AN: Thanks for the follows and reviews. Hope you enjoy this update.
The shower pressure at his house is so much better than the ones out in the field, and he stands under the spray longer to try to get his head straight. He wanted to see her today, he wanted to do so much more but once again Four found a way to fuck everything up. While he was away, he had heard rumors that they'd broken up but based on what he just saw he knows they're still together and it infuriated him.
Why is Tris getting to him?
This is exactly what fucked him up to start with, the innuendos every time the two of them sparred, and the sexual tension that seemed to pour off of each of them anytime they were alone. The way she looked at him today was almost too much, and then the way her body reacted to him, indescribable.
He begins running his hand up and down his length, he's been unable to get his rock hard erection down since his sparring session in the gym, and it's currently demanding his attention.
The way she licks her plump lips when she looks at him. God he can imagine them wrapped around his dick right now. She'd look up at him with those ice blue eyes, and through those thick lashes that she darkens with mascara.
He's sure she'd even find a way to swallow around him.
"Fuck." He says as he strokes faster.
She would definitely use her hands too, at least one, and she'd twist it around him and put pressure on the bottom part of his shaft just like he likes it.
When he explodes he thinks about her ice blue eyes staring up at him through her thick lashes as she swallows everything he gives her.
He has to sit on the built in bench to recover, his legs are too shaky to support him in this moment. It's not the first time he's jacked off thinking about her, and he's sure it won't be the last. It's just her touch, her smell, everything about her is so fresh in his mind.
And he knows she wants him too.
What he doesn't know is why she stays with Four. To the typical outside observer their relationship would be almost story-book perfect, but to someone like Eric who goes above and beyond to understand the former Abnegation woman, he knows that she's miserable and unsatisfied in her current relationship. Even though he's been away from her for six months, she still reacts to him the same way she did before he left. Her skin flushes any time he touches her, her nipples strain against her shirt any time he's close, and today when he pressed his obvious erection against her she bucked against it like she wanted him to slam it inside of her.
If nothing else, he knows how much she wants to fuck him, but there are times he thinks it's something more. Right now, he doesn't care.
Their one and only encounter was raw lust, there were no feelings and they didn't even get fully undressed, he has no idea why one tumble on the mat has stayed on his mind for so fucking long. He's been able to walk away from everyone else he's been intimate with without a second thought, but there's something about her that always leaves him wanting more.
He does his best to distract himself, cleaning up his email box and reading over the email he received from Max's administrative assistant in an effort to catch up. Six months away without any authorized contact was a lot for even the most seasoned soldiers, and for Eric it was damn near torture. His bed calls his name, and before long he's succumbed to his exhaustion.
The next day, he returns to work, feeling the stares as he grabs coffee and muffins from the cafeteria as well as during his walk to the upper level leadership wing. His first scheduled stop is with Max, briefing him on his time away from the faction. He was sent officially as punishment, but on paper it was to observe the troops, offer encouragement and even on the job training for the soldiers who have been away from their friends and families for months on end. Eric took the job seriously and spent time in the trenches with some of Dauntless' best. It's time he won't soon be forgetting.
He passes her in the hallway on his way back to his office from Max's, "Stiff."
"I believe you know my name now, Nose. I'd suggest using it." She says saucily as she passes by.
He can smell her, that fucking floral smell that always fills his nose anytime she's around. His dick twitches at her words. He turns to follow her down the hall, and she says nothing as she passes through what was once Octavia's office, the leader she replaced.
"This is yours now?" He asks as he looks around, nothing the obvious changes the younger woman has made to the once stale office.
"I don't remember inviting you in." She replies and he drops down in one of the new guest chairs across from her desk.
"I don't remember asking you to." Eric counters as he rests an ankle on his knee and leans on his crossed legs, "What's Max got you working on?"
"Erudite with you." She replies, "I thought you knew."
Tris had asked Max to assign her to work with Eric, explaining that since he'd been away from the faction for so long, she felt he was the leader she was least connected to. Considering what Max knew about the incident that led to the fight his young leader had with Four, he knew that Tris and Eric were certainly connected in a more intimate way than any other leaders were, but he decided to turn the other cheek. It wasn't his business to get involved in the personal lives of his staff, unless it spilled into their work performance, and even then he tried to deal with those incidents discretely. Perhaps the tension between them could translate into what he suspected could be one of the better leadership partnerships he'd seen in his career here. If nothing else, the three of them would learn to work together and put their petty bullshit behind them.
"He didn't mention it." Eric shrugs his shoulders.
It's a lie, but he hopes he pulls it off. Max had told him that Tris had personally requested him, and he offered his support with a warning.
Don't let it interfere with your work, or cause more fucking issues with Four. I've had enough with the two of you, and now that I know it's about her I'll be watching you all closely, but especially you. I expect more out of you, you've been here long enough to know better.
The old man is the one who taught him not to shit where he eats, and yet he didn't specifically tell him to leave their newest leader alone.
"From what I understand, we have a meeting with them late next week. Is there anything I need to know going in?" She asks.
That Jeanine is a psychopathic bitch and will drive them to the brink of homicidal tendencies? He'll save that for later, he thinks to himself.
"I'll get you caught up. What's your schedule like this week?" He asks.
"Shadowing. Tori, Veronica, Harrison, Max and you." She ticks names off her fingers, "I've got the Control Room on my schedule this week too, shadowing the supervisors."
"Ah, time with the boyfriend, I'm sure that will be just delightful." He says sarcastically.
"What exactly is your problem with my boyfriend?" She asks.
"What's your problem with your boyfriend, Tris? You seem to enjoy our time together a lot more than someone who's in a happy and satisfying relationship would be. You especially enjoyed it the last time we sparred before I fucking left." He challenges.
"I so appreciate your insight Dr. Coulter, but maybe we should focus more on work and less on my private life." She replies.
He knows their conversation is done, for now.
"Jeanine is tough, as you can imagine a leader from Erudite would be. They are elected due to their IQ, and Jeanine's is the highest ever recorded. She's brash, she's big on conversations and even bigger on picking them apart. If you're nervous, she can smell it like a dog, and she can sense weakness. You'll need to let me lead, while we don't have the perfect working relationship I at least have established clear lines with her."
"What do you mean, clear lines?" Tris asks.
"Just hold your ground when it comes to her." He answers vaguely.
"Did she push boundaries with you, Eric?" She asks.
"Just listen carefully, answer only what asked, nothing more." He sighs.
"Fine." She replies and when he looks at her he sees her lips pressed in a line.
"Let's go to the armory, we need a current inventory and I've been putting it off for weeks." Eric growls.
Tris meets Hank and Lolli, two of the staff in charge of the Armory. Between the two of them and Eric, she learns all about weapon storage, the system used to track all of the factions weapons, from parts to ammunition. Eric and Tris are left with the results from the last full inventory, plus any additional movement and given their own electronic devices to scan and track.
Its monotonous work, but they quietly move through it. Tris is always keenly aware of where Eric is, and it's almost as if there is an electric current that flows between the two. They've been at their task for over two hours when she senses him behind her. She's on a ladder, scanning dusty boxes of ammunition into the system when she can feel a hand on her calf.
"You're only supposed to climb when you have a partner." He murmurs.
"You weren't far." She says as she continues her task.
She can feel his eyes on her, but she doesn't allow the satisfaction of seeing what it does to her. She scans, moving effortlessly between shelves as Eric watches her work.
He silently wonders if she has any pants that don't emphasize the curves of her ass.
"This is the last room." He says, "Hank and Lolli took a break together since we're here. Hope you don't mind."
Tris looks down at him, "That's almost human of you."
"Excuse me?"
"Allowing them to take an actual break while we're here. Careful Coulter, someone may think you have a heart."
"We were already here. It's not like I came down from my office to cover them." He rolls his eyes.
"Ah yes, god forbid anyone think you actually give a fuck."
He wraps his hands around her slender waist and pulls her down, and she braces herself against him when he flips her around.
"What the fuck, Eric, a little warning?" She shouts at him.
"Ooops." He replies playfully and she smacks his chest.
"Put me down." She scolds.
He loosens his grip only slightly, allowing her to slide down his body slowly until she's resting on her own feet again. He can see her nipples straining against the fabric of the shirt she's wearing and he begins to think about his shower from this morning, where he had a repeat performance of jacking off while fantasizing about her.
"Cold, Princess?" He asks.
"No."
"No? It certainly looks like you are." He trails his hands up and down her sides.
"I'm actually a little warm," Her voice sounds strained and he smirks at her, "My eyes are up here, Eric. Why are you staring at my breasts?"
"Just imagining what they'd look like without that shirt being in my way." He says boldly.
"Probably like every other girl you've seen before." She replies flippantly with a roll of her eyes.
"You're nothing like girls I've seen before." He throws back.
"How so?" She asks and suddenly her hands are on him, running her short nails over his chest.
"Outside of the couple of piercings and tattoos I've seen, you're completely natural." He replies.
"That's true." She replies. "How many other girls have you seen, Eric?"
"A few." He admits.
Less than people think, but possibly more than a former Abnegation would be comfortable with. Although, in his frequent interactions with her, she doesn't feel like a former Abnegation at times.
"How many?"
"Why do you want to know, Stiff?" He presses and she scowls at him.
"Stop calling me Stiff." She growls.
He leans towards her and pushes her thick hair away from her neck and then whispers in her ear, "Ask me nicely."
"Will you please stop calling me Stiff?" She asks and he ghosts his lips over her neck.
"Maybe I will, once you stop acting like one." He whispers, allowing his warm breath and lips to continue to ghost over her exposed neck.
"How many girls, Eric?" She asks again.
"A few, like I said before."
"What do you do to them when you bring them home with you, Eric?" She asks while trailing her fingers across his chest.
"I don't bring them home with me. My home is my space, and I don't want them in it." He argues.
She leans a bit closer and looks up at him through those thick lashes, and for a moment he's taken back to the image in his mind from his shower this morning. He can feel himself reacting to her closeness and he pulls her against him.
"So what do you give them wherever you end up?" She asks.
"I give them what they want." He says, "Didn't I give you what you wanted, Tris?"
She smiles at the emphasis on her name, "You gave me what you wanted, Eric, just a quick fuck."
"I think you and I both know I wanted more than that. I haven't stopped thinking about that day in the gym." He breathes out.
"You got what you wanted." She sighs.
"It wasn't enough." He runs his nose along her jaw.
He finally feels her, moving her body against his straining length, as she continues to lightly drag her nails across the front of his t-shirt.
"Did these hurt?" She asks when she reaches his pierced nipples.
"A little." He replies. He's almost embarrassed how pitchy his voice is, and how it's coming from her simply running her hands over his clothed chest.
"I've wanted to get mine done, but I've been afraid of the recovery involved." She admits.
"I'd love to see that, I bet they'd look fucking amazing," He says without thinking and she smiles up at him.
"You don't know what they look like now, so it would be hard," She grinds against him, "for you to have a comparison."
"I'd like to have another chance to see them. The last time we were together, it was too rushed. The next time, I want to take my time," He whispers.
"You seem to think there will be a next time," She rolls her eyes.
"There will be." He replies confidently. "Now if you get these done," He ghosts his hand across her breasts, "it'll hurt, can you take the pain Princess?" Eric asks.
"I can take the pain, if there's pleasure involved. I took it from you when you were giving me what I wanted, didn't I Eric?" She answers and the thoughts practically leave his brain. It's everything he has in him not to rip off her clothes and fuck her raw right now.
"It would keep them out of commission for a while, I'm sure that would break Number Boy's precious little heart." Eric replies and with that flippant response the moment between them is broken and Tris moves away from him, looking at him angrily.
"I've got those two shelves left then we're done." She says as she climbs back up the ladder.
Eric can only watch her, kicking himself for ruining things once again.