wanted to laugh. The sight of Flynn, a long-suffering look on his face, stoically copying the instructor, did make her chuckle.
They followed Eleanor through a series of exercises which she insisted would improve muscle memory, before they were handed their bows. Molly got a dainty one, but Eleanor checked Summer over with an experienced eye and handed her a much bigger one.
Robert looked at his weapon in disgust. ‘A pyramid bow? Really? I have shot before, you know.’ Without a word, Eleanor handed him a traditional medieval longbow.
Then she gave them more co-ordination movements to tie the techniques together. ‘Tilt the bow,’ she told them. ‘You need to be able to see the target with both eyes.’ Summer was mortified when Eleanor told her to hold her bow at an even more pronounced angle. ‘It has to come up under your armpit or it will hit your breasts. You don’t want the string catching you.’
Mike chortled and made rude gestures with his hands. What had she ever seen in him? Summer wondered.
‘Now, draw back on the string as the bow comes up. Anchor your hand against your cheek,’ Eleanor told them. ‘Don’t look at the bow or arrow, look at the target.’
The targets were about twenty feet away. They had looked a perfectly reasonable size when she had helped set them up. Now they looked tiny and distant.
Flynn was going through the motions, but his attention was on the others. Even so, Summer couldn’t help noticing the definition of his arm and shoulder muscles when he drew the bow. His loose T-shirt had tightened enough to reveal that his torso was solid bone and muscle. There was nothing elegant about him, but the raw strength had a unique appeal.
The Australians were paying more attention than Summer had expected, and Molly was a picture of concentration. But Natasha and Maya were complaining about the damage to their nails, and Robert looked bored.
Robert’s iPhone cheeped. ‘Excuse me, I have to take this.’
‘Turn it off,’ Eleanor snapped. ‘You should know better than that.’ Robert closed his phone with a bad grace.
Summer nocked her arrow under Eleanor’s direction, surprised at how solid it felt.
‘Make sure you have the cock feather pointing in the right direction. Otherwise you’ll find you’re making a cock up.’
Gavin snorted with laughter, and even Maya cracked a smile. Robert winked at Molly and ran a possessive hand down her back. She leaned into his touch, purring with pleasure.
Flynn leaned in towards Summer and murmured, ‘Bet I know who’s going to have a cock up soon.’
She glared at him before turning her back on him.
He laughed.
They finally got to shoot, and although her first few arrows missed the target, Summer was delighted when she was the first of the beginners to hit the target. ‘Women are often faster than men at picking this up,’ Eleanor told the disgruntled Australians. After that, every one of her arrows hit the target and Summer was disappointed when Eleanor told them to take a break and go for a walk.
‘But I’m just getting the hang of it. Can’t I keep going?’
‘You’ll shoot better after a break.’
Fielding took advantage of the break to make a series of phone calls. Summer didn’t intend to eavesdrop, but she couldn’t help overhearing. He was as charming and authoritative on the phone as he was in person, she decided.
‘I’m sure that can be arranged, Uri. No problem, and the best to your family, too.’ He stroked Molly’s hair as he talked on the phone and Summer felt a tiny twinge of jealousy. Even when Robert was busy, he was still paying attention to Molly. She’d love to have someone do that to her.
She sneaked a glance at Flynn who, as usual, was right beside her. But his attention was never on her, and he only touched her when he wanted to make a point. She was glad of that. He wasn’t the sort of man she needed. She wanted a Dom, a real one, someone who was focused on her and who knew exactly
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