Read Online Stake That by Mari Mancusi - Free Book Online Page A

messenger bag to pull out the chunk of wood Teifert gave me. I stand up and wave it at Jareth’s face. “One false move and…POW!” Jareth stares at the stake, then at me, then back to the stake. Then, to my surprise, he bursts out laughing.
    “What?” I scowl, so not appreciating his reaction. After all, I am a vampire slayer, right? He should be shaking in his boots just at the mere sight of me.
    “What… the hell … is that?” he asks, between chortles. He’s laughing so hard he’s holding his stomach.
    “A stake.”
    “That’s not a stake. It’s a chunk of wood.”
    “Well, it’s … not… finished yet,” I say, defensively, lowering the weapon.”Ineed to carve it. Embed it with my own essence.” Wow, that sounds a lot dumber when it comes out of my mouth.
    “Bwahahahaha!” Jareth continues laughing at my expense. “What are you going to do? Give the evil vampires splinters?”
    I can feel my face heat with embarrassment, which is sooo annoying. How dare he make fun of me? I have been put on this earth to slay his kind. One false move and I’ll go all des-tiny on his ass. Somehow. Though probably not with this particular stake… .
    Grrr …
    “Shut up!” I cry, unable to come up with one of my infa-mous Rayne comebacks. “Stop laughing at me.” Jareth sighs, reaching up to wipe the bloody tears of mirth from his eyes. “Oh, Rayne,” he says, shaking his head. “You’re precious, you know that?”
    “Well, you’re just lame and annoying.” Why does it seem like I’ve totally lost the banter battle here?
    Jareth holds out his hand. “Give me the stake.”
    Oh, yeah, right. Like I’m going to fall for that one. It may not be finished, but it’s the only weapon I’ve got. I hide it be-hind my back.
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    “No effing way.”
    Jareth sighs. “Just for a minute.”
    “Why? So you can render me completely defenseless and suck me dry?”
    “With that as your weapon, you already are completely defenseless, sweetie.” I sigh. I know he’s right. Reluctantly I hand over the stake. Stupid Slayer Inc. for giving me such a pathetic weapon. After all, Buffy the Vampire Slayer got swords and axes and cross-bows. Is that so much to ask for?
    Jareth turns the stake around in his hands. Then he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a Swiss Army knife. I involun-tarily jump back.
    “Relax,” he says. “I’m going to help you carve.” He clicks open the blade and starts running it across the wood, shaving off chunks. I watch, mesmerized, as a pretty nice stake emerges from the mess.
    “I am a sculptor by trade,” he explains. “Mostly my carv-ings are of stone, but the principle is the same.” He hands me the stick and knife. “Now you try. Run the blade down, away from you.” I do as he instructs, slicing into the wood.
    “No. Like this.” He comes around behind me and takes my hands in his and guides me through the next stroke. “There you go,” he says in my ear.
    Now, for the record, I must repeat here that he is, without a doubt, the most annoying vampire in the known universe and I can’t stand him. In fact, if they said he was the last blood mate on earth, I’d choose to remain human just to stay away from him. If he was the last man on earth, I’d turn les-bian. If he was the last person on earth, I’d become a nun.
    That said, he really is freaking HOT. And when I feel his cool breath in my ear as he helps me carve, my body totally betrays me and gets all mushy inside. Which is so frustrat-ing! Gah!
    “Okay, I, um, think I’ve got it now,” I say, desperate for him to take a step back before I do something really stupid, like turn around and kiss him. “Thanks.”
    To my relief (and disappointment if I’m being totally hon-est here) he lets go of my hands and retreats to the bed. He sits down, watching me with his intense blue eyes. I have to force myself not to shiver under his gaze.
    Focus