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

our bench, Hannah starts cutting up pineapple into bite-sized bits. Then she douses it in some sort of dark sauce.

“Soy?”

“Balsamic vinegar. It’s a slaw. Have you cleaned your shrimp?”

“Uh, what?” I ask helplessly.

“You do know you should take out the poop chute, right?” Hannah asks, and I shake my head in mild disgust, causing her to let out a sigh. “Here, let me show you . . .” She gives me a quick lesson on how to peel and devein shrimp and I’m shocked at how much work goes into it.

“What now?” I ask. “Barbeque?”

“Not unless you want them to have no flavor,” Hannah says. “Soak it in soy sauce for five minutes, and while you do that, grab that garlic paste and the coconut.”

Hannah abandons her side of the bench to bust open a coconut. She quickly shreds the fresh coconut before mixing it with the garlic paste. “Okay, take out your shrimp and . . .” I listen to her orders intensely, following them one by one.

“Guac,” Hannah says when we’re done with the skewering and cooking, running up front with two big avocados. “Squeeze of lime, salt, and a chopped up tomato. Mix, done.”

I nod, getting it done quickly. When it’s finished, I dip a finger in to taste. I’m not sure, so I hold it out to Hannah. “Try?”

She hesitates, and for a moment, I think she’ll refuse. But then she wraps her sweet lips around my finger and I’m forced to hold in a groan as my dick becomes rock hard in my shorts. At first, I thought it was genuine, then she makes a show of it, fluttering her eyes and swirling her tongue around my finger like it’s my cock.

“Two minutes,” Wesley says, reminding us and shaking me back to reality. Hannah grins devilishly at me as I pull my finger out of her mouth and I’m speechless.

Shoving down my lust, I hurry to finish up. “Five, four, three, two, one . . . that’s it, hands up, step away!”

I throw my hands up and step back, amazed that I actually put together a dinner, and look over at Hannah, who’s smiling at me. I know I shouldn’t trust her, but it almost looks real.

We carry our dishes into the other room, where Alani has laid out placemats on the floor, ringing the central area. “Now . . . as a show of respect to your fellow competitor,” Wesley says, sitting down easily behind one of the placemats, “you will feed your partner the first bite.”

I sit down and Hannah is directed to sit next to me. We place our dishes in the middle, waiting to figure out what he’s talking about.

“Watch,” Wesley says, using his fingers to pick up one of the shrimp I prepared, and he feeds it to his wife. It’s a sweetly sensual moment that I feel a bit voyeuristic watching. He smiles at Alani, then looks at the rest of us. “Just the first bite. Then eat up!”

I glance at Hannah, who gulps, while Caleb and Cassie seem to chuckle. I guess their cooking got along pretty good.

I turn to Hannah, and she picks up her plate, smiling at me. There’s a mischievous spark in her eyes, but I can’t for the life of me figure out what she has up her sleeve. “Tuna and halibut ceviche.”

She takes a chip to scoop up the fish mix she made, feeding it to me. As I bite down, the delicious seasoning assaults my taste buds.

“Holy shit,” I manage, devouring it. “You’re talented.”

“Thank you,” Hannah says, letting me feed her the other part of what we made, a lettuce cup with guacamole. There’s a little left on her plump lip afterward, and when her tongue flicks out to lick it off sensuously, I feel a tingle start in the crotch of my shorts. Fuck, I wish this weren’t just a game.

With the formality of feeding of each other completed, we start dinner. I’m not allowed to eat anything I prepared, but each bite of Hannah’s meal is delicious. I wonder what Caleb and Cassie made, and more importantly if it’s better than our dishes since they seem to be chowing down happily. The more I eat, the more Hannah smiles, and I start to wonder if she’s really enjoying this. I can’t get a read on her.

“A delicious meal,” Wesley says, getting up and going over to the side table and coming back with a teapot. “Now, a little tea to wash it all down.”

He pours the tea into cups made of bamboo and brings us all a cup. I toast Hannah, who’s still smiling. Maybe it’s her game face, maybe it’s real, but my heart is speeding up and I feel warm. The tea doesn’t help, and I shift around, realizing that for some reason, I’ve got major fucking wood.

“Problem, Tony?” Hannah asks innocently as Wesley sips his tea. “Shh, let’s find out who won.”

“Of course,” Wesley says. “You can guess that the keys for this competition were not just flavor and presentation, but being the cook who best highlighted and respected the natural state of the ingredients. For it is in the natural state . . .”

I try to listen, but my dick is throbbing so hard I’m forced to adjust myself in my shorts.

God, I haven’t popped wood this painful since I was going through puberty, I think to myself. I feel like I’m going to explode out of my shorts . . . or fuck, maybe in them, right here at dinner.

I look over and see Hannah stifle a smirk. Then it hits me. Hannah. She fucking put something in the food.

“So, Hannah, it was quickly obvious that you are tonight’s winner,” Wesley says. “But don't get overconfident. There’s more tomorrow. You’ll be staying here tonight as my guests. Alani can show you your rooms. We’ll get started first thing in the morning.”

“What—” Hannah begins to complain but stops short at Wes’s sigh. “Let me guess. You