled over his eyeballs and then his brow crumpled.

She gave his cock a few more strokes before she sheathed his member with her mouth. Her eardrums vibrated with the sounds of his moans. She pried her mouth off of him. "Ssshhh," she hissed. "Your meeting," she said in a terse whisper.

One cerulean orb focused on her. "The conference call is over. It's been over," he reported to her. His hand captured the crown of her skull. He gave her head a slight jerk forward. It was his way of asking her to continue.

She gave him one last glance before she returned to her task. Soon, she made him released a series of moans into the office.

*~oMLo~*

Her dark brown eyes searched for a clock. She had a feeling that she had spent too much time in the faction leader's office. In most situations, a broken computer monitor would've been replaced by a new and working one. It was a task that would take an half an hour, under normal circumstances.

"What are you looking for?"

She looked across the office-suite. Nasira stared at the commanding figure that took up space in the doorway that led to his private bathroom. His figure's current appearance made her pause. He was standing in the threshold wearing just a black, fluffy-looking towel wrapped around his hips and there was a layer of white shaving cream on his face. She glimpsed at the razor that was in his right hand.

"Ummm…" She stared up at his face. "I was looking for a clock. I wanted to know the time," she confessed.

"You mean to tell me that all of the shit that are on your wrists, one of them is not a watch?" he said to her, with amusement in his voice.

Nasira glimpsed at her bangle-adorned wrists and forearms. Then she glanced at him. "No," she stated, suddenly feeling both dumb and slightly embarrassed.

Eric chuckled. "Women," he muttered. His razor-holding hand pointed to a space that was on the other side of the room. "There's a clock up on the wall," he told her. Then he turned away from her and entered the bathroom.

She stood up from the chair, the last place he had taken her. She stared into the direction in which he pointed out. Her eyes found the clock. The time read eleven forty-eight in the morning. Shocked filled her soul as her eyes widened. 'Shhhhhhhhhh-it! I've been in here for close to two hours! Rafe is going to kill me and then throw my corpse into the Chasm!' She quickly climbed to her feet. Her feet, knees and thighs groaned out in protest. She snatched up her clothes. As she stood upright this time, a dull pressure built up in her lower belly. 'Bathroom before I go,' her brain muttered. She trotted away from the desk to the other side of the office-suite, to the room that Eric disappeared into. She was greeted with a thick layer of humidity, which was evidence that he had just finished taking a shower. It also served as a taunt towards her, ever since she desperately wanted to take a shower. "Eric, I need to use your bathroom," she announced as she stepped into the threshold. Her eyes took in the handsome and muscular form that was standing in front of a free-standing sink. He was facing the mirror that was mounted on the wall, above the sink. He was in the midst of shaving his left cheek.

"Why do you need to use the bathroom?" he asked as he continued to shave.

Her face grew a mask of confusion. "What?"

"I said, why do you need to use the bathroom for? I told you…" He stopped shaving. He tilted his head to face her, full-on. "…You're mine and I want everybody to know that." He turned back to the mirror and continued shaving. "Including those flashlight-fucks that were bothering you, this morning."

The aura of confusion evaporated as her knowledge poured down. Her delicate features smoothed out. "Oh," she whimpered. The feeling of mortification and embarrassment returned. "How did you find out about that?"

"I received an email letter from your brother. Whenever a Dauntless member is transferred from one role to another, every leader receives a notification. I read his notice." He looked down at the stream of water that fell from the faucet. He washed the razor. "Those assholes…Have they bothered you before?" The authoritative tone was back.

She shook her head. "No, just today. Today, only."

He resumed shaving. "You need to learn how to defend yourself, Nasira."

She scoffed in disbelief. Her action led to her being a recipient of an ice-cold glare. She even felt a chill cling to her. "Sorry," she whimpered. She watched him return to his task of shaving. "I don't…" She entered the bathroom. Her eyes found the toilet. "…see the point in learning how to perfect my kung-fu grip…" She gently pushed the seat down. Her hands had gone to the waistband of her panties. Then she realized that Eric ripped them off earlier. So she sat down. Immediately, the pressure in her lower stomach dissipated. "…All I need is a working trigger finger, if push comes to shove," she informed him.

"Sometimes, a gun won't get rid of a threat. What happens if you don't have a gun?"

"Then I'll use a knife," she pointed out.

"Don't be a smart-ass," he said to her as he rinsed used shaving cream off of his razor.

A comfortable silence floated into the room. She finished unleashing the pressure from her bladder while he continued shaving. She, unbeknownst to him, was observing the collage of scratches and nicks that marred the skin on his back. They were rained down on the space in between the bottoms of his shoulder blades and his lower back. She was about to apologize for her actions, when she took a glimpse at her fingers. More importantly, at her fingernails. The tips of her nails didn't even go over the slabs of skin that were at the tips. Her eyes then scanned his back again. The scratches and nicks were scabbed over. They were old. Her nails didn't marked up his back. In some cruel but weird manner of trickery, her mind began to make her smell the sickly-sweet scent of jasmine. The pressure returned to her belly, but this time it tossed and turned. Her eyeballs began to bother her. They were stinging. 'Fuck,' her brain whimpered. She looked away from his back and stared at her lap. "Fuck," she hissed so lowly that he didn't even hear it. A dull throbbing began to form, in the center of her chest. Her right hand touched the location. Her soothing touch didn't have the desired effect. The dull sensation disappeared and it was replaced with a sharper feeling. It also burned, in the same way that a case of heartburn would feel. She imagined her fist crashing into the face of one Dr. Anissa Howard. But then, she gathered her senses.

Nasira made a glimpse at his back again. "So… You're shaving?" She grimaced afterwards. She believed she sounded like a socially-awkward nose, who was attempting to impress a guy. "You looked good with the hair," she remarked. Once again, she thought that she sounded like a geek.

"I'm shaving because I thought that it was a time for a change," informed Eric. His head dipped forward a little. "Plus, Anissa hates the beard."

'Ugh, why did you have to mention that heifer?' She looked for the toilet paper dispenser. "Well…" She found the dispenser on her right side. "…I like your beard. You look very handsome with it…" She gathered a handful of paper. "…and it feels good against the insides of my thighs," she told him, with a smirk. 'Check…Mate… Please remind him about what we just did. He might be doing this for his girl, but he still has no problem fucking me.' She cleaned herself and then deposited the paper into the toilet bowl. She stood up. "But if you say that it's time for it to go, then it's time for it to go." She walked up to the leader. She placed a gentle hold on his right shoulder, as a way of alerting his attention. "Excuse me," she cooed. "Can I just wash my hands real quickly and then I'll be out of your hair," she told him. She gave him an expectant look. She watched Eric make a few sideway steps away from the sink. She took over. He stood a few centimeters away. She still felt his body's heat. She could still smell the fragrance of his bath gel and the shaving cream. She kept her line of sight on her active hands as they gathered up suds from a dollop of liquid anti-bacterial soap.

"What. Was. That?"

Nasira stared straight into the mirror, at the reflection of the man that stood next to her. A quizzical look marred her pretty features. "Mmm? What was 'what'?" she said to him.

"What was…that thing that you've just performed?" he asked, while his head did a slight tilt.

"What performance are you talking about?" she asked, as her cheeks burned. She knew exactly what he was talking about, but she didn't want to admit it. She stared down at her hands. She threw them under the stream of water. "Can you please explain the performance that I was doing just now?" she asked. 'Please don't say anything, Eric.'

He didn't say anything…at first. Then, with a sigh preceding, he stated "What we're doing…" His eyes committed a few blinks. "...We're just fucking…"

The Dauntless leader was unaware of the erratic jolt that her folded hands had done while they were rinsing off in the sink. He wasn't aware that the knot of pressure in her chest proceeded to spread into her breasts and into her diaphragm. He didn't see the watery glaze that covered her eyes.

"…You claimed that you knew where this could go and where it would end. You said that you could handle it, Nasira. You said—

"I know what I said…And I meant it," she told him. Her voice was the only feature on her that was normal. She was proud of it.

Eric sighed. "Do you want to end this? Or do you want to continue? Because I don't have time to deal with these emotional, head games…"

There was a silent scoff that occurred inside of her brain. 'He doesn't want to play emotional, head games but he's been playing them for the past two years.'

"…I have a lot of shit on my plate right now. So, do you want to end this as of right now? Or do you want to continue? But this time, without any snide remarks and puppy-dog eyes and—

'Stop—

Nasira suddenly turned to face him. "You know what? Let's end this," she blurted out before she allowed her cowardice to take over. "I think that we should… Break this whole thing off…" She nodded her head. "…Just end it before it could become messy. Well, messier. Anissa is your girlfriend and she deserves to be treated as such." She gave him one last nod. She noted the look of mild surprise that marked his face. She believed that he wasn't expecting her to say this. She felt the tingling of hope tickle at her subconscious. 'Stop that,' her conscience warned. "Are you coming over to see Luke tonight? He's been asking about you..." She inquired, changing the topic and subliminally letting Eric know that she was done with the uneasy subject. "...Well… Not 'asking'-asking about you, but he's been standing by my front door and pointing and saying 'Dada' for the past few days."

With the blink of his eyes, the mild case of surprise disappeared from his handsome, semi-bearded face. The sharpness of his glare returned. "I can't," he reported. "I have several things to do. By the time that I am finish, it'll be late. Past his bedtime."

A weakened smile fell across her lips. "Well…Okay." She took several steps away from him. She walked over to the toilet and pressed the lever, which flushed the contents. She gave him a glance. "I have to get going. Hopefully…" She made her way over to the threshold that was in between the bathroom and his office. "…I'll— I mean, Luke will see you within this week." Then she turned around and quickly made her way over to his desk, where her clothes were stored. Her hands picked up the leather skirt and clumsily slipped it on, before going after the sweater. Her fingers attacked the belt and ended up getting attacked back, when it aggressively slapped her hands. With slightly numbed fingers, she placed it on. Once she slipped the belt around her defined waist, she proceeded to make a hasty exit out of the office-suite. Except, his door wouldn't open. It was locked and it required a key-code in order to unlock. 'Fuck,' her brain grunted out in exasperation. She looked to the bathroom's entrance. "Um, Eric?" she called out, sounding nervous.

"Two-eight-fourteen-three," was the response that was sailed across the office-suite, from the bathroom.

Her shaky left index finger typed the number sequence into the keypad. A second later, the light panel flashed a legion of green four times before blinking one green light. She pulled the door open and slipped out. She closed the door behind her and then turned around. She came face-to-face with Eric's personal assistant-slash-secretary. When the technician first arrived to the office-suite, the woman wasn't at her usual post. She assumed that she must've gone to a nearby restroom. Now, the woman was back and she sat behind her desk. Nasira saw the woman turned her chair to a ninety-degree angle as she exited Eric's office. Now she was watching the Grant woman with an interest.

"Oh, it's you," the secretary stated simply. She turned her chair back around. "I thought you were Miss Howard," she clarified.

"I was…" Nasira made a few tentative steps towards the desk. "…fixing Dauntless Leader Coulter's computer. I received a call—

"Yes, I know," she stated, cutting her off. "I was the one who called you." The woman picked up a pen from off of the desktop. "So, did you manage to fix the problem?" the woman asked.

Nasira felt there was something different about the secretary. She was behaving nicely. Some of her manners needed a little tweaking, for improvement. But there was something off about her. "Yes, I managed to fix the problem. He had a problem with his printer," the technician told her.

"Oh, I thought there was something wrong with his monitor," the secretary mentioned.

'Ssshhhh-it!' Nasira groaned silently. "Nope, it was his printer. He thought it was his monitor."

"Ohhh, okay" the bald woman murmured. Her eyes did a dance down into the location of Nasira's stomach. "So, you had the baby?" the woman asked.

Nasira committed a polite smile. "Yes. I had a baby boy. Well, he's not a baby anymore. He's about to turn one, next month."

"Awww," the woman swooned. Nasira couldn't tell if this woman was genuine or if she was mocking her. "What's his name?"

"Lucien," answered Nasira. "His name is Lucien."

"That's a unique name. I think he is the only one in Dauntless with that name. I don't think there's anybody in this faction with that name. I don't recall hearing it, when I was growing up."

"You're a Dauntless-born too?" Nasira blurted out. Once she realized her lack of proper etiquette, she immediately apologized.

The seated woman giggled a sound that was so un-Dauntless-like. It was light and full of warmth. It reminded Nasira of the color pink and the sun. "Don't worry about it," the woman told her with the wave of her hand.

Suddenly the sounds of hard rubber soles scraping across the floor penetrated the room and it caused both women to stop conversing. The fragrance of jasmine floated into the room. They turned their attentions to the entrance of the waiting area. Nasira felt her eyes narrow a little as she eyed Anissa standing in the doorway. 'She looks…very…Pretty today,' she reluctantly admitted to herself. Today, the young doctor wore a black sweater dress, black stockings with black high heeled boots. Her hip-length, mousy brown hair was pulled back and kept styled with a gold headband. 'She isn't even wearing makeup and she still looks drop dead gorgeous.'

Nasira watched the woman leave the entryway and walk into their direction.

"Good afternoon, Miss Howard," the secretary greeted the doctor. "I'll…"

Both the technician and the secretary watched the shorter woman walk past them and travel to the tall, double doors that led to Eric's office. She didn't even give the women a passing glance. She didn't utter one syllable to them. Her nimble fingers typed a sequence of numbers into the keypad. The sound of approval was followed. She entered the room and closed the door behind her.

'What a grade-A...'

"She's such a twat," the secretary mumbled under her breath.

Nasira's dark brown eyes landed on the bald woman. The woman's reaction was so unexpected. She continued to stare at her. A snort fell from her nostrils. Then a smile grew on her face, which was followed by a chuckle. It was a welcomed reaction. It was better than the morose feeling that was taken up space in her spirit.

*~oMLo~*

Nasira glanced down at her cell phone's watch and read the time as being one-thirty, in the afternoon. 'I'm a few minutes late, but the old lady won't hold it against me,' she surmised as she stepped off of the elevator and onto the eighteenth floor. She stepped out of the elevator bay and into the central part of the lobby, where an eighteen-foot water fountain stood. She dug into her skirt's pocket and procured a silver dollar. She made a glimpse before closing her eyes. Seven seconds later, she opened her eyes and then tossed the coin into the fountain's water.

"I can't believe you still do that."

She smiled, when she recognized the voice. She was reminded of mugs of hot apple cider, the safeness that came from this woman's hugs and her charm. She turned away from the fountain and faced her mother. "Mommy," she greeted cheerfully. Then she ran up to her mom. The older Grant woman waited with opened arms. They immediately embraced as soon as they were in close proximity. Warm and sweet kisses were given to her forehead. She giggled into her mother's neck.

"I want my scent on you…"

She remembered Eric's words and her body tensed up. Fortunately for her, the older woman did not noticed the shift in her daughter's body. She loosened her embrace on Nasira. "So how's my baby doing?" she asked.

"I'm doing alright, Mommy," she announced as she let go of her mother.

"I wasn't talking about you! I was talking about my Bunchie!" her mother corrected her. Once her daughter's frowned up, her mother cackled. "I was just joking with you, baby!" The mother flicked her daughter's bottom lip in a playful manner. "Ohhh now, don't you stick that lip out at me!" she playfully scolded her daughter. She wrapped her right arm around Nasira's shoulders. "Now come on, let's go back to my office. Our lunches are getting cold."

As the mother led the way, the daughter did a quick sniffing to the collar of her sweater and to the sleeves. She wanted to make sure that she still smelled like the anti-bacterial foam that was dispensed in the employee's bathroom. Eric's 'alpha male claiming its mate' routine was considered sexy, but she wasn't a fool that was driven by sex. She knew that she needed to clean his scent off of her. Her mother had a sense of smell that was strong. She was sure that Mrs. Grant's nose would put a basset hound's nose to shame.

The older Grant led her progeny back to her office-suite, where she had a small feast laid out on her large desk. The younger Grant was placed in 'memory lane' once she entered the room and seen all of the food. Having lunch with her mother was a pastime that Nasira enjoyed, ever since she was a little girl. It was the kind of activity that she hoped that she would do with her own child.

"So, tell me, baby…" The mother took a sip from her bottled water. "…How are you and Eric?"

Nasira dropped her fork onto the plate. She gave her mother a wide-eyed glare.

"What?" Mrs. Grant glanced to both of her sides. "Did I say something weird? Didn't you tell me that you both were doing that co-parenting thing?" she said, sounding mildly bewildered.

Nasira sighed and then smiled. "Yes," she breathed. "We're co-parenting," she confirmed. "He's doing well…So far..." She stared down at her plate. She grabbed her bottle of water. "He's been doing well." She put the bottle to her lips.

Her mother cut a piece of asparagus with her fork and knife. She gazed at the items on her plate. "So how long have you been fucking him?" her mother stated so matter-of-factly.

A spittle of water sprayed out of her mouth and decorated her plate. She stared at her mother with wide eyes. "What—?

A sly smile spread across the older, beautiful woman's face. "You know what I am talking about, Nassy. I know about you and Eric."

"H-How?" she whimpered. She dabbed her mouth with a napkin.

"Well, first of all, you're walking around looking like a damned nightlight because your skin is glowing. Then there's the fact that your…" She performed a nonchalant wave at her daughter. "…hips are spreading—

An incredulous look approached Nasira's face. "What?!"

"Yeah, your hips have spread out and you can't blame Bunchie for that one! He just made those big ol' things on your chest bigger," her mother stated in her natural twang. "But those hips of yours? No one on both sides of the family have those. You got your breasts and hair from your father's side of the family. And you got your good looks and legs from my side of the family. But those hips and that ass… Only a man's good loving could do that to you!"

Nasira's face did a slow grimace. "Mmmmoooooommmm," she groaned. She covered her face with her hands.

Her mother's laughter filled the large, but cozy office. "How do you think I got my hips?"

"Mmmmmooooommmmm!" she squealed into her hands.

"Oh stop it, Nassy! I am just talking about sex, which is a natural human instinct. It's just like farting… Or, belching… Or like scratching an itch. You've gotta get out of this awkwardness. You have a child, now. A son, for flipping's sake. And you're gonna have to teach that boy about sex. Cause if you don't, then he's gonna learn about it from his friends and other people. The last thing you need is for him to be irresponsible with his dick…"

The younger mother slammed her right hand down on the desk. The lightweight eating utensils performed a harsh 'clang' against the hardwood. 'OH GREAT! Now I have my son's potential dick habits implanted in my brain! THANKS, MOM!'

"…and you don't want a girl showing up to your doorstep with a baby either! You see, I was open-minded and outgoing with you and your brothers about sex. And look at how well you guys turned out: I didn't received any pregnancy scares. No one came to me or to your father with their dicks in their hands because they fell off, due to some sexually transmitted disease…"

"Oh God… Mom," she groaned.

"Alright… Fine. I won't talk about sex anymore," her mother told her. She sighed. "Let's talk about you and Eric…"

'Got-damn it, mom.'

"…So, you're having sex with him…While he is attached to another woman…And you two have a child together. So, what is the arrangement between the two of you? Are y'all in one of those poly-amorous deals, where you and that gal know each other and are cool with it? Or she doesn't know about it?"

Nasira deeply sighed. She sat upright and removed her hand from her face. "She… Doesn't know about us," she confessed.

"Mmm," her mother hummed. Her lean further back in her executive chair. She gave her daughter an inquisitive scan. "So, how long are you guys planning to do this?"

The conversation that she had with Eric, in his office's bathroom, replayed in her mind. Then the emotions that she felt, at the time, came back. Quickly, her spirit was flooded with feelings of being inept and dumb, dampening the happy mood that she was just experiencing. She gave her mother a weak smile while her eyelids fluttered, attempting to combat the stinging sensation in her eyes. The thin layers of skin ended up losing the battle and her cheeks were soon stained with tears.

"Oh Nassy, honey-baby," her mother sighed with her compassion lace in her voice. "What—?

"I broke it off, this morning…" she confessed as her fingers cleaned up her face.

"What made you do it?"

"Sleep with him or do you mean the 'breaking up' part?" she inquired as she stared at her mother.

"The latter, honey."

"I know that I deserve better than this. I don't want to play the second fiddle in…" She did a non-committal wave of her hand. "…all of that. Plus, I don't want Luke to grow up and see me in that kind of relationship. I don't want him to grow up thinking that it is okay to treat women in that way. I also don't want him to grow up disliking his father because of my choices." She grabbed a napkin from off of the desktop. She wiped her cheeks dry.

"You love him, don't you?" her mother asked after a moment of silence.

Nasira nodded her head slowly. "Yes. But he is in love with another woman, so I'm not going to delude myself. I gotta move on. The thing is, I don't think he is going to allow that to happ—

Nasira's statement was disrupted by her mother's chortling. "Like he has the right to be making those choices for you!" She played with the bottle cap that was on the table. "Take it from me: a woman who has been around the block for a while. Eric… He's going to try to have his cake and eat it too. Take my word. Eric is a typical 'Dauntless Man': straight-up alpha male. He's going to be mad at you for dating other men, or just looking at other men, but he will just deal with it."

The younger woman sighed. "How-in the-hell did I find myself…?" Her voice paused. She remembered something. She stared at her mother. "Mommy, did you hear anything from Atlas? About that thing that we've talked about?"

"Oh yeah!" her mother stated as she scratched at her throat. "Atlas told me a few things…"

"What did he say?"

"…It wasn't important. It was about her upbringing. She's a part of a dynasty, did you know that?" her mother told her.

'WHAT?!' She jerked upright in her chair. She eyed her mother. "How?" she said a wee bit forcefully.

Mrs. Grant's right eyebrow tilted with amusement. "Erudite. Her great-great-great-great-great grandfather's brother was one of the founders for that faction. Her lineage isn't direct… Like yours, but she is still a part of one. I think this is one reason why Atlas had difficulty accessing her psych records…"

'Him, too?!'

"…But he said that he needs more time to access it. If he comes across anything that is juicy, then I let you know," her mother reported.

"You know, I've seen the bitch today," she informed her mother.

"Oh yeah? Did she say anything to you?"

"No… And that was the problem. Eric's secretary said 'good morning' to her and she just ignored her and continued walking to Eric's office. She treated her like she was worthless. She acted like she was a villain from a damn Jane Austen novel."

Her mother's mouth created a light chuckle. "Well, she is from Erudite. I think it is put into their heads to be snobby, you know, when they're kids…" Her mother's face did a slight grimace. "Ugh! I hate going to Erudite for diplomat sessions…" Her fine features smoothed out and she pointed her left index finger at her daughter. "Now, if you really want to see some real-life, Jane Austen villains, then go visit Erudite. That place has a shit-load of them! I remember when I first started…"

As the older woman began reciting her tale, the younger one leaned towards the desk, becoming totally enraptured. Her elbows touched the desktop and she rested her chin on the heels of her hands.

"…out as a diplomat, I used to loathe going to Erudite and having to deal with those diplomats. I remember I would come home— Way back then, I was living in a small, studio apartment that was located in The Corners. It was right above a Chinese Take-Out joint—and I would just scream into my pillows, out of anger…" Mrs. Grant broke out into a song of chuckles, which made Nasira laugh. "They used to get under my sssskkkkiiiiinnnn…" Her voice transitioned into a pretty melody. It caused her daughter to remember where she inherited her talent of singing. "…with their back-handed compliments and their snide remarks and their stares— Oh, their stares! Let me tell you something about them stares, honey! Those Erudite stares used to drive me up a wall! Like they would just stare at you…" Her mother used her right index and middle fingers to point at her doe-shaped eyes. Her mother tried to mimic the glaring that used to make her go into a fit of quiet rage. "…like you were nothing. And ever since I originally came from Amity, they would definitely stare at me like I was worthless." Mrs. Grant chuckled and she stared at her lap.

Nasira smiled. "I remember those days when you had to go to Erudite," she pointed out. She giggled as her mind was filled with memories. "Dad would take those days off and he'd picked us up from school and he gave us the rundown of what we were supposed to do, when we arrived home. He made sure that the house was clean, we did our homework, we didn't make too much noise and that dinner was ready by the time you came home!" As she talked, she took note of her mother nodding her head and laughing. "He wanted to make sure that you weren't going to be stressed out about anything!" She giggled.

"That's because your dad knew how I could become, after those Erudite trips," she explained.

After a short moment of silence sailed between the two women, the daughter noticed a wide, lecherous grin grew on her mother's face. It caused Nasira's skin to chill. Her eyes narrowed and her lips smirked. "What, you old perverted woman?"

Her mother nodded her head slowly. "So… You had gone to Eric's office today, huh?"

"Yeah," she murmured. She glimpsed from side-to-side. "What about it?"

"Why were you there?"

"Because…" She crossed her legs. "…his computer was not working, so his secretary called down to Systems and asked for a tech to come up. I was given the assignment. Why are you still smiling creepily?"

"Did you just fixed his computer?" her mother asked with a knowing smile.

"Yee—

"Liar-liar, pants on fire," her mother sang before laughing.

Nasira rolled her eyes. "Alright…fine. Yes, we did have sex," she confessed. "Are you happy now, you old woman?" she grumbled.

Mrs. Grant cackled. Once she calmed down, she sighed. She stared off into space. Then her eyes drifted off and landed on Nasira. A gentle smile tugged at the older woman's lips. She didn't say a word. She just gazed at her only daughter.

Nasira noticed the gazing, but she didn't say anything. But once a minute of silence passed, she couldn't hold it in. "Mommy, what?"

The older woman's lips pursed for a second before going back to smiling. The fingers from her right hand reached up to her elaborate head wrap, where they proceed to play with a row of fringes. With a slight tilt of her head, she said, "I wouldn't mind having another grandchild…" She glanced off to the side for a second and then back at her daughter. "…from you. I would love to hold another granddaughter in my arms."

"Mommy, you have a granddaughter already."

"Yes, I am aware of that. I just want you to have one. And I want you to name her after my mother…Zola." She glimpsed up at the ceiling and then glanced at her daughter. "Did I ever tell you that the maternal side of my family was originally from Dauntless until my grandmother decided to pick Amity?"

"Yeah…" She gave another sideways glance. She didn't understand why her mother was repeating facts from their family history. "…You've told us countless of times."

"Sometimes, I wish that the old woman would've stayed in Dauntless."

Nasira scoffed. "Mommy, you knew why your grandmother moved from Dauntless to Amity. Back in those days, this faction wasn't exactly kind to the elderly, which is why most of them jumped off the bridge and into the Chasm," Nasira pointed out to her mother. "Amity was safer. She thought that she was being smart."

Then there was a pregnant amount of silence. As the seconds ticked by, tension was filling up the room. Nasira felt it. It caused her skin to break out in goose-pimples and her hair to stand up.

Her mother was staring at the ceiling, when she decided to speak again. "My mother…" she sighed.

'Okay, what is going on?' Nasira's eyes narrowed slightly as she observed the Grant matriarch. 'What is wrong with her to—?' Her thought trailed off, when she noticed the change in her mother's mood. She saw the unshed tears glossing over the older woman's brown eyes. "Mom… Are you alright?" she asked with a soft voice, sounding unsure.

Instead of answering her daughter's inquiry, she spoke about something else. "My mom was an Amity woman, through and through. When she was a girl, she was taught to do a little bit of everything, which was why she was able to work in any field. On one day, she would pick from the crops and on the next day, she would pick from the tobacco fields and then on another day, she was sent to the fish farms. She worked hard in the fields and she never complained about doing it. She always used to tell me and my siblings that there's nothing wrong with working with our hands. Not everybody can create a serum or make a new device. She was a smart woman and she was very considerate of other people's feelings. I don't know why she ended up with my father. My grandma used to say that people can wear masks over their true selves, but I can't see my father ever hiding himself. He was pure mean asshole, twenty-four seven. And plus, he was a fish-head, so he loved to talk about his legacy." Her fingers performed a dance on the desktop. "My mom… She loved all of us and she tried her best to protect us from my father's fists. She would get…" A rush of air escaped from her pursed lips. "...beaten so badly that there were times when she couldn't go to work on the fields. The bruises were too bad to cover them up or her hands were too mangled up..." A droplets of salty tears fell from her eyes. "People tried to help her. I remember this much. But the old woman, she still stuck by him. She said it had everything to do with the vows that she had taken. When he finally died, we all thought that she would be alright. She was sad that he died, of course, but we knew that she would eventually come out of it. We all thought 'She is free… finally'. Then, that…" Her mother slapped the desktop with her napkin. "…damned heart of hers gave out on her, two months after he died."

Nasira watched her mother silently cry. It spurned her own tears to flow. "Mommy…what's wrong?" she said softly.

Mrs. Grant shook her head. "It's… Just not fair," her mother cried.

"Mommy…" she said softly as she wiped at her eyelids. "…what's wrong?"

Her mother bowed her head. Her right hand touched at her face. "It's just not… Got-damned fair," her mother hissed.

Nasira stood up and approached her mother. She kneeled in front of the aging woman. She placed her hands in her mom's lap and she gazed up at the woman. "Mommy, you got to tell me about what's wrong, okay? Because you're starting to scare-the-hell out of me, right now. Is it one of the boys? Did something happened to Trudy or with the baby? What about you? Did something happen to …?" Then a thought crossed her mind. It was a nefarious thought that caused her skin to chill and her heart to pound. It caused her voice to die and a lump to form in her throat. An audible exhale ran out of her mouth. "Mommy…" she sighed. She searched her mother's face for the truth. "Mom…"

Mrs. Grant's eyes dropped down to her daughter's face. She unleashed a trembling sigh. "It's back, honey-baby…" Her eyes drifted off. "…I learned yesterday that the cancer is back and this time…" She nodded her head and her jaw clenched. "It's worse."