Dark Needs (Tales of Dystopian Decadence Book 1) by Finley Blake

how things are going between us.”
    “I’ve… unnerved you.” He turned and walked back toward me, took my hand, and raised me to my feet.
    “Not at all,” I said, but a shiver wracked my body at his touch.
    He regarded me for a long moment, then asked, “Adette, was there ever a time you smiled? I mean, truly smiled after your mother died?”
    I considered his question and shook my head. “Not that I recall.”
    “I know the feeling.” He kissed the back of my hand. “And I don’t know if anyone else in this forsaken country can understand what we’ve been through and how we feel, except one another.”
    “Maybe,” I agreed in a soft voice, watching his lips move against my skin. “Maybe.”
    Icharus finally let go of my hand and said, “We need to do something fun – something that has nothing to do with plotting murder. I want to take you outside and show you a special little secret. Get dressed.”
    “Secret?” My curiosity piqued, I glanced down at the food. My stomach was full, though one more bite certainly couldn’t hurt. I popped another strawberry in my mouth as I turned to the closet for my clothes.
    “Wear this.” Icharus selected two items and handed them to me. “And you’ll need your boots.”
    It was the first time anyone had suggested I wear pants. They weren’t considered ladylike and the Regime frowned upon women dressing “like men.” Still, I drew the fitted black trousers over my legs and thrust my sleeves into the white button-down shirt. If anyone could break the rules, I supposed Icharus could. The items were remnants of my time on the streets before the school. The headmistress had told me to hold on to them in case I ever needed them. It seemed like an odd suggestion, but I didn’t think too much on it as I laced up my plain black ankle boots.
    “Come.” Icharus took my hand in his. He had changed as well, dressed in his standard perfectly pressed slacks and button-down shirt, a pale green one today. The more time I spent at his side, the more handsome I found him. Now that I knew a little more about him, I couldn’t help but smile as he held my hand. He’d made himself more vulnerable to me than I’d ever expected, and that touched my heart.
    We walked down the stairs, through the dining room, and into the rear hall. I hadn’t actually visited this part of his house, so it was my first time seeing the glass-paned door through which rays of sunshine angled.
    “You wonder about this, don’t you?” he asked. “How do I have the sunshine when the city is still covered in that thick cloud of ash and smog?”
    “Yes,” I agreed. “We haven’t seen the sun in such a long time in Los Angeles.”
    “The people just don’t live in the right place. You’re about to see something incredible and I think it’s going to inspire you to stay the course.” Icharus opened the back door and together we walked outside. The back yard was a brilliant, fertile green, warmed by sunlight, and I gasped at the sight.
    “I still haven’t figure out how you can see the sun here. We can’t possibly be at a high enough altitude to break through the fallout from the eruption,” I said.
    “No, but we are at an altitude where we can see through one of the Regime’s many lies. Come here.”
    Icharus strode through the yard and I followed, noting he had so much more than I expected – gardens, a pond, even stables! A pair of equine eyes followed us from an open stall and I returned the inquisitive gaze. When I finally dragged my attention back to Icharus, I looked where he pointed down the land that sloped away from his property and gasped at the sight.
    At various intervals on the hillsides that surrounded L.A., there were immense machines belching out black smoke. The dark billows melded together, forming that thick, cloudy blanket that had obscured the city for so long.
    “The Regime’s one goal is to keep the United States under its thumb and the key to that is controlling