Disclaimer: See Chapter 1. Dettaarsvenska, thank you so much for reviewing.

09sasha, as I've said, college is hectic. ByaSouthernLady, wow, two reviews! Thanks for the feedback, and I'm glad you noticed that the chapters rhyme. T'Sara, glad you liked. wcv, thank you so much for your input.

Solok awoke to the sound of birds singing and sunlight streaming through the thin curtains. The light hurt his eyes for a moment before his inner eyelid closed, and the painful sensation in his head subsided. He became aware of something cooler than his skin, yet still warm, pressed to his abdomen. His arm was draped over something soft and supple, and when he opened his eyes, he saw rebellious red waves of hair spread out over the pillow.

It occurred to him that he was naked, and that Roxanne was naked, and she was firmly pressed to his body, a contented grin lifting the corners of her mouth upward. Everything came flooding back: the chocolate, the wine, his seduction on the couch, the two of them in here...

He closed his eyes again and breathed deeply, and apparently a little chocolate was still in his system, because the smell of her was strong and sweet. Now that he was more in control of his faculties, he realized he recognized her scent from somewhere, but he couldn't place it at the moment. But he did bury his nose into her hair and breathe in, relishing her warm, spicy scent as it flooded his sinuses.

He heard her breathe in a deeper breath, and he lifted his head to see her eyes slowly open, then quickly snap shut again. He laid his head down on the pillow and traced a finger over her slender curves, and she groaned.

"Tell me it was a dream," she whispered, burying her head deeper into the pillow.

"That what was a dream?"

"The drinking and...you ate chocolate?"

"That was not a dream."

She sighed. "What about the kissing?"

"That too was reality."

She almost sounded desperate as she breathed her response. "And...did we...you know...um..."

"Engage in sexual intercourse?"

"Yeah," she whispered. "That."

"Yes," he murmured back, lightly pushing down on her shoulder so she was flat on her back. She looked horrified, but mostly embarrassed and guilty. But those emotions were quickly hidden and replaced by anger and incredulity, but he simply cocked an eyebrow and sat up so he was kneeling.

"You don't believe me," he muttered, and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"I didn't think you'd go this far, Solok. You had me fooled for a moment, but-"

She gasped as she sat up, and she clutched her abdomen and whimpered.

"Now do you remember?" he said softly.

She said nothing, simply clutched one hand to her gut and pinched her nosebridge with the other.

"What the hell did you do to me last night?" she hissed.

He smirked. "Are you sure you want to know?"

She whimpered. "I haven't felt like this since...just tell me what happened."

He raised an eyebrow. "You were intoxicated, but I distinctly recall three instances of oral intercourse and three times-"

"Take me now, Lord," she moaned. There was a long pause. "So I was drunk?"

"Yes."

"And did you enjoy observing the slutty side of the human race?"

He narrowed his eyes at her, then slipped off the bed and lifted her in his arms before she could say another word.

"Where is the shower?" he asked calmly.

"What are you doing, you...put me down!"

He found the door to the bathroom on the opposite wall to the bed, and he shouldered his way into the room and set her on her feet in the shower. She stood there with her arms crossed defiantly over her breasts, not realizing that she making her cleavage much more noticeable. He tore his eyes from the arresting sight and started the unit, and she gasped as the water soaked her skin.

"You are not a slut, Roxanne," he said coldly, turning toward the cabinets to find her a towel. "It displeases me that you think of yourself in such a derogatory manner."

He turned and noted that her eyes were fixed on his eyes, as if she were afraid to let them drift further downward. He then remembered that he too was naked, and yet the thought of that did not shame him. He decided he would examine all of this later, and for Roxanne's sake, he grabbed another towel off the shelf and wrapped it around his waist.

"Are you hungry?" he inquired, his tone slightly warmer. She turned away and nodded.

"I took the liberty of bringing a remedy for hangovers in the event that you needed it. However, it did not occur to me to bring a pain reliever. I could, of course, fetch you one-"

"Something for this headache will do, thanks," she said quickly. "Now could you please leave? I'm still naked here, you know!"

"I've noticed," he purred, quirking an eyebrow at her and relishing the pink blush that spread over the smooth planes of her cheeks. He also noticed a bruise right above her left breast that looked suspiciously like a bite mark, and he swallowed thickly, turning away quickly and leaving her to bathe.

As he dressed himself (he had had the foresight to bring a change of clothes, anticipating some sort of victory), he realized he had been deeply conflicted when he noticed the mark on her skin. The deep, primitive side of him was roaring in triumph, and in that moment, when his eyes had fixed themselves on that mark, the emotions buried away in the darkest recesses of his mind had cracked his resolve, urging him to jump into the shower unit with her and take her on the shower floor, consequences be damned. But the more rational side of him was perturbed that he had marked her. He was still bonded, though he had known throughout his engagement to T'Kara that their bond was weak, that she did not want him, and he had never wanted her.

But Roxanne...

He sat down at the kitchen table after ordering breakfast and tea from the small replicator in the corner, and he tried to take his mind off last night and Roxanne by reviewing his notes for the fifteenth time, but there was no need for him to review, and thoughts of their encounters the night before were shoving their way to the forefront of his mind.

Finally, he gave in with a slight sigh, setting down his notes and closing his eyes, his hands folded, his forefingers and thumbs aligned, and he turned his thoughts to the frenzied, passionate, almost violent lovemaking of the previous evening. Just the memories of his time with Roxanne was making his blood roil in his veins all over again, and he squeezed his eyes closed tighter and took a breath to calm himself. He remembered almost everything: the feel of her soft skin beneath his fingertips, the taste of her neck on his tongue, the sound of her desperate moans, the warmth of her emissions spilling over his hand, drenching his palm with her essence, her skillful lips and tongue, the tight warmth of-

He forced himself to stop lest he charge the bathroom door and drag her to the bedroom to have another few rounds with her, and he sighed again and sipped his tea. He could hear the shower unit turn off and the bathroom door open, and several minutes later, Roxanne stumbled into the kitchen, her hair damp and her clothes clean, and the smell of cleanliness followed her into the room.

Solok handed her the hypospray with the hangover remedy already loaded into it, and she took it with a curt nod. She avoided his pointed stares and rushed to the cabinet to find something, and he took another sip of tea as she prepared toast for herself with fresh bread.

"I assume you have been to the market recently?" he asked casually, watching her spread butter on the slice of toast in her hand.

"Yeah," she replied, her voice unconvincingly neutral. "I went yesterday before you showed up."

He turned back to his notes and pretended to glance over them, but several seconds later, he looked up, his nose trying to trace the source of that familiar scent...Roxanne's scent. At first he thought the aroma was coming from her, but upon further investigation, he discovered she had taken a container of light brown powder from the cabinet and was sprinkling the substance on her toast. He rose from his chair and walked slowly over to her; the scent was clouding his sinuses, and perhaps his judgment.

She nearly jumped in surprise when she saw that he was standing beside her, and she took a cautionary step back. He came to his senses and stepped away as well, but he watched intently as she spread the brown powder into the butter with her finger.

"What is that?"

Roxanne glanced up at him incredulously. "Um...toast?"

"No, that spice. What is it?"

She handed him the container, and he slowly brought it to his nose and inhaled. "It's cinnamon," she said softly, taking her plate and moving to the table. Solok stayed at the counter and breathed in the fragrance of the spice, closing his eyes as that warmth flooded his body from his gut to his fingertips. Yes, Roxanne smelled like cinnamon...no wonder he was so physically drawn to her. He had no idea the scent of the spice would be so...arousing.

He closed the lid on the container and set it on the counter, then joined Roxanne at the table. She too was reviewing her notes, and although he fixed his gaze on her several times as she ate, she avoided looking at him. Why was she being so cold towards him? Did they both not acknowledge that they found each other attractive, alluring? Judging by her reactions last night, she found him more than desirable, and it unsettled him that she was ignoring him now.

"Roxanne," he said finally. "Please look at me."

She finished chewing her bite of toast, swallowed and set the rest down on her plate. "What?"

Her voice was not as cold as he thought it might be. A good sign. "Are you angry at me?"

She sighed and stared down at her notes. "I don't think so...no, I'm not."

"Then why are you ignoring me?"

Roxanne fixed her tired gaze on him. "Because I really can't look at you right now."

"Why not?"

She snorted and turned away, staring resolutely at the PADD in her hand.

"Roxanne, I thought we had acknowledged our mutual attraction. Your shame and guilt are illogical."

She was silent for a while. "I guess so, but that doesn't change the way I feel. I mean, my society embraces the concept of free love and all that jazz, but I can't help but feel like I've committed a crime or something."

He raised an eyebrow. "Because I am Vulcan."

"Because I was drunk, I think," she said resolutely, her eyes fixed on the table.

He paused a moment before speaking again. "I still would have made every attempt to have you for myself, sober or no."

Solok immediately wished he could have taken back those words, and her pained expression nearly made him wince. After an awkward silence, she looked him in the eye and spoke again.

"What was that with the chocolate? You were on another level, Solok."

He nodded. "Yes, it did alter my mental state."

"So you were drunk too?"

He shook his head. "No, that was not intoxication, Roxanne. The closest thing I can ascribe to its effect on my body would be...fixation."

She frowned. "Fixation?"

"Yes," he confirmed, not bothering to correct her or point out that she had heard him and repeating his words was unnecessary. Now was not the time. "The only thing that truly registered for me after ingesting your chocolate was you, Roxanne...your skin, your hair...your scent."

She blushed again, her cheeks turning a rosy shade of pink, and he couldn't help but notice how endearing she looked. "Wow, that's...damn, that's kind of romantic in a way."

He sighed. "I assure you, gratifying my senses was...most rewarding. You are very...enchanting."

Her blush intensified, and she looked away. "Damn it, Solok, what are you trying to do?"

"I am attempting to alleviate your apprehension and shame. You have nothing to be ashamed of. We are adults, you and I, and we chose to be intimate. I do not regret what I did last night. I do not regret making love to you."

She stared at him as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Who are you and what have you done with Solok of Vulcan?"

He slowly rose from his seat and walked around her, then sank into the seat beside her. Roxanne's eyes left his but for a moment, but as he sat down, they were locked with his. He leaned forward and caressed her jawbone with two fingers. She gasped softly, the sound making tingles zip down his spine, and her wide eyes slowly became hooded and drowsy as he moved his attentions to her neck.

"Solok of Vulcan is right here, Roxanne," he purred, pressing a little harder. She moaned and leaned in to his touch. "He was always right here." He paused, then decided to speak frankly. "And you have captured him."

She opened her eyes and stared at him, fear and confusion clouding her bright green eyes, but he thought he saw the beginnings of affection stirring there too.

"What is your human phrase, 'a word to the wise'?" he continued, cupping her neck with one hand. "When you capture a Vulcan male as you have...he is not to be casually thrust aside."

She swallowed and frowned. "What do you mean?"

He leaned closer, so that their breath was mingling in the space between them. "It means that this is not over, thy'la. I only ask that you consider this: it is because of you that I am seriously reconsidering my view of humans, and all non-Vulcans. For all your emotionalism and illogic, traits I deemed inferior...you proved me wrong."

Her frown deepened, and the primitive part of him that had awakened in his chest longed to banish it from her face, longed to press his lips to hers and make that frown fade into nothingness...

"I don't understand," she whispered.

"As I'm sure you can recall, I said three months ago that you would fail this semester. You proved me wrong. Not only are you not going to fail, but you will, what is your phrase, 'pass with flying colors'?"

She breathed in, and he leaned in even further until his forehead was resting against hers. He could feel the flow of emotions bleeding into him, yet it did not bother him. It did not disturb or disgust him in the slightest; he examined the emotions that he felt from her: apprehension, uncertainty, self-doubt, yet underneath all those, a rippling current of hope and affection. He drank in her blooming regard for him, caressing her cheek as he did so, and he had to restrain himself from sealing his lips over hers.

She sighed. "I don't know where to go from here. Where we should go from here."

He nodded. "Your Christmas holiday is approaching after finals, and I will take the opportunity to go back home to Vulcan. I understand you'll be staying here?"

She murmured an affirmative. "Then take the time to ponder what I have said. I wish to explore this...to examine the possibility of you and I. But I will leave that decision up to you."

Roxanne closed her eyes. "Ok...and thank you."

"For what am I being thanked, thy'la?"

A nervous giggle escaped her lips. "Well, I don't mean to sound immature after all that you've just said, but...thanks for last night...I think. Judging by my gut, it must have been something."

He suppressed a growl and the desire to show her just how wonderful intimacy could be for her if she chose him, and instead cupped her cheek with his hand. She closed her eyes and pressed her hand to the back of his, then slowly removed it from her face.

"I'll think about it long and hard, Solok," she assured him, staring him in the eyes. "And you have a good holiday, ok?"

"And you, Roxanne," he replied, standing to gather his things. Within two minutes he was packed and ready to leave, but before he departed, he turned to her. With three easy strides, he reached her, then pulled her to her feet and pressed him to his body. A triumphant smirk graced his lips as he lowered his head and gave her a kiss that hopefully left no doubt in her mind that he was serious, that he would pursue this. She gasped into his mouth, and although he was loathe to pull away, after a minute he stepped back from her and tucked a stray hair behind her ear.

"Until we meet again, Roxanne," he said in farewell, then turned on his heel and left the house.

…

It was nearly noon before Roxanne returned to her dorm. She had spent an hour or two cleaning the house up and changing the sheets on the bed they had slept in, and then she had hurried away from that house and the fuzzy memories of what had gone on there. How could she have been so irresponsible? She wasn't taking all the blame for their behavior, but it was definitely not something she was going to repeat any time soon. Her abdomen throbbed and ached all the way back to Starfleet Academy, and she kept trying to summon clearer memories of the night before, to no avail. But as she had so nervously admitted to Solok, whatever he had done to her must have been something. She was glad most students were indoors studying for finals so no one could see her prolonged walk of shame to her dorm. Her face was red from thinking about last night, and she didn't want anyone asking why she was walking so slowly, so gingerly.

Finally, she closed the door to her room and greeted Sicily with a wan smile. Her roommate simply nodded to her, unsuspecting for the moment.

"How'd your night go?"

The redhead blushed. "It was all right. Did you study last night or go with Sisko to the Launching Pad?"

Sicily shook her head. "Girl, I have finals coming out the wazoo. Celebrations can wait a week."

Roxanne nodded and pulled off her sweater, then decided to change into something more comfortable. She turned around so Sicily couldn't see the mark above her breast, and she gripped the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head. She turned to toss it into her laundry basket near the end of her bed, but Sicily gasped, diverting her attention.

"Woman, what did you do last night?"

Roxanne looked back over her shoulder at her roommate. "What? What is it?"

Sicily unfolded her legs and walked over to Roxanne, then traced a finger down the redhead's back. She felt a stinging sensation and winced.

"Girl, someone marked you up good. What'd you do?" she asked again, a grin forming on her face. Roxanne rushed to the bathroom and grabbed a spare mirror, then turned around and examined her back in the bathroom mirror.

Sicily was right, someone had marked her up, quite thoroughly in fact. There were seven or eight thin claw marks spread over the skin of her back, and Roxanne noticed that they tapered near her neck, not the base of her spine. She didn't want to think too much into that, so she returned to her room and faced Sicily.

"Got a dermal regenerator on hand?"

Her roommate walked to her chest of drawers without a word, then bid Roxanne to lay down on her bed and let Sicily work. Eventually all the scars were gone from her back, and Sicily turned around so Roxanne could finish changing.

"You know," her roommate said after a period of silence, "you and Solok...you'd make a cute couple."

Roxanne could only sigh.