Thresh: Alpha One Security: Book 2 by Jasinda Wilder Read Free Book Online Page A

went in, kicking my laundry basket in ahead of me.  
    “Why not? Tell me that much, at least.” He had the balls, of course, to follow me into my condo.  
    I whirled on him, shoved him backward, using all my strength to do so. “Because I don’t want to, you fucking ogre!”  
    To my credit, and my very great surprise, he actually stumbled backward a couple of steps; he seemed legitimately shocked himself.  
    He barely made it past the threshold before I tried to slam the door on him. The door ended up hitting his foot and his injured arm, eliciting a narrowing of his eyes and a tightening of his jaw.  
    “You’re a shitty liar, Doc,” he growled.  
    I sighed. “Fine. You want me to spell it out for you? I don’t want to go out with you for a lot of reasons. I don’t want to go out with you because you never asked . You told me, and assumed I’d say yes. You show up at my house unexpected—and how the hell do you know where I live, anyway? That’s fucking creepy. Third—or is it fourth? I’ve lost count.” I waved a hand in dismissal. “I don’t want to go out with you because you scare me. You make me nervous. You’re dangerous, in a lot of ways, and I live a safe and simple life. That’s how I want it, and that’s how I like it, and you’d mess that all up.”
    He nodded, his face pensive and thoughtful. “That’s a lot of reasons. I guess I can respect that thinking.” He sidled closer to me, in that predatory way he had, standing close enough that his heat radiated against me and I could smell cologne, spicy and silky and dizzyingly delicious. “But you’re still a shitty liar.”
    “I’m not—” I had to back up, away from him, away from the intoxicating scent, away from his massive, overwhelming presence. “I’m not lying.”
    He had the gall to smirk. “Are too. You want to go out with me, but you don’t want to want to. Just like you want me , but you don’t want that desire. It makes you uncomfortable. It scares you. You said it, Doc: I scare you.”
    “Thresh—”
    He backed away from me. “But you said you don’t want to, and I’ve never pushed myself on a woman. She says no thanks, I back off. Just…do yourself a favor, Lola.”  
    I swallowed hard. “What’s that?”
    “Try to be honest with yourself about why you don’t want to go out with me, if you can’t be honest with me.”  
    I shook my head, irritated at his insight and his persistence. “You’re impossible.” I was the one to move closer to him, this time, letting the welter of emotions I was feeling flare up into my voice and my expression. “Yes, I’m attracted to you. You’re an attractive man, Thresh. I don’t deny the effect you have on me. But you’re a risk I’m just not willing to take. And that is the honest truth.”  
    Respect filled his features. “All right then.” He backed up a step, then two, and then put his hand on my doorknob. “You’re somethin’ else, Lola Reed.”  
    He twisted the knob and opened the door. He seemed to be…hesitating, or going slow, maybe hoping I’d change my mind. And, honestly, part of me wanted to. Part of me was screaming at me, telling me a man like Thresh didn’t come along very often, and a man genuinely interested in me didn’t come along very frequently either. I’d be a fool to let him go.  
    But my fear, my years of conditioning myself against men, against trust, against relationships of any kind…that part was winning out. I just couldn’t make myself let go. Wanting him, wanting…everything that would come along with a relationship with him, however brief it may be—that wasn’t strong enough to overcome my deep-seated fear.  
    But I still felt the disappointment as he turned away from me. I’d hoped maybe he’d push a little, try a little harder to get past my walls. Maybe it’s stupid storybook nonsense, but I’d kind of hoped he’d try to force me past my fear, you know?  
    But that was stupid.
    I’d told him