I bit my lip. “I’d like to see the common room first, I think. I’ll come back to the library, because if I settle in now, I might never leave.”
She laughed and led me back into the hall and through the next door. The noise hit me as soon as I entered. Everyone had gathered around the massive TV that was hanging on the wall, the crowd of people three deep and cheering. I quickly surveyed the room, bookshelves on one wall and computers on the other.
Penelope began weaving her way through the crowd, looking interested. I followed, crowd anxiety be damned.
All of a sudden, the group let out a cheer, and I registered the images on the screen as the videogame Mortal Kombat, with one avatar on the ground in a pool of blood and the other looking victorious.
Just then, the largest man I’d ever seen stood up, leaning down to shake the hand of his unseen opponent. The crowd was laughing and teasing both the players, and the guy joked along with them. He was freaking beautiful. Taller and wider than Micah, he had golden hair and was so… just beautiful, that I forgot to breathe.
What the hell was wrong with me? No, scratch that, what the hell was wrong with this place? It didn’t have any right to house this many attractive men. It should be registered or something.
Finally noticing Penelope and me, the golden god moved toward us through the crowd and people naturally got the hell out of the way. If a linebacker and a basketball player had a baby giant, it would be this man. Penelope snickered just as he reached us.
“What’s so funny, Pea?” He winked at me and I died. I was deceased. Wrap me in furs and push me out onto the ocean, because I was done. “Hi, I’m Locke. You must be Layla.” He thrust out his giant hand to shake, my whole hand small enough to fit in his palm. Micah had said that Locke was another immortal, but his ageless face gave that away. He could have been 25 or 450 equally. I mumbled something in return and he smiled at me, his perfectly straight teeth winking at me in the light.
“You’re so pretty,” I breathed, and then slapped a hand over my mouth. “So, uh, pretty good at Mortal Kombat. That's what I meant.”
Locke threw back his head and laughed, and I felt it all the way down to my lady parts. My clit was doing the Macarena and my nipples wanted to join the conga line. “I see why Micah found you so irresistible now. You’re cute as hell. I thought Micah was nuts to go back after he rescued you in his morphed form. I mean, it was bad enough that the local police chief knew, let alone a teenage girl, but he just felt compelled to keep going back and back until it made no sense for him to keep commuting.” He finally noticed Penelope’s scowl. “Whoops, was I running my mouth again?”
What did Locke mean?
Penelope huffed, and crossed her arms over her chest. “I was going to leave you to show Layla around but if you are going to insist on telling secrets that aren’t yours, I’ll ask one of the juniors to do it. At least most of them have learned the art of discretion.” Penelope’s voice was stern but Locke didn’t look even remotely chastised, just grinning back.
She let out a theatrical sigh and turned back to me. “If you think you’ll be okay, I have to leave you now. I have a class to teach and then errands to run. This place doesn’t organize itself and unfortunately, some people are no help,” she directed a look at Locke but it was affectionate.
Before I knew it, I was being crushed into the concrete wall that was Locke’s chest.
“Don’t worry about us. I’m sure we’ll be great friends.” His playful confidence was catching and I rolled my eyes at Penelope, who rolled her eyes back and then left. Locke led me to the table and then held out a chair for me.
“So Layla, what do you think of Eden so far? I bet you’ve met more freaky people today then you’ve ever even read about. Speaking of which...” He looked around the room. “Ramer!”
Locke’s opponent in Mortal Kombat jumped up from the couch and I could not stop my jaw from dropping.
“Ramer here is our most visually impressive member,” Locke whispered.
“I heard that, Locke,” Ramer growled and punched the big man in the arm, which must have hurt like a bitch. The guy's hand, not Locke’s arm. I’d felt his chest. Pretty sure he was made out of titanium.
Locke hadn’t been wrong though. Standing in front of me was the hairiest man I had ever seen. Thin hair grew all over his face, longer where his beard would have been, and soft and flowing on the top of his head. I knew he wasn’t a Lycan, he wasn’t tall or broad, and his face wasn’t canine at all.
“Hi, I’m Ramer. I know you’re a friend of Micah's so I’ll clear up the fact that no, I am not a Lycan, or even a shapeshifter. Actually, what Locke said was right, I am visually impressive, but not all that impressive on a preternatural scale.”
I didn’t know what the correct response was right now. So when all else fails, go with self-deprecating humor. “Oh? You think that’s impressive? You should see my legs when I haven’t shaved all winter.”
Locke let out his booming laugh again, and even Ramer smiled.
“Well, it's not just hair I grow. It’s a hard power to describe, but I make all biological organisms grow faster; plants, flesh and bones, hair on my own body and anything else that has a biological lifespan. Half the time I think that’s why Locke is so big.” It was a well rehearsed speech, as if he had repeated it a million times. He smirked at Locke but I saw the sadness flash in his eyes for a brief second.
Locke scoffed. “I was this big when you were still a hairy little grub.”
Ramer, who was only of medium height and size, launched himself at Locke, laughing. “Who are you calling a grub?”
They did that weird dude wrestling thing, and I took a quick step back. Locke was big but Ramer was quick. Not quick enough though. Locke got him by the ankle, flipping him upside down and shaking him like he was trying to divest him of his lunch money. Holding a swinging Ramer away from his body, Locke turned to me.
“So, other than the library and the common room, there’s not much else to show you. How about Ramer goes and shaves his face and we show you the city instead?”
I watched Ramer’s body go still. “No thanks, Locke. I’m all out of razors, plus I told Pea that I’d do some mentoring this afternoon.”
I realized they all called Penelope ‘Pea’. The cute name suited the bubbly blond.
Locke looked down at his friend sadly, though Ramer couldn’t see it from his upside down position.
I bent until I was upside down as well, so I was face to face with Ramer. “Could I ask you a favor then? Could you please take care of Fred for the afternoon? He’s old and will probably just sleep but he likes the company and he won’t be a problem, I promise!”
Ramer hesitated for a long time but then nodded reluctantly, which I thought was extremely strange. I was about to release him from his agreement when Locke flipped him the right way up. Setting him back on his feet, he squeezed the guy in a man hug. Then he grabbed my elbow and was directing me towards the door.
“Grab a coat and we’ll go. I’ll meet you at the entrance.” He smiled and descended the stairs. Not going to lie, I watched his ass as he walked away. Then I felt guilty because I had feelings for Micah. Feelings that were new and exciting and I shouldn’t be looking at giant, golden men like I wanted to eat them.