Free Kyn Series by Mina Carter Page B

tasted and the electric heat that had swirled through her body in response. Flushing at the memory, she hooked her towels over the rail and stepped under the shower. A groan left her lips as the hot water eased her sore muscles. Muscles she’d abused in her workout trying to escape that memory, especially the part where they’d been interrupted, and she’d panicked and fled like a startled teenager.
    Neither a heavy duty workout, nor trying to avoid Kalen, seemed to be working, though. Since the reception, Vixen had been switching patrols at the last minute. Taking the late patrol if Kalen was on early and the early one if he was on the late roster. That way, she only saw him for a few seconds in the main area of the compound. Even then, she kept her head down and avoided his gaze.
    Like tonight for example. They’d both been on the early patrol, but with Marak off after the wedding, their patrol had been broken down to cover gaps in the other teams until he returned. At the last minute, Vixen had managed to swap patrols with a guy from Mikal’s team who had wanted to get back early to spend time with his mate.
    She rinsed the last of the shampoo out of her hair and smoothed it back in a slick pelt down her back. She turned her head as her sensitive ears picked up a sound from the other room. A frown creased her brow as she snapped the shower off and listened.
    Nothing.
    “Hello?” she called out just in case, wondering if one of the guys had wandered in by mistake. Although there was only one of her, Marak had made sure she had her own shower and changing room. Didn’t need the rookies falling over their own tongues the first time they had to take a shower he’d said. Early on, with each batch of rookies, the older warriors had dared them to try and sneak a look at Vixen in the showers. A bizarre initiation ritual, it tended to die down after she bounced the first few off the walls.
    She stood for a few seconds, ears still perked for any sound from the changing room, until the air on her wet skin made her shiver.
    “You’re going nuts, Vixen.”
    She stepped out from the stall and reached for the towels. Wrapping the larger one around her body, she blotted the water from her hair with the smaller one and headed back out into the changing room.
    She got less than three steps. Hard hands closed on her even as she started to turn. In the next instant, she found herself pinned against the wall by a hard male body. The impact drove the breath from her lungs as a familiar scent filled her nostrils and sent her senses haywire.
    “You seem to be going to some lengths to avoid me blondie,” Kalen’s voice close to her ear kicked her body into high awareness, “Any particular reason for that?”
    “Kalen, let go of me you bloody idiot. I thought you were an intruder.” She struggled against his hold. The way he had her pinned, one arm twisted up behind her back, and a booted foot kicking her bare feet farther apart, meant she couldn’t get any leverage to fight back. She recognized the hold. It was one they used on patrol if they found any Kyn youngsters out and about and up to no good.
    She was a strong woman, but even she couldn’t break this one. It was designed to hold a much larger opponent immobile. Not that she was bigger than Kalen, but she could hold her own in a fight and he knew it. Vixen fought hard and dirty.
    Being held down wasn’t the worst of it, though. Her body tightened at his touch and a moist heat slipped from between her thighs. Hot color flooded her cheeks. She couldn’t be turned on by this, could she? It was embarrassing. She closed her eyes as she bit her lip…very hot.
    “Not until you tell me why you’ve been avoiding me, and why you ran out on me the other night.” He pressed harder to quell her struggles. Hard enough she felt every solid plane of muscle in his body. And a growing hardness pressing into her ass that proved, like her, he wasn’t immune to the situation.
    “Other