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

on his back and claw him and . . . my blood heats as my chest heaves, thinking about what else I want to do with him once I get my hands on his body.

“Assholes,” Cassie growls, out of breath too. “I’m only a hundred and ten pounds!”

Wesley doesn’t seem amused or sharing in the victory. Instead, there’s a large frown on his face. “A draw!” he yells.

Tony and Caleb stop their gloating, turning to stare at him. “What?”

Wesley gestures at me, looking at Tony. “You and your friend gloat as if you won, but who really won here? Tony, you raise your hands in victory at the expense of your opponent literally on her knees before you. You both fought in anger and for your own destructive purposes. The true winner is the rope, who ebbs and flows with life, untethered by desires and the strings by which we tie ourselves down, but simply exists in its space and goes with the flow of the forces surrounding it.”

“Dude,” Caleb protests, “I don’t even know what you just said, but that’s bullshit!”

“Caleb, bullshit is the seed of life,” Wesley retorts. “It serves as the fertilizer that enriches the very ground you walk on, the nutrients that plants use to feed you. So many people say eat shit and die. I say, eat shit and live.”

We all look at each other like we’re all on an acid trip, and Willy Wonka here just took the left turn to Kooksville. “So . . . what’s this mean?” I ask finally.

“Let this be your lesson,” Wesley says. “Look deeper than the surface if you wish to impress and win. This is not a competition of objectivity and rules, but of subjectivity and spirit. Your second challenge starts at the house in thirty minutes, during dinner. Alani and I will be there to explain the rules.”

Wesley walks off with the Hawaiians, two members of Tony’s team supporting Iz as he coughs and rumbles. I hope he’s okay. He fought his ass off for us. Mo Mo circles the group as they walk away, and in moments, it’s just the four of us on the beach.

Tony stares at me for a moment and opens his mouth to say something, but I turn away, not wanting to give him any chance to gloat.

“Fuck, it sucks we lost,” Cassie gasps, still breathing heavily. Her hands are on her hips as she’s trying to recover. “I really wanted to wipe that smirk off that cocky bastard, Caleb’s, face.”

I look back, watching Tony disappear into the shadows cast by the trees on the way back to the house. I want to be mad, to keep my competitive edge, but the only thoughts running through my mind are how his muscles rippled as he pulled that rope.

I bite my lip and glare daggers into Anthony. “Don’t worry,” I growl to Cassie. “We’ll win the next one.”Anthony

“We smoked ‘em!” Caleb exults as we’re ushered back in the house. “They didn’t stand a chance.”

Of course they didn’t, I think. They were right. The teams weren’t fair. And from the sound of it, Wesley made it that way to see how we’d react. A test we sorely failed.

The sun is almost all the way down, the lights are starting to turn on around us, and I feel drained. Caleb is still buzzing in victory mode though, and he looks like he could go party the night away if he had the chance. I’m surprised. He’s usually laid back. Now, though, his eyes are alive and he’s pumped.

Before I reply, the skin prickles on my neck and I look behind me. The girls are coming through the main door, whispering to each other and scowling at me.

I swallow, thinking about how sexy Hannah looked grunting and growling, her competitive spirit refusing to let her go down without a fight. It makes me fucking want her thinking about it. I knew she was a fighter. Goddammit, why did I fuck it up before? I bet she’s feisty in bed.

Caleb scratches his jaw, noticing me looking at her. “What’s up with this Hannah chick?”

“What do you mean?”

“It seems like you two have history. How do you know her?”

“We met once,” I admit evasively. I’m still in shock that she’s here. What are the fucking odds?

“Why are you being coy?” Caleb asks. “That’s not like you. You’re more likely to tell me all the details right down to her preferred cut of panties.”

“Because there’s nothing to say,’ I say shortly. “I met her at a wedding a year ago.”

Caleb shakes his head. “Do you know how ridiculous you sound right now? You can almost choke on the tension between you two.”

“What do you want from me? You know me. I ran my mouth and went a little too far. But she’s still a hothead,” I mutter, my eyes fixed on her, and I instinctively lick my lips without realizing it.

“Dude, are we going to have a problem here?”

I ignore him. I don’t want to play twenty questions right now. Luckily, one of the staff comes to lead us down a hallway, sweat still beading down my body. “Hey, didn’t they say we were eating dinner?” I ask. I’ve worked up a fucking appetite. My stomach growls as if to accentuate the point.

Caleb chuckles darkly. “I wouldn’t get too excited. Who knows what the fuck this dude’s going to have us eating.”

We fall in directly behind the girls as we’re led into a large dining room that looks natural and rustic. The large windows give a breathtaking panoramic view of the gorgeous orchards and grounds of the property. The tables are unusual, more Japanese in style, and there are no chairs. I guess we’re expected to sit on the floor.

“I hope they have enough to go around,” Cassie says impishly as if she has any idea what they’re serving. I see Caleb open his mouth to make a reply, but I bump him on the shoulder. I don’t