Play Dirty (The Devil's Share #2) Read online

  PILLS. PAIN. LOSS. LOVE.

  Smith James doesn’t need drugs. He just likes them a whole lot. And as bassist for the Devil’s Share, they are easy to come by. So are the women. With a steady supply of both he doesn’t have to think too hard about his past. But when a beautiful physician’s assistant joins the tour, Smith can’t help but want…more.

  After watching her high school boyfriend OD, there is no way Dylan Lawson is going to fall for a rock star with a tenuous hold on sobriety, no matter how sexy his New Orleans drawl. She’s been hired to do one job: monitor the health of the lead singer’s girlfriend and her unborn baby. But once Smith flashes that sweet, vulnerable smile, Dylan can’t help but want…more.

  And more is what they’ll get. Love on tour is never simple, and with a music festival in Smith’s hometown, a place he’s avoided for years, near his illiterate, abusive, meth-addled father, Smith is one bad night away from a relapse. But with her heart already lost, Dylan is willing to do whatever is necessary to save him—even play a little dirty.

  Play Dirty

  Book Two of The Devil’s Share

  L.P. Maxa

  www.BOROUGHSPUBLISHINGGROUP.com

  PUBLISHER’S NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, business establishments or persons, living or dead, is coincidental. Boroughs Publishing Group does not have any control over and does not assume responsibility for author or third-party websites, blogs or critiques or their content.

  PLAY DIRTY

  Copyright © 2015 L.P. Maxa

  All rights reserved. Unless specifically noted, no part of this publication may be reproduced, scanned, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Boroughs Publishing Group. The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or by any other means without the permission of Boroughs Publishing Group is illegal and punishable by law. Participation in the piracy of copyrighted materials violates the author’s rights.

  ISBN 978-1-942886-93-8

  Ebook formatting by Maureen Cutajar

  www.gopublished.com

  To my badass husband, whom I still fall for every day.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  As usual, where to start? Thank you to my wonderful husband and my daughter who are both incredibly supportive and understanding. To my mom, who begs to read every word I write as soon as I write it. To Sasha, for liking it dirty… To Emily for your vast knowledge of everything I need to know. To Christie, for never judging the process. To Jenni, for being the BEST editor. To all my amazing readers who have been asking for Play Dirty since the day Play Nice was released. You guys make me feel like a rock star.

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  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

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  PLAY DIRTY

  “I like beautiful melodies telling me terrible things.”

  —Tom Waits

  Chapter One

  Smith

  “Let’s go boys! Let’s go boys!” (Spoken like Luke Perry playing Lane Frost in the movie 8 Seconds) My heart pounding, excitement coursing through my veins, I walked up the steps of our newer, larger tour bus and collapsed in one of the two supple black leather recliners. I thought our last bus was big, but this one? Huge. It was like a house on wheels. If we kept adding more bodies to this tour, the record label was going to stop footing the bill. I leaned back and noticed my pants were unbuttoned. Well, that chick certainly didn’t know how to clean up after herself. What was her name…? Tiffany? Brittany? As bassist for the hottest rock band in the nation, all the chicks blended together in one long line of strange.

  Lexi came out of the back bedroom with her massive pit bull, Dagger, trailing behind her. She was our lead singer’s girlfriend. Super hot, but I pretended not to notice out of respect. “So much energy this morning, Smith. Are you that pumped to go back out on the road?” She sat on the couch, rubbing her bare feet on Dagger’s exposed belly after he lay down.

  “That I am, Lex.” I did love touring. I loved performing; it was the only place I ever felt like I shined. And this was the last leg of our tour. A few more weeks, one nightmare of a music festival to end things with a bang and then some time off. The early morning liveliness? That was most likely from the key bump I’d done in the bathroom before leaving the house. It’s not like I had to have it…I just needed the boost of energy. I didn’t get much sleep last night. After dinner I’d gone for a run, because I’m healthy like that, and I ended up running into a fan. Of the female persuasion. Tiffany…Brittany…whatever-her-name-was kept me up all night long. She’d sucked me off so many times I’d lost count. But my bandmate’s girlfriend and mother of his unborn child didn’t need to know any of that. It would only upset her. And I’d spent enough time upsetting Lexi. “Where’s Dash?”

  She put her hands on her barely rounded belly, pushing at something invisible to me. “He’s over by the van talking to Chase. He wants to hire some new security to come with us on the last leg of the tour. Our relationship is in the spotlight, and I’m starting to show. Plus, Dylan is coming on the road with us. We need more people.”

  Just hearing Dylan’s name made my dick twitch. Lexi’s PA, the physician’s assistant who was going to come on tour to monitor Lexi and the baby, was fucking gorgeous. She had killer curves, full pouty lips, and the most amazing mane of dark hair I’d ever seen. I wanted to fist it in my hands while I pounded her from behind. Yeah, my fantasies are specific. She was tiny too. I loved tiny women, spinners and all that. I’d had plenty of time over the last few weeks to watch her, for my lust to build. She and Lexi had been hanging out regularly since Dylan had agreed to come on the road with us. They watched movies and went to dinner and shopping. Every time she walked in the house, I got a semi. I needed to remember to thank Dash for being an over protective sap. I could sense Lexi’s eyes on me, trying to read my mind. I smiled and licked my lips. “Ah yes, Dylan, the sexy nurse. Is she here?” I hadn’t seen her yet this morning and believe me, I’d been looking.

  “She texted me earlier. She should be here any second.” Lexi stopped rubbing Dagger and sat up straighter in her seat, fixing her gaze on me. I hated it when she looked at me like that. I felt like she could see into my mind and read all my lies, uh, I mean thoughts. “Smith, don’t you fucking dare try and sleep with Dylan. She is my friend, and I want her to keep being my friend.”

  Lexi’s lang
uage had gotten out of control. But I guess that’s what you get living with four men. “Aw, sweet Lexi, sweet naïve Lexi.” I shook my head sadly. “There will be no ‘sleeping,’ I can promise you that.”

  “Dammit, Smith. I’m serious. If you or anyone else in this band runs her off I swear I will end you.” Lexi rose to her feet, trying her best to intimidate me. It was cute really. She was almost a foot shorter than me and I probably had eighty pounds on her. “I’m not joking, Smith.”

  Dash picked that moment to hop on the bus. He looked at Lexi and me, eyes narrowing. “What’s going on? Kitten, what’s wrong?” He walked over and made her sit back down on the couch.

  She made a big show of holding her teeny tiny belly and gingerly lowering herself down. I barely stifled an eye roll. “It’s nothing, babe. Smith was just being an ass. I asked him, nicely, to stay out of Dylan’s pants and he was giving me a hard time about it. I guess I just got too worked up. I got this pain in my back, right here.” She pointed down where her lower back met her ass, making a face at me while Dash was busy looking down.

  I chuckled. Was she serious? Lexi had just very subtly called me a pain in her ass. That crazy little pregnant—

  “Smith! Stop stressing Lexi out. If she asked you to stay away from Dylan, then you better damn well do it. I don’t need you or anyone else giving Lexi a hard time. Hasn’t she been through enough?!” He stomped out of the room and down the hall.

  Lexi looked over at me, smiling. “Told you so.”

  “Spoiled little br—” I cut off my words when Dash walked back in carrying a pillow and a heating pad.

  “Here you go, Kitten. Just lie down; put the heating pad on low. It’ll be another forty-five minutes or so before we head out. I’m going to go round up Jacks and Luke.” Dash turned and pointed a finger at me. “You better be nice to her while I’m gone. I’ll kick your mother fucking ass all the way to Oklahoma, man.”

  I help up my hands in mock surrender. I waited until he left the bus before I got up and sat down on the floor leaning into Dagger and placing my head by Lexi’s hand. “Rub my hair. Hurry, before Jacks gets in here.” I really did love Lexi. And Dash was right, she had been through more than enough. Because of me and my fucked up family Lexi had ended up with a concussion a few months ago.

  “Tell me you won’t bang Dylan.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Fine. I won’t bang—”

  “Dylan! You’re here!” Lexi shoved my head aside and jumped to her feet, all but bounding over to her new BFF. Yeah, her back seemed like it was killing her.

  “Morning, little momma.” Dylan hugged Lexi. “Where should I put my bag?”

  Lexi looked down at Dylan’s small carry on. “Is that all you brought?”

  “No. I left my big bag with…Chase? I think that was his name. He said he would put it under the bus. I just have a few changes of clothes and my bathroom stuff in this one.”

  “Oh okay, I’ll show you to the bunks.” Lexi grabbed Dylan’s hand.

  I shot up off the floor. “No you don’t, Kitten. You need to lie down. I’ll show her.” I turned to Dylan grinning. “Lexi was just telling us that her ass hurt.” Dylan turned her eyes to Lexi, pursing her perfect pink lips. Damn she was hot. I wanted to do so many dirty things to her. I started to mentally make a list.

  Dylan nodded. “Is it a pain that shoots from your ass cheek down your leg? That’s your sciatic nerve. Super common, although usually not until your third trimester…but Smith is right, you should lie down.”

  Lexi glared at me over Dylan’s head. I winked and placed my hand on Dylan’s lower back, guiding her down the hall. “There are six bunks, three on either side of the hallway. Luke and Jacks like the bottom. I like the top. So you have three to choose from.”

  Dylan cocked her head, contemplating. “I guess I’ll take this one.” She placed her bag on a middle bunk.

  Perfect. “Good choice. I’ll be on top of you all night.”

  She cut her eyes to mine, trying and failing to hide a smirk. “Oh, really?”

  “Yes ma’am.” I winked and then left her standing in the hallway.

  When I got back to the living area Luke was there, sitting with Lexi’s feet propped in his lap. Sometimes I wondered about him. He knew that Lex was with Dash, but it was like he couldn’t help himself where she was concerned. No matter how much it pissed Dash off, Luke still found ways to touch her all the time. Dash was a fucking saint. No way I’d let some other dude rub all over my girl. I didn’t care if they were best friends or not. I kept my eye on Luke when Dylan walked into the room, judging his reaction to her. He glanced up, smiled, said hello and then looked back at Lexi. Huh, well that was good news I guess. Less competition for Dylan’s panties. Now I just had to worry about—

  “Hey, Jackson. Nice of you to finally join us.” Luke stuck his foot out to trip Jacks as he walked in. Jacks jumped over his leg and landed right in front of Dylan.

  “Dylan! Hello, gorgeous.” I wanted to slap him. I was going to bang Dylan, not him. And gorgeous? How freaking cliché could he get?

  Dylan smiled politely. “Hello Jacks.”

  Jacks looked at me, and when my eyes darted to the seat next to Dylan, so did his. We both made a lunge for the recliner; he won. Asshole. I popped him on the back of the head and then settled on the floor next to Dagger, placing my head back at Lexi’s hands. She started rubbing her fingers through it the way she knew we all liked. Hell, I guess I shouldn’t fault Luke for wanting Lexi’s attention. I ate it up like a lap dog most days too. “Lex, tell Jacks I was sitting there first.”

  “Jacks. Smith really was sitting there first.” She sounded like a kindergarten teacher, but I guess that was only fitting since we acted like children more than we acted like adults.

  “Well you snooze, you lose.” Jacks looked down at me, smirking. “Next time do a whole rail and maybe you’ll be quicker.”

  Lexi’s hands tightened in my hair, whipping my head back so she could look down at me. “What? Smith, what is he talking about?”

  Me “using” was a sore subject, for everyone. Luke had horrible memories where drugs were concerned; they had been the downfall of his first band. Lexi had had to clean up after one of my benders before, and she didn’t want to do it again. And Dash watched me like a hawk. We’d already lost our original drummer, my cousin Jared, to drugs. I narrowed my eyes at Jacks. “Nothing. He was just joking. Weren’t you, fucker?” He didn’t see me do coke today, no one did. Not even that chick I’d been with. Stephanie. That was her name. He was just guessing…or assuming. Luke and Dash only ever drank, and even then it wasn’t much. Jacks liked to party though. If he wanted to out me to the rest of the group, I’d take him down with me.

  He chuckled, “Yeah, I was just kidding, Lex.”

  Lexi let go of my hair. “That’s not funny, Jacks. Don’t be a dick.”

  Dash walked in, hands on his hips glaring at the back of Jacks head. “What did you do? Do I need to give you the same speech I just gave Smith?” He picked Lexi’s head off her pillow and then sat down. Now her head was resting in Dash’s lap and her feet in Luke’s. Yep, I was right before, spoiled brat.

  Jacks shook his head. “Nah man, I was just joking around.”

  The bus engine turned over with a loud rumble, and we were on the road again. Another tour, another endless line of performances and fans, the place where I was at my best. Which admittedly wasn’t a picture of perfect mental health, but as long as I didn’t spend too much time thinking about the end of the line—about the music festival, I would be okay. Luckily, Dylan and her delicious ass would provide plenty of distraction.

  Chapter Two

  Dylan

  Smith was sexy. Like panties melting in a pool at my feet sexy. Plus that accent? I was a sucker for his New Orleans drawl. Although, him calling Jacks a fucker led me to wonder if he really was using coke. Not that it was any of my business, but I stayed far away from drugs. I’d seen what they could do. And I was not go
ing down that road with some hot rock star. I wasn’t naïve. I knew that Smith would make a play for my panties. I’d seen him watching me over the last couple of weeks. I’d caught his eyes traveling up and down my body. But I was here to take care of Lexi and keep an eye on her unborn child, not hook up with hot southern rock stars. Too bad. It had been months since I’d gotten off by anything other than my stupid vibrator. The vibrator I hadn’t even brought with me. I glanced back over at Smith, taking in his strong arms, his chiseled jaw. I was doomed to be sexually frustrated for the next few weeks. I closed my eyes and leaned back in my chair. I was exhausted. Ever since I’d agreed to tour with the Devil’s Share I’d been running around like a maniac. I had to sublet my apartment, get all my current patients at work squared away, pack, put stuff in short term storage…it’d been crazy. Now I just wanted to take a nap. This chair was comfy; the sound and movement of the bus were seconds away from lulling me to sleep.

  “So, Dylan, tell us about yourself.” I opened my eyes and looked over at Jacks. Now I wanted to call him a fucker.

  “Oh, uh, well. Really?” I pulled my feet under me, sitting cross-legged. “What do you guys want to know?”

  “Do you have a boyfriend? Ow! Dammit, Lex.” Smith sat up rubbing his head where Lexi had no doubt yanked his hair again.

  I raised an eyebrow at him, smirking. “No. No boyfriend.” His words were all so slow and elongated, like every letter was lazy. I could listen to him talk all day.

  Luke leaned his head back against the couch cushions. He was effortlessly gorgeous. Like a gorgeous, grungy model. “Where did you grow up?” His voice sounded soulful, deep. And he seemed super into Lexi. Which I found odd considering she was dating another man AND carrying his child. But, whatever, to each his own I suppose.

  “I grew up in Edisto Island, a small town right outside of Charleston, South Carolina.”

  Lexi put her hands under her cheek, turning onto her side to face me. “How did you end up in Florida?”