Chapter 11

Mara stalked into Khan's stateroom, with him following at her heels. He went slowly for his bed, sitting gingerly, like he was afraid he would collapse. His expression was strong however, as he watched Mara fuming over the situation—a mixture of confusion and amusement at her temper.

"He knew!" Mara growled, digging in her bag for the supplies she would need. "He knew you would push yourself past your limit, and he let you!"

"It's fine…" he tried to interject.

"No, it's not. He treats you like some lab rat, a… a laboratory experiment…"

"I am…"

"No, you're not!" Mara yelled, yanking her stethoscope onto her neck. "You're still a human being, Goddammit."

He paused, watching her. "Why did you do it?" he asked with a deep breath. He seemed to be recovering by the second, but Mara's anger was doing no such thing.

"Pierce… he… he said you could handle…"

"I didn't ask what Pierce thought," Khan interrupted, his eyes rolling slowly up to meet hers. "I'm well aware of what Pierce thinks. I asked why you did what you did."

Mara stammered for words. "It's torture! I don't care if you're technically not human to them, it's still illegal, unethical… it's certainly not humane…"

"Why are you so angry?" he asked with a half-smile.

She huffed for a second, blowing her bangs from her face. "I… I just don't like it. He wouldn't do that to me, why is it okay to do it to you?!"

"Because that's what he made me for," Khan said, standing slowly and taking a step toward her. He was too calm.

"No! No, it's not. He made you for your intellect, and yes, your strength, but… the healing, and… and the resistance…"

"Mara," he said in a low, drawling tone. "Take a deep breath. I'm fine. It was all in my head, at any rate."

Mara took a deep breath, ripping her stethoscope from around her neck and moving to place it in her ears.

Khan's hands stopped her wrists, lowering them. He took the stethoscope, removing it from her neck and tossing it onto the desk on the other side of the room.

"What are you…" she began, but a stern look from Khan silenced her.

He took her right hand in an incredibly gentle grasp, pulling it up and placing it under his shirt, against his chest… where she could feel his heart against her fingertips.

"See?" he whispered. "Fine."

She cleared her throat uncomfortably, her fingers instinctively closing on his chest just once.

"It doesn't matter if it was in your head," she said softly, looking forward at his chest so she wouldn't have to look at his eyes. She feared what would happen if she did. "Pain is pain. He really could have…"

"Mara," he growled, low and deep in his throat, and did not continue until she looked up at him. "Stop talking."

"Yeah, okay… I can do tha…" she stuttered, but was cut off.

His hands closed around her waist like bone clamps, and he lifted her as easily as a 5lb. weight. He walked her backward two long strides, slamming her against the desk and propping her there by slamming his body against hers. Mara heard a distinct crack in the wood as her thighs collided with the desk, but she didn't care.

His mouth was on her collar bone, alternating biting and kissing. He moved slowly, his lips sliding up her neck to her jaw. She shivered, her arms intuitively sliding up his shirt and exploring bare flesh.

"We really… shouldn't…" she tried, her words halted and strained as one of his hands ran up her ribcage.

"Which is precisely why we're going to," Khan growled against collar bone, his hand navigating around her arm to rest on her neck. It was both an extremely threatening and extremely sensual position. He could easily crush her windpipe, but instead chose to run a thumb down her cheekbone, so lightly it could have been the touch of a moth's feet.

In a sudden rush of bravery and/or stupidity, Mara shoved him back, grabbing him by the throat. For some reason, he was not at all surprised or threatened.

She yanked him in to kiss him, walking forward and influencing him back. When he realized what she was doing, he snaked a hand behind her lower back, pulled her hard against him, and spun around, easily dropping her on the bed, just as she had planned to do to him.

She smiled, stretching out on the bed as he crawled on top of her like a predator.

For a split second, Mara had second thoughts.

This is wrong, this is wrong, this is wrong…

Then he leaned up, hovering over her on his knees as he tore his shirt off. And when he leaned back over her like a predator, one arm on either side of her neck, she was done for.