You're The One: BWWM Romance (Brothers From Money Book 12)

by Shanade White

  "Elmira, Adrienne Domitille."

  Elmira smiled and held out her hand.

  "Ms. Domitille-"

  "Please, Adrienne," she said, with a strong but brief handshake.

  "Adrienne, a pleasure."

  This woman was one impolite statement away from evisceration on her blog. Ain’t nobody had the time.

  "You must excuse me, girls. I have to greet the other guests. I'll see you two later." Florica hustled off into the crowd.

  "Adrienne," said Elmira, once Florica had left. "I apologize for being under-dressed. I think I stand out among all of your well-dressed colleagues."

  "Ah, nonsense! A suit such as this never goes out of style. Wide lapels, wide tie knot-very powerful. It says, ‘I am not afraid of you. I am not afraid to show aggression, to show passion.’ All women can wear a suit, but only you have." Elmira sensed no condescension in her voice. In fact-

  Oh god.

  "I appreciate the validation. Events of this type are not my forte, but they are certainly yours."

  "Oh, have you no interest in fashion? Florica dragged you here, I imagine.”

  “Ah, no I actually ran into Florica here. And I am very interested in art. The world is a very beautiful place, and I am interested in the different ways of interpreting it. In fact, I’m on assignment blogging fashion week so if you want to give me a quote for my article on your show that would be lovely.”

  “That is interesting, because I think, I mean, if you were willing, you could pull off high fashion very well.” She took Elmira’s empty wine glass from her hand, ignoring her statement about a quote, and replaced it with one from the table behind her.

  Sven, where was Sven? She scanned the crowd briefly over Adrienne’s shoulder.

  “Thank you. And it was a pleasure meeting you. I will let you get back to your business.”

  Adrienne’s eyes lingered.

  “Elmira, would you do me a small favor?”

  No. Leave.

  “Ah, it depends.”

  “I’ve got to get backstage to prepare, but if you would join me, I’ve got a fantastic coat with your name on it. It would be a great help, honestly.”

  Elmira stared.

  She was proud of her stare. It was neutral but not weak. It allowed her a mask of passivity while she considered her options.

  She could leave. She wanted to leave. She had wanted to leave the minute she walked in the door. There were a few problems with this idea. Firstly, she was on assignment. She was here to get some interviews. She couldn’t pussy out of that because of whatever passive aggressive shit the designer was trying. She was sadly regretting making the effort to even watch the show this afternoon instead of sleeping. Secondly, it would be rude to Adrienne. And last, but probably most importantly, she was a fighter. Leaving now would mean that the fashion world had won, that they had successfully scared Elmira Olivette into running away. Elmira did not run away, that wasn’t who she was, and she wasn’t going to be that now.

  She could stay but turn Adrienne down. This, also, was an attractive option, except for the fact that all of the nearby tables had seen and heard Adrienne ask her backstage, and she had no real or fake excuse not to. Besides, it would give her an up close look at the clothes.

  The crowd watched her expectantly from their seats.

  This was going to be terrible.

  “Of course. Anything to help.”

  Chapter 5

  "You look lovely in that tree. Come here often?"

  Florica smiled, hearing the familiar voice. "Are you flirting with me, Mr. Marcel?" she asked.

  "Only in a manner entirely platonic," Sven replied.

  "Of course."

  "Of course," he said, inclining his head slightly. "Buy you a drink?"

  "It's an open bar."

  "Details," he replied, waving a hand.

  She turned her back on the bar and leaned against it. "So," she said, "you look a little sulky."

  "Let's just say that I’m not used to not getting my way." He rolled his eyes.

  "Ah. Rich people problems."

  "I know, right?" Sven said, adjusting the jacket slightly. "The girl didn’t immediately fall in with my plans, boo hoo."

  Florica gasped, and pulled her head back. "I haven’t known you to care before! I mean God knows, I’d know."

  Sven shrugged, "This one’s special," he said. The bartender came then, and he got a vodka tonic for Florica and a Patrón on the rocks for himself.

  "Wow, I never thought I’d see the day. So anyway, I’ve been getting looks about my outfit. What do you think?"

  "Oh, honey," Sven said, handing Florica her glass. "I loved that dress. Very fashion forward."

  "I thought so!"

  "At least you take risks. You don't show up to events like it's prom night."

  "Absolutely not," she said, and they clinked glasses.

  "Tonight, you're the most elegant vegetation I’ve ever seen. I love that you're finally showing off that ink."

  "I think it looks nice," she said, turning slightly.

  "I think it looks fantastic. I, on the other hand, apparently resemble a peacock."

  "Ugh," Florica replied, shaking her head. "Far from it, Sven."

  "Thank you."

  They were quiet for a moment, drinking, and then Florica said, "You know Cliff said I looked like a snake? A snake! He said if I added a hoodie I could be a cobra!"

  "That's just all kinds of wrong."

  "Tell me about it." She leaned in. "How's your table?"

  "Pop stars. Well, Jessica isn't so bad, especially when she's talking about Kilimanjaro, but Taylor, I mean, she's a baby. And I'm sorry, but JT's tux doesn't fit nearly as well as mine, and it's shiny, so it shows."

  She snickered. "Meow, Sven."

  He grinned. "How's yours?"

  "No one worth talking to," she said with a shrug.

  Sven winced. "So have you been getting the same texts I've been getting?"

  "Probably," she said, pulling her phone out of her gold clutch. "About the street party Tianna’s throwing? I don’t know, should we go?"

  "Well, Ralph's gone, Calvin's gone, and I know I'd rather be playing pool downtown with them than hanging around up here. But my er.. date? She’s gotta work the room so…"

  "Date? Really Sven? That’s like bringing take away to a buffet. Come on ditch her and let’s go," she said, downing the rest of her drink in one gulp.

  "I love you Florica," Sven said. "But honestly? I can’t just go."

  *****

  “Go where?” Elmira’s voice behind him startled Sven.

  “Huh? Oh nowhere. Florica and I were just discussing a street party.”

  “Small world.” Elmira said giving Florica the up and down.

  “Don’t tell me this is your date Sven?” Florica said with a laugh.

  “Date? No Sven and I aren’t on a date. For that to happen we would have had to be in the vicinity of each other at some point during the night,” Elmira said. She was wearing a coat Sven hadn’t seen before. And she sounded pissed.

  “Elmira,” Sven began but she stepped back out of range of his reaching hand and smiled bitterly.

  “You know you should go with Florica to that street party or whatever. I told you I need to go rest and I think I’m getting a migraine already so just go okay? I’ll take the car back to my hotel.”

  “But I brought you here. At least let me get you back to-“

  “No need,” Elmira said stepping further away. “I already called the car. Have fun.”

  She whirled around and walked away.

  “Whoa. That girl always was high maintenance.” Florica said.

  “How do you know her?” Sven asked still watching her go.

  “We were in the same sorority. She’s a bit of a crazy bitch. You’re well shot of her. Come on let’s get out of here.”

  Sven hesitated. He felt like he should follow Elmira; maybe apologize. But for what though? He’d just been sitting here, no
t doing anything and she’d come over all mad at him. What gave her the right? It wasn’t like they were officially dating or anything. And even if they were, he still hadn’t done a thing wrong.

  “Yeah. Let’s go.” He said to Florica.

  *****

  There was a taxi dropping someone off right at the door when Elmira stepped out so she rushed over and got in, giving the address of her hotel. She didn’t even know why she was so mad at Sven. Maybe it had something to do with the way Florica was draped all over him like some sort of possessive vine. Or the fact that he hadn’t exactly been pushing her away. Not that Elmira felt she had the right to demand that he do that but…yeah. It pissed her off.

  Before she knew it they had arrived at the hotel. She paid the driver then flounced off as if Sven was watching. He wasn’t though. He was at some party with that fame slut Florica.

  Elmira punched the elevator button like it had done her some personal wrong, hoping that Sascha had taken her ho-ness off to her socialite’s hotel so Elmira could fume in peace. No such luck. They were making out in the lounge.

  “Hi. Bye.” Elmira said as she blew past. She thought Sascha might have said something but she’d already slammed her door and locked it, divesting herself of clothes on her way to the bath. She needed a nice long soak and then at least eight hours of sleep. After that, she could deal with whatever.

  *****

  Elmira was almost asleep when Sven came into her room, which was a surprise, given that a) she'd actually locked the door and b) he was supposed to be at some street party. She heard him undressing, but she didn’t turn over to see. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk to him, just that she didn't know what was happening exactly and the minute she turned around, her peace of mind would probably be over. Maybe that made her a coward, but she didn’t care. She thought that Sascha must have let him in; and since it was totally his move, she was gonna lie here and feign sleep for as long as possible.

  He climbed into the bed, spooning her. "Still awake?" he asked, skimming his hand up her side.

  She mentally sighed; damnit, caught. "Not until you showed up," she said.

  He kissed the back of her neck, pulling her close, close enough that she could feel his heart thundering against her back. Was he nervous? He took her hand, pulling it towards him and settling it on his cock… apparently he was naked. She stiffened rolling her eyes.

  "Nice try," she said, tugging her hand away.

  He kissed her again.

  "Come on," he said, sliding his hand underneath her shirt so that he could find her nipple, roll it between his fingers. "Indulge me."

  "Get off me, Sven," she said; now he was grinding his cock against her ass, a hand on her hip to keep her still. She was starting to lose her resolve, gravitate towards him. She didn’t know what the hell had gotten into him, and she didn’t know whether she liked it or not. He was not drunk; there was no alcohol on his breath but here he was in her bed. She didn’t know what was happening- she hadn’t seen this side of him before; in all their dealings, he’d been insistent, wanting to get his way but he didn’t push it.

  He was definitely pushing it right now.

  His hand made its way down her stomach, Sven's callused fingers catching slightly on her smooth skin. Then he slid his hand between her thighs, palm covering her, and she resisted the urge to press up against him.

  "Sven, I want to sleep," she said, catching his wrist before he could go any farther, ending this.

  "That's not what you actually want," Sven said. "I think we both know what that is."

  "Stop it," she said; her breath was coming faster, her heart starting to race, and she honestly didn’t know if she was turned on, scared of him, or both. She squirmed against him, which only had the effect of pushing her ass against his cock, something she was really not going for here- or, at least, she didn’t think she was. Sven was making her doubt it, whether her resistance was token or real, and she was not sure what to do about that.

  "Tell me," he challenged. "Go on and say it. Lie through your teeth and say you don't want this." He pressed down with the heel of his hand, grinding against her clit through her panties, and she hissed at the sensation, bucking against him.

  "Tell me you don't want my hands on you. Tell me you're not dying to have my cock inside of you right now. Say 'Sven, I don't want to,' and I'll stop."

  Before she even has time to draw a breath, he bit down on her neck, sucking hard enough to bruise.

  "Sven," she gasped, writhing against him. "Sven, God-"

  "Is that your final answer?" Sven asked. "Because either you say no right now, or I'm not stopping no matter what you say."

  Elmira wasn't even sure how to respond, what she wanted, what this even was. "Sven-"

  "Not hard, just yes or no," Sven told her. "You've got about thirty seconds to opt out."

  "Yes," she managed.

  "You sure about that?" Sven asked, rubbing her clit again. "Because I don't want you to get the impression that this is gonna be easy."

  "Yes, god-damnit," she grit out. "Don't make me beg."

  "Don't give me ideas," he said. "Now, were you going to be good and take it?" he asked, condescension dripping off the words.

  "No," she said, not even sure why. This was weird to start, but she was getting into it; that didn’t mean she wanted to take it lying down, just roll over for him and let him win so easily.

  "Too bad," Sven said. He grabbed her roughly by the shoulders, trying to turn her over, but he was not going to have as easy a time of it as he thought. She came up fighting, grabbing at him, taking him by surprise and flipping them, trying to force him down. It didn’t last long, not when he had the advantage in strength; he turned them back over, slamming her down onto the bed hard enough that it shook, forcing her legs open while she was still winded and positioning himself between them.

  He grabbed for her wrists, but she was too fast, shoving at him, hitting his arms; he caught her by the underside of her jaw instead, tipping her head back and pressing it hard into the mattress. She stilled, panting, looking up into his satisfied, predatory eyes, the lamp light reflecting in them making them look sinister and cold. He kissed her hard, hungry, tightening his grip just enough to make her heart beat faster. "Calm down or it's going to hurt," he said.

  "Fuck you," she spat, but she found herself grinning. He kissed her again, his free hand moving down her body, groping her with no regard for her pleasure- which was increasing her pleasure a lot right at the moment, to be honest. His hand made its way into her panties, and he pushed two fingers inside of her, hard enough that she gasped. She was so wet, wet enough that his fingers slid in and out so easy, wet enough that it felt like her thighs were damp.

  "I fucking knew it," he said breathlessly. "I fucking knew you wanted me, knew you’d love it when I did this to you-"

  "Shut up and fuck me," Elmira growled.

  "First it's 'fuck you,' now it's 'fuck me,'" Sven said, pulling his fingers out of her. "Make up your mind." He didn’t waste time, just yanked her panties aside and shoved inside of her, and Elmira yelled, her whole body arching towards him. "Take it," he said, pounding into her, letting go of her neck so he could put his hands on her shoulders, pinning her.

  "Fucking take it."

  She sunk her fingernails into his back, making him hiss. "Stop wasting my time and do it harder," she snapped, goading him.

  "Gonna wish you hadn't said that," Sven told her, grabbing her by the hips and pulling her sharply towards him, putting her knees over his shoulders. He moved faster, and she didn’t regret it at all. "Gonna make you give it up for me. Gonna make you come so hard you see stars."

  "Oh no, don't make me do that," she said sarcastically. "How will I cope?"

  She could already feel it coming up on her, indescribable, heat moving all the way through her, coming together right where they join. Sven just kept fucking her and fucking her and then it was enough, it was too much, her whole body tensed up for a moment
and then she melted, the feeling crashing over her in wave after wave after wave, driven on by Sven, the way he was still moving in her, a triumphant look on his face.

  She didn’t know how long it went on, forever and too short, but she reached the point where she was too sensitive when he pulled out, working himself quickly. She watched his face as he came, watched him watch himself shooting all over her thighs, her spread pussy, an intense look on his face, the universe focused down to one point, just her and nothing else.

  He sagged, gasping for air; this time when he put his hands on her shoulders, it was while he was in the process of collapsing onto her, guiding himself down so that he didn’t just flop down bonelessly. His dead weight on her stomach was not much of an improvement, seeing as how she was sore and exhausted herself, but she let him have a minute to just curl up on her, holding her tight.

  He finally rolled away, laying on his back and looking at the ceiling. "So," he said, "that happened."

  She pushed herself up on one arm, looking down at him. "What the hell was that?"

  He grimaced. "Are you mad at me? You're mad at me, aren't you? Shit."

  "I'm not mad," she said. "I'm-" she looks for a word- "very annoyed."

  "Annoyed?" Sven said, frowning.

  "You just can't come in and start-" she waved her hand- "whatever you were doing without telling me beforehand. You don't get to do that."

  "I really would have stopped," Sven said, though she could tell he already knew that was not going to get him anywhere.

  "I know you would have, and that's why the cops aren't here," she said. "That was very hot and we can do it again, but you don't get to just come in and feel me up whenever you want to. That's something that we have to talk about first."

  "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-" Sven stopped. "Wait, did you just say it was hot?"

  "Stay on message, Sven," she said firmly.

  "It won't happen again," he promised, and Elmira knew he was telling the truth. He winced. "Are you going to throw me out now?"

  "Are you going to keep your hands where I say you can keep them?" she asked.