Free Caged Wolf (Wolves of Willow Bend Book 2) by Heather Long

his sweat, and the pure masculine taste of him filled her. She drank it in greedily, hungry for more. His chest vibrated and she as much felt as heard his growl. The graze of his teeth over her lower lip sent another bolt of lust arcing over her spine.
    Alive.
    The unmistakable sound and fury of living blazed through her system. As swiftly as the kiss began, so it ended abruptly. A.J. surged upward, and she was suddenly behind him. His shoulders tensed and his posture hardened as he faced away from her. His growl deepened, reverberating with violence.
    Looking past him, she realized—belatedly—they were no longer alone. Linc stood on the other side of the clearing, hands raised. “Sorry, brother. I came to see you. Didn’t mean to cock block.”
    With a lunge, A.J. charged his brother and tackled him. Heart in her throat, Vivian worried they were really fighting until she heard the sound of laughter as the two wrestled. Though clearly bulkier than his brother, Linc ended on his back more often than not. A rush of wind and one twig snapping were all the warning she received before Tyler joined in on the fray.
    The three brothers pounded on each other, laughing, wrestling, shouting, and—“They’re playing.” Her lips still tingled from his kiss. Their earlier laughter left her heart lighter, but watching him with his brothers was a revelation.
    A roar set them off again, but no matter how physical their altercation seemed, no anger marked their mock battle. Normally, she shied completely away from violence. Hell, a day earlier, she’d run like hell from the promise of it when Linc arrived at her apartment parking lot. So why am I sitting here watching them? More, she burst out laughing.
    As if reminded of her presence, the three ceased and turned as one to face her, the synchronous motion so perfect, it didn’t seem to have been affected by their lengthy separation. Linc and Tyler held onto their youth and vigor, but A.J. had been set apart from his identical status—older, wiser, and infinitely sexier.
    His face softened. “We didn’t scare you.”
    “No,” she shook her head. “Not at all. Feel free to continue beating on your brothers…”
    Linc’s grin went wide with delight, Tyler whooped and all three fell on each other again. Seven years before, those same three brothers happened across her at the worst moment in her life. Darkness clouded her vision. She left the dappled forest and scrambled across rain-slicked blacktop. Her knees bled and her hands were torn. A hand seized her hair and pulled her backward, she fought, screaming and clawing as she was dragged across the rough, black-topped parking lot.
    Pain exploded in the side of her face. Stars danced before her eyes. She’d hit something. A car? A wall? Still struggling to gather her wits, she had a spare few seconds to see the fist flying at her before fresh pain exploded in her face. Blows rained down upon her. The copper taste of blood flooded her mouth and she blinked hard.
    Sunlight split the memory in half and she was in the woods again. Across from her, the three continued to play, though they seemed to be talking as much as they wrestled. They laughed, but A.J. shot a look toward her.  She wasn’t in that parking lot, no one was dragging her into trash strewn, smelly alleyway. Not anymore.
     
    Vivian’s smile hurt her cheeks, but watching them…she saw the truth. A.J. was not the lion in the zoo, the one who’d given up. His spirit might be damaged and his heart hurt, but he wasn’t broken.
    I’m not done. Sudden certainty filled her. Unlocking his cage hadn’t been enough. She needed to free him fully. If she did nothing else during her stay in Willow Bend, she would free him.
    I promise. She owed him that and so much more.
     
     
    Having Linc and Tyler with him and Vivian righted the world on its axis, though he could have wished his brothers had better timing. The taste of Vivian’s kiss haunted him and he wanted another.