Executive Decision: A Romance Novel

by Mandy M. Roth

  “Do you want me to take them off you?” I asked, staring down at the grey material that now had large wet spots covering it.

  Dale shook his head and his eyes widened. “No. I won’t be able to stop if there’s nothing between us.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Liz-B, I’m positive.”

  Taking his word, I positioned my body back over his. Before I settled down on him, I bent my head and kissed his full lips again. They had a strange power over me now. So full, so close. Just the slightest feel of them brushing mine had made my body tingle. Now, seeing what happened when I actually kissed them with passion I silently swore to stay away from them when we were done.

  Lowering myself slowly, I felt the head of his clothed cock press against my opening. The urge to slide the material out of the way was fast consuming me. This was Dale, yet I could fully see myself riding him. Focusing, I tried to hold back, yet still saw the image of it in my head, making me want it even more.

  “Uhh, I want to feel you in me, Dale.”

  Dale grabbed my hips and went to lift me off. I pushed down and cried out as the plum-sized head of his cock spread me to the brink. The wet cloth encasing his shaft allowed it to slide in easily.

  “Oh God, Liz. Off, off or I’ll come now. I’ll come in you.”

  I knew I should get off. I also knew we shouldn’t have done all that we already had. Besides, his cock wasn’t actually touching me, so did it really count? I knew the answer to that already but chose to ignore it. Pushing down more, I was only able to get a quarter of the way down before he ran out of extra material.

  “Liz, off now!”

  Dale’s gaze went downwards. Mine followed. There I saw us joined. Well, almost joined. My pussy lips spread over the top portion of his cock. Dale’s underwear was tented to the point I thought they’d rip.

  When I looked back up, Dale was staring at me. “Let me take them off you so you can go deeper in me.”

  Dale’s breathing grew shallow as I pushed down more. Sliding my hands between our bodies, I lifted a bit and tried to free the tip of his shaft from its confines. Dale seized hold of my wrist and stopped me.

  “Liz, you don’t want this.”

  “I want to feel your cock buried deep within me, Dale. I want to ride it, ride you until you come in me.”

  For a moment, I thought he might pop a vein in his neck from the way he was straining. He released my wrist and slid his hand between us. He didn’t move to free himself from his clothed confines. Instead, he began to rub my clit with his fingers. I increased my thrusts on him and his mouth opened but no sound came out.

  “Please let me take them off, Dale. I want to fuck you and then I want you to fuck me.”

  Dale jerked. The force of his hard erection pressing against the wet cloth within me and the feel of his fingers pressed against my clit pushed me over the edge. My lower abdomen tightened. My body clenched and pulled, grasping where there should have been more cock buried. I dropped my head down and Dale’s lips crashed into mine. He thrust his tongue in at the same moment I hit my zenith.

  Crying out in his mouth, I jerked my hips above him as my orgasm ripped through me, flowing though my legs, my abdomen, even through my over stimulated breasts. I lifted my hips higher and made straight line, rapid thrusts on him, doing my best to provide him what stimulation he would all while still in underwear.

  Dale stiffened and his cock twitched. He seized hold of my hips and lifted me until his cock was free of me. Pulling me down quickly, he held me tight to him as he continued to kiss me. Instantly, my belly was warm and wet. I knew he was done, but I couldn’t pull my mouth away from him. I didn’t want to pull away. He seemed to be having the same problem.

  I’m not sure how long we stayed that way but when we were done, Dale was no longer hard enough to hammer nails into the wall and I was more sated than I’d ever been. I broke away from our kiss slowly and looked down at him searching for signs of regret. When I found none, I relaxed. “Well, that certainly did the trick to get you to finish.”

  “Liz, I’m sorry ... I didn’t mean to....”

  “Dale, stop right now. It was what it was. Period. We didn’t plan it. It’s human nature to respond the way our bodies did. I’m not upset with you or myself for that matter. I don’t think less of you and I can only hope you don’t think less of me. I will not allow this to change our friendship. In fact it will only strengthen it.”

  Now, if only I believed what I’d just told him we’d be all set.

  His brow furrowed. “Strengthen it how?”

  I smiled wickedly. “I’ll now understand why the girls you go out with have that lost puppy look whenever I see one after you’ve....” I glanced downwards and wagged my eyebrows. “ ... spent an evening with them.”

  Dale was quiet for a moment. As he stared at me, I wondered what was running through his mind. Before I had a chance to ask, he propped himself up.

  “Shower?” he asked as he rolled off me, snatched the extra towel and tossed it back at me as he got to his feet.

  I covered myself and stood slowly. “Yes, but we should probably take separate ones,” I said, smiling mischievously.

  “Agreed. And let this be a lesson as to why you should keep a towel between your legs when you’re on the sink.”

  “Hmm, I think after that rather interesting shaving lesson you just gave me there’s no point in worrying now.”

  His hot gaze raked over me. “You do realize that we’re a bit ... err ... messy now.”

  Glancing down, I wrinkled my face up. “Do you mind if I shower first? This stuff is really runny and sticky.”

  The manly chuckle that came from Dale made some of my worries fade away. “I think that’s a really good idea.”

  Chapter Six

  Dale walked out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist and beads of water glistening on his tawny chest. I’d never noticed how good he looked wet before. Hmm, odd. I would have dwelled on it, but I was still trying to come to terms with what we’d done twenty minutes earlier.

  “You should wear your dark grey cashmere ribbed crew sweater.”

  “Jeans or slacks?” he asked, not seeming to care that he was driving me crazy in just a towel. He might as well run around the room naked for all the good that did.

  “Jeans. There’s a pair of Helmut Lang’s in your bottom drawer.”

  Dale flashed me a good ol’ boy smile. “You’re too good to me.”

  “I know. Find a wife so I can get a break.”

  He paused and held my gaze. Something odd passed over his face before he grinned. “I’m working on it.”

  “Not hard enough.”

  “Hey, you try being a ‘nice’ single guy in New York City. Women claim they want men they can trust yet they all seem to flock to the bad boys.”

  I snatched my vanilla scented body lotion from the top of the oversized white-washed armoire that I used to hide the television in my room. Popping the cap open, I deposited a dollop of it into the palm of my hand and went to work applying it. “That’s not true.”

  “Then how do you explain Charles? Seems like you headed straight to the biggest womanizing prick you could find.”

  I set myself up for that one. Maybe next time I could just kick myself and save Dale the time. I put the lotion back and pretended not to care what he thought of me. “If you’d be so kind as to step off your soapbox for a moment to give me your opinion on what I should wear, that would be great.”

  “Ever the smartass.”

  “Ever a candidate for Mother Teresa’s replacement.”

  Dale laughed as I headed towards the L-shaped area that served as my closet. It consisted of two wardrobes, an ash one I’d found at an auction and a burr-maple one. Both had been in poor shape but Paige and Dale helped me fix them up. Now they were beautiful. The biggest expense in redoing them had been having a full-length mirror custom made to fit the pre-existing space in the middle section of the burr-maple one
. A six drawer dresser sat next to it. That piece I’d bought new from a knockoff store. It matched the other two pieces and held my clothes in it fine. I considered it a success.

  Opening the door to the ash wardrobe, I stood with my hand on my hip, looking in. It was times like this that I realized I might have a slight addiction to clothing. Afraid to brave going in just yet, I called out to Dale, “Any suggestions for me?”

  “How about the royal blue, silk cami? You know, the one that has that sheer layer and then another layer beneath it. Not the one with the silver studs on it but the one that cups your breasts. I haven’t seen you wear that in a while.”

  Just like a man—go for the least amount of clothing. “You mean the blue one you got me? “

  “I didn’t get you that, did I?”

  “Yes.”

  Dale laughed. “I think I’d remember giving you that, especially considering how ... uhh ... nice it looks on you.”

  “You did buy it for me. It was the week after I’d gotten over bronchitis and you insisted I get out of the house. Entering the land of the living was the theme for the day. We spent the day walking and when you saw it in a display window you went in and bought it. You then spent an hour trying to convince me to put it on in the middle of the street so you could see how it looked on me.”

  He grunted. “How the hell do you remember that? You’ve got no memory. Need I remind you of Lauren and the cell phone issue?”

  Rolling my eyes, I bit back a snide remark. “I remember everything you’ve ever done for me. I even remember the day I first met you. I’d gotten in for the summer as an intern at Baum, and I was so nervous that I was making myself sick. You crouched down next to my chair, introduced yourself and told me not to worry. The only people who had a tendency to bite were all in the layout department so I was safe. And if anyone gave me trouble to come to you and you’d handle it.”

  I absently searched through my dresser for no real reason. “And later that day I was trying to figure out the copier and having no success. I got nervous and accidentally dumped all the files I needed to copy on the floor. You appeared out of nowhere, helped me pick them up, and winked at me before walking off. See, I do have a good memory. Stop telling me I don’t.”

  Dale didn’t respond, and I tried to figure out why. He was no doubt trying to think of a new thing to pick on me about. “I’m surprised you remember all of that about me. Sometimes, it seems like you don’t even notice I’m around.”

  My brows drew together. “Pierce Dale Corbin....” I went to yell at him that I notice him all the time but stopped. He was right. At times I forgot I was in the same room with him. I was that comfortable with him.

  “See, you can’t even lie and say you do.”

  I glared at him. “Would you please shut-up long enough for me to respond? I was trying to think of a way to explain it.”

  Dale chuckled. “I’ll make it easy for you. You forget I’m around.”

  “I do not! I always know when you’re there, even when you think I don’t.”

  “Bullshit. I could bring a marching band with me and you still would keep going about your business unfazed.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. He was being ridiculous. “Dale, I know when you’re there because it feels different than when you’re gone. I can’t explain it. It’s like something is missing. It nags at me and the minute you’re back around it leaves. But my point had originally been that I do have a good memory.”

  “I’ll give on that one. Though, how anyone remembers all that much about someone is a mystery.”

  “Don’t even try to pretend you aren’t the same way.”

  He laughed. “Whatever do you mean?”

  “There is a picture hanging directly behind me that you had done for my birthday.” I looked back at the painting in question.

  “Yeah, so what. I had a painting done for you, big deal. Where I come from, people do that sort of thing all the time.”

  I wasn’t about to let him off the hook that easily. “Right, so tell me, is having every tiny detail I ever mentioned about where I grew up included in the painting normal too? I mean, you even had them put the birdhouse that my brothers helped me make next to the white woodshed that I pretended was a castle. You even made sure the birdhouse was painted every color of the rainbow because I told you that I thought it would be pretty and forced my brothers to let me do it. Now, don’t tell me you don’t remember things about me.”

  “So, are you going with the blue cami?” Dale asked, obviously changing the subject.

  “Yes. Jeans or white slacks?”

  “Jeans.”

  “Thanks!”

  I rifled through the articles in the wardrobe until I found the silk cami Dale had bought me and pulled it out. I pushed the mosquito netting that draped over my bed out of the way and laid the blue top on the white down comforter. I adjusted the pale pink and yellow pillows so they weren’t falling to the middle of the bed. As I took a step back, I bumped one of two identical bedside tables and almost sent one of the mica scroll lamps I’d debated on buying for close to a month to the floor. Somehow, I managed to not only catch it but refrain from smashing against the wall which would have been a very me thing to do.

  Heading to the dresser, I opened my top drawer, fumbled around a bit and grabbed a navy thong. I stepped into it and pulled it on while still trying to keep my towel up.

  Hey, I’m getting good at this.

  As soon as I thought it, my towel came loose and fell to the floor before I could grab it.

  “Let me see this top you claim I got for you. I may still be right ... Holy shit, Elizabeth,” Dale said, putting his hands over his eyes and spinning around fast. “You could warn a guy that you’re ... you know. Especially after what happened. A guy can only take so much and I’ll be damned if I toss you on the floor and....”

  “Yoohoo, anyone home?”

  Neither one of us got a word out before Dale’s sister Paige poked her head around the corner. I covered my breasts and Dale just stood there wearing only a towel.

  Paige’s face lit up. “You two are intimate, aren’t you?”

  “It’s now referred to as screwing, sis, but we’ll let you say it your way. Lord knows you’ll beat me over the head with your pink Prada bag if I dare correct you.”

  Shaking my head, I snatched the blue top off my bed and went to work putting it on. “No. Dale and I are not having....” I stopped short of saying sex. Only because I wasn’t exactly sure if the shaving thing counted. Denial was one of my strongest traits. “Umm ... we’re just friends.”

  “Hmm, pity,” Paige said matter-of-factly, her tone as refined as ever.

  Dale snorted and ran a hand through his light brown hair. “Are you telling me you want Liz and me to get together?”

  “Of course, we all do.” Pieces of her long, light blonde hair fell loose from the twist on her head. They framed her tanned, heart shaped face, making her look even more sexy than usual. Being one of those women who don’t even know they’re beautiful only added to Paige’s charm. She was virginal in a not really still a virgin kind of way. An auctioneer by day, an innocent looking sorority girl by night. Every man’s fantasy. She also had an uncanny ability to talk sex with the best of them. She was just sparing her brother.

  Dale stayed facing forward but leaned to the side. He rifled around one the drawers in the ash wardrobe. “Here,” he said, tossing a pair of low-rise, boot-cut jeans at me. “Those will work. Where are your sling back silver heels?”

  Paige wrinkled her button nose and shook her head as she stared at her brother. “Wow, you two dress each other how cute. Do you pack his lunch for him, Elizabeth?”

  Dale grunted and looked back at me with an “I’m sorry” look. A smile broke over his face as his gaze ran over me. “I guess I did get you that one. I have incredibly good taste.”

  “It’s disturbing when your brother knows more about fashion than you do. Please marry him, Elizabeth. Other women may
not understand he’s available. They’ll start putting two and two together.”

  “It already feels like we are married, and frankly I’d like to pass him on to another woman to deal with for awhile. He’s very demanding. And very insecure. He thinks I don’t ever notice him. Plus, he snores.” I smiled at Dale as he looked back and gave me a pseudo upset look. “Oh, Dale you should see if Walters can hook you up with the buying a bride thing. Be sure to tell her you’re practically a saint and a walking fashion guru. They probably have rules about disclosing any annoying traits. You might luck out and get a life-sized doll that you can dress any way you want.”

  “I already have one of those—you.”

  I laughed. “You’d be smart to stick with women who believe the German measles stories.”

  “And you, Elizabeth my dear, need a very, very patient man.”

  I adjusted the drawers and wrinkled my face. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “The fact you have to ask only proves my point.” He looked at Paige. “And you, pipsqueak, can stop right now. I may understand the new trends and take an interest in my appearance but that doesn’t make me any different than half the men in this city. Oh, and I also happen to know that shirt is too tight for you.” He grabbed the red towel off the floor and tossed it at Paige.

  I glanced at Paige to see what Dale was talking about. Paige had a set of breasts that any woman would envy. The light pink, silk blouse she wore fit her snugly. And the tiny strip of white lace that showed where she’d left several buttons undone emphasized her cleavage even more. A tiny bit of her midriff showed. The dark colored jeans she wore were also slim fitting. They looked fabulous tucked down far into Paige’s pink leather boots. The boots were made to look as though they were pushed down a bit, sort of scrunched. They stopped just under her knee. The tapered toe and two inch stiletto heel really made them stand out.

  “I think you look gorgeous, Paige. Your top is looser than mine and he’s the one who bought it for me. Just ignore him. Apparently, that’s all I do to him so hop on over and join me. It’s fun. He’s cute when he’s mad. He even gets this little tic at corner of his mouth if you really piss him off.”