Club Helix: The Power Games by Brynley Bush Read Free Book Online Page A

carrying on a conversation with a man whose name I don’t even know.”
    “It’s Roman,” he says, leaning back comfortably against the couch. “Roman Castile. But you will address me as Sir.”
    I stare at him in disbelief. Is he serious? Apparently, he is.
    “Aw, fuck me!” I swear softly.
    Something almost like humor flares in his eyes, but he doesn’t crack a smile. “That’s fuck me please, Sir ,” he corrects. “And I’d be happy to, but perhaps we’ll wait until we know each other a little better.” He quirks an eyebrow at me sardonically.
    I feel my face flush again. This is worse than anything I could have imagined. When I see Emmett again, I’m going to sucker punch him in the stomach for ever suggesting this.
    “It’s a hard limit,” I mumble.
    “So, Avalon, tell me about yourself.”
    I bristle at the sound of my given name. “It’s Ava.”
    “Ava.” He repeats it, my name rolling seductively off his tongue. “It’s a beautiful name, but I like Avalon better. It suits you.”
    “I don’t answer to Avalon,” I say firmly.
    “You’ll answer to whatever I tell you to,” he says softly, but there’s no mistaking the steely authority in his voice.
    “Oh, really? I’d like to see you make me.”
    To my surprise, he laughs, a rich, hearty sound that comes from deep in his chest and makes him almost seem approachable. Almost, but not quite. He has an uncanny way of keeping me constantly off balance around him.
    “Oh, I assure you I will make you do whatever pleases me,” he says with a gleam in his eyes. “But for now, Ava , tell me why you don’t like to be called Avalon.”
    I’m silent. He may have bought my body and I may be his for the duration of the games, but he didn’t buy my soul, and I certainly don’t owe him any explanations.
    He sighs and stands up abruptly, grabbing my arm and roughly pulling me to my feet.
    I tremble slightly, afraid he’s going to punish or hurt me, but instead he grasps my chin, holding me still as he looks into my eyes. Time stands still as we stare at each other, and something inexplicable passes between us. He’s close enough that I can see the flecks of gold in his eyes, which I realize are actually more gray than blue. His lips are full, and I stare at them, wondering briefly what they would feel like on mine. I’ve never wanted anyone to kiss me before, but I suddenly want nothing more than to know if his mouth is as soft as it looks.
    As if reading my mind, he leans forward and presses his lips to mine. They are everything I’d imagined, velvet with an underlying edge of steel, and after a moment he gently but insistently pushes his tongue against the seam of my lips until I open them, granting him access. My stomach flutters as he slips inside my mouth, exploring the taste of me. I touch his tongue tentatively with mine, and with a groan he plunges deeper. His teeth nip my lower lip as he pulls back slowly, and he feathers tiny kisses along my jawline.
    I’m trembling in the aftermath of that…assault. As kisses go, that one was epic.
    Still holding my face in his hands, he says quietly, “Now tell me why you don’t like to be called Avalon.”
    Angry and humiliated that I’d enjoyed that kiss so much when he’d only done it to coerce me into telling him what he wanted to know, I look him straight in the eye. “Fuck. You.”
    I’m over his knees before I can even squeal, and he yanks my panties down and smacks my bare ass with his palm.
    “Ow!” I try to squirm away, but he just grabs my wrists in one large hand, pins them against the small of my back, and spanks me three more times, hard, before pulling my panties back up and depositing me back on the couch next to him.
    My hair is messed up, my face is flaming with humiliation, and my heart is pounding, but there’s an odd and inexplicable awareness rushing through my veins.
    “You spanked me!” I say accusingly.
    “You deserved it,” he returns calmly. “A submissive