Page 30 of The Tech Guru's Heart

Another benefit of the mate-pull, I think.

Ezra chuckled softly as he pecked a kiss to Link’s jaw at the edge of his beard.“You exhausted me repeatedly,” he teased, nipping at his neck.“So when youdidlet me sleep, I slept like a rock.”

Link chuckled, liking the play.

“So,” Ezra began, putting a little space between their faces so he could meet his gaze.“That call sounded a little ominous.What’s up?”

Grimacing, Link took a deep breath, held it for a couple of seconds, then let it out in a sigh.“Yeah, afraid so.It has to do with my job at Shifter Headquarters, the council, and changing policies, and of course, a vengeful asshole who got caught trying to make money on the changes.”

“Ooookay.”Ezra stared at him with furrowed brows.“You’re gonna have to explain a little more than that.”Tracing along the side of Link’s beard, he added, “Your conversation made it sound like it’s gonna affect us.”

“It just might.”Link rubbed up and down Ezra’s bare back, more to soothe himself than his mate.“I work in the tech department, keeping an eye on anything online that could hint at our existence, making certain it never sees the light of day.”Giving Ezra a wry smile, Link admitted, “And you know I’m a hacker.”

Link explained briefly about what he’d been trying to do for the last couple of weeks—namely, find who was betraying their secrecy and selling information about shifters’ movements to those with nefarious purposes.That person had put more than one mate in danger.A fox shifter had nearly lost his life before his dragon mate had saved him.

“So, you wrote some kind of code that helped you figure out who this asshole is, and now the asshole is on the run,” Ezra summed up.

“Yes.”Link grimaced.“There are enforcers tracking him, but they say he blames me, and he’s headed this way.”

Ezra scoffed as he rolled his eyes.“Sounds about right.What asshole wants to take responsibility for their bad decisions?”Easing to a sitting position, he reached for his backpack.“So, I imagine they think we’re in danger and need to cut our trip short.”

Link heard and scented Ezra’s disappointment.

“Yes and no.”Link took Ezra’s hand, pausing his action of pouring water into a tin cup.“We’renotcutting your trip short, baby.We’re just gonna take precautions.”Seeing Ezra’s questioning yet hopeful look, Link told him, “Instead of me following you in animal form, I’m going to hike with you.”He smiled as Ezra’s look of surprise.“Don’t worry, I won’t hold you back.”

After nibbling his bottom lip for a moment—which Link found extremely distracting, but he knew his mate was still uncomfortable with morning breath and kissing—Ezra nodded once.“Okay.Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, my mate.”Link squeezed Ezra’s hand before releasing it so his mate could resume his morning ritual.“I know how much you’ve been looking forward to this, and I want you happy.Always.”

I’ll just have to remain vigilant to keep him safe at the same time.

While breaking down their little camp, Ezra shared what they should expect upcoming on the trail.He was so animated about the flora and views they should pass.Ezra also shared his hope of seeing an elk or other wildlife.

Link hoped for his mate’s sake that something made an appearance.He also vowed to keep quiet and his ears open.Maybe he would be able to hear something and point it out to his mate.

I’ll do my best.

Once they were ready, granola bars and jerky in hand, Link asked if Ezra wanted him to take a turn carrying his backpack.After all, all Link had was his light satchel.His mate refused with a laugh and a shake of his head.

“My hike, my responsibility,” Ezra told him.He patted Link’s chest, possibly trying to soften the denial.Then he winked and led the way out of their secluded love-nest, saying, “Let’s get rolling, hot stuff.”

Link grinned, appreciating the nickname, and followed behind him.

As they hiked, Link found his attention drifting to Ezra’s ass and legs over and over.Following five feet behind his human gave him a fantastic view.The backpack covered part of the delectable mounds he liked to part, but his imagination more than filled in what was hidden.Plus, the flex of Ezra’s calves and thighs in those shorts were things of beauty.

It wasn’t long before Link was hiking with a boner that wouldn’t quit, and he resigned himself to a very uncomfortable morning.

*

LINK AND EZRA FELLinto a new routine.Ezra set the pace, and with Link’s shifter strength, even though he’d rarely hiked in human form, he had no trouble keeping up.They stopped for lunch and shared a quickie, then continued on.

Their evenings were filled with energetic lovemaking before they both passed out in sated bliss.

The only real problem ended up being food.With Link staying mostly in human form, coupled with his shifter appetite, they were going through Ezra’s meals far swifter than planned.They agreed to head into a town the next day so Link could buy his own supplies, as well as replenish Ezra’s.

After setting up camp, Ezra set up his cookstove as normal.When he opened the packaged meal, the smell hit Link’s nose.He grimaced as he eyed the contents with trepidation.

Evidently, Ezra caught the expression before he could hide it.“Uh, not a fan of split pea soup?”He motioned toward the simmering soup.“It has ham chunks in it.”

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