Fowl Play by Rhea Fox

Nate went into the Bavarian Forest drunk, cold, and chasing a stupid legend.

He didn’t expect to catch anything.
He definitely didn’t expect to catch Vee.

A professional hockey centre with too much confidence and not enough sense, Nate treats the trap like a joke—until the man under it looks at him like prey and promise all at once.
Vee knows better than to take risks. As a forest ranger, he’s built his life around control, distance, and never letting himself want what he can’t afford to lose. Ending up under a flimsy net shouldn’t have been possible. Wanting the man who caught him should have been unthinkable.
One night of warmth and skin on skin is supposed to be enough. Mutual relief. A mistake that doesn’t have to mean anything.
But some choices linger, and some nights refuse to stay contained.

When Vee pushes Nate away, it’s not because the pull between them isn’t real.
It’s because wanting someone means letting them matter, and he’s not sure his life has room for that anymore.

You don’t catch a mate and walk away.