She lifted her wineglass. “I’m not that accessible these days.”
“We’re just looking into recent deaths to see if there’s anything the Shifter community needs. That includes you, even though you’re not part of a group,” I assured her.
Her eyes rolled as she set down the glass. “You sound like a man on a first date.”
Christian cocked his head to the side. “And how’s that?”
She arched an eyebrow. “Lots of sweet talk and empty promises. You look like the kind of man who knows what I’m talking about.”
“I’ll have you know that I never make promises I can’t deliver on.”
“Someone isn’t getting enough pussy.” She lifted her wine to her lips. “So much pent-up frustration.”
Though his tone remained placid, he lightly tapped his fingernail against his glass. “What you know about my sex life would fill a thimble.”
After a sip of wine, Harper leaned in. “I sell sex toys for a living. If there’s one thing I’m familiar with, dear, it’s that desperate look in your eyes. Besides, I’m a wolf. I can practically smell an unsatisfied man.”
I stifled a laugh.
“What was that?” he asked me.
“Nothing. I just had a tickle in my throat.”
I loved seeing Christian get flustered. We never finished our sexual encounter the other night—just heavy petting followed by my falling asleep in his arms.
Harper spoke, her voice textured and sultry. “It’s not an insult; it’s merely an observation. Maybe you have trouble keeping it up. Completely normal. Or maybe your busy schedule doesn’t allow for much playtime.” A smile touched her lips as she circled her finger around the rim of her glass. “Maybe you need someone to crawl underneath the table and suck you off.” Her eyes narrowed slightly, studying his reaction. “You need excitement, don’t you? Risk. Danger.”
Christian put his hands in his lap. “Now that’ll be enough. We’ll be the ones asking the questions.”
I glanced up at him. My God, was he actually blushing? I wondered if he was also as hard as a diamond down there, but I kept my hands to myself.
Harper chuckled quietly. “Sorry. I’m good at my job because I know how to read people and figure out what they need. Sometimes they don’t even know.”
“What toys do you sell?” I asked, genuinely curious if that was something Christian might like.
“All kinds. Some I guarantee you’ve never heard of. Some I’d rather not talk about in present company.”
Apparently, Harper was dealing in illegal items. I pondered as to what they might be. Mage-infused cuffs? Sensor-infused vibrators? Penis-shaped impalement wood?
She reached inside her jacket and slid a business card toward Christian. “Anytime you feel like spicing things up, give me a call. I’ve got something for everyone.”
He lifted the card between two fingers. “I know just where to put it.”
“What can you tell us about your mate?” I began, easing into the subject.
Harper gave a mournful sigh. Grief flickered in her green eyes like embers in a fire. “Bono was my life mate. They say every wolf has one. Not everyone is lucky enough to find their other half, but I found mine. And I’m not just saying that because I loved him. I felt it.”
I furrowed my brow. “What do you mean?”
“It’s not something talked about, but when a Shifter finds their true life mate, they can sometimes sense when they’re in danger. It’s more than love—it’s a connection. And I felt that connection sever the day he died.” She took a slow sip of wine, her eyes glittering. “He was younger than me. His parents liked the band U2, and that’s how he got his name.”
Harper was at least a hundred. Probably two. But I didn’t dare ask. Even if Bono was forty, that was a pretty significant age gap.
“Did it cause problems with his family?” I asked, feeling out every angle.
“Bono left his pack at seventeen. He had a difficult relationship with his father, and they quit talking.” She reached for her coat and pulled out a silver cigarette case. “Do you mind?”
I shook my head.
Harper lit up a slim cigarette, took a drag, and then stared at the lipstick on the filter. “I met Bono while running across a street on a rainy day. It was the perfect meet-cute.”
I frowned. “A meet what?”
“A meet-cute is what they call it in the movies when a couple meets in a charming or funny way. I lost a shoe in the road and huddled beneath one of those awnings. Bono dashed toward me, collected the shoe, and asked if I could be his Cinderella.” Harper smiled and tapped the cigarette ash into a marble ashtray. “He was always corny when it came to romance. He courted me the old-fashioned way. Maybe because I was older, he wanted to show me what I’d been missing my whole life. I was a bit dubious about the whole thing, but it didn’t take long for me to fall head over heels. Bono was six three, charismatic, and had a smile that got him in trouble with women. He looked like a young Heath Ledger. Do you know who that is? Bono always made me watch those old movies.” She took another puff from her cigarette. “Anyway, we didn’t have an official mating ceremony. Those are optional and more customary with packs. Going to the Council is just a formality, so we exchanged our own vows and made it exclusive.”
“How long were you together?” I asked.
Harper kept staring at her cigarette. “Six short years. Bono couldn’t start his own pack, and nobody wanted us in theirs, so we had to fend for ourselves.”
Christian set down his glass and wiped foam from his lip. “Why couldn’t you join a pack? A handsome couple, looking for a place to start a family.”
Harper stubbed out the cigarette. “We couldn’t have children.” She gave me a deliberate look. “I was born without ovaries.”
Christian tipped his head to the side. “Is that possible?”
I kicked him underneath the table. “I didn’t think packs would turn away childless couples. Shouldn’t kids be a choice and not a requirement?”
Harper indulged in more wine. “Sometimes I think they make things up just to keep the family tight. But I get it. Shifters are all about procreation to keep the Breed alive. People fall in love. People who are different animals and different Breeds. But you don’t usually see those couples in a pack, do you? Packmasters don’t want that kind of influence under their roof.”
“Now let me get this straight.” Christian cut in, his fingers steepled and a confounded look on his face. “You don’t have ovaries, or you don’t have eggs?”
Her lips thinned. “Ovaries.”
“And what about your other lady parts? Do you have a uterus?”
I regarded him for a moment. “Do I know you?”
Harper adjusted the silver watch on her wrist. “I don’t know how to spell it out for you that wouldn’t involve a whiteboard. Honey, I was born with a penis.”
Christian stroked a hand over his beard. “Jaysus, Mary, and Joseph. You don’t say? And your beau didn’t mind?”
Harper chortled and shook her head at me. I had suspected her secret based on a few physical clues, but I wasn’t certain until she confirmed it. Christian seemed less embarrassed about his faux pas than he was curious.