Sometime between brunch and dinner, the sky opened up and started dumping snow on the town. Sarah stared out the window and gave a quiet sigh, shaking her head. She'd meant to head out tonight, to be home by the twenty sixth so she didn't overstep her part of their agreement. He'd agreed to the twenty fourth and fifth, but at this point, he'd spent more time with her family than she had in his realm acting as a buffer between him and his kind.

She worried her lower lip, noting that the car would need to be dug out before she could get anywhere and she let her head thump against the window. She felt warmth at her back and lifted her head, finding Jareth reflected in the window behind her. His arm was braced against the wall by her head.

"I know you're not even thinking that you're driving home in this," he said, his voice quiet and there was a dangerous edge in it that told her that he was leaning towards that bossy kingly side of his personality.

She gave a quiet sigh, and after a moment, leaned back against his chest. "No, but it wasn't my intention to make you endure three days with my family."

"I'm aware of that, my dear. If it makes you feel better, enduring your family has not been a particularly odious task. Although I do object to them interrupting every time I feel like I'm making progress seducing you."

That dark edge of his voice had a bit of a laugh in it and she felt herself flush. She turned and gave him a sharp look, not certain if he was teasing her again or not. The expression was playful, but the look in his eyes wasn't. Still, she forced herself to assume he was, in fact, just teasing her. The alternative was impossible. She opened her mouth to tell him to stop that, and instead squeaked when she felt one hand resting flat on her stomach. It was just above the rise of her pants, fingertips grazing the exposed skin under the bottom edge of her shirt.

"Come along, Sarah. It's late and you haven't taken a break today." His lips brushed against her ear when he spoke and her breath shuddered out of her again.

Not fair, her brain told her and her heart told her brain to shut the hell up.

His fingers found hers, and laced through them and she let him pull her away from where she looked out the window and guide her upstairs to her room. She found her t-shirt and a towel and bit her lip and looked at him before she left. He was removing the sweater she'd gotten him, and folding it on the dresser in her room. She took the moments he was distracted to flee to the bathroom.

She needed to think very hard about what was happening. She couldn't keep lying to herself, she liked that he kissed her without caring if her parents saw. She liked that he spoiled and took care of her. She even liked that he could be bossy about it.

They were things other men expected from a relationship, but seldom seemed to reciprocate. Being on the receiving end for the first time was making her heart get tangled up in thoughts of him. To make matters more serious, Jareth didn't seem to have the slightest problem starting an affair with her.

She undressed, folding her clothes neat on the counter and took the earrings from her ears, looking at them as she laid them on her shirt.

He gave her gifts of value, treated her like he valued her.

And what would he do if this wasn't just a contract? If they were lovers for real and not simply for convenience's sake. He'd told her to let herself enjoy their arrangement, to enjoy being the center of his attention, to let him spoil her. Why? And what would she do when reality finally crashed around her ears and this arrangement ended? When he decided she really was too inconvenient, and wasn't easy enough to have a relationship with? When she wasn't focused enough on him and them?

She was already too aware that when this ended, she was the one that was going to be hurt by it, not him.

She climbed into the shower, letting the water pound on her for a while, trying to use it to beat the thoughts away. She washed herself, her hair and after she finished, she was still too busy overthinking everything. She drew a bath, and shifted down in the water, trying to force herself to relax and not think. Every time she thought she was making progress, she'd see that sharp smile in her mind, the look in his eyes when he got close to her.

He wasn't human. In the end, she could boil it down to that.

She didn't know if he thought chasing her would be a fun challenge, or if she was just seeing things that her brain tried to interpret as human reactions, but he wasn't human and she was. He wasn't interested in tying himself to a mortal woman, so whatever he was doing, in the end, she was the one who would end up hurt. How could she let herself relax and enjoy it if she knew that was the case?

"Not fair," she muttered, leaning her head back against the edge of the tub and heaving a sigh. He really was too good at this.

She wasn't aware when it happened, but she dozed off in the warm water of her bath. A quiet chuckle roused her enough to open her eyes and she found the Goblin King looking at her. She blinked, bleary eyed, up at him and he crouched down beside the tub, reached into the water, and pulled the plug on the bath.

As the water drained from the tub, she sighed, shifting onto her side so that her head was close to him.

You really do need a keeper, don't you, you precious thing?" There was exasperation in his tone, but also something that sounded like affection. She must be sleeping, that was the only explanation for that tone in his voice.

She felt his hand brush her hair from her cheek, and then his arms went around her, lifting her from the tub. He set her on the toilet and wrapped her in a towel and then a bathrobe. Once she was sufficiently bundled, he swept her into his arms and carried her from the room. She was still half-asleep, and too tired to object to the position. Instead, she shifted so her face was close to his neck and the smell of him, that soft and spicy scent mixed with something sharper and metallic.

It was a nice smell, she thought, and sighed, relaxing in his arms. She lost the next few seconds, and she thought she had fallen asleep again, when she found herself on her bed. He had disappeared, and when he returned, she saw that he'd reclaimed her clothing from the bathroom.

"How long was I in there?" She asked, frowning a bit.

"Closing in on two hours, my dear. Your family and I were starting to worry you'd drowned." He shifted onto the bed and she saw that he'd rolled his sleeves up over his elbow at some point. His eyes pinned hers and fingers brushed against her cheek, the touch almost too soft. "I know you didn't sleep well, last night, but this is ridiculous."

"Had funny dreams, last night. Kept waking up because of them."

"Because of me?"

She didn't know how to answer that. It was a yes and a no, but she knew that she didn't want to explain that she'd been having semi-erotic dreams about him the night before. Those hadn't done her brain or her heart any good at all. Waking and finding him gone had terrified her.

When she didn't answer him, he leaned closer, his expression leaning towards cross. "You planned on driving home, tonight, without adequate rest again."

She gave a quiet sigh, shaking her head. "I told you before, I can't fall asleep when I'm driving."

He frowned. She didn't like his frowning face. "I don't like that you think of that as an adequate defense, my dear. You are not the only one harmed if you are in an accident. Everyone who cares for you would be hurt as well. Including me."

She glanced away from him, trying to ignore the way he'd managed to reach in and squeeze her heart so hard it hurt, and using only words.

"Jareth -"

Before another word left her, he leaned forward and kissed her. It was the same way he'd kissed her in the kitchen, the night before. He didn't ask, he took, almost like he was trying to devour her. When she tried to reach for him, his hands caught hers, pinning them against the bed above her head. The feeling of being captive made her struggle against him for a moment, but she relaxed when all he did was kiss her, his tongue slipping between her lips and stroking against hers. He retreated for a moment, his lips still brushing against hers and she gave a shuddered sigh.

"I'm going to make sure you get adequate sleep tonight, Sarah," his voice was a command, even purred against his mouth as he spoke. She felt her breath catch in her chest.

"Jareth -?"

He caught both of her wrists in one hand, holding them over her head. His other slid down her body, opening the bathrobe. The grip on her wrists was loose enough that she knew she could break it. He drew back a bit, looking into her eyes for a long moment, as if waiting.

It took her a moment to realize he was waiting. He was giving her a chance to tell him to stop. She thought she would. As she stared up into his eyes, her brain screamed at her that this was a recipe for disaster. Yet, a different word altogether fell from her lips.

"Please," she whispered, terrified and aroused, and the two caused her heart to choke her as they tangled up inside of her. He could laugh at her, and leave her right then, and she'd be left accepting that she was just a challenge that she feared he saw her as.

Instead, pleasure flashed in his eyes and his hand slipped below the edge of the towel. She felt them brush against her as his lips found hers again, silencing the startled gasp that escaped her. His eyes burned into hers as curious digits brushed between her thighs. A strangled whimper escaped her and she tried to reach for him, but his hands still held her pinned to her bed.

She saw amusement in his eyes when she realized that he was going to keep her hands pinned like this, and she swallowed hard. She felt his sharp teeth caught her lower lip as he drew back and he looked down at her.

"Oh, no, my dear. I'm afraid this is also punishment for you being so insensitive regarding the feelings of others. You don't get to touch."

As he said that, his fingertip brushed her clit and she bucked towards his hand, head digging into the pillows. She bit her lower lip hard, trying to hold in her response. Each teasing stroke of his fingers had her hips lifting towards him and she closed her eyes as her brain shut off altogether. Lips brushed over her jaw and down her neck and she gave a quiet whimper unable to quite keep it in.

His fingers slipped lower, and her breath hitched as they pressed inside of her. Her heart stuttered, and then raced ahead, pounding hard under his lips.

"Jareth -" she gasped, shuddering against him, her head light. "Please -"

He was being so gentle, it was almost torture. His thumb brushed slow circles over her clit, fingers curling inside of her while his lips caressed her neck. The occasional sharpness of his teeth and wetness of his tongue only added to the intensity of the pleasure drowning her.

It was shameful how fast he got her off like that.

She would have cried out in surprise when she came, but his lips crashed against hers, and he swallowed the sound. But he didn't stop. His fingers kept right on caressing her inside and out, and she felt a second building before she'd come down from the first one. Her back arched towards him, hips rolling against the stroke of his fingers as she gasped and writhed, each sound she made silenced by him.

She lay there, twitching and trembling as the fullness of his fingers withdrew and stroked for a moment over her quaking flesh. She had trouble opening her eyes, but when she managed to drag them open, she saw him lifting his soaked fingers to his mouth, sucking them clean. Her jaw hung open and she felt heat rise to her cheeks as his eyes opened, pinning hers from beneath his dark brows.

When he looked at her like that, he looked feral and dangerous, and the glamor didn't quite hide what he was. And that was just as big a turn on as everything else.

He released her wrists a moment later, but she didn't have the strength to draw them down to her sides. A grin turned up his lips and he took her wrists, guiding them down. She gave a bit of a groan, the muscles sore from her movements. A smile curved his lips and he leaned close, brushing his mouth against hers again, the sort of kiss he usually gave her since this arrangement had begun.

Her head was fuzzy with exhaustion, beyond what was normal. She felt him shift her so she was laying on her stomach, and his hands started working on the muscles in her shoulders. She gave a quiet groan as they found the sore muscles, caressing them with a firm touch.

Still, she managed to work up a half-hearted glare to aim at him.

"You put a sleep spell on me, again, didn't you? While I was coming."

"Would you have cooperated and gone straight to sleep after if I hadn't?" He asked, and she could hear the amusement in his tone.

"Probably not," she admitted. Dragging her eyes open, she looked up at his handsome face. "You're still a bully."

He shifted, leaning on one arm, and giving her a grin that looked completely unrepentant. Instead of answering her accusation, he stroked a hand down over her back, wrapping it over her waist and cuddling her close. She decided, in her exhausted state, this was fine, and she snuggled up against him and let the spell he'd wrapped around her pull her into a deep and restful sleep.

She felt him shift, while she slept, but it wasn't until a chill crept up her back and she realized she was alone again that she awoke, rolling towards where Jareth had been the night before, finding the bed chilled. She blinked slowly, trying to force her brain to think, finding the smell of coffee drifting in through her door and she wondered if he'd done that on purpose.

She relaxed, and a frown pulled at her lips. She wasn't certain she liked that. Every time she woke alone, she was starting to be scared that he'd just disappeared.

A glance down found she was still wrapped in her towel and a bathrobe. That forced the memory of what he'd done the night before to hit her. A groan left her and she pulled the blanket over her head. She didn't like that now that she was awake, her brain was going to trouble her about this. A flush burned her cheeks and she remembered the look in his eyes when he'd looked after her after. That carnal and dangerous look had told her in no uncertain terms that he'd very much enjoyed what he'd done to her.

As much as she'd enjoyed what he'd done.

That was the hitch, wasn't it, she thought, finally forcing herself into a seated position. She did enjoy it, and he knew it. So when did this come crashing down to reality? Because she was being heaved to a point that no other man had ever managed to force her to.

Jareth was becoming important to her, on personal levels that others had tried and crashed miles short of. She was starting to wonder what he'd be like if this was real, if it wasn't just something that desperation had pushed them both towards and that scared the hell out of her. She couldn't afford to get serious about someone, yet. Men had proven too often that they really couldn't manage a relationship with her while she was focused on her work.

That meant she'd have to cut this short, herself, before this ended up blowing up in her face. Breaking up with a mortal man was bad enough. She'd been stalked, harassed, among other things she'd blotted out with care so she could focus on the things important to her.

Imagine trying to do that with a fae king, she thought, and she shivered, not needing to feign the fear.

She was startled out of her maudlin thoughts by a tap on her door and she looked up, finding Mariah standing in the doorway with Emily on one shoulder and a cup of coffee in her hand. She blinked, watching the young woman walk in, and accepted the cup of coffee. She gave it a sip and bit her lower lip.

Jareth had made her coffee again, to perfection.

Again, she thought he was too good at this, making a fake relationship feel more real than any other she'd ever been in.

"Sarah, can I talk to you about something?"

Sarah looked up at her sister in law, surprised. Mariah seldom asked to talk. She was quiet, but Sarah could see the lines of stress around her eyes, too deep for a woman so young. She shifted, giving Mariah space to sit. "Of course. What's wrong?"

That seemed like all the permission Mariah needed. The mask the woman had been clinging to crumbled, and fat tears sprung up in her eyes. Sarah watched the shudder wrack her body, and she set her coffee aside, taking one of Mariah's hands. A glance at the door found Jareth there, and he was frozen in the doorway, looking at the young woman. His eyes flicked to hers and she gave a short shake of her head.

He pulled the door closed between them, and she could still see his feet cast a shadow beneath the door.

Sarah got to her feet, wrapping the robe around her better and she scooted over to her and put an arm around her shoulders, then took Emily, careful to not disturb the baby that was starting to fuss because she knew something was wrong.

Mariah managed to get herself under control, lifting her shirt and drying the show of emotion from her face. When she looked at Sarah, there was panic and terror in her eyes. "I can't have another baby, Sarah. I'm at wits end with two. But I'm too far along, now and no one will -"

Her breath hitched again, and she almost burst into tears, again. She looked at her, eyes swimming with tears, and she looked ashamed of herself.

She rubbed one of her sister's shoulders, giving her a squeeze. "That's why you waited so long to tell anyone. You were looking for a way out."

She gave a miserable sounding laugh, and shrugged. "Toby's thrilled, so are your parents. None of them would help me relieve myself of this burden if I asked them. But you and Jareth didn't look happy about it. Toby even told me that you pinned him to the wall in the kitchen and threatened him if he got me pregnant again."

Sarah gave a shrug, and took a steadying breath. "Like I told him, you are exhausted, and he's being irresponsible. If he'd wear a fucking condom, this wouldn't have happened to you at all."

She nodded her head, looking at her hands. "Is there anything I can do? I -" She stopped herself, then looked at Sarah, shame in her eyes. "I tried inducing a miscarriage when I realized. It didn't work."

She sucked in a sharp breath and gave Mariah a squeeze. There was something. She remembered Jareth's words from the day before, that sometimes it was for the best that a child was wished away. But how to explain that to someone who hadn't been through the things she had? Still, the desperation in her eyes had her working through this as a serious option.

"If I give up the child for adoption, they'll be angry. I need a way that this will just...not happen."

"I think I know a way." Sarah turned towards her sister in law, lifting her face and brushing the tears away. "I have a story to tell you that I've never told anyone else. I'll need you to suspend belief as much as you can until I'm done, because I know how it sounds. So, just listen, and then you can decide how much you believe it, okay?"

Mariah gave her a look that was hopeful but perplexed.

She passed the baby to her sister in law, then got her coffee, taking a long drink while she thought of how she should start. Finally, she decided to treat it like a bandaid and just go for it.

"When I was fifteen, I was a spoiled brat." The words startled a teary laugh out of Mariah, and she gave her a bit of a smile. "I'm serious. I was petulant and angry because my parents made me stay home and babysit Toby. Toby was about the same age as Matt is, right now. It wasn't that I had anything better to do, I wasn't dating anyone, didn't have too many friends. I just didn't want to be forced to babysit every weekend. One Friday night, my parents had gone into my bedroom, this bedroom, in fact, and taken one of my things. A stuffed teddy bear I called Lancealot. Like most teenagers, I hated anyone coming into my room without permission, so I blew up. I found it on the floor of my parents room, where Toby had probably thrown it from his crib."

She took another pull of coffee, and glanced at her sister from under her brows. Mariah was still looking at her, that perplexed look on her face.

"Sometimes, when we're angry, we way things we don't mean, things that can't just be taken back. What's said is said. And in my fit of teenage pique, I wished the Goblins would come and take Toby away."

"I mean, I can't say I blame you," Mariah said, giving a watery giggle.

Sarah snorted a bit, and took another long draw from her coffee, taking another minute to think. Then, she bit her lower lip, shaking her head. "The thing is, they did it. I made that wish, said those words I couldn't take back, and the goblins did take my brother away. When their king arrived, I tried to say I didn't mean it, and he gave me a choice. He'd give me my dreams and I'd lose my brother, or defeat him at a game of his own design and I could earn him back."

A glance at Mariah found something like hope in her eyes. "You mean -"

"I took the risk. I stood against the King of the Goblins, fought against him to get my brother back. In the end, I succeeded. I know it sounds crazy and impossible. There's a lot of reasons I've never told anyone else this story. But if you can make it through the pregnancy, I think I can help you. But only once. So, you need to talk to your doctor and you need to get on some birth control to keep this from happening again."

Mariah's eyes filled with tears and she lowered her face, stroking a hand over her daughter's back.

"This isn't what you saw for yourself, was it? As much as you love these two, you never just wanted to be a mother."

She shook her head, and a shaky breath left her. "I wanted to go to college. But how can I do that when we've got two children already, and a third on the way. If not for your parents and mine, I'd probably have to work. And I love Toby, but he's not used to the kids, yet. He tries, but he's not comfortable holding them, and they can tell."

Sarah bit back a particularly unflattering comment about her brother.

"You need to tell him that, then. I had a talk with him about using condoms, straight told him that he was being irresponsible and that if he kept this up, he might lose you. But you need to make sure you communicate with him, too. And if he isn't cooperative, won't listen, or starts acting like a prick, give me a call, and I'll straight up wish him away again." The words startled a laugh out of Mariah and she grinned. Then, she took her pen and a pad of paper from her messenger bag, and wrote her number on it. "Here. This is my number. Anytime you need to talk, give me a call, okay? Doesn't matter if it's three in the morning or not."

Mariah took it, and nodded, a smile curving her lips. Relief had softened the stress on her face. "Thank you. And…I know this doesn't actually matter, but I like Jareth. He seems like a good man. The world could use more men like him."

He's a dirty cheat, she thought, but she didn't say it. There was a definite spring in her step when Mariah left the room and Sarah sat on her bed, cradling the coffee between her hands and looking into it. A moment later, Jareth walked in, sitting next to her on the edge of the bed.

He didn't speak at first, just looked towards the window. "She wants to unload the burden of too many children?"

"Hmm. I told her about when I wished away Toby." She said, keeping her voice quiet. "I see what you meant, yesterday. I mean, I understood when you'd said it, but...this is more personal. Sometimes, it's better for everyone if the child is wished away. If she wasn't so far along, she'd get an abortion. She'd set the child up to be adopted, but she's desperately afraid of making everyone unhappy. So she's neglecting her own happiness."

"When she wishes the child away, no one will remember it ever existed. Except you and Mariah, if she wishes to keep the memories."

She blinked, looking towards him. "Why would I remember?"

"You're the champion of the Labyrinth, and you told her your story. Of course you'd remember." He said it so matter of fact that it made perfect sense.

"Is it still snowing?"

"No, and the car has already been dug out. Did you sleep well?"

She noticed the dampness of his pant cuff and swallowed hard. She had a million questions, and didn't want to ask a single one of them. She lifted her eyes and looked at him for a long moment. "I did."

"Good," he said, and his lips brushed against her temple. He lingered like that for a moment. "I'll get the bags loaded in the trunk. Finish your coffee, and get dressed. I'll meet you downstairs."

She watched him rise, and gather their bags, taking them out of the room so he could do what he'd said. A sigh left her and she drained what was left in the cup, cradling the still warm ceramic between her hands and thinking. She shook her head hard and gathered the clothes he'd left her on the dresser, heading to the bathroom. She sat on the toilet, thinking for a long moment before she shed the robe and towel and started dressing. As usual, when she was alone, her brain started overthinking things, again.

This had to be a game of cat and mouse on his part, she thought. Like with the others. That he had more experience, and was better at it than others didn't change that. She couldn't afford to forget that and get more tangled up with him. She needed to concentrate on her dissertation. Besides, he didn't want her to get tangled up with him, either. He'd stated that just a few days ago.

So why was he doing things that would tangle her up?

She shook her head, pulling on a t-shirt and a sweater over that, then her panties and some warm leggings.

The whole situation was absurd, anyways. Why was the first man to turn her from her work a goddamn fae king? As much as her attraction to him was strangling her, she knew she'd have to break this off. She could manage New Years eve, and the ball she'd already agreed to. She'd have to do that for her future. She'd have to because if she let this go on any longer, she'd end up destroyed when this was all over.

She was a woman who had rejected him as a girl, she reminded herself. Her will was as strong and her power as great, and he had no power over her.

So why did that last line ring increasingly hollow?

Shaking herself, she stepped out into the hallway and found Jareth leaning against the wall waiting for her.

"Your other half," he teased, and she saw he had her messenger bag slung over one shoulder. He lifted it off and held it out to her, a smile on his face. "I didn't peak."

"Thank you," she said. She accepted the bag from him and tried to not look at him. It was difficult to harden her heart against the damnable thoughtfulness of everything he did. She took an unsteady breath, hating her brain on one hand and her heart on the other. It had been less than a week. They were always like this, early in a relationship and it always fell apart.

"Your family is waiting downstairs to say goodbye." His hand came to rest low on her back, the weight of it there now familiar. "Mariah looks in far better spirits for the conversation you two had."

Good, she thought. She didn't say it out loud, but she felt it so strongly she might as well have. She heard the man beside her give a rough chuckle and glanced at him. A knowing look was on his face when he glanced back at her, as if he'd heard the thought.

When they reached the door, she gave the obligatory goodbye hugs to her family, whispering a quiet reminder to Mariah that she could call whenever she needed her. As she pulled on her coat, she saw Jareth pulled into a similar hug by her step mother as well. She wasn't certain he liked that or not, but he sustained it, shook the other's hands and said something quiet to Mariah that made her stare at him in shock. Whatever he said, the woman didn't actually answer.

Outside was deceptively cold, for all the sunshine in the sky. She shivered, wrapping her coat tighter around her. A moment later, the wool coat Jareth had been wearing was draped over her shoulders. She looked towards him and saw him wearing the sweater she'd gotten him, again, as he walked the shoveled walkway to where her car was parked. He looked perfectly content in the cold weather, though she saw his nose and cheeks were already turning red from the cold.

She followed him, and when she got to the car, she handed it back to him. "Thank you."

He gave her a smile, and opened the driver's side door for her. The car was already running, and warm inside. Dammit.

"Not fair," she whispered under her breath, getting into the driver's seat and gripping the steering wheel so hard her hands ached. He paused, looking at her for a long moment, then shut the driver's door and moved around and climbed in the passenger side, buckling without complaint. She latched her own belt, and started backing out of the driveway.

"What isn't fair, this time, my dear?"

She got the car situated on the road, starting the long drive back, shaking her head. This wasn't a conversation she was up to having with her head still messed up from everything that had happened over the last few days. She needed to think some more before she tried to put it into words. "Nothing."

She could feel the weight of his gaze on her. It made her stomach start to twist itself into knots.

When he spoke, his voice had the same dark and dangerous tone that it had the night before, when he'd told her his intentions, dared her to fight back against him.

"Liar."

She bristled, and would have turned towards him if she didn't need to keep her focus on the road. "Now isn't the time to talk about this, Jareth. I need to concentrate on what I'm doing. Please."

He went silent, but she could still feel him looking at her, and could feel the temper in his gaze. It caused her stomach to keep twisting itself into knots until she finally pulled into a gas station. His hand reached into her field of vision and touched one of hers. She was still squeezing the hell out of the steering wheel, and she could feel knots of tension in her shoulders and arms.

He worked her hands free of the wheel, holding onto one and his dexterous fingers started working the cramps from them. "You say it's a bad time to talk about this. However I disagree. We're both here and for the first time in a few days, there isn't anyone who can walk in on this conversation."

She continued looking out the front of the car, and took a deep breath, shaking her head.

"Is this about last night?"

He was so direct about it, his voice calm and quiet, that her heart twisted in pain, again.

"No, it's not just that. It's...it's everything, Jareth."

Silence answered her words, and she looked over at him. There was displeasure in his eyes, and his lips were twisted into a bit of a frown.

"Everything?" That same displeasure she saw in his face was clear in his voice.

"Look," she started, trying not to panic. "You're too good at this. And when it's over, I'm going to end up bruised over it. You already established that you aren't interested in getting involved with a mortal woman and I can't afford to let myself be distracted by you, either. I don't know if this is some kind of game to you, some challenge, but I'm not here for that. I need to finish my paper, and I've got little time left to do that."

The silence that followed was thunderous. He released her hand, turned away from her and looked out the window. She could see the tightness in his jaw from him grinding his teeth, clenching his jaw.

"So, you're saying that I'm a distraction so I'm inconvenient?" His voice was cold and hard, and she felt fear prickle along her nerves.

He was turning this around on her, dammit. This wasn't her fault.

"That isn't what I said." She wasn't certain how she managed to speak, because her heart was pounding in her throat.

"Then what are you saying?" His voice held that command for answer, that whip crack of temper that she had learned to recognize these last few days. Had she ever known a man well enough to recognize things like that?

She put her hands back on the steering wheel, staring out the window, feeling him turn to look at her. She bore the weight of that glare, taking deep breaths to keep herself calm. Staring at the overcast sky, she wondered how to explain this to him.

"I'm saying that I'm the one becoming an inconvenience, Jareth. To both of us."

When she looked back at him, she saw the temper drain out of his gaze, left with something else. Speculative interest, again, the sort of look he gave her when he was trying to read her, she realized. She couldn't give either of them room for any of that, so she forced the next words out of herself.

"I'll finish out the contract, I'll go to the ball on New Years Eve. But I think it's best for us both if we stop this after that."