Executive Decision: A Romance Novel

by Mandy M. Roth

  Pausing, he looked in the mirror at me. “You want to shave my face?”

  I nodded eagerly. “Remember that dream I told you about?”

  He chuckled. “Ah, the one where you have a beard and don’t know how to get rid of it. Yeah. Do you remember what I told you?”

  Rolling my eyes, I answer him in a drawn out voice. “Don’t eat chocolate before I go to bed.”

  “Yep.”

  “Well, can I?”

  Dale tipped his head back again and started on a new spot of his neck. “Can you what?”

  “Stand on my head and sing the national anthem, idiot. Can I try to shave your face, just once? I want to see what it’s like and I haven’t had the nerve to ask any men I’ve dated so far.”

  “But you feel comfortable enough to ask me?” He arched a brow and smiled.

  “I’m not dating you, am I?”

  “No, you aren’t. You are just a wife I can’t remember marrying and don’t have sex with.”

  I thought about that a minute. “I just realized you’re the only man that I’ve ever been this close to. There was a guy growing up that I thought was my closest guy friend until I met you. He has a big brother vibe to him. You don’t. I was good friends with a few others, but the minute anything progressed it was the kiss of death for our friendship.” Shrugging, I took a tiny step towards him. “Maybe that’s why I still like you after all these years. No sex.”

  “Wait. You’re telling me that you don’t stay friends with men you sleep with?”

  I bit back the “duh” at the tip of my tongue. “Since I’ve been here I’ve never dated a guy longer than a month. That’s barely enough time to learn the basics about them, let alone forge a lasting friendship with them. Plus, if I actually gave a crap about them I’d have stayed with them.”

  He took another swipe with the razor down his neck and continued to look at me in the mirror. “So you haven’t been with Smarmy Charlie longer than a month?”

  Oh, I opened myself up wide for that one.

  “Dating isn’t exactly a word I’d use to describe the situation there.”

  The look that came over Dale’s face was anything but pleasant. “I see.”

  Leave it alone. You’ll only dig yourself in deeper.

  I fondled with the edge of the white cabinet and pretended to not really care what he thought. “What do you expect? I need ... umm ... I need certain things too, Dale.”

  “Things?”

  There was no way he was letting me off the hook. “Sex, Dale. I need to have sex too. It’s not something reserved for everyone but me and there are only so many times a girl can take care of the problem herself before her hand gets tired.”

  The look he shot me was sexy and questioning all at the same time. “I’m always here with you. When do you have time to...?” He looked down and smiled.

  “You do sleep you know.”

  “In the same bed as you most of the time.”

  I smiled wide, and he shook his head. “Great, I’ll never rest sound again. I’ll be thinking I’ll miss out if I shut my eyes. Thanks, Liz.”

  “See, that’s why I need certain things handled. I can only spend so long having you walk around in next to nothing, too, before I want to go tackle someone. I blame you for it. I’m fairly sure I could last at least a few months if I didn’t practically live with a Greek god.”

  “Greek god?” Dale grunted. “But why him? Why Baum? It’s not like you don’t go out with other guys all the time. Don’t they satisfy...?”

  I knocked a small basket of brushes over as I heard the words coming from his mouth. “Hold the phone, buddy. Do you honestly think I have sex with every man I go out with?”

  “No, I just assumed that....”

  I couldn’t hide my disappointment in him. How could he think I’d sleep with anything that moved? “You know, I’m working on having no problem bringing home a man I meet at a bar and screwing him regardless if I know his name or not. I haven’t had any luck with that yet. I can’t imagine having a man in my place, well, other than you. Plus, the idea of sex with a stranger doesn’t appeal to me. And don’t you dare start on me too. Lauren already makes fun of me enough for everyone.” I swirled my finger absently on a cool white tile. “I’ve explained a hundred times to her that I have had sex since I’ve been here. I’m not a nun. I think I’m too picky. No smartass comments from you about it either.”

  “So, do you have set guidelines or something? Do you take a checklist out with you?” he asked as he dipped his razor in the sink.

  “Do you? Why are we having this conversation?”

  “Because I’m curious as to why you’re with Charles, that’s all.”

  “Let’s talk about your sex life, shall we? Would you like to toss out numbers for this month alone? Or have you been using your ‘illnesses’ to keep them at bay?”

  Dale shifted and took a sudden interest in shaving again. “Still want to learn how to shave a guy?”

  Oh, now we change the subject. Jerk.

  “Still want me close to your throat with a razor?”

  He gulped. I smiled. Deciding to cut him some slack, I rolled my eyes and laughed. “Hand it over. I’ll give it a try.”

  Dale thought about it a moment before turning to me and handing me his razor. “Rule one: You cannot try to shave me. You must be confident you can shave me. I’m not about to go out on the town looking like road kill. Rule two: When you’re nervous, you’re clumsy. So come here.”

  I’d have yelled about the clumsy comment but it was true. I took a step and stood in front of him. “Okay, now what?”

  Dale grabbed hold of my waist. He lifted me quickly into the air. “Here you go,” he said as he set me up on the red counter. “See that’s better. There’s less of a chance you’ll trip over your own two feet if you aren’t on them, and I personally like my face the way it is so I’m not taking any chances.”

  Sucking my cheeks in slightly, I shot him a cocky look. “You’re really going to let me shave you? You’re either really brave or incredibly stupid.”

  “I like to think of myself as incredibly trusting.”

  I shifted a bit, adjusting to the counter. I exhaled deeply and readied myself. “You’re going to need to move closer.” He stood against my bare knees and tipped his head back, keeping his eyes on me the whole time. He looked nervous, as he should be.

  I tried to reach him but he was a bit too far away for me to feel comfortable enough to put a razor to his throat. I grabbed his belt loop and opened my legs. He resisted my pull.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m pulling you closer. Why?”

  Dale backed away just a tiny bit but enough for me to feel it. “Umm ... err ... you’re only wearing a towel.”

  “You don’t say? I could have sworn I was in the latest Vera Wang dress but I could be wrong. It’s been a really long day.”

  Dale didn’t take the bait. Normally unable to resist a verbal test of wits, his sudden silence bothered me. He went to reach over me and ended up spreading my legs further until his body was settled directly between my thighs. He pulled back fast and shoved another red terry-cloth towel in my face.

  “Here, put this between your legs.”

  “What?”

  “Put the damn thing between your legs, Liz. The towel you have on now is a hairbreadth away from being jacked all the way up with your legs open. If you have a heart you will put the towel between your legs and keep yourself covered.”

  A bit shocked by his sudden outburst, I listened to him and draped the towel between my legs. “There. Happy now? God, you act like at any minute I’m going flip a red light on and begin to seduce you. You can relax. You may dislike a certain someone, but he serves his purpose well.”

  “I bet he does.” He took a deep breath and relaxed a bit. “Sorry, I just think the towel is best here, that’s all.”

  “I walk around almost naked in front of you all the time and we’ve known each other
how long? Why’s it suddenly an issue?”

  “Not that naked.” Dale grabbed his bottle of shaving cream and put more in his hand. He covered his face again and smiled down at me. “Ready?”

  I dipped the razor into the sink basin full of hot water. Looking up at him, I smiled. “All set.”

  He tilted his head back, and I leaned forward. I put the razor right above his skin and stopped. Dale must have sensed my trepidation because he put his shaving cream covered hand over mine and placed the razor against his skin. I barely touched the silver handle while he pulled it down his neck. He then dipped the razor into the sink, taking my hand with him.

  “Now, are you ready to do it?”

  “Yes, but we’re both covered in cream now.”

  He arched a light brown brow. “Really?”

  “In case you’re wondering, I’m ignoring the sexual innuendo.” I dunked my hand in the water quickly, getting all the cream off my hands. I rubbed my hands over the towel draped between my legs to dry them.

  “Are you ready now? This stuff will dry on my face before you get to it.”

  Nodding, I took the razor and laid it against him gently. “Is that right?” He began to nod, and I grabbed his cheeks, getting shaving cream on myself again. “Don’t move your head. Just grunt or something.”

  He smiled, and I took that as a sign to go on. I pulled the razor down his neck and breathed a sigh of relief when I completed that one tiny task without making him bleed.

  I returned to my task, concentrating so hard on him that I didn’t notice I’d done as much as I had. The only parts left were around his lips and his chin. I wiggled off the countertop and had to use my hips to press Dale back a bit. He hissed.

  “Did I hurt you?”

  “Nope,” he spit out, sounding a bit strained.

  I stood before him and inspected him for damage. Finding none, I decided to go ahead and finish what I’d started. “Are you going to help me around your mouth?”

  Dale just smiled. That equaled no.

  “How am I supposed to shave you if you’re grinning?”

  Instantly, he pulled his face slack, but the strain to keep from laughing was evident.

  “Have it your way.” I stood on my tiptoes and stared hard at his face, trying to figure out the best way to handle the situation. If it was anything like shaving my knees, Dale was screwed.

  I touched his lips and pulled down slightly on them in an attempt to see if it would give me more room to maneuver under his nose. It didn’t. I ran my fingers along the shaved portion of his cheek and examined his chin. Having a square face and slightly dimpled chin made him popular with the ladies but made me nervous as hell to put a razor anywhere near his mouth.

  “I can’t do it,” I said, holding the razor up for him. “I’m afraid I’ll cut your chin open or slice your lips. I really like them and would hate to know I injured them.”

  “Here, I’ll show you.” He took the razor from my hand and brought it to his face.

  I stood as tall as I could to watch how it was supposed to be done. He didn’t move. Glancing up, I found Dale staring at me. His emerald green eyes suddenly seemed a hell of a lot greener than they had earlier. Not wanting to dwell on that, I smiled. “Are you going to do it or what?”

  “Yeah,” he whispered before reaching past me and dipping his razor into the sink. In doing so, we were left nose to nose. “Yes, Liz, I’m going to do it.”

  The low, hushed tone Dale used caught me off guard. Maybe he was nervous having someone stare at him while he shaved. I watched him shave in some form daily. That couldn’t be it. He was probably still ticked about Charles.

  “Dale?”

  “Mmmhmm.”

  My eyes went to his lips as he hummed his answer to me. For some insane reason, I couldn’t look away from them. The temperature in the bathroom seemed to rise. I needed fresh air but my feet refused to respond to my commands to move. “I should ... umm ... I better ... what was I going to say?”

  Dale’s lips drew into a small grin, only making me focus on them harder. They were just lips. Why was I suddenly so fascinated by them? If that wasn’t bizarre enough, they were attached to Dale of all people. And I certainly was not attracted to Dale sexually. Right? He drew back from me slowly and I followed him, captivated with his mouth, not wanting to be any further from it than necessary.

  He chuckled softly. “If you want to go to dinner anytime soon then you’ll have to move back enough to let me finish.”

  Each word he uttered made my freakish new obsession worse. My breathing quickened, and I tried to remember what I was supposed to be doing. I came up empty.

  “Liz, you okay?”

  “Is it really hot in here? Or is it just me?”

  The left-hand side of his mouth pulled higher. “Yes, it is hot in here. Must be because you just showered.”

  I nodded slightly. “Yeah, that must be it.”

  Dale moved close, leaving his lips practically pressed to mine. “Yeah, must be that.”

  The urge to close that tiny gap was strong. Suddenly, I felt dizzy. Closing my eyes slightly, I reached out and used Dale to steady myself.

  He wrapped an arm around me and held me steady. “Liz-B, you feeling okay? Do you want me to tell Paige that we’re going to take a rain check on dinner?”

  “I’m ... umm ... I’m fine, just a little warm.”

  “Are you coming down with something?” Dale’s voice held an edge of humor in it. Hearing it, I snapped out of my stupor.

  I stood tall and blinked several times. I went to take a step away and felt Dale’s arm tighten around me. “I’m fine, really. I think I need some fresh air.”

  “Really, that’s all, huh? Because it looked like you were about to pass out a minute ago.”

  Coming completely to my senses, I glared at him. “Pass out, huh?”

  He nodded as he finished the last few strokes around his mouth and chin. I waited until he’d rinsed his razor, wiped his face clean and drained the sink before I snatched his shaving cream bottle up and squirted some in my hand.

  Dale looked puzzled. “Liz?”

  I walked towards him and ran my tongue along my lower lip. “Pass out? Hmm, I don’t know. Maybe I was just thinking of a way to....” I didn’t finish my sentence. Instead, I rubbed the cream over his cheek, leaving a big clump of it stuck to him.

  He wiped it with his hand and gave a very unconvincing, angry look. “You think you’re clever, don’t you?”

  “I did figure out how to program the VCR before you did, so yeah, I think I’m clever.”

  Dale glanced at the shaving cream on his hand and then stared at me. Narrowing his eyes, he moved closer to me. “Mmmhmm, you sure did figure that out before me. But I figured something else out long before you.”

  I would have questioned him on his last comment but he inched towards the door and it hit me what he was about to do. A smile broke over my face. “Don’t you dare!’

  “Oh, I dare.” The second he pushed the door shut, closing us in the bathroom together I knew what was coming. He’d see me good and covered in shaving cream for doing that to him.

  “What’s the matter, Liz?” he asked, slinking towards me.

  I pointed at his pants and tried to talk my way out of his attack. “You’ll stain your pants.”

  “It’s shaving cream,” he said wryly.

  “Still, it might stain and I’ve been shopping with you too many times to count. You buy the most expensive pair of pants you can find. Is getting back at me really worth ruining a pair of pants by....” I tried to figure out which pair of pants he had on today.

  “Dolce and Gabbana.”

  I nodded. “Right, so is it worth risking them to get back at lil’ ol’ me?”

  Dale’s cheeks dimpled as he smiled wide. “Lil’ ol’ you? Hmm, no you’re right. It’s not worth risking them.”

  Sighing, I went to walk past him. The minute his clean hand went to the front of his pants I shook my head.
“You wouldn’t.”

  In no time flat, Dale had his pants undone and was slipping them down his legs. He kicked them to the corner of the bathroom. I couldn’t help but stare at him in his grey cotton boxer briefs and white tank top. The man took exercising seriously and it showed. I gulped as I traced over the muscles on his upper thighs.

  “Liz? My face is up here.”

  I knew where his face was. Why the hell did he say that? I looked up at him fast and felt my cheeks beginning to redden. “Umm....”

  Dale lunged at me and I turned to run. Catching me around the waist, he lifted me and spun me around. I held tight to his arm but tried to wriggle free of him all the same.

  “Are you ready?”

  “Dale, don’t you dare.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his hand with the shaving cream in it coming straight for me. “No. If I have to wash my hair it’ll take forever to dry.”

  “Hey, I’m up for a night in and pizza. I hate the places Paige likes to eat.”

  “Dale.” I began to wiggle more, doing my best to squirm out of his clutches. He stopped moving and held me tight to him. I wasn’t positive, but it sounded like he moaned.

  “Put me down, you’ve hurt yourself.”

  He let go of me momentarily, and I seized the opportunity to run towards the door. Managing to get my hand wrapped around the doorknob, I felt victorious.

  “Oh, no you don’t.” Dale’s arm was suddenly around me. He spun me to face him a little too fast. My feet slipped out from under me. He grabbed for me and slipped too.

  I hit the floor first, followed closely by Dale as he landed on top of me, smashing the shaving cream into the floor instead of me. Pushing up on his chest, I tried to get him to move. “Uggh, you’re heavy. Get off....”

  The feel of something hard pressing against my lower abdomen stopped me in mid-sentence. When I realized it was Dale’s cock, I held my breath, unsure of what to do. It certainly wasn’t the first time a man was above me with a hard on. It was, however, the first time Dale was the man in question.

  Dale shifted slightly, planting his clothed erection firmly to me. I couldn’t move. Worse yet, I didn’t want to.