Jareth stood frozen to the spot. His leather boots steady against the cold flagstone beneath his feet.

He certainly didn't leave that door open, and his goblins knew his private study was strictly out of bounds. Anger flared in his stomach as he slowly moved towards the open doors, unsure as to what he would find.

o-o-o-o-o

Sarah's slim fingers danced tentatively over the soft leather of the heavy book in front of her. Her curiosity was building, nervously bitting her lip while examining the detailing on the cover.

Engraved into the dark leather were the initials 'J.S' in an elegant script.

"Just one little peak wouldn't hurt" her mischievous inner voice goaded. "There are so many unanswered questions. Questions that the journal of the almighty Goblin King could answer..."

"That is very true" Sarah thought innocently to herself, butterflies thrashing furiously in her stomach. She continued to bite her lip softly, a small smile forming at the corners of her mouth.

Tentatively, Sarah played with the cover of the journal before moving to open the front page. The smell of him was everywhere, it ensnared all of her senses as her butterflies continued to thrash.

She shakily turned the soft leather cover over and opened the first page.

Sarah couldn't help but stifle a giggle as she noticed a few stray shards of glitter decorated the parchment inside.

Nervously, she began to quickly read the first few lines of elegant writing, all the while completely unaware that a pair of mismatched eyes were watching her every move from across the room.

"Don't you think you've gotten yourself into enough trouble for a few days without snooping around peoples private possessions?" A very deep velvety voice bellowed from the doorframe.

Sarah jumped so hard that she nearly fell over the heavy oak chair that sat positioned behind her. Grabbing on for support, her eyes flew to the doorway.

Panic and adrenaline rushed through her veins as she saw the regal king lounging against the solid doors, watching her intently.

"I..." Sarah stammered, unsure as to what to say. She had been caught red handed. She knew it, he knew it, the whole bloody kingdom probably knew it. She racked her brain for a valid excuse, while a crooked grin crept its way onto Jareth's features.

Not the nice boyish grin that rarely graced us with its appearance. No. The evil, trouble-making, 'you're going to regret doing that' grin that Sarah had come to know all too well.

"You..." he pressed, while strutting forward gracefully to stand mere inches away from her, power and intimidation radiating from him with every step. Mischief danced in his eyes and that grin never left his face.

"Oh crap. You're on you're own" Sarah's inner voice whispered and shrunk away from existence.

Sarah's mind had gone blank. Completely blank. It was literally like she had forgotten all of the words in the English language. Ever. What was she going to say? "Oh, I was just looking for a good night time read, and thought your journal would be perfect" She inwardly rolled her eyes as blood rushed to her cheeks causing her to blush. She wished this wasn't happening.

Jareth watched with amusement as Sarah blushed deeply and continued to stumble over her words. His mismatched eyes drifted to the open book on his desk, and Sarah's followed.

His journal.

A well groomed eyebrow shot up as he brought his gaze back to Sarah's ever reddening face. Sarah's eyes stayed firmly fixed on the book, wishing the ground would open up and swallow her whole.

"Find anything of interest?" The king practically purred while his gaze burned holes into her.

Sarah stared intently at the desk in front of her, unable to bring herself to meet his gaze. He was too close for her liking. The butterflies in her stomach had been replaced with caffeine infused bats and her heart was pounding.

"I'm sorry..." she stumbled nervously. "I was just looking for the library, and I guess I was just curious"

The last sentence came out of her mouth so quickly she wasn't sure if Jareth would have even been able to understand it. Her eyes shot up to meet his gaze almost as quickly as her speech came tumbling out of her mouth.

That's when she saw it.

Briefly, fleeting, if only for a second, but it was there. Shock. The king was shocked by her apology. It was gone as quickly as it had appeared and the mischief danced in his eyes once again.

Jareth regained his composure within a split second but he would be lying if he said Sarah's apology hadn't caught him off guard. Maybe, just maybe, the girl had grown up slightly in the years she had been gone.

Mismatched eyes burned into green ones. Sarah's breath caught in her chest as Jareth leaned closer, and placed a leather clad hand on the open book.

"You know what they say about curiosity don't you..." he whispered, moving ever closer.

"Something about a cat?" Sarah spluttered, her breath hitching in her throat, his intense eyes never leaving hers.

Jareth exhaled a laugh as he predatorily stepped forward, closing the gap between them even further.

"Something like that..." he purred with a mischievous grin.

Sarah heart was in her throat. Jareth was just inches away from her, staring at her like something to eat. Every sensible part of her was screaming for her move. Run. Now. As far as she could. He was toying with her.

Unfortunately for Sarah, the very non-sensible parts of her (that shall remain nameless) seemed to be winning the fight and left her rooted to the spot. Unable to move. She bit her bottom lip softly as his eyes flickered towards them.

Slowly, and very deliberately, Jareth closed the leather bound journal, expelling a small shower of glitter. He was so very close now. She could feel the warmth of his breath on her blushing skin.

"Apology accepted" He smiled seductively, raiding his leather clad hand to rest underneath Sarah chin, tilting it upwards.

Shivers shot down Sarah's spine as she felt Jareth's fingers softly raise her chin.

"What is happening?!" He inner voice screamed from it hiding place.

Sarah couldn't quite explain in words to what effect the closeness of the Goblin King was having on her. Her entire being felt like it was vibrating and her brain was full of a misty haze. She was helplessly under his spell. And she didn't want it to end.

Jareth purred softly as he pulled her closer to him, their lips mere moments apart. Sarah could feel the heat radiating from his body, his blonde hair brushing the side of her face as he moved to close the final gap between them.

Sarah inhaled his scent and closed her eyes, waiting in anticipation...