Immortal City

to be sitting on the roof of a tall building. She looked up and saw the words DIVINE RECORDS glowing on a huge curving sign.

Above that, a white spike reached up thirty feet up into the air and pierced the churning sky.

She tried to sit up, and only then did she become aware of the heavy arms wrapped around her. They were so hot they were almost searing. She turned and her eyes traced the contours of a perfect, dripping face. She saw his pale blue eyes.

“How do you feel?” Jackson asked.

It was impossible. He was sitting there with her, drenched, and what remained of a white robe hung in tatters over his body. She must still be hallucinating. Or per-haps she was dreaming. Maybe her mind had escaped her death and taken her here, to some kind of fantasy? She was sure she wasn’t experiencing reality, but then again, she could feel the intense heat of his embrace. She could feel the heave of his chest through her wet clothes. Most inescapable of all, she could sense his distinct presence. She was getting to know it now, like the scent of a familiar person. It was undeniably him.

Maddy realized the Angel was looking at her intently, waiting for her to say something.

“What?” Maddy croaked.

“I said, how do you feel?”

“I. . hurt,” Maddy said, realizing it as much as saying it.

“I know, I’m sorry,” Jacks said gruffly. “I didn’t have much time and there wasn’t any other way. You hit the ground pretty hard.”

“What. . am I doing here?” she said weakly.

“What. . happened?”

“You were almost in a very bad accident. But you’re safe now.”

“An. . accident?” The memories flooded back. For several seconds she was seized by panic as the sequence of events rushed upon her.

“It came out of nowhere. It came right at me!” she said, suddenly panicked. “It all happened so fast. . I tried to get out of the way—”

“You wouldn’t have made it,” Jacks said quietly. His tone was absolute. “It would have crushed you.”

Maddy felt adrenaline rush into her system. Mortal fear rose in her throat like bile. He was right. She knew she was going to die. She had foreseen it. She had closed her eyes, waited for the impact, and. . she remembered waiting for the collision of the SUV’s grill with her body and instead being knocked sideways and out of the way. Or pulled sideways, she realized. She felt pain in her shoulder flare angrily. It must have been him standing over her, protecting her. The reason she was alive.

“What did you do?” she in a desperate whisper.

Jacks looked away from her, out to the boiling storm.

“I broke the law.”

“You what?” she choked. “Why?” Somewhere in the distance, a ribbon of lightning flashed.

“For you,” Jacks growled.

Maddy reeled. Had Jackson Godspeed rescued her from certain death? And after everything he had said to her at the party? And how badly he had hurt her? And humili-ated her? And insulted her? Sudden, uncontrollable anger welled up, but now it was much worse than it had been at the party, because if he had really saved her life, she now owed him. After everything he had done and said, now she was going to have to be grateful to him?

“I told you to stay away from me,” she said cuttingly.

“What part of leave me alone was unclear to you?”

Jacks released her from his grip, and she immediately slid away. The cold bit through her wet clothes almost instantly.

“I should have guessed you’d be this way,” he said in exasperation.

She struggled to her feet and had to lean against the concrete wall to keep from falling over. She was still dizzy.

“You had no right to do that.”

A snarl escaped Jacks’s lips, startling her. In an instant he was on his feet, walking out into the pouring rain, his shoulders heaving. Then he turned and glared at her.

Maddy winced at his hostile expression.

“You stubborn, impossible girl!” he yelled through the raindrops. “Why are you always like this? I save your life, and you’re angry with me?” His blue eyes were blazing, his tone ferocious. Maddy felt her own anger evaporate in his burning gaze.

“I just, I told you to leave me alone,” she said again, desperately. “Please.”

“Why?” he demanded. “Why do you push me away?

Am I not good enough for you?” He was stalking toward her now.

“You don’t understand, Jacks,” she said, the emotions twisting inside her. She walked out from under the awning and felt the rain soak into her skin.

“What don’t I understand?!” he demanded.

“I have to stay away from you,” she burst.

He stopped. “What?”

“Self-preservation!” Maddy screamed. The words rushed out of her as if some internal dam had finally broken. “Don’t you get it? I have to keep myself away from you so I don’t get sucked into the illusion that you might actually like me,” she said, water dripping off her lips. “I can’t let myself believe you actually have feelings for me, Jacks. If I do that, I’ll wake up one day and realize that you’re a famous Angel and I’m. . I’m nobody.” She felt a lump rising in her throat and swallowed it down hard. She wasn’t going to let him see her cry. “My life hasn’t been easy like yours, Jacks. Things like this don’t happen for me. So, I’ve just learned it’s easier to push them away.”

Jacks stared, astonished, through the downpour. “You have to keep away from me? I have to fight to keep away from you. Do you have any idea how hard this has been for me? I meet you one night, and just like that, I can’t get you out of my head. When our hands touched, and I saw this. .streak of beauty in your eyes. . I’d never felt anything like that before, nothing even close.” He began to pace furiously, the rain flicking off him as he went. “All of a sudden, every fiber of my being is drawn to you, to be with you, and I don’t know why.” He stopped and pointed an accusing finger at her. “I didn’t ask for this. But I felt something in that back room with you, and it’s stayed with me ever since. I want to be with you. I need to be with you.” His tone was both angry and helpless.

“And that’s why you took me to your party, to show me how important you were, how everyone loved you, how I’d just be one more speck in a sea of girls who wanted you and your fame and your car. You did that because you wanted to ‘be with me.’” All Maddy could do was scoff.

Jacks’s face rippled with disbelief. “Maddy, I took you there because I wanted to show you the night of your life. I wanted you to have everything, to show everyone else you were special! If I thought you’d see it that way, I never would’ve taken you to the party. Those things aren’t important to me. I just wanted to spend time with you, to make you feel as special, as alive, as you made me feel when we met.”

“Why are you being so cruel?” Maddy said, her voice cracking. “Please, just leave me alone.” She turned and walked away from him farther into the rain, her emotions twisting inside her. She didn’t feel the hand on her arm until he had spun her around. Then she felt the fingers of his other hand lace into her hair, and in an instant, his wet mouth was against hers.

The kiss was raw. Hungry. She opened her mouth and his immortal breath rushed into her. He pulled her against him and kissed her again. The storm raged around them.

When their lips finally came apart, his breathing was hard and ragged. She felt the steam of his breath against her hair. Her feet touched the tops of his, and standing on him like that, she let him hold her. The downpour was steady all around them. Maddy concentrated on slowing her racing heart. She could still taste him in her