Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ A Dark Heart ❯ An Innocent Kiss ( Chapter 17 )

He awoke to the sight of blue.

At some point during his slumber he'd buried his face in his woman's silky hair, bringing her even closer to him. He could feel Bulma's soft breath against his neck, the warmth of her body enveloping him, one arm lazily wrapped around his waist and a long leg intertwined with one of his.

It felt incredible.

This, this is what he'd feared since day one, ever since he'd first laid eyes on the beautiful woman and, later on, when he'd taken her for the first time, finally making her his. He'd always known she'd end up becoming an addiction, and yet, he'd been unable to resist her charms…

It'd been hard enough leaving her immediately after he'd found out she was with child, and it was even harder abandoning her and the boy for a second time, but now, now he had no clue about what to do and he feared the grief they'd both go through when they'd separate for a third time.

He kept holding her against his strong body with one arm, incapable of letting her go, inhaling her sweet feminine scent and gently caressing her cheek with the other, feeling the hint of a smile touch his lips when he saw that little pout she made in her sleep that once again reminded him so much of their son. He could tell she was sleeping soundly, something he suspected she hadn't done very often judging by how exhausted she'd looked when she'd been taking care of him earlier. Vegeta recalled their first encounter on this planet, when the heiress had mentioned how tired he looked and assumed he hadn't had a good night's sleep ever since he'd left the Earth.

She'd been right, of course.

His lonely nights had been plagued by nightmares, horrible visions that consumed him even after he'd wake up and that had changed and evolved the further he'd removed himself from Bulma.

At first, his own father had been the main protagonist, mocking him and haunting him, calling him a disgrace to his race, proclaiming what a failure his own son had turned out to be. Such images where the ones he'd shamefully shared with his mate in the embarrassing message he'd left for her back in that frozen planet…

What the hell had he been thinking, baring his soul to her like that?

And yet, at the same time, he felt a sense of relief at having been able to reveal his thoughts and fears to her, the only being in this goddamned universe he knew wouldn't judge or laugh at him.

Lately, the humiliation of his defeat during the Cell Games had become secondary in his hellish dreams, and the poisonous imagery invading his broken mind at night was that of Bulma. In the most recurring one he saw her dying at the hands of one of his past demons, usually Frieza, and at times, his own child would become a victim too.

And sometimes…

Well, sometimes torture took the shape of his woman's bold sensuality, seducing and tempting him, arousing him agonizingly and, just as he was about to touch her, to possess her, her luscious form would vanish and he'd wake up in the middle of the night in cold sweat, alone in his cold king-sized bed, his body begging for the release and comfort only she could provide.

All of a sudden, the Prince felt her little toes move as her leg stretched above his own, and her breathing changed, announcing she was about to awaken. Before he could remove his calloused hand from her cheek, she moaned softly and set her gorgeous blue eyes, which were now blinking lazily, on his dark ones. There was a brief silence as the heiress seemed to be trying to remember where she was, but soon she smiled shyly, imitating his actions and caressing his cheek too…

“Hey…” She whispered.

The sensation of her kind little fingers on his skin was enough to leave him hypnotized.

“How are you feeling?” She finally asked, slightly unnerved by his silence and the mysterious way in which he kept staring at her.

How was he feeling?

Better than he had in a long fucking time, that's how…

He felt well-rested, not being able to recall when was the last time he'd slept that well. Sure, his body was still sore, a consequence of his thoughtless stupid behavior earlier, but his leg barely hurt, and the pressure and tightness he'd been experiencing on his ribs earlier had decreased considerably, reminding him once more of his mate's many talents.

He kept staring at her for a few moments, entranced by those gentle eyes full of concern, and he decided he had to say something, anything, to make her get away from him before he lost control and avidly kissed those plump lips…

“Thirsty,” he finally replied in a hoarse monotone voice, immediately removing his rough hand from her cheek.

“Oh? Right…” The heiress replied imitating his actions uncomfortably.

Vegeta could see the tinge of disappointment adorning her features now; clearly that hadn't been the response she'd been expecting from him, then again, what did she truly expect? Love? Romance? That had never been his forte, had it? Before he had time to overthink things too much, he felt the woman carefully separate her body from his and sluggishly get up from the small bed.

“Let me check…” She whispered, stifling a small yawn.

She walked through the room, kneeling in front of the little fridge in the corner and examining it sleepily. She looked so beautiful with her messy hair, which was now longer than he recalled, and wearing his black shirt, so large for her frame that it offered him the view of her cute pink lacy bra underneath.

Bulma Briefs was one hell of a woman…

“Mmm… You have no sports drinks left…” She said thoughtfully, finally grabbing a bottle of cold water and walking into the bathroom, only to come back carrying the bottle and a little pouch.

“Here…” She said, opening the pouch and dissolving the orange powder it contained into the water, closing the bottle and shaking it again. Bulma stood by the bed, offering him the now orange liquid.

“They're electrolytes, you're probably dehydrated. It'll make you feel better…” She explained sweetly.

The Saiyan sat on the bed slowly and grabbed the bottle, grunting in acceptance and drinking it greedily, while Bulma hopped on top of the desk by his bed, swinging her legs like a little girl, expectantly waiting for the warrior to make his next move. One look at the tiny spots of blood that still stained her lingerie told him that the first thing he had to do was get her out of there and make her take a shower; the sight of his woman tainted by his blood made him sick.

“We're going back to the palace,” he finally said. “I have matters to attend to…”

“What matters?” The scientist curiously asked.

“Matters that are none of your concern, woman,” he replied gruffly.

Bulma rolled her eyes.

So, that's how things were now?

It was so frustrating… As if they were taking one step forward and two steps backwards… But she kept reminding herself that she needed to be patient with her mate, given his current state of mind. Still, the fact that he was treating her much better than he had during their first encounter gave her some hope.

“Do you want some clothes?” She offered, noticing the man was naked underneath the bed sheets.

Vegeta nodded silently, avoiding eye contact with the blue haired beauty.

“Alright… Let me see what I can find in here…”

Bulma jumped gracefully from the table and took a look inside his small closet, quickly observing there wasn't much for him in there, not even a single piece of armor.

“You have no armor, are some shorts and a t-shirt okay?”

“Whatever, woman, I just don't wish to fly naked to the palace. I have more clothing available in my rooms…”  

“Right… Well, there you go…” The heiress said, softly placing the items on the bed and turning around shyly in order to give him some privacy as he got dressed. She grabbed her thin belt full of capsules and walked to the door.

“I'll wait for you outside,” she whispered, quietly closing the door behind her.

Vegeta smirked at her sudden coyness, as if she'd never seen him naked before and done despicable things to his body when they'd shared a bed. For Gods' sake, they even had a child together!

Still, he found her timid behavior oddly charming…    

He got dressed quickly, only having some difficulty when he had to bend down to lace his sneakers, and he left the room, not without cringing when he took a final look into the bathroom and saw Bulma's clothes bathed in his dried-up blood. Knowing how much his little mate worried about him every time he got hurt, he couldn't help the rush of guilt he experienced all of a sudden. And the guilt didn't go away when he found the woman waiting for him behind the door, her back against the metallic wall of the ship, uncomfortably rubbing one of her arms as she tried to avoid the sight of the old puddle of blood that still stained the floor. He couldn't stand seeing her like that, so he simply held her hand and swiftly walked her towards the exit door, masterfully avoiding the blood-soaked spot. When he finally left the gravity room he felt her stop and let go of his hand, making him turn around inquisitively.

“What is it?”

“I… I just don't have any shoes on…” She muttered timidly, signaling at her bare little feet, which were nervously fidgeting on the floor.

Great, just as he was trying to keep his distance from her…

“Alright, come here…” He said, extending his strong arms and picking her up. She was light as a feather, and he felt something tighten in his chest when she instinctively wrapped her legs around his hips and held on to him in a fierce embrace.

“Thank you…” She whispered in his ear.

He nodded silently, feeling his face burn. That damn woman was the only being in the entire universe that not only thanked him for every little thing he did for her, but could make him blush because of it…

“Hey! There you are!” A cheerful voice yelled, making the couple turn around and finding Krillin and Yamcha walking out of a small Capsule Corp. house they'd been staying at while they'd waited for their friend to leave the GR.

“We were a bit worried about you two, are you alright?” Krillin asked.

“What do you mean?” Bulma asked back, still being carried in her mate's arms.

“Well, um… You know… It's been like eleven or twelve hours since you two got in there…”

Vegeta's eyes widened. Had they really been asleep for so long? He couldn't recall the last time he'd gotten more than three or four hours of sleep. Did his woman's presence truly have such a comforting effect on him?

“Really? Wow… I guess we were both a bit tired… Sorry to make you wait that long, guys…”

“Aw, B., it's okay… We decided to stay in the little emergency house you gave us, thank Dende for air conditioning, right?” The bald man happily replied.

Yamcha remained silent, quietly observing the scene. He couldn't help but notice the way Vegeta was holding his ex-girlfriend, and how he looked in much better shape than he had before, not only when he'd been bleeding out on the floor of the gravity room, but even when the warrior had visited them early in the morning. Bulma seemed to have an extremely positive influence on the Saiyan Prince, so he decided to run a little test…

“So… What's the plan?” The scarred faced warrior finally questioned.

“Um, Vegeta needs to go back to the palace, there's some stuff he needs to take care of, apparently…”

“Right… Do you want me to fly you there?” He enquired casually.

“I don't think so, weakling.” Vegeta interrupted. “Your useless ass would probably drop her and then you'd have no one to fly that ship for you when you go back to your backwater planet…”

Before Bulma had time to give her opinion, the Saiyan took off towards their destination, clutching her possessively against him. Her human friends closely followed behind and when the woman peeked at Yamcha, she saw her ex-lover knowingly winking at her, making her smile playfully.

Oh yes…

Her mate's jealousy couldn't be a bad sign after all, right?

She buried her face on the Prince's neck, nuzzling his musky skin, savoring every minute of it as she silently wondered if Vegeta's body experienced such a powerful reaction to her nearness as well…

What Bulma didn't know was that powerful wasn't quite the right word to describe what was going on inside her mate's head in that moment.

It was maddening…

Feeling her hot little body pressed tightly against him, her cute nose and lips lovingly caressing his skin, was driving him absolutely insane with desire for her. He'd never even been particularly jealous of his woman's ex-boyfriend, not even after they'd bizarrely managed to remain friends after their break-up, however, the thought of the human male, of any male really, holding or touching Bulma made him feel physically ill.

Why?

Wasn't that what he'd wanted?

Hadn't he known all along what would happen anyway at some point when the heiress finally realized he wasn't coming back to Earth? The Prince was no fool, and he knew damn well that Bulma was practically royalty herself in almost every way possible. Certainly, one of the best females her splendid planet had to offer. So, he knew there would be no shortage of men aspiring to take his place and woo the woman, perhaps even try to convince her to engage in that social convention humans knew as `marriage' and even offering to bring up his child as their own.

It was sickening…

The image of another man fucking his woman and raising his son was absolutely revolting, and yet, he wouldn't be able to blame Bulma if and when she eventually chose to move on with someone else. Where was this possessiveness coming from, then? And was he really going to do something about it? Could he actually consider going back to her planet and raise their child together? The idea was becoming increasingly tempting the more time he spent with the striking woman in his arms…

“Gods… It's beautiful, isn't it?” She whispered in his ear, her warm breath making his body shiver and his pulse speed up. He looked at her curiously, quickly realizing she was referring to the view of the majestic sunset offered by the two suns the planet orbited. The sky's soft oranges, pinks and purples reflected on her skin gave her an almost ethereal quality, and he wished he could stop time right then and there and stay in that moment forever. He grunted in agreement to her statement and she smiled, kissing his cheek and making him blush again like a goddamned fool.

“Thanks for flying me…” Bulma murmured again.

“Mph... I wouldn't trust that idiot to fly anyone…” He gruffly replied feeling self-conscious once again by her words of gratitude.

“Well, I would… But I trust you even more…”

Trust him?

That was a good one…

“Woman, you are absolutely insane…” He mumbled without any real malice or anger in his tone.

Bulma giggled and shrugged.

“Mmm… I think you like me that way Lord Vegeta…” She replied cheekily, still smiling and nuzzling his blushed cheek and laying another innocent peck on it before finally going back to hiding her face in the crook of his neck to protect herself from the harsh winds.

The last thought Vegeta had before he gently landed on the grounds of his immaculate palace was that his woman would be the death of him…