Sear by Ophelia Sexton

Cougar shifter and single dad Lucas Concolor lives for his job and his young daughters. By day, he’s an undercover game warden, hunting down wildlife poachers. After work, his pair of sweet little girls think Daddy’s a superhero.

As far as romance goes, Lucas knows love isn’t in the cards. Fated mates? He’s never gotten anywhere near a so-called fated mate. Hell, he doesn’t even believe in happily ever after. Not after a painful divorce. Lucas is destined to be a lone shifter. And he doesn’t mind, not much anyway. Because fated mates are just a shifter fairy tale, right?
Everything changes the night Lucas meets Malia, a feisty blue-eyed wolf shifter girl. The sweet little female sparks his beast’s desire. He can’t stop thinking about her ripe lips. Her curvy little body. Lucas needs Malia in his bed. And in his life.
The bad news?
She’s the sheriff’s daughter, and he’s currently undercover as a dirtbag poacher in a high-stakes investigation. He can’t come clean…not without blowing his cover. Even worse, Malia’s just twenty-one. Way too young for him.
But his cougar has roared to life, determined to claim sweet, innocent Malia as their fated mate. Now he’s torn between honor, duty and his beast’s primal needs.
Rookie police officer Malia Jacobsen-Swanson has plenty to prove to her family. Her wolf pack has a long history of serving their small, tight-knit community. She intends to uphold the long tradition and make them proud. That means avoiding distractions.
All distractions. Especially hot cougar-shifter distraction. Newcomer Lucas is Trouble, with a capital “T.” He’s an older man, a tattooed bad boy with long golden hair, muscles to die for, and a hot, wicked gaze.
Yeah. That type of distraction.
And Lucas is hiding one too many secrets. Sure, he’s a sweetheart, and a devoted single dad with a pair of adorable girls… but that doesn’t mean he’s a good guy. In fact, he seems to be the worst kind ever. A ruthless poacher who preys on vulnerable wildlife.
But true love only comes once for most shifters. She and her wolf can’t resist Lucas’s sinful kisses and heated caresses, or the bliss of his hard body claiming hers. It should be wrong but it feels so right.
When he becomes the prime suspect in a shocking crime, she must choose between her first real love and her duty. She’s determined to do the right thing. Even if it means giving him up forever.