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

large banyan tree. The four of us split up, searching until Cassie finds the ‘treasure,’ two black plastic canisters about the size of cans of soup.

The next treasure is further away and a lot more challenging to get to. We emerge from the woods to see a rocky outcropping, not quite a cliff but damn close. Sticking out about halfway up the wall are a red and a blue flag. Displaying his physical prowess, Caleb scrambles up, retrieving the two canisters.

Even Cassie gives me silent acknowledgement that working together may have been the smart decision. There’s no way the two of us could have conquered that rock without ropes or a jetpack.

As the day progresses, I’m shocked at how well we’re all working together, moving from location to location. Cassie and Caleb continue their banter, but it’s back to the playful vibe they’ve had since we’ve been here.

We’re stopped dead in our tracks at one of the coordinates, the smell reaching us before we’re even a hundred feet away. “Oh, shit.”

“Shit is right,” I say as we approach a huge pile of manure. I see the tiny red and blue flags on top, and I wince. “That is like a dinosaur-size pile of shit.”

“Oh, fuck no!” Cassie yells. “Good thing we’re teamed up. Gentlemen…” she tells them with a wave of her hand, indicating it’s all theirs.

“Oh, I’m thinking this is a time for ladies first,” Caleb jokes. “Just remember, like Wesley says, eat shit and live!”

Cassie glares at him. “You know, sometimes I just wanna kick your nuts so hard they pop outta your nose. This is one of those times.”

Tony and I burst out laughing, causing Caleb to turn red with embarrassment. He doesn’t come back and instead opens the boys’ supply pack, finding a canteen and taking a big drink of water.

“But seriously, what do we do?” I ask. “This is fucking disgusting.”

“We’re gonna have to go through it,” Tony says. “The flags are right there.”

He looks around at the three of us, none of us wanting to have anything to do with it. “Fine. I guess it’s time for the real man to put on the big boy pants and get to work. I’ll take one for the team.”

Tony puts on some big gloves that were in the bag and starts trying to move it out of the way by handfuls. Just when I’m thinking this is going to take all day sifting through handfuls at a time, he lets out a triumph yell, pulling out two canisters. Holding them out, I can’t help but cheer and clap a little as Tony grins. “Nice job!” I say.

“We need to get those fucking things cleaned off a little,” Caleb says. “I don’t think any of us want to carry a can of shit all the way back.”

Tony laughs, pulling his t-shirt off to wipe the canisters clean. He’s trying his best not to get any on himself, but he’s going to need a damn good shower, that’s for sure. “I need another shirt. They’re still not clean, and mine’s dirty as fuck!”

With a smile, I shrug off my pack and pull off mine, leaving me in my sports bra.

“Here,” I say, tossing him my shirt. “I don’t know if I want that back though, even if it is washed.”

Tony uses my shirt to wipe some more before he’s satisfied. “So . . . your shirt off your back. That’s pretty serious. Does that mean we’re going steady? Wanna hold hands?”

“Fuck off!” I laugh, running away from him. I edge back, dashing forward to grab my backpack and pull it on. “You need a shower before you come near me!”

After a few laughs, we head off. Our last two coordinates are near the beach. One’s just off the coast, but there’s a problem with that. “Uhm . . . the coordinates are in the water.”

Tony shrugs off his pack and takes out some goggles. “Well, I guess that’s what these are for.” I open our bag and pull out a matching pair.

“Let’s divide and conquer, finish this up, and move on. I’ll take Miss Motor Mouth while you and Hannah go for a swim,” Caleb says. “You could probably use a little rinse anyway.”

“Since we’re on the subject of mouths, I have one, and only one use for yours,” Cassie growls. “I see that look on your face, and it’s not that either. Kiss my ass!”

Caleb laughs. “That’ll be the day. Come on, slowpoke, let’s get ours and get back.”

The two run off, and I look at Tony. “What are we waiting for?”

He grins at me, and we hurry to the shore, shucking shoes and putting our goggles on.

“You ready?” he says, excitement in his voice.

Looking into the sparkling waters, I nod. “When you are.”

Holding hands, we wade in. The water is darker blue than I thought, and as I struggle downward, I realize that it’s a lot deeper than I thought it’d be, too. Though we went in together, I don’t see Tony. Panicking, I turn, looking all around. I can barely see below the surface, but Tony comes up a moment later, causing me to sigh with relief. “You okay? I was right there beside you.”

“Sorry,” I gasp, grabbing onto his body. “I didn’t see you go under.”

“It’s all right,’ he says softly. “I’m fine. Let’s go down and look together, okay?”

I nod, feeling relaxed in his arms.

Tony smiles and gives me an encouraging kiss. “With me, take five big deep breaths, and then we go under. Hold onto my belt and kick like hell.”

We do it together, Tony putting those muscles to use as we sink fast. The water starts to get darker the deeper we go, and I’m starting to think I might need to turn back up when I see the flash of red and blue. It’s an old anchor, and attached to it are two tiny canisters on a floating buoy. Tony reaches out and undoes the simple bow knot holding it