Love, Lies, Secrets and Manipulation (Divergent/Eric OC)

35. Unexpected Halt

(Natalie's POV)

With my head on the pillow and eyes half open, I watch as Eric rubs my arm in a soothing manner. I'm beyond sore from yesterday's and the night before's tiresome activities, and unfortunately, I can't even say that those activities had anything to do with Eric and I.

To my surprise, that certain "someone" who Eric wanted me to fight in the ring as practice the other night ended up being his leader friend, Drea. Let me just say, she gave me one hell of a challenge. She may be smaller than Jesse, but that girl is beyond vicious when it comes to fighting in the ring. For the most part, I was able to dodge the punches she sent flying to my face, so instead, I received mostly body shots.

I guess in a way, she really did help prepare me for my fight with Jesse yesterday, because I ended up winning—and learning a few new moves in the process.

Surprisingly, the fight with Jesse seemed a lot easier than the fight with Drea the night before. But this morning, my body seems to be paying for all the hits it's taken in the last couple of days. I feel as if I've been hit by an armored truck.

Eric rolls over closer to me and plants a firm kiss on my left cheek. Of course, that makes me smile.

"How you feeling?" he asks.

"Still sore," I reply groggily. I clear my throat. "I think getting beat and tossed around the ring the past couple of days has finally caught up to me."

He sighs, and his hand starts to lightly rub my back. "Well at least it was worth it. You beat Jesse, and now you're ranked in fourth place. I told you Drea was the right person for the job."

"Yeah, you weren't kidding," I say as I turn and stretch out on the bed. "That girl fights like a possessed baby gorilla."

Eric laughs, then pulls me into his chest so that were face-to-face."That just means she likes you."

"Okay," I respond in my I-highly-doubt-that tone.

He chuckles, then tucks a few thick strands of hair behind my ear. "No, I mean it. She told me herself. She said that she likes you for me."

My brows raise in surprise. "Did she now?" Drea seemed nice at first, but she didn't exactly show me any mercy when Eric asked her to fight me in the ring as practice.

He nods. "Mm-hmm." He brings his face down closer to mine, and slowly, our lips attach. When we break from the kiss, his hand reaches up to my face, and he begins to lightly stroke my cheek as he gazes into my eyes. "She said she can tell that you make me happy."

A smile forms on my lips, and I lean in to kiss him again. "You make me happy, too," I say as I pull away.

He smiles, and after gazing at me for a while, I see a sudden look flash across his face, as if he's about to do something impulsive.

Before I know it, he's leaning back and pulling me up on top of him. My legs straddle him, and with his hand gripping my hair, he pulls my face down to his until our lips are crashing.

We haven't had sex since we were in the shower together the morning before yesterday, so I know that he's probably more than eager. He kisses me with such fervid desire, and soon, his large hands are running down my back and giving my ass a hard squeeze.

He flips us over, and just as he's pinning my arms above my head, there's a loud banging noise coming from the other side of his apartment. Eric's head lifts up and snaps in the direction of his bedroom door, and again, we hear the same noise.

The door.

Someone's banging loudly on his front door, and it doesn't sound like that person plans on stopping.