The Big O (An OTT Insta-love STANDALONE) by Nelle L'Amour Read Free Book Online Page A

boundaries. I’d spent my early adult years going from hook up to hook up, no strings attached. Losing my beloved mother was all the hurt I could bear. I preferred to remain a detached workaholic. And now with the financial challenges the company was facing, I had no time to date. Over the past six months, my heart had turned into stone. A wall had gone up, letting no woman inside. But here was this beautiful Olive, knocking down all my defenses and turning me into goo.
    Cupping her shoulders, I held her reverently in my gaze and reflected on her words. “What do you mean by that, Olive?”
    Her eyes stayed fixed on mine while her kissable lips parted.
    “Owen, I grew up very poor. My mama worked as a maid for demanding rich people. They treated her poorly. And then arthritis set in and she couldn’t work so we went on welfare. She could barely get food on our table. I’ll never forget my first day of middle school. The walk was long, and I was so hungry I thought I would pass out. But when I got to class…there they were. Platters and platters of delicious donuts along with cartons of milk, all courtesy of Donut King. I’ll never forget that moment. It was like seeing an oasis in a desert. And when I bit into that creamy goodness, all the sadness I harbored washed away, especially when my teacher told us that your company had agreed to supply our school with fresh donuts daily. The forever dieting mean girls poo-pooed them. But every day, for the next three years, I had something in my life to look forward to.”
    This story totally gutted me. I’d never given much thought to my benevolence…what it meant to others. My mother had taught me to give back and that’s what I did. Plain and simple. My breath caught in my throat. I was almost speechless.
    “Thank you for sharing this, princess.”
    She quirked another little smile as her eyes began to water.
    “And I fell in love with you. Every time I saw you on television, I melted and fantasized you sweeping me off my feet and taking me to your castle. I knew it wasn’t a reality, but it was fun to imagine.”
    A fat tear escaped her eye and I watched it roll down her rosy cheek, too mesmerized by the beauty of it to brush it away. It was like a drop of dew on a flower. I let her continue.
    “And then today…it was as if it were fated to happen. I met you. Yes, I really met you. And not only did you give me a job, something I really needed, but you also touched my heart. You made me feel beautiful inside and out, something no man has ever done. You made me feel loved.”
    Jesus H. Christ. I swear this girl was going to make me cry. Owen King didn’t do tears, not even when my own mother died in my arms. But this girl shredded me to the bone. Her vulnerability…her honesty…her humbleness…her pure unadulterated love. All the admirable qualities my mother had possessed and wished on her deathbed to pass on to me, but instead I’d become a cold, arrogant bastard. But now, for the first time, I felt like the man she’d always hoped I’d be. A man like my late father. Warm, loving, and protective. I owed that focus group recruiter a big thank you—later, I’d send a dozen donuts and roses—but right now that was going to have to wait. I needed Olive in my arms, her soft body against mine, my starving mouth on hers. I needed to show her I loved her with all my heart and my soul. The king had alas found his princess and I was indeed going to sweep her off her feet and protect her from the hardships of the world. She’d suffered too much. And she was going to suffer no more. Hunger was a thing of the past. I was helplessly, hopelessly in love.
    “Oh, Olive, what you fucking do to me. You’re killing me.”
    Wasting no time, I tilted her head up by her chin as high as I could and bent forward to capture her lips. This kiss was different. Slow, deep, passionate. Tasting her sweetness, I could feel it radiate from my head to my toes.
    As she moaned into my