Free Steel Lily ARC by Megan Curd

see the top of his chiseled chest.
    Where the sun beamed down on him, his caramel skin was almost luminous. He looked tense, and I could see his Adam’s apple bob up and down as he swallowed.
    I’d never seen someone like him in Dome Three. His jawbone was strong, his cheekbones set high. His nose was regal and straight and when my gaze reached his eyes, my breath caught.
    Stormy blue-grey eyes that reminded me of shale returned my gaze with genuine curiosity, if not a bit of humor. Strips of colored fabric were woven into his dreadlocked hair, giving it a wildly unique look that suited him. The smug look on his face made me realize he was enjoying this. “Are you finished checking me out? If you’re not, that’s okay; I allow every new woman I meet a free five-minute gawking period. After that, it’ll cost you.”
    Blood rushed to my face. I tore my eyes from his magnetic gaze and watched as he took a worn leather strap off his wrist. He pulled back his dreadlocks, deep brown streaked with blonde, into the strap. His devilish grin pulled his eyes tight at the corners. He was trouble incarnate.
    Trouble that I may very well want to get into, given the right circumstances.
    “You’re at five minutes and thirty seconds now,” he said in a purr as he moved toward me. He leaned in, and I felt his breath against my cheek. My heart raced. “I’m going to start taking payment, and I choose how that payment is issued.”
    Before I could respond, Alice stirred groggily beside me. She rubbed her eyes as she sat up. “Where are we?”
    “Good question,” piped Jaxon. “One that your friend here failed to ask, but it could have been because I rendered her speechless with my good looks.”
    Alice moved to get a better look at him, but Jaxon emphatically put his hands in front of his face, as though he were a vampire trying to block the sun. “Don’t look at me!” he cried, then grinned as he winked at me. “I don’t want to make two ladies swoon in such a short period of time. How would I entertain myself tonight?”
    “You’re not that handsome,” I argued mulishly.
    “There’s drool on your chin. Either you’re physically unable to keep your mouth shut, or I caused you to forget how. Since when I found you, you were drool free, I’m going with the assumption that it was me.” He fished in his pocket and offered me a white silk piece of cloth. “Here, a handkerchief for your trouble. You can keep it if you’d like. We have more at the academy.”
    “You do?” squeaked Alice.
    I looked up from the lustrous cloth in time to see Jaxon’s eyes widen. “Good Lord, you two. Riggs said you were different, but he didn’t say you were different .”
    I put the silk against my face. It was soft, and I breathed in the clean scent.
    That’s when it hit me.
    I wasn’t wearing a mask.
    Shock surged through my body like an electric current. “I’m breathing! Without a mask!”
    If Jaxon didn’t think we were crazy before, he did now. “That’s what humans do, you know. Breathe.” He said with a laugh as he placed a hand on his chest and illustrated by taking deep breaths. His chest expanded and contracted in an exaggerated manner and all the while, his smile grew. “In and out. Like this. Without masks. You’ve done it before; it’s nothing new.”
    “But we’re outside! ”
    “Yep. Another perfectly acceptable place to breathe, since the alternative would be you suffocating to death. I’d really prefer that not happen. That’s not fun for anyone involved, and it’s extra paperwork for me.”
    Both Alice and I stared at Jaxon with our mouths agape. As handsome as he was, the boy was odd beyond all reasonable doubt.
    And he thought we were different.
    Alice’s head swiveled as she took in our surroundings. She looked up to the skies. Clouds—real clouds—reflected in her eyes and beckoned me to look up as well.
    We were not in the same place we’d been when I fell asleep. This dome ensconced us just