by L. P. Maxa
MONEY. FAME. WHISKEY. SEX.
For Dash Conner, lead singer of The Devil’s Share, everything he wanted was his for the asking. Whiskey. Drugs. Money. Sex. But not Lexi Grant. For the first time since he picked up a guitar, a girl was actually demanding he woo her. For a chance with her, Dash would do that and more.
Lexi Grant was no groupie. Just because the biggest rock star in the world smiled at her didn’t mean she had to fall into bed with him—but it was going to be awfully hard to resist that impish smile and those tatted abs. Surely one night of fun wouldn’t hurt anyone.
Unless that night ends with a broken condom.
For Lexi and Dash, that’s just the beginning. Add an overly affectionate pit bull, a missing guitarist, a house full of sorority girls, a junkie ex-bandmate and an extreme aversion to Jäger, and it’s either a recipe for disaster or true love.
PLAY NICE
L.P. Maxa
Book One of The Devil’s Share
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 NICE
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 978-1-942886-54-9
For my Daddy. Thank you for loving me and rock and roll.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First and foremost I need to thank my wonderful little family. My daughter for making me smile when I’m having a bad day. My husband for being so supportive and understanding when pics of half-naked rock stars that I’d screenshot would scroll across our computer screensaver. My mom who has been so incredibly into this since the first book I wrote. I couldn’t have done this without her. All my amazing friends! You guys so selflessly share all the embarrassing, yet hilarious, details of your lives. You give me things to write about. Ang, thanks for having such a rock star of a little brother. You two were the inspiration behind Play Nice. My work people who fill my days with laughter and love to read romance novels as much as I do. You keep me writing even when I’m supposed to be doing something else. My favorite teacher of all time, Mrs. French, you’re the best. My editor, who likes my book and thinks I’m funny. Thank you for making this an amazing process. I am truly the luckiest girl in the world to have such a supportive and encouraging group of people surrounding me on a daily basis.
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Author's Note
About the Author
PLAY NICE
“Don’t you know people write songs about girls like you?”
— The Naked and Famous
Chapter One
Lexi
“Isn’t this so great?!”
I leaned closer to my best friend Amy. “What? I can’t hear you?!”
“It’s not that loud. I swear, Lex, you are aging prematurely.”
I just shrugged and wrinkled my nose. If either of us was aging prematurely it was Amy. We were both only twenty-seven and I was almost positive that this was the first time she’d been out past ten in a couple of years. “It’s just so loud. And people keep popping my personal-space bubble.” I had been to my fair share of concerts before, but I had never been backstage at a venue like this one. This was a whole new experience. There were people everywhere—guys pushing around crates and carrying equipment, men in business suits talking on cell phones, people with press badges and cameras, girls wearing next to nothing and looking pretty happy about it. It was like a circus.
Amy shook her head. “Well I couldn’t be happier. I mean, my baby brother is a rock star! All his dreams are literally coming true as we speak.”
Amy and I had been best friends since our freshman year of college, almost ten years now. Her little brother Luke just joined one of the hottest bands in the nation, The Devil’s Share. These guys were rockers through and through. They’d been nominated for several Grammys over the years. But if you listened to the press tell it, the band usually snubbed their noms. They played for the fans, for the love of the music. They rarely did any press or interviews. That was part of their allure, I was sure. Mysterious rock stars? Who could resist?
Lukey (that’s what we called him) was a drummer, an amazing drummer. The band fired their original drummer Jared—according to rumor he couldn’t kick the heroin—and held open auditions for his replacement in almost every major city in the nation picking Luke out of thousands of hopefuls. Amy was a rock groupie even before Luke had gotten the gig of a lifetime touring with The Devil’s Share. Amy and Luke’s dad had been a pretty well-known musician back in the day; they grew up around music, concerts and the rock lifestyle. I knew of The Devil’s Share. I heard their songs on the radio. I liked them. Who wouldn’t? Their music was solid, and they were all fucking gorgeous. And sexy. Plus, they were playing in Austin, where I lived. Going to a concert gave Amy an excuse to come visit and us a chance to see Luke play close to home.
“Oh. My. God!!! Look at my baby brother. I have never felt more proud of anything or anyone in my entire life!”
Amy dragged me over to the side of the stage where we could watch Luke play. I looked past the guys towards the sea of screaming fans. I couldn’t help but tear up a little. Luke was one of the sweetest most compassionate guys I’d ever known and one of my dearest friends. If anyone deserved this, it was him. I let my eyes drift back to the stage. “Amy, he looks perfect out there.” I’d seen Luke play a million times, but this was different. Luke’s shaggy blonde hair moved with every beat of his drums. He was smiling like a five-year-old on Christmas morning. This was his tenth stop on his first tour with the band, and you could tell he was loving every minute of it.
The first song ended and the lead singer, Dash, looked over in our direction. He had dark, messy hair that had that perpetual I-just-ran-my-fingers-through-it look. His tight black pants left little to the imagination, his loose black t-shirt showed off his muscular arms, which were covered in tattoos. I drank in the sight of his body, wanting to sit down and spend an hour memorizing the artwork. Our eyes met and my stomach dropped to my feet. His gaze set my insides on fire. I couldn’t look away. My heart started
to race and my girly parts clenched. He winked and then started his next song, completely unfazed by me. How stereotypical could I flippin’ be? One look from a hot rock star and my world tilts? Absolutely not. I will not be that girl. Amy and I were supposed to party with Luke tonight, which meant I’d most likely be partying with Dash as well. I won’t embarrass myself or Luke. I. Will. Not. I refused to look at Dash while he sang the next song; it was the principle of it.
Amy elbowed me in the ribs, “Uh, Lex? Dash is staring at you.”
In order to keep myself from ogling him, I’d taken up counting the number of topless women in the crowd. FYI: I got to twenty without even having to search that hard. I looked back in Dash’s direction. Yep, he was staring. I smiled. I couldn’t help it. He smiled back. His smile was one of those panty-dropping megawatt smiles—the kind that makes you feel like you are the only person in the world that could elicit that particular smile, even though you know logically many a girl have been lured in with it.
Dash kept his eyes on mine, but spoke into his microphone. “Uh, guys? There is a sexy brunette standing over here to my right. Does she belong to one of y’all? Please tell me she doesn’t.” He winked at me again. Amy had a death grip on my arm.
Luke stood up and peered over his drums trying to see into the shadows to where we were standing. “Is she standing next to a blonde chick with big blue eyes that’s drooling even though she’s clearly wearing a wedding ring?” The crowd laughed and so did Amy.
Dash chuckled, “As a matter of fact, yes she is.”
Luke nodded and sat back down. “That’s my friend Lexi.”
Dash’s smile grew. “Well isn’t that just the best thing I’ve heard all night. So, Lexi…are you enjoying the show?”
I couldn’t help but laugh at this situation. A rock god was flirting with me over the sound system in a sold-out stadium. I nodded my head yes.
“Good. Can I get you anything? This is officially our first date by the way.”
I bit down on my lip, contemplating how to play this. I could laugh him off and say no…or…I could have the time of my life with a rock star. I tipped my hand back towards my mouth, indicating I wanted a drink.
“Could someone please get my girl a drink?” Dash turned back towards the crowd. “Sorry about that folks but I’ve been staring at her since the show started.” He led into the next song; the crowd sang every word right along with him.
Some guy walked over and handed each of us a beer. Amy turned to me. “Holy shit, Lex. You have to do him. You have to. On behalf of every married woman out there, you have to sleep with Dash Conner.”
“On behalf of every married woman, Ams? Or on behalf of you?” I took a long pull of my beer. Amy married her college sweetheart and even though she was in fact drooling, they were deliriously happy together.
“Come on, Lexi. One night with a sexy rock god. Who turns that down?”
“I do. I’m too old for one night stands, rock god or not.”
“Will you at least make out with him?”
“Oh yeah, for sure. I’m responsible, not stupid.” We both laughed and turned our attention back to the show. It was easy to get swept up in the music; they were mesmerizing. After a couple more songs, Dash looked back over at me.
“How you doing, Kitten? Need another drink?” I held my bottle upside down, frowning, showing him it was empty and nodded. Dash smiled. “Someone will bring you a new drink. Show’s almost over, sweetheart.” He looked away. I suddenly felt lonely without his eyes on me.
Amy jumped up and down next to me. “Holy ball sack! You are going to mess around with the hottest man on the planet. I will live vicariously through you.”
I downed half my new beer in a couple swallows. “Amy, calm down. I’m sure once he realizes that I’m not going to just jump in his bed, he’ll go find someone else to play with. We came here to hang with Lukey. That’s what I want to do.”
A couple of songs later the show ended. The band thanked their fans and came jogging off the stage right towards us. Luke reached us first. He pulled Amy and I both in for a hug. “I’m so hyped you two are here! Are y’all ready to party with some rock stars?” Luke laughed with his arms slung around our shoulders. “Let me introduce you to the band.” He used the hand around Amy to point at their bassist—dirty blond hair, piercing blue eyes, perfect olive skin, and a smile that didn’t quite displace the sadness in his eyes. “This is Smith James. He’s from New Orleans. His accent makes panties melt so be careful.” Next he motioned to a tall dark-haired sex-on-a-stick wearing an almost inappropriately tight t-shirt and a wide, cocky grin. “Jacks Cole—don’t let his shirts fool you, he isn’t gay.” And last, all eyes fell on Dash, rock god extraordinaire. “Dash Conner, lead singer and the man hitting on Lexi in front of a sold-out stadium crowd.”
Dash took my hand and tried to pull me away from Luke. Luke held on tight; Dash pulled harder. I was like the rope in a game of tug-o-war. I looked up at Luke, smiling. “It’s okay, Lukey, it’s not like he’s going to kidnap me.” Dash pulled again and this time Luke let go.
Dash grinned, “First of all, Lukey? That nickname will be revisited, a lot. Second of all, don’t be so sure, Kitten.”
Chapter Two
Dash
I did want to kidnap her. I wanted to lock her in my bedroom and make her scream my name for hours on end. I wanted to lick her whole body, from head to toe. Lexi captivated my attention from the second she stepped up to the side of the stage. Her brunette hair fell down her back in easy waves. Her body was straight sin, thin but curvy in all the right places. Now that I was close to her, I could see her eyes were the greenest green I’d ever seen. The best part about Lexi though? Her smile. It was constantly mischievous, like she knew a secret that no one else knew. “So, Lukey, what did you have in mind for these beautiful girls tonight? Dancing? Shots? Strip club?”
Lexi threw her head back and laughed. “Oh no, no strip clubs. I haven’t recovered from my last stripper encounter.”
My gut clenched. For some reason, my mind didn’t like the idea of male strippers rubbing themselves all over my new little Kitten. “Do I even want to know? Lap dance gone wrong?”
This time it was Amy’s turn to laugh. She pointed at Luke. “You could say that.”
Luke immediately put his hand over Amy’s mouth. “No way, Ams. You promised you would never ever tell this story. You pinky swore.”
Amy held her hands up in surrender. “You are right, Lukey. I did promise. But…Lexi didn’t.”
While we were talking we had made our way to our large dressing room at the back of the venue. I opened the door and motioned for everyone to go in. There was a stocked bar and plenty of room to party, at least until they kicked us out. Before I shut the door I leaned out to talk to our security guy. “No ‘fans’ tonight, Chase. Keep them away from here and keep them off the bus.”
“Uh, boss, the ones you and Smith picked earlier are already on the bus waiting.”
“Get rid of them.” I shut the door and turned around to find Lexi looking at me, eyes questioning. I winked. “Just making sure we’re all safe from the crazies.”
Lexi shook her head and put her hand on Luke’s shoulder bringing his forehead to rest against hers. I was oddly jealous of their closeness. “I’m sorry, Lukey, but Amy is right. I never made any promise to keep my mouth shut.”
Luke threw his hands in the air. “Are you kidding me, Lex?! I couldn’t make you promise. You had your head buried in the toilet puking all freaking night.”
Lexi shrugged and sat down in one of the armchairs set up for us. “So, Amy and I decided that we were going to take Luke to his first strip club for his twenty-first birthday—”
I held up my hand. “Wait, you’re first strip club experience was with your sister and you were already twenty-one? Wow, haven’t heard the whole story and already I’m ashamed of you, man.”
Luke rolled his eyes. “Number one, don’t tell me you aren’t jealous as
hell that I was with two beautiful girls at a strip club. One of them isn’t a blood relation.” He winked at me and Amy swatted his arm. “Number two, where we grew up there weren’t any strip clubs. It wasn’t until I went to visit Lexi and Amy at school that I was even within driving distance of one.”
Lexi waved at the air with her hands. “Y’all stop interrupting my story. Okay the three of us go to this strip club. By the time we get there we’re already pretty drunk. Amy ends up taking pole-dancing lessons from a fifty-year-old stripper named Betty, no joke. So it’s just me and Luke sitting there watching the…show. I buy him a lap dance, we go into the back room, and long story short Luke ends up…liking it a little tooooooo much.”
Jacks and Smith cracked up. The idea of Luke blowing his load from a simple lap dance made them laugh so hard they started crying. Amy was giggling and Lexi was biting her lip to keep from smiling too big. But the reaction I noticed the most? Luke’s. He wasn’t laughing; he wasn’t even smiling. He looked tormented, broken hearted, and he was staring right at Lexi. I narrowed my eyes. “Lexi, you were there? You actually watched this poor boy get his first lap dance.”
Lexi snorted, “I did. I didn’t want to be left alone out there on the main floor.”
I nodded, realization making me feel bad for the guy. He didn’t blow his load from the lap dance. He came from watching Lexi, while he got a lap dance. Luke liked her. He wanted her. Or at least he had at one time. Well shit.
Chapter Three
Lexi