Play Hard (The Devil's Share Book 5) (19 page)

I melted. I was a pool of emotions at this precious resilient child’s feet. She’d called me her aunt. And even though Luke and I were just starting to figure things out, her words warmed my heart. How did anyone say no to this kid? I couldn’t. “Sure. Why not?” Landry clapped her hands together and jumped up and down. Then she took off in search of her parents to tell them the good news.

Luke’s hand tightened in mine. “A puppy? Are you serious?”

I made an oops face and rushed to explain myself. “She was so sweet and she called me Aunt Lo, and I like dogs…I’ve been thinking of getting one for a while.” I kissed his cheek. “It’s not
our
dog, you don’t have to be involved or anything.”

Dash stepped up next to us and put his arm around my neck, looking right at Luke. “I’ll help her raise it if you don’t want to.”

Luke spoke through clenched teeth. “It’s not the same, and you know it.”

I was confused by their words and even more confused when Dash started cracking up and walked off.

We got a brief rundown of the history of the center as well as a tour. And then the cameras came out. When Luke said their people would want this on social media, he wasn’t kidding. They had two photographers follow us around. We walked some of the older dogs, we helped the staff pass out canine breakfast, and Landry and Lexi even bathed a few of them. Before I knew it, three hours had gone by and I was covered in doggie kisses and dirt.

“Before you guys leave, we want to let you visit the nursery.”

Landry turned to me, an excited look on her face. Luke leaned close to my ear. “If you are having second thoughts, you need to let her know now.” Ever since that kiss he’d given me back on the plane I’d been feeling a little…tightly wound. His lips against my skin were not helping. In fact, my arms were covered in goose bumps.

“No second thoughts.” I smiled brightly and pushed him back a few steps. I needed some air before I climbed him like a tree. “You better make sure the hotel will allow dogs though, or else the puppy and I will have to stay somewhere else tonight.” I pointed at his badly hidden erection and he pulled out his phone, adjusting the crotch on his pants.

“Aunt Lo. You have to see these puppies, come on.” I let her take me by the hand and pretty much drag me inside. “This is my Aunt Lo. She and Uncle Luke are getting a puppy.” I didn’t bother correcting her. Not because I secretly wanted to adopt a puppy with Luke. That would just be silly.

The lady who ran the rescue smiled warmly. “We are so thrilled you have decided to adopt, but usually we require a home visit before we can agree to—”

Luke walked up, put his arm around the lady’s shoulders and steered her in another direction. He motioned me toward the puppies, which was unnecessary because Landry was already pulling me down the hallway. I glanced back at Lexi, Bryan, and Dylan. “You guys aren’t coming?”

Lexi shook her head, laughing. “If I step foot in that room, I’ll walk out the proud new owner of a pit puppy. They’re irresistible. They’re my crack.”

Dylan motioned behind her. “I have to keep Smith from going in. He has baby fever for all species right now.”

“I’ve been around enough puppy shit to last me a few years. But you have fun, and thanks for doing this. Landry is pumped.” Bryan gave me a thumbs-up and then we turned a corner and they disappeared.

There were probably a dozen adorable tiny puppies and they were all lying on top of each other, sleeping peacefully in a pile. All except one of them, he was larger than the other puppies, obviously older. He was down in a crate all by himself and jumping up and down, trying to get out to see us. Luke walked in and pulled me against him. “Don’t worry about the home visit stuff, I just made a generous donation.”

I turned in his arms. “You didn’t have to do that, kid.” He really didn’t. I was perfectly capable of making my own large donations.

“I wanted to.” He kissed my neck. “Did you find one?”

Landry was in the middle of a puppy frenzy at this point. The tiny babies were crawling all over her, licking her face. The puppy at the end of the row was still pouncing though, begging for some attention. I couldn’t help myself. I left Landry and went to meet him with Luke following closely behind. “Hi, lovey.” He was black as night with a bright white chest and massive paws.

Luke put his hands on my shoulders. “It says here that he is barely three months old, Pix. Look at him, he’s going to be huge.”

A shelter worker came up behind me. “That’s why we have to keep him separated; he plays too rough for the smaller guys.” She gave us a sad smile. “We hate having to keep him alone so we all make sure he gets extra walks. He’s great on a leash.”

I reached my hand over the fence and scratched his ears. “What’s your name, bud?” He leaned into my hand, wanting more.

The shelter lady held her hands out, like she was presenting a circus act. “This is Lou Dog.”

Luke chuckled. “Lou Dog? As in Bradley Nowell’s dog? From Sublime?”

She nodded. “One and the same. We found him next to an abandoned van on a street called Garden Grove. Would you like to meet him?”

I tilted my head back to find Luke still smiling. “I’d like to adopt him.”

***

As soon as I got back from taking Louie on his first
he’s my dog
walk, my phone started ringing in my pocket. I pulled it out, groaning when a jackass stared back at me. I unhooked the puppy’s leash and he immediately leapt onto the bed. “Hey, Dad. Two calls in one week, is this a new record?”

He often chose to ignore my “smart mouth”; this time was no different. “Did you adopt a pit bull? With Matthews? What were you thinking? You going to get pierced and tattooed now too?”

Damn. Social media moved faster than my dog’s bowels. “Are you stalking me?”

He sighed and I could picture him pinching the bridge of his nose. “No, I’m not stalking you, I’m doing my job. Luke is—”

“A really nice guy. Not to mention, he’s uh, he’s my boyfriend.” Wow. I needed to be nicer to Luke, because that was an easy lie to spout. Although in my case we actually were kind of maybe starting a relationship. And since freaking when had looking out for me been my father’s job?

“Harlow, honey. You don’t know these men like you think you do and—”

I interrupted him again. I was on a motherfuckin’ roll today. Don’t insult my guy and don’t insult my pit bull. “Look, here’s how it’s going to go. You want me to make nice with child bride Barbie then you keep your mouth shut about Luke. I like him, we’re dating, and he’s coming with me to New York.” Huh, I did it again.

“You can’t be serious, Harlow. You can’t bring him here.”

“You want to see me, you’re going to have to see him too. Take it or leave it.”

He was silent for several seconds before answering, “We’ll see you both in a couple days.” I hung up without saying good-bye. There, that was settled, now I just needed to call in that favor Luke owed me.

My phone dinged, signaling a text.

Mom:
Harlow! He’s adorable J I can’t wait to spoil him rotten.

I smiled at my mom’s excitement. My parents were such polar opposites; it showed in everything they did. My dad had seen pictures on social media and immediately had to let me know of his distaste. I’d texted my mom a picture of Louie taking a shit, and she couldn’t be more supportive if she tried.

Chapter Thirty-one

Lexi

It had been a long-as-hell day and I was exhausted. We’d been at the shelter this morning for hours and then the guys had to go record some local radio show spots that would air in the morning. Halen had been fussy all day. I couldn’t put her down without her screaming at the top of her lungs. I’d only figured out it was her ears from the plane ride about an hour ago. Thank goodness for Dilly. I knew she was looking forward to going back to work after this press tour stuff was done, but I thought we should just pay her to be our on call band-family physician. I smiled when I heard the card reader on the door beep. “Daddy’s home. Now Mommy can go potty.” I took Halen’s arms and made her do a happy dance. “Yay.”

“Hey, Kitten. How’s my girl feeling?” Dash walked into the room and tossed his phone and wallet on a table, crawling into bed with us.

“She’s doing better.” I stood her on my lap. “Aunt Dilly got us some special drops, huh?” I kissed her cheeks and then handed her to her daddy. “How was the rest of your day? How was the meeting with the merchandiser?”

“Really good, everyone is loving the new album. Looks like it’s going to get tons of airtime.” He sighed and let his head fall back against the padded headboard. “The merch meeting was long and unnecessary. They could have just emailed us the proofs.”

“I’m sorry, babe. I know you guys have had a long couple of days. But I’m glad the stations are loving the record.” This new album was unlike anything they’d ever done before. And I knew despite how self-assured they acted, they were all a little nervous. “It’s a great album, it really is.”

He turned to me, a tired smile on his face. “Thanks, Kitten. How’s the newest member of the Devil’s Share family?”

I let loose a loud laugh. “Louie is going to give Crash a run for his money.” Harlow’s new puppy was huge and clumsy and thought he was the size of a teacup Yorkie. “Nice work today, by the way, making Lukey jealous.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Insisting that Lo nap in your lap? The comment about helping her raise the puppy? Those were nice touches, and they seemed to work wonders. He was all over her before we landed and he donated an assload of money so she could take a puppy home today.” I climbed out of bed and grabbed the room service menu. I’d wanted to wait until Dash got home before I ordered my dinner. Otherwise it would have just gotten cold when Halen started to fuss. She was not a fan of multitasking. If you were holding her, all your attention needed to be on her.

Dash scowled. “I wasn’t trying to make Luke jealous.”

I eyed him. “Weren’t you, though?”

“No. Unlike you, I don’t meddle in other people’s love lives. I was just giving him a taste of his own medicine. He was all over you when you first joined the tour. Not to mention all the nights he spent holding you and Halen while y’all slept.”

I brought the menu with me back to bed and rested my head next to his, beaming at my daughter. “Well, either way. I think he’s finally admitting to himself that he has feelings for her.”

“I think so too.” Dash straightened the legs on Halen’s footie jammies.

“Really?” I couldn’t contain the excitement in my voice.

He nodded, flattening his lips and closing his eyes. “Oh yeah.” He looked over at me, raising his eyebrows suggestively. “Lust.”

Chapter Thirty-two

Luke

Sitting through dinner with our merchandise distributors had been excruciating. All I’d been able to think about was getting back to the hotel and fucking Lo up against a wall. I was addicted to sex with her. I’d had her last night and now I was hooked. I couldn’t seem to sit still and my stupid friends kept making fun of me. I didn’t even wait for the elevator when we got back to the hotel. I took the stairs.

When I opened the door to our room, I was greeted by a happy puppy, not a naked Harlow, which was what I was banking on. “Hey, buddy.” He jumped in my arms and I held him like a baby, rubbing his belly. “Where’s your mommy?” The lights were low in the bedroom so I headed into the bathroom. Bingo, she was buck-naked in the shower. “Hey, Pix. Whatcha doin’? Trying to make my dick explode?”

“Louie and I just went for a little run.”

“Oh yeah? How’d he do?”

“He did perfect.” She smiled at him through the glass and his tail started to wag. “How was your day?”

“It was good, but long.” I put Louie down, peeled off my clothes, and climbed in behind her, slipping my hands around her waist and drawing her toward me. “I thought about you constantly.”

She leaned her back. “Yeah?”

“Mmmmm.” I nuzzled her neck then let my teeth take her flesh. “I thought about the way you taste.” I slid my hand down her slick front and dipped a finger in her pussy. “The way you feel.” I added another, making her moan. “The way you sound.” I was teasing her at first, but now that I had her panting in front of me, I didn’t want to stop. “But mostly, I just thought about how quickly I’m falling for you. How quickly you’ve changed my whole world.” I sucked on the space between her shoulder and neck.

“Luke.” My name was like a plea. I fucking loved that sound, it brought me to the brink. What I’d told her was the God’s honest truth. I was falling for her; I wanted nothing more than to make her smile, to make her happy, and to make her say my name just like that.

I’d wanted her all damn day, and I wasn’t going to wait any longer. “Put your foot on that ledge.” She immediately did what she was told. “Good girl. Now brace your hands on the wall.” I grabbed my dick, placing myself at her core and then sliding in sinfully slow. She was tight and she tensed at the invasion, at how deep I was at this angle. “Relax for me, Pix. I won’t hurt you, I’d never hurt you.” When I was finally fully seated inside her, I rested my head in relief on her back. “This is what I needed, baby. This is what I’ve been craving all fucking day. I could live inside your tight pussy.”

She pushed back against me. “Please…”

“I love it when you beg for it, Harlow.” I let my teeth scrape down her spine, making her arch her back, putting her ass in the best position. “That’s it, stay just like that.” I pumped in and out, slowly. Dragging every stroke; making it last. When she started to shiver, I made the water hotter and angled the nozzle head so that it was falling only on her. Her moans and whimpers were echoing off the tile and glass of the shower.

“I need…”

I loved that she couldn’t finish her thoughts when I was balls deep inside her. I loved that all thinking went out the window. I knew I should be wearing a condom, I knew the risks we were taking. But I didn’t fucking care. I reached around and put my fingers on her clit, adding pressure. “That better? Is that what you needed?” I used my other hand to tease her nipples.

“Fuck. Yes. Luke don’t stop.” I couldn’t stop right now, even if she’d asked me to. I was so far gone. If I was going to have any hope of pulling out in time, I needed to get her to the edge. I needed her to come for me.