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

for, in that instant, don’t worry about the crowd, focus on making it real. Even if only for ten minutes.

“Break!” Wesley says suddenly, and I realize he’s been watching us the whole time again. “Ten minutes, rest and have some juice, and then we’ll do a final performance.”

“I should add some extra . . . spice to your juice,” Tony says, his chest glittering with perspiration as he pours me a glass. “I wouldn’t want you to tire out.”

“I’ve got more than enough left,” I tease, and I can’t stop my eyes from tracing a drop of sweat down his chest.

The final dance is done on the beach in front of the whole house staff, the waves acting as a crashing backdrop as we dance. I feel my pulse pounding and a clenching desire between my thighs as Tony dances, pounding his powerful chest and roaring with a primal ferocity. I’m so into the performance that I feel my mind starting to think like the warrior bride even, and I see Tony as a suitor, not my competition.

I feel like he’s my warrior. That he’d protect me, give me strong children, everything I could want.

When the last beats of the drum fade away and I’m in his arms, I can feel him pressing against my ass, and I can’t help but melt into him. I stumble slightly as I step back, quickly regaining my composure as I hear the applause of the crowd.

“Well done, both of you!” Wesley says, lifting his hands up. “You have honored the tale of the two young lovers.”

“Young lovers! Young lovers!” Mo Mo repeats, and I have to blush. I glance at Tony, who gives me a smile, both of us laughing at the bird’s antics.

“However,” Wesley says, “There was one of you who was just a little bit more authentic. The effort, the passion put into every movement, they spoke not only to the legend, but also to the soul of Hawaii. So . . . Tony, congratulations.”

“What?” Cassie gasps, and I feel the same. “No way!”

“Hannah did great, but her dancing felt forced,” Wesley explains, and I kick myself for putting in that hip pop that I swore would work. So it wasn’t pure Hawaiian. But neither is Spam, and they love that shit here. “Also, Tony’s growth from this morning to what we just saw was impressive.”

“I understand,” I reply, feeling slightly chagrined.

“I hope so,” Wesley says. “You must understand, these islands were born tens of thousands of years ago. Generations of Hawaiians have lived, loved, and died here. It is from these people’s legacy that we are able to enjoy the richness and bounty of what this special place offers us today. It’s important to respect the past.”

I feel a tear come to my eye, understanding what Wesley means. My whole dance, I wasn’t thinking about honoring anything. I just wanted to get another one over on Tony. I wanted to tease him, to entice him, and while it probably worked, I lost.

“Well now, it was a fun morning. Let’s have some lunch,” Wesley says after a moment. He leads us back toward the house, where we find a picnic set up on the grass underneath the almond trees. As the gentle scent of almonds fills the air, we dig in.

“This is delicious,” I say gratefully as I relish the thin, grilled fish. “Wow.”

“So, what brought you to your line of work?” Wesley asks Tony and me. “I’m curious.”

“My brother,” Tony says almost immediately. “After he came back to town and started his own company, I really thought about what he offered me. I could have gone with him. I could have gone and apprenticed under my dad. But Oliver . . . well, he offered me more freedom. And more respect.”

“Freedom to dance?” I tease, and Tony smirks.

“Freedom to be my own man,” he replies. “What about you? Last I heard, you were working with Roxy.”

Wesley’s eyes gleam, and I shrug. “Franklin Consolidated was just a stepping stone for us both. I always worked hard, but ultimately, I was just going through the motions. Roxy gave me an extra little inspiration when she left. The job wasn’t bad, but I didn’t love it. I traveled, made a go of it as a photographer, and bounced around a little . . . it was tough. I felt like I was facing one of two issues. Either I did what I loved and starved, or I did what I hated and made a decent living. Now I’m with Aurora Holdings, and while it’s still not my end game, I enjoy it, and I can still do my photography when I’m out at beautiful places like this.”

“There is more to life than money,” Wesley replies sagely. “I know that sounds silly coming from a man with money, but I didn’t make money to pursue the things I enjoy. I pursued the things I love, and the money found me.”

“So what do you pursue now?” I ask, not ready to go that far in depth with him. To hear more about his own struggles, though . . . maybe that’s what I need right now to help figure out what makes him tick and what he wants out of this contract deal.

“You’ll see after lunch,” Wesley says. “For now, eat up.”

I glance over at Tony, who’s cleaned off his face paint and is still eating his food. I can’t stop myself from looking at him, but I try to hide it. I swore to myself I wouldn’t say anything, but I want to let him have it over the text last night. I just don’t want to say anything in front of Wesley.

The rest of lunch is pleasant, even with the little jokes and flirtatious jibes coming constantly from Caleb and Cassie. I swear, those two are going to end up either killing each other or fucking behind a palm tree at some point before this is all over. I glance at Tony again,