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Eric's Point of View

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Eric smiled to himself as he leaned against the island in the center of the kitchen, watching Skylar add the ingredients he'd set aside for her to add to the red pasta sauce.

He had met her in front of the cafeteria at around noon. He had intended to tell her that since her brothers had decided on three for a late lunch, and a very early dinner, but realizing she'd just rolled out of bed he told her he'd meet her in the training room at two. That way he had time to have a drink and take a cold shower.

It was past three now, and her brothers were nowhere to be seen. Not that Eric was complaining; teaching her to cook was much more fun by himself. She was a good listener, despite the way he'd seen her talk to her brothers the past week. He wanted to teach her more, about, well, anything, though the bedroom was definitely preferred.

He grinned at the shocked look on her face when the lid to one of the season's popped up, dumping far too much of it into the pot. It was, well adorable; a word he'd never thought he'd use to describe someone he was so undeniably attracted to.

And he couldn't deny it anymore. She wasn't just attractive, and she wasn't just the little spitfire she'd seen so much of the past few days. Well, Skylar was a Smith alright, through and through, sassiness ran alongside the blood in her veins, but she was different than them, the perfect mix of the lot of them, though it seemed her temper ran thicker than even Lucas's.

Eric was a bottle of whiskey deep right now, and the buzz he had was so strong he was having a hard time containing his laughter as he made his way around the counter to help her. He was also having a hard time keeping his hands off her, which is why he'd moved across the island in the first place. Grabbing a spoon from the drawer, he reached around and dished out a few heaping pile of the off-white power. He could tell by the smell it was just garlic, so he sent her a warm smile.

"It's only garlic powder," he explained softly. Skylar looked up at him with surprise. One thing he'd noticed about her was that her eyes shined brightly when she saw something she liked, at least he hoped that was what it was. Becuase every time she looked at him, they shone as brightly as the stars in the night sky. And right now, they were shining. Brightly.

"So, a little extra won't hurt it any." She smiled at him. A genuine, wholehearted smile. No girl had ever looked at him like that.

How much had he let her drink? Eric handed her the wooden spoon she'd been stirring with and watched her as she mixed in the rest of the ingredients, her moves sharp and calculated. It was refreshing to watch someone cook in the same way he did.

He scooted himself back a bit, realizing how close he was standing to her. Was that why her movements were so sharp?

When she'd first gotten here, he'd told himself this wouldn't be a regular thing. That after tonight, he wouldn't offer his place for the Smith's to have dinner again. But now? If it meant he got to do this, with her? He was considering offering to do more than just one dinner night a week. Eric didn't remember a time he'd smiled so much.

He watched her lay the spoon on the counter and turn around. He backed up to the other side of the counter, waiting for her to say something. But she just watched him calmly, trying to figure him out, just like her brother always did. Lucas never got anywhere though, but Skylar? Eric had a strong feeling in the pit of his stomach that Skylar would.

"Why did you offer your place up to do this?" She asked him.

Eric stared at her and took a large sip from the bottle. She shook her head when he offered it to her, which knew he shouldn't have done. He was pretty sure that she'd had a lot considering her size and the fact that she probably didn't drink often.

"You didn't even thank me for the beer yesterday," Eric told her. "Lucas wasn't pleased with me saying you could drink with us since it's against the rules as an initiate to be in the bar."

Skylar ignored his comment, just as he had her question. "Well?"

Eric took a deep breath. He wanted to answer. He wanted to tell her everything about him. And honestly? He didn't care if she was Lucas's sister. He'd never wanted anyone more than he did right now.

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Skylar's Point of View

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"Well?" Skylar pondered. Her mind was running as she watched him. He had been shooting her smiles all night, and she wasn't sure if she should be worried, or happy about it. She waited at least a minute before he finally answered her, his voice deep and rough.

"In case you haven't heard, I'm an asshole. Your brother's been a good friend to me despite that. He puts up with a lot of my shit." Eric explained, "I guess I thought it would be a good way to pay him back since it seemed important to you guys."

Skylar snorted. "Yeah, it's clearly so important to them."

If it were so important to her brothers, they would have found a way to do it at their place, and not left it to Eric. Although Eric's place was beautiful and clean, and her brothers could have agreed on time rather than arguing about it for days.

And they'd be helping her, rather than leaving Eric to help. Which was more surprising; he didn't seem the helpful type, especially since she wasn't allowed to tell any of the other initiates where they had it. Though, she had mentioned it to Meck under the promise he'd keep quiet.

Though, she knew that the leader probably saw this as babysitting anyway.

"You know for a Candor you're good at being sarcastic," Eric said.

Skylar stirred the red sauce and turned around, folding her arms.

"I'm not Candor; I'm Dauntless."

Eric smirked at her and put the lid on the bottle he was drinking from, then folded his arms to match her stance.

When the leader stayed silent, she felt herself get annoyed.

"Alright, fine, you care about my brother," Skylar said and looked around the kitchen. "But that doesn't excuse the fact that I've been in Dauntless for less than a week and I'm already having a hard time getting my family together. I get that this faction isn't about family or whatever and that I'm still an initiate, but C'mon."

Eric just stood and listened to her.

"And I get that their schedules are busy," she explained. "But we can work around them. It's obvious that this isn't as important to them as it is to me. It's total bull shit. And, I haven't even met this girlfriend of Lucas's or Jami's roommate, and he and I are really close. Or at least we used to be."

She realized she was rambling, so she turned back to diagnosing the real reason Eric had offered his place.

"There must be another reason we're standing in your kitchen and not one of my brothers." She turned her gaze back to Eric, who was now leaning against the island that sat in the middle of the small, dull kitchen.

"It was your idea," Eric told her.

Skylar rolled her eyes, "yeah but I was only kidding. I mean, I had just met you. I was only going off of what Jami had said only minutes before that."

"Fine," Eric shrugged. "Tell anyone this, and you'll get the chance to see that "other side" of me you've clearly been warned about."

Skylar raised an eyebrow and waited.

"Today is my birthday," Eric said quietly, then reached past her opened the bottle and gulped down a few large sips before leaning back against the counter opposite of her.

His birthday!

Skylar loved birthdays!

Skylar grinned, "It is? Why aren't we celebrating! Wait, does Lucas know?"

Eric shook his head, "only Max knows."

"What!" Skylar said and motioned to him, "why?"

"I don't celebrate my birthday. I never have, and I never will," Eric explained.

"Why is that a reason if you don't you celebrate it?" she questioned him. "Also, why don't you celebrate your birthday?"

"I grew up in Erudite," Eric explained.

Erudite? She hadn't known that. What did that have to do with anything? Her confusion must have shown on her face because he spoke again.

"Erudite don't celebrate birthdays," he said.

"But you're not Erudite; you're Dauntless. And Dauntless celebrate birthdays."

Eric nodded and took a small sip, then offered her the bottle. "Maybe that's why I decided to do something this year."

She took a few drinks; she shouldn't have though, because she already had a buzz going.

"Yet you didn't tell anyone, so it isn't really doing anything." she pondered.

Eric shook his head in agreement but didn't seem motivated to do anything about it.

"Well," she said and took another sip, then handed the close-to-empty bottle back. "What about gifts? That's the best part of having a birthday!"

"I'm a Dauntless leader," he spoke it as if she was stupid. "There's nothing I need."

Skylar's grin grew, "Oh my God! Gifts are not about needs; they're about wants!"

She could tell that Eric was trying hard not to smile at her, but it wasn't going to work.

Skylar stood straight but was still backed up against the counter. "Fine, if I'm not allowed to tell anyone then I at least have to get you something. What do you want?"

Eric smirked at her. "You think you have something I'd want, initiate?"

Skylar shrugged.

The leader standing in front of her was clearly amused now.

"C'mon," she urged.

He continued to stare at her mischievously.

"There's got to be something you want!" She exclaimed.

Eric's gaze darkened as his eyes lined up and down her body.

Oh no.

"Maybe there is something I want," he said in a husky voice.

Oh shit.

He took a step toward her.

Oh fuck.

"Since you're feeling so giving," he took a step closer.

Mother fucker.

"How about a blow job?" Eric suggested.

Skylar stared at him, eyes wide.

Eric waited, the mischievous look still lined his features.

Then she laughed lightly.

He was joking, right?

Eric sent her a charming smile and raised an eyebrow. His black eyebrow piercing reflected the dimmed kitchen lights.

There was no way that the "ruthless Dauntless leader" Eric fucking Coulter was suggesting this. From an initiate? No way.

Her older brothers best friend?

He had to have been kidding.

"Okay," she said, calling his bluff.

His lip twitched.

"Right now?" Skylar said, "or did you have a particular time picked out later on?"

Eric lowered his eyebrow and watched her as if he was trying to read her expression.

Skylar smiled mischievously.

Just because she grew up in Candor didn't mean she didn't know how to bluff too.

"Now," he said sternly.

Skylar felt her face redden.

How far was this going to go before one of them stopped bluffing?

Fuck it.

He'd stop her.

"Come here," she motioned him forward and leaned back against the counter more, pushing her chest out. Because why not.

Eric glanced at her chest, then stared at her lips a moment.

He closed the short distance between them and reached around her to place the bottle on the counter.

His arm brushed hers and Skylar were shocked by the rush of feelings it gave her.

He smelt good. Prickly goose bumps covered Skylar's arms.

Really good. Like pine needles.

Eric just stood and stared at her.

She stared right back.

His eyes. His god-dammed eyes were intoxicating.

"Well?" he questioned.

Skylar stared a moment longer and sent him another smirk. She hadn't realized she'd started frowning. He had no idea how stubborn she could be.

She wouldn't be the one to back down. No way.

She reached forward and grabbed his belt, then unfastened the belt-buckle.

Once that was done, she grabbed the front of his jeans and pulled him closer, then unbuttoned the top button on his black jeans.

Eric's smirk had disappeared and was replaced with a frown. Though, his eyes had darkened. The entire time she'd been doing this, she hadn't removed her eyes from his. She couldn't as if she were stuck in a trance.

Skylar slowly undid the skipper, then grabbed the belt-loops on the side of his pants.

His hands shot out and landed on hers, holding them in place.

Aha!

She knew he'd break first. This man clearly had no idea who he was messing with.

"How far were you planning to take this," Eric asked her quietly.

His voice was still gruff and husky, sending shivers down her back.

"As far as you wanted," Skylar said flirtatiously. "It's your birthday, remember?"

"Do you do this for everyone on their birthdays?" Eric clenched his jaw.

Skylar shook her head and tried to pull her hands back, but he held them in place. "What kind of girl do you think I am?" she hadn't intended for the words to come out so sharply, but they were nearly a growl.

Eric removed his eyes from hers and looked down her body again, then to the hands he was holding on her hips. Then he pushed her hands away and fixed his pants and belt.

Skylar folded her arms and shot him a knowing look. She knew he'd only said it as a joke. But all joking aside, Skylar knew she would have gone for it had he not stopped her, but he didn't need to know that.

Eric looked back to her face.

"I changed my mind," he said quietly.

Yeah, no shit. She knew he'd been bluffing.

There was no way he'd go through with something like that.

"A kiss." He said quietly.

What? What had he just said? Was she hearing things? She was definitely, hearing things.

"I want a kiss instead."

What did he just say?

Skylar had no time to comprehend the question running around in her head because he pushed himself against her and grabbed her head with his hand.

The moment their lips touch, her entire body was on fire. Eric didn't start slow, not even a little slow. Instead, he kissed her hard, shoving her against the counter roughly. She ignored the shot of pain in her back.

He placed one of his hands on her side, pulling her shirt up as he did, the other was still pulling her head toward him, locked in a rough kiss. As he pushed her shirt up more and stopped just before her breast, right where her tattoo was, she couldn't help but moan.

Eric growled in response, forcing her to open her mouth as he deepened the kiss and pulled her closer. She shoved both of her hands up his shirt, which she hadn't realized were on his waist. He let go of her head and put his arm just below her ass, pulling her up, so she was sitting on the counter. She opened her legs as he shoved against her and used her arm to push herself closer, accidentally knocking the bottle over. It rolled and fell off the counter on the other side, thankfully landing on the carpet, so it didn't break.

Eric ignored the bottle and kissed her neck roughly, sucking as he moved down her chest, then lifted her shirt and pushed her backward. She fell back on her hands as he moved his mouth down her abdomen, kissing her tattoo softly.

She moaned again, and he chuckled against her skin, the stubble on his cheeks rubbing against her as he kissed down her ribs and just above her waistline.

"Any more tattoos?" he asked her quietly, his voice husky and seductive.

Skylar pushed herself up, about to tell her about the one on her back. Her head was fuzzy as she sat up and he pulled her into another kiss, this time taking his time as he pushed her mouth open with his tongue and tasted her slowly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and tried to kiss him harder, but he forced her to slow down, a grin on her lips.

"Mmm," he hummed. "No need to rush," he said and pecked Skylar's lips. "My birthday gift, remember?" He kissed her neck again, she tilted her head to the side and kept her eyes closed.

"You said just a kiss," she reminded him quietly.

"That was just a kiss," he pulled back and looked into her eyes deeply.

That was just a kiss? Hell, if that was just a kiss, anything else had to have been killer. He must have read her mind because he glanced over her shoulder, toward his bedroom door.

Skylar looked at his lips, then froze when she heard voices. Eric's gaze snapped toward the front door.

Her brothers. Both of them stayed frozen in place, Eric's arms still holding her shirt up, hers still wrapped around his neck. The second the door clicked he pulled her off the counter quickly, letting her shirt fall back down, and dragged her around the counter. He grabbed the bottle off the floor and shoved her softly onto one of the sofas.

The Dauntless leader crossed the room and entered the bathroom quickly, leaving her staring at his ass as he disappeared into it.

The door ripped open and in through it came all of her brothers, one after one, as well as Zachary and another person she didn't recognize.

Once they were through the door, Lucas walked across the room and stopped when he saw her. "Are you okay?" he scrunched his eyebrows.

Oh, shit. Did she not look good?

"Um, yeah?" She said and leaned back, tucking her legs underneath her.

"Have you been drinking again?" Lucas asked her as he took a seat next to her on the dark sofa. "Where the fuck is Eric?"

"Um, yeah," she said quietly. "He just went in there," she pointed to the bathroom. "He um, took the bottle away from me when he realized I was sneaking sips of it."

"Hmmph," Lucas said as he propped his legs on the coffee table. "Good."

Yep, very good. Very good, very kind of Eric. The bottle was probably empty by now, and he was probably in there trying to calm himself down. She could still feel his lower region pressing against hers from when he'd had her pinned on the counter only moments before. Her face reddened thinking of it.

"What's wrong?" Lucas asked her, worry in his voice. "Are you hot?"

Jami shot her a curious look as he sat on the small sofa-chair across from them, the man he'd brought with him pushing himself in next to him.

"Um, yeah," she forced her voice to convey annoyance. "I've been learning how to cook that pasta dish in this hot kitchen, in this stupid long-sleeved shirt because someone doesn't like my tank tops, with a hot-headed asshole who thinks I can't do anything right. All of this, by myself, might I add." She glared at her oldest brother. Although Eric had been here, and even before the kiss she'd been enjoying herself.

"What? We aren't that late!" Perseus said from the kitchen, holding a spoon for Zachary to taste her dish. The image was odd, which Persi must have realized when he playfully pushed his friend away from him. "Plus, this is delicious. I don't know what Eric is talking about."

The bathroom door flung open to the angry leader shooting a glare in Perseus's direction. He stomped over to the kitchen and threw the empty bottle in the trash bin, then opened the cupboard above the fridge and grabbed another.

Skylar forced herself to look away as the leader's shirt rose, showing off the black tattoo that went up to his back. Unfortunately, she turned to see that Jamison was watching her curiously. She grinned at him playfully, but he didn't smile back, only watched her knowingly.

But there was no way that he could know. I mean he knew her better than anyone, but no one would ever guess that she, an initiate, and Lucas Smith's baby sister, would have made out with Eric the Dauntless Leader Coulter. Nope. No way.

Fuck.

Could they really tell?

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