Chapter 6: Lust

While Vegeta stood gawking, I dodged around him. "Goku, what the hell! You're submitting to Vegeta! Since when!" I said frantically.

Goku raised his eyes to look at me. "Princess Nightcall, please, call me Kakarott."

I took a step backwards, into Vegeta, snapping him out of his trance. "Kakarott, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

Goku bowed his head again. "I'm bowing down to you. Like I should have done a long time ago."

"I know what you're doing. Why are you doing it?"

"Because I'm a Saiyan and I should act like one. I've bowed down to you as a start."

A twinkle in his eye told me there was another reason, but I kept that comment to myself.

"Look Go- Kakarott, why are you pledging your freedom to Vegeta after all these years? Please, tell me this."

Goku glanced up at me, before returning his gaze to the floor. "Princess, I –"

"Don't call me 'Princess'. Nor should you call Vegeta 'Prince'." I said gruffly.

Goku nodded and continued. "Night, I wish to become more in tune to my Saiyan heritage. To do so, I must bow down to my prince."

I stared down at the man kneeling at my feet. The ebony spikes of his hair hung down in his face, hiding his eyes in shadow. He looked damn sexy.

I shook the thought from my mind. I was mated to Vegeta! I couldn't be thinking about Goku that way!

I was still deep in thought when I heard Vegeta say, "Rise and go get something for me to eat. Oh, and bring Nightcall something as well."

Goku nodded, stood and walked out of the room. Vegeta turned to the rest of the group. "You may return to whatever you were doing before."

Within a matter of minutes, everyone was dispersed around the ship. Vegeta and I returned to our room. My pups were gone, probably running around the ship with Goten.

Vegeta collapsed on the bed. I sat down in a chair, straddling the back and resting my chin on the top.

A knock resounded through the room. "Come in." The door opened and Goku walked in with our food.

"Ah, Kakarott. Just set it down on the table over there by Nightcall. I need to talk to you."

Goku did as he was told and brought the food over to where I sat. Our eyes met and he smiled a bit. I smiled back.

As he set the food down, his hand brushed my side. The touch sent shivers down my spine.

Goku's eyes flashed with something as he turned back to Vegeta. He knelt again, his hair creating the shadow that made my skin crawl with want.

"There's no time for that, Kakarott." Vegeta waved Goku to his feet.

"Sir, you wished to speak with me?" Goku rose, leaving me staring at his perfectly shaped ass. I had to resist reaching out to touch it.

"Yes, I may have found a use for you." Vegeta's trademark smirk adorned his lips.

"May I ask what that is?" Goku asked, eyes sparkling with hope.

"You are now Nightcall's bodyguard…since you like to protect her so much."

I stared at my mate in disbelief. Normally, he didn't want Goku in the same room as me, yet he was allowing him to look after and protect me. It didn't make since.

"I'll do my best, Prince Vegeta." Goku was on his knees again.

"Good. Now hand me my food." Vegeta sat up on the bed as Goku turned around to pick up Vegeta's plate.

At the thought of food, I looked at the plate Goku had fixed for me. I had figured it was going to be full of fish, knowing Goku and the Saiyan love for it.

To my surprise, the plate held not a single piece of the horrid food. Instead, Happles and steaks were piled on the dish.

I smiled. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad. At least I knew Goku really well.

I happily began eating, ignoring Vegeta's lecture about the rules of "handling" me.

"Kakarott, stay here with Nightcall. And take care of her." Vegeta stood, handed his plate back to Goku, and strode out of the room.

Goku sighed and dropped the plate on the table. He pulled up a chair and sat beside me.

"So, Kakarott. Why did you really bow down to Vegeta?" The question rolled off my tongue before I could stop it.

Goku chuckled. "Nightcall, only call me Kakarott when we're around the other Saiyans. It's for show."

I looked at him oddly. His kind gaze shifted from the table to my eyes. I was shocked to find lust making itself evident in the deep black orbs.

I turned back to my food. There was a momentary silence in which I took a bite of steak. I found my appetite had disappeared.

I glanced at Goku. The sorrow he felt replaced the lust. My heart nearly burst at the sight of his downcast form.

"Goku, I'm sorry. I don't know what is wrong but please don't be sad. Please…it breaks my heart to see you like this." A tear fell, rolling down my cheek.

"Don't cry…not for me." Goku's voice was soft and fatherly. His thumb traced the path my tear had traced.

The tears flowed freely as I fell into Goku's warm embrace, his muscled chest cushioning my tear soaked face. Strong arms wrapped around my shaking figure.

I shifted, wrapping my legs around his waist, so that I was sitting in his lap, straddling him. I cried into the crook of his neck, his broad hand traveling up and down my back.

"Nightcall, you need to calm down. Your ki is going haywire. Vegeta's going to find us."

"You think I care about that?" I asked between sobs. "He left you here with me. He obviously trusts you. Why would he even come to see what was wrong?"

I pulled back to stare into the dark eyes of the Saiyan. His shocked expression told me he hadn't expected me to strike back at him.

"Nightcall…" His voice faded as he pulled me closer, burying his face in my neck. He began placing butterfly kisses along my throat. My arms wrapped themselves around his neck, my hands grabbing fists full of his ebony hair.

A moan escaped my lips when his tongue began tracing my jaw line. His hands pulled at my clothes, begging me to take them off.

"If Vegeta catches you, you're dead." Kadeta said, walking into the room through the door linking our room. "Where are the pups?"

I untangled myself from Goku and stood, blushing. "I don't know. They were gone when we got back."

Kadeta looked at me oddly. "What wrong? It looks like you've been crying."

"All the stress and everything just got me all worked up. I'll be fine." I smiled.

Kadeta cocked her eyebrow before shaking her head and turning to Goku. "Goku, what the hell are you doing in here? Vegeta will smell you and I don't think you want to fight him while he's protecting his mate."

Goku smirked, an uncommon sight among his normally kind features. "Princey knows I was here, seeing as he assigned me as Night's bodyguard."

Kadeta gave Goku a startled look. "Why would he do that? He hates you being anywhere near Nightcall."

I nodded "It doesn't make sense, but still, he might just want someone I know and trust to do it, instead of one of his henchmen." I shrugged. "Then again, Goku is the strongest on the ship, besides you, Kadeta. But you, unlike him, aren't under Veg's control. He could just want the strongest Saiyan to protect me."

"That's true. All of it. Even the henchman part." Vegeta's voice rolled out of the doorway, where he stood leaning against the door frame.

Goku jumped out of the chair and dropped down to his knees. Vegeta sighed, took a few steps into the room and closed the door.

"Kakarott, look, I know you are doing whatever it is that you think you are doing to get on my good side, for 'show.' But let me tell you that I'm not planning on making you stay away from your family on Earth. You didn't have to bow down to me."

I tilted my head to the side, my confusion taking over. 'What the hell?' I thought. 'Vegeta being…nice… to Goku!

Vegeta's head shot up. /Yes, I can be kind when I wish to. If that is a problem for you, I can stop./

I blushed a deep crimson. /No, I was just…shocked, I guess./ I quickly closed off my side of the bond, preventing the nosy prince from hearing my thoughts.

"How did you know it wasn't real?" Goku asked, getting to his feet. Obviously, Goku didn't know about Saiyan bonding.

Vegeta smirked and nodded at me. "She told me." I muffled a gasp. How long had my bond been open?

"How?" Goku looked between the two of us, his eyes radiating confusion.

"Do you know anything about Saiyan bond marks and their effects on the mated couple?"

"Uhh, no, not really. Why?" Goku's large innocent eyes stared down at Vegeta with an almost puppy dog expression.

"Kadeta, you explain. I need to talk to Nightcall for a moment." I barely had time to react before I was dragging out of the room by the Saiyan.

I was thrown roughly against the wall, Vegeta's gloved hands on either side of my head, blocking my escape. "Woman, what do you think you were doing with that baka?"

I tried to focus my eyes on the very piss off prince in front of my. "He started it. It's not like I asked him to do it." I managed to mumble.

Vegeta's eyes clouded over with worry. He rubbed the back of my head, his touch soft and gentle. When he brought his hand away, his white glove was stained red with blood.

My eyes widened in shock, just before I dropped to the floor, blacking out just before impact with the cold tile.