Rescue Breathing (5 page)

“
Are you speaking at the conference or just
attending?” I ask.

“
I'm presenting, yes. I did a longitudinal
study on the impact of trauma on servicemen, folks like police
officers, firemen—that kind of thing. I looked at them at two and
five years after their identified traumatic event. The hope is to
come up with therapeutic interventions that will actually work for
those guys instead of just glazing over their issues. Boring
right?"

My face changes just slightly. "You're
kidding me, right?"

Olivia scowls. "No. I'm not kidding you.
Why do you ask that?"

I lean back in my seat with a thud, eyeing
her suspiciously. "I'm asking that because I am FDNY,
Brooklyn."

Olivia'
s face drops.
“
You're
kidding
me,
right?"

We both pause and look at each other for a
minute before breaking into a fit of laughter.

"Olivia, you know this means fate brought
us together on this flight, don't you? I mean, you think it's a
coincidence that the psychologist writing about fireman trauma is
sitting next to a fireman? It's karma...I
knew
it!"

She laughs and raises an eyebrow at me.
"Ohhh? Karma, even. Now that's a concept that most psychologists
don't believe in."

* * *

The plane has long since taken off and
Olivia and I have fallen into an effortless banter of
conversation.
She's easy
to talk to. She's jaw-droppingly gorgeous to look at. She's smart
and funny. I like her. I usually don't take this much time chatting
with women. With most women, I'll throw them the ol' Owen charm and
they'll do anything I want them to, which usually involves their
being on their knees in one form or another. Olivia is different
though.  She's a real challenge, which I find oddly
refreshing. She'll be in Seattle. I'll be in Seattle. I want to
know her in the biblical sense. Badly.

“
You're really not seeing anyone?” I find
it very hard to imagine that someone hasn't snatched this one
up.

Olivia looks down at her hand, runs a
thumb over the ring finger of her left hand, and starts to blush.
“I'm single as single can be,” she confirms.

"That single, huh? That's a hard pill to
swallow." I smile, trying to hide how happy I am to hear
this.

Olivia looks over at me and asks, “I can't
believe you're
single. I
mean, I know you're not into marriage so the marriage thing is off
the table, and I'm assuming you're probably also not involved in a
relationship… Am I talking too much?”

I laugh uneasily.
“No. Definitely not married. Was close
once, but it didn't work out,” I say matter-of-factly and in a tone
that may have been more firm than I intended. I take a deep breath
and refocus before turning to Olivia. “Currently, I'm not dating
anyone exclusively. So that leaves the door wide open for someone,”
I add, smirking and finishing off my glass of beer.

Olivia lifts her eyebrow and grabs her
glass of wine, swallowing what's left of its contents. I watch as
she closes her eyes for half a second, clearly enjoying the way it
makes her feel. When she opens her eyes, she finds me observing her
intently. She clears her throat and runs a hand across her
collarbone and into the opening at the top of her blouse. I cannot
look away. If she's teasing me, she's doing a damn good
job.

“
Is it warm in here?” she asks. “It's
probably the wine,” she continues as she looks at her empty glass
before turning her attention toward me.

“
Perhaps. Though I think things are just
starting to get warmed up,” I reply.

“
Oh…” she comments, fluffing her shirt
again.

“
Owen, can I ask you a question?” Olivia
asks, turning in her seat to face me.

I nod, but my eyes are glued to her
chest.

Olivia chuckles. “I'm up here, Owen.” She
reaches out and uses her finger to tilt my chin back up to look her
in the eyes. “I'm just curious. What kind of woman attracts you? I
mean, you don't look like the kind of guy who just spends his time
with hookers, yet you also don't seem to be terribly interested in
relationships. So what is it you like?”

“
Wow. You really are a psychologist, aren't
you?” I laugh nervously. “I'm going to need another drink for this
one.” I hit the call button for the flight attendant. The sooner I
can get another beer in me, the better. “You want
another?”

Olivia nods in agreement and I ask the flight
attendant to bring us another round along with two waters.

“
What attracts me? Well, brunettes with
soul-piercingly blue eyes for starters.”

Olivia blushes and looks down at her hands,
which are resting in her lap.

“
Hey. I'
m up here,
” I
say, mimicking her remark. I reach out to lift up her chin to look
at me. I take a moment to study her face. “You really are
beautiful, you know that?”

Olivia's eyes meet mine as her face turns
a deeper shade of pink, but she says nothing, so I continue to
answer her question.

“
Okay…let's see. I'm attracted to a woman
who likes to have fun and doesn't take herself too seriously. She
should be smart and a little sassy. Independent. And Oh!” I point
upward with my index finger. “She should like football. That would
be a big plus.”
I smile
at her.
“Are you a
football fan? Please tell me you are...”

“
I, um…
I don
't know
much about football really, but I'm willing to learn.” Olivia looks
up at me with an exaggerated “pretty please” face.

I can
't help but laugh at her attempt to win me over. Little
does she know that she already has.

“
That sounds like a fairly tall order to
fill. It's no wonder you've had a hard time finding Ms. Right. I
guess I have the same problem. I'm looking for someone who might
not exist. My last relationship...um...soured me, for lack of a
better word.”

I shrug my shoulders. “I hear you. I was
engaged at one point.” Olivia recoils in slight shock. “Thought I
found the perfect woman for me, but as it turns out, she was more
focused on herself than on our relationship. I went through some
personal stuff a while back and she wasn't willing to stick with me
while I worked it out.”

I take a long sip of my beer and put my
head back on the headrest, the heartache I experienced with Molly
coming back to me in waves.
 Wow.  I haven't thought about her in
forever.

I turn my head to see Olivia watching me
carefully. “But whatever happened with your relationship, he was a
fool for letting you go,” I say, as I put my hand on her leg and
rub the bare skin above her knee with my thumb.

Olivia looks down at my hand on her thigh
and inhales sharply, but she doesn't make any attempt to remove it.
I can see the effect I'm having on her. The skin on her thigh
starts to pebble with goose bumps. Her breathing increases, and her
nipples...Oh God. Her nipples start to poke through her blouse.
Heaven help me.

Olivia shakes her head, clearing her
thoughts, and continues. “Suffice it to say, he had
somewhere—someone—else to go to. Enough said, right?”

“
Right.” I nod my head and inch my hand
higher up her leg.

It suddenly occurs to me that I don't have
Olivia's phone number.

“
Here,” I say, pulling out my phone and
handing it to her. “Put your number into my phone. I need to get
ahold of you to set up our coffee date in Seattle.  Feel free
to send me some naughty pictures of yourself later tonight too.” I
grin at her.

Olivia shoots me a look of mock surprise
and takes my phone, entering in her first name and phone number.
“There,” she says, handing me back my phone. “Now you have me
permanently locked in your phone. You're a lucky, lucky man,
Owen.”

“
I'm starting to think so,” I reply,
putting my hand back on her knee.

When I touch her, Olivia suddenly
uncrosses her legs and reaches for her seatbelt. “I - I need to use
the ladies' room.  May I squeeze by you?”

“
Of course.” I unlatch my seatbelt and
stand in the aisle to let her slip by. As she exits the row, her
perfect ass grazes against my crotch.

Okay, in full disclosure, I may have
semi
-purposefully not
given her enough room to scoot by me and maybe I pulled her hip
toward me a bit...but I had her where I wanted her and we fit
together perfectly. More importantly, she felt the chubby I'm
sporting. And know what? I don't care. I wanted her to feel it.
Hell, I want her to experience it firsthand. Tonight, if I had my
way. Damn. What is she
doing
to me?

As I watch Olivia saunter into the
bathroom, my thoughts drift to all the wonderfully naughty things
I'd do to that woman. After a few moments of fidgeting in my seat
and absently touching myself through my pants, I'm
frustrated.

“
Fuck it,” I mumble to myself. I stand up
from my seat and walk towards the front of the plane to the
bathroom.

Most of my fellow passengers are either
engrossed in the movie, working on their iPads, or sleeping.
Either way, they're distracted.
This may be easier than I thought.

I turn my back to the other passengers,
shielding the door from their line of sight. “Olivia…” I
whisper-yell into the door. “It'
s me, Owen. Let me in.
” I knock lightly on the door.

Olivia hesitantly unlatches the bathroom
door and peeks out. Before she can pull it open all the way, I
quickly push my way into the cramped closet-sized bathroom. Her
eyes grow wide with concern as she sees me entering.

I quickly latch the door behind me before
I spin around and ask,
“
Feel
better?
”

“
What?” she asks, confused. “Yes”—she
shakes her head and furrows her brow—“but what are you—”

“
Stop talking,
” I say with a groan.

I grab her waist and turn her slightly,
pressing her body against the bathroom wall with my own.
Trapping her against the wall
with my arms planted firmly on either side of her shoulders, I
quickly search her eyes for any indication of panic. Seeing none, I
tilt my head and brush my lips against hers, coaxing her gently
before kissing her hard. I don't know if it's me or the wine she's
had, but she doesn't resist me.

A small moan escapes
Olivia
's mouth, and I
slip my tongue inside her parted lips. She slides her hands up my
chest and wraps her arms around my neck, her kiss matching my
intensity. Our tongues mash hungrily together as I feel my cock
harden and lengthen between us. I wrap a hand around her waist and
pull her tight against me. Olivia leans back, and I start to kiss
along her jaw and down her neck, planting firm, wet kisses along
her collarbone. When my hand travels up from her waist and along
the curve of her breast, Olivia lets out a faint, “Oh my God,”
which only encourages me more.

“
I needed to kiss you, Olivia,” I murmur.
“I couldn't help myself.” I kiss her mouth again, and she opens to
me without hesitation as I continue to taste her.

We both become breathless and pull away
from each other.
Both of
us are looking and searching the other's eyes, but our hands remain
rooted.

“
More…” is all I say before I start kissing
down her neck and then back up again, nibbling on her earlobe and
hitting that spot behind her ear that drives every woman
nuts.

“
I, um...yeah... Mmm
that'
s
nice.
” Olivia exhales as
she squeezes my biceps while I kiss her.

Since she's so much shorter than I am, I
move her from the wall of the small bathroom and press her against
the sink. I place my hands behind her thighs and easily lift her up
to sit on the edge of the counter. Now that she's at a more level
height, I deepen our kiss and groan as her tongue strokes mine.
Olivia runs her hands through my hair, tugging as she returns my
kiss.

"Your lips make me wonder what the rest of
you tastes like," I whisper hotly as I kiss down her neck. “And
your smell… You smell fucking amazing. You smell ready for me.” My
hands push up her skirt and I settle between her open legs, my
erection pressing through my slacks. No doubt she can feel my
excitement on her soft inner thigh.

“
Is it okay if it's just...this right now?”
she asks breathlessly. “This is nice.”

“
What?” I ask, struggling to get my
bearings as I lightly bite the spot between her neck and shoulder.
“Oh. Yeah. Sure… Of course,” I say as I press my lips to her
forehead with a bit of frustration.

This may be nice, and I
don
't want to
scare her, but I'm definitely going to push her limits,
I think to myself. My hands
rest on her thighs and I slowly move them up and down her bare
skin, inching up her skirt ever so slightly with each pass. I kiss
her passionately, lapping at her lips.