Choosing Theo: The Clecanian Series Book 1 Victoria Aveline (the giving tree read aloud TXT) 📖

An actress. He needed to control his reactions around her. Stay alert!

Unable to help himself, he watched her as she gave Zikas a hug and said goodbye. A sudden urge to pommel his old friend came over him when he saw Zikas touch her.

He crossed to her and offered his arm so he could lead her away. His scowl deepened when she hesitated. Seeing the look on his face must have added to her concern, for her eyes widened and she walked toward the door ahead of him.

The anger he felt at her refusal to touch him faded when he caught a glimpse of her pert ass as she sauntered away. Feeling himself growing hard again, he concluded this would be much more difficult than he’d thought.

Chapter 15

When you’re young, you’re told that staring is impolite. Most, if not all, people will grow uncomfortable if stared at for too long. Theo had evidently never learned this. For the last twenty minutes, he’d stared at her with unblinking intensity.

His gaze had roamed over her body hungrily. The way he looked into her eyes now, like he wanted to bore a hole in her mind, was very unnerving. She’d much rather he gawked at her breasts.

It didn’t help that he was sitting opposite her.

The machine they were seated in was one of the round silver balls she’d chased a few days ago.

After leaving the ceremony building, she’d seen the vehicle hovering nearby. As she’d drawn close, a curved panel had opened onto the ground, creating a ramp and revealing a small but comfortable seating area. Two plush couches faced each other, and in between them was a metal table.

When they’d both been seated, Theo had started typing something on the top of the table. Leaning forward, Jade had noticed a small screen that was almost imperceptible against the metal. Without any warning, the ramp lifted, sealing them in, and the pod had started to move. The ride was so smooth that if Jade hadn’t felt the initial soft jerk, she wouldn’t have known they were moving at all.

Jade’s initial curiosity and joy at experiencing something so new was tempered when she noticed Theo’s attention was on her. It was stupid for her to complain about a gorgeous man staring at her, but she couldn’t figure out what his look meant. It was as though he couldn’t decide whether he wanted to fuck her or kill her.

Once again, she tried to look away, but there was nothing to focus on. For all of its pros, this vehicle’s one big con was that it had no windows.

Spotting movement out of the corner of her eye, she turned to see Theo pulling something cylindrical from a compartment under his seat.

Never taking his eyes off her, he slowly unscrewed the top of the cylinder then held it to his mouth and took a swig. Then another.

No normal drink comes in a container like that. It has to be alcohol.

Holding out her hand, she glanced at the container and then back to Theo. A silent request. Confusion showed on his face, but after a moment he handed the cylinder to her.

A quick sniff confirmed it was indeed alcohol. Strong stuff too. Jade took a small swig and waited for the burn. The drink was smooth, however, and it slid down her throat easily. She took another long drink and then handed the container back to a stunned-looking Theo.

“Do women not drink here?” she questioned.

His eyebrows drew together, and she remembered he couldn’t understand her yet.

In spite of her fearfulness of the man across from her, she started to relax. “That’s strong stuff,” she said, motioning at the container. “Works fast.”

Theo put the cap back on and resumed his unblinking glower.

Liquid courage and the fact that he couldn’t understand anything she said emboldened her. “Can you please stop staring?”

His chin lifted, but he continued to frown.

“It’s making me nervous. Aren’t the men here supposed to be happy about having a wife? Shouldn’t you at least stare with a smile on your face?”

Crossing his arms over his massive chest, he leaned back in the seat, looking extremely frustrated.

“Ah. Upset because you can’t understand me?” she said, pointing an accusing finger at him. “Well, I have a lot more to be upset about than you.”

Jade started picking at her nails. A nervous habit. “Zikas really oversold this marriage thing, huh?” She continued without waiting for him to answer “I bet that when you finally get your translator updated, you still won’t talk.”

Yep. She was definitely buzzed now.

“You’re more the strong, silent type, right?” Eyeing his muscled arms, she sighed. “Mmm. Very strong.” She giggled at that.

Evidently, her tone and the fixed direction of her eyes had given him enough information to guess the meaning of her words, because his stare became heated. He leaned toward her and flexed his hands, as though wanting to touch her.

Jade shifted in her seat nervously until the vehicle door slid open, telling her the pod had arrived at their destination. Theo glanced outside and she took the distraction to sidle by him and jump out of the car. A dense forest came into view as she rushed out of the vehicle.

The air outside was cold and crisp with a slight tang. Jade inhaled deeply, smiling when the wind rustled her hair. She imagined the air on a Scottish island might smell like this.

A warm hand on the small of her back sent a jolt through her body, reminding her of their earlier exchange during The Testing. When she turned to face him, she noticed the vehicle had silently floated away. In its place stood a magnificent house. The word “house” didn’t quite fit, however.

The large building was situated in a clearing within the thick forest. Imposing trees with the same large round leaves she’d seen on her first night towered all around her. Although the woods were beautiful, they were eerily impenetrable. There would be nowhere to run even if she somehow got