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

Did Jade want to lick the handsome damaged man? Hell to the yeah. Did she think she should? Probably not.

If she got close enough to him and touched him, she might not be able to stop herself from doing more. An old children’s book she’d loved flashed in her mind. If you give a girl a chiseled pec, she’ll ask for a bulging bicep.

What other choice did she have? She needed to see Asivva. She had so many questions, and whenever she talked to Theo she just got flustered or angry.

“Okay,” she said finally.

Theo cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. “Okay?”

“Yes. Okay,” Jade said firmly. “I was embarrassed you heard me say that, but I wasn’t lying about wanting to do it. I’ll lick one scar only, and you’ll keep your hands at your sides. Agreed?” Rules that were more for her than him.

He grunted but lowered his hands into the water at his sides.

Jade finished off her bottle and slowly made her way over to him. She made sure to stay below the surface of the water and accumulate bubbles along the way.

Damn. The closer she got, the more she noticed how delicious he was. His damp, raven hair was disheveled. His tanned skin was slick from the water, and the muscles of his arms and chest gleamed.

Which scar to choose? A jagged one along the top of his shoulder and a curved design over his heart drew her eye first. Then, she looked at his throat, remembering when he’d licked her there.

Jade decided to repay the favor. A long, dark line began at his nape, curled around his neck, and then ended in a point near his collar bone.

Once she neared him, she had to position herself between his legs in order to be close enough to reach his neck. She found his gaze riveted to her barely concealed breasts.

She snapped in front of his eyes to get his attention. “Remember, no touching.”

He frowned at her.

She leaned forward and gently placed her hands on his chest to steady herself. His muscles jumped under her touch, and he stifled a groan.

As she drew nearer to his tattoo, she could feel his heartbeat pick up speed. He was excited, and she decided she wanted to make this good for him.

She licked her way up his neck, starting near his Adam’s apple. Reaching the area where her sensitive spot was located, she started slowly kissing. When she used her teeth to give him a soft bite, he hissed in a breath.

Damn, he smelled good. His skin was warm and smooth.

When Jade moved up to a spot just under his ear, Theo’s chest started to vibrate, and a rumbling sound came from him.

Pulling away from him, she laughed. “Are you purring?” Jade had never heard a sound like that come from a human. He was like a very large cat, and she thrilled at the fact that she’d caused him to produce that contented sound.

“What?” he said, dazed. In an instant, he changed. His eyes cleared and he grew rigid. “Back away from me,” he growled.

“I thought you lik—”

“Back away!”

Jade jumped and hastily backed away. Looking down, she understood.

The bubbles had vanished, and her breasts were in full view.

Chapter 23

Shit! He’d scared her again. The look on her face as she ducked into the water and covered her breasts with her arm said as much.

He inwardly shook himself. Why did he care if he scared her? That’s what you were trying to do!

Still, he felt guilty. He hadn’t meant to frighten her, but he was too aroused. When she’d stood in front of him, he’d first seen her magnificent smile and then her naked body. The sight had nearly caused him to break his word and grab her.

His words had sounded harsher than he’d meant them to be because he was barely holding onto his control.

Without saying a word, he exited the tub. Running away.

Theo had never run away from anything! Wars. Assassins. The occasional overly confident male. Threats were to be faced head on.

This small female had rattled him so much with her easy conversation and soft body that he was now retreating from his own bathing room!

Plucking a towel from the wall, he turned to see she hadn’t moved.

He opened and closed his mouth a few times before finally saying, “I’ll see you in the morning.”

Before slamming the door shut, he stopped and added, “Don’t try to run from me again. My Traxian blood will force me to chase you. It’s instinct. I don’t know how much control I’ll have next time.”

How had that encounter gone so poorly? Theo thought as he stomped through the house to his room.

Every time he thought he had the upper hand with her, she somehow managed to come out on top. He’d met his match, he concluded, dropping down into a chair in front of his fireplace.

He’d learned a great deal about her during the bath. She’d suffered greatly in her life. The look in her eyes when she’d talked about her family’s death had convinced him she was being truthful. At least about that.

Pride welled in his chest at how strong she was, but he quickly stifled the emotion. You cannot be prideful over something that isn’t yours, he told himself.

His still rock-hard cock twitched. She was yours for a moment.

He fisted his shaft, recalling her hot tongue on his ear. He needed release now.

Pumping his fist, he recalled her pert breasts. They were fuller than Clecanian females’ normally were. They’d bounced when she’d pulled back from him. He came hard when he imagined taking one of her small pink nipples in his mouth.

Theo cleaned himself up and threw on some soft sleeping pants. They felt like sandpaper against his unrelenting erection, and he groaned. It was going to be a long night.

He retrieved the mott he’d left by his bed and returned to the fire to brood over Jade. Was she still in the