Blood of Innocence (Sloan Skye) by Tami Dane Read Free Book Online Page B

a few.”
    Ten minutes later, Elmer and I were standing at JT’s front door. When JT opened it, he smiled at me; then he scrunched his eyebrows at Elmer.
    “We need to borrow some clothes,” I explained, pointing at Elmer.
    “Sure.” JT’s lips quirked. I could tell he was having a hard time holding back the guffaw. JT led us up to his bedroom. I marveled at his place as I followed. It was masculine. Clean. Contemporary. Very JT. His bedroom was nice. An enormous flat-screen TV hung on one wall. A ginormous bed was positioned against the opposite. Television. Bed. What more could a guy want in his room, right?
    After shooting me an amused look, he motioned for Elmer to follow him. “This way. I’ll hook you up.”
    I tested the chaise lounge facing the TV. I pointed the remote toward the television and was rewarded with the vision of a woman’s tight ass, bigger than life.
    No question what JT had been doing the last time he’d watched television. I clicked to a more PG channel, finding a thriller movie about a forensic psychiatrist. As a general rule, I’m not much of a television watcher. I prefer reading. But I do love a well-written thriller, especially when it’s about the FBI.
    I was just getting caught up in the story when JT came out of the walk-in closet.
    “Whatcha watching?” he asked.
    “Some movie about a forensic psychiatrist.”
    “Ah, Pacino. Seen it. The killer’s his student, the lawyer.”
    “Thanks,” I said flatly. I clicked the button, surfing the channels.
    JT gently took the remote out of my hand, killed the TV, and then placed the remote on the table sitting off to one side. He made himself comfortable on the chaise; his butt was resting next to my hips. I felt my body stiffen slightly. His brows scrunched together. “What’s wrong?”
    “Nothing.” I forced a smile. “How much longer do you think Elmer will be?”
    JT shrugged. “Don’t know. It isn’t easy finding clothes in my closet to fit him. He’s a foot shorter, and at least fifty pounds lighter.”
    “Yeah, I knew it would be tough, but you saw what he was wearing. I wasn’t going out in public with him in that.”
    “Where are you heading?” he asked casually.
    “Speed dating.”
    His neutral expression vanished for a split second. In a blink, it was back. “Speed dating, eh?”
    “Sure. You remember, I need to find him a wife.”
    “Yes, I remember.”
    “I told him I’d go along.”
    “You’re not ... participating, then?”
    I didn’t want to feel that little happy-heart flip-flop at the sound of jealousy in his voice. But I did. And that worried me. “Actually, I was thinking about it.”
    “Really?”
    “Sure.”
    His lips thinned. But he said nothing. Instead, he stood, grabbed the remote, and started clicking through channels. After burning through fifty channels, more or less, he powered off the TV and stared at me. “Why?”
    “Why what?”
    “Why are you doing the speed-dating thing?”
    “Isn’t it obvious?”
    “No.”
    “People go to these things to meet people,” I told him.
    “Well, of course, that much is obvious. But I thought ... We ...” He sighed and powered on the TV again.
    He was really taking this news hard. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. That was not good.
    “JT, we’ve talked about this before. You’re an agent. I’m an intern. It wouldn’t look good for either of us, if we were to start ... you know ...”
    His jaw clenched. “I told you, the chief doesn’t give a damn about our personal lives.”
    “But I care about my reputation. Remember, JT, the PBAU wasn’t my first choice of units. Maybe someday I want to move on. What would a bad reputation do for my chances?”
    He seemed to be listening. At the very least, that little muscle along his jaw stopped popping out. He nodded.
    “Besides,” I said, tossing out what Gabe had said before I could stop myself, “I’ve heard rumors you’re involved with someone else, anyway.”
    There went