Swish (3 page)

That last thought stunned him, and he said abruptly, “I apologize, but you are too late. All the positions have been filled up.” Helios knew that the formality of his words would betray his emotions to his friends. But at that moment, he didn’t give a shit. All he knew was this girl, who was a mixture of odd and fascinating, had somehow gotten under his skin. 

She was now a complication, and Helios never wasted time getting rid of complications.

I apologize…

MJ didn’t really hear the rest of what he had to say. All she could think about was how Helios Andreadis’ voice was even more beautiful in person. He spoke like a…like a god. Slow, quiet, authoritative, with each syllable spelled out with the faintest Greek accent. He spoke like he would never have to do anything in a hurry because he was powerful enough to do whatever he pleased, whenever and wherever. 

Actually, he also
looked
more beautiful in person, too. MJ was already too nervous as she was, and she knew it would be better for her to ignore how good-looking he was. But it was impossible. That was like ignoring how bright the sun was.

Her senses fluttered like crazy every time she stole looks at him, which, embarrassing as it was to admit, were quite frequent. Enough for one of the other guys, the one with wicked green eyes, to smirk at her.

As he spoke, MJ couldn’t stop herself from staring. Tall, golden-haired, and lethally built, he looked more like someone who belonged behind a majestic chariot than a motorcycle. While he did not look older than his twenty-two years, he did
feel
more powerful than someone still in college had a right to be.

Looking at him was enough to have MJ tongue-tied. She had a bad feeling that if he made her speak right this very moment, she would do so in a weird mix of Yugoslavian and African that no one could ever translate.

When he stopped and looked like he expected her to speak, MJ turned red. “I…I’m sorry, come again?”

Was she a fucking idiot? What was so hard about what he had said? But when she only continued to gaze at him with genuine looking confusion, Helios bit out, “Auditions are over. You can leave now.”

The words were so unexpected it took MJ a couple of seconds to comprehend them. When she finally did, MJ immediately felt herself whitening. “Y-you’re joking, aren’t you?”

Yuri coughed. It was his first time to hear a girl – or
anyone
for that matter – contradict something the club’s mercurial and arrogant president said.

Kellion wasn’t as polite. He grinned, making him look even more devilishly handsome. 

Unbelievable,
Helios thought with growing anger. Why the hell was she still here? He was tempted to shake her but controlled the urge. He had a feeling something unwanted would happen if he ever touched any part of her.

Maybe his Greek had failed him
, MJ thought hopefully when Helios only glared at her. Maybe all those English interviews of his that she had listened to were scripted and he wasn’t really fluent at all. Maybe what he meant was the opposite, that she was actually super early for the interview rather than super late.

So she said very slowly, “I. Am. Here. To. Audition. For. The. Club.”

Yuri slowly bowed his head. It was the best he could do to keep his amusement from showing. He had been raised to be the epitome of chivalry and courtesy, but this strange funny girl was pushing him to his limits.

Kellion, once again, wasn’t as polite. A bark of laughter escaped him, and he didn’t even bother to try containing his amusement when Helios threw him a dark look.

Helios’ scowling glance snapped back at the girl. Why the fuck was she talking to him like he was an idiot?

The look on Helios Andreadis’ face made MJ whiten even more. What had she done? Oh no. Maybe she had still spoken too fast and now the other men were laughing at Helios for his inability to understand her? 

So she said again, more slowly, this time, “I....” She drawled the word out as long as she could. “Aaaaaaaam…Heeeeeeere…”

This time, even Yuri found himself defeated. He laughed with Kellion.

Helios snapped, “Shut up.”

She said automatically, “Yes, sir.”

Yuri and Kellion laughed harder.

Helios glared. 

MJ’s heart sank.

“Why the hell are you talking to me like that?”

Deeeeeeym
. He spoke the words so wonderfully fast that MJ knew right away she had been wrong. MJ admitted weakly, “I thought you didn’t speak English very well.”

Helios Andreadis looked like he wanted to kill her now, and her heart sank even more.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I do speak English perfectly.”

Confusion warred with misery. “Then I’m really late?”

“By about an hour,” Helios confirmed coldly.

“But I still had classes—”

Yuri said gently, “The vacancies in our club are highly sought after. A lot of the girls simply chose to ditch their classes in order to be one of the first to apply.”

MJ’s shoulders slumped as all her hopes crashed down around her. She couldn’t believe everything would end just like this. After two long years of planning how she could be close to Helios, this had to happen.

Yuri’s gentleness sharpened Helios’ irritation. He did not want anyone to be
kind
to the girl, dammit. All he knew was the kinder Yuri was to her, the more he wanted to be cruel to the girl. 

Kellion observed the unusually contemptuous expression that had fallen over Helios’ face. It was not that Helios never held anyone in contempt. Like any Greek male, Helios was damn good at carrying grudges. All of them were. It was the fact that Helios’ face revealed any emotion at all that made Kellion murmur, “Just out of curiosity,
moro mou,
which spot are you hoping to apply for?”

The girl stole a glance at Helios before answering, as if seeking his approval. 

Helios’ face did not change, but Kellion knew his friend well enough to know that Helios did not disapprove of the girl’s actions.

“I…was hoping you’d have a need for a photographer.” There actually hadn’t been a list of vacancies on the club’s entry in the college paper. In fact, it was the only one that did not have any requirements, but MJ was banking on the fact that every club needed a photographer. Surely Helios’ org would be no different?

Even Kellion was taken aback by her answer.
She did not really have a clue about their club at all
, he realized with surprise. 

Everyone in Christopoulos University knew that their club only had menial roles assigned to the girls, which ranged from cleaning their rooms, taking care of the laundry, and preparing their meals.

Cheerleaders to heiresses to part-time models to groupies – all of them would die for a chance to serve Afxisi. All of them would do it for the same reason, too. Afxisi was a club that consisted of the world’s most eligible and fuckable bikers. Serving them increased the chances of having sex with any one of them, and being taken by one of the club’s members would mean bragging rights not just any woman could flaunt.

Kellion smirked. “You truly do not have a clue about our rules, do you?”

Instead of answering the question directly, MJ said weakly, “I’m a fast learner?”

Yuri coughed again. 

Helios disliked all the attention his friends were showering on the girl, and he demanded, “Why do you bother applying when you clearly have no understanding of what our club is about?”

Helios himself was the answer to his question, and the fact that he was the one asking it could only result in one thing.

MJ’s cheeks turned the deepest shade of red.

A flash of insight hit Kellion. “Well, fuck.”

Yuri came to the same understanding a second later. “I see.”

Helios frowned. “Can one of you explain what the hell’s going on?”

The impatient note in Helios’ voice only made Kellion want to laugh, but he successfully managed to rein in his amusement. He nodded towards the girl. “We know why she’s joined.”

Helios’ face became expressionless. “Is that so?” Something inside him intensely disliked the fact that Kellion and Yuri knew something about her that he did not know.

“She has a secret crush on one of our bikers, and that’s the only reason she wants to be a part of our club. She wants to be close to him.”

Chapter Three

“I still think this is a mistake.” Helios made the comment in a cold voice as he took a seat at the leather couch. The study was one of several places off-limits to everyone in the club except for its officers. It occupied the penthouse floor, together with the rooftop garden and the officers’ bedrooms.

Helios poured himself a shot of whiskey and tossed it back in one. He was hoping the liquid burning down his throat would at least calm him, but it only seemed to fuel the restlessness inside him.

Kellion didn’t answer right away. He stood next to the bookshelves, which housed a collection of books ranging from finance to technology. Unknown to many, the men making up Afxisi were intent on using their winnings from underground racing to build their own fortunes rather than depending on their family’s inheritances.

Helios was the reason all of them had a family here in the States, Helios the one who had gifted each and every one of them independence and freedom from the oppressive chains of their families. It was ironic then, that even as the bonds between all their members became stronger and closer, Helios had seemed to retreat further and further into isolation.

It was only when that girl had come along that Kellion had seen his friend come to life again. For that reason alone, the girl would stay. Yuri had thought the same thing, and the two of them had come to a silent understanding. 

Kellion turned to his friend with hooded eyes even as he said lightly, “You could have overruled the decision of the majority as president.”

“That is not my style and you know it,” Helios said stiffly.

He crossed the room and sat across Helios. Pouring himself a glass, Kellion suggested, “Why not give her one chance? If she doesn’t cut it after the first week, then I will be the first one to kick her out. I’ll even get Yuri to—”

Helios frowned at the mention of his other friend. “Where is he?”

“Assisting her to her room.”

Helios did his best not to scowl. “He’s been gone for over twenty minutes. What the fuck’s taking him so long?”

Kellion shrugged. “Beats me.”

The image of Yuri seducing the girl had Helios cracking his knuckles. Yuri might seem angelic, but Helios knew the younger man was no innocent. He had heard the girls speak of how good Yuri was in bed, how his masterful side was a contrast to the courteous demeanor he presented in public. 

Out of nowhere came a thought that nearly had Helios cursing, a vision of Yuri commanding the girl to suck his cock.

No fucking way.

The door slamming shut was Kellion’s only clue that Helios had gone. He leaned back against his seat with a satisfied smirk. And so the games began.
Kali tychi, Helios
. You will need a lot of luck to make sense of that girl.

****

“Do you like it?” Yuri asked courteously. He had introduced himself as the club’s secretary. He had also referred to Helios and the other guy, Kellion, as the president and vice president of the club, respectively.

She nodded. 

“Please feel free to explore.” Yuri had light blue eyes and a very kind smile, like an angel’s. It was hard to imagine someone who looked like him loved to race bikes.

At Yuri’s urging, MJ warily stepped past him and went into the medium-sized room. It had wooden panels for walls and dark blue carpet tiles. A single bed was next to the window and across it was a study table and a floor lamp. It was a simple but charming room, and MJ awkwardly told the same thing to Yuri. 

“I’m glad you like it then.”

Silence.

When Yuri did not say anything else, she asked finally, “Do you need someone with an eye for interior design then? Is that the only vacancy left in the club?”

It took a few seconds for Yuri to understand what the girl was asking. Then he began to cough, his best way of controlling his laughter. Dio, this girl was too amusing by half, with her ability to misconstrue everything. She truly was perfect for the president, who on the other hand took himself – and life – too seriously.

Clearing his throat he said gently, “This is your room.”

MJ’s eyes widened. “My room?”

“If you are serious about volunteering for the club, then you should know that it’s an in-house position, which means you need to live here. I will get my younger sister to talk to you tomorrow. She’s in charge of managing the girls.”

MJ could only nod. She was still trying to get her head around the fact that she was supposed to live here – in the same place as Helios Andreadis.

When the girl didn’t speak, Yuri asked, “I hope it’s not a problem?”

She said weakly, “Not at all.”

“Then…good. I’ll see you tomorrow. No curfews here so you can come and go anytime. Just make sure you’re up tomorrow by six. My sister will come here to give you the official tour. Any other questions?”

“None, sir.” The words were out before she could stop them, and MJ grimaced. She didn’t really want to be so polite but these guys were just too formal! They seemed more like CEOs than college bikers.

Yuri’s lips twitched. “Goodbye.” He turned his back and reached for the doorknob.

MJ silently pumped her fist into the air.
Yes. Yes. Yes! She was going to live—

Yuri turned around, remembering something, and immediately caught sight of the new volunteer practically doing a happy dance on her own. He blinked.

Deeeeym.

Realizing that she was being watched, MJ slowly lowered her fist and pretended to start combing her hair instead. She looked at Yuri questioningly. “Er, yes?” 

His eyes twinkled with mirth but his voice was solemn when he said, “I realize none of us ever caught your name.”

“Oh. Umm…I’m MJ Cartwright.”

“A pretty name. Well, good night, MJ.”