Disclaimer: see chapter one A/N: Another chapter for you anxious readers. This chapter is a little naughtier than the other ones, so if you are not old enough chronologically or mentally to deal with that, please skip this chapter. Or read a fic of a lower rating. Thank you for your consideration.

A Tail Tale, Chapter Six

Whatever response she had expected, it was not exactly the one Bulma got. Vegeta spun around so fast that she barely saw him move and slammed her up against the wall of the GR. But then he pressed his body right up against hers, so close that she could feel his VERY evident arousal. His ebony eyes locked onto hers from scant inches away, almost glazed with extremely evident lust.

"V-Vegeta?" she asked in a small voice. He blinked twice, his eyes clearing slightly, but did not move away.

"You are either the stupidest or most infernally unlucky woman in existence," he said in a low voice that was hardly more than a growl. "You don't have any idea what you just did." Bulma managed to find her tongue again.

"Come on, Vegeta, I just stroked your tail! It's not like I hurt you!"

"You JUST stroked my tail, did you, wench? Here's what you JUST did!" He pulled her away from the wall and ran one hand down the base of her tail. Bulma's whole body stiffened as an immense sensation of physical pleasure and desire heated up her lower body. Just as strong was the sudden urge to - she stepped back, blushing furiously as her hindbrain made some interesting suggestions for what she might do with Vegeta.

"It's - the base of the tail is - an erogenous zone?" she asked, still breathing a bit more quickly than normal. It no longer even occurred to her that she was standing under 100x earth's gravity; her body had acclimated.

"Why else would the saiyan race keep what is for all but elite and royalty such a weakness?" he snapped. Despite Bulma's step back, they were still standing very, very close to one another. His acidic tone pissed her off. In a heartbeat she was pressed back up against him, her hand massaging his silky brown tail.

"What's the matter, the great saiyan prince can't resist a little stimulation?" she mocked. His eyes, which had started to half close with pleasure, now narrowed at the challenge.

"Better than you, pathetic human-born woman!" And his hand closed around her blue tail, stroking and kneading.

The two stubborn, willful saiyans stood with no space between them, eyes locked and glaring while trying their damndest to stimulate the other into a loss of control. Their tails writhed at the sensuous assault, but other than that there was almost no movement.

Vegeta forced his breathing to remain even despite the incredible sensations running through him. The woman was NOT going to best him. He knew saiyan anatomy better than her, his will was stronger, and he was the PRINCE! He managed a smirk and began to alternate his stroking of the tail with light caresses on the small of her back right above it.

Bulma was having a hard time not melting under his touch, but her own pride and tenacity kept her fighting. He thought he was so great, so much better than her! She'd show him a thing or two. Reading all those romance novels had given her a few ideas. She bared her teeth unconsciously and slipped her other hand around him. Now she was using both her hands to massage his tail with alternating pressure.

It is difficult to say how long this might have gone on, or what might have occurred next, had Goku not chosen that moment to check up on them.

"Hi guys! How's - WHOA!" Goku's eyes went round at the sight before him, and the other two saiyans leaped apart. Bulma's face was bright red, and even Vegeta looked mildly flushed. Before they could say anything, Goku's eyes narrowed speculatively. He looked from one to the other, an uncommonly serious expression on his good-natured face. Vegeta drew himself up, ready to loudly refute any accusations flung his way.

"Bulma, were you taking advantage of Vegeta?"

Vegeta slammed into the ground face first, with Bulma a bare second behind.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT GOKU?" demanded Bulma at the top of her lungs. Goku winced.

"Well, Master Roshi said that girls like you take advantage of - um - natural male tendencies. And you are kind of guy crazy, so I just thought maybe you were -"

"AT LEAST I KNEW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BOYS AND GIRLS, GOKU! GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE I -!"

With a loud "eep!" the bewildered saiyan vanished again. Bulma stood red- faced in the center of the GR, her aura flaring white around her in her fury. An unexpected sound made her turn around.

Vegeta, the prince of all saiyans, the cold warrior who had destroyed hundreds of worlds - was laughing so hard he actually had to lean against the wall for support.

"Stop laughing!" Bulma all but screeched. "It's not funny, damn you!" Vegeta, of course, disregarded her. He leaned against the wall, head thrown back; laughing until his face was red.

"You - take advantage of me!" he managed between howls of mirth. She glowered, and in a fit of pure temper elbowed him in the stomach. He didn't even flinch, but caught her wrists and stared at her, his expression almost - but not quite - beyond a smirk and into a grin. "Should I fear for my virtue around you, woman?"

Bulma yanked her wrists out of his hands and made a serious attempt to punch him in the face. Yet again he caught her arm, and calmly rearranged her fingers so that the thumb was on the outside of the fist.

"Try to punch like that, woman, and you'll break your pretty little hand. Shouldn't a genius have noticed that?" He dodged easily as she swung at him again and again. They went around and around the GR, Vegeta goading her and evading every blow she tried. Bulma was so angry she could hardly see straight, and it was just that much worse that he would correct her form and attacks in that condescending tone of his. The prince, on the other hand, was enjoying himself immensely. He had to admit that the woman was very fast - with work, she would easily surpass his speed if not his strength. But that was not uncommon among saiyan females.

He noticed that her tail was swinging loose behind her and gave it an admonitory yank while ducking under another attempted blow.

"Wrap it around your waist in battle, woman! Only a child lets their tail swing free while fighting!" She actually snarled at him this time, her fangs glinting. He felt a little thrill of desire at the sight, but mercilessly crushed it. He noted with amusement that her tail took its proper position about her waist as she tried to kick him somewhere unpleasant.

Vegeta WAS surprised when the first ki blast flew at him. Ki use was not an instinctive thing among saiyans or humans. He admitted to himself that he was mildly impressed as the ki barrage continued. She seemed to be a natural at ki manipulation, despite her glaring deficiencies in hand-to- hand combat. He got an even larger surprise when she began throwing specific attacks at him.

"Kamehameha! Wolf Fang Fist! Special Beam Cannon! Destructo Disk!" Vegeta adroitly avoided every one of these, his mind racing. Of course, she had been observing these things for years. Given her intellect and natural ability, it was not too big a step from throwing raw ki to more shaped attacks, especially ones she knew very well.

"GALLIC GUN!" The saiyan dove out of the way with a curse as one of his own trademark attacks was launched at him. That, he had not expected. He reminded himself not to underestimate her again as he smoothly turned the dive into a roll and came up into a crouch. But she was done; he noted signs of real exhaustion in her now. Her hands shook and her breath came in gasps. She had drained her ki level down to all but nothing. Anticipating what would occur next, Vegeta caught her in one arm as her eyes rolled up and she collapsed.

"Damn fool woman," he shook his head and tossed her over his shoulder. After shutting down the gravity, he rummaged in one of the cabinets built into the wall. As he had thought, there were a few senzu beans stored there. Bulma and her father knew the prince's training tendencies too well. He propped her limp form against the wall and nudged her with his boot.

"Wake up, woman." She stirred a bit and groaned. He placed the bean between her lips. "Chew," he ordered gruffly. Her face contorted slightly, but she did so. A moment later, her eyes opened and she straightened with a gasp.

"What - Vegeta?" Bulma shook her head and blinked several times. "Was that a senzu?"

"Of course. Next time don't use all your damn ki at once, idiot, it's a waste of the things to use them for exhaustion." He looked down his nose at her. She reddened and stood up, but the expected explosion did not occur. Her eyes went thoughtful.

"You did that on purpose," she accused. He snorted.

"Feh! I thought that should be obvious, woman." Vegeta's back went rigid as Bulma suddenly threw her arms around him. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"I did it! I threw ki blasts just like you and the guys! I did it!" She was so excited she could hardly stand it. Imagine, her, the tag-a-long brains of the gang, fighting like the 'big boys'! It had always been a half wistful dream of hers, but despite her flights of fancy she had been too grounded in reality to ever consider it more than a daydream. "Thank you, Vegeta!"

And caught up in the moment, she planted a kiss firmly on his lips.

She had not meant anything by it, but he leaned into it, and suddenly it was more than just a quick peck. Her heart sped up as his tongue slid into her mouth, playing around her fangs. Instinctively she tried to reciprocate, but was not used to kissing anyone with such sharp teeth and cut her tongue on his canines. At the taste of blood Vegeta growled softly and drew her to him with arms and tail. Part of her brain wondered when the hell he had learned to kiss like this, but the rest of her was concerned with continuing it as long as possible.

After the longest few moments perhaps of both their lives, they mutually broke apart. Bulma was tingling all over and could not quite catch her breath; Vegeta looked like someone had hit him over the head with a club.

"I - I should go," Bulma stammered.

"Yes, I must -"

"Right, you have to train, I'll just, um,"

"Practice using your ki, it's ridiculous that you can't even fly, woman."

"I'll be flying by the time you come out for dinner!" she retorted, and fled the GR before Vegeta could respond. He shook his head, wondering what the hell had just happened, and slowly set the gravity upwards.

Outside, Bulma broke into a swift run and didn't stop until she was standing on the sands of the beach a mile from their campsite. The run didn't even wind her, she noted, sinking down to the warm sand in a daze. Her tail would not stop flickering around despite her best attempts to still it. She could not get what had just happened out of her head.

"He kissed back," she said absently, trying to take it in. What did it mean? Did it mean anything? Did she WANT it to mean anything? That thought brought her up short. This was VEGETA. He didn't care about anyone. Even if she was to sleep with him, there was no way she would get what she really wanted - love. Vegeta could not love her. He said it himself all the time, that love was for the weak, that it had no place in a warrior.

She was surprised to feel dampness on her cheeks, and reached up to find she was crying silently. And she knew then; to her utter dismay she was starting to fall for him. Fear had long ago become respect, and now, somewhere along the line, respect had deepened into affection and maybe something more.

"I don't believe this," she groaned miserably. "I can't fall for him, he won't love me back!"

But no heart, human or Saiyan, ever listens to the head...