Spoiled
Gianni Holmes
Cover Artist: Black Jazz Design
Book Format: Perin’s Pen (Icons)
Edited by: Tanja Ongkiehong
Proofread by Barb Ingram
Spoiled © 2020 Gianni Holmes
All Rights Reserved
This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic, in whole or in part, without expressed written permission. This is excluding brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental in nature.
Warning
This book contains graphic violence, language, and sexual content. Intended for readers of 18 years and over.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A Word from the Author
Spoiled
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Thank You
Coming in June
Coming soon
Become a Gem
So You Loved Spoiled
More About Gianni Holmes
A Word from the Author
Dear Reader,
In case you missed it, Spoiled is the first part of a two book series called the Spoiled Perfection duet. While book 1 was written so you can feel satisfied for now with the ending, the full HEA will be at the end of book 2. There are issues that will not be resolved until Perfection.
You’re delving into a book that may be triggering for some. These issues are mentioned as they relate to main and minor characters. Alcohol and drug abuse, dealing with grief, and self-hatred. A large part of my own personal experiences have been used to handle these issues with care and sensitivity.
You can add Perfection to your reading list on Goodreads.
Join my Facebook group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/giannifirsts/
Love always,
Gianni
I want to acknowledge my editing team, Tanja, Sandra, and my PA Barb for working with me on this book. Also, thanks to my beta readers Irish and Karen.
You can’t save a man who doesn’t want to be saved.
Blurb
Spoiled. Adj. destroyed, damaged, or no longer able to be used.
Callum
When I move to a small town from the big city, my plans are simple. Get my co-owned coffee shop off the ground and work on my baggage. Alone. My plans are shot to hell when wealthy frat brat Ashton Keyes stumbles into Cafe Crave. Drunk. That’s all the warning sign I need to stay away from the self-destructive boy. But he’s everything the Daddy in me craves and I can’t walk away.
Ashton
Everything hurts. The lies. The perfect image. The fake smile. Only when I’m drunk do I find relief. Until the night I meet Daddy Callum and decide he’s mine. But, he has strict rules for us to be together, and his punishment is unlike anything I’d ever experienced. Is it enough to keep the darkness at bay, or is it too late to be saved?
Spoiled is the first book in the Spoiled Perfection duet and is not meant to be read as a standalone. While book 1 ends with a hopeful HFN note, book 2 must be read for a full resolution and the much anticipated HEA.
Spoiled
Prologue
Ashton
One month and some days ago
“Never have I ever sucked my professor’s dick to pass an exam.”
The raucous laughter and excited drunk chatter fell away at the unexpected statement. I stared in disbelief at my ex-best friend, Louis, my hand that clutched the shot glass filled with tequila going numb. The smile froze on my face as I struggled inwardly to come to terms with what he’d done. This was supposed to be a friendly game, and although I was already deep in my cups, everyone had been good-natured about my wild escapades so far.
“Damn, Louis, that’s kind of specific,” his girlfriend said with a giggle from her position perched on his lap. Jill wrapped her arms around his neck, her top drooping down her arms and showing off the tops of her breasts, but Louis didn’t notice. He was too busy watching me for a reaction.
“Shouldn’t your glass be empty, Ash?” he asked, a smirk adding insult to injury.
His green eyes, filled with anger and spite, met mine. I blinked several times, convincing myself that it was the drink making my eyes watery rather than his betrayal. Three years of friendship since I started college. Three years of divulging my secrets to him. He knew me better than anyone else seated in this circle, and the day we had our fallout was the day he went back on his word.
I brought the shot glass to my lips and downed the alcohol in one gulp. The liquid burned going down, but I was better dealing with that hurt than that of my best friend turning on me. I slammed the shot glass on the coffee table and scrambled to my feet, never taking my eyes off Louis, even though six other pairs of eyes were watching us with interest. They’d have noticed the distance between Louis and me of late, but no one had bothered to comment on it. We’d had spats before, but it had never been this bad.
Irreparable.
“Fuck you, Louis.” I pointed a finger in his direction. I stumbled a little as I tried to step back, holding on to the side of the sofa we’d pushed back to make room for us all. “You’re a fucking asshole. That’s what you are.”
“Ash, come on, man. It was just a joke,” someone said, but I was too hurt and possibly a little too drunk to figure out which of our friends had spoken.
The floor tilted before me, and I had to concentrate on getting to the door without falling flat on my face. He would’ve liked that, but I wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction. If Ashton Keyes the Third sucked his professor’s dick to avoid failing another course, he wasn’t going to be ashamed of it. Not when the fucking professor hadn’t even passed him.
“That was an asshole move, Louis,” someone muttered, and before I got to the door, a hand was around my shoulders, helping me from the living room.
“I can walk.” I tried to push the person away.
“Don’t be stubborn, Keyes,” Justin, who’d been somewhat of a friend of mine since high school, stated. I should’ve made Justin my best friend. I should’ve confided in him and not Louis. But it was too late, and I had to live with the consequences.
“My driver’s waiting on me outside,” I said, annoyed that he wouldn’t leave me alone. Didn’t he understand that I had no desire to speak to anyone right now?
“Good.” We stumbled along the hall toward the front door. “I’m not ready to leave yet, but I’ll walk you to the car, ensure you are, in fact, not getting behind a car wheel.”
“I’m not stupid, Jus. Just a little bit wasted.”
Justin grunted without responding. Once he was at the door, he pushed the double doors open. The cool night air was already doing wonders for my so
briety. Like I was being shoved in the face of reality.
“Whatever happened between you and Louis, man?” Justin came to a halt.
“Nothing.” I refused to get into it. I was the gay guy. If I accused Louis, a “straight” guy, of hitting on me, somehow it would be seen as my fault. I’d been there before.
“That inside just now was definitely something.”
I shrugged as if it didn’t bother me. “You worry too much, Jus. So I sucked a professor’s dick to pass Econ because I couldn’t get it. So what if everyone now knows? You know me. Can’t be the worst thing I’ve done, right?”
“Perhaps not the worst thing you’ll end up doing either,” he agreed. “Just be more careful, okay? You take a lot of risks, and I know things have been a little rough for you lately. If you need an ear, I’m here.”
“Thanks, but no thanks.” I slapped him in the chest as my driver, Rueben, walked toward me. “I should get home.”
Justin shook his head and backed up inside the house. “See ya around, Ash.”
No sooner had he left than Rueben took me by the arm. His face was etched in concern, his lips turned down in reproach. He was always so well put together, and here I was, such a hot mess.
“Master Ashton, your poor mother will be upset,” he murmured, his tone still carrying a bite. “You promised her after the last episode that you’d be more responsible with alcohol, which you aren’t even supposed to be drinking. Your birthday isn’t for another month.”
I leaned heavily on Rue as he walked me to the black-and-white Range Rover parked alongside those of my friends. Although I had a driver’s license, my mother didn’t think I was responsible enough to take care of a vehicle. Instead, she insisted that Rue drive me around. He’d been in that capacity since I attended middle school.
I sprawled over the back seat of the car while Rueben drove away from the mansion. I should’ve canceled on my friends after they’d updated me that we’d be staying in instead of hitting up our usual club, but I hadn’t wanted to be alone tonight.
“Rue, remind me the next time I think of going anywhere with Louis that I’m better off at home.”
“You never did say what happened between you two.” Rueben met my eyes briefly in the rearview mirror. “You two were as thick as thieves.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” I turned my head away from his curious eyes and stared out the window.
“Very well, sir.”
Silence ensued between us, and I closed my eyes. What could I have done for things to be different between Louis and me? That night I’d spent in his dorm room after the accident, I’d been vulnerable but still sober enough to know that sleeping with my best friend would’ve been chaos I didn’t need. All I’d wanted was a friend, but Louis had tried to be so much more and then hadn’t wanted to take no for an answer.
I’d been with bicurious guys before, but Louis was in a relationship, and I was sort of friends with his girlfriend. His advances had placed me in an awkward position. Now he blamed me for ruining our friendship simply because I’d told him no.
The worst thing was knowing that even if I’d slept with him, it would’ve ended our friendship anyway. I slept with lots of guys, but I didn’t want to be with any of them. They were but pit stops to the finish line, and Louis couldn’t be that finish line.
“We’re here.”
At Rue’s comment, I struggled to a sitting position. My mother was more than likely up, watching for me to arrive home. If she even suspected I was drunk, I’d be forced to listen to a lecture that never came. A lecture would’ve been more welcoming than the disappointment that was usually on her face when she saw me.
Rue opened the car door and helped me outside. I frowned, glancing around me at the unfamiliarity of the place. The sign on the front of the lit two-story brick building noted Coffee Crave.
“Hey, Rue. Where exactly are we? This isn’t home.”
“God forbid I take you home in this condition, sir,” he said, his tone full of reproach. “We’re at a coffee shop. Hopefully, we can get you half-sober by the time you get home.”
“I’m not that drunk, Rue.”
He simply grunted and took me by the arm. I wobbled beside him, mumbling beneath my breath. I was surprised a café was open at this time of the night. We climbed the two steps and entered, a little bell chiming our appearance.
I scowled upward at the offending object. Why in the world did anyone think a bell was a good idea? It was loud and annoying.
“Here, have a seat while I place the orders.”
I claimed a seat at a small table with matching chairs, glowering at the long line at the counter. I closed my eyes. Why were so many people lining up to buy coffee anyway? The only place I was willing to stand in line for was at a club, although my name was usually on the guest list and I never had to wait.
I must’ve dozed off because the next thing I knew, Rue was patting my shoulder, and I startled.
“I ordered the coffee. Are you going to be okay until I get back from the restroom?”
“Of course, I’ll be fine. Rue, I’m not a baby!”
“Hard to tell sometimes, Master Ashton.”
I scowled at his disappearing back, and my eyes dropped to his waist and round ass. It was such a pity Rue was straight. Maybe he would’ve been able to give me what I was after, but for all his nurturing, he didn’t get physical. Not even once.
I’d dozed off again when I sensed something different about my surroundings. I blinked my eyes open and stared at the man placing the coffee cups on the table. His shadow had fallen over me, which I must’ve picked up behind my eyelids.
He was a vision to look at. Had my drunk mind conjured this handsome older man with hair as black as coal brushing the collar of his shirt? His piercing blue eyes met mine, and he paused, staring right back at me as though struck by the same stupor.
“Here are your coffee orders.” He was the first to recover, and I shuffled to sit up straight in my chair—as straight as my droopy, drunk body would let me. “Your partner asked for the best kind we have to cure a hangover, and this is it. The Napoleon.”
“Napoleon?” I tried to figure out what he was saying. “Isn’t that the guy who said ‘off with his head’?”
“You’re thinking of King Louis XVI, which is also on the menu.” He frowned. “I guess you’re not the brightest when it comes to history.”
I giggled and hiccuped, not having the grace to be embarrassed. I was too enthralled by this handsome man. My pulse fluttered in my throat wildly, and my cock lengthened in my skinny jeans.
“I’ll tell you a little secret.” I cupped my hand over my mouth in a stage whisper. “I’m not the brightest when it comes to anything, really, but my mother insists.” I adopted my mother’s voice in my falsetto. “Ashton, all Keyes matriculate from college with a degree, and so will you.”
The barista chuckled, the sound deep and masculine, sending shivers down my spine. He raised his hand in a little wave, and I stared at the knuckles in disbelief.
“Well, enjoy your coffee and good luck with the studying.”
“Wait!”
My loud outburst filled the café, but it stopped the handsome man, who was about to get away.
“May I see your right hand, please?”
“Excuse me?”
“Your hand.” I excitedly moved to the edge of my seat. “I thought I saw the letters D-A-D-D-Y spelled out on your knuckles.”
“You saw wrong,” he said, his face closing off as he stuffed the same hand into his pocket.
“I may be forty percent drunk. Okay, maybe a lot more, but I know what I saw. Problem is finding out if you’re a Daddy for a boy or a girl. Perhaps for both?”
The man placed both hands on top of the table and leaned forward. I stared at my confirmation, beaming at him. My eyes hadn’t deceived me at all. He was…Daddy.
“It doesn’t matter what you see, kid. You haven’t even cut your teeth yet. Perhaps hit m
e up on your next birthday?”
He didn’t give me a chance to respond but walked away. I couldn’t keep my eyes off him as I tried to commit everything I could to memory. The way his dark hair curled at the back, the wide shoulders, broad back tapering to narrow hips, and his ass. I sucked in a deep breath. What wouldn’t I give to sink my nails into that ass as he fucked me mercilessly?
“Master Ashton!”
I tore my eyes away from the barista’s back. Rue was seated across from me. “Sorry. What is it?”
“Your coffee is getting cold. You don’t like the flavor? Should I order you something else from the menu?”
“Oh, I know exactly the flavor I like.” I licked my lips as I returned my eyes to the older man who’d brought our coffee. He’d stopped at a table a few feet from mine and was doodling something on a cup while chatting with the patrons. His smile was gorgeous.
“If you tell me the flavor, I can get you another cup.” Rue got to his feet.
“I don’t mean coffee.” I gestured him to regain his seat. “I meant I want him.”
“Him?”
“Yes, the barista.”
Rue resumed his seat and took up his cup of coffee. “Master Ashton, with all due respect, we’re here to get you sober, not to find you a hookup for the night.”
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