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

here.” He scratched behind his ears. “Females don’t like animals in their home.

“Want to go for a run with me? I need to clear my head.”

Cebo barked in response and then tore out of the house, Theo on his heels.

Theo dodged trees and hurdled fallen limbs as he sped through the forest. Running helped him clear his mind, and boy did he need a clear mind at this moment.

His last plan, allowing Jade to incriminate herself, hadn’t worked well at all. He found he was unable to control his reactions around her, which was highly concerning.

No, he’d have to approach this problem differently. She didn’t scare easily, that was for sure. In spite of himself, he admired her courage.

The way he’d spoken to her last night would’ve caused many males to cower in fear and tell him whatever he wanted to know. In fact, a handful of unlucky males had done just that when faced with his rage.

Pain would probably get her talking. He waved that thought away. I couldn’t hurt a female. Would never want to.

Starve her?

No.

Lock her up?

No

He couldn’t use any of the methods of information extraction he was used to using. Frustration caused him to pick up speed. Cebo fell behind.

What she’d said this morning was right. He had no real evidence that she was a spy. He needed to remember that and not let his erratic emotions punish her more than she might deserve.

Recalling her responses to his accusations last night got him thinking. She claimed to have been abducted from Earth and brought here directly. From what he could gather, she also acted as though everything she experienced here was foreign to her.

The look of wonder on her face as she’d walked through his home would’ve been difficult to fabricate. She’d stared incredulously at basic items he’d never given much thought.

He needed to make sure she was put into situations that surprised her and forced her to drop her act, if one existed.

Coming to a stop, he grinned as an idea formed.

In order to keep up this ruse, she’d have to pretend to have little knowledge of how a husband and wife behaved. If he told her, for example, that a husband was required to massage his wife nightly, she wouldn’t be able to contradict him without giving herself away.

She claimed she liked his scars. His cock gave an involuntary twitch when he recalled her saying that she wanted to lick them.

If he came in close contact with her enough, her disgust would surely come through and she’d have to admit that she was lying about finding him attractive.

He needed more, though. He had to make sure she wanted to leave badly enough to come clean.

Ecstatic at having finally caught up, Cebo licked every part of Theo he could reach.

Glancing down at Cebo and grinning widely, he said, “I think I’ll start with you.”

Chapter 19

Jade had spent the morning exploring the house. In addition to the rooms Theo had shown her yesterday, she’d found a gym that looked like it received little use. Jade had wondered what Theo did to stay in such great shape if not lift weights in a gym.

She’d also found a few more guestrooms on the other side of the house. For a moment, she had felt pleased to know that Theo had chosen the guestroom closest to his to be her room rather than on the other side of the house.

Her happiness had been smothered when she’d realized he’d probably done this to keep an eye on her rather than because he wanted to be close to her.

Jade wandered the rest of the house, puzzled at her own reactions to Theo. On Earth, her current therapist had made her understand she tended to shut people out as soon as they made one wrong move. She’d called it “door slamming.” Jade had comprehended, after agonizing weeks of painful self-reflection, that she’d “slammed the door” on many people, often for small, stupid reasons.

Annie, who’d been her best friend since college, had bailed on a trip to Florida that they’d planned, and Jade had overreacted to the extreme. She’d accused her poor friend of prioritizing her boyfriend over their friendship and cut off communication with her.

Keeping herself at a distance from people and never allowing herself to be emotionally connected was Jade’s default. So why wasn’t she acting that way with Theo? He’d given her a multitude of valid reasons to shut him out, but she hadn’t. On the contrary, the smallest show of kindness on his part made her feel weak in the knees.

Jade reached the last room she had left to explore, and her worried thoughts melted away. The room contained only a massive bath. A literal bathroom. It reminded her of what an ancient bathing house must have been like, except smaller. The floor and walls of the room were covered in dark blue stone veined with gold.

The ceiling was elaborately tiled to resemble the night sky. Sparkling gold stones scattered across the ceiling, glowed in the dim light, and very tiny glowing bubble lights floated near the ceiling, giving the impression that stars were hovering in the room. Steam rose from the inky black tub, making the whole room appear hazy and dreamlike.

Jade decided then and there that she’d be spending an exorbitant amount of time in this room. It was her favorite by far.

“Lovely, isn’t it?” came a rough voice from behind her.

Jade jerked and then spun around. “You need to wear a bell,” she said, clutching her heart.

“I need to speak with you about something. Can you come with me?”

He was still wearing a shirt, but now the material was soaked with sweat and clung to his impressive physique. She ogled his wide upper body, wondering if this sight was better or worse than shirtless Theo. It was certainly more tantalizing.

“Well?” he said impatiently.

Jade tore her eyes away from his chest. “Yeah. Sure.”

He turned and walked toward the large open room in the