A/N: I know. I know that it has been a while and that this chapter isn't as long as you like. I cannot tell you how much I struggled with getting their whole interaction in this right, and even now I'm not certain of it. Fair warning, it hasn't been submitted to my beta reader (tbh I haven't spoken to her since the last one…so…wish me luck when I contact her, lol). You can all thank Stranger Things and the character of Billy Hargrove for pushing me to finally finish this chapter. I hope you like it. Please let me know if there are any mistakes that I missed. Thank you all so much for your patience, reviews and favourites! You have no idea what it means to me that you are still reading this and enjoying it.

Chapter Thirty

I freeze, his words slowly registering in my mind. He wouldn't. It goes against Jeanine; against everything they've been working towards. But, my mind whispers, is it what Eric is working towards? I feel frozen. Not with fear, for once, but with anger. I turn to face him. His hands lift slightly just enough for me to move.

I shove him away as hard as I can, and the surprise of it actually causes him to stumble. "How could you?" I cry out. His eyes harden. All amusement, the smug look of satisfaction disappears off of his face.

He steps forward, shoving himself into my space. "What did you think?" He snarls.

I feel myself stumble back. "That it was over? That I would let you leave without a fucking consultation from me? It isn't over, Amelia." He drags out my name, and it feels like he is trying to tear me apart with it. He has no idea though. I am stronger than any one seems to realize. He has no idea that I have already ruined lives and killed someone just in the past couple of days. He cannot scare me. I am Jeanine's assistant and she, and everything in our world, has been trying to see those like me dead.

Just like that, something snaps.

Without thinking, as his hand pulls me into his chest, I swing my free arm holding the tablet. It seems like it happens in slow motion. It hits him on the side of his face and I can see the screen crack and shatter on impact.

His grip loosens and I am able to pull myself free. He seems to be in shock, at least he is staring at me in surprise. It is almost like he has never seen me before.

"You have no right," I snarl back. "I have never felt more sympathy for the beasts of the past than I do now, having all of you trying to pull me in directions regardless of whether or not I want to go. I am not a prize to be coveted!" I pull on my skirt, trying to straighten it. "I am so sick and tired of being demanded and then ignored when I state my autonomy and my desires! I have tried to be polite, courteous and firm, but seeing as how that is not working, I hope I have emphasized my point to clarity." I sound far more in control than I feel. This has never happened before. I have never lost myself like this.

Eric reaches up and brushes the glass off of his shoulder. There is a bit of blood dripping down from his hairline. I actually injured him. The big bad Dauntless was bleeding because of a Nose.

My breath sticks in my throat when our eyes meet. His eyes are nearly black. The steel blue of them is nearly engulfed by his pupils.

"You hit me." The words seem to echo between us.

"You destroyed months of work," I replied. I wanted to have no regrets about it, but doubts had started to creep into the back of my mind. There were cameras here. Dauntless were in charge of security. What if someone saw? What if someone asked him what happened? No Erudite in their right mind would attack a Dauntless. If Jeanine found out, she would have me on that same table Vera died on and Catherine would be smiling down at me. I felt my chest tighten as panic started to set in.

"You broke things off. I'm not letting you go, Amelia. I won't." It sounds like something someone would read in sordid romance tales that were a well known secret in all the Factions. I knew better.

He moves forward, faster than I expect, and before I can stop myself I drop the tablet and scramble back. He reaches me, grabbing on to am arm only to pull me into his chest. His other arm wraps around my waist, hand on my lower back holding me to him. "I warned you," his voice is hard. "I warned you that it wasn't over." His hand, the one on my back, somehow gets under my shirt. Goosebumps prickle up my arms and on the back of my neck as he touches my skin. "Nothing gets between me and what I want."

"No!" I try to shove him back with no success.

"Yes!" He somehow releases me just enough so that he can pull me back into his chest. He moves then, pushing me backwards until my back is pressed against a wall. I am trapped. "You're not the one who gets to dictate what happens between us. I'm not done with you; do you understand that? You want to talk about your fucking desires? I know them! No one else will ever make you feel the way I have. No one else will make you come as hard so you forget how to even think. Use that fucking logic that you're famous for and see the truth. There's no one else for you except me." There's a pause before he adds, "I'll make sure of it."

He stares me down and he looks as furious as he does every time I have tried to tell him it was a mistake. I feel like crying suddenly. It's all too much. I know he's serious. Everything that had happened with Riley has shown that. Eric was more than capable of getting rid of any obstacle in his way.

"I cannot do this." I look up at him, hoping to somehow make him understand. This is all just too much. "I cannot have some...secret affair while trying to...I can't."

"We can," he says, before he kisses me hard. I try to resist, to push him away but despite everything, part of me wishes he was right. That it was safe with him. It couldn't be though. Jeanine would stop at nothing to achieve her goals, and if she ever found out about me, I would be her next experiment. If those connected to me started disappearing, it would point to me. He'd lead her to me faster than anything I have prevented so far.

Eric tangles his hand into my hair, tilting my head back. "Eric," my voice is softer than I intend, but I can lose myself in the feeling of his mouth on me. I have before. "Jeanine…"

"Is not part of this equation," he says, the sound slightly muffled against my skin.

"If she finds out…" I inhale sharply at the sudden feeling of his teeth against my neck.

"I'll deal with her." He pulls away, finally looking into my eyes. There was a promise there. I wanted to believe him, but I knew Vera and everything that had happened to her. Nothing would stop Jeanine, not even Eric. "Stop fucking thinking." He kisses me again, pushing his body into mine.

"I can't," I snap.

"You will." His hands stop touching me for a moment until I feel him pulling up my skirt. He pulls one of my legs up, bunching the skirt higher as he leads it to wrap around his waist. He pushes his groin into mine and I can't help the reaction to arch into him. I know how his body feels. I know how good it can be, and how he can make me forget.

I reach up and pull him down to kiss me again. I need this. If I am going to die like Vera one day, I want it to be worth it. It needs to be worth something. This dalliance cannot last forever; Jeanine will not let it regardless of what Eric feels. But for another night, I can pretend. I just need my mind to stop, and Eric is right, he's the only one who can do it.

There is a sudden banging on the door. We both freeze. I was completely focused on Eric and the destruction that he had brought, and continued to promise to cause, that I had completely forgotten that there was someone in the control room...on the other side of the door. Had Hatch heard anything?

The panic from earlier is starting to come back, tightening in my chest and threatening to cut off my breathing. I try to calm down. Eric releases me, stepping back and straightening out my skirt. He smirks at me before he heads to the door but I can see the fury in him just from the tension of his body.

I quickly try to make sure I am presentable, before I suddenly realize that I dropped the tablet earlier. I shattered it on Eric's face. Another tablet that would have to be replaced.

"What?" I hear Eric snarl.

I try to test the damage I actually caused the tablet and by sheer luck it still works. I can just barely see anything through the cracks on the screen. The door slams, startling me out of my inspection as Eric storms back.

"You have to go."

It is a complete turn around from earlier that I can only stare at him. Had he finally realized what I knew as the truth? What had been said?

He seems to realize the process of my thoughts because he steps forward and wraps an arm around my waist. "This still isn't over. We're going to finish what we started and I will have you screaming my name until your voice is hoarse." He kisses me deeply, and it feels like it is filled with promise. "But Jeanine is trying to reach you and since you broke your method of communication, you have to go."

I nod, but a part of me doesn't want to go. I will admit that I am afraid of what Jeanine has in store next, or who. I can only pray that it's not me.

[tbc]