Author's Note:

:)

-o0O0o-

Chapter 3: A very bad man

No, no, no, no, no…

How was this even happening?

This day was not going at all like she planned.

Sarah squared her shoulders, taking a deep breath as she turned to come face-to-face with the Goblin King.

An uneasy feeling of déjà vu enveloped her, her resolve becoming hazy, as she took in his familiar dress – armored leather jacket over an open ruffled shirt tucked into incredibly tight pants. Her gaze traveled downward along his casually arrogant frame, pausing only a moment before snapping back up to meet his.

She remembered, swallowing her slight panic. They had been here before - only this time felt considerably more…troubling.

Heaven and earth reflected back at her from piercing eyes glistening with thinly veiled amusement, his wild hair a halo in the soft glow, standing out against the angular shadows of his face. He was overwhelming - more real than the stone beneath her feet, the air that she had to remind herself to breathe. His ethereal beauty was tempered by the unmitigated sin bleeding from every fiber of his being - a fallen angel. If there was such a thing, she was preparing to do battle with one, for the second time.

Regaining control of her faculties, she instantly dismayed as she took inventory – dirty, sweaty, and wind-blown – in other words, woefully inadequate. Sarah - what is wrong with you? What did it matter what she looked like? He was a baby-snatching cheat.

Lifting her chin fractionally higher, she returned his regard coolly. "What do you want? Why am I here?"

Jareth arched a painted brow at her petulance. "I believe you're my present."

Sarah was baffled. What in the world was he talking about? "Excuse me?"

He tilted his head, beguiling her with an easy smile. "It's my birthday."

She had seen him smile only once, maybe twice, before, and she had been in no state to appreciate it then. The effect was slightly dazzling.

"Oh, well, happy birthday," she mumbled. She felt the slightest twinge of regret at her previous rudeness, discarding it immediately as she reminded herself whom she was dealing with.

Just then, a tiny goblin scurried past on her right. "Now, wait just a minute," Sarah demanded, reaching out to grab it by the scruff of its neck. "What's this about a present?"

Kicking its feet out wildly in an effort to free itself, it succeeded only in working up enough momentum to swing pendulum-like from her outstretched hand. Gravity doing its work, the goblin finally came to a stop, dangling limply and looking at her with wide, puppy-dog eyes.

Sarah was not in the least bit put off. She cocked an eyebrow. "Well?"

"Would you like me to bog him?" Jareth offered. He had been leaning casually against the wall of the tunnel, one boot planted firmly against the brick, idly toying with a crystal as he watched the scene with amused interest.

Sarah turned to look at him, puzzled. "What?" Bog him? Did it happen so often that it had morphed into a verb? Temporarily mesmerized by the moving crystal, she pondered the workings of the Underground as it slid back and forth rhythmically over his gloved fingers, snatches of light dancing along the walls.

Sensing her preoccupation, the goblin renewed its struggles. "Um…no," she answered distractedly, the spell broken. Slipping from her grasp, the goblin gave a little starting hop before making its way quickly down the passageway.

"Don't think I'm going to forget about this, you meddling little twerp," she called after the retreating goblin. Peach pie. And she was pretty sure they had something to do with that mirror, too. As an afterthought, Sarah added to the threat. "And no more cookies!"

This last gave the goblin pause. His little head turned back slowly, a look of horror on its face. Sarah fixed him with a glare that sent him scampering.

Planting her hands on her hips, she turned back to Jareth, thoroughly irritated. "The only thing I want from you is to send me back."

"Ah." The crystal disappeared with a small pop. "I thought this might come up." He pushed off the wall, his arms folding behind his back as he stalked gracefully toward her. "You see, the thing is, there usually has to be an exchange or bargain of some sort. An appeasement of the Labyrinth, if you will." He paused, a mere foot separating them, a half-formed smile - or was it a sneer? - on his lips. Sarah got the distinct impression of a large cat readying to pounce, the dammed energy humming in the air between them. He tilted his head as he studied her. "What do you have to offer?"

She had nothing. She didn't ask for this. "This is bullshit! It's not…"

"Shhhh…" Gloved fingers against her lips effectively silenced her. "Spare me the theatrics."

She slapped his hand away. "Don't shush me. I'm not a child."

Ignoring her transgression, Jareth renewed his advance, backing her up against the wall. Draping an arm against the stone above her head, his gaze dropped only to drift slowly upwards, lingering as it suited him. Sarah crossed her arms over her chest self-consciously just as his eyes remembered hers. He gave her a rakish grin. "I can see that."

Sarah glared at him.

"Lucky for you, I'm feeling generous." She narrowed her eyes even further. They had very different views on the definition of that particular word.

"Just a trifle, really. You won't even miss it." Jareth reached out, twisting a strand of her hair around his finger, letting it uncurl slowly as his eyes shifted back to hers.

She freed her hair with an angry toss of her head. "What is it?"

He let his hand drop with a condescending smile. "A kiss, Sarah. Nothing more."

The fact that he remembered her name sent a small shiver of delight skipping across her synapses. She had wondered. It annoyed her to no end that she cared.

Latching on to the annoyance, she pushed the feeling aside to deal with the decidedly more pressing issue. "How will a kiss appease the Labyrinth?"

"If the King's happy." He shrugged. "And seeing as I'm lacking in female companionship this evening…" He left it to her imagination to supply the rest.

Jerk. What did she care if he spent every waking hour in bed with every whore in the Underground? She didn't - much.

"You're disgusting."

As soon the words left her lips, she regretted them. His eyes flashed, latent heat fueling the storms smoldering in his gaze threatening to melt his icy cool exterior. Hadn't she learned to never take anything for granted? She had been too quick to forget how very dangerous he could be underneath the airy glamour.

Paling at the first stirrings of genuine fear, she felt the sudden echo of an increased tension in his frame, just a flash before it faded, his expression clearing just as quickly as it had darkened.

As if nothing had happened, he gave her another careless shrug. "You know the price."

Relieved, but wary, at the sudden reversal, Sarah took a steadying breath before shooting him a sideways glance. "Just a kiss? And you'll send me back?"

A smirk pulled at the corners of his mouth. "Goblin's honor."

She didn't believe they had ever heard of such a thing.

But, really, what choice did she have? Sarah slumped against the wall, looking away from him as she considered her options. As much as she hated to admit it, she was at his mercy. It was just a kiss. It's not like she hadn't kissed a boy before - three of them, actually, if she counted Scotty in second grade. She had a feeling that her basis for comparison was going to be found lacking.

This was getting ridiculous. She looked up at him expectantly, letting her arms drop to her sides, her head falling back to rest against the wall behind her. "Fine."

His expression neutral, he merely nodded his acceptance, acknowledging their verbal contract. Raising his hand near her face, Jareth leaned in slightly before pausing with a slight smile. Understanding, Sarah obediently closed her eyes.

Soft leather fingers touched her closed lids, trailing downwards over the slope of her nose to trace the outline of lips, parting slightly with an inaudible sigh under his feather-light caress. Acutely feeling the absence of his touch as his hand lifted, Sarah was both eased and apprehensive when it returned after the briefest of moments, the back of his fingers brushing across her jaw line, continuing along the column of her throat, down between her breasts. She jumped as his nails grazed the flat plane of her stomach before his hand came to rest possessively on her hip.

Sarah's skin tingled, her nerve endings screaming for satisfaction as she waited nervously for the consummation of their bargain. She could picture the, notably absent, antique clock in the darkness behind her lids, ticking away seconds that stretched like hours. What was he doing?

She couldn't take it anymore. The tension was killing her. She cracked an eye open to find him quite relaxed, a look of amused, distinctly male, arrogance on his face.

"In a hurry, love?"

How was it possible to be so thoroughly annoyed with someone and have an undeniably vehement craving for him at the same time?

She tilted her head, eyeing him with exasperation. "In a hurry to get the hell out of here," she shot back, the physical tension morphing into a more familiar form of irritation. "Can we get this over with, please?"

"So cruel, Sarah." She could feel the words against her mouth, just before his lips brushed hers. He hovered, his breath a promise on her lips. "Don't spoil it." It almost sounded as if he was asking.

Her gut twisted. Damn him for making her feel guilty – again. She really wasn't normally this rude. Rolling her shoulders, she forced herself to relax.

Sensing her acquiescence, Jareth brushed his lips across hers again, teasing with the whisper of a kiss. His hand crept surreptitiously from her hip to slide over her left rear cheek, eliciting a little squeak of protest as he squeezed. Holy cow - when did he get so grabby? She could feel the hint of his smile against her lips as she abruptly reached behind her to move his hand upwards to a more appropriate, less tempting, place at the small of her back.

Rather than push his luck, he used the leverage of the new position to pull her closer, his lips molding more firmly to hers.

Oh my, was he good at this, she marveled, the thought having escaped the bubbling torrent of goo that had once comprised coherent thought processes as his mouth moved skillfully over hers - teasing, taunting, seducing. If the real price of her freedom was to ruin her for all other men, he was succeeding masterfully; however, she couldn't help but entertain the curious thought that he was holding out on her, the kiss more chaste than she had expected. As if reading her thoughts, he pulled away slightly, ending the kiss.

The tenuous grip on her pride crumbled at the loss - she wanted more. Giving in to the need, she leaned forward into him, practically begging, only to stumble, the air before her cool and empty. Her eyes fluttered open hesitantly, unwilling to let the moment go.

She was alone. In a very tiny, very box-like tornado shelter in Nowhere, Oklahoma. She placed her hand flat against the most solid of solid walls to her right, slumping back against the wall behind her. Her other hand came to her lips, swollen, warm and wanting.

It really wasn't fair…

-o0O0o-

Author's Note:

So...was the ridiculously long build-up worth it?

Anywho, one more chapter and this little trip is over.

Thanks to my beta, breathofnocte!

Thanks for reading! Please, leave a contribution in the little box. :) I really do appreciate the feedback. Constructive criticism is always welcome.