"I'm busy that night."
"What? A prior engagement? A date?"
Sarah has started seeing a mortal man, which means that she will not tolerate Jareth casually warming her bed any longer. Jareth may have to reevaluate his arrangement with Sarah or risk losing her altogether. But will Sarah even want more than a fling with Jareth?
THE BECK AND CALL KING
"I can't."
"Why not?"
"I'm busy that night."
"What? A prior engagement? A date?"
His voice lowered to a dangerous cadence on that final word. Sarah rolled over on to her stomach and tweaked his nose between finger and thumb.
"Yes, actually! So this arrangement may have to come to an end."
Jareth seized her wrist, albeit gently, and pulled it away from his nose.
"There is no arrangement between us." The dangerous inflection was nestled in the word 'no,' this time. 'Us' was a sibilant hiss.
"Then you won't mind it ending then."
"What pitiable flunky did you bribe to court you?" he asked, as he released her wrist.
Jareth was clearly going to ignore her. Sarah rested her cheek on her arms, crossed upon her pillow.
"Are you entitled to any of that information?"
"I am King! Of course I am entitled."
Sarah rolled back on to her side as she started combing her fingers through her messy locks. "His name is Benji, and he asked me to dinner. He wants to talk with me, get to know me, not just shag my brains out."
"The man is clearly a lunatic."
Sarah playfully swatted his arm. "The man clearly sees more in me than just a weekly bonk."
"As I said, the man is a lunatic."
"Well, perhaps you can ask Sir Didymus for some help finding you a new weekly fuck, if you're going to miss me that much."
"I do not need help finding someone to fuck, Sarah!"
"You needed Sir Didymus' help when we first started—"
"I do not require help!"
"No, of course not." Sarah brushed his fringe away from his eyes. "Because you still have the twins Cassandra and Leigh, the radio DJ, Jason and Amelia, the modern-day saint, to screw. And that's just your Aboveground list of bedwarmers."
"Yes, and they all worship me and don't go running off having dates with mere mortals."
Sarah laughed. "Well then, you should be happy for me going on a date. You'll have more time to fuck those four."
"Happy for you?" Those words were definitely foreign to him, the way he rolled them around his mouth.
"As my friend, I would have thought your advice would be more along the lines of, 'I'd like it if you had a date. You should have dates at your age.' Not: 'who would date you?'"
Jareth didn't reply. He placed his hands behind his head and glared at the ceiling. Sarah thought back to the time Karen had quoted those words at her. If only Karen could see her now: lying naked in bed with a part-time lover nestled between her legs. How far she had come since those innocent days! She glanced at the surly Goblin King lying beside her. So far, she had come around in a complete circle. Her clit throbbed as she inspected his lithe, lightly muscled, well-toned body down to the light trail of air leading to his generous cock. Even flaccid, it was an imposing sight.
"Come on! We have enough time to get one more over before you have to leave."
"I will come over on Tuesday night then— a day before your date."
"No." Sarah ran her hand over his chest. "Tonight is the last time. I am really keen on Benji, and I believe in monogamy."
"Monogamy?"
"I know." She grinned as she ran her thumb over his clavicle. "Such a dirty word."
"I have a vast vocabulary, but that word is excluded."
"And that's why I am going on a date."
"Are you sure you want this to end?" he resumed. "I won't be here just waiting for you when you tire of his mortal and magicless abilities."
Sarah pushed up onto her hands and knees, crawling up, so their noses were touching. "Did you ever consider that I may want more than just a good fucking, Jareth?"
"I told you when this first started that feelings were not going to be involved in this."
"I am not talking about wanting more with you, but I have developed feelings for someone else. You surely— as my friend— wouldn't deny me finding someone to love?"
"As long as you are aware that I won't be your beck and call King."
"Acknowledged." Sarah threw her leg over his waist. "Hopefully you will still visit me as a friend." She nuzzled his cheek as he grunted. "It has been fun, though, Jareth. Let's make this last time worth it."
He pulled his hands out from behind his head and took her hips as she started gyrating against his cock. It didn't take long before he was once more hard underneath her.
"He won't be able to make you come as I do," Jareth muttered, his voice straining with his lust.
"But he also won't be fucking four other mortals and half the Underground," Sarah replied huskily, as she scraped her nails down his chest. "I can forgo a few good orgasms for the possibility of love."
"Good?" Jareth snarled as he gripped her hips tighter. "The orgasms I give you are better than 'good.'"
"Well, stop talking and fucking show me then." Sarah bent down, licking and kissing her way from his jaw down to his nipples. She popped one small nipple into her mouth, sucking gently, as she squeezed his other one between finger and thumb. Her hips were still undulating against his now rigid dick, her arousal coating the angry tip as it slipped in and out of her folds.
Sarah inhaled his scent deeply; it was a mix of sandalwood, fresh rain and musk. It reminded her of clean sheets and magic. She would miss her time with him, despite her need to move on from casual fucking. No man or woman had ever known her body as well as the Goblin King; no one played it like a well-tuned piano, as he did. What Jareth did with her body was the work of a genius, but he always made it clear that orgasms were all he could offer her.
Now in her thirties, she wanted more; but not from him.
Jareth's hand left her hip and reached down between them to grasp his cock. She could feel him jerking his own erection as his fingers hit against her sex each time he reached the tip. She studied his face as he watched her through hooded lids. His pointy teeth nearly pierced his soft lips as he bit them, his nostrils flared; his chest rose as he panted. A few pumps later, he guided the tip into her sex, and she bore down on him, impaling herself until she was completely full. She gasped as he eased out slightly before thrusting back in.
Sarah eased off until only the tip remained buried in her. She saw him watching and waiting, and took the opportunity to stroke her own nipples, as he moaned, and fluttered his eyes closed. She could feel every twitch of his cock as she bore back down on him.
She waited a few moments before she pulled back off, this time misjudging, and his erection slipped out, smacking against his abdomen. Sarah grasped his dick at the base, straightening it back up. She gave it a few cursory pumps before she guided him back inside her. Instead of waiting for her to push down, he thrust up, hitting her right in an overstimulated spot, sending bolts of desire coursing through her body. Sarah moaned, high and throatily.
"Oh, yes, Sarah." Jareth started meeting her thrust for thrust. She could feel her orgasm starting to mount, and Jareth must have sensed it too. "Not yet. If this is to be our last, don't let it end so soon."
Sarah could barely hear him as pleasure spiralled behind her navel and down to her core. Without warning, she suddenly found herself flipped over onto her back.
"Not yet, Sarah," he hissed as he repositioned himself above her. He was panting as his blue eyes pierced her, but he did not move. Sarah felt her orgasm fade and she ground her teeth in frustration.
"Jareth, fuck me!"
"Sarah," was all he said, in a gentle drawl. Instead, he stroked her cheek, ran his fingers through her hair and kissed her tenderly on the brow. In the years that they had been fuck-buddies, he had never shown an ounce of tenderness towards her. He told her he was incapable of affection. A shocked noise died in her throat as she tried to process the intense look he was giving her. He leaned in and claimed her lips. Sarah moaned but not in pleasure.
"What are you doing?" she asked, pushing his chest away from her.
"I am kissing you, Sarah."
"Well, don't!"
"I am showing you what you will be missing if you leave me."
"I am not leaving you, and I don't need you pretending to have tender emotions. It's disturbing."
He ran his hand through his hair as a shadow passed over his eyes. "Fine." He paused. "Fine."
He grabbed both her ankles and then threw her legs over his shoulders. Without any pomp and circumstance, he pushed back into her.
Sarah moaned, this time in pleasure. "Finally."
It didn't take long to build her pleasure back up, and as she felt it rising, she rubbed her clit, exploding around Jareth. He kept riding her, grunting and swearing, chasing his own orgasm, as her aftershocks simmered around him.
"Fuck," he cursed as his body went limp, and he spilt inside her. Sarah felt his heat inside her start to trickle out as he slid his cock out.
Sarah wriggled out from underneath him and headed towards the bathroom. She turned to face Jareth as she reached the door. "Have fun with Jason tomorrow, Jareth."
Jareth didn't say anything straight away. If she didn't know better, she would interpret his silence as sullen.
"Can I not stay the night?" His question tingled down her spine.
"I have work in the morning."
"So?"
"So, I can't fuck you all night and then present my report in front of the board."
"We don't have to fuck," he reasoned. "We can sleep."
"Doesn't that go against one of your golden rules of fucking past runners?" Sarah raised her brow.
He glanced at her and looked away.
"Don't expect me to spend the night afterwards," Sarah mimicked his pitch and inflections, perfectly. "You get what you get, and no more than any others. You are an ordinary girl, and your aftercare is your own responsibility." Sarah remembered word for word all his warnings he issued before she embarked on her fuck-buddy arrangement with him.
"Correct," he replied sharply.
"Well, then you can not stay the night, Jareth." She pushed against the door, entering the bathroom. "Your aftercare is your own responsibility, and I suggest you go back to your dirty little kingdom to take a bath. Goodbye, Jareth."
He stared at her, possibly waiting for her to change her mind.
She waved at him. "Thanks for all the orgasms."
Without another word, Jareth popped—naked—out of existence. Sarah smirked and went in to have her shower.
Sarah didn't hear from Jareth for the rest of the week. She hadn't really expected to, as she only ever heard from him on Wednesdays. But there was certainly something odd about his behaviour on that previous Wednesday, that made her wary. If he wanted to come to her, there would be no stopping him. She didn't have the same power to call him to her, however. He had told her of the other mortals that he had taken up with, both previous to her, and concurrently, that had broken it off with him. He seemed unfazed each time. She didn't think there would be any reason why he would be fazed by her breaking it off with him.
Sarah had made herself just as clear as Jareth had, that their arrangement was purely sexual; no emotions, no feelings, no strings. And so far, it had worked for them. But then Sarah met Benji. Tall, dark and handsome, Benji was an avid reader and deliciously funny. He had bumped into her during her lunch break at her favourite sushi bar, and they hit it off straight away. Every time they bumped into each other, there was an undeniable spark between them.
It became a regular routine to meet up for lunch, to discuss books and other common interests. When they agreed to take it further with a dinner date, Sarah knew she had to break it off with Jareth.
Now, it was time for Sarah's official date, and she was giddy with excitement. She wore a strappy black dress with teal high-heel shoes. Her hair was mostly down with two sections clipped back into the centre with a teal clip that matched her shoes. She wore a silver cat-shaped pendant around her neck and silver hoops with teal embossing in her ears.
The restaurant Benji picked wasn't far away, so she decided to walk. She locked her front door and skipped down the stairs only to spy a barn owl sitting in the tree watching her. She rolled her eyes and flicked Jareth the fingers.
"Tosser," she mouthed at him with a smirk.
"Not a fan of birds?" a passerby asked, laughing.
"Not that particular bird," Sarah laughed back. "He thinks he is bird royalty, but he is a pest, and the local authorities really should put him out of his misery." Sarah winked at Jareth.
The passerby laughed again. "You would commit regicide? He is rather majestic."
"I would commit regicide in a heartbeat." Sarah glared at the owl, who ruffled his feathers with indignation. "He would feed my cats for a week."
The passerby looked slightly alarmed and instantly shuffled off. Sarah chuckled. Clutching her purse, she walked off down the street.
Of course, he followed her to the restaurant. Sarah scowled at the cocky avian before she slipped into the restaurant.
Benji greeted her warmly, with a kiss to her cheek. They sat down and chatted about their week as they read their menus. Sarah had only taken one sip of her red wine when Jareth interrupted her date for the first time.
A waiter arrived at their table with a business card that he passed to Sarah.
"A phone call, ma'am."
Sarah glanced at the name and groaned out loud.
On the card, printed in very neat handwriting, was the name, 'Jareth Hazahoojcök.'
"Please, can you decline the call?" The waiter nodded at her request and returned to the front desk. Sarah rolled her eyes at his awful, innuendo-riddled, fake last name. She tucked the card into her purse.
"Problem?" Benji asked.
"No," Sarah replied, sighing. "An old friend who needs to wait before I talk to him."
"Feel free to take the call."
"It won't be important." Sarah tipped her wine into her mouth. "He can wait."
The date moved smoothly after that until they finished their mains.
"Dessert menu?" the waiter returned, displaying the red and gold menu-folders in his gloved hands. Was it usual for waiters to wear leather gloves? Sarah followed his arms up, past his limbs that had strands of blond hair resting upon the black satin-clad shoulders. Her jaw clenched as her eyes rose to see thin lips revealing pointy teeth, followed by a sharp nose and those tell-tale mismatched eyes.
"Actually, Benji—" Sarah turned away from the thinly disguised Goblin King "—I made Panna cotta earlier. Would you like to come back to mine?"
Sarah took delight in watching Jareth's eyes narrow, while Benji's widened.
"Sure," Benji answered, his mouth cracked into a smile. "Panna cotta sounds delicious."
"Wait!" The Goblin-waiter proffered the menu. "There is Panna cotta in here, that I am sure is just as divine as anything you could provide at home."
Sarah nudged the menus away. "No, thank you. Your Panna cotta has no power over my Panna Cotta."
"That sounds like a line from a book," Benji commented, as he rose from his chair.
"It was an adapted line from a poorly written play that incorporated a weak villain with an ill-deserved superiority complex, who looked like he had stuck a fork in the toaster while humping glittery Hallmark Cards."
Benji coughed to hide his amusement, as Jareth clenched his fists at his side.
"Sounds like an interesting read." Benji took her hand in his. "Perhaps you could read it to me one day."
"I wouldn't want to bore you to tears."
Sarah sashayed past Jareth. "Tosser," she mouthed at him.
After they paid their share, they walked hand in hand back to Sarah's house; a shadow in owl form drifted silently behind them. Sarah ignored him, focusing instead on Benji describing some lore elements of a game he played. They arrived at her front door without further incident.
Sarah closed the front door behind her and guided Benji into her lounge. He swooped straight to her bookshelf as Sarah started closing curtains. As she was about to close the curtains to her balcony, she saw the owl sitting on the railing; his black eyes trained on her face. She nibbled her lip as she considered her options. Her fingers rubbed the curtains as she held them ready to draw them shut. She grinned at Jareth and pushed them open wider. Jareth ruffled his feathers, released his wings before tucking them back into his sides, and looked away with an air of nonchalance.
Spinning on her heel, she went straight to Benji and pulled him into an embrace. She ran her hand up the back of his neck and pulled him closer to her, locking lips with him for the first time. He gave no resistance, dropping the book he had been holding as he wrapped his arms around her. He thrust his tongue into her mouth, and cupped the back of her head, deepening the kiss.
He pulled away to start licking and nipping her neck. Sarah took the reprieve to glance over his shoulder to see the barn owl flapping his wings, and clawing at the railing; his black eyes once more on her. She smiled and waved, before losing herself to Benji's touch and taste.
Sarah was just soaking in his soft touches and his scent of cloves and cinnamon when the phone rang. Sarah disengaged from her date to knock the phone off the hook, casting a glance at the now deserted balcony.
"You can answer that," Benji breathed.
"No." Sarah shook her head as she removed her earrings. "I know who it is, and it's not important."
Sarah resumed where they had left off, but then the knock at the door followed by the lights flickering on and off started killing the mood. Benji released her from his embrace.
"Are you going to get that?" he asked, uncertain. "Someone seems desperate to get hold of you."
"Fine." Sarah crossed her arms and marched to the door. "I will answer the door, but don't be under any illusions that it's important." She left Benji in the lounge and composed herself in the hallway as she glared at the door.
She threw it open to see Jareth standing there in black jeans and a shirt, unbuttoned halfway down his chest. His once wild hair was still fluffy and long, but shorter than his usual mane. He looked every part, the mortal. His medallion was the only evidence of his otherworldliness.
"What do you want?" she asked, leaning against the door jamb with her arms still crossed.
"Sarah," he said, boring his eyes into hers. "You have made your point, and you can stop now."
"I am not making any point, Jareth." Sarah pulled the card with his name on it from her purse on the table next to the door. She flicked it up and showed him. "Though your point wasn't lost on me either."
Jareth spared a glance at the card with 'Jareth Hazahoojcök,' written on it. He smirked. "You clearly needed reminding, as you saw fit to go through with this farce of a date."
"Farce?" Sarah laughed. "It is a real date, Jareth. Not a farce. Why on earth would I fake a date?"
"To make me jealous."
"Jealous? What would that achieve?"
"You have made your point, Sarah," he said again, this time through clenched teeth.
"Go away." She went to shut the door, when quick as a flash, he held it open.
"You are insufferable."
"Well, then do not suffer me and bog off."
"Sarah." The cadence of her name was the familiar dangerous one that sent thrills down her spine. "I want you to send that mortal boy home."
"No, Jareth." Sarah pressed her hand against his chest. "Go and fuck Amelia. She would be delighted to see you more than just once a week. After all, she does assume she is the one that means the most to you."
"She would be wrong."
"No more wrong than you are delusional for thinking that you can claim any right to me," Sarah muttered, aware that Benji was in the next room.
"I claim it, Precious." He hadn't used that name with her since before she agreed to fuck him.
"There is nothing to claim." She stepped back from him. "Go back to your home, play with your cock and your balls. Forget about the arrangement."
"You would use my words against me?"
"Just go away, Jareth."
"Sorry, to interrupt." Benji had entered the hallway. "I think perhaps I should go."
"No, Benji." Sarah closed her eyes and groaned. "He is just leaving."
"I think I should go, Sarah." He eyed Jareth warily. "This was a bad idea."
"The man speaks the truth."
Sarah felt like screaming. The first man she had a connection to outside of— she scrubbed that thought away — and he was trying to scare him away.
"He doesn't." Sarah levelled a glare at him. "Benji, stay. This man has no right to be here."
"I have every right, Precious."
"No right," Sarah emphasised.
"Every right," Jareth countered. "I never agreed to you reneging on our agreement."
"I thought we didn't have an arrangement."
"Sarah, dinner was nice." Benji moved between them to exit her house. "I will catch you at lunch tomorrow." Jareth fixed his eyes on Benji with a rather cruel stare. "Or not, whatever."
Sarah watched Benji descend the stairs and walk off into the night. She gripped the door and pushed it forward in an attempt to slam it in the Goblin King's face. He caught it with ease.
"What a waste of time that all was." Jareth shrugged his way into her house.
Incensed, Sarah slammed the door. "Why did you have to go and ruin my date three times, Jareth?"
"If he was that easy to scare off, he wasn't worth your time."
"Oh, and you think you're worth my time?" Sarah scoffed. "When all you can offer me is sex?"
"I knew you wanted more."
"No!" Sarah was yelling now. "You do not get to put words in my mouth. I wanted more from Benji, not you, but you had to flap your fucking wings and interfere."
"Like I said—"
"No, like I said, just fuck off."
"We have an arrangement."
"And what were the stipulations of that arrangement, that is also not-an-arrangement, according to you?" Sarah asked, her hands on her hips and spittle foaming in the corners of her mouth. "Oh yes, we can fuck once a week, and only once a week. No more, no less. I have to accept that you are also fucking others at the same time and that I am not allowed to ask for any more than what you're willing to offer. I am not allowed to get my emotions involved, and I am not allowed to ask anything of you. Nothing in there says that I can't call it off."
"Ask me."
Sarah circled her lounge a few times, her chest heaving. "What?"
"Ask something of me." He had his hands on his hips, but they fell to his side, in an open gesture. "Ask anything at all."
"I have asked you to fuck off."
"Sarah, if you want more…"
Sarah shook her head. "You do not get it. You think that because you are oh-so powerful that the four of us ex-runners must be so madly in love with you. Unbeknownst to you, I've met Jason and the twins. I can tell you that none of us love you. Amelia might, but I don't know her. You're wasting your time with me if you want me to reveal my undying love for you. I am not falling for your bait, Jareth. You're a decent lay, but that's as far as it goes."
"I am aware you know Cassie, Jason and—" he licked his lips "—Leigh."
"Are you now?"
"Of course."
"Grand. Well, fuck-a-doodle-doo, I guess." Sarah could feel a headache blooming behind her eyes. "Maybe you could have foursome sometime."
"They don't love me. You are right." Jareth stepped towards her, his clothes morphing as he moved from his mortal attire to shimmering black Goblin King garb. "Nor I, them."
"I am all astonishment," Sarah scoffed.
Jareth was half a metre away from her now, but Sarah wouldn't back off. He looked like he had more to say, but Sarah was going to cut him off with the most accessible tool she had.
Sarah pounced on him, wrapping her legs around his slender waist as he caught his balance, and her in his arms. She licked and nipped at the column of Jareth's neck as he backed her up against the kitchen table. He pushed up her dress and ripped her knickers off her, causing her to squirm and yelp with surprise and mild pain. He rubbed his growing leather-clad erection up against her sex as he undid her bra. As he pulled away, she could see the slick trail her arousal she left on his pants.
She gripped his silky blouse with both hands and ripped it open, scattering buttons all over her open-plan living area. Jareth hooked his thumbs into the top of his pants and pulled them down in a fluid motion. He took his cock in hand, and shamelessly rubbed the tip with his thumb as he peeled her dress and bra off her with his other hand.
That same hand was now squeezing, massaging and fondling her breasts as his hand moved faster along his solid length. He let out a guttural moan as Sarah dipped her fingers into her folds. She massaged her clit a few times and dipped a digit into the well of her arousal. Bringing her fingers up to his face, he sniffed them, before curling his long tongue around them and sucking them into his mouth. As he did so, he watched her with heavy-lidded eyes.
Regardless of her lack of feelings for him, he certainly had a monopoly on the erotic side of her. Heat pooled between her legs heavily, so she arched her back and tried to grind against him to relieve the pressure with some friction.
Instead of penetrating her with his cock, he plunged two fingers into her core and started fucking her with them, while his other hand still wrapped around his cock. Sarah watched his expression as he started losing control. It propelled her own loss of control towards the brink, when he suddenly withdrew his fingers.
"Sarah," he breathed, positioning his cock at her entrance. He pushed the tip in and then eased out again. He did this a few times, making Sarah moan for more.
"Before I go any further, listen to me," he ordered, his breathing frantic, his voice hoarse. "I haven't fucked anyone but you for the past ten months, Sarah. And that's Aboveground and Underground."
Sarah frowned, barely hearing him over the blood rushing in her ears from her frustration over her denied orgasm. When, what he was saying clicked, she opened her eyes and stared at him.
"So?"
"So you can stop bringing them up." He slid inside her an extra inch. "I haven't even seen them for nearly a whole year."
"Why are you telling me this?" Sarah panted.
"You're the only one I have been seeing." Another inch. "The only one I have been fucking."
"Did they all dump you?"
"No." One more inch. "I realised I didn't want them quite as much as I wanted you."
"Why are you telling me this?" Sarah asked again, the agony of only being partially filled had her digging her nails into his shoulder.
"Sarah." Another two inches this time. "I want you."
"Then fucking fuck me, you overbearing arsehole."
"I couldn't bear the thought of you dating another man." He inched his cock in a bit deeper, but still not deep enough.
"I gathered."
"Sarah." He leaned over, his breath fanning her breasts as he pushed his cock in once more. "Don't date anyone else. Don't defy me."
"It's not up to you who I date."
"You're mine." He grunted; this time his cock filled her up to the hilt. Sarah arched her back and craned her neck as she cried out.
"No." Sarah relished the feeling of fullness as he held her there.
"You are mine, Precious-thing." He moved out, slowly, teasingly, his eyes boring into hers. "Mine."
"No strings, Jareth." He swivelled his hips as he re-entered her. "Remember?"
He didn't reply but rode her steadily, flesh hitting flesh, until he collapsed on top of her, and she fell apart around him.
"Mine," he whispered as they came down from their mutual peaks.
Jareth extricated himself from her, kissing along her collarbone. Sarah sat up and pushed off the table.
"I am taking a shower," she announced. "Goodbye, Jareth."
"I am not leaving, Sarah." He strode to where she was, taking her hand in his. "We need to talk."
Sarah placed her face in her hands in exasperation. "What do you want from me?"
"More." He took her hands off her face. "I want to break my own damnable rules to ask for more from you."
Sarah laughed bitterly. "And let's say, if Jason asked for more from you, you would remind him that he is breaking the rules, and then you would scorn or ghost him."
"Possibly, but he is not you, Precious." He ran his thumb over her lip. "He is not my Champion."
"What has that got to do with anything?"
"Sarah, you can ask me for more. Fuck our agreement. You always had the power to ask anything of me."
"Anything, but what I am actually asking for, and that is for you to fuck off and let me have a typical love life with a non-magic man, who lives in this realm of existence."
"If that is what you wish."
"It is."
"Precious, please."
"You are a fucking hypocrite and a petty, jealous, despotic tyrant." Sarah pushed against him with the flats of her hands. "You want more from me, but what are you willing to give me?"
"Everything." His voice broke as he said it. "Everything that is in my power to offer, I will give you."
"I need a shower."
"Let me help." He kissed her brow. "Let me look after you."
Sarah let him lead her to the bathroom, though she was unclear as to why she was willing to let him do so. Jareth removed her jewellery, then ushered her under the water. He joined her after he removed his boots, but he kept on his medallion. He grabbed a cloth and worked the body wash into a gentle lather before he started washing her from top to tail. Sarah closed her eyes as he kissed a gentle path, shadowing the flannel, down her body.
He was so unbelievably tender and gentle. He washed her with an almost amorous adoration that she was sure his cock was the only thing in existence to have experienced before.
"You are truly remarkable, Sarah." He straightened back up after he finished washing her feet, and gazed into her eyes. "A true Queen."
Sarah sighed, taking the flannel from him to wash his body in turn. The look of mild surprise was fleeting but definitely marked. Sarah wasn't going to repay him with any kisses, however. She did enjoy running her fingers through his hair, but that was the extent of her fondness towards him.
She shut the water off as soon as she finished, and chucked him a clean towel out of the cupboard.
"Now will you fuck off?"
"No." He rubbed the towel over his body, grimacing at the starchy feel of the fabric. Probably not towels made of the finely woven, gossamer wings of naked, royal fairies during a harvest moon in spring, that he was used to using.
"Why not?"
"I am not going to be your Beck and Call King." He tipped her chin up with his finger. "I am going to be your lover. You are mine. You always have been. Let me be yours."
"Amelia may find possessiveness romantic, but I certainly don't."
"Sarah, may we try that Panna Cotta you made?" Jareth swiftly changed the subject.
Sarah rubbed her eyes but nodded. Dressed in robes they sat on the couch, eating the Panna Cotta she had intended for Benji.
"It is divine." Jareth seemed to be telling the truth, but Sarah shrugged. She genuinely resented her poor end of the date, but in equal measure, she did not want her dessert to have gone to waste.
"Are you ready for bed?"
"I am ready for you to leave."
Jareth exhaled violently out of his nose. "If you truly want me gone, I will go, Sarah."
"Goodnight, Jareth."
He rose, stepped towards her, placed his lips on her forehead and prepared to leave. Sarah didn't know what urge overcame her, but she grabbed his arm.
"Yes, Sarah?" His tone could have been scathing; could have been scornful. Instead, it had a gentle, melodic timbre. Sarah couldn't answer him, however, but she also couldn't let go of his arm.
He knelt before her, running his thumb along the outline of her face. "Let me, for the first time in my life, let me face the morning with someone."
"You've never stayed long enough to see the dawn with someone?"
"Never."
It would be easy to accuse Jareth of lying to her, but she had known him as a friend for years and could tell when he spoke with candour.
"We were friends before we agreed to this arrangement, were we not?" he asked, toying with her hair.
"We were."
"Then, even if it's not as lovers, may I stay with you as a friend?"
Sarah found her hand was rising up to stroke his cheek, from his cutting cheekbone down to his strong jaw. Jareth closed his eyes at her touch. Sarah found that vulnerability somewhat endearing.
"You may stay."
He opened his eyes, and Sarah saw his joy shining through those crisp blues, tugging at the corner of his lips until he was beaming at her.
"Thank you, Sarah."
He took her back to the bathroom, and they brushed their teeth. He left her to finish her ablutions before they climbed into bed. He did not touch her. Instead, he lay on his side, watching her as she clambered in. She found she was rolling onto her side to look at him too.
"There are so many things I want to show you when you visit the Underground."
Sarah yawned. "I agreed to you staying the night; I haven't agreed to any more than that."
"Do you forgive me for spoiling your date?"
Sarah closed her eyes and snuggled into her pillow. "It depends."
"On what?"
"If you shut up and let me sleep."
"Done." He wriggled closer and captured her lips with his. Sarah found resistance was futile and moved her lips eagerly against his. It was soft, slow and sweet. So unfamiliar to anything she had experienced from him before. When he pulled away, she felt a heaviness fall against her chest. As her hand brushed against it she knew Jareth had just given her his medallion.
"You're a good kisser, Jareth," Sarah whispered, pushing aside any thought of his gift nestled between her breasts. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Sarah-mine." He chuckled as he tucked her hair behind her ear. "You are an excellent kisser too, my love."
Sarah had started drifting off when he spoke again. She wasn't sure she heard him accurately so left his words hanging as she fell asleep next to him. A first for both of them: falling asleep with the Goblin King. He had been her Beck and Call King for so long she didn't know how to traverse this new territory. When she woke up, she knew she would have to face some hard truths. But right now, she just wanted to sleep soundly in the knowledge that he would be there when the dawn chorus rang.
He said the words one more time before she was completely unconscious.
"Sarah, I love you."
A/N: "I am all astonishment," is a quote Miss Bingley says to Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, 1995.
Labyrinth movie quotes should be recognisable.
I hope you enjoyed this one-shot. Teehee. I left the ending semi-ambiguous. Does Sarah love him? Hmmmm, what do you think?
I have been working on a multichapter work, but I am not yet ready to start posting. But this little plot-bunny snuck up on me and I just had to get it out. Have a safe Christmas everyone.