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

at him. “Take a break if you need to. I can meet you for brunch if you want. Or maybe you have other plans?”

I try to say it casually, but it sounds a lot bitchier than I intended. Caleb jogs a couple more steps then hops in front of me, forcing me to stop with his hands on my shoulders. “What’s going on? What the hell did that mean?”

I refuse to meet his eyes, looking away into the woods, because if I look him in the eye right now, I’m not sure what he’ll see. Anger? Hurt? Sadness? Whatever it is, it’s not part of our agreement and not what I should be feeling. “Nothing. I’m fine.”

Caleb grabs my chin and gently brings my eyes to his, and I find myself lost in his eyes instantly. I can’t help it. He’s so handsome, and the way he’s looking at me right now, it’s stirring me up inside. “If it’s one thing I know, it’s that when a woman says things are ‘fine’, it means things most definitely are not fine. What’s going on?”

I sigh and shake my head, forcing nonchalance into my voice. “It’s really nothing, Caleb. Everything’s okay. I just saw you talking to Blondie Bitch and thought maybe you’d want to have brunch with her. It’s all right if you do. I’ve got stuff to do at home anyway.”

Caleb gives me an appraising look, then laughs. “You’re jealous. You’re fucking jealous!”

I scowl, trying not to punch him in the gut to hide my embarrassment. “I’ll admit I had a little flash of insecurity at the perkiness of her ponytail, but she’s beautiful. Make sure you ask her what shampoo she uses for me when you talk to her again, ‘kay?”

It’s killing me to say it, but he’s gonna move on eventually anyway. Maybe sooner is better than later, less painful at least. Caleb, though, is smiling at me like I’m saying something hilarious. “Cass—”

I cut him off, drowning in a storm of emotions that I have no idea where they’re coming from. I just really want him to go away. I’m not used to feeling this, and I don’t want to make things worse. But at the same time, the idea of his leaving just makes me more miserable. “Really. I need to do laundry anyway if I want underwear to wear to work Monday.”

Caleb steps closer, crowding me with his body, making me step back off the trail and into the trees. I stumble slightly, slipping on the pine needles, and any second now, I know I’m going to be trapped against a tree. Caleb, though, just keeps looking at me with those eyes of his, his freshly trimmed jawline tight and so kissable. “Cass . . . stop talking. I don’t want Blondie Bitch, as you called her. Where do you come up with these names?”

I think he’s asking rhetorically, not really wanting an answer, so for a change, I do as he asks and shut up. Besides, I’m trying not to fall on my ass.

Caleb continues. “Her name’s Brittany, and she just started talking to me and was nice. I didn’t see the need to stomp on her feelings, so I gave her my snapchat and she sent me a friend request. I’ll just decline it later and no harm, no foul.”

“You mean you’re not going to see her? Why? I mean, did you see her fucking ponytail? I was serious about that. I really do need to know what shampoo she uses.” I’m trying desperately to backpedal, joke, and lighten this up before my jealousy goes and fucks up a good thing. I can’t believe I got jealous. What the hell is wrong with me?

“You know my favorite kind of ponytail?” Caleb says, his voice dropping to a sexy growl that freezes me in my tracks. He steps closer, reaching behind me and wrapping my decidedly less glamorous tangle around his fist. He looks me dead in the eye, compelling me to meet his eyes. He pulls on my hair, forcing my chin to lift. Right before he kisses my neck, I hear him growl, “Your ponytail . . . it’s like a fucking handle just for me to pull you right where I want you.”

He uses my hair to gently guide my head back and forth, kissing and licking the saltiness from my neck and sending my heart hammering, heat flooding my body. I can’t help it. I moan as he licks up the side of my neck before tracing my ear. His lips right on my ear, he whispers, “Turn around, hands on the tree.”

Instantly, I obey him. Who the fuck am I and who does he think he is? I don’t know, but my pussy knows exactly who is because I feel the gush of my juices at his command. Still holding my hair, he kisses my shoulders, his other hand tracing my curves, tickling along the side of my left breast. Lightly, he pulls my hair, forcing an arch in my back, my ass pressing into his groin, and I feel his cock, hard and ready. I’m really making him that hard looking the way I am when he saw Blondie fewer than twenty minutes ago? Talk about a boost to your ego. I groan, wanting to feel more, wanting him to fill me, and he grinds against me, the layers of clothing feeling like too much, keeping us apart.

Caleb growls into my ear, amused. “Did I hear you right? Are you saying that you’re going commando in these little shorts that damn near show a peek of your delicious ass with every step you take?”

Embarrassingly, I whimper and nod. I know, I’m terrible with laundry. Twelve work outfits, eight sets of undies. The math doesn’t work out. Caleb groans sexily and grinds his cock harder against my ass, his voice raspy. “You’re killing me, Cass. I didn’t know your sweet little pussy was just a slip of fabric away.