Ava Summers has been living a lie, pretending she’s fine when her stepfather’s unspeakable betrayal has left her numb, afraid to trust anyone. Now she’s about live the ultimate lie--pretending to be a submissive on a sexy new reality show called the Power Games at an opulent BDSM-themed resort in Las Vegas to ruin the man who stole everything from her.
Ava’s lies catch up with her when she’s paired with sexy but sadistic Dominant Roman Castile, a man with his own agenda and demands which tear Ava apart while exposing her to desires she never knew she had. The two come together in a collision of fear and passion that is ratings gold. But to stay on the show, Ava will have to surrender everything to him.
******Excerpt******
THE TURNING POINT
Roman
She’s awake but still in bed when I let myself back in the suite, and she’s the epitome of a woman who’s been well fucked and thoroughly satisfied. Her long dark hair is tangled, her lips are swollen, and her body languid. God help me for what I did last night. I’m a man with nothing to offer but pleasure mixed with pain, a man with nothing substantive left to give. But if I hadn’t already sold my soul to the devil, I would have willingly given it for that one perfect night with her. I know now that I can’t have Ava as my submissive—she’s far too inexperienced and innocent for a depraved sadist like me, but it sure as hell would have taken a stronger man than me to deny her or myself the single night of pleasure she requested.
“Hi,” she says with a shy smile.
“Hi yourself.” I smile back. “I brought you breakfast.”
She scoots herself up so she’s sitting in bed, and my cock throbs at the tantalizing glimpse of flesh that’s revealed as she pulls the sheet up to cover her breasts. I look away. Although I’ll never forget last night, I’ve got to get her and that flawless skin of hers out of my head, and the sooner, the better.
“Hi,” she says with a shy smile.
“Hi yourself.” I smile back. “I brought you breakfast.”
She scoots herself up so she’s sitting in bed, and my cock throbs at the tantalizing glimpse of flesh that’s revealed as she pulls the sheet up to cover her breasts. I look away. Although I’ll never forget last night, I’ve got to get her and that flawless skin of hers out of my head, and the sooner, the better.
“When do we find out if we got voted off?” she asks, running her fingers through her hair self-consciously.
“I saw Logan downstairs. We’re still in the games.”
A wide grin splits her face. “That’s great!”
I sigh, cursing myself for what I’m about to do. What I have to do. If I live to be a hundred, I’m sure not a day will pass that I don’t regret giving up this opportunity. But Ava needs hearts and flowers and tenderness, or at the very least a gentle Dom like Emmett or Luke, not a ruthless sadist with a hole where his heart should be. She has no business being with me. She deserves far more than what I have to give her.
“It doesn’t matter, Ava. You don’t belong here. You should go home. There’s no doubt you’re a submissive, but I can’t be your Dom.”
“I don’t want a Dom,” she huffs. “I’m not looking for any kind of relationship past the games. But I do need a partner for the games. I want to stay, and I want to compete, and I want to compete with you. I want you to be my Dom for the games.” Her arms are crossed, and her full mouth is set in a stubborn line. It takes all my self-control not to force her to her knees right here and push my cock between those pouty lips.
“You don’t know what you’re asking, Ava,” I say firmly. “I told you once that I’m the devil in a well-cut suit, and I wasn’t kidding. There’s a dark side to me, a part of me that doesn’t just want to dominate you; it wants to hurt you.”
She pales, but she doesn’t look away.
“That morning when I whipped you with the crop? I loved seeing the fear in your eyes and knowing I put it there. If I’m your Dom, even if it’s just for the duration of the games, I will want to have you whenever and however I want, and I’ll demand that you completely submit to me. I fucking love holding you and watching you come apart, but for all the times I will want you wet and willing and begging for me, there are times I’ll want to tear you apart just so I can put you back together again piece by piece. I can’t always keep the monster inside me at bay. And that should scare the hell out of you.”
“It doesn’t,” she says, her voice low.
“Dammit, Ava, it should!” I snarl.
“It excites me.” It’s a confession, a whisper, and although I know better, hope grows wings and beats in my chest. But she doesn’t know the depth of my depravity, or what she’s saying.
I drag her out of bed and to her feet. I fist my hand in her hair, my fingers digging painfully into her scalp as I yank her head back so she’s looking at me. Tears spring into her eyes, but she returns my gaze steadily, almost challengingly. She’s still naked from our lovemaking last night, and I slide my hand over her flat stomach to her sex, unceremoniously thrusting my finger into her with no sweet foreplay or thought for her pleasure. Yet I can feel the truth of her words for myself; she’s dripping.
But she can’t want this. She may respond to me like she was made for this—and for me—but she’s completely inexperienced. She doesn’t know what she’s asking for.
I push her against the wall and curl my fingers around her wrists, holding them over her head with one hand while my other encircles her throat again. I crush my mouth against hers cruelly as my hips pin her to the wall, my hard cock pressing against her stomach. I want her to know exactly what I am, and exactly what she’ll get with me.
My teeth bruise her lips as I kiss her, stealing her very breath. My tongue spears into her mouth, roughly demanding that she acknowledge the impossibility of what she says she wants. I want to punish her, to break her and prove that she’s no match for the darkness that lives within me, but instead of turning away, she opens to me, her lips soft and yielding against my brutal attack. I break away. My resolve is weakening with each sweet stroke of her tongue against mine.
“Do you want to stay for the money? You don’t need it; you have the sixty thousand from the photo shoot. You haven’t signed anything yet. You could probably bargain for more. Hell, I’ll give you more.”
She shakes her head. “It’s not the money. Let me stay. Let me be your submissive for the show. Please.”
It’s that last word, coupled with those vulnerable green eyes, that is my undoing.
“Fuck, Avalon. You should run like hell from me, but I’m not sure I have the fortitude to make you.”
“Then don’t.”
“You have to be sure about this,” I say warningly. “There’s no going back if you agree to this.”
“I am sure. I’ve never been surer of anything before.”
“If we do this, there will be rules, and I will expect you to abide by them. I can work with your inexperience, but I won’t go easy on you or do this half-assed. It will be my way or no way. There will be no pretending. If I’m your Dom for the games, I’ll demand complete submission, and I’ll want complete control.”
“Okay,” she whispers.
Our eyes lock, and neither one of us moves for several long minutes. God, I want this. I want her. I’ll no doubt go to hell for not making her leave, but I can’t fight it anymore.
“Kneel!” I command.
She lowers herself to her knees in front of me and looks up at me with that intoxicating mix of apprehension and need in her eyes.
“Say it. Tell me what you want. I have to hear it.”
“I want to be your submissive. I want you to show me how. I want to give you control, and I want you to take what you want from me, however you want it.”
“You’ll have to trust me,” I warn. “Completely.”
“I’ll try,” she says.
“And what will you give me, Ava?”
“Me.”
That single word spoken with such simple guilelessness destroys me. This damn woman is going to kill me.
“I was looking for you to say your obedience,” I say with a wry smile.
She doesn’t smile back. “I want to give you everything. No limits. I want to give myself completely to you. I want you to make me yours.”
With a growl, I pull her to her feet and crush her to me. “You were mine from the day I first laid eyes on you.”
Hotness Rating 5 out of 5
Holy hotness this book is sizzling! Now, if you're like me you know that the BDSM trope has been done again and again and again in what seems every way imaginable and there is nothing new or fresh out there to read that falls into this category. The Power Games (Club Helix #1) by Brynley Bush has done it! She has found a way to make this overdone sub-genre a must read that will leave you begging for the next book.
Ava Summers is the girl that made me fall in love with BDSM again. She's a "normal, everyday girl" that has been hurt by her step-father and is left feeling lost and helpless. When her friend who just happens to be a Dom tells her about the new club opening in Vegas that just happens to be running a very interesting event it gets her thinking. The Power Games is a sexy D/s reality show that will be shot at the opulent Vegas hotel. Ava has no idea how this could even work for her. She isn't a sub nor has she even ventured into that world. Thinking that this is her chance to gain back some power of her own over her step-father and knowing that she trusts her friend she decides to go for it.
Roman Castile is hot, dark and sinful. While The Power Games isn't exactly his thing he is a Dom and a damned good one. But, one look at Ava and he's decided that being in The Power Games is now his greatest wish. Power, money and connections can do a lot for a man, but it can't buy you everything. The instant connection that Roman feels is somewhat foreign to him and has left him a little out of sorts.
Ava is shocked and a little scared when she finds out that you don't get to partner with the person you came with. However, her strength is amazing! She does it! She chooses to stay in the event even when partnered up with the darkly handsome Roman who scares her more than a little bit.
This couple sizzles as they navigate through the different challenges and events required in the games. The heat they generate is palpable and leaves your heart beating faster and your hands more than a little sweaty. The emotional obstacles they traverse have the same effect only in a very different way. My heart hurt for Ava and for Roman more than a couple times as I was reading this book.
All I can say is well done Ms. Bush on writing a sexy, intriguing book that has me impatiently waiting for the next one.
I give this book 5 out of 5 Stars
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