A/N: Please note that this chapter is definitely rated M! Reviews and constructive criticism are always desired, but please, no flames.

As for the "Hobbit" Smaug/OFC fic I want to write... I've posted it! It's called "Blindsided", so if you're interested go and check it out.

"You."

Such a simple word and yet it was quite possibly the most meaningful thing Alice had ever said. She had been so very tempted to tell him to leave just so that her life would be made easier, safer, but the funny thing was that when she thought about what made her feel safe she instantly thought of Khan. The man who had threatened and hurt her on multiple occasions made her feel safe, and that made her question her sanity if only just a little. No sane person with options would sell her soul to this man.

Yet she had a feeling she'd done just that.

Breaking the silence, Khan ordered, "Show me your arms."

Alice frowned slightly, the sudden randomness of the demand not quite what she was expecting him to say after her decision was made, but proceeded to roll her loose sleeves up high to her shoulders. Only once her arms were exposed did she understand his request as he held her right arm in his hand, studying the damage he had done.

The force in which he'd held onto her earlier in his anger had left angry red marks on her otherwise fair skin. Chances were that she would have some ugly bruises by morning that would fit Khan's hands perfectly.

"You didn't have to hurt me, you know," Alice commented quietly, watching him as he examined her arm. "You're intimidating enough without having to resort to physical violence."

"I was under the impression you had betrayed me," he explained coolly as if that justified his actions.

Alice wasn't having it, and with every ounce of courage she could muster, she said firmly, "You are never to put your hands on me like that again."

It was as if someone had sucked all the air out of the room, and the look Khan gave her sent a chill down her spine, but she refused to back down or look away. This was a matter in which there would be no debate.

"I warned you that in making the choice you did that you ran the risk of being hurt by myself or killed," he stated irritably. "Was I not clear enough?"

"You were plenty clear, but in case I was not clear enough in my answer, I chose you. Not option one, not option two – you," she clarified. "The galaxy isn't as black and white as you make it out to be."

"Isn't it?" he challenged.

"No, it isn't, and you're proof of that," she argued. "You are not an evil man doing evil for the sake of doing it. You were a tyrant, yes, and you're a cruel, egotistical asshole who thinks he can use people any way he wants, but the fact of the matter is that you protected everyone who swore their loyalty to your or lived under your rule and you gave a damn about their well-being. And your crew… if you didn't have a heart, you would not call them family. Every terrible thing you've done has been done for someone else. In fact, I honestly can't think of one truly selfish act you've committed for you alone since I've known you."

At that, he smirked fractionally. "On that, you are mistaken. There is one instance in which I've been quite selfish."

"Really?" she asked doubtfully. "And how have you been selfish?"

He remained silent, his smirk becoming more profound.

Alice wanted to strangle him. He wasn't going to tell her, and once more he didn't seem to be taking her seriously. Never had she been more serious in her life.

"I don't expect a happy ending with all of this, Khan, I really don't, but…" she trailed off, trying to make something of her chaotic thoughts. When words failed her, she shook her head, seating herself on the arm of the the couch, trying not to think about he followed her, stopping directly in front of her so that she had to look up at him. "I don't even know what I'm trying to ask you. All I know is that your 'option two' makes any relationship we have one-sided, and that is not going to happen and I won't stand for you hurting me just because I anger you."

"And what sort of compromise would you suggest?"

Alice raked her mind for anything that could get through to him, but any argument she could come up with could easily be countered.

He didn't have to resort to killing her – his crew came first, and he wouldn't allow a threat to remain.

Being with him did not mean she would lose her job for sure – by aiding him, she was connected to any act he committed against Starfleet.

There was a chance she could have a happy ending – considering all that had happened so far, was that likely to happen?

Argument upon argument was created in her mind, and she hadn't a clue on how to win any of them. She was persistent, but she didn't want to argue with Khan all night. They were both so stubborn that it was possible that they could be at each other's throats for hours on end. It would be so easy if he could just let her be who she was.

Alice blinked, turning her green eyes up to his as the thought formed in her mind. A stray thought, but one that could leave no argument.

Swallowing thickly, tongue darting out to wet her suddenly dry lips, she asked seriously, "Do you want me, Khan?"

"I need you to help me acquire what I need in order to –"

"That is not what I mean, and you know it," she interrupted, frustrated and worried by his dodging. "Do you want me in your life as your girlfriend?"

He looked more than a little irritated, but he glanced away, something he typically did with her when she was getting a little too close to his heart and when he felt vulnerable, so she knew that she was at least getting somewhere with him.

Finally, a second or so later though it felt like an eternity, he once again looked to her. "Yes."

Standing from her seat on the arm of the couch, standing tall though considerably shorting than Khan, Alice pleaded almost desperately, "Then accept me for me! Don't try to change me into someone who will roll over and bend to your will because that isn't who I am. I told you as much only a few minutes ago and you said you knew that. I will argue with you, I will disagree with you, and I will challenge you – I will not blindly follow you."

"And am I to believe that you accept me as I am?" he demanded, not so quick to believe that she did.

"I'm not going to lie – there are plenty of things about you that I don't like. But I wouldn't ask you to change who you are just to make my life easier. I want and care about you for you, not for one trait, not for one aspect, but for all of you, imperfections and all. If I didn't accept you, then I can promise you that I would have told you to leave in a heartbeat, I wouldn't be trying to get us onto an even playing field."

He looked mildly torn, and she took that as progress.

That left one last thing to do, and she ran the risk of him walking out on her.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, she stepped away from him and retrieved his coat from the back of her chair. She held it so tight that her knuckles turned white and she could feel his eyes watching her intently to the point where she almost didn't want to turn around, to where she didn't want to press her luck with him.

Submitting would be so easy, but that wasn't who she was.

Alice at last got up the nerve to turn and walk back to him, and she held the coat out for him to take. "I'm not going to change who I am for you. Either you take me as I am, or… or you can leave."

Khan's expression was one torn between astonishment and rage. "You claim to despise the choices I gave you, yet you give me an ultimatum?"

"The difference between my ultimatum and yours is that I don't expect you to be anyone other than yourself. I'm not asking you to change or do anything you don't want to do just so you can be my boyfriend," she explained, feeling her throat constrict. "What I am asking you to do is simple – accept me for who I am, or don't. I don't want you to go, but if you can't accept me without me agreeing to your option two, then just leave."

Silence hung in the air for the longest time and Alice felt her composure begin to waver. Nothing Khan did was on a whim, but did he have to think so long and so hard about whether or not he could be with her for who she was without his terms?

It should have been harder for her to decide, not the other way around!

This must have been how he felt before she told him that she chose him, giving him the impression that she'd picked option two. She felt guilty for how long she'd taken to tell him, now, if only because she was now plagued with growing anxiety.

And then Khan took the coat from her, sending her heart plummeting to the floor until she saw him set it down on the couch as opposed to putting it on. Hope flickered to life in her chest, putting her heart back where it belonged with a quickened pace.

"Should I desire you to be anyone else, I would pursue someone else," Khan admitted, acutely uncomfortable but managing to keep his tone even and calm, his icy blue eyes the only things give him away to her. "I will not force you into anything, but make no mistake –"

"I know, I know," she groaned, crossing her arms over her chest with a heavy sigh. "If I become a threat to your crew or if I do not side with you in killing Marcus, you'll kill me."

"An accurate statement, but that is not what I was going to say."

Feeling her cheeks flush, she shifted from foot to foot. "Oh."

"Alice," he started slowly, stepping forward until they were very nearly chest to chest, sending her heart into a racing speed. Raising his hands, he brought them to either side of her neck, his thumbs stroking her jaw in a way that made her feel lightheaded. "I won't hold you to any terms, but what's mine is mine. You might find my treatment of you... possessive, perhaps even rough, but I assure you that my intention will not be to cause you harm. That is not at all what I want."

There was a difference between being violent and rough, and she would take rough, knowing that it was in his nature to act as such during certain times. But so help her, he wouldn't grab her like that again, and if he did she would give him hell for it. As for him calling her his... being treated like she was a possession was a turn off when it came from anyone but him. With him, she felt her heart flutter, her eyes darting from his eyes to his lips and back.

His hands on her necks kneaded her flesh gently, making her groan in contentment as her body warmed, and his darkening eyes had her blood rushing with need.

She opened her mouth, uncertain how to voice her desire, her need, so she settled on one simple request. "... Kiss me."

All too eager to comply, Khan tugged her closer as she rose to her toes to meet him in a fiery kiss. Her fingers snaked into his dark hair, desperately holding him to her as he assaulted her senses, and unlike that time in the park there was nothing to interrupt them.

There was no Section 31, no Marcus, Doyle, or Zell. No impending threats, just two people in desperate need of each other.

The kiss grew in intensity with every passing second, all the pent up frustration and anticipation coming out in force, and it wasn't until Alice felt the wall against her back that she realized they'd been moving, and she broke away from his mouth for a breath of air she desperately needed.

Burying his face into her neck, Khan bit sharply at her oversensitive skin, making her start with a gasp only to whimper a moment later as he soothed the insult with his lips and tongue. His hands smoothed their way down her sides until they came to the hem of her shirt, at which point he tore his mouth from her neck to yank it over her head.

Her hair fell in her face with the haste in which he'd rid her of the obstacle, and she couldn't keep the smile off her face as she pulled him back down for another kiss, hooking her arm around his neck. The heat of his hands on her bare back made her melt against him, her knees going weak, and he chuckled lowly against her lips before grasping her by the hips and lifting her effortlessly. Instinctively, she locked her legs around his waist and couldn't keep silent the groan that escaped her when the evidence of his want and desire pressed against her through the confines of his dark trousers as he rocked against her.

The wall disappeared from behind her suddenly and she barely had enough time to toe off her boots – she thanked God that she wore a pair so easy to remove – before they entered the bedroom and he dropped her unceremoniously onto the dark purple sheets of the bed.

Even as he lowered himself onto her she was sitting up, desperate to feel his skin on hers as she reached for the hem of his fitted black shirt. He eagerly complied with her silent request and aided her in its removal, tossing it to the side, and for a moment she just stared at him in awe.

Not a scar marred his sculpted pale chest, and surely given his history there should have been one or two. He was perfection, as simple as that, and raising her hand she pressed her palm directly above his heart. To her astonishment, it was pounding within his chest with a ferocity that nearly matched her own.

Her desperation came back in force and she snaked her hand up to his hair, pulling him down on top of her, needing to feel his weight on her, the heat of his skin against hers, and she hooked her leg behind his thigh and urged him closer as she arched her body into his.

A low groan of pleasure was dragged from Khan's throat at the action, his hips moving forward against her of their own accord, causing Alice's eyes to roll back as the ache deep within her body grew in intensity. His hands seemed to be everywhere all at once, burning her, leaving her begging for his touch, and when his one hand reach behind her she sat up as much as he would allow as he deftly unhooked her bra, freeing her of the piece of clothing, throwing it to some unknown destination even as his lips descended to her lips, across her jaw, and down her neck before placing an open mouthed kiss to her collarbone.

Threading her fingers through his hair, all Alice could do was squirm beneath him as his mouth burned a hot, moist trail down her chest, and when his lips closed over her breast her back bowed, her body tingling with the most delicious pleasure that faded all to quick when he pulled away.

A cocky smirk adorned his face and she glared at him, intent on smacking him for tormenting her until his mouth continued its journey south, his eyes darkened with lust never leaving hers. It was everything she could do not to look away from the intensity of his gaze, and she bit her lip when he kissed her low bellow her navel, just at the start of her jeans.

Making quick work of her belt and the fastenings of her jeans, he rose to his knees, fingers hooked into the waistband of both her jeans and panties and tugging them down her legs in one quick movement, her socks following right after.

She reached for him, but he shook his head minutely, and she hesitantly lowers her hands back down to rest on either side of her head as they had been a moment ago.

A flush of pink found its way to her cheeks, spreading clear down to her chest in a heady mix of arousal and self-consciousness as his dark eyes drank in the sight of her, and she fought the urge to shy away from his view. He looked on her like she was the most precious thing in the world, and that sent her heart into overdrive, affection and desire welling up within her chest and chasing away any and all of her insecurities.

Worrying on her lower lip, she slowly sat up, drawing his attention back to her eyes as she reached for his belt. She half expected him to stop her so he could carry out the task of undressing on his own, but he did little more than watch her with an intensity that shook her to her core. Her hands were far less steady than his had been, her raging hormones and the onslaught of emotions making her tremble.

"Trouble, Alice?" Khan teased darkly, and she glared at him, causing him to smile, amused.

Alice narrowed her eyes.

He was not going to make fun of her, not about this. She'd had it with him tormenting and teasing her on various occasions, picking on her essentially because he knew he could so easily get under her skin. The incident in the lab earlier that day popped up in her mind, the moment when he had been so close to her only to leave her feeling weak in the knees and standing there like an idiot.

A wicked idea came to her mind, one that was possibly a great risk to her overall health but far too tempting to pass up.

Defiantly, she rose to her knees to bring a bit of evenness to their height on the bed and kissed him so abruptly that he actually froze for the fraction of a second before responding with equal enthusiasm, his fingers curling around the back of her neck. As his mouth molded against her again and again, nearly making her lose her very mind, she finally managed to unfasten his belt and trousers and was quick to dip her hand inside, taking him firmly in her hand.

Breaking the kiss, lips parted, Khan tensed, his whole body going completely still as she moved her hand at a lazy pace. With his eyes closed tight, his forehead pressed against hers as he basked in the pleasure she was bestowing on him, she smirked triumphantly.

Khan might be a genetically engineered super human, but he was still just a man, and he hissed in pleasure as she squeezed just a little tighter… and then she released him, scooting back on the bed as he came to his senses.

"Alice…" he bit out through his teeth, the tone somewhere between a warning and a beg, his gaze almost murderous with hunger and desire as he made quick work of removing the rest of his clothing and boots since she clearly wasn't going to do it.

Adrenaline leaked into her system at that look, telling her to run, but she refused to do anything but creep away from him, grinning wickedly. "I told you in the lab, didn't I? Payback's a bitch."

His darkened blue eyes narrowed to slits, his bangs falling in his face, and she realized then that she was in deed about to be burned by the fire she had saw fit to play with.

Though desperate for his touch, Alice frantically crawled backwards to get away from him, almost fearing what he had planned for her, but she wasn't nearly fast enough to evade him.

Catching her by her calf, Khan yanked her roughly back to him, forcing her legs apart as he lowered his body onto hers. He gripped her thigh tightly with one hand, kneading her flesh as she released a breathy moan as his swelling manhood rubbed intimately against her.

And then his other moved between them and she had only a split second to realize its destination before he sank his finger into her warmth. Arching, toes curling, Alice gasped, struggling to squirm away but unable to with his hold on her so tight. His mouth found that spot on her neck again, nipping at the tender flesh as he added a second finger.

She dug her teeth into her lip, squeezing her eyes shut as his talented fingers continued to torment her at an achingly slow pace. She dragged her nails up his arms desperately, and with his teeth scraping against the over sensitive skin, her hand darted between them and she curled her fingers around his wrist as she whimper pleadingly, "Stop… please."

"Now, why would I do that?" he growled against her neck, raising his head just enough to gaze down on her with a look that was downright predatory. "When you were so inclined to torment me a moment ago?"

"I don't like to be teased," she breathed.

He smirked and curled his fingers within her, making her shudder as her eyes rolled back. "Really? Your body says differently."

Her body was a traitor as far as she was concerned.

Any other time, she would happily let him have his way to her, the exquisite torture he was possibly capable of heating her to her very core, but she didn't want to be teased, not now. She didn't want to waste time exploring each other when they could attend to that at another time. She needed him now, and she was not beyond pleading with him.

"Please…" Alice begged desperately, rolling her hips against his hand. "Stop teasing me, and just fucking take me."

Eyes that were normally an icy blue darkened to almost black at her desperate plea. Removing his hand from her to curl his fingers around the back of her neck, he caught her in a fiery kiss as he sank into her in one swift thrust that caught her entirely off guard.

Alice tore her mouth from his in a stunned gasp at the force of his sudden intrusion, her hands darting to his back, nails biting into his flesh as he stilled within her.

Teeth grinding together, his eyes locked on her face, he moved not a single muscle, and for that she was grateful. It had been far too long since she'd been with anyone, and though she was not a virgin by anyone standards, the time between the last she had sex combined with the impressive size of him sent a twinge of pain shooting through her, making her bite her lip sharply.

With a gentleness that she almost thought him incapable of but that he constantly surprised her with now and then, Khan released her neck to brush the back of his fingers along her cheek almost soothingly, his other hand gently kneading the muscles of her thigh. Silently making his question known to her, Alice felt tears sting her eyes.

This hesitation, his stillness, how his whole body was beginning to tremble with the need to move… it was for her benefit.

A wave of emotion sent the pain to the back of her mind, and she brought her hand to his on her cheek, giving it a reassure squeeze before raising her head to press a tender kiss to his lips.

That was all the reassurance he required.

Setting a slow rhythm, he rolled his hips into hers, the low groan that rose from his throat setting her blood on fire. She arched her hips up against him, matching his steady pace, her moans and whimpers filling the room.

Her nails raked down the expanse of his muscular back, drawing a hiss from him that was all pleasure and no pain, and what little control he had snapped in that moment. He stole the very breath she oh so desperately needed, lips seizing her own, and she couldn't help but reciprocate, kissing him with all that she had.

The slow pace seemingly forgotten, Khan's thrusts grew more quick and erratic, his hips pounding against her to the point where she would surely be feeling the ache hours later. But she wasn't complaining, not in the slightest, and she urged him on by threading her fingers through his hair and running her nails down his spine as she locked her legs around him, her writhing cries fueling the fire that had consumed them both.

Breaking from her lips with a gasp, Khan braced himself over her with his arm beside her head, hand in a fist, and he dropped his head to her shoulder as he drove into her at a merciless pace, seeking relief for them both.

Soon she began to writhe beneath him, unable to do much more than clutch him to her as every muscle in her body began to tighten in unbearable pleasure. She felt his mouth on her neck then, biting down on that spot, and she saw stars, her whole body bowing beneath his as wave after wave of euphoria hit her, her grip on his hair threatening to tear it out at the roots.

A primal growl rang out in her ears as he drove into her once more, twice, before his whole body went ridged above her, holding her so close and so tightly that she thought he may actually break her. The panting in her ear, his breath hot against her skin as slowly his muscles relaxed was nearly as arousing as every intimate gesture had been, for it was proof to her that she had done this to him.

She had made him lose control in the most intimate way possible, had brought him to pleasure. It wasn't some other woman, it wasn't some other Augment with whom he had more in common with. It was her, Alice.

Fighting for her very breath, Alice loosened her grip on his hair, her hand smoothing its way up his back as opposed to clawing at it, and she turned her head to press a trembling kiss to the side of his.

Such a simple gesture that was nowhere near as heated as what else they had done, but when Khan raised his head and met her eyes, she knew then that such a simple kiss had been the most intimate.

Alice slept with her back pressed against Khan's chest, his arm around her as they laid on their sides. Little had been said before she fell asleep, and Khan was for the first time not entirely sure about to do, a situation such as this having never been presented to him before.

With all the other women he had taken to his bed, he would either order them to leave the moment he'd found release or he would leave to shower and get back to work, one or the other. Never did he have the desire linger with a woman in the aftermath of sex, nor did he have the desire to keep on so close thereafter as he did with Alice.

The sheer intimacy of the simplest of gestures was what did him in, what had him crumbling.

They weren't sating each other's needs for the sake of pleasure alone. What they had done could not be called screwing or fucking, it had been… lovemaking? That seemed like the appropriate term, but never had he felt the need for such a classification.

Whatever it was to be called, he was content to lay there in the bed with a blanket draped over them both for as long as they could, though he wished she were awake.

Alice had long since fallen asleep, the exertion of their activities taking its toll on her body while he still felt as if he could take her again. Lord knows he wanted to, but she did not have his stamina. So he let her sleep, his arm securely wrapped around her, keeping her pressed possessively against his solid chest, allowing her to sleep for as long as possible.

All the while his thoughts wandered.

It would be interesting to see if they could keep this a secret, especially if his suspicions about Zell and her generosity with bringing them coffee was true. He should voice his suspicions to Alice, knowing she deserved to know, but part of him wanted to keep silent, wishing beyond reason that it was true.

The one thing that had been denied to him by his mother and the other scientists messing with his genes suddenly felt within reach.

Sighing, he looked down on Alice, watching her sleep so peacefully, a soft smile on her face that was brought on by her dreams.

If he told her now, she would be angry.

If he told her later, she would be angry.

There was no point in speaking of such matters until the time came – if it came at all.

Review, please! Reviews let me know that you wish for more!