Chapter Fourteen – Eric's Fears.

Everyone, thank you for leaving me a review.
It is always nice to read your sweet comments, it definitely motivates to keep writing.
So thank you everyone!

Nina grabbed a black t-shirt from Eric's drawer and placed it on, she remembered that her boyfriend mentioned she loved wearing his shirts and that was completely true. It felt comfortable wearing his shirts and the scent reminded her so much of Eric, she couldn't imagine not wearing his shirts to bed or in the morning while making coffee for them both. It was becoming a routine and she loved it.

"Morning." She felt two strong hands gripping her hips tightly and soft lips kissing her right behind her ear, "This is really a sight to wake-up to."

The shirt just falling over her thighs gave him plenty to see. Seeing her in her panties or thong was always the first thing he saw in the morning he told her before. She laughed it off then, but she knew she was being a tease by repeating it morning after morning.

"I'll try and remember not to reach for things on high shelves."

He reached for his navy mug, "Thanks." He kissed her hair and released her, heading for the bedroom again.

Eric going to the bathroom right after he grabbed his coffee mug was also becoming a familiar routine for her. She'd take a few sips of her coffee and join him in the bathroom. She sipped from her coffee and slowly padded to the bedroom, placing her mug on her nightstand.
She joined Eric in the bathroom, he already brushed his teeth and was standing under the hot sprays, soaping his body with that familiar scent she obsessed about.
Loading up her toothbrush with blue minty paste she started to brush her teeth, while watching her boyfriend wash the suds off.

"You enjoy looking at me, don't you?"

"What?"

"You do it every morning, watching me in the shower."

She stilled her hand, knowing Eric was right. She did watch him every morning when he took his shower, that was just creepy. Quickly facing the mirror instead she rinsed her mouth and placed her tooth brush in its cup. Walking to the shower, she tossed Eric's shirt aside and got in, smiling when his hands reached for her. Holding her tightly to his naked, wet body.

"I don't mind."

"Don't sound so cocky." She loved that smirk on his face though, it was so Eric.

He reached for the bottle of shower gel and loaded some minty smelling soap in his hand, "We don't have much time-"

"So?"

She gasped when she felt his hands trailing over her body.

"So we don't have much play time." He told her, rinsing the soap off her body.

She stepped out of the shower once Eric was done rinsing the delicious smelling soap off and reached for the navy colored towel, handing her boyfriend one as well. Drying her body she wrapped the towel around herself and headed to their bedroom to get her outfit ready.
Eric joined her in the bedroom, a towel hanging loosely around his waist while he tossed her, her favorite body lotion.

"Thanks." She caught the bottle with ease and quickly rubbed the moisturizer onto her arms and legs.

Eric was quick with getting ready for the day, he had already moisturized his body and was pulling a tight black t-shirt over his head. She still needed to put her underwear on. Eric grabbed his coffee mug and watched her get dressed. Since she openly stared at him in the shower, she didn't mind his eyes on her that much. He had seen it all anyways.

"Your coffee is getting cold, Nina."

She slipped into a leather black dress and grabbed her coffee mug, sipping from the warm liquid. Eric was collecting their clothes to put them in the hamper while he gave her time to get her make-up and hair done. He knew how much she cared about her make-up. She didn't use a lot, but she loved her mascara and black eyeliner. She didn't want to leave the apartment without wearing her eye make-up.

"You done?"

She tossed her hair back, flashing him a seductive little smile, "All done."

He grabbed their coffee mugs and placed them in the sink. She held the door open for them, a shiver passing through her body when he placed his hand on her back and led her to the dining hall so they could have breakfast before her punishment would start.

"Whatever you're going to see in the control room cannot be shared with the other initiates, the information is highly-"

"I know it's sensitive information, I cannot share whatever I hear or see with other people. I promise, Eric, it won't happen."

Eric narrowed his eyes on her, "When you're drunk you tend to do things people never expected of you."

She knew Eric would not forget about her dancing on top of a bar, giving other men a sight they'd never forget. His possessiveness was a huge turn-on to her. They pushed through the heavy doors of the dining hall and joined the other leaders at the table.

"You're on time today." Tori mentioned when they sat down at the table, "No playtime for Eric this morning?"

Nina gaped at Tori for mentioning something so personal in public, then again this was Dauntless. They probably had heard and seen worse. Tris though, looked away, looking uncomfortable with the subject. Her Abnegation roots were always peeking through the surface, no matter how Dauntless she looked.

"Don't worry, Tori, I'll spoil my man tonight."

She smirked when Tori choked on her drink and shared a look with Eric. His eyes shined amusingly, handing Tori a napkin to wipe her mouth.

"I knew I liked you, your sassy attitude is very entertaining." Tori narrowed her eyes on Nina, "You better exceed your final test next week or else I'll make your life a living hell, girly."

She had a feeling the leaders already decided who would take what job, they needed to rebuilt Dauntless. They probably wanted to offer the initiates jobs that fitted them best.

"You'll let her threaten me?" Nina asked Eric who quietly enjoyed his breakfast right beside her.

Eric shrugged a shoulder, "Why would oppose to it? I agree with Tori on this one. You ruined your chances when you decided it was time to break the rules and disobey an order. So yes, I'll let her threaten you all she wants. We both know she has the right to."

Nina rolled her eyes. Great, everyone was taking Tori's side. She was sure they all made mistakes as initiates, but they were too damn proud to admit it. She'd get the truth out of Four, he'd never go into details, but he'd say enough.

"If I don't make my final test I'll end up factionless. I'm at the bottom of the rankings."

"You're near the bottom." Tori corrected her, "You still have a shot to crawl back up and reclaim your first place."

"The final test is worth that much points?"

They all shared a look. They didn't need to tell her more, the final test was all that matters. She could pass the test within five to seven minutes. All she had to do was tell herself it wasn't real and she'd finish her test without much effort.

"You better finish up, we're meeting Harrison in the control room in five."

Nina noticed Lacey heading to the kitchen, her hair tied in a messy bun while she was carrying a bucket filled with water.

"She has kitchen duty?" Nina glanced at Eric, "You gave Lacey kitchen duty?" She asked confused.

"She has cleaning duty and is grounded till the final test is over. No dates, no hanging out in the pit. After her punishment she has to go back to the dorm."

"She also lost points." Four added, "Which had her worried since she is not a natural, Nina. Some people fear the final test."

"I was so lost in one of my fears I attacked Dauntless leadership." Nina glanced toward the kitchen again, "But she wouldn't fear it so much she'd cry in front of Eric." Nina glanced back at her boyfriend again, "What else did you do?"

"I explained to her which jobs would be available to her, if she did pass initiation."

Whatever job she'd get was not something she'd like. Lacey's eyes had said it all the other day. Nina would try and persuade Eric to view Lacey's results objectively. One crazy night at the bar didn't make her any less of a good solider. Lacey deserved something better than fence duty or whatever job was even worse than that.

"Eric-"

"Let's go, Nina, you have a long day ahead of you." Four said, getting to his feet.

Four interrupted her, she knew he did it with a purpose. She barely touched her breakfast and he wasn't finished either. She knew better than to protest though, the calm leader probably had a good reason for interrupting her before she could even finish her sentence.
She turned to Eric, grabbed the front of his sleeveless jacket and kissed him full on the mouth, ignoring the grunts both Tris and Tori made. She'd kiss her boyfriend anywhere, anytime she wanted.

"See you tonight." She whispered against his lips, before getting to her feet and following after Four.

Four waited for her outside the dining hall and led her to the control room. He slowed his pace so he could walk beside her.

"Don't challenge Eric in front of the other leaders, it won't end well for you."

She frowned, "What do you mean?"

"You were about to question him about that Dauntless girl, or maybe even tell him that he was wrong about his decision and he should reconsider it." He met her gaze, "You have a better shot changing his mind if you do it privately, trust me."

Four was probably right, Eric didn't like to be questioned. She knew how much he despised going to Candor every day to give them daily reports about the progress of Dauntless. She'd mention Lacey's punishment another time, in private.

"You're right." She admitted, "You know him pretty well, is it like keep your friends close and your enemies closer kind of thing?"

"Eric is not my enemy."

She snorted, "Yeah right."

Four narrowed his eyes on her, "He is not. He sees it that way, but I don't."

She still didn't buy it though, she had seen those two together. They were slowly getting along, but the rivalry was still simmering underneath. They just got better at hiding it.

"Ladies first." Four said, holding the door open to the control room.

She thanked him and stepped inside the dark lighted room, everyone was observing their screen not looking away from it once. It was amazing how seriously they took their job. She couldn't imagine that after a week she'd also have a job of her own, having a responsibility and taking her job as serious as them.

"This way, Nina."

Four gestured to an empty desk right next to the guy she knew as Zeke. He was the brother of party guy Uriah. Lacey partied with them in the pit a few times. It surprised her he took a desk job like this. He seemed more like the type of guy who'd be out in the field, risking his life.
She took a seat at the desk Four appointed her and glanced at the bright screen. The check list from the previous day was already placed on her desk.

"Do I need to explain to you what you need to do?" Four asked, she could hear the bordem in his voice, he probably had something better to do.

"No, I can manage. No need to babysit me, Four." She smiled, "I'll be busy with this the rest of my afternoon, so you can do whatever a Dauntless leader does."

Smirking Four nodded at Zeke before leaving the room. Zeke was actually her babysitter, she wasn't oblivious. She had seen the look they shared.

Eric overviewed the room Christina, Four and his girlfriend had prepped for the final test. It was all in place, everything was running smoothly. He hoped the final test would go smoothly as well, because they'd have company from both Candor and Erudite. He wanted to show them that Dauntless was doing perfectly fine and no longer needed to be watched.

"Everything is in place, Eric." Christina mentioned when he didn't say anything.

"I can see that, Christina." He told her quietly, "We need two more monitors in the viewing room. Candor and Erudite are joining us. Let's make their visit as comfortable as possible for them?"

Christina frowned, "Why? No offence but you're not the type who actually cares about something like that."

Eric turned to her, placing his hands in his pockets, "I actually don't give a fuck about them being comfortable or not, but we need them to back off so the only way to have them stepping back is by sucking up right now. So that's what we'll do."

"These are the last days of our daily reports to Candor, we don't want to give them a reason to extend our daily visits." Four explained.

Christina nodded, "Got it. Two more monitors, extra chairs." She didn't question them after Four's explanation, "Anything else?"

Eric glanced around once more, "That would be all, Christina."

Four turned to look at him, "So Tori told me about the last encounter you had with a Candor representative." He leaned against the wall, "You trying this hard because you know that representative has a grudge against you?"

He clenched his fist at his side, "He doesn't have a grudge against me. He is fucking Candor, if he can't handle the truth he chose the wrong faction."

Four rubbed his temples, exhaling loudly, "He might be Candor, Eric, but he is still her brother as well. You could have handled that more tactically. "

Eric smirked, "Does that sound like me? Do you want to give them a reason to doubt us?" He asked, noticing how Four looked away, "Neither do I, so instead of preaching to me, which is apparently the best skill you possess, you make damn sure everything will run smoothly during the final test."

Four clenched his jaw, but didn't protest. Eric knew that the Stiff agreed with him on this one. Four grabbed onto the tablet Christina had left for them and started going through the list. Everything was in place, they were ready for this.

Nina glanced up from her book when she heard the door slam loudly. Eric marched toward her, looking like the grumpy leader everyone always thought he was. He pushed her legs off the couch and took a seat right next to her.

"Your brother is a fucking asshole."

"What do you mean?" She placed her book aside.

Eric leaned back against the couch and threw his head back, letting out a tired sigh, "He told Jack that since I am in a relationship with one of the initiates he believes my judgment for this initiation was clouded therefor the process was not objectively viewed."

Nina frowned, "My brother said that?" She hadn't told William about her relationship with Eric, but apparently he knew, "What is Candor going to do now?"

Eric tilted his head to the side, "Nothing." He smirked when she narrowed her eyes on him, "Every faction has their own rules concerning relationships amongst initiates and leadership. At Dauntless there are no rules about it. So even though your brother doesn't like us being together, he cannot do anything about it."

"Even if he could, he has no right to tell me who I can or cannot date." She felt the rage simmer inside of her, "So why are you so pissed right now?"

"I'm pissed because your brother is interfering with everything we worked for, Nina." He ran a hand over his face, "We worked hard to show the city that Dauntless can be trusted again. That this warrior faction will indeed protect those who cannot stand up for themselves. Your brother-" He raised his voice a little which told her he was more than pissed, "Is trying to ruin that."

"I won't let him." She told Eric fairly, "This is my faction too, Eric. He cannot do or say anything to destroy what you have worked so hard for." She cupped his cheek in her hand, "I promise this faction will be treated rightfully. "

Eric leaned more into her hand, looking quite amused with himself. She didn't know what she had said that he thought was so funny, it made her doubt her own words.

"Look at you, you were born for the job leadership wants to offer you."

She didn't understand what that meant, "What job?"

He grabbed onto her hips and pulled her on top of him, smiling when she straddled him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She felt him burry his nose in her neck and inhale her subtle perfume. She trailed a hand up to his hair and clutched the back of his hair.

"You smell so good." He murmured, kissing her neck softly.

She moaned when he playfully bit into her sensitive skin, a chuckle leaving his lips when she grinded more into him. Her movement caused the book she had been reading to fall with a loud thud on the floor.

"You've been reading again."

She forgot all about the book she had been reading, Eric had that effect on her. She gripped his hair even tighter in her hand, causing him to groan, "Yeah."

He yanked the end of her hair back, making her look into his eyes, "So fucking sexy."

She snorted. If he thought she reading a book was fucking sexy, she didn't need much to turn him on. She remembered what Pether had told her that day in the bar. He thought she was the perfect girl for Eric, she thought he was drunk when he said that, but she slowly started to understand what he meant by that.

"I need you." She whispered against his lips, breathing heavily when his hand trailed up her shirt and squeezed her breast.

Without a warning he pushed her down on the couch and hovered over her, his hands placed firmly against the couch at either side of her head. He caged her in and looked at her with lustful eyes. She brushed her fingers over those kissable lips and bit her lower lip when she thought about the things she wanted him to do to her. The thought of feeling his bare skin against hers made her wet between the thighs. She didn't need much help to reach her pleasurable high, she was sure if Eric just brushed his fingers against her clit she'd cum. She closed her eyes firmly shut when she heard a loud knock against the door. Trying to focus on them instead, she tried to tune out the persistent knocking.

"Stop banging your girlfriend and open the door, Eric. I know you're in there."

Snapping her eyes open, Nina glanced at her boyfriend who looked even more annoyed than her. She took his face in her hands and kissed him firmly, letting him know that whatever they were planning to do was not over yet.

"Eric-"

"I'll kill him." Eric whispered against her lips, pulling away to get the door.

Nina tried to fix her hair and clothing and got off the couch, heading to the kitchen to grab them all a drink. She knew Eric needed one right now.

"What?" He sounded even angrier than she imagined he'd be.

"Since I have a lot of free time on my hands, being a patrol officer instead of a patrol captain, I thought I'd keep you guys company." He pushed right through the door, "Thank you." He said taking the beer bottle from Nina who intended to give that bottle to her boyfriend.

"Please, make yourself at home…" She rolled her eyes and gave Eric her bottle instead.

"I see I did interrupt something." Peter sounded very proud of himself, "Thought it would be a lot messier, banging a virgin and all."

Nina stared at Peter wide eyed, Eric on the other hand had other plans. He marched right up to Peter an smacked him across the back of the head, causing him to choke on his beer.

"How do you-" She folded her arms across her chest, "What- I mean-"

"Initiates talk." Peter shrugged, rubbing the back of his head, "A blonde mentioned you being a virgin to her boyfriend and they got into a heated discussion of how long you'll last now that you've moved in with Eric and all."

She'd kill Lacey for sharing private information with Aaron. They might be dating, but she thought Lacey was like her best friend and best friends kept each other's secrets, even from the guy they were currently dating.

"Don't make me kick you out." Eric warned Peter, "Stop talking."

She turned to Eric, "I'm heading to bed." She slowly stepped toward him and kissed his jaw, "Have fun, boys." She muttered, closing the door behind her once she was safely inside her bedroom.

Eric threw Peter out of his apartment after two more beers. He knew Peter had been joking around, but the moment Peter mentioned his girlfriend's innocence it reminded him of the reality, their reality. She was young, inexperienced and dangling between making it or losing it all. It freaked him out not knowing how this would end.
Stepping into the bedroom, he was greeted with the sight of his girlfriend being rolled up on their sheets, sleeping soundlessly. He reached for her, kissing her hair before he headed to the bathroom to take a quick shower.
Seeing her like that brought the peace back in his mind. He was afraid of what might happen during the final test, he feared she wouldn't make it, but the moment he saw her so peacefully asleep every chaotic thought disappeared. She just had that effect on him. It was insane.
He slipped into bed right next to her, placing an arm around her waist to pull her closer. Her sweet scent engulfed him, luring him closer and closer. He kissed her hair again and held her firmly to his chest while slowly he drifted off to a very peaceful sleep.