Executive Decision: A Romance Novel

by Mandy M. Roth

  I rolled my shoulders, trying to work the kink out in my neck and thought about opening my eyes, but the jack-hammering going on inside of it warned not to. “I am not as naïve as many think I am. We mean nothing more than sex to each other. And if you’re worrying that this will affect productivity, I happen to have that figured out too. Give Jenkins my job and make Corbin your V.P., he’s a marketing genius. I’m always going to him for help instead of the other way around. You’ve seen it too or you wouldn’t keep offering him promotions. Trust me. He’ll get the job done. Now, go back to sleep. I’m going to head home and get cleaned up. A person could get lost in your bathroom.”

  I covered my eyes with my hand and opened them. In the darkness of my hand I was still good. “You wouldn’t happen to have sunglasses in that bedside drawer full of condoms and very bizarre toys would you? I’m afraid to open my eyes. I think they may pop out of my head.”

  He didn’t respond. Odd. Normally, Charles was always up for a bit of joking. I kept my hand over my eyes and rolled to face him. “You’re really quiet--,” taking a deep breath in, the scent of patchouli and spice filled me, “--and really smell like Dale ... err ... I mean different. Yes, umm, different. I’m hung over and I was just talking about him. Sorry about that.”

  “Open your eyes, Liz.”

  I went rigid at the sound of Dale’s voice. Why the hell was Dale in Charles’ bed? And why was I naked next to him?

  “Where are we?”

  “In our bedroom ... umm ... your bedroom.”

  Peeking through my fingers, I saw a smooth tawny chest in front of me. The feel of satin sliding over my bare skin caught my attention. I looked down and my mouth dropped. “Who put satin sheets on the bed?”

  Dale chuckled. “That would be Megan. She said she bought you a pair a few years back and that you never use them. I found them on the top shelf of the living room closest. She then yanked them out of my hands and brought them in here.”

  “Oh,” I said, making eye contact with him. “I’m sorry that I thought....”

  Dale looked away and opened his mouth slightly, running his tongue on the inside of his cheek. “I was Charles?”

  I nodded and went to sit up. Dale grabbed me quickly. Before I could think, he had me rolled onto my back and was on top of me. Pushing on his hard chest, I couldn’t get him to budge. The devilish smile Dale gave me meant he wasn’t about to get off.

  “Move.”

  He lifted a light brown brow, daring me to challenge him. “No.”

  Stunned, I grunted. “Why?”

  “You called me another man’s name.”

  He had to be kidding. There was no way I was about to put up with one of his games. Not today. Not ever again. Outraged, I pushed my whole body up in an attempt to buck him off. It only served to make him smile more. “You called me a lame lay.”

  “No, I did not call you a lame lay.”

  Disgusted, I rolled my eyes. “Now who is splitting hairs?”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “For splitting hairs? Wonderful. Apology accepted. Now, get off me.”

  Dale pressed his forehead to mine. Our lips brushed ever so slightly, and I had to fight the feelings that began to stir in me. I would not allow myself to be attracted to Dale.

  “I’m sorry for saying vicious, hurtful, untrue things to you.”

  I gritted my teeth and averted my gaze.

  “From the look on your face, you don’t think I’m serious.” Dale pushed his knee between my legs and slowly began to spread them. “Looks like I’m left no choice but to prove how very sorry I am.”

  “You have got to be kidding me,” I said in a dry tone. I looked past him and noticed that he’d closed the white mosquito netting over the bed. Whenever either of us slept on the bed, we tucked it back behind the headboard. Having it all around us gave the moment an intimacy I wasn’t sure I wanted it to have.

  Dale pressed his silk covered groin against the mound of my pussy and my breath caught. My body refused to listen to my head. The more my mind told it that no part of me was attracted to Dale, the more it begged to differ.

  As a last ditch effort to stop the inevitable, I tried to piss Dale off enough to leave. “Get off me, Dale. I thought you were Charles. I said things I’d only say to him. That can’t sit well with you. So, drop the act and get off me. I rather not ‘have a roll’ with you this morning.”

  Dale rotated his hips slightly, pressing himself against me more. Moving his head to the side, he kissed my neck softly and licked my lower earlobe, almost making me give into him. “Yes, I’m hurt. But I learned some interesting things. One, you like it when your sheets smell like me.”

  My jaw dropped, and I tried to protest. Dale brought his hand up quickly and covered my mouth with it.

  “No, let me finish. You don’t let him touch you without wearing something and I can’t even begin to tell you how relieved I am to hear that. You were more than willing to go to bat for me over a position I don’t want even after the way I’d treated you. And last but not least, you thought of me while you assumed it was him here with you. Don’t tell me you didn’t either. Dale and the word different aren’t that close.”

  He released my mouth and smiled at me. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to headbutt him, bite him, or just flat out start pinching any available skin. How he read that far into everything I’d said was beyond me. He was so incredibly off base it wasn’t even funny. Wasn’t he?

  He put his lips directly above mine and stared at me with his emerald green eyes. “If I kiss you, will you bite me?”

  I chuckled. He knew me well. “Maybe.”

  “Hmm, how bad do you think it will hurt,” he whispered, his sweet breath moving over my skin lightly.

  Tilting up, I brushed my lips over his quickly. “How bad do you think you hurt me?”

  He stiffened above me, closed his eyes, and put his forehead against mine again. “I’m sorry.”

  I’d known Dale long enough to hear the pain in his voice. I wasn’t willing to let my guard down completely, but we’d spent too many years together to not give him a tiny chance. I traced the side of his face with my fingers and closed my eyes. “Don’t do it again.”

  “Again?” Dale asked, sounding hopeful. “Does that mean you’re going to let me have another shot?”

  “Yes, but only at being friends. Nothing else.” I pushed on his shoulder and this time he slid off me and settled down next to me. I pulled the crimson sheets up to cover my breasts. “Do you want me to make breakfast?”

  Dale licked the corner of his mouth and looked at me with questing eyes. “Will you ever let me any closer than just a friend?”

  Would I? I honestly wasn’t sure and that scared me. I liked things laid out nice and neat. This was anything but nice or neat. Since there really was no point in telling him that, I went with a change of subject.

  “What do you say we eat?”

  Dale sighed. “I’m not very hungry.”

  I leaned into him a bit. “Dale, you have to eat something. You get a headache if you don’t eat a little something for breakfast. You don’t like to tell me, but I notice you rubbing your eyes and temples throughout the morning. Just eat and I won’t worry about you.”

  A tiny grin appeared on his handsome face. “I’ll eat in a bit. I think I’ll lay here a bit. You go ahead.”

  There was something he wasn’t telling me. Slowly, I sat up. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Not only was the mosquito net I’d always loved enclosing us, but white candles lined every available space in the room plus some. Each was lit and the flames danced in unison, creating patterns on the wall. Since the room had no window in it, it was dark unless a light was on or the door was open. Now the room’s soft glow illuminated everything. I leaned forward and found several oval mirrors without frames lying on the hardwood floor. Several candles were placed on each one and lit. The mirrors made it hard to tell where the candles started and stopped.

  Tiny white flow
er petals were scattered everywhere imaginable. There were so many that in certain places around the room, it looked as though it had snowed. No one had ever done anything close to this for me. It was beyond beautiful.

  “Do you like it?” Dale asked softly.

  I reached out to him and he took my hand in his. “I ... Dale ... how?”

  “Then you like it?”

  “I don’t even have words to tell you how much.”

  Marvin Gaye began to play from the stereo in the other room. My first reaction was that someone had finally found the damn remote to the main stereo system. My second was that someone was here with us. I stared at the closed bedroom door and then at Dale. “Who’s here?”

  He stayed lying on his side and propped his head up on his hand. “Lie down. They’re just finishing a few things up. That’s all.”

  “Oh.” I went to lie back and stopped. “Wait. Who is finishing up a few things and for what?”

  Dale arched a brow and ran his eyes up and down me. A sly smiled spread over his face. “You’ll see.”

  I yanked on his hand and threw him a wary look. “Please tell me why I’m naked in our bed when there are other people out there?”

  “Our bed?” Something passed over his face as he gave a Gallic shrug. “Guess.”

  “Dale,” I said, laughing softly. It was hard not to revert into old habits with him.

  He just lay grinning mischievously at me. I started to climb out of the bed, and he caught hold of my thigh, stopping me dead in my tracks and sending heat radiating through me. “Don’t go, Liz-B. They’ve been working since we got you home last night. Well, Megan and Paige have been. Lauren just got here, but she was almost as bad as you so it’s understandable.”

  I narrowed my gaze on him. “What do you mean, as bad as me?”

  A confused look passed over Dale’s face. “Don’t you remember what happened last night?”

  My eyes widened as I opened the sheet and then stared at him in his black silk bottoms. “We didn’t. Did we? We couldn’t have. No.”

  Dale looked a bit offended. “Hey, I think you would have remembered if we did that.”

  I snorted and looked away. “Yeah, it’s the forgetting that’s hard.”

  Sighing, he tugged on my hand. “Liz, lie down. Let me talk to you.”

  I snarled at him. “You sit up. And wipe that smug look off your face.” I wanted to push him out of the bed. If I wasn’t afraid the sheets would catch fire, I would have.

  “I can’t sit up. Paige threatened to have me gelded if I dare move from this spot or screw this up in any way, shape, or form.”

  That sounded like something Paige would say. But what was the point of putting Dale in bed with me and doing all of this. “They’re crazy if they think I’m ever touching you again. If they wanted me to screw someone so badly, why didn’t they find a stranger, anyone, why you? Gawd, at least have the decency to find me a man who will pretend he enjoyed himself after we’re done. I don’t think that’s asking for too much. Do you?”

  Dale was so quiet that I glanced over, out of habit, to make sure he was okay. He had his head down and his shoulders slumped. He shook slightly and it chipped away at the pain I was trying desperately to hide. It hit me then that I was lashing out at him the same way he had at me.

  Tugging on his hand, I pulled him towards me. “Dale, I’m sorry. You apologized and I know you were sincere. I didn’t mean to....”

  He sat up and moved himself behind me on the bed. I kept hold of his hand and wrapped it around the front of me. I didn’t want to let go or push him away. I leaned forward, allowing him to wrap his large, long legs around me, effectively straddling me from behind.

  Dale pressed his body close to mine and hugged me tight to his chest. “How much do you remember about last night?”

  “I remember everything you said.” He hugged me tighter and I kept going, “I remember they decided to have another shot-a-thon. That’s it.”

  He kissed my shoulder and held his lips there for a minute. “Mmm, enough of that or I’ll never get to tell you what they did. Okay, you passed out at the club and we got you home and cleaned up.”

  I looked back at him and rolled my eyes. “We?”

  “Hey, don’t look at me like that. It was Paige’s idea. She insisted you wouldn’t want to wake up smelling like bar smoke and liquor. All I did was put you in the tub. Well, that and spot your head so you wouldn’t drown. They made me stare the other way so long that I may never get the kink out of my neck. So have no fear, she and Megan handled the rest and I got you out when they were done.”

  Waking up smelling like smoke and booze did suck. But did they have to have Dale present? That was more than a bit humiliating.

  “I put you in bed and they ordered me to stay out of the way while they did their thing. This isn’t even all of it, Liz. They love you and wanted this to be special for us.” Dale ran his fingertips down my spine, making me shiver and lean forward fast. He didn’t stop. Brushing my hair to the side, he planted a tiny kiss on my neck. “I wanted this to be special for us.”

  Trying to fight the urge to climb onto my hands and knees and beg him to join with me, I tried to focus on anything but his tender kisses. “So they went to all this trouble just for us?”

  Dale nibbled at the back of my earlobe. His breathing intensified and each tiny suck, each tiny sigh had my chest heaving and body tingling. “Like I said, they seem to think we’re good together.” Licking along the outer edge of my ear, Dale made tiny circles as he purred lightly. I gasped and he bit lightly at my ear. “I agree with them. Do you agree?”

  Any rational thought remaining chose that moment to abandon me. Reaching up, I slid my arm back behind his head and held him to me. Dale moved his hand downward and pushed it under the satin sheet. The moment his hand touched my bare hip the fire he was so good at creating flared through me. I scooted back more and rocked my body slightly against his. His hard erection greeted me and I paid close attention to rocking in a way that would best stimulate him. Instantly, he was clutching my hip, holding me still and breathing rapidly.

  “Dale?”

  “Ahh, how is it that you can drive me to the point I’m about to come and all you’ve done is put your body against mine?”

  Arching a brow, I smiled wickedly. “Talent I guess.”

  He snorted. “That’s an understatement if I’ve ever heard one.”

  “You can quit kissing my ass now. You’re out of the doghouse. You’re now allowed to roam the yard but that’s it.”

  It was Dale who rocked against me this time. “Mmm, Liz-B, kissing my way to your ass is on my list of things to do today.”

  Moisture collected between my legs. Taking hold of Dale’s hand, I moved it off my hip and brought it to my mouth. I kissed the back of his hand and made my way down his middle finger. When I reached the end, I drew it into my mouth slowly, making sure to roll my tongue over it as I did.

  Dale groaned and pressed his body against me harder. “Liz....”

  “Mmmhmm,” I hummed over his finger.

  For a minute, Dale sounded as though he’d been burned but I knew better. “Something the matter?”

  “Ahh, no ... I’m good,” his voice cracked as he answered me. Clearing his throat, he leaned up a bit. “So, does this mean I’m getting another chance at being more than just a friend?”

  Smiling, I pulled his finger out of my mouth and placed my finger over his. I brought them over my hip, my thigh, and stopped when I reached my pussy. I parted my outer lips with our joined fingers. Dale sucked in a breath as I inserted his finger first into my hot, wet core and followed it closely with my own. Instantly, I was stretched and leaning back on him to give him deeper access.

  “Breathe, Dale.”

  He exhaled shakily, and I couldn’t help but laugh. I used my finger to encourage him to move his. It worked. Dale pressed deep into me and rocked his hips against me as he continued to kiss along my neck, ear, and shoulder. I j
erked when his thumb ran over my clit, making it swell instantly. He did it again, leaving me jerking once more.

  Dale chuckled softly. “Aren’t paybacks a bitch?”

  I smiled. “Paybacks?”

  “Uh-huh,” he rubbed my clit again, “I was already so hard it was painful, then you go and help me finger you. Are you trying to kill me?”

  I kept my hand over his, guiding him as he sent tiny jolts of delight through my body. “No, I’m not trying to kill you. I’m trying to tell you that you’ve got your second chance, as more than a friend, don’t blow it.”

  “Ahhh! She said yes!”

  I heard Megan’s voice a second before the door flew open. Dale yanked the sheet up to cover me as I stared at the empty doorway.

  Odd. Very, very odd.

  “Get off me, your heel is digging in my leg.” I heard Lauren but didn’t see her.

  Megan growled. “I didn’t mean it. You told me you locked the door.”

  “I forgot.”

  Megan poked her head up at the foot of the bed and had her eyes shut tight. I moved back into Dale fast. “You two ignore us and go back to what you were doing. Pretend we aren’t even here.”

  Dale laughed so hard that it reverberated through me. The longer he laughed the less I could stop myself from joining him. Megan gave us an odd look while still managing to keep her eyes closed and ducked down again.

  Lauren’s head of long loose, wavy hair popped up next. “Dammit, Paige, get up!”