Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Lab Monkey ❯ Grudges and Kisses ( Chapter 17 )

Disclaimer:  I don't own DBZ, however my Vegeta doll belongs to be and if you try to take it I will bonk you with it.

Warning:  Some violence and mild gore.

Lots of thank-yous and sunshine to LisaB, who is stuck in the snow, for beta-ing this chapter for me.  I hope she gets warm soon.

Chapter Seventeen

Grudges and kisses

Vegeta landed on the commerce planet a day and half later.  He had pushed the ship's engines to their maximum capacity, demanding flawlessness from the virgin machinery.  As the engines redlined, his anger spiked, condensing all of his self loathing into one thought.

I want to kill something.

Things were not going as planned. 

He was supposed to be on his way to Namek.  He was supposed to be gathering the Dragon Balls so he could make his wish for immortality and defeat Frieza.  He was supposed to be stretched out naked on his bed, looking down at the bright-eyed witch who had haunted him for the last several months. 

That little whore should be dancing to his tune, not the other way around.  He should have fucked and discarded her by now, not running around the goddamn universe trying to keep her skinny, little butt alive.

Women!

They were far more trouble than they were worth.  He should have stuck to his usual method of dealing with them---fuck 'em and leave 'em.  Of course he couldn't do that.  Oh no, he had to go and take her with him.  He had to have the bright idea of keeping her as his slave for the trip to Namek.  He just had to imagine what it would be like to be between her white thighs, thrusting inside of her while swallowing her screams of pleasure.  He allowed himself to be lured into the web of his lustful imagination, and this is what it got him.

A bug hunt in the middle of nowhere.

He touched down on the outskirts of town, prepping the ship for immediate dust off as soon as he got back.  It was dark, and the waxing moon was high in the sky when he exited.  He raised his face to the moonlight, allowing the stench of the rotten city to roll over him.  He slid his tongue over his incisors, feeling the fangs pulse with the need to grow and stretch as the moonlight reflected in his black-mirrored eyes.  The moon was almost full on this planet, and the beast inside of him roared with approval.

He started for the town, darting unseen through the pools of moonlight and stalking through the shadows.  He knew that no one would question his appearance here, but he veered away from as much traffic as possible, scouting the area between the ship and the trader's hut.  Vegeta wanted to make sure that no one saw him take the Arachnoid and consequently make trouble for him.  As far as anyone was concerned, Vegeta wanted them to think that the bug vanished from the face of the planet.

He circled around the edges of the market, scenting the air for other intruders.  He could feel the presence of other beings, moving around in the tents that doubled as their shops and homes.  All of the venders were closed for the night, and most were sleeping in their beds.  Vegeta easily found his way behind the Arachnoid's tent, its distinctive green banner flapping in the wind. 

He stretched out his senses, frowning when he realized that the space behind the dirty cloth was empty.  Vegeta extended his right index finger, heating his ki at the tip and easily sliced through the material to step inside.  He scanned the interior, noting that the damage from their earlier confrontation had been repaired, and most of the clay goblets replaced.

Vegeta inhaled deeply, grimacing as the stink of the Arachnoid invaded his lungs.  He tasted the spider's spore in the air, imprinting it in his mind so he could track it.  He followed the odor outside, carefully deciphering it from the thousands of different smells the permeated the market, its lingering trail leading him to a red light district.

Vegeta growled, his fangs flashing crimson under the neon lights that advertised booze and whores for only a few creds.  All you had to do to fulfill your perverted fantasies was step inside a filthy cantina filled with even filthier people.  The disgusting stench spiked, and the Arachnoid's spore became faint next to the smell of sex, alcohol and vomit.  Vegeta renewed his efforts, methodically shifting through the scents and grabbing hold of the spider's.  Eventually it led him to a rowdy establishment, loud music pouring outside onto the street along with a drunkard that was thrown at Vegeta's feet by a burly bouncer. 

Vegeta stepped aside with a disgusted sneer, glancing up at the immobile face of the beast that guarded the door.  The huge Attilian folded all four of his thick, hairy arms, and glared down at Vegeta, attempting to intimidate him into submission.  Vegeta's eyes narrowed, and the cold threat of death seeped from him, causing the bouncer stiffen slightly in indecision.   He knew that he could slip past the guard and into the bar without a problem.  He would be able to locate the Arachnoid with ease, but luring him outside would be nearly impossible.  If the bug had half a brain he wouldn't go anywhere alone with the prince, and Vegeta didn't want to haul his carcass out and cause a scene.  After all, he was, by all counts, a wanted man.  Frieza was looking for him, and the last thing he needed was greedy civilians pointing out his position.

Vegeta shot one last sneer at the nervous bouncer, and walked past the door to the dark alley to wait.  He leaned against the cracked wood wall of the neighboring building, crossing his arms across his chest, his chin pointing down.  His face and form were shrouded in shadows, the only thing to be seen were the flashing of his angry eyes.  He watched from his hidden post as various drunken patrons stumbled out of the bar, waiting impatiently for his prey so he could snatch him off the street.

He stood completely still for an hour, his annoyance skyrocketing with every wasted second.  He berated himself endlessly for being there, for taking the time to save a useless female that meant absolutely nothing to him, but he made no move to leave.  His scorn for his weakness ran like a mantra in his head, whipping his anger to an unruly pitch, and driving it to the edge of unreasonableness.

"Hey there, han'sum."

Still facing the door, Vegeta's onyx eyes slid to the side, observing the well-used female that stood next to him.  Her tattered clothing and forward demeanor instantly announced her as a street doxy, and her fake smile did nothing to enhance her haggard appearance.  Deep in her tired eyes, Vegeta noticed a dim light of interest, and he almost snorted.  He was probably the cleanest male she had seen in years, that alone was probably worth a novelty fuck to her.

"Get lost.  I like my females to have least bathed once in their life time."

Vegeta's eyes flickered back to the door, restraining his growl as yet another humanoid male stumbled out.  He was getting tired of waiting for his prey, and he was on a tight schedule.

"Well, ya don't hav'ta be rude about it.  Ya look so tense.  I was just thinkin' I could help ya out."

The woman moved away towards the bar, completely missing Vegeta's eyes narrowing in consideration.  His hand lashed out to curl around her upper arm as he yanked her deeper into the shadows.

She gave a startled squeak, but she made no move to struggle.  She regained her balance, swallowing hard as she looked up at the cold features of the man who crowded her against the wall.

"Ya don't hav'ta get rough.  I'm ready and willin', ya just gotta give a girl notice."

"Shut up."

The woman's eyes widened, and Vegeta could tell that they were a muddy green, too many late nights and narcotics tainting their color.

"Are you familiar with this establishment?"  Vegeta asked coolly.

"Establishment?"  the whore repeated with confusion.  Vegeta briefly wondered if the word was too big for her.  They weren't huge on education on this waste bucket of a planet.

"Oh, ya mean Heady's?"  She nodded to the side, indicating the bar that Vegeta was watching.  "Sure, the best place on this side of town to get head," she snickered at her own joke.  With bravery born from her profession, the whore cupped the bulge between  Vegeta's thighs, mistakenly thinking that he had pulled her into the alley for something other than a little Q and A.

Vegeta wrenched her hand away, squeezing her wrist painfully, but not with enough pressure to hurt her.

"Do that again and I will break your wrist in half. " 

"Yah, yah, okay.  No touching.  Got it."  He released her arm, and she yanked it back, cradling it protectively against her.

"Good.  Now does this place have a back door?"  Vegeta asked.

The woman stared up at him for a split second, still unable to understand what he wanted, but more than willing to play along.  If he wanted to know how many stars there were in the sky she would do her damnedest to find out for him.  It was either that or end up lying painfully broken in the alleyway.

"Sure.  It's over there."  She pointed behind her, down the dark alley.

"Do you have access to it?"

"Yah, I go in and out all night.  Heady likes me and lets me do my business out here."  She rolled her eyes away, glaring at the back alley.  "For a fee of course," she muttered.

Vegeta gazed into the darkness.  His eyesight let him see past the shadows, and into the garbage strewn alleyway.  There were no windows facing inwards, and with no witnesses, it would be the perfect place for an ambush.  Vegeta's cold eyes settled on the woman again, and she shivered.

"Excellent.  There is something that I want you to do for me."  He leaned closer to her, menacing her with his mere presence.  "It would be worth your while to help me." 

Vegeta was still undecided whether or not he would let the street whore live after she performed her task.  He felt little remorse about exterminating her to cover his tracks.  Hell, she would probably thank him for ending her pathetic life.

Her green eyes glittered, and her face turned sly.  He now had her complete attention.  It wasn't every night that she could make a couple creds without having to get on her knees.

"I'm listenin'."

"There's a food trader inside, an Arachnoid…"

"Trike."

"What?"  Vegeta frowned disapprovingly down at her for interrupting him.

"Trike the Spike.  He's the only Arachnoid food trader in the area."

"You know him then?"

"Yah, I know the bastard."

Vegeta waited patiently for her to explain.  His black eyes boring into her, demanding that she tell him everything.

"All the girls know him.  He has a bad habit of biting.  He thinks that just cause he throws you a couple of coins afterwards to get the antidote that it's okay, but it's not!" she spat bitterly.  "And if your real unwillin' he spikes you with one of those nasty talons of his.  A real nut-fuck he is."

"Do you know how many scars I have from that creep?"  She pulled up her sleeve, exposing her dirty underarm to the moonlight.  The flesh seemed unnaturally dimpled, and Vegeta realized that a small chunk was missing.

"The last time he bit me, I missed work for two nights 'cause I was so sick.  I told the bastard that he owed me, but he just laughed."  She crossed her arms across her chest in a huff, her lower lip extending in a vicious pout.  "What I wouldn't do to get a hold of that freak."  She muttered the last part to herself, while she stared off in the distance. 

Vegeta nearly smiled in victory.  Things were starting to look up in his favor.  He leaned closer to the wench, gaining her undivided attention once again.  She felt her breath catch in her chest as a look of pure malice darkened the handsome features of the man before.  She had been in bad situations before, but nothing as scary as talking to this man.

"Great.  So you won't mind luring him out here for me then."

His silky voice promised untold threats of violence that sent her animal instincts running for cover.  Her skin shank on her bones, desperately trying to crawl away without her and her heart shriveled with fear. 

Wordlessly she nodded.  She knew that she was about to enter into a pact with the devil to help him to commit a heinous crime, but she didn't care.  She would do it for free, if it meant never seeing that freak bastard Arachnoid again.

Vegeta stepped back, freeing her from his overwhelming presence.  His eyes still held her, conveying to her the unquestionable knowledge that if she didn't follow through that he would come hunting her next.  She took a deep breath, and took a step away on shaky legs.  He watched her go, making no move to stop her as she stepped out of the shadows and into the light.  She walked up to the door, waving her hellos to the bouncer, her spine tingling from his scrutiny the entire way.

She disappeared inside, and Vegeta moved towards the end of the alley, confidant that the female would succeed in her mission.  He had always known that hate was a driving force of the universe.  Hate made you strong.  It gave you courage where there was none.  Hate made you stand up, and strike down your enemy without remorse. The whore's hatred of the spider would give her the fortitude she needed to get the job done.

Vegeta wasn't disappointed.  Five minutes later, the back door opened and the couple spilled out into the alley.  He shifted deeper into the shadows, watching to be sure that they were alone.

"Ah, Beb, I thoughts yous was mad ats me.  I'ms glads you gots overs it."

The Arachnoids black, spiked arms unfolded from under his shirt, wrapping their way around the much smaller female.  The whore smiled back at the spider, but Vegeta could see a hint of desperation in her eyes as she scanned the shadows, looking for him.

"Ya know me, Trike.  I never keep a grudge."  Beb's voice was light and airy, but the brittle lie could be heard underneath.  Beb was one to definitely keep a grudge.

The inebriated trader took her words for face value, his arms roving freely over her malnourished curves.

"Ya, you're da bestest Beb."

Without being seen, Vegeta circled around behind the couple, emerging soundlessly from the shadows.  The only warning that the trader had was the subtly widening of Beb's eyes as she caught site of her demon conspirator stalking up behind them.  Vegeta clamped his hand down on Trike's neck, pinching the nerves that ran through his body.  The spider's arms went lax, allowing Beb to escape from his grasp unharmed.  She backed up, watching with sadistic anticipation.

Vegeta caught one whiff of the trader and his upper lip curled in disgust.  He tossed the man effortlessly into the wall, stunning the bloated spider with the impact.  Vegeta ignored him as he began to weave several feet of ki rope from his fingertips, coiling the golden strands at his feet.

"Yous!"

Vegeta looked up to see the Arachnoid gaping at him with one talon outstretched.

"What are yous doing here?  I shoulds reports yas.  Yous mades a deals and brokes its."

"You shouldn't have bitten my female," Vegeta stated calmly as he continued to coil more rope at his feet.

Trike's ruddy features turned pale, and he swallowed nervously.

"That was a mistake.  Me's sorry, but shes was so rowdy.  Shes wouldn't stay still.  Shes attacked mes.  Yous shoulds punish her."

"Worse.  You didn't tell me that you bit her and now she's sick."

Trike began to wave his hands in front of him, warding off Vegeta as he pressed his plump body into the side of the building.

"I was goings to tells yous, but you took her away befores I was done.  That wasn't right.  You shoulds have lets mes finish."

Vegeta glared at the offensive insect who huddled against the wall.  "She is my female and I decide what happens to her.  I changed my mind.  That is my right as her male."

"But it wasn't fairs.  I just wanted to taste her."  Trike whined pathetically.

Vegeta snarled at the trader's words.  The thought of anyone else tasting Bulma, sent the possessive animal inside of him into a full blown rage.  She was his female.  His to touch.  His to smell.  His to taste.

"Your mother must have been one dumb bitch if she taught you that life was fair."

Trike's thin lips twisted back from his razor sharp teeth at the insult, and he launched himself off the wall towards Vegeta.  His talons slashed out, narrowly missing Vegeta's soft underbelly in his attack.  Vegeta dodged the man's frenzied assault, easily capturing him in his relentless grip.

"Yous deserves to have your female die.  You's are nothing but a cheat.  She's going to die and yous are going to be all alones."

Vegeta felt something dark and furious move beneath his skin at the man's words.  His hand clamped down around the spider's collar bone, breaking it with a snap.  Trike cried out, falling to his knees in pain before the demon that towered over him.  Vegeta didn't hear him as the words echoed in his head.  Alone,his mind repeated.  The beast that lingered so close the surface under the waxing moon, roared in fury, and all he could see with the flash of the Arachnoid's silver teeth.

Vegeta's other hand tightened into a fist, curling all of his hate into his palm.  He slammed his fist repeatedly into Trike's mouth, breaking out his poisoned fangs with every blow.  Blood splattered on Vegeta's cheek, and he reared back.  His nostrils flared as he glared down at the man who knelt pitifully at his feet, the only the grip on his shirt keeping him upright.  Painful moaning echoed up from the spider's bloody maw, his teeth scattered on the ground around him, like the beads of a broken necklace.

Chuckling from behind him woke Vegeta from his daze.  He glanced over his shoulder to see Beb hiding her laughter behind her hands, her green eyes dancing maliciously.  She saw him looking at her, and she lowered her hands to clap in delight.  Her demented pleasure at the sight of Trike's broken fangs almost disturbed Vegeta.  Almost.

Efficiently, Vegeta bound the pathetic, weeping male in the ropes, making sure that his talons were secured.  He quickly searched his clothes, finding what he was looking for tucked inside the man's shirt.  He pulled out the heavy wallet, not even glancing inside as he tossed it to Beb.

She caught it deftly, eagerly opening it up.  Her eyes widened with delight as she plucked out the wad of cash that was inside.  As a food trader, Trike was wealthy in his own right, if you call two steps above starving wealthy, but to Beb that was far more than she had.  The amount of money in his wallet alone guaranteed that she wouldn't have to work for at least a month, and that was pure heaven to her.

"You also might want to swing by his place before dawn.  He won't be needing anything there."

Beb snickered and nodded, tucking the money between her breasts for safe keeping.  Maybe if he had enough goods she could start her own business, and never have to touch another male for as long as she lived.

"You never saw me."  Vegeta's black eyes sought hers out in the darkness.  For the first time, she met them with confidence, a genuine smile gracing her features.

"Mister, I didn't see nuthin' and I didn't do nuthin'.  I have no idea what happened to Trike.  Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say."

Vegeta nodded in acceptance, knowing that she wouldn't rat out the one person who changed her life forever.

Vegeta swung the trader over his shoulder, gathering his legs under him.  In one leap he cleared the back wall of the alley, landing on the roof of the next building.  He never looked back to see the awed expression on Beb's face as he leapt across the rooftops with preternatural speed, a mere blur in the shadows.

He reached the ship without incident, dumping his cargo in the same utility closet that he had threatened Bulma with not so long ago.  He took off at full throttle, eager to get back to the research base, collect his female, and continue on his way.

He arrived at the lab a little over a day later.  He amazed himself that he was able to cover the distance in three days instead of the predicted four, a new record he was sure.  The ship that Bulma had built was magnificent in design, but he suspected that he may have pushed it a little too far.  He told himself that he wanted to get back on course to Namek as soon as possible, so he could fulfill his destiny.  He ignored the roaring voice in the back of his head that raged against leaving Bulma, alone and unprotected, in the hands of a scientist that had dubious moral standards. 

He hadn't checked on Trike since the journey began, and he found the bug sitting against the back wall, smelling suspiciously like urine.  Vegeta grimaced, and hefted him up to a standing position using only his tail.  He dragged the struggling Arachnoid behind him as he marched off the ship and down the corridors to the examination room without a word.

Vegeta's entranced startled the doctor who was leafing through some papers on his clipboard.  His wide eyes darted up, taking in the Prince's arrogant stance and the man he had trussed up beside him.

"Oh!"  It took a moment for the situation to sink in.  "Oh, yes I see.  You're back sooner than expected."

The man shifted nervously, and Vegeta's eyes narrowed.  The doctor was acting jumpy around him, but the prince was used to a near panic reaction from people whenever he was in the room.  Vegeta was uncertain if the man was just scared of him or if he had done something worthy enough to raise his ire.

"Well, bring him over here."  The doctor patted the stainless steel gurney.

Vegeta refused to move, keeping his arms crossed in front of him.  Instead he hauled the trader out from behind him.  The Arachnoid had to balance himself precariously on his toes, barely able to keep himself from strangling on Vegeta's tail that was wrapped around his neck like a noose.

His bloody mouth gapped open as he struggled to choke air into his lungs, all six of his black eyes bulging unnaturally.

"Okay," the doctor said slowly.  He stepped closer to the man, examining his mouth.

"Umm.  All of his teeth seem to be broken out."  The trader coughed, and the doctor darted a look at the cold warrior that held him.

"So.  What of it?"  Vegeta relished the memory of the sickening crunch of the male's teeth cracking under his fist.  On the journey back, Vegeta meditated on the situation he was in.  He concluded that all of his problems lay at the feet of this pathetic, mewling weakling who dared to think he had the right to taste his female.

The doctor backed away, his nervous eyes becoming more jumpy.  "Well you see.  Without his incisors I can't milk the venom."  The man twisted his hands in front of him, truly afraid of the warrior's reaction to this new hiccup.

"Then get it directly," Vegeta snarled.

"Oh, I can't do that," he protested, waving his hands in front of him.

"Why?"  Vegeta's voice was menacing to the extreme, raising the hackles on both the doctor's and Trike's necks.

"Because, his venom sac in located in a fleshy pouch in the back of his skull, directly beneath the brain.  I can't extract that without killing him, and it so happens that Arachnoid's are on Frieza's protected species list.  I can't perform such a procedure…"

The doctor fell silent, his mouth gaping open as a loud, wet squish echoed in the room, followed by a metallic clang as the trader's head was dropped onto the table.  Vegeta unwrapped his tail, from the man's severed neck, not even blinking as his body hit the ground with a dull thud.

The doctor's eyes leapt from the head to Vegeta, and back to the head.  He closed his mouth with a snap, swallowing as he gathered his thoughts.

"Oh yes.  Well, I guess since you are a soldier you don't have to follow such silly rules.  Of course, I should have thought…"

"Stop talking and start working," Vegeta's chilled voice lashed out, silencing the panicked doctor.

The doctor whirled away, quickly gathering the implements he would need to extract the venom so he could reproduce the cure.  Vegeta stepped back into the shadows, silently watching the man as he worked.

Once the poison was gathered, the creation of the antivenin was relatively easy.  An hour later the doctor filled a syringe with clear liquid, holding up to the light to look for any impurities.

"Okay then.  Let's get that little girl fixed up."  The squat man turned towards the door, but Vegeta's rumbling voice stopped him.

"Doctor."

He turned to look at the soldier who was still tucked into a dark corner.  All he could see was his shadowy form and a glint of light in his black eyes.

"Yes?"

There was a long moment of silence, and the Doctor's brow furled in concern.  Vegeta quietly assesed the man in front of him.  He wanted to be very clear on something, yet at the same time he dreaded saying the words.  It felt like he was betraying a part of himself.  The dark beast that he relied on for so many years to keep him alive.

"You will not tell the female of the Arachnoid's demise."

The doctor blinked, and the furrows in his brow became deeper.  "I, umm…"

Vegeta stepped out of the darkness and into the light, intimidating the smaller man.

"If she asks, you will tell her he is fine."

"Yes.  Yes, of course," the doctor agreed, a fine sheen of sweat coating his body.

Vegeta nodded once, and the doctor gratefully escaped from the room.

Vegeta glared at the white tiled floor, his firm lips compressed into a straight line of displeasure.  He wasn't sure why he didn't want Bulma to know that he killed Trike.  If it had been any other female they would have demanded his death as their due.  The spider had wounded her, and yet he knew instinctively that she wouldn't want any harm done to him.  Yes, he had tried to rape her.  Yes, he had hurt her, but she wouldn't condone such drastic violence against him.

Vegeta didn't understand why he even cared.  Whether or not she approved of him killing the Arachnoid should make no difference to him, but it did.  After chasing her around the galaxy, killing off his fellow soldiers to save her, his hard journey and subduing the spider freak, the last thing he wanted was to have to look at her sad, disappointed eyes.

Besides, it would only make it that much harder to get between her legs.

The last was thought in a hard voice, and he echoed it with a growl of agreement.  That was the point of the whole endeavor wasn't it?  To keep her alive long enough to fuck her?

Vegeta snorted, wiping his thoughts away with disgust as he followed the doctor out the door and down the corridor.  He entered her room behind the doctor, retreating to a corner as he watched the man administer the cure.

Bulma roused from her restless sleep, watching with heavy eyes as the doctor swabbed her arm.

"What are you doing?" she murmured.

"Curing you, my dear."  At his words, her eyes snapped fully open, and she scanned the room, stopping when she saw Vegeta.

"You came back."  Her soft words lingered between them, her disbelief tangible in every syllable.  He shifted his weight uncomfortably, but he didn't respond.  Her eyes flickered back to the doctor as he injected her in the arm.

"And the trader?"

The doctor hesitated for only a second before responding.  "He's fine.  Just fine.  He's resting now."

Vegeta's eyes narrowed and he set his jaw angrily.  He knew she would ask after the welfare of that worm.  Her heart was too big for sure.  After everything they had been through in such a short time, her first concern was the health of the bug that bit her.  Would she ever learn?

The doctor pulled out the syringe, placing it back on the tray.  He clucked lightly while he checked her vitals, making sure that everything was normal.  He turned away to face Vegeta, instinctively knowing that he needed to pacify the dominate male in the room.

"The antivenin is fast acting.  Her fever should show signs of breaking within the hour.  She can be out of bed by tomorrow, not that I suggest that, and as good as new by the end of the week."

"Fine.  You can go now." 

Not once did Vegeta look at the doctor as he left the room, instead his dark eyes roamed over the pale woman who lay in the bed.  He could see the toll the fever took on her in the strained lines of her face.  Her bright eyes had begun to dim and her blue hair was lank and lifeless.

He slowly stalked up to her, noticing with a small amount of pride that she didn't shrink from him.  His entire life, those who were weaker than him had always flinched in his presence, but never her.  She always looked him in the eye, head on, daring him to take his best shot.

Vegeta leaned over her, bracing his hands on either side of her head so he could stare directly down into her face.

"Don't think that this changes anything, woman.  You are still mine to do with as I please.  I saved you and now I own you.  No one else.  Only me."  He paused letting the words sink in.

Her fever-hazed mind was weak to an attack and his words wound around her brain, imprinting themselves deeply inside of her.  She couldn't remember the world before Vegeta.  He was the center of her everything.  His words were pure in their inevitability, and she accepted it like the elderly accept death.  Calmly and tranquilly.

"Do you understand?"

"Yes," she whispered back.

"Do you?"

"I understand that you are claming the right to take my life whenever your wish."

He stared down at her, his eyes heating with dark lust.  Her clear perception of the situation, even while ill, aroused him.  Wrenching need clawed at him, almost doubling him over with mouth watering pain.  He wanted to tear her covers away, crawl on top of her lush body and fuck her until she couldn't scream anymore.

"But do you understand the responsibility that comes with that?"

Vegeta's black eyes narrowed, and he reined in his roving thoughts at her words.

"What do you mean?"

"You want to own me.  You want the right kill me, but to do that you must protect me.  If someone else gets hold of me first then you won't get what you want most."

A thick growl rumbled up from his chest at her words.  Images of males pawing her naked flesh rose up in his mind.  He didn't regret killing the Arachnoid, in fact he wished he could do it again.

"No one is ever going to touch you again, but don't think you can trick me.  Your fate lies in my hands." 

She flashed him a smile, conveying her total lack of fear of his threat.

"I'm a brilliant woman, Vegeta, but I promise to try my hardest not to out think you."

He snarled angrily in the back of his throat, and grabbed her by the shoulders to lift her up off the bed.  Unexpectedly, she threw her arms around his neck, pressing her fever chapped lips against his full ones.  Her kiss was not amorous in nature.  It was not meant to seduce or invite.  It was almost sisterly, but it warmed him to his very toes.  

Her action stunned him, shutting down his mind until he could barely think.  He had never met a female like her before, first she teased him, then she kissed him.  It was in that instant that it truly dawned on him---she was teasing him.  No one ever had the audacity to do such a thing before.

He gathered her closer to his chest, letting his lust seep into her innocent kiss.  His entire body ached to possess her fully as she melted into him, letting him take the lead.  Her body was perfectly fitted to him, made for him.  Her round curves softened his hard lines, showing him the beauty of gentleness.  He slipped his tongue over her lips, demanding entrance, needing to taste her sweetness.  Her head tipped back, welcoming his intrusion with a soft moan that danced down his spine and straightened his tail.

Her small hand settled on the nape of his neck, her fingers tangling in his thick hair.  Her other hand roamed over his rounded shoulder, secretly delighting in the sheer amount of strength found there.  He was not an obscenely big man, rather short in stature, but there was no mistaking the power that his finely honed body wielded.  It doubled his size, increasing his bulk until he filled the room with his presence.  He was a weapon of mass destruction, but he held her in his arms as gently as she would pet a kitten.

For all of his words, for all of his intimidation, he treated her like she was as delicate as spun sugar, and to Bulma that spoke louder than any shouted threat.  He didn't leave her alone to die in some alien facility; he came back for her.  Perhaps he would kill her some day, but the growing darkness inside of her accepted that.  She was immersed in a dangerous world that she didn't understand, so full of evil that it made her physically ill.  She would not lie down and willingly die.  No, she would fight to the bitter end.  But if she had to die, then she would rather that it was Vegeta that killed her than some horrible, nameless monster that stalked her in the night.

Vegeta was intoxicated by her taste, and he wanted nothing more than to crawl up onto the bed beside her, but he could feel the heat of her fever on her lips.  She was still ill, and he wanted more from her than a ten minute fuck before she fell unconscious.  He wanted her spread out and screaming for him all night long.  His tongue feathered over her lips, licking them softly in a silent goodbye before he retreated.

She settled back against his strong arms that had encircled her back to support her.  Her face was pale and her breathing rapid.  He knew she was still in the throws of her illness and their conversation was sapping her by the second.

He was about to lay her back onto the bed when she reached out her hand to cup his lean jaw in her palm.

"I don't think you are as bad as you think you are, Vegeta."

He stared down at her, at a complete loss at how to respond to her innocent comment.  Her fever bright eyes held his dark ones without fear, combined with a hint of longing that sent his fiery lust raging.  Before he could formulate a reply the door slid open, and the doctor scuttled in.

"What are you doing?"

The question jumpstarted Vegeta into action, and he wrapped the blanket protectively around Bulma, gathering her up into his arms.

"I'm taking her."

"You can't.  She needs to rest," the startled doctor exclaimed.

"She can rest on the ship."  Vegeta brushed past the doctor, ignoring his sputtering.  "I have places to be." 

Vegeta strode out the door, his female tucked securely in his arms, her blankets fluttering behind them.