AN: Oh how I love your reviews! CynDLou12 and Libra18j, I wanted to shout you both out and thank you both so much. The excitement you both show, along with the things you've been picking up along the way makes me incredibly happy. I appreciate you, and all of my Guest reviewers as well! Also Laila-Thank you! I hope you all enjoy the new chapter!
He manages to avoid her until Friday. It's the day of their first Erudite meeting together, and he'd only sent her emails to bring her up to speed on what to expect. This meeting should be easy, it's a simple supply request, and it's only scheduled for forty five minutes. Jeanine knows how to press every one of Eric's buttons, but he's confident if Tris just listens to him and observes their interactions she can avoid having to deal with any of Jeanine's bullshit.
He desperately needs some separation between Tris and himself, but he knows this meeting is necessary as part of her shadowing, so he's working through his own confused feelings in order to protect his job. He's been with unavailable women before, but it was only for a night and then their time was over and never mentioned again. This is different, Tris is different and it's fucking him up. He wants her in ways he's never wanted another woman, it's more than just sex and he has no idea how to process the emotions that are coming from that.
He sees her when she walks past his office, his door is shut but he's been watching the hallway cameras ever since their last encounter. He's looked for any disturbance in the relationship between her and Four, but by everything he's seen they look even closer than they were before, if that were even possible. He spends the rest of the morning convincing himself he can be around Tris, he can treat her like the handful of women he's fucked without commitment, and he can move on. He's learned his lesson from getting involved with a co-worker, and he won't let it happen again.
They don't speak in the office, and he leaves for the train platform without her in an effort to collect his thoughts. She's already at the platform smoking a cigarette when he approaches.
"Thought you were quitting." He says as he approaches.
"I guess I just can't let things go." She looks over at him and he notices the sadness in her eyes as she passes the cigarette to him.
He takes a long drag before passing it back, and they continue to wordlessly share it until the train approaches. They still don't talk on the train, he stands in the open doorway watching their city fly by when he feels her hands on him. She rubs his tense back and she leans her head on his shoulder.
"I miss you." She whispers.
He turns to face her and when she pulls his face to hers and begins kissing him he loses all self control. He tries to stop the lust, emotions and even pain that come from touching and kissing her, but he's no match for her. Before he can even think, he's lifted her skirt, slid her panties to the side slides inside of her as she braces herself against the wall of the train.
"God you feel so good." Eric growls as he pounds against her.
"Harder Eric, please," She calls out.
"Keep begging me, Tris." He commands.
"Please Eric, please fuck me harder, give me everything you have baby, I want it," She pleads with him.
When he forces himself to stay away from her, he's safe, but alone with the obvious sexual tension that brews between them he has zero restraint.
She seems to have the same issue.
"I'm close," He growls into her ear, "I need you to cum."
She begins rubbing herself furiously while calling out his name. When her walls clamp down on him, he feels himself spurting inside of her.
He drops his head onto her shoulder and pauses to catch his breath. She turns so they're facing each other and pulls his face down to hers, kissing him until they both need to breathe.
"I've missed you so much." She says.
"You've missed a warm dick," He replies crudely as he pulls away from her.
"I've missed you, Eric. This isn't just having a person instead of toys. Tell me you don't feel it too."
"What I feel is a hot pussy wrapped around my cock instead of my hand every fucking morning in the shower." He replies angrily.
"You don't mean that." Tris says but Eric just stares at her, and she feels like his grey eyes are burning her.
"I do mean it, every last word of it. I see you with him every day, Tris. You come to me and fuck me like your life depends on me, and then you go home to your happy little relationship. I'm not here for this. I'm your co-worker and this shit between us needs to end. I can find plenty of women to fuck, I don't need you. I can easily find someone to replace you."
"I need you." She whispers, knowing he can't hear her over the sounds of the train. She turns away from him and they silently clean themselves up.
He watches her, her back towards him as she rights her clothes and smooths her hair. The dark blonde waves cascade down her back in a mess from where his hands tore through it. He walks over to her and slowly pushes her hair over one shoulder and presses his lips to her neck.
"I'm sorry." He says just loud enough for her to hear him.
"Me too." She replies.
He helps her to twist her hair into a bun, the moment almost more intimate than the times they've had sex. The work quickly together and soon they make the jump. When they enter Erudite they're both the picture of professionalism, and when Jeanine's assistant shows them to a conference room Eric speaks quietly once the door is closed.
"Don't let her try to take you off subject. Don't let her get too personal, and whatever you do, don't try to entertain any of her madness if she starts her shit today."
"What do you mean, Eric?" She presses.
"For fucks sake, Tris, for once in your life just listen to me and stop questioning me." He growls.
When Jeanine enters, a brown haired man accompanies her and Eric can feel the tension radiating off of Tris.
"Beatrice," The young man says and Jeanine looks at him sharply.
"Ah yes, I forgot, you are both Priors." She remarks, "Good to see you Eric, and congratulations Tris for completing your leadership training. I know that you know our newest leader, Caleb. Eric, this is Caleb Prior."
Her brother.
"Caleb, good to meet you," Eric shakes his hand and Tris watches as her brother flinches at his strong handshake.
They discuss the supply request at length, Dauntless has requested to be stocked up on the fear simulation serum and Caleb and Jeanine excitedly discuss the changes in the new batch. Tris listens, picking up on the obvious changes that Erudite has made to make it even more apparent when a Divergent is under a serum.
"We don't want the new serum, Jeanine. We want the one we've been using. I've repeatedly told you this, and you've continually pushed this new version." Eric replies.
She scowls at him and turns her attention towards Tris, "The new serum is state of the art-"
"Do not address my trainee!" Eric roars and Jeanine flinches, but turns her icy eyes back to him.
"She's no longer a trainee, and you're providing a disservice to her and your faction by refusing the latest technology in serums." Jeanine presses and Tris watches the exchange in awe.
"Technology is new hardware, new software, updated servers, better weaponry, you see where I'm going here. I'm not entertaining your altered serums, our trainees are not your fucking lab rats." Eric retorts.
"You know better than that, Eric. Our serums are thoroughly tested before being distributed, you'd simply be a control group-"
"We're not interested. Move on." Eric replies with finality that Jeanine finally accepts.
Jeanine balks at the peace serum request, but when Eric smoothly explains it is a first defense since Dauntless patrols are usually the first to arrest a suspect, she agrees to fill half the requested order.
They squabble over small details, like Dauntless wanting truth serum and Jeanine arguing that Candor has the overall rights to its distribution.
"Does that prevent Erudite from having the serum?" Tris asks and Eric braces himself next to her.
"That's a very observant question, Beatrice. As a matter of fact it only applies to us using the serum outside of our testing. Since we develop all serums here in Erudite, we do have the liberties to test them as we see fit." Jeanine answers easily.
"What if Dauntless was part of the study group? Testing a serum such as this on a person in custody could lend better results for your control group. Using a test subject with nothing to hide will skew the results, in my opinion. You'd much rather see how it works in a real-life scenario, you can read any body language changes, blood pressure, nervous tics, really just anything that could come across from a person who is desperately trying to fight the truth." Tris explains.
"I like the way you think, however Eric has repeatedly balked at allowing Dauntless to be a part of any control or test group. For us to agree to allow Dauntless to be a control group for the truth serum, he would need to allow Dauntless to be part of the control group for the new fear serum as well." Jeanine replies icily, "I'm afraid until he loosens his restrictions we'd be unable to allow for Dauntless to have the serum."
When Jeanine begins dictating instructions to Caleb, Tris glances over at Eric and she finds him angrily brooding. The silence is broken by Jeanine, turning her attention to Tris once again.
"You've been awfully quiet since the truth serum discussion, do you have any questions for me?" Her ice blue eyes trail over the younger leader, and Eric can sense Tris is uncomfortable.
"Nothing thus far, and I'm sure that Eric will give me a complete update once we are back in Dauntless as well." She replies.
"Very well." Jeanine's blood red lips turn up in a smile, "Eric is known to be very thorough. Have you enjoyed training with him?"
"I did most of my training with Tori Wu." She replies, "Eric and I spent a lot of time together, but it wasn't the program I believe he would have typically put me through had he not been against time constraints."
"Ah yes, while Eric was sent out of the faction, he was unable to fulfill his leadership duties. I'd heard he had quite the tussle with your boyfriend, isn't that right Miss Prior?"
"I was being sent out anyway Jeanine." Eric replies, but Jeanine's eyes don't leave Tris, "I more than fulfilled my leadership duties while protecting our city in the front line of duty."
"You were initially being sent for seven days for troop morale, however Max tells me that you and Tobias Eaton were close to killing each other, and that they extended your assignment out of the faction. I'd heard they not only allowed Mister Eaton back in the faction, but he's in the leadership training program now as well. Was that because of you Miss Prior?" Jeanine asks. Caleb's already pale skin seems to get even paler as he shifts uncomfortably in his seat.
"I'm sorry, Miss Matthews, I don't believe my status as a newly minted leader would influence our head leader's decision to extend a leadership trainee position to Tobias Eaton."
"Your position may not, however your personal involvement with him may lend a friendly hand, isn't that right?" Jeanine presses.
"With all due respect, I'm not sure what bearing my personal life has on this current conversation." Tris answers in a saccharine filled tone of voice that Eric has never heard.
"I quite like you, Miss Prior. I hope to be seeing more of you. Shall I put a request in to Max to have Tris assigned to me?" She turns to Eric.
"I'm assigned to you, Jeanine." Eric replies evenly.
"Yes, but Tris took Octavia's place." Jeanine presses.
"Octavia was an interim solution while I was away from the faction, and Tris is still in her probationary period." Eric argues.
"Which is why she should have been fast tracked like you were, Eric. Max truly proved a disservice to her by making her go through such a long process, I think I'll give him a ring once we're done here, I believe Miss Prior and I could be fantastic partners in leadership."
"We should head back to Dauntless, thank you both for your time." Eric says as he stands, offering his hand first to Jeanine, then Caleb. He doesn't miss the way Jeanine's red lips turn down at his sudden interruption, but she turns her attention to Tris when she thinks he's distracted by Caleb.
"Protecting him won't help you, Tris. I'd suggest you consider your allies carefully." She whispers only to Tris, but Eric is able to overhear.
Eric grabs her hand when they leave the room and he practically pulls her along the hallways, checking random doors until he finds one unlocked and then drags her inside of it.
"Why is she warning you about protecting Four?" He asks once they're in the abandoned room.
"It's nothing that concerns you." She counters.
"Tris, for fucks sake, she's a dangerous woman and you're directly on her radar, that's obvious by the way she reacted to you. What is going on?" He growls.
"Nothing." She argues weakly.
"Tris-"
He's cut off by her lips pressing to his and he returns her kiss for a few seconds before pushing her away, "No, that's not how this is going to go. I want to know what is going on, why does she seem so interested in you and Four? Why did your brother look like he was going to fucking vomit when she brought it up?"
"This has nothing to do with you. My involvement with you is separate."
"Let's talk about it all then, Tris. Tell me why you're fucking me while in a relationship with him, start there." Eric demands.
"Can we please get out of here first? I hate this place, and I don't feel like anything we say here is private, please." She replies.
Eric leads them out of the faction, dragging her to the train and when they board he turns to face her, "There are no cameras or microphones here, we will ride this fucking train until I know everything Tris. Everything." He growls.
"What do you want to know?" She asks.
"First why are you protecting Four? Why is Jeanine warning you about protecting him? What does she have on him? When the fuck have you even talked to her before today?" He asks and she shakes her head.
"Octavia covered Erudite while you were away. I shadowed her." Tris replies.
"You never told me that you'd been there with her. Why did you act like you needed all of this coaching to deal with Jeanine when you've obviously dealt with her already when you were training with Octavia? What game are you playing here, Tris?"
"I'm not." She says weakly.
"What the fuck is going on with her?" He asks angrily.
"I don't know." Tris replies and Eric grabs her arms.
"You do know, and you'd better start talking right fucking now." He commands.
"She's just trying to get a rise out of me. You said it yourself, I shouldn't have let her try to steer the conversation into personal areas. Of course she's interested in Four, he's a leader's child just like I am. Caleb is uncomfortable because of that too, you forget that our fathers are two of Abnegations head leaders and the biggest players in the government of our city, Eric."
"Had she threatened you when you were here with Octavia?" He asks and Tris shakes her head.
"She just smells new blood. I've got this, Eric." Tris replies.
He stares at her for what feels like an eternity before he changes gears, "Why are you with Four?" He asks and she shakes her head again.
"I already told you, that's not my story to tell."
"Dammit Tris, I'm not playing this game with you. Does he know that you're fucking me?" He seethes.
"I told him last night, he had his suspicions and I confirmed them." She admits, "He doesn't like that it's you, but he knew I'd eventually find someone."
"Why are you with him? Why are you pretending to be in a relationship with a man who knows you're sleeping with me? What's in this for him?" Eric presses.
"Eric, please trust me."
"I want answers."
"Why though? You're not one for settling down, I thought of all people you'd be completely fine with just a physical thing, especially when it comes to it being Four's girlfriend. You've had zero issues fucking me since you found out that he and I didn't break up." She argues.
He closes the space between them and takes her lips in a fiery kiss, when they break apart he presses his forehead to hers, "You don't kiss me like someone who just wants to fuck."
"The same could be said for you," She breathes out before she pulls his face down to hers again.
"I've never denied it." He replies before dropping his lips to hers.
When they break apart again they're both breathless and Eric traces a finger across her face before tucking her hair behind her ears.
"Tell me."
"I can't." She whispers.
"Then I'm done with this," He replies.
"Eric no-" She begins but he turns away from her and goes to the door of the train, pausing only seconds before he leaps off.
She scampers towards the door, but she soon pulls herself back when she sees that it's currently unsafe to jump. She looks back for Eric but he has disappeared, and she leans against the wall of the train, letting the wind that's blowing in dry her tears.