Hi guys, thank you everyone for leaving me a comment. I really appreciate the support.
Disneyfan259: I have their future planned out already so I promise that might happen soon. I intended to write this story to have more than just an initiate – leader kind of relationship with Eric and an OC. So that will definitely happen ;)
Saphina: She definitely got in trouble for her behavior lol
Chapter twenty-one – Confronting William.
Eric felt an odd pressure on top of his body, dragging him out of his sleep. Blinking his eyes he was greeted by the sight of his girl sitting on top of him, her palms pressed against his chest while she gave him the most devious smirk he had ever seen on her face. The pressure he felt was her pressing down on his body and even though a minute ago he wanted to curse whoever dared to wake him, now he was grateful he was awake.
"What a sight to wake up to."
She trailed her nails gently down his chest, "I bet it is." Her nails raked down till his boxers, the intention clear in her eyes as she slipped her hand inside his boxers, "Thought I'd wake you up like this." She grabbed onto him and freed him from his boxers, "Since we didn't quite finish what we started last night."
He threw his head back when he felt her guide him to her entrance and slowly let him slip inside of her. The sounds coming from her lips echoing through their bedroom.
"You love driving me fucking insane." He grabbed onto her hips, wanting to control their pace, "You're not mad at me anymore?"
She let him set the pace for them as she moved on top of him, that freaking black lace lingerie really didn't leave anything to your imagination.
"You did what you have to do for my own safety." She bit her lip hard when he felt her contract around him, "Does it look like I'm still mad at you?"
He grabbed onto her hips, slipping out of her for a second which caused the cutest whine he ever heard to leave her swollen, red lips and spun them around. Without a warning he slipped inside of her again, making her grab onto him with all her might while she dug her nails into his shoulder blades. The pain only added to his pleasure though. She had already come once so it was his turn to chase his orgasm. He quickened his pace, even though he knew how sensitive her body was right now. She'd definitely come at least once more.
"No, it looks like you're about to come again."
He knew she wanted to laugh, but the pleasure she was feeling wouldn't let her. She only mewed at him, closing her eyes tightly.
"You might be right."
He chuckled, focusing entirely on getting them both there. He felt it building in the pit of his stomach and grabbed firmly onto her hips, no doubt he'd be leaving bruises with the force he used. Her face didn't show any sign of pain so he guessed she was still good. He moved the angle of her hips a little so he could reach deeper inside of her that set her off to reach her climax again. The way she tightened around him helped him reach his high as well, making him whole body tremble with the orgasm that washed through him. He leaned down, pressing a kiss to her forehead and rolled off her, taking her in his arms while they both tried to calm down.
"That was fucking amazing." She breathed, sounding like she just ran a marathon.
Chuckling he pulled her tighter in his arms, pressing a kiss to her temple. He wanted to stay in bed with her all day, but unfortunately he had an early meeting with Four which he could not skip. He rolled out of bed despite the soft little protests of his girl and headed for the bathroom.
Nina got out of bed a few minutes after Eric, since she first needed to find her brain. She grabbed one of his t-shirts like usual, slipped it on and quietly entered the bathroom. She brushed her teeth while Eric did his morning routine. It was amazing how they managed to have some structure in their life. She quickly headed into the kitchen after she brushed her teeth, wanting to make Eric his usual cup of coffee. He'd probably have a late breakfast if he was meeting Four for an urgent meeting so she wanted him to be less grumpy.
She managed to pour the hot liquid into his usual dark mug before he entered the living room, freshly showered and fully dressed. Two strong arms wrapped around her body, pulling her in for a hug.
"It was very entertaining to see you run around the apartment because you wanted to make me this." He took the mug from her and kissed her temple, "Thanks."
She followed Eric to the couch and took a seat beside him, "I'm actually meeting Tris after your meeting with Four. She has to head to Erudite this afternoon."
"What are your plans after that?"
"I actually have an update meeting with Cara later today. I'll head together with Tris to Erudite."
"So you're traveling a lot today?"
She watched him being focused on his emails, but she knew he listened to her every word. She found his intelligence very attractive and she knew it was the other way around as well. It always made him crazy when she challenged him. It made her wonder if Eric would get bored with their relationship if things were no longer exciting for him. She brushed her fingers over his frown, a small smile spreading across her face when he met her gaze.
"I'm listening to you."
"I know you are." She leaned in, pressing a kiss to his cheek, "Yes, I'm traveling a lot today. I hope we can still have dinner together."
The coffee smelled delicious and she could not hold herself back, taking Eric's mug from him she took a small smile, savoring the taste of the hot liquid. She handed him his mug back, glancing at the watch on his left wrist.
"I'm sure you'll be gone when I'm getting out of the shower, so-"She grabbed onto his vest and pulled him in a for kiss, "I'll see you tonight, babe."
She got off the couch, giggling when Eric slapped her rear and wished her a safe trip.
Four signed the report Aaron had written for them to scan through. Eric was going through the files of possible replacements for the guy who was currently in the med unit, recovering from a gunshot. He still needed to find a patrol captain who could review Peter's skills, but the guy who he thought was perfect for the job, now had to work with a team of four instead of five. The factionless project would take months, maybe years so they had to shut down their protests without getting too much attention. This was the part of his job which he could do without.
"It was just a group of three. From what I saw in the control room the men who tried to stop the patrol team from doing their rounds seemed surprised they actually succeeded in injuring one of our men-"
"Now that they know they can actually hurt us we need to increase the numbers in that area-" Eric pointed to the pier, "We play our war games there, it's a part of Dauntless tradition I don't want to shut down because some factionless are running around like savages around that area."
"Yes, we'll increase our numbers." Four closed the file and stared at the map which was sprawled out on the table in front of them, "We'll be stricter with the rules. Jack agrees that we should take in whoever disobeys the law and let Candor decide over their faith."
"So in the meantime all the faction leaders are trying to create a place where the factionless can stay without having to beg for food."
"Did Amity agree on teaching them how to work the fields?"
"They agreed, some of the factionless feel like we're out of place here because we're not their leaders. So they get to decide where to live and how they do it." He knew the next thing he was going to ask Four would upset him, but they had no choice, "Maybe you can have a talk with your mother, seeing most of the factionless look up to her."
"Are you serious?"
Eric frowned, "Does it look like I'm joking?" It was not like Four to ask stupid questions, "She can convince them that it's only for their benefit that we're giving them their own territory. On top of that we also try to teach them how to survive, they should be fucking happy about that since most of the factions agree that we shouldn't even care about the factionless."
"Because they are not part of society."
Eric didn't give a damn about the factionless either, but he had to care because that's what was expected of him. It was like telling the people who got cut in Dauntless that everything would be fine because from now on they could live happily ever after with the factionless in the outskirts of the city. Being factionless had to terrify their initiates to keep fighting to become the best of the best, this new system would definitely mess with their initiation process.
"You don't have to do it, but these little protests will definitely grow until we have no control over it. In the end this whole Abnegation project will be a waste of resources and time, but at least we tried, right?"
Four rolled his eyes, "Fuck you and your annoying habit of always being right."
Chuckling Eric rolled the map up again, his eyes landing on Erudite, "The testing at Erudite has begun."
Four glanced at his watch, "We took longer than I expected. I guess the girls are already there."
"You had plans with Tris?"
Four seemed surprised that he was interested in his day, but he wasn't the only one who was surprised. It also fucking shocked him that he actually asked Four about his life. He could almost hear Nina sing in his mind, telling him that she was right.
"We were going to grab lunch together before she had to leave." He glanced at his watch again, "It is past lunch time, didn't expect that to happen."
"That reminds me, I still need to find a replacement for that injured guy."
"Christina can do it." Four's suggestion made him cringe, "She has no initiation class to train right now, so she has free time. It's only for a few weeks so she'll be out of your hair in no time."
"I guess."
"You have someone better in mind?"
He didn't. He didn't want to ask that blonde friend of Nina because she was doing a job beneath her rank for a reason. She disobeyed the rules and was facing her punishment. He knew he was being harsh on her, especially since the one who disobeyed direct orders from him finished her punishment without a scratch.
"Fine, you can talk to her though."
"What is your problem with her anyway?" Four sounded curious about this, which was new since the guy usually concealed his emotions like a pro, "It cannot be because of her big mouth because let's face it the girl you're dating is far worse than her. So what is it about her that makes you dislike her?"
"Her sense of arrogance. She pretends to fit right into Dauntless, yet she cowers away when the going gets tough." He got to his feet and collected all the files which needed to be stored in the archive again, "I hate the pretense of courage. We done here?"
Four nodded, but didn't say a word after that. He had no intention of sticking around any longer though, he reached his limit of conversing with people about their daily life.
Nina walked out of the meeting room, and narrowed her eyes on the sight right in front of her. She had no idea William would be present during the testing today, yet her eyesight was not playing jokes on her. He was right there, having a conversation with Amanda. She gasped when she felt someone bump into her from behind, probably Cara since the Erudite leader still hadn't left the meeting room. The woman didn't question her though, she just followed her gaze and observed the scene as intensely as her.
"Let's close the door so we can have this conversation in privacy, Nina."
Nina followed Cara back inside the room. The Erudite leader had mentioned that she had a tight schedule, but apparently her situation was a priority to the woman.
"I sensed some hostility from Eric toward my assistant during the final testing at Dauntless. Back then I thought it was just his personality and brushed it off. Now I'm sure that it wasn't just his personality. As a former Candor I assume you won't lie to me and enlighten me about the situation?"
Nina wanted Eric to have this conversation with Cara since the two of them had an understanding. She wasn't that close to the Erudite leader, but since she asked she had no intention of keeping her mouth shut. Amanda asked for it and since she felt betrayed by her brother, she'd enlighten Cara about everything.
"Your assistant is offended by Eric's rejection, now she made it her goal to hurt him by hurting me, if that makes sense to you."
"It makes sense to me." The small smile on Cara's face made her look years younger, "Eric has not mentioned this to me. Did he think the problem would solve itself? I expected more of him since he is quite intelligent. He should know that problem will not disappear by ignoring it."
"Eric's schedule is crazy right now. I asked him to talk to you, but he didn't find an opportunity to arrange a meeting between the two of you." Nina narrowed her eyes on Cara, "Now that you know, you'll do something about it? You believe me?"
"Nina, I thought I mentioned before that I am not blind to situation like these? Of course I'll do something about it. I intend to collaborate with Dauntless a lot more in the future, we cannot have this matter between us."
"Thank you for understanding." It felt like a heavy weight just got lifted off her shoulders, "I need to head back to Dauntless." She touched the earpiece, "Four just asked me to meet him after this meeting."
"It pleases me to see that our equipment works."
Nina smiled, "It definitely works."
Cara guided to the door, holding it open for her so she could step out first, "I'll take care of this situation, Nina. I assure you that Amanda will no longer be a problem."
She wouldn't question Cara about her methods. She was pretty sure that punishment at Erudite was not as severe as in Dauntless. They were less extreme, maybe Amanda would just lose her high ranking job, but that was fine. Someone like her did not deserve to work with sensitive information since she reflected badly on the faction.
"Thanks, Cara. I appreciate it."
She could have taken another hallway to reach the lobby of Erudite, but she wanted Amanda and William to know that she saw them, so she headed in their direction instead. The looks on their faces was priceless. She ignored William's calls and headed for the lobby in a fast pace. She had to, otherwise she might just punch her brother in the face. It might be unreasonable because she didn't know the real reason why he was talking to Amanda, but she didn't care. He was talking to the enemy and that pissed her off.
She almost sprinted to the train tracks, but somehow William caught up with her. That was the last thing she needed right now, family drama. She just solved her problem with Eric, or she more or less forgave him for taking control over her drinking habits without her permission. She wasn't sure she could have a civilized conversation with her brother when she was fuming.
"Nina, please stop."
William sounded out of breath which made her feel slightly better. He must have run after her like crazy to catch up with her. If she wasn't so angry she would have laughed at him.
Stopping in her tracks, she spun around to face him. She would give him that much since he ran through the headquarters of Erudite just to catch up with her.
"What?" That sounded harsher than she intended to sound.
"Why did you run out on me like that?" He was still trying to catch his breath, "I'm certain you did hear me calling your name."
She folded her arms across her chest, tilting her head back to look him straight in the eyes, "I heard you and decided to ignore you."
"I saw that." He narrowed his eyes on her, "Why?" He took a deep breath, probably to calm himself down, "Are you upset with me?"
William actually looked confused, which made no sense to her. Candor were not supposed to lie, but she figured he could cover his lies better since he was Divergent, just like her. It was heartbreaking to stand across her brother and view him as someone who was trying to ruin her happiness.
She couldn't judge him without knowing the truth. She needed to lose the attitude and question him to figure out if he was actually helping Amanda with her little plan to come between her and Eric.
She dropped her hands, trying to be less hostile towards him, "I am upset with you. Why were you talking to Amanda?"
He stepped closer to her the minute she lowered her guard. She had no idea she could look that intimidating. She guessed Eric rubbed off on her. Pressing her lips together she tried hard not to laugh at her own dirty little comment.
"Amanda manages Cara and Matthew's schedule. We were trying to squeeze in a last minute meeting." She couldn't tell if he was lying or not, "Why does me talking to Amanda makes you upset like that?"
She didn't know what to believe anymore, but she would tell William the news. She figured she could read his expression and if didn't care about what she was going to tell him then he probably had nothing to do with Amanda finding those articles about her parents. Then he really did just try to squeeze in a last minute meeting with Cara and Matthew.
"Amanda has been trying to ruin my relationship with Eric, because she cannot handle rejection well." So far she only saw confusion in William's eyes so she continued, "Since Cara also noticed how inappropriate her behavior is, Amanda will no longer be working closely with other factions."
At that moment she saw a hint of surprise in William's eyes, but she couldn't place it. Was he surprised that Amanda tried to ruin her relationship with Eric or was he surprised that Amanda lost her position because of her inappropriate behavior? A real Candor would have figured it out, but she probably lost that trait because she was so focused on her Dauntless skills.
His gaze softened, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Tell you what? That some woman in Erudite hates my guts because Eric rejected her since he is in a relationship with me? You made it very clear to both Eric and me that you do not approve of our relationship."
"Wait. Are you accusing me of trying to help Amanda in some way to come between you and Eric?"
She wasn't supposed to be the jerk here, William was. The way he responded and the questions he asked her made her rethink her accusations.
"Amanda didn't bring up mom and dad because she was actually curious about their deaths."
"I know." He ran a hand through his perfectly gelled hair, messing it up slightly which did not fit his very strict appearance, "She confronted me about it when I was at Erudite's library to look some things up for Jack. I told her to drop the subject."
"So you didn't help her in any way?"
"No!" William's outburst was a first to her, that was the first time she saw him losing his composure like that, "Why would I help someone hurt my little sister? I know we're not in the same faction anymore, but that doesn't change the fact that I still see you as my sister and I'd do anything to protect you."
She didn't plan on it and she definitely didn't want it to happen, but she couldn't stop the tears that fall down her cheeks. Dauntless were not supposed to show weakness, especially in a public place like that. She buried her head in William's chest when he wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly in his embrace, guarding her from everyone around them.
Eric was in the meeting room listening to the updates from his nine patrol captains, Peter was missing since he got benched. He tried to focus on their conversation, but the call he received from Cara and Four's message about Nina distracted him.
"You will work on a rotating schedule to keep the area near the pier clear from any protests." He got to his feet and ignored the anxious looks he received, "I have to end this meeting here."
They all stood up and cleared the room. He didn't linger around and quickly left the room as well, he wanted to see his girl to make sure she was physically fine. Dashing through the dark hallways of Dauntless Eric reached his apartment in a record of time. He stood in front of the door, trying to calm himself down from all the bad thoughts that echoed through his mind. Taking a deep breath he entered the apartment and was greeted with darkness. At first he thought she wasn't here, but something caught his eye. Soft light came from their bedroom so he guessed his girl was curled up in a protective ball under the covers like she always did when she was upset.
He stalked through the living room heading straight for their bedroom and was greeted with the sight of her hiding under the covers. He kicked his boots off and curled in beside her, taking her in his arms. His eyes wandered over her face, her red puffy eyes couldn't hide the fact that she had been crying before he entered their apartment.
"What happened, princess?"
That nickname usually made her react fiercely, he just wanted to pull her out of her depressed thoughts.
"I met William at Erudite."
He didn't tell her about his suspicion of William working together with Amanda because he feared it would make her back out of their relationship. He couldn't help but to wonder about their meeting. He kept quiet, letting her tell her story.
"I accused him of helping Amanda trying to hurt me." She sniffed, making his heart squeeze painfully, "He wasn't helping her though, I accused him of a lot of bad things and he forgave me." He heard her try to keep in her sobs, "I started crying right in front of Erudite headquarters, embarrassing myself, William and our faction. I'm so sorry."
"I'm sure everyone will let this one pass." He wanted to pull away from her to shrug his vest off, but she wouldn't release him, "Babe, I want to get comfortable, just give me a sec."
She loosened her grip on him, but the moment his vest was off and tossed on the floor she grabbed onto him again, leaning her head against his chest.
"I'm still embarrassed." She admitted quietly, "I can't stop crying."
"It's okay." He whispered to her, kissing her temple, "Let it all out tonight and we'll start fresh tomorrow."
She giggled, "I love you."
He tightened his grip on her, letting her cry because he knew she needed it. William told her he wasn't working together with Amanda, he didn't know if he should believe it or not. Nina was a former Candor though, so he suspected she could tell whether her brother was lying or not. He'd hold her till she fell asleep wanting her to have a peaceful sleep tonight. They'd worry about everything else tomorrow.