Page 67 of The Ranger Gets His Girl

She giggled, and he picked up the bags from the ground and followed her out to the street.

Energy buzzed through her veins. Mostly because this big, gruff man took her hand and laced their fingers again. They reached the beach hand in hand. It was surreal.

If someone told her six months ago that she'd be walking on a beach in paradise with a handsome hunk, she'd have laughed in their face. Now, she just laughed as he picked up the tissue paper and tried to follow the instructor's directions.

Her laughter quickly faded, though. She had never been a crafty sort of person. Why had she chosen this kind of activity? It was insanity. Her fingers just wouldn't follow her brain's directions.

They stood at the table and threaded the flowers through, her big sunglasses in the way and frustrating her even more. She ripped the tissue paper and huffed a breath, making her hair fall in her eyes.

"No, you twist the end, like this."

He stepped behind her and wrapped his arms on either side of hers, cocooning her body and making her freeze. His fingers ran along the backs of her hands, then took the bundle of tissue paper and gently pulled the edges in opposite directions, opening it up into a faux flower.

"See?" His breath tickled her ear as he whispered. "You have to be gentle to get the flower to open up to you. It's a finesse game, Luce."

Shivers raced up her spine, making goosebumps pop on her skin. His lips moved down under her ear and kissed gently.

She gasped, "Wha—what are you doing?"

"Helping with your lei, of course."

"I—I think I've got it."

"So you don't need help to get laid?"

"I—well, I'm not going to say no to you, if that's what you're asking."

"That's a good girl." He kissed the spot where her neck met her shoulder, and she groaned.

"I—oh God. Do you know what that does to me?"

He paused behind her, and her brain registered what she'd just admitted as he pulled away and went back to his own lei, ignoring her gaze with his body tense.

While his hands were huge, he was very good with them. She blushed as she remembered how good.

In the end, his lei looked way better than hers. But she couldn't help how her hands shook every time he brushed against her or touched the small of her back as he leaned across the table.

As her frustration mounted with her failure to excel, she blamed it on the sexual tension. For the first time, she understood Taylor's obsession with getting laid. It was highly addictive. The more they did it, the more she wanted to do it.

The instructor came by to help them finish their projects. Soon, they were walking to the ukulele lesson set between two buildings in a well-decorated alley. His hand on her lower back burned a hole through her defenses.

He pressed her against the alleyway wall, his head dipping as he ground on her. She gasped at the sudden movement, but when she looked up at him, his head was turned, staring at the crowd of people on the street.

"Sh, it's ok. I thought I saw someone, but I was wrong." His voice was low and finally his eyes turned back to hers. He looked down and smiled tightly. "But now that we're here..."

His voice trailed off as his lips met hers. The kiss was quick and deep, leaving her wanting more.

When they broke the kiss, he took her hand and led her to the ukelele lesson at the end of the alley. Chairs were set up at the mouth of the alley where it met another street, and they sat. An assistant came and processed their payment before handing over two instruments.

Once again, Mason surprised her. He was apparently a very good guitar player, making the instructor slightly annoyed when he started playing softly against the wall beside her.

She turned to him. "I didn't know you could play. Can you show me how?"

He was patient while showing her three chords. Some of her frustration eased to have his full attention. They ignored the instructor and whispered in their own little world.

At the end of the lesson, when everyone else was walking away and the instructor was tapping his foot waiting to gather their ukuleles, she played You Are My Sunshine with him.

"Did you hear that? I only stumbled once when I went to that G!" She handed her instrument off and grabbed Mason's arm. He grinned, catching her off guard and making her heart race.

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