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Chapter 40
Declan
Ethanambledoverto join me among the huddle of media, friends, and curious onlookers. “This is quite a show,” he said.
Reboot was finally up and running. Waiters roved and champagne flowed.
Looking like a goddess in a floral dress swishing over boots, Theadora took my breath away.
She’d only just arrived that morning.
I felt good. Relaxed. I couldn’t give a shit about my mother and her silly antiquated views of who I should be with. There was no doubt that her rigid attitude would make for a bumpy ride, but with Theadora by my side, I could conquer anything, even a mother living in some glossy magazine version of family dynasties.
Although Lucy hadn’t arrived as yet, I’d rented a cottage for her with a one-year lease, which brought tears to Theadora’s eyes. I knew that they’d had it tough, and my making a difference to both their lives felt sweet.
Carson gave the tour of the facility, with me happy to hang back and mingle.
Carrying a glass of champagne, Theadora joined me, and I put my arm around her waist, drawing her close against me and pressing my lips to her silky hair. She looked around us before returning a hesitant crooked smile.
“You’re going public, I see,” Ethan said, raising his eyebrows. He knew about the photos and the potential for this relationship to cause a huge stir between me and our mother.
I kissed Theadora’s cheek. “Yep. We sure are.”
Savanah came over to join us. “Where are the mud patches and half-naked hunks crawling under wire?”
I laughed. “You have to go to an army training camp for that.”
“That’s what I thought this would be,” she complained. “A demonstration of how it’s done by real men.”
“This is one notch above gym training with a trainer who sounds like he means it.”
“Mm… I could use one of those,” she said. “My thighs are starting to get a bit flabby.”
My sister, and this obsession with body image, was one of many in our scene. I lost count of how many times I’d reassured her and Cleo and other women that they looked great just as they were. As a teenager, Savanah had succumbed to bulimic tendencies, and despite her promising that she’d stopped that frightful practice, I made sure I kept an eye on her. Especially if I noticed she’d lost weight.
At least, Theadora didn’t seem to mind what she put in her mouth. My dick included.
An instructor stepped onto the field along with some former SAS soldiers who’d agreed to put on a show.
“Ah. That’s more like it.” Savanah looked at Theadora and bounced her eyebrows.
Ethan rolled his eyes. “How predictable.”
“Don’t you start,” Savanah returned. “I bet if there were a bunch of bikini girls wrestling in the mud you’d be pretty chuffed.”
“Oh, yeah.” Ethan turned to me. “Is there a girly version of this?”
“Hey, I’ll have you know that some of the female SAS are just as, if not, tougher than the blokes.”
“I’m not disputing that,” Ethan said. “I meant girls going a bit feral.”
I shook my head and laughed. My brother and his silly adolescent fantasies. I could only put it down to a privileged upbringing. His toughest challenge was having to choose between the latest Aston Martin or Jaguar.
“Shh…” Savanah said. “I’m trying to concentrate. Wow. Did you see that?” She pointed. “He’s pretty fucking strong. Is there a meet and greet afterwards?”
I laughed. “Just hang out at the beer keg over there, and I’m sure you’ll meet a few.”
Like Savanah, the females seemed equally enthralled, going on the whistles, giggles, and moans in the audience as a bunch of beefy men did one-armed press-ups.
