With that he huffed and left the living room, and Tris was torn by the need to give herself a facepalm or groan out loud in frustration. Shit! She'd forgotten all about The date. She'd honestly just forgotten. But only because she'd been so busy! She remembered she was stuck still working on compiling files and other tasks at hand while the new initiates came. No wonder Eric hadn't come to work today. 'Bastard, didn't even remind me. Some leader I am to forget huh,' she thought to herself.
"You didn't even call!" Four yelled angrily when she joined him in the bedroom, her expression apologetic.
"I'm so sorry, Four. Sometimes I'm at work and everything else just closes off. If I didn't do that, I'd go insane. You know what a slave driver Eric is."
Four's curvy lips curled bitterly. "Are you saying that it's just work? You're sure there isn't something more?"
"What else could there be?" Tris asked in genuine confusion.
Four let out an exasperated sigh, shoving a hand roughly through his dark hair. "This job of yours. Eric. Is there something I need to know about the two of you?"
Anger bubbled up inside of her when Tris realized what he was accusing me of. "What are you getting at, Four? What exactly are you suggesting?"
"What does it sound like?" exclaimed Four. "Look at you, Tris. Look how you've changed. Make up always perfect, you're wearing more revealing shirts than you've ever worn. Your pants are tighter. Hell Tris, even your underwear is more sexy. You put in more effort for him than you ever do for me. You won't hardly even let me see you in as much as you're wearing right now!"
She looked down at her get up, Tris was in a short sleeve t-shirt that, admitting, was cut pretty low, lower than she was normally comfortable with, but hadn't thought of it. Her
Ants were tight, they might as well have been leggings, and she was wearing black Nike running shoes rather than combat boots.
"He requires it of me," Tris said, hating the blush that swept over her cheekbones. "This wasn't my personal choice."
"Your underwear?" Four scoffed. "Can't you see he's grooming you into the perfect woman for him? If you're too blind to read the signs, I'm not! I know exactly what's going on."
"Four, you've got it all wrong. Now you're assuming things. He doesn't even notice me! He's just a slave driver control freak, you know how Eric is."
"Yeah, I do know who Eric is. He hates my guts, Tris, and you best believe he will do anything to piss me off. Now tell me he doesn't have more power over you than you're letting on. This is more than just a leader-assistant thing now.. He wants you, Tris. For all I know, you want him too. How long do I have to compete with him?"
Now that made her stop short. "I don't know what to say," she breathed. "I never...it didn't occur to me that you felt this way. I'm sorry I missed the initiates coming today. I'm sorry I work too much. But the lasting benefits from this are huge! We are never in the dark anymore. Life is going so well for us now and I thought..."
"No, it's not going well," Four interrupted. "I want my girlfriend back. The Tris I've always known wouldn't let someone push her around. I've always supported your goals of becoming a full blown leader, you know this but not if it demeans you the way he does. It's getting out of hand."
Tris chewed on her lip. "I'll get some time off. I'll find a way to make more time for us. I'll admit I've been so focused on work I haven't realized how much our relationship is suffering."
"Sometimes, I wonder if it's him you're thinking about," Four said with softness to his voice, closing the distance between them as he stared deep into her eyes. "When we make love I feel like your mind is off somewhere else. With someone else. It's like you're under a spell."
Tris blushed. How could Four even begin to say that? He was implying that she secretly had the hots for Eric. That she even fantasized about him. That was such bullshit! She hated Eric! If he was someone she had met in different circumstances, and if he wasn't really a brute in real life, then maybe she might have had a crush on a man like him. But for Four to even imagine that she'd be thinking of Eric while they had sex. It was all bullshit!
"I love you, Four," Tris said as a matter of fact, cupping his face and staring into his eyes. "It's you I want to be with. I can't even stand Eric. He's nothing like you. He doesn't make me all warm and gooey inside the way you do."
No, Eric made her feel hot, and then cold. One look from his dark, daunting eyes and something strange woke within her core. A brush of his hand would make her jump like she was electrocuted. He would pass by her and his musky cologne made her senses go wild. He never smiled, but she wished he would. She wished he'd say one word, just once, about how she looked or how well she'd carried out her tasks. None of that ever happened. But it didn't stop her from being aware of every little thing about him. The way his shirts and pants always fit him perfectly, the blonde faux hawk style which he wore his hair, his piercings, his tattoos both on his arms and his neck, with lips so perfect they looked too good on such a cold man.
Oh shit. Tris embraced Four tighter to hide her inner turmoil. Was he right? Had she mindlessly started to fall for Eric? God, why was she still thinking about him.
That was an insane assumption. She'd figure out a way to show Four that there was nothing she felt for Eric. He made her so mad at times she couldn't see straight. How could she desire a man like that? None of her feelings for Eric should give her boyfriend any cause for concern. And soon, she'd find a way to prove it.
YOU ARE READING
Dauntless Desires
Fanfiction"Max led me down the hall to Eric's office. He knocked twice on the door before walking in and holding his hands behind his back. "your new assistant, sir, Tris Prior." He wasn't alone in the room; there were two other men present who were seated i...
