Rescue Breathing (32 page)

I follow her guidance and grab her hips,
pulling her hard against me, fucking her hard through her
orgasm.
“Fuck, Olivia.
You're going to make me come.” I growl into her ear. “You feel
fucking amazing coming on my cock like this.”

“
Yes, yessss,” she hisses, holding her
breasts tight as they bounce from my hard thrusts.

“
Shitshitshit…I'm going to
come…y
ou feel too damn
good.
FUCK!” I pull out,
pushing her flat on her back. I rise to my knees between her legs
and come on her stomach. I sit back on my knees, breathing hard,
looking as she lies there, naked and painted in my come. “That may
be the hottest thing I've ever seen.”

Olivia swipes a finger through my come and
sucks on her finger, giving me a smirk.

I groan.

“
I take that back.
That
may be the hottest thing I've seen. If you're not
careful, I'll take you across my knee for teasing me.”

“
That's kinda the point,” she says
smugly.

I stand up from the couch and pull Olivia
to her feet. “Come on, sexy. Let's take a shower. I have another
new memory I want to make with you.”

“
Oh yeah? And what's that?” she asks as I'm
mesmerized by her ass walking in front of me.

“
Let's just say I was at the sex toy shop
the other day and picked up a few things. Hypothetically, what's
your stance on handcuffs?”

Olivia hums seductively, and just like
that, I'm hard for her again.

C
HAPTER THIRTY

Olivia

It
's been a particularly long day of tabulating data from a
research study that's winding down. I love this part of the work.
All the tedium of collecting data coming together to tell a story
still fascinates me after all these years of doing it. But this
year, I have more than just the thrill of data to enjoy. I have a
date. And I don't think I've ever been so excited for one in my
life. It's my birthday, and Owen is surprising me by taking me
somewhere tonight.  Just the anticipation makes me giddy. I
push a pile of data I've finished entering to one side of my desk
and grab another.

"One down, one hundred to go." I laugh to
myself. Suddenly, there's a knock at my office door. "Come in!" I
yell.

In enters our shared receptionist for the
department, Laney. She's a little wisp of a thing, quiet, demure,
but unbelievably valuable. The girl is a workhorse and smart as a
whip, and I feel thankful to have her help.

"Hey, Laney, what's up?"

"Okay, there is a
gorgeous
man in the waiting room asking to see you. He says
it's a surprise and he has flowers,” she says with a grin from ear
to ear.

I haven't really talked to people at work
about Owen yet, so it's not a surprise that she doesn't recognize
him. But I, on the other hand, never expected him to come to my
office. I mean, I'm going to see him in just a few hours. There's
that romantic side of him I'm just getting to know—and love I
think. But still, I didn't expect a visit from him. I can't
remember ever telling him where my office was. Oh well. Who cares?
He's here, and now all manners of hot office-desk sex are running
through my head. I can't get him in here fast enough.

"Well go ahead and send him in, Laney!"

She runs back out the waiting area and I
hear her talking quietly to someone. I finish what I'm doing on my
computer and clear off my desk so I can give Owen all of my
attention. When I can sense someone standing in the doorway, I look
up and my blood instantly runs cold.

Jay.

I am stunned silent.
It's been almost a year since I've seen or
heard from him. My heart is pounding in my chest, but not in a good
way, and suddenly I have that urge to run.

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

His eyebrows pull together. "Hello to you
too, Livvie," he says. He holds out the large bouquet of flowers in
his hand. "Flowers for your birthday."

I don't move, so he eventually lays them
on the side table in the office. He steps farther into the room and
leaves the door ajar behind him.

"I don
't remember inviting you in," I say, tension in my
voice.

"Jesus, Liv. It's been a long time and
this is how you greet me?"

"I think you're an asshole and I thought I
made it clear I didn't ever want to see you again. Let's cut the
small talk. Why are you here?"

He sighs and shuffles his feet, looking at
the ground. Eventually he picks his head up. "Kate left me," he
states simply. "She found out about us…and another girl…and took
the kids to her parents. She's filing for divorce.”

I blink at him, momentarily surprised by
this. How did she find out about me after all this time? I want to
ask but don't, reminding myself of the advice that asking questions
invites him in. And that's the last place I want him.

"Why do I care that she finally left
you?"

"I just
…I've missed you. I never wanted us to end. The baby just
freaked me out for obvious reasons. I can't stop thinking about
you."

Is he fucking
kidding
me right now?

"What did you just say?" I ask to be sure
I haven't just had a stroke and gotten this wrong.

"I miss you. I want you back."

My head reels and I start laughing. Not
just a 'haha that was funny' laugh, but a full-fledged 'I am in
crazy mode to the point of tears running down my face'
laugh.

His face drops and he looks
confused.
"You find that
funny?" he asks, sounding wounded. “I'm trying to tell you I made a
mistake, Liv.”

I finally rein in my laughing enough that
I can catch my breath and talk. "Funny doesn't capture it, Jay.
Blown away and disgusted does. Pathetic describes it pretty well
too."

He makes a face indicating that he is not
pleased by what I've said.

"You know, you have bigger balls than I
ever gave you credit for. You left me when I needed you most. You
called me names,
blamed
me,
accused
me of
getting pregnant on purpose to lock you in, and you want me back?
Am I on
Punk'd
or
something?"

He starts to shuffle his feet again, but
he's staring straight at me. "Liv, I love you. I always have. My
circumstances at the time made me have to make some hard decisions.
But fate has worked in our favor, and now we can see where it would
go, could go."

I am suddenly furious—a 'go after you and
hurt you' furious.

"What a convenient reworking of our
history, Jay. Bravo.” I am seething, and I wouldn't be surprised if
steam was visibly coming out of my ears. “You had to make hard
decisions? A decision, Jay, would have included a moment of thought
or reflection on the situation. Perhaps having some insight as to
how all this impacted me, for instance.
You,
however, didn'
t make a
hard decision
,”
I spit out. “
You
bolted
without a moment of hesitation. So forgive me if I'm not on board
with your definition of fate, or love, or anything for that
matter.”

I realize that my hands are shaking, so I
take them from my lap, grasping the edge of my desk to steady
myself. The last thing I want is for this piece of shit to see me
vulnerable.

“
Not to mention, has it ever crossed your
mind that when you left my life didn't just stop? That I healed?
That I became stronger? That I found someone else?"

He laughs, "Huh,
you
found someone else? I thought I devastated you.
 We had something very special, Liv. I'd be shocked if you
found someone else so quickly."

I can start to feel the vein in my
forehead pop out and my blood-pressure skyrocket. "Yes, I found
someone else!" I stand up and lean on my desk. "And he's fucking
amazing! He cares for me, cherishes me, invites me to his
house
." I'm so
mad I'm starting to lose my cool. "I—I think I fucking love him!"
 Tears come to my eyes. Not because of the douchebag standing
in front of me, but because, standing in my doorway, is
Owen.

My face goes white, then red. I think I
might pass out.

"Owen," I breathe.

He
's looking right at me, his gaze dark. "Olivia?" he asks,
looking first at me, then Jay, and then back to me. "Are you going
to introduce me to your...friend?” He starts to walk farther into
the office but suddenly stops, his eyes lighting up with alarm.
“Olivia, why are you crying?"

"Is this him?" Jay says, incredulous.
“This is the new guy?”

My eyes haven't left Owen's since he
walked in the room. How much did he hear? Was he listening outside
my door? I don't know if he heard me say that I love him, and I'm
terrified that it will scare him away. I look back at Jay to answer
his question.

"Yes," I exhale. "This is Owen." I look
back up at Owen, tears streaming down my face in a combination of
anger at Jay and fear about Owen.

Owen gives me a questioning look as I
haven't answered his questions. He takes another step closer to me,
watching me intently.

“
Olivia, you didn't answer my question. Why
are you crying?” His expression is torn, both caring towards me and
volatile towards Jay. “Who is this guy, and why is he making you
cry?” His voice is less inquisitive and bordering on
lethal.

"Owen, this is nobody, and he was just
leaving." I look back at Jay. "You need to go, Jay. Don't ever
contact me again. Ever." I put my head down to avoid his
gaze.

"You
're kidding me.
We have a history and you're going to walk away from me for
him?" he scoffs. He looks defeated, which is laughable. “How long
have you known him? A few months? We had years together!
Years
!” He waves
his hands in the air to emphasize his point.

"Our history no longer exists to me, and
neither do you. Get out Jay." I point to the door. Despite my
tears, my voice is steady, controlled, unemotional.

He mumbles an expletive under his breath,
and after grabbing his flowers, he starts to walk toward the door.
Owen is stunned silent and taking all of this in.

When Jay gets to the door, he turns to
look at me, anger in his eyes. "Have a nice life.
This is your loss," he growls
and stomps out of the office, slamming the door behind
him.

I slump into my office chair, head in my
hands, shaking like a leaf, and sob.
My whole body is trembling. The multitude of
emotions washing over me like waves is overwhelming, and I am
practically having a panic attack. Jay was enough of a jolt to the
system, but Owen showing up, likely hearing what I said, and now
surely needing some more detailed explanation about the piece of
shit who has ruined me for this wonderful man, has me
spent.

I can
't see Owen, but I can hear him walking around my desk
towards me. And then I can smell his aftershave and men's body
wash. It has become a scent that makes me feel safe.
He
makes me feel safe.
I feel him next to me, and
through my fingers, I see him kneel beside me. He wraps his arms
around my waist and gently pulls me into his lap as we settle onto
the floor. He cradles me against him, comforting me. I curl into
his arms, his face burrowed into my neck, breathing me
in.

For a moment, my sobbing increases. It's a
release of emotional energy now that I feel safe to let it go.
After a few minutes, I notice that he's stroking my hair, my
back.

“
Baby, was that him? The one you won't tell
me about?”

I let out another sob as I think about all
the times I should have trusted him to tell him the truth about my
romantic past but didn
't.

“
Olivia, please talk to me baby. What can I
do? Tell me.”

I know I need to talk, but I can't catch
my breath enough to make any sound. I do know that I've never been
so happy to be in someone's arms and I don't ever want to move. His
arms are tight around me, almost painful, but I feel so safe with
him. I take a deep, shuddering breath.

"That was him," I whisper.

He nods but doesn
't say anything more, waiting, I know, for me to
tell him more, waiting for me to do it in my own time. I realize
that it's now or never, and I figure I'll give him an abbreviated
version that hits the big points. We can talk about the details
another time. I curl into him further.

"His name is Jay. We dated a long time. He
got me pregnant. While letting me know he didn't want the baby, he
also informed me he was married with children of his own. I lost
the baby—and myself. He is the only person in the world I truly
hate. I haven't seen him in almost a year. His wife left him. He
came here to get me back."