In case the title of this chapter isn't warning enough, I will be earning a bit of M-rating in this chapter - you know you've all just been waiting for it, haven't you? ;-)

I really appreciate all your nice reviews and look forward to them when posting a chapter :-)

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Sarah groaned and shifted in Jareth's embrace, turning her head to look up at him. He was looking rather smug and relaxed and smiled teasingly down at her. "What happened in the raft maze? Did you fall into the water?"

"I jumped," she muttered and thought about getting up and away from him, even though she didn't really want to. "We couldn't find any raft that lead to the shore, but in the end we found one that was close. I swam the twins across the open water one at a time."

"You did well to do so," he agreed. "There aren't many real exits from that maze, as most ways out are magical ones. I've had many Questers giving up in that one."

"The doors we found," Sarah started, "They looked the same, but only one of them worked…?"

"There are lots of those in the Labyrinth between the different regions," he explained and began toying with the locks on her forehead that he couldn't reach before. "Mostly, a guardian or two will be there to give hints as to which one to choose. One always leads to the adjacent region and the other is magical and transports you to a region closer to the castle. I can usually control them and get them to lead where I please, but the wild mists were fed by my interference back there and sapped at my strength to spread wider."

"I'm glad you got the twins back safely," Sarah said and gave up the thought of moving away from him, as his gentle caresses calmed her and made her drowsy. She suddenly remembered how she had reacted to the goblins the first night and frowned slightly. "Jareth, I'm sorry I called you cruel and evil for turning children into goblins. I've never seen happier creatures than those two, and they're really are kind of cute."

"I understand, Sarah. My little goblin army didn't exactly welcome you the first time, although they were just playing and would never have hurt you. The Labyrinth doesn't allow Questers to be truly hurt."

A lock of blue hair threatened to fall into his eyes, and without thinking, Sarah lifted a hand and pushed it behind his ear, grazing his smooth chin with her fingertips. He caught his breath and tightened his grip around her, and she smiled at the effect she had on him. She really liked this new Jareth – whatever was wrong with the Labyrinth had brought out the best in him and forced away the bored cold façade he had displayed before.

"What is it with you and the Labyrinth?" she asked him intrigued. "Do you control it, or does it control you?"

He grabbed her hand gently with his and started toying with her fingers as he had done with her hair, stroking them one at a time and caressed her palm with his thumb. "Neither, my dear, we simply co-exist. The Labyrinth has a few strict rules as solid as the law of nature and enforced by the Mists, and I am both its master and servant. I wield its power to benefit me and my subjects, but only as long as it benefits the Labyrinth, too. Or at least doesn't hurt it."

Sarah was staring at their hands, amazed at how enticing such seemingly innocent touches could feel. Seeing her look, he let go and instead raised his uncovered hand to her face and stroked her forehead and cheek. Every touch burned like fire and left a trail behind, so Sarah could tell exactly where he had touched and where he had not. He caught her gaze with his and let his hand track the line of her chin, her ear and back again to graze the outline of her lips. She was completely hypnotized by his gentle caress and the overpowering surge of emotions he awoke in her. Apart from being safe and warm as before, she also felt unsatisfied and restless – conflicting emotions that tore through her. She realized that this was almost exactly what she had felt when they danced together in the ball room those many years ago in the dream. Except that then, she had been in a daze from the memory loss and with a nagging feeling that she was missing something. And now, nothing was amiss, nothing seemed wrong, they were all alone and as close as two people could be. She had never felt like this since, and she hadn't realized until now how much she had missed it.

"Sarah," Jareth murmured and lowered his head ever so slightly, so she could feel his hot breath on her face. "If I kiss you now, will you bite me again?"

She couldn't say a word, but felt at that moment that she was much more likely to hurt him if he didn't. Reading the answer in her eyes, he gently let his lips graze hers and then flicked his tongue across them, making her gasp for breath and move in his arms. He kissed her again, this time expertly and with a firm demanding mouth, and she clung to him, answering his kiss with all the passion he had stirred in her. Her eager response made him groan and tighten his grip around her, and their kisses grew more intense and burning, as if all the fear and excitement of the day were released and needed compensation.

Sarah couldn't breathe or think or sense anything but him as the waves of pleasure and passion surged through her, and she felt lost in a maelstrom of emotions that she had never before experienced. She had been kissed before, of course, but the few clumsy encounters with inexperienced high school boys had left her completely unprepared for the raw inhumane fervor that radiated from the Goblin King. He smelled spicy and delicious and the unnatural heat of his body that she had noticed previously was now even more prominent. She gripped at his shirt to steady herself and stroked the lean muscles of his shoulders and back, openly admiring his magnificent physique and strength.

Still in a daze, she felt him loosen her velvet bodice, and his delicate hands moved slowly under her shirt and caressed her in places that no man had ever touched before. She moaned and buried her hands in his shaggy blond hair that was just as soft to the touch as she had expected. Her body screamed in desire and she arched up against him and meowed breathlessly. He kissed her again, hungrily, and then suddenly she was on her back on the floor, practically naked to the waist and staring up at his face, that glowed with a burning desire. His hand moved up her exposed legs and thighs, feeding the flame of passion, but as he moved against her and almost on top of her, she felt something hard and alien against her hips. All at once she was torn back to reality and realized exactly what that was and what was going to happen in a moment. Even the raw desire for him couldn't quench the fear and anxiety of the unknown territory he was leading her towards. This wasn't how it was supposed to be! She wasn't ready for this!

"No!" she gasped, even though her body protested madly at the thought of stopping. "Jareth, please, not here."

He didn't seem to hear, but kept kissing her, letting his mouth trace her exposed skin from her neck and down, caressing her breasts and sucking teasingly, wrenching a tortured cry out of her with the pleasure he gave her. But pleasure or not, the thought of being ravished by Jareth here and now was also scaring her witless, and she began to fight in earnest – pushing him away with weak hands.

"Jareth, no," she pleaded and tried to make him look her into the eyes and see her fear. "I'm scared! I haven't done this before, ever, please listen to me!"

He finally heard her and the naked desire in his eyes were slowly replaced by a more gentle expression at her admission, although he was still breathing as heavily as her. He covered her exposed legs and stroked her gently on the chin instead.

"Not ever?" he murmured in a strained voice and sounded both disappointed and pleased.

"No," she whispered and forced out an admission she hadn't even realized herself before: "How could any mortal live up to you after you enthralled me in the ballroom when I was just an impressionable teen?"

He smiled at her sadly. "That's exactly what I asked myself then," he whispered in return. "How could any Fae female live up to your lively spirit and mortal beauty, after I met you?"

They stared at each other for a long time, not daring to utter the next words, until Sarah suddenly realized she was still half-naked. Blushing furiously, she covered herself with her shirt and retied her bodice, while Jareth smiled like a Cheshire cat and rolled away from her, stretching out on the cape they were lying on. As she tried to move away from him, he reached out and drew her close, but there was nothing threatening about his movements.

"I promise you'll be safe," he murmured in her ear. "But stay close to me – I need you, Sarah."

She relaxed and edged closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder, and though she was extremely aware of his presence and spicy smell and his hand nuzzling her hair, she could feel his caresses were different now. Safer.

"Jareth?"

"Mmmm?"

"Do you really think I'm beautiful? I thought Fae women were visions of beauty?"

He laughed softly. "Oh, they are. But I like you better. Your full body. Your charming smile. Your fine eyes and your dark luscious hair." As he spoke, he touched the part he mentioned, and she smiled back, satisfied, and pushed her self closer to him, letting a hand rest on his hips.

"Sarah?"

"Hmmm?"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you…"

She blushed and quickly drew back her hand, but her smile lasted the whole night.