Irresistible Bachelors: Books 1-5 by Landish, Lauren (bts books to read TXT) 📕

giant with hands the size of a frying pan and an amused smirk on his broad, copper colored face. He’s about as wide as he is tall, but solid, and I’m sure could probably throw me all the way back to the mainland if he wanted. He calls himself Iz.

Tony and Caleb’s team, however, is all men, each of them strong-looking, though nowhere near the size of Iz. All of them are shirtless, wearing various shorts while Tony and Caleb have stripped off their dress shirts and rolled up the legs of their pants. Tony’s body glistens in the orange light, and I want to beat him so damn badly. That attraction I had to him before is creeping in on me, and it pisses me off.

“Now, just so we don’t have any mix-ups,” Alani says in her soft voice, “we have these for you.”

She walks toward us, strips of red cloth in her hands. They’re headbands, and I tie mine around my forehead, Cassie choosing to wear hers loosely around her neck. I look over and see that Tony’s been given blue, which he wraps around his upper arm just above the swell of his bicep. I force myself not to stare, and I find myself ripping my eyes away every time he looks my way, angry at myself for looking at all.

“Now that we have that, teams take your positions,” Wesley directs, gesturing to either side of the giant rope.

We get on our side, with me at the front and Cassie right behind. I glance and make sure Iz is all the way in the back as our anchor. I look and see that Tony and Caleb are at the front of theirs. He smirks, and as the teams get their grips, the shit talking begins.

“Why the sour face?” Tony asks me, his lip curling in a dismissive sneer. God, he’s so handsome. “At least wait until we beat you. Don’t worry, I won’t make it hurt too much. The real pain will be when the humiliation hits later.”

He’s trying to bait me, even as part of my mind wants to explore the ideas of him making it hurt and just how he’d like to humiliate me. I lock that part of my brain away, refusing to say anything. Instead, I lift my nose to the sky, sniffing as I tighten my grip on the rope, digging my feet into the sand.

He chuckles, trying to set me off edge. “Whatcha think, Caleb?”

“Too easy,” says Caleb, flexing his muscles. He winks at Cassie, blowing her a kiss. “Honey, you and I should have drinks after this. I’ll make it quick.”

“You’re going down, asshole!” Cassie yells, yanking the rope.

“Going down on asshole!” Mo Mo squawks from Wesley’s shoulder, and I wonder if he’s got the perviest bird in the world or if it’s just me.

“Chill, Cassie,” I tell her. “Don’t let them rustle your jimmies. We still have to be professional here.”

“I don’t like to lose,” Cassie growls. She’s totally in competition spirit now. Somewhere inside the bubbly, friendly chatterbox is a fighter, and I’m glad it’s there.

“Are we ready?” Wesley says, checking that everyone’s in position. I look back and see that not only has Iz taken a grip, but he’s wrapped the tail end of the rope around his enormous hips. I doubt a truck could pull him right now.

I dig my feet in and nod, unable to take my eyes off Tony, his chest and arms rippling under his tanned, sweaty skin. “Well then, on your mark, get set . . . GO!”

I expect it to be a stalemate, but almost immediately, Tony’s team acts as one, jerking hard, and I’m nearly sent sprawling, sliding through the sand and almost across the line.

“FIGHT, BITCHES!” Cassie screams, and I find my footing, digging in. Iz seems to take the lead, grunting loudly, and we jerk back in time with his grunts, regaining a precious little bit of ground.

Growling and grunting, I dig my feet into the sand, tugging with all my might. I want to win this. I lock eyes with Tony as I tug and pull with all I’ve got. He smirks at me, sweat glistening on his ripped upper body that looks like it’s been carved out of rose marble in the sunset light. My eyes can’t help themselves drifting down to his abs . . .

I slide forward, my attention slipping as we lose a few inches. Get ahold of yourself, Hannah!

I dig in, my feet churning deep furrows in the sand, past the loose surface stuff and digging into the wetter underlayer. It feels like forever, but every time we start to gain some traction, I swear Tony laughs and my eyes are pulled back to him, watching as his hands tighten more on the rope, his muscles flexing as he pulls just a little bit harder.

The end seems to come in an instant. Iz grunts again, and we go to jerk the rope, but as soon as we finish, Tony’s team explodes backward. I’m jerked out of the near-foot-deep hole that I’ve been digging with my feet, tumbling forward onto the loose sand. I fall at Tony’s feet, my hair soaked with sweat as I look down at his ankles, my breath heaving and my heart pounding. My hands are on fire, but the humiliation burns my face more as I look up, seeing Tony looking down at me with an expression of both triumph and desire on his face.

“Hmm, already on your knees for me.” Where you belong.

His words sting even more. A tug of war with five guys against four girls and one guy? It’s unfair, even if Iz is the size of a truck. I feel my disappointment snap into anger and explode. “The teams were unfair and you fucking know it!”

Tony smirks and turns away as Caleb grabs him around the shoulders, pounding him on the back. “Good fucking job, man!”

They’re cheering at my expense. I want to jump