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

Before heading to his office, he whispered to Cebo, “Don’t get too comfortable. She’s mine.”

Pace quickening, he walked to his office and reviewed his communications log. It had only been a few minutes, yet he itched to return to her.

Scrolling through his messages, he saw the normal requests for various jobs. He denied them all. Theo intended to never work again. Leaving Jade for unknown lengths of time to go on dangerous missions for large sums of money he didn’t need was now pointless to him.

It’d be suspicious if he announced his retirement now, when he had two months of marriage left, so instead he sent polite but firm explanations of his temporary absence. When he did finally take Jade away for good, he’d notify his contacts of his retirement.

His heart rate picked up when he came across a message concerning Jade. The contact he’d met with a few weeks ago had given Rhaego information about Jade’s abductors. Rhaego hadn’t waited for Theo’s go ahead and had instead tracked down and detained the two Cae males who’d transported Jade. He was keeping them in a classified location near Tremanta and was awaiting further instructions.

The last piece of information Rhaego divulged made his blood run cold.

There’s treachery close to you. Contact me as soon as you get this.

That doesn’t mean her, he told himself, but a twinge of uncertainty crept back into his mind. If he left now, he could make it to Rhaego and the imprisoned Cae within an hour.

He could finally discover what had brought her here. Either she was telling the truth and she truly chose him above all others, or she was a spy.

It no longer mattered to Theo how she’d come into his life, but he worried about how their relationship would change if he found out she in fact had been sent here by an enemy.

Tomorrow. He’d go and see Rhaego tomorrow night after they returned from The Gathering. He’d tell her how he felt, that he wanted her to stay with him and that he’d captured the two Cae. Then he’d interrogate them and learn the truth.

Theo desperately wanted Jade to decide to stay with him on her own. He didn’t want to have to steal her away against her will. He knew she’d hate him, but for some reason his skin crawled and an emptiness clawed in his stomach every time he thought of her leaving.

If only his mother were alive. She’d be able to tell him why he was feeling this way and whether this extreme possessiveness came from his Traxian blood.

Could he go through with it? Taking her away to live like an outlaw? He doubted it.

He sent an encoded message to Rhaego arranging their meeting and returned to Jade, sleeping peacefully. Cebo groaned halfheartedly but jumped off the bed when Theo approached.

He pulled Jade against him and felt his heart ache when she snuggled closer to him, even in sleep.

If she wouldn’t stay with him and he couldn’t steal her, what would become of him? He whispered, into her hair, “Stay with me.”

Chapter 32

“Where is that damn dress?” Jade hissed, rifling through her closet.

Asivva had told her she’d selected a dress for The Gathering when she’d delivered all of these clothes a few weeks ago, but Jade couldn’t remember where she’d put it.

It was no wonder Jade had trouble—her closet was stuffed full and she’d barely even looked through most of it, choosing instead to wear Theo’s comfortable shirts.

“Ah-ha!” she said triumphantly, reaching into the back of a deep alcove.

A shiver ran down her back. Theo was going to love it. It was risqué in all the best ways. She wanted to make sure she looked her best tonight. All morning he’d been acting strange, and she assumed he was nervous about The Gathering. It seemed like it’d be a great opportunity to mingle and make some new friends, a.k.a, Theo’s worst nightmare.

Her goal for the night was to dutifully ignore all other men except for him. She wanted to show him how smitten she was, and she wanted him to feel pride and not shame that they were there together.

After last night he deserved it. He’d been a man on a mission. They’d had sex three times and he’d kept making her come with his hands and mouth over and over until she’d finally had to tell him no.

He hadn’t accepted any reciprocation either, knocking her hands away each time she reached for him. It was as if he’d wanted to prove to her that he could master her body. Could make it do whatever he wanted. He’d succeeded.

She’d show him her appreciation tonight. If all went well, Asivva would give her some good advice, she would convince him to let her stay, and they’d live happily ever after.

Where was he anyway? Earlier today he’d said he had to go take care of some business and then he’d left, promising to be back in time to get ready and ride with her to The Gathering.

She’d burned to ask where he was going, but his odd calculating behavior had kept her from doing so. He’d looked like he was working through something, and she’d wanted to give him space to do so.

“What do you think?” she said, holding up her dress to Cebo.

He lifted his head and cocked it to one side.

“This is gonna kill, I’m telling you.”

Jade stood back and admired the dress again. The silky material was an inky black and glittered faintly. Asivva had told her it was unusual for females to wear black, but she’d chosen it for Jade anyway.

The obsidian color would look perfect next to Theo with his deeply tanned skin and black scars. Rather than wearing a brightly colored gown that’d appear incongruent next to Theo, she’d complement him.

Remember to thank Asivva.

The cut of the dress was simple. The cowl neckline exposed just enough cleavage to be sexy without revealing too much. The back, however, rode low,