Ignited Read online

  “I thought you couldn’t leave me alone,” I whisper.

  I squeeze my hands between my knees so he can’t see them shake. Heat builds between them from the friction, making them slick with sweat. The cab of the truck darkens. I don’t have to look outside to know the sky just changed to a grayish-black color.

  He sighs and places a hand on my arm. “I know something happened to make you lose faith in people. I’m sorry that happened. I wish you would put your trust in me, though I realize you’ve only known me a day. MJ, however, you’ve known a little while longer. Actions always speak clearer than words, and I think you know he would never let any harm come to you, so long as he could help it. One day I hope you’ll feel the same toward me. Tamitha and Sissy too. We’re all stumped when it comes to you, but we’re going to do everything we can to keep you safe.”

  “Abandoning me here, alone, isn’t safe,” I say, my voice barely audible.

  He smiles a little. “After everything I just said, do you really think I would bring you to your favorite place just to abandon you?”

  I stare at him, taking in the gentle tone and the softness in his eyes. I was right yesterday—he is more teddy bear than brute. Even though I barely know him, I trust that he means what he says—he will do all he can to keep me safe.

  A bit of my fear lessens.

  “I—I guess not.”

  “Unlike you, I happen to like surprises—what I can recall of them, anyway. And I like the anticipation leading up to the reveal. So, with that in mind, get out of MJ’s truck so I can do all kinds of reckless, stupid stuff with it before I have to return it to him. Please.”

  I shake my head and laugh. “Okay.”

  When I open my door, Tamitha stands beside it. Is this the surprise? If so, it’s not a very good one.

  “Alexander is taking me to do something called ‘mudding.’ Have a good night!” she says.

  I stare at her, first noting the ear-to-ear grin on her face, then her straw cowboy hat, flowery dress, and brown leather boots.

  “Wait. Are you two going on a date?”

  “What’d you think we’re gonna do with our free time now that we can feel?” Alexander asks. “Sit around and talk about our feelings? Nope. We’ve got a lot of living to catch up on, and time is a-wasting. Giddy on up here, Tamitha.”

  “Don’t wait up,” she sings as she climbs in and sits in the center seat next to him.

  “So what’s my surprise?” I ask, still unsure.

  Tamitha presses her lips together and then runs her fingers over them, zipping her mouth shut.

  Alexander shakes his head and laughs some more. “It’s all about the anticipation, remember?”

  I wave as they drive off. They seem like a cute couple. It gives me hope for my relationship with MJ. In this life and the next.

  As the truck fades out of view, I turn and there stands MJ.

  Every high and low of the day suddenly vanishes.

  I sprint toward him, desperate to erase the distance between us. He does the same. In less than a second, his arms wrap around me, hugging me and lifting my feet off the pavement. His essence—the essence my body has craved all day—rushes into my body, filling me instantly, having memorized the space.

  Even though this is exactly where I want to be—and I’m ridiculously happy—I have a strong desire to cry. I missed him so much.

  My heart rate lowers and my breathing slows as my body finally catches up to my head in realization that everything is perfect now.

  He lowers me so my feet touch down, and he places kiss after kiss in my hair. Each one sends a shockwave through me, strengthening his essence inside me.

  Hand in hand we walk to the center of the bridge, and he turns to face me. We stand like this for I don’t know how long, drinking in the sight of each other. If this were all we did for the rest of the day, I would be more than okay with it.

  “Could you take us to the bridge?” he asks.

  “We are at the bridge,” I reply breathlessly.

  “No.” He lightly taps my temple. “The one in your mind. I spent two-thirds of the day apart from you, and I’d like to make up the time.”

  I hug him harder. “Not right now. I can’t touch you there. I just want to be in your arms—I’ve missed you way too much.”

  He grins and motions for us to sit along the back railing. When we do, he shifts so he’s behind me with his arms wrapped around me. I link my hands over his and rest my head on his shoulder.

  “How’s your day been?” he asks.

  “Long.”

  He chuckles. “Me too. I’ve missed you.”

  My heart flutters, and my smile widens. “Good.”

  “What did you do today?”

  “My day was quite busy, thanks to your ‘itinerary.’”

  His body tenses around me.

  I kiss the back of his hand to lighten the blow. “To be honest, I was a bit ticked about it. But now that you’re back, I’m so happy to see you that I don’t care.”

  He mirrors me by placing a kiss on my hand. “If I had been here today, those were all the things I would have done with you. I didn’t want you to miss out on anything simply because I was unavoidably detained.”

  I hadn’t thought of it like that. Leave it to him to be thoughtful and sweet.

  I tug on his arms, making him hug me even harder. “How did it go up there?” I pause. “Did you find Ben?”

  He’s silent. I can guess his answer.

  I thought MJ would find him. I wanted him to—even though I dreaded the idea. I assumed Ben would tell him how much he hated me and blamed me for his death. But this—this is worse. Where is he, then? Ben’s life ended miserably, and now his afterlife is just as miserable. He deserves peace.

  I try to put on a brave face. But in the reflection in the water, I can see storm clouds swirling above us. The traitorous sky reveals the truth.

  “I will find him,” MJ says. “I promise.”

  I change the subject. “What happened with the Council? They aren’t going to punish you, are they?”

  MJ sighs and places another kiss in my hair. “It went as well as could be expected. I met with Michael. He and his two brothers make up the surviving Heavenly Archangels. He knew about some things that took place here, and I filled in some gaps. I have their blessing to remain here, as does my team, so you can relax. They aren’t going to punish anyone.”

  “Oh. What did he say about me?”

  “Nothing. I’m keeping you a secret for as long as possible. I can’t promise we can keep this quiet forever, especially considering he asked about the fire tornados. But for now, we’ll take it one day at a time.”

  My chest constricts as fear pounds into me. “He saw the tornadoes?” MJ is trying so hard to protect me, and my own abilities are working against us.

  “Heard of them.”

  “We can’t kiss, then, can we?”

  He huffs. “The hell we can’t. We’ll be careful and take it slow so we can figure out what stirs that reaction in you.”

  “But what about your future, and the others’, if the Council finds out you hid me from them? Sissy says you could be banished.”

  He stiffens. “It won’t happen.”

  “But what if it does?”

  “Then we’ll deal with it. End of story. She shouldn’t have told you that.”

  I twist and lean back to see his face. “You’re right. You should have told me about this. You should have told me about a lot of things.”

  He frowns and turns away.

  I grab his chin and turn him back to me.

  “It’s not fair to ask the others to risk their futures for me.”

  “They knew what they were signing up for,” he says. “Besides, there’s one aspect of Heaven you’re forgetting about.”

  “What’s that?”

  He smiles, though it doesn’t reach his eyes. “They’re pretty big on forgiveness.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  MJr />
  I hold Maddy for nearly an hour before she’s ready to bring us to the bridge in her mind. Unsure of how long we’ll be gone, I’m compelling the area. If anyone were to come to the bridge, they wouldn’t notice our motionless bodies. They’d just move around us, as if we were a puddle, and not think anything of it.

  “All done,” I say when the compulsion is complete, then I kiss her temple.

  My essence inside her buzzes, feeling her excitement. She closes her eyes, and I do the same. A moment later, my body twists and contorts as my soul is pulled from it.

  I reopen my eyes. It worked. I’m lying on the bridge—the one in her mind. Maddy rests beside me, though a safe distance away so we don’t accidentally touch.

  Curved above and below us are black markings identical to the ones on the bridge we just left.

  Even though we’ve been here many times before, it’s different now that I know more about this ability of hers. Coming to the bridge feels different than our time traveling yesterday—less intense. Also, I can still feel how my body is back on the real bridge, whereas I could not feel it yesterday. Those two differences lead me to believe we’re not time traveling now. If it’s possible, I think this space exists in an alternate realm—similar to the Veil of Shadows. Whatever this is, Maddy can take us here and time travel, all with just my essence inside her.

  I wonder if she would use her ability to take me into another dream—one with Damien. Then I could see what Damien and the woman look like. It would help me find them.

  No. These abilities shouldn’t be taken lightly, yet I’m doing just that, making requests for her to send us here and there as if she were my own personal teleportation device. It’s reckless. I won’t ask her to time travel, not until I know more about it.

  But I can’t resist coming here. I need to be with her as long as possible, and here we can just be.

  It’s summer here again. The sky is so clear it rivals the view from Immortal City. Birds, bees, frogs, and even a family of deer across the pond all move to the speed unique to this place. Everything here is controlled by Maddy, though I don’t think she’s figured that out yet.

  At some point, I’ll have to tell her what she can do with this ability—that she can travel through time and alternate planes. But once she knows the full truth, I fear she won’t want to do this again, and I’m not sure I’m ready to give this place up.

  When she’s excited and happy, this place is bright and magical. It steals my breath away, just as she does. When she’s sad, there’s a darkness. But even then, it’s so beautiful that I’m torn between marveling at the view and consoling her.

  But there are selfish reasons too for not wanting to give this place up. There are no angels, demons, or other entities here that can steal her away from me. I don’t have to be on constant alert. Back on the real Hiniker Bridge, it was unnerving when we heard those twigs snap the other morning and I couldn’t find the source. I still don’t know who or what was there. But here, I can truly relax and enjoy being with her. It’s nice to have a place like this—a place where I can’t fail her.

  If it’s possible . . . I think this place is a reflection of her soul. She told me what it looked like with Justin—bleak and empty. If that’s true, it’s imperative I keep him from her. She burns far too brightly to let him extinguish her.

  He, and other demons, inspired her birthday gift. I’m nervous about giving it to her. I learned through her family’s memories that Maddy doesn’t enjoy receiving gifts. It’s always been that way, but whatever happened between her and the Shadowwalker three years ago amplified everything. Ever since, she wants nothing from anyone. Her parents stopped trying with gifts. Now they put money into an account for when she turns eighteen. For some reason, they fear she’ll leave and never look back when that day comes.

  I tried to find out why they think that, but so many things about Maddy are sealed off in their memories. Most are just tiny fragments sprinkled here and there. And the pregnancy, birth, and first three weeks of her life are completely missing. They don’t even have any photos in the house. A very powerful demon covered it up well. Whatever exists behind the black curtains are the keys to everything.

  There are two ways to restore someone’s memories. You can find the being that compelled the person and have the being undo it. Or you can kill the person. Since I’m not going to kill her family, I’m adding this demon to my ever-expanding list of immortal beings to track down.

  That’s why my gift to Maddy is so important. With it, no demon will ever get close to her again. I just have to find the right time to give it to her.

  Her chest slowly deflates as a content sigh leaves her lips. Despite the risks, coming here is exactly what she needed. Her ankles are crossed, and her right arm is behind her head. Her eyes are wide, absorbing everything and becoming a brighter green as more and more stress leaves her. There’s a slight, relaxed curve to her lips. I miss those lips.

  “If I wanted to try something here—” I pause when she looks at me.

  My body leans forward on instinct, as if pulled by her gaze. With my essence having been inside her so often, it’s as if it automatically responds to her desires even before my mind recognizes what they are.

  “I want to kiss you,” I blurt.

  I meant to say it better—in a more romantic way—but that would have taken too long. Right now, I just need her.

  The light, warmth, and happiness that held her expression vanish in an instant. Clouds roll in, and a rustling sound echoes around us as wind shakes the trees.

  “I want to,” she whispers. “Really, I do. I just . . . want a day free of trouble. I just got you back. I don’t want them summoning you again.”

  Sharp pain ripples through my stomach as if it’d been kicked.

  She’s afraid to kiss me.

  The last thing I want to do is hurt her. I take a moment to breathe and calm the hurt before explaining further.

  “That’s what I want to test out. I think our time here ends when my essence connects with you—not just when we touch. If I held my essence back, then maybe we could touch and not leave.”

  “You can do that?” Her gaze is wide and pleading.

  I feel the same way. It’s been too long since we’ve kissed.

  “I don’t know. I’ve never tried.”

  “Is that what happened with Alexander today?”

  Alexander told me of the trouble he’d experienced in getting his essence to flow through Maddy.

  “I’m not sure why you reacted differently to him, but a part of me is glad for it. I like that only my essence works that way.”

  She turns away, and the clouds darken further.

  It takes only a moment to decipher what it means. “Justin’s essence works similar to mine, doesn’t it?”

  She nods, barely.

  “I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. I wish more than anything you didn’t have to remember him. But that’s all he is now, just a distant, bad memory. You and I together is the future.”

  Slowly, I move my hand toward hers. She stiffens, bracing herself for our touch.

  As the space between our hands decreases, I focus on holding back my essence—fighting against what comes naturally to me. When I feel the soft, silky skin of her hand, my body tingles as my essence rushes to the source of contact, but I stop it.

  It’s not easy. Having my essence inside her body is like nothing I could ever begin to describe. It’s the first time I’ve ever felt truly alive. And no matter what, I will never get enough. But somehow, I have to find the will to hold myself back while we’re here.

  After five seconds, my confidence grows. I move from touching her with just the tip of a finger, to my whole hand. It’s easier to hold back now. I could spend the rest of my life touching her like this. There’s a tingling in my palm as it glides over the smooth texture of her skin. These sensations have always been overshadowed by all the things my essence detected inside her.
>
  She doesn’t move.

  I can hear and feel her heart rate increasing. Her chest rises and falls at a quickening pace too. I think she’s excited, but I don’t know. I move forward to see how far we can push this before I break.

  I hold her gaze as I lean in, slowly closing the space between our lips. Her breath blows on mine, and a deep rumble sounds inside me. A moment later, our lips meet. Just as I did when I touched her hand, I battle against my basic instinct and instead focus on her. On the soft wetness of her lips as they mold to mine. On the way her entire body relaxes, craving this moment since the last time our lips touched.

  A soft moan escapes her, and it ripples through me. An overwhelming need to be closer to her consumes me. My arms curl around her, gripping her back and pressing her into me. I need to feel her in this new way. Her skin is so soft, softer than anything that existed in my previous life.

  Her hands move to my hair. She yanks hard in her drive to pull me closer too. My body tightens in shock, but not even a second later it’s replaced by exquisite bliss. She needs me as badly as I need her.

  I don’t care if we set fire to the whole world—I will never go this long without kissing her again.

  I find the strength to break away from her tender lips to kiss and nibble her neck. She pants to catch her breath, pushing her chest farther into me.

  “So beautiful,” I say as I rub my nose along her jawline, inhaling her scent that reminds me of summer.

  She shivers.

  And before my mind can stop it, my essence rushes in to warm her.

  I still feel her body against mine, but it’s not the same. Her back is to me. I’m once again holding her on Hiniker Bridge—the real bridge. Our souls have returned to our bodies.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Maddy

  I turn in MJ’s arms. “That was—” I have to stop as I struggle to catch my breath.