Just Bob (Assassins Inc. #1)(18)

“I was thinking more of the scent I smell whenever I sniff you.”

Bob’s eyebrows rose swiftly. “You sniff me?”

God, I adored this man. “Every chance I get.”

Bob’s nose wrinkled, and that was adorable, too. “That’s kind of creepy. You know that, right?”

I chuckled as I pulled Bob’s head down to my chest, tucking it under my chin. “Sometimes, the ability to smell is one of the best things about being a shifter. I make it a habit to always get the scent of whoever I am hunting in case I need to chase them or take them out in the dark, or something.”

“That is kind of creepy, too.”

My lips stretched even further as I grinned. I had smiled more in the last twenty-four hours than I had in the last twenty-four years. Maybe that was one of the gifts given to us by the gods when we found our mate.

“That day in the cafe, I was there to get your scent, except, when I sat down across from you and smelled you, everything changed. I knew then that I had been blessed with a mate. I just had to figure out how to approach you.”

Bob’s brow was furrowed when he pulled back and looked up. “You showed up in my bed.”

“I did.” And I had no problem admitting it. “I followed you when you went home, waited outside until I saw your lights go out, and then came inside. I wanted to make sure I hadn’t been mistaken with what I smelled.” My breath was shaky when I inhaled. “I wasn’t wrong, Bob.”

“You know that just from how I smell?”

“That, and when we had sex, I knotted you. We only knot our mates.”

Bob’s frown deepened. “Knotted?”

Oh man, I couldn’t believe I was having this conversation. It was weirder than shit. “When a male panther claims his mate, they knot them during climax. Basically, what that means is that my cock expands and knots inside of you to hold me in you.”

Bob’s beautiful brown eyes rounded. “That’s what that was?”

I tilted my head, curiosity grabbing me. “That’s what what was?”

“I just thought you were really well endowed or something.”

I quickly frowned. “I am well endowed.”

Bob snickered. “I know, but I meant even more well-endowed than normal.”

“Have you slept with a shifter before?” I almost growled at the mere thought.

“No.” Bob’s face flushed as he glanced away. “Besides you, I’ve only been with one other guy, and he freaked when he woke up and found me in his bed. We never spoke again.”

I did growl this time. Not because Bob had been with someone else. It was hard to be mad at him for something I had done myself, something that had happened before either of us knew each other.

No, I was mad because of the shame and embarrassment lacing Bob’s voice. That particular tone should never be in my mate’s voice.

“Then that man was an idiot.” I didn’t have a single doubt in my mind. “Anyone who would willingly give you up has to be brain-dead.”

Bob shrugged as if it was no big deal, but I knew it was. “He was drunk.”

“When you went to bed, or when you woke up together?”

“When we went to bed.” Bob frowned. “Why are we talking about this? I didn’t ask you about your past lovers.”

“I’d be happy to share anything you want to know, but you need to understand that none of those people matter to me. They were just a way of getting off. I don’t even remember their names.”

“That’s so sad,” Bob whispered.

“It was what it was, Bob. My life didn’t lend itself to building relationships.”

“So, what does that mean for us?” There was a tremble in Bob’s voice.

I lifted Bob’s chin up until our eyes met. “Remember what I said, Bob. Mate trumps everything.”

“Even being an assassin?”

I had to think about that. I knew meeting my mate changed things, but up until this second, I hadn’t realized just how much of my life was about to change. I couldn’t take off for weeks at a time to hunt people down. The distance from Bob would drive me insane. I also couldn’t take Bob along on my missions. It was too dangerous.

There was only one solution.

“I guess I just gave up being in the killing business.”

“Uh, you might want to hold off on that, Shade,” Stone called out through the door. “We got trouble headed our way.”

“I’m in a one-bedroom apartment with three assassins who accepted a contract to kill me for three million dollars and he thinks trouble is headed our way?” Bob’s voice started to rise swiftly, his agitation seeping through the cracks in the shield he had built around himself. “What does he consider trouble? A nuclear bomb?”

“There’s only one way to find out.” I leaned down and pressed a kiss to Bob’s lips before turning and opening the door. Stone stood right on the other side. Stryker was leaning up against the wall by the door. “What kind of trouble?”

“Sinclair has disappeared, but not before sending me a text telling us to terminate any contracts we were currently working on and go underground until he can contact us again.” Stone looked grim, his jaw clenching between breaths. “He said not to trust anyone.”