Ch 46

Against his will, Jareth began to grow impatient at Sarah's silence. He couldn't help it; too much stress was taking its toll on him.

"Sarah, I've told you the truth. I thought you trusted me; was I wrong? I have told you I've done nothing wrong, I cannot help the foolishness of others. I have told you that I love you and wouldn't hurt you. What more can I say?" he asked her more harshly than he'd intended.

Her eyes glittered, and he could see he was on dangerous ground. "Forgive me for not being naïve enough to blindly assume you weren't Merelinda's lover. How am I supposed to be sure that child isn't yours?" She didn't think it was, but she was hurt and upset, and spoke without thinking. Instantly she could tell that had been the wrong thing to say.

Now it was Jareth's eyes that glittered dangerously. "Are you calling me a liar?" He ignored the pain in his heart that she didn't trust him and focused on being angry.

Sarah sighed and closed her eyes. "No, Jareth. No, I'm not. I'm sorry, I didn't really mean that."

Jareth softened a little bit, but not completely. "So what exactly are you saying, Sarah?"

"I don't know!" she cried. "This is getting so complicated, it's just one hurdle to cross after another, and I never thought I would be in love with a man who has so many issues!"

A tiny smile threatened to break through Jareth's cool demeanor. "I have issues?"

"Yes!" Sarah began to smile too.

"But you love me?"

"Yes."

"Then why are we sitting here arguing?" With that he reached over and hugged her tight. She returned the embrace, but then pulled away. "Jareth, what the hell was Merelinda doing?"

Jareth silently cursed his friend for putting them in this situation. "She was stupid enough to get knocked up and wanted me to marry her to keep her out of trouble."

Hearing him put it so crudely made her smile. "Well, why can't she just marry the father of the baby?" Wouldn't that have been easier than causing trouble for everyone?

Jareth sighed. "I don't know, she wouldn't even tell me who it was. All that she said was that he wouldn't marry her. If I ever find out who he is, I'll wring his neck, and someone might have to stop me from wringing Merelinda's, too." He paused for a moment, thinking of his lifelong friend. "I feel bad for her, Sarah. I probably shouldn't, after all this mess she caused, but she's been my friend for hundreds of years and part of me feels terrible leaving her alone to deal with this."

Sarah thought she could understand that, and as mad as she was at Merelinda, she was beginning to feel bad for her too. She must have been terribly scared and desperate to do what she had done, and Sarah wished circumstances were different so that she could comfort Merelinda and help her through this. As it was right now, she didn't care if she ever saw the devious mermaid again.

She looked at Jareth seriously. "Jareth, I want you to know that I do believe you, and that I do trust you. I'm sorry I made you think otherwise."

He grinned at her. "Thank you. Although must say I admire you; if I were in your position, I would be nowhere near as forgiving!"

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know, cause you're the cold, cruel Goblin King who has a heart of ice, right?"

Jareth lifted his head haughtily. "Exactly."

They broke into laughter, relieved that, once again, they had made it through another roadblock. They simply sat together for awhile, with Sarah resting her head on Jareth's shoulder. "How long can you stay?" Sarah asked.

"Not long, I'm afraid," he sighed. "I really shouldn't be here now, but I couldn't leave you alone."

"Well I'm glad you came, it was the best thing you could have done." She reached up and kissed him, and took him by surprise by suddenly climbing on top of him. She straddled his thighs as she kissed him with all the passion she had inside her. His arms wrapped around her, holding her to him, and he groaned softly as she shifted her weight.

"You're killing me," he whispered hoarsely as he trailed kisses down her neck. She shivered at the sensation, and suddenly found herself lying flat on the couch with Jareth on top of her.

He kissed her with all the feelings and desires that had been building up for ten years, and all rational thoughts left his mind as he lost himself in the kiss. His hands slowly slid up her stomach, caressing her lightly, giving her goose bumps. He slid his hand up further and gently cupped her breast, making her whimper softly.

She writhed underneath him, wanting more than this, wanting all of him. She slid her hands underneath his shirt and clutched at his bare back, pulling him down closer to her. He felt himself about to lose control, and keeping that control was the hardest thing he'd ever had to do.

"Sarah," he breathed as he gently broke their kiss. "We must stop."

Sarah felt a rush of disappointment. "Jareth, why? We both want to, there's nothing stopping us. Please, I want you." She looked up at him with her beautiful eyes, and his resolve almost broke. Almost, but not quite.

"No, Sarah," he whispered, "I said we would wait until our wedding night, and I am not going to break that vow."

Sarah closed her eyes, silently cursing his sheer stubbornness, but at the same time admiring him for sticking to his guns. She sure as hell couldn't.

"Okay then." She gently pushed him aside so she could sit up, readjusting her top. "But you just wait till we're married, you're going to regret making me wait. I'm holding a lot in." Her eyes were twinkling.

"Oh, somehow I don't think I'll mind," he said with a smile. Then his smile faded. "Sarah, I really need to get back, I shouldn't have stayed this long."

She sighed, hating this part. "I know, I know. Just promise me something, okay? No more surprises. I just want to marry you and live happily ever after."

Jareth pulled her into his arms for one last kiss. "Darling, that sounds perfect to me. I swear to you, I will do my best not to let anything-or anyone- interfere with us." He looked her in they eyes, saying, "I love you, Sarah."

"And I love you, Jareth," she replied. Then he was gone.

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A/N: I hope that met with your approval Saffy:-) Thanks for all the great reviews everyone, I love it! I have officially FINISHED this story, now it's just a mater of posting it...I may drag it out a bit, just to be evil...no, I wouldn't do that. Plus I'm going away this weekend so I wouldn't be able to update anyways. So this story will probably be completely posted by tomorrow night. Thank you everyone for reading!