Free Things That Go Hump In The Night by Lily Marie, Terra Wolf, Artemis Wolffe, Mercy May, Amanda Jones, Bliss Devlin, Steffanie Holmes, Christy Rivers, Lily Thorn, Lucy Auburn Page A

like shit, her face bleached with fatigue, big dark circles under her hazel eyes, and her curly, light-brown hair completely out of control this morning.
    Despite being sore and bruised from her wolf's attempts to break out of the cage, Nicole actually felt pretty good, since she was temporarily free of her curse.
    She'd almost forgotten what it felt like to be normal for a change, with no need to rein in the need to run on four legs and taste the hot blood of her prey spurting beneath sharp fangs.
    Nicole took a sip of her hot, strong coffee. What she really wanted to do right now was go to bed and sleep for ten hours, but she had deadlines at work.
    So what if everyone who saw her today was going to think that she'd had a night of hard drinking and harder sex?
    If only...being banged by Gabriel would sure as hell beat a night spent banging my head against the bars of a cage...
    She nearly choked on her coffee. Where the hell had that thought come from?
    Nicole hadn't been with a guy since Erik. Hadn't wanted to have sex...until last night, when Mr. Too Sexy for his Suit stopped by and talked slasher films like a true fan.
    Thoughts of Gabriel reminded her that today was Project Team Meeting Day.
    She groaned. Rafe would probably yank her chain when he saw her, but she could handle him.
    Gabriel was another matter. She hoped she could avoid him today.
    Nicole didn't care if everyone else in the office got the wrong idea about what had happened last night, but Gabriel's opinion... mattered .
    And like it or not, she'd be seeing him at 2:00 p.m. sharp.
    * * *
    Nicole didn't see either Rafe or Gabriel when she got into the office, much to her relief.
    With any luck, they'd be swallowed up in one of those all-day business meetings that consumed them on a regular basis, and neither of them would be able to attend the Archangel 2.0 project team meeting.
    With a silent sigh of relief, she plunked her half-full travel mug on her desk, shoved her purse in a drawer, and unlocked her computer. Then she settled down in her chair and began hammering away at the bugs she had left unfixed.
    Despite her fatigue from her sleepless night, she managed to fix the bugs in time for her updated code to make it into the noon build. She even had time to leave the building and walk over to Shalimar, where she wolfed down an order of spiced lamb chops, a bowl of curried veggies, and a basket of chewy naan hot from the tandoor oven and dripping with melted butter.
    She was always ravenous on the mornings after Cage Night.
    Nicole was feeling positively cheerful by the time she strolled into the two o'clock project team meeting. It was held in Grand Canyon, which was the big boardroom, so that the entire team could participate.
    She entered the mahogany-paneled room and met Rafe's intense brown-eyed stare. After a moment, he waggled his dark brows at her, and she sighed silently. Busted .
    Rafael Amestra, her boss and the VP of Product Development, looked to be somewhere in his late twenties, lean and very handsome in a carelessly dressed way. Today, he was wearing a Captain America t-shirt that stretched across his broad shoulders and faded jeans molded to a nice ass and long muscular legs.
    Rafe wore his black hair shoulder-length, the wavy locks pulled back into a thick ponytail. He and Gabriel both shared a strong family resemblance with their sculpted faces, generous mouths, high cheekbones, and aristocratic noses. 
    Nicole occasionally speculated what ethnic background had produced two such gorgeous men. They might be part Native American. Or maybe Persian or Afghani. Turkish, perhaps? She hadn't yet met Michael, their oldest brother and CEO of Archangel Security Networks, and she wondered if he shared the family good looks.
    "Looks like someone had a fun night out," Rafe drawled as Nicole approached where he sat at the huge, polished wood conference table.
    Shit, I'm in for it now.
    She hated to lie to her boss, but she couldn't possibly tell him