because she was so overworked. Every single urge he'd been fighting for the past two years to care for her and protect her went right out the window.
She was exhausted? He had a bed for her that he'd made with his own hands.
She was hungry? He'd feed her. He'd feed the fuck out of her.
Pathetic stalker that he was, Uriah knew where to get what pleased her, and the fact that a damn sandwich had nearly moved her to tears utterly wrecked him.
He'd had to run away before his bear could snatch her sweet ass up off that stool and carry her off to his den, where she would never again go a single day without someone to take care of her.
If she hadn't been human, Ivy Greene would have been his a thousand times over by now. She was the star of his every fantasy, and every time he got near her, his hands ached to tangle in her honey gold hair, or to grab that generous butt of hers.
Or maybe both. One hand in her hair, one on her ass. His bear certainly liked the idea, jabbing at him with insistent paws to hurry the fuck up and take her.
Uriah loved nothing more than to watch her hips sway back and forth as she danced around the garden center on her long legs, imagining his fist wrapped around the long tail of her braid that was as thick as his wrist, catching her as she flitted past him in those damn cut-offs.
The soft, worn denim would split like wet paper in his grip, revealing what he was sure were practical cotton panties. He dreamed about nuzzling his cheeks across the gently rounded swell of her belly, his fingers meeting around her nipped-in waist as he held her steady.
Her breasts were the perfect size, meant to fit in his palms, and more times than he could count, he'd had to bite into his lips to keep from licking them whenever he saw her nipples pebble beneath her cute little tank tops. The hollow of her neck, where her throat gave way to her shoulders, he wanted his mouth there. Hell, he wanted his mouth all over her.
Especially her lips. Her big, pouty, kissable lips. Almost too big for her heart-shaped face, but perfect nonetheless. Even her nose was cute—an elegant slope giving way to a sassy upturned tip.
It made her look like she was perpetually involved in some kind of mischief. The smattering of adorable freckles splashed across the bridge and cheeks nearly did him in, and to his constant delight, she never tried to hide them beneath layers of make-up.
Her eyes... gods above he could drown in her eyes, clear and sparkling green, like Depression-era glass. He loved listening to her talk, how she waved her long-fingered hands around when she got excited about something, how she laughed like she didn't have a care in the world.
He'd never been a big talker, but fuck, he could probably have popped off a few sappy-ass poems about the alluring human.
“How many bags are you getting?” she suddenly shouted, and he looked up to see her leaning forward on the register table, her eyes fixed firmly on his ass.
Uriah shuddered, already struggling with a monster erection, feeling her eyes on him like a tangible caress. “Eighty-four.”
He could see her brows shoot up in surprise, then slam down in concern. Ivy was so cute when she frowned like that, “I can get the fork-lift—”
“No!” he hollered, honestly wondering if he should go over there and make sure she ate the entire sandwich.
“You sure?” Ivy pressed, reaching up to hook a loose strand of her golden hair behind her ear, the green tendrils of ivy tattooed around her wrist catching his eye.
Pretty, his bear rumbled. Let's lick it. Lick her whole body.
Uriah was tempted, so damn tempted. “Woman, just eat!”
Uriah heard her huff and rip open the paper bag. The sound of her happy sigh as she tucked in was a shot of pure satisfaction.
He got half the dirt he needed loaded up before the sound of a car reached his ears, and Uriah knew if he didn't get to the front of the shop first, Ivy would abandon her food in favor of being a good employee.
The two women hadn't even fully climbed out of their vehicle before the feeling of ants marching up and down his spine alerted him to their identities.
The two were complete opposites; the first one dressed in