Irresistible Bachelors: Books 1-5 by Landish, Lauren (classic literature books .TXT) 📗

worry about making it a lawn later, but today’s all about at least getting it so that I’m not worried about snakes or other creepy crawlies if I want to take a walk back here.

Caleb and I have been working together all morning to try and get the lawn done, alternating between driving the mower and using the other tools. We’ve been through six gallons of gas in the big mower, but the ten huge bags of cut grass stand as a monument to the amount of work we’ve accomplished. But now, he insists on running the weed whacker, saying my bare legs are in danger. The way he keeps looking at my legs and ass, I’d say he’s the one in danger . . . and that’s just the way I like it.

“Do you need some wa—” I yell, but the words freeze in my throat at the sight in front of me. Caleb’s peeled off his shirt while I’ve been inside, leaving him in just a pair of jeans that hugs his lean hips like a glove, and I get a full view of the long muscles of his back and the swell of his arms and shoulders as he shuts off the motor. Just looking at the sweat glistening on his tanned skin makes my internal temperature ratchet up a few more degrees, and I’m tempted to drink half the glass of water myself. I’m burning up inside.

“Hey,” he says, turning all the way toward me and shrugging off the gas trimmer. Watching his chest and arms flex with easy strength and the bead of sweat that trickles down his pecs before coursing its way over the deep ridges of his abs has me gasping for air.

I’ve always known that Caleb was a fine, sexy specimen of manhood. But the recent change in our relationship has me looking at him differently. I’m shocked at how turned on he makes me. These past few days, I’ve noticed him not as an opponent, not as a playmate, but as a man. And no matter how much I want to deny it, I want him with every fiber of my being.

Why couldn't I see this before? It makes sense. From the moment I saw him, I wanted to beat him, to show him that I was worthy of his notice. Every mean trick I played on him, every time I’ve tried to show him up since we’ve started working together, it’s always been to get his attention. Sometimes, I’ve been subtle, like with a slight joke or making sure I wore my thinnest bra today underneath my thinnest tank top. Other times, it’s been as in your face as a bucket of water poured over his head. Yeah, I did that too.

And now, I can’t deny it. I can’t get enough of him.

The corner of Caleb’s lips curl up into a cocky grin as he watches me, and I realize I’m staring at him, the glass of ice water frozen in my hand. “You okay?”

I tear my eyes away from his sweaty abs. “Yeah, a bead of sweat just fell in my eye.” I lie my ass off, trying to maintain at least a little bit of control of myself. I’m not quite that desperate that I want to fall on my back in the freshly mown grass and spread my legs, begging him to plow me. At least, not yet. I wipe at my eyes with the back of my hand, holding out the glass of cold water. “Here. You look like you need it.”

Caleb reaches out and takes the glass from my hand, my eyes fixed on his Adam’s apple as he downs half the glass, his throat making me even more breathless before he stops and gives me a curious look. “You sure about that?”

He steps closer, and he’s so close I can feel the heat emanating from him, heat that has nothing to do with the blistering sun. I swear my internal thermometer is rising through the roof. Standing next to him, the only image I have in my head is of my entire head exploding like a cartoon thermometer, but I can’t tear my eyes away from him.

“I’m sure,” I finally reply, my voice husky. “How much more do you have to do?”

“Not much,” Caleb admits, not looking anywhere but at me. “There’s a few bushes that need trimmed, but that won’t take long at all.”

If you want to see a nicely trimmed bush, I’ve got one for you, I think, but instead, I nod. “Okay.”

The sounds of the summer fade away as I watch him finish off his drink, a trickle of water running from the side of his mouth and down to his chest, making me want to lick the clear droplet off his skin. He licks his lips, and all I can imagine is feeling his hands, his lips, his tongue licking me that way, and I moan lightly, my thighs trembling with desire.

Caleb finishes the last bit from the glass before crunching one of the ice cubes that I’d put inside, smiling. “Delicious. Just what I needed.”

Please, please, PLEASE run that ice cube over my nipples, I want to beg him, my heart pounding in my chest like a sexual drum. “Yeah. I was just going back inside. I was going to get that list of stuff for the bathr—”

Trying to keep my eyes in a safe place, I fail utterly. Every glance at Caleb makes me want him more, and I stammer, unable to find a single square inch of his body that doesn’t leave my heart fluttering, my stomach twisting, and my pussy aching. Finally, in a desperate bid for keeping control, I turn to leave, but I freeze when I feel a powerful hand grab my wrist.

“What are you doing?” I gasp as Caleb pulls me back around, my body pressing against his. I can feel his heart pounding against my chest, and between his legs is a