...When Travis came out of the house with two frosty cans of lager, he found Luke sitting on the packing case, elbows on his knees, and his chin resting on his clasped hands.

He set one of the cans on the ground beside Luke and sat down next to him. “Finished measuring already?”

“No, I’m thinking.”

“About?”

“That great big hole. It’s far too large for a lily pond, so the first thing I’ll need to do is hire a bulldozer to fill it in and also level the ground. I can’t do anything until that’s been done.”

Travis popped the tab on his can and took a sip. “And when that’s finished?”

“I’ll make a start on the patio. I’ll need you to select the tiles you want and you’ll have to let me know your preferences when it comes to things like columns and statues. I can bring you some catalogues, or you can check them out yourself on the Net.”

“Sounds good. And I checked the cost estimates you left on the table. I know they’re rough and subject to change, but they seem very reasonable to me.”

Luke looked at him and grinned. “So, do we have a deal?”

“Sure do. Shake on it?” Travis held out a hand.

Instead of taking his hand, Luke hesitated. The grin disappeared and his expression turned serious, giving Travis the feeling Luke was about to put an end to the tension between them by saying something he didn’t want to hear. Like making it clear this was business and nothing more.

But then a faint smile softened Luke’s features, and he said, “Why don’t we kiss on it instead? It’s what we both want, right?”

If Luke had wanted to surprise Travis, he’d succeeded. Kissing Luke had been his number one fantasy for weeks. Even so, it took Travis a couple of seconds to convince himself he was not imagining things, and that Luke had actually spoken the words aloud.

“You really want me to kiss you?” Travis asked, feeling his body react at the thought.

“Unless you have some kind of objection.”

Travis rubbed the pad of his thumb over Luke’s so very kissable lips. “There’s no easy way of me asking this, but—“

“Is this the first time for me?” Luke parted his lips, and Travis felt the insistent glide of Luke’s tongue against his thumb. “No.”

Travis replaced his thumb with his mouth, and as he gently brushed his lips against Luke’s, every nerve in his body sprang to life. “I can’t believe this is happening,” he murmured, aware of the slight quiver to his voice as he put his arms around Luke and drew him close. “I’ve wanted it to happen. I’ve wanted it for weeks, and I can’t tell you how much, but I was beginning to think it never would. Why…”

Suddenly, Travis didn’t care why, only that it was. Luke was in his arms, Luke’s tongue was seeking entry into his mouth, and it was Luke’s hands that were urgently stroking his cock. He was so hard and so ready, he desperately wanted release, but first, he wanted to feel the hot, wet silk of Luke’s tongue and lips take possession of his aching shaft and draw it into his mouth. Only then did he want Luke to suck and tease and slowly push him over the edge.

“Stand up,” Luke whispered. “Your pants are in my way.”

Excited by the way Luke was taking the lead, Travis did as he asked and the next thing he knew his track pants were down around his ankles and Luke was sliding a condom over Travis’ erection.

“Spread your legs a little,” Luke instructed.