The air outside was cool and crisp. Baltimore was finally shaking off the last of its late winter winds and was pulling in warmer air from the ocean. Campus was empty, and quiet. Most students, despite it being only Thursday, were either home for the weekend or out celebrating the end of the semester. With summer vacation only two weeks away, most were already mentally checked out. Or, if they were like Sam’s annoying hall mates, they were partying illegally and loudly in the dorms.

As she strolled through the quad, she stopped in front of the library to look at the missing posters. Although Baltimore had never really been the safest city, disappearances had been spiking over the last few months. Especially, the young women around her age. The faces of those that had disappeared stared out from the pictures, begging anyone to find them. For some, they would have found the coincidence of age and gender of those missing off-putting, or even frightening, but not Sam. She was a solitary creature, and was used to feeling and sometimes even seeming invisible. And after all, a kidnapper couldn’t take what he couldn’t see.

In all three years she’d been at school, she’d made sure to obtain a private dorm room each time. She didn’t mind eating lunch alone, and if she was honest, study groups annoyed her. As a matter of fact, she wasn’t even certain that the girl that had been in the stall with Greg was someone who even lived on her floor. Girls that looked like that were never nice to her; neither were the guys that liked those girls. She stayed away from people, and people stayed away from her.

I could be a spinster, she thought to herself as she traveled further away from campus. I mean, I already have the no sex thing down. And I would totally adopt a bunch of cats.

She was planning her life as a solitary old woman when an odd shiver suddenly went down her spine, and it immediately stopped her thoughts. Feeling as if someone was behind her, she turned abruptly, almost bouncing herself off of a man’s rather large, muscular chest. Pain shot up through her nose, and she looked up to see a giant of a man.

“Ow,” she said, hold a hand up to her bruised sniffer. She wiggled her nose as she blinked away at an annoying tear. The bridge of her nose stung wildly with pain. Simply bumping into his chest had been like running into a brick wall.

“Apologies,” the man said, his voice familiarly deep. He put a hand on each of her shoulders, steadying her before helping her move a few paces away from him to put space between them. The face that stared back at her was one from her dreams.

“Are you hurt?”

Sam stopped rubbing her nose and gawked at him. “You,” she whispered.

The stranger’s eyebrows rose in surprise.

“Me?”

Sam shook her head, as if confused about something.

“Sorry. Um. I thought you were someone fro- nevermind. I’m fine,” she told him, crossing her arms in front of her protectively as she took a few more steps away. She suddenly felt vulnerable, as if he could somehow read her thoughts if she stood too close.

Now that she was a few paces away, she could get a better look at the guy. In the dim of the street lights, it was hard to deny that this tall, firm stranger was handsome. His strong jawline drew up to chiseled cheeks and a sharp, straight nose. His dark eyes were accented with long, black eyelashes and a ponytail full of thick, silver hair. Not gray, but actual metallic silver. It was the only light color that touched him, making him look almost wolf like.

She was staring at him, but he was staring at her too. His eyes weren’t on her face, however, but on the pendant that hung on a silver chain on her neck. Feeling insecure, she tucked her necklace back in her shirt and took a few more steps back.

“So, should I run over and push that blue button over there, or is this an innocent bump in?” She asked, boldly. Sam was a lot of things, but not dumb. She knew the statistics of campus rape like the back of her hand and she would be damned if she wound up another part of that percentage. This guy was intimidating, yes, but not so much so that she wouldn’t be willing to take her chances and fight her way out.

The man glanced over at the shining blue campus police button, and nodded his head in acknowledgement. They were everywhere. If a student ever felt in danger, all they had to do was push the button and police were supposed be there within ninety seconds. Of course, they hadn’t worked for the missing. No matter how close the blue buttons were, they had always been too far away.

“I’ve scared you,” the man said, his tone low, calm. “I should apologize.” He gave her a small smile, showing off a flash of white, sharp teeth through his sculpted lips as he extended a hand to her.

“My name is Trevor. And I’m more of the guardian type than the stalker type, I promise you.” Sam studied his eyes silently. When she decided that he was being truthful, she relaxed, if only slightly.

“Okay, Trevor,” she replied, eyeing him up and down. “If you’re not stalking me, then by your logic, you must be guarding someone.” She made a show of looking around them. “I don’t see anyone else out here.”

To her relief, Trevor let out a laugh.

“Actually, that’s why I’m out here. I lost track of a friend of mine and in the state that he’s probably in, he really shouldn’t be left alone.”

Sam felt herself relax considerably. She was good at telling when people were lying, and although she wasn’t quite sold on his name being Trevor, she did feel as if he was telling the truth about the rest.

“Maybe I can help,” she offered. “I’m Sam. What’s your friend look like?”

“That would be great,” he replied, his tone noticeably kinder. He went on to describe his missing friend and where he had last been seen. To her surprise, Trevor gave an exact description of the guy she saw in the shower stall earlier.

“Would he have possibly found himself in the shower with a woman?” She asked, an eyebrow raised above her grin.

“That sounds like him,” Trevor admitted, his dark eyes glowing with amusement. “Seen him around, have you?”

“I know where he is,” she told him, turning around to lead him back to her dorm hall. “I saw him with a woman in my dorm hall just a few minutes ago. Follow me.”

“Just one?” Trevor replied, chuckling. “Well, that’s progress.”

As they walked, Sam noticed that Trevor’s eyes kept gravitating to her chest. To her surprise, she felt enjoyment as he stared at her. His eyes, the way they roamed over her figure and back to her neckline, felt more intimate than any kiss she’d ever experienced. Sam felt her body feeling those previous spikes of arousal again, and she shook her head to dispel the thoughts

“My eyes are up here you know,” she told him, hoping that not having his eyes on her body would help alleviate the tension.

Trevor immediately snapped his gaze back up to hers. For a moment he looked genuinely alarmed, but then a small smile slid across his lips.

“Apologies. Your brea- um, your bosom is very nice, I’m sure, but it wasn’t what I was staring at. Actually, it was your pendant. It’s quite…unique.”

Red flushed Sam’s cheeks as a small amount of disappointment filled her. She was definitely on the defensive, but then, why wouldn’t she be? After all he was a complete stranger that she literally bumped into in the middle of the night. How could she not know that he was somehow not one of the majority that creep around campus for nefarious purposes. Nefarious purposes that, surprisingly, she felt she would have allowed.

“I’m sorry,” she began to apologize. “I’m in a weird place right now. Not myself, if you know what I mean.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Trevor replied, very suddenly. He stopped walking and turned to look at her. “Don’t let anyone make you feel bad for protecting yourself, understand? Especially, strangers.”

Okay, Mr. Man, Sam thought, feeling twice as aroused as only a minute before. As they began to walk again, she wondered how the odds of meeting not one, but two strange men in one night was for her. It wasn’t common for young, devilishly handsome men to be walking around the middle of the night giving self-empowerment chats, especially to her. Yet, here he was.

“Who are you?” She asked, completely confused about the enigma that was this man.

This time he laughed, and when he turned to look at her again he winked. “I told you, Sam. I’m Trevor.”

Trevor didn’t give up much more information than that, but some more definitely revealed itself once they got back to the dorms. Just like she had said, they found the blue-eyed man and his lover exactly where Sam had last seen them, only this time they were weaved together like a complicated piece of origami. Legs and arms seemed bent in impossible angles as screams of pleasure came from the woman tangled in the pleasure web they had weaved together.

When Trevor pulled the curtain back all the way, the woman’s screams of pleasure turned to that of alarm. He told her to be quiet and she immediately did so. Sam tried to hide the smile on her face as she watched the scene, but it was too funny. Although Trevor and Greg appeared the same age, Trevor was much more of the father-figure.

“Trevor!” Greg called out happily as Trevor glared at him with his dark, glittering eyes.

“We’re in the middle of something,” Greg explained, his hips still thrusting. “Care to join us?”

Trevor let out a low growl from his chest, immediately sending a shiver up Sam’s spine. Not saying a word, he reached into the shower stall, grabbed a chunk of Greg’s hair, and started to pull him out. Greg immediately let go of his woman and let his body be pulled out.

“Easy, big guy,” he soothed, holding his hands up. “I was just having a little fun. No harm, no foul. See? She’s perfectly okay.” He pointed to the young woman in the shower stall, who was clearly less than thrilled that her sex partner was literally just torn away from her.

“Give him back,” she demanded, her high-pitched voice heavy with a childlike whine. “We’re not done playing yet!”

“Next time, princess,” Greg consoled her, stepping into the pants Trevor handed him. “For now though, I’ll have to give you a rain check.”

What Sam saw next was the biggest display of an adult temper tantrum she had ever seen. The blonde, an incredibly skinny woman began to wail and cry that she wanted her man back as she stood naked in the stall. Her small breasts shook as she cried to have her partner returned to her, and Sam wondered what had been so good about that guy that the woman felt compelled to behave that way.

Sam spared a glance over to the two men. Greg was finding this hilarious. Trevor clearly was not.

“Aruum,” Trevor growled, giving the now clothed man a good shake. It was clearly a warning, though Sam couldn’t understand why. From both of their reactions, the sex was clearly a consensual act, and they were both of age.

Maybe he’s married, she thought, feeling a sudden sinking feeling in her gut as the possibility entered her mind.

“Seriously, calm yourself,” Greg replied, his tone much more serious now. “I’ll handle it.” He glanced over at the blonde, still very clearly upset, and sighed.

“Just give us a moment, would you?”

Sam watched as the two men appeared to have a staring contest for several tense moments before Trevor finally let go of Greg.

“You have one minute,” Trevor warned, his face mere centimeters away from Greg’s.

“It’s all I need,” he promised. They both glanced over to Sam. “Hi.” He smiled. “Look at you having fun! Who is this lovely lady?”

“I’m Sam,” she replied. “And I’m right here. You don’t have to ask him for my name.” Greg’s smile widened as he continued to stare back and forth between her and Trevor, his gaze more deadly than ever. She realized then that it was not the time to be worried about such things.

“Well, I told you I’d help find your guy and I did soooo… I’m going to go, because this is soooo not my business.”

Greg chuckled at her as Trevor grunted. Without waiting for either of them, Sam turned on her heel and walked out of the bathroom. Something odd was definitely going on, but she was sure she didn’t need to be involved. Whatever Greg had been doing to the blonde had to have been consensual. It was written all over her face how much she still wanted him.

“Sorry about that.”

Sam heard Trevor’s voice as he came out of the bathroom only a moment later. “I should have asked you to leave first. I’m sure that was awkward to see.”

Sam shrugged, pretending that it didn’t matter to her either way. Although, she was extremely curious.

“It’s no big deal,” she told him, lying. “Is he your little brother or something? Or married to your sister?”

For the first time a full smile spread across Trevor’s face, and he even chuckled. “No, we’re not related, and neither of us is married. Although, you could say that I’m extremely invested in his…safety. Which reminds me. Thank you again for helping me find him. This would have taken me so much longer if I would have had to do it myself.” For the first time, he smiled at her, fully smiled, and she found it utterly mesmerizing.

“Is there anything I can do to return the favor?” He asked.

She was about to ask him to come to her room when a sudden and loud boom came from around her dorm room door, making her jump. Looking around the corner, she saw that her neighbor’s door was now hanging wide open and people were either lying or sitting in the now music-filled hallway. Sighing, she gently bounced the back of her head against the wall as she pinched her eyes shut.

“Are they bothering you?” Trevor asked, his eyes staring deep into hers. It was such an intense stare, Sam realized, almost like a wolf’s.

“I, um, no.” She rolled her eyes, then nodded. “Well, yes, actually they are.” She ran a frustrated hand through her hair. “I live right beside them, you see, and I have an exam tomorrow morning. A final, actually, and I’ve been trying to study all night but they refuse to turn the music down.”

Trevor grunted, straightened his back, and adjusted his black trench coat. “I’ll be right back,” he told her, walking towards the group of people.

Before she could say anything else, Trevor was walking into the party. His heavy black boots moved silently across the brown speckled linoleum floor, not giving her enemies any warning of what was to come. Without looking at anyone, he strode right into the dorm room. A moment later the music stopped, and a blessed silence filled the hallway. As he walked back out, several dozen people somberly filed out of the dorm room, walking towards the elevators to go home. No one looked up as they scuffled around Trevor, as if they were children scolded by their parents.

“How did you do that?” Sam asked, in awe. “I’ve been on them all semester to quiet down and you take care of it in five seconds!”

Before Trevor could answer, Greg appeared in the shower room’s entryway, a large smile spread across his face.

“All done! She’s all tucked in. Shall we?” He held out his arm to Trevor, who merely looked at it with bemusement.

“Not going to be my date, are you? Well, fine. Maybe you will?” He asked, turning to Sam. He winked at her, his blue eyes practically glowing. “I saw you watching earlier. Next time you should join in.” He took a step closer, the deep edge of his voice coming out once more. “I promise you an amazing time.”

“Enough,” Trevor growled, grabbing Greg by the shirt collar. “It’s time to go.” He gave Greg a rough push, and the younger looking guy started walking towards the exit.

“Thank you again,” Trevor told her. Once more his eyes drifted down to her pendant. For a moment he looked as if he was going to say something, but instead he simply nodded his head at her once more, and then took his leave.