She grabbed onto his shoulders for balance and clasped her thighs against his hips as his heated hand slid down to cup her butt and keep her against him. The smooth wood of the barn door bracketed her back, and she tilted her pelvis against him, rubbing against all that hardness.

He growled low and deep, sending the vibrations down her throat with an intimacy that should’ve given her pause. Instead, she let the feeling spiral through her, flashing need beneath her skin, delving deep. Yeah, she’d wanted to wrestle control away from him, and she’d wanted to touch him. Both had led to her being held against the wall by a man far sexier than she’d realized.

Sure, he was handsome and smooth and always in control. But this heat, this scalding wildness in him, was unexpected. Exhilarating and frightening. And she wanted more of it. Wanted to see how wild he could get. What could she bring out in him?

He released her mouth, and she gulped in several deep breaths, trying to fill her lungs. “Raider.”

His eyes glittered a hungry onyx, while his hold remained strong and sure. “Don’t start anything you don’t want to finish.” His Southern tone had gone low and gritty.

The sound alone bit along her nerves, firing them into need. She did want to finish this. At least, her body wanted to. Her mind finally tried to force reason into the moment. The blood roared through her veins, pulsing in her head with the sound of a tumultuous river. “Who says I want to stop?” Her mouth. Damn, her mouth. It couldn’t resist a challenge, even though her brain knew better.

Like any predator, his nostrils flared at the hunt. Both of his hands tightened their hold, reminding her of her precarious position. If he didn’t want her to move, she couldn’t. How and why that fact shot desire through her body like heated whiskey, she’d figure out later.

“Brigid.” He pulled her head back more with one easy twist, revealing her neck to him. “You’re gonna have to learn that every time you throw down a challenge, I’ll take it, twist it, and make it mine.” He lowered his head, and his lips scraped down the delicate skin of her neck, sucking hard for a second on her clavicle.

The sharp pull shot to her nipples, pebbling them both into hard points. She gasped, her eyelashes fluttering. “Did you just mark me?” she breathed.

“You’re lucky it’s just your neck.” He licked across her collarbone and nipped the other side this time, not hard enough to leave another mark. Then he licked up the other side of her neck, touching every inch and leaving tingles in his wake. He kissed across her cheekbone, the edge of her nose, and then her temple. Finally, his lips touched hers, firm and sweet.