Jareth stared after Sarah as she ran off and slowly let his hand drop back to his side. He was tempted to go after her and even started making the first few steps towards her but then he realized that he knew she wouldn't appreciate his company just yet. She would need her time to let herself get used to what just happened and the realization that she wanted it just as much as he did this time. It was getting harder and harder for Jareth to wait for her to come to him, especially when he found himself more and more attracted to her each day. Having her was going to be a much slower process than he'd originally planned, Jareth realized, but he was confident that he'd be able to have her in the end.
Jareth watched until Sarah turned a corner and then headed back inside to the throne room.
"Oh no. Oh no. What did I just do?" Sarah paced miserably through her bedroom and tried to make sense of what just happened.
It looks like you were just passionately kissing a very responsive Goblin King, her mind answered cheerfully, obviously pleased with the turn of events.
"I know that!" Sarah snapped irritably. "I also almost let him…" her cheeks flamed and she tried to ignore the giddy feeling she felt at the thought of doing more than just kissing Jareth.
When will you just admit that you love him and get on with it? her mind sighed in frustration.
"I don't love him!" Sarah hissed, glancing cautiously at the door, nervous that someone might overhear.
Her mind stayed quiet but Sarah could feel the smug doubt that was projected out at her.
"I don't love him!" She said again, willing her mind to believe her. "And I'm not going to sit here arguing with myself over it!"
Well then what do you call what you feel for him?
Sarah paused at that and sunk down onto the window seat, confused now. What do I feel for Jareth? she wondered. She turned the question over in her mind a few times before she came up with any words that she felt accurately described what she felt for him.
She realized that he intrigued her and that she genuinely liked him, despite what she may have believed about him before. She admitted to herself that she enjoyed the time she spent with him and looked forward to the games they played with each other and that she hadn't even thought of going home in the last week. It startled Sarah to realize that she'd been in the Underground for almost two weeks now and how quickly she had become adjusted to spending her days with Jareth.
I enjoy his company and I like him, that does not mean that I am in love with him, she told herself, firmly refusing to believe the possibility could even exist.
You're attracted to him though, her mind taunted, refusing to be put off.
And? Sarah thought irritably, a frown appearing on her face even as she blushed. He's attractive and I'm only human. Who wouldn't be attracted to him?
Sarah rested her forehead against the cool glass of the windowpane and unconsciously scanned the grounds below for Jareth. She felt a pleasurable squirm in her stomach when she thought she caught sight of his blonde hair and turned to watch him but was filled with disappointment when she realized it was only the way the sun caught a trellis of white roses. With a sigh Sarah rose and paced around her room.
"I'm going to have to face him sooner or later," she murmured softly. "I'm not a coward. I'm not going to run off and hide from him just because I wanted more too." She was gaining confidence as she went and her pace picked up as she walked the floor of her room. "And I certainly won't let him go off and believe I'm a coward either." She nodded firmly. "That settles it then."
Her decision made, Sarah flung open her bedroom door and started off down the hallway, intent on finding Jareth and not letting their kiss ruin her day with him.
Jareth half reclined in his throne and watched through a crystal as Sarah argued with herself. His face was a mask of indolence but his mind was reeling. Could one little kiss really cause her that much anxiety? he wondered as he watched Sarah angrily tell herself that she wasn't in love with him. He tried to ignore the sting her vehemence caused him and forcefully reminded himself that he wasn't in love with her either and that she was just a conquest.
I'm only keeping her here because she amuses me, he told himself, not because I still love her.
He leaned forward almost imperceptibly as she sat down, and he watched in bemusement as confusion, contemplation, shock, irritation, embarrassment, excitement, and then disappointment crossed one after the other over her ever-expressive face.
"If only I knew what she was thinking," Jareth said softly, causing a few of the goblins cavorting closest to him to look over at him curiously.
He was about to toss the crystal away in frustration at not knowing when he noticed that Sarah was speaking again. As he watched the words form on her lips Jareth started to grin. He could barely believe that she was already coming to seek him out after having only an hour to herself and debated toying with her a bit. As he watched her fling open her door he tossed the crystal to the ceiling and disappeared into the castle intent on making her really search for him.
Sarah wandered through the castle and knocked on doors, peeking inside when there wasn't an answer, in search of Jareth. It had been fifteen minutes and she wasn't any closer to finding him than she was when she first set out except she did realize that she was now completely and utterly lost. She had tried to make a mental map in her head as she explored new corridors that she hadn't been down yet, but each time she tried to backtrack and find her way back to where she had been, she found herself in a new part of the castle. She was starting to wonder if Jareth hadn't realized she was looking for him and was playing another game with her.
She turned down another corridor and started checking the rooms there suddenly aware of Jareth's presence. Sarah spun around but she was still alone. She slowly started to smile, knowing now that Jareth was indeed playing with her.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are," Sarah sang softly, knowing Jareth would hear her.
She felt fingers brush her hair off the back of her neck and spun again. The room was still empty and Sarah started to back out of it. She closed the door and started walking down the hallway again. Her hand was on the doorknob to the next room when she felt his breath against her ear. She turned to face him but he'd vanished again. She quickly opened the door and walked into the room, getting a brief glimpse of him just as he vanished from the room, his laughter echoing behind him.
Sarah left the room and turned down another hallway, following his laughter, and opened the door to another room. She walked inside and looked around for him until she felt him brush against her skirt. She reached out to grab his hand as he brushed against her but he managed to slip through her fingers like sand.
"You'll need to be quicker than that if you want to catch me, Sarah," he murmured against her ear, vanishing again before she could turn.
The game continued through several more rooms and each time Jareth casually touched her or gently brushed his lips against her ear as he spoke Sarah became more excited about finding him. Her skin was tingling with awareness of him and she started deliberately hesitating before she moved just to prolong her contact with him.
Would it really be so bad to give in to him? she wondered as she found herself in the hallway again. He obviously wants me and I want him. There's no reason not to…
Sarah absently turned the knob on the next door and walked into the room only to be greeted by darkness.
"Jareth?" Sarah asked into the darkness, uncertainty in her voice. "Jareth, are you here?"
"I'm here, Sarah," Jareth murmured into her neck, gently kissing a path from her shoulder to her earlobe.
Sarah leaned back into Jareth, tilting her head to the side in silent encouragement, sighing in pleasure when he wrapped his arms around her waist and nipped gently at her neck.
"Did you change your mind about us, Sarah?" Jareth asked softly, placing gentle little kisses along her jaw line.
"Mmhmm," Sarah answered and turned to meet his lips, slowly turning in his arms to deepen the kiss.
Jareth turned them so he had Sarah trapped against the wall and kissed her hungrily, this time allowing himself to put all the desire he felt for her into the kiss. He slowly let his hands wander from her back around to her hips and caressed her through her skirt, careful not to move too quickly and scare her off again. As the kiss turned more passionate, Jareth became aware of Sarah untangling her hands from his hair and letting them travel down his chest. Smirking a bit into the kiss he caught her hands and pinned them over her head, grinning delightedly when Sarah made a noise of protest.
"Now, now, Sarah," he started, his voice a low purr that made her press wantonly against him. "I can't allow you to rush this. Not after I've waited so long for you."
Jareth broke off on a groan as Sarah moaned his name and pressed herself against him again. He fought the urge to take her then and there and continued again after he regained his self-control. "I want this to be absolutely perfect for you. Something you'll never forget."
Jareth held Sarah tightly against him and with a thought they'd vanished and reappeared in his bedroom.