His free hand grasped her hip and partially lifted her against him, his fingers branding her through the thin cotton. Her core met his erection, and she moaned at the sweet friction.
Raider Tanaka knew how to kiss. Really knew how to kiss.
She returned the kiss, rising up on her toes and caressing the hard planes of his chest again. Smooth muscle and natural strength filled her palms. Desire spread through her with the heat of a wildfire this time, pooling in her lower belly with a yearning she couldn’t fight.
He lifted her against the wall, forcing her legs open while deepening the kiss somehow.
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.
The strength wrapped in such gentleness nearly undid her. She had to keep her wits about her, but it was way too late for that. She let him kiss her, sinking into the moment. So warm and firm and sensual. The man could write a book about kissing alone.
What else was he good at?
She blinked her eyelids open, and he lifted his head, his mouth curving into a smile.
“What?” he asked. “No more challenges?”
She couldn’t find any words. Her body thrummed with need, and her mind had gone fuzzy. A good part of her wanted to take him down to the hay-filled floor and have her way with him. The other part knew she should run for the house and her safe and solitary bed.
“Yeah,” he murmured, letting her slide against his angled body until her feet found purchase on the floor. “I’m not going to say no for your own good, Brigid. You come to me, offering what you almost offered, and I’m going to take it.” His hand in her hair slowly untangled. “If you’re lookin’ for a voice of reason, you’re lookin’ in the wrong place.”
She swallowed, her body pulsating with need. At least she knew he wouldn’t reject her. Humor tried to filter through her desire, but all of it mingled into an ache that was almost too much. Could she even walk back to the house? Her face warmed.
He released her and took a step back. “Go back inside.”
Cool air washed over her, and she had to fight her instincts to step right back into his heat. “What are you going to do?”
A rueful smile curved his talented lips. “Probably go jump in the creek over there. For a while.”
She returned the smile and backed out of the barn, all but running for the house when every impulse she owned wanted her to turn back around and take what he’d just offered.
* * *
After a sleepless night, and a day spent with a skittish Brigid showing him the ranch, Raider was about ready to lose his mind. Sean had been absent most of the day, working the farm, and Raider didn’t have time for this crap.
So after dinner, when Sean offered to show him the barn that Raider had already spent too much time in the night before, he jumped up and followed. It was time to lay his cards on the table and see if Sean wanted to play the hand. He had to make this good. Sean led the way outside, not speaking.
The moon rose high and bright and round, looking closer than it did in the city. Almost as if the glowing orb hovered specifically over the rows and rows of hay.
Sean hauled open the heavy door and stepped inside, flicking on a light as he did so.
