"Ivo," Tim cried excitedly, the minute I had walked through the door and set my briefcase down. He practically skipped towards the doorway and threw himself at me to hug me, before kissing me with exuberant passion. I guided him to lean against the wall and I could feel him melt under me as we made out in the hall.

He had a ridiculous grin on his face when we broke apart and laughed to himself a little before stumbling towards the kitchen.

"I made dinner," he smiled, looking for praise that I usually didn't give him. He looked at me hopefully.

I gave him a sincere smile.

"It smells amazing, what is it?"

Walking to the cooker I peered into the various pots but he shooed me from it and told me it was a surprise.

"Mmmm, I see," I replied. I noticeably looked him up and down before licking my lips and he stared at me with his mouth open.

"Yeah, okay," he replied vacantly, momentarily confused. He managed to gather himself however and steered me to the tiny table we ate from before dishing out some sort of risotto. All of the cookery programmes had done him some good then.

I took a forkful of it into my mouth and gave an exclamation of surprise which I then tried to turn into one of ecstasy so he wouldn't think I had doubted him. It really was very good.

He gave a tiny smile to himself and began to eat his own, his socked foot under the table already caressing my leg.

"How was your day," he asked cheerfully.

"Long," I replied wearily, not wanting to dampen the good mood by complaining too much. "A few students are looking into their research projects and they're aiming quite high. They're hoping to go to Peru in the summer which means a lot of extra paperwork for me."

"Wow, Peru," he repeated. "How exotic."

"Archaeologically it's a fascinating place but I have my doubts about fossils."

"Yeah, probably just a bunch of llama bones about the place."

I looked up and laughed.

"Yeah, maybe. So what did you do with your day?"

He set his fork down and nervously put his hands in his lap.

"I was talking to a publisher today, I've been talking with her for a few months now and she wants to publish my work," he told me quietly, watching me for a reaction. It was my turn to stare at him now.

"Are you serious?"

Tim gave a small nod with a hint of a smile.

He shrieked in delight when I stood and pulled him from his chair before lifting him and spinning him in my arms. Setting him down I pulled him towards me and kissed him deeply, my fingers threaded through his hair and my arm around his waist.

"Ivo," he panted breathlessly. He laughed then and hugged me. There was no music but we waltzed around the kitchen for a few minutes and it felt like we were on air. I had such a feeling of pride within me. For the last few months I had been fearful of asking Tim about his work, it always seemed to make him edgy but it seems all that time he was working things out for himself.

I kissed him again, softer this time. He sighed and smiled. Slowly I moved my hand under his shirt over his stomach and he leaned into my touch. His hand came up to run along my own shirt before he removed it.

I kissed his neck, just below his ear.

"We're not having sex tonight," I whispered. "Just this, let me do this."

He looked incredulous, as though he didn't believe me.

I pulled him to the sofa in the living room, leaving our half eaten dinner. I made him lay down on top of me and we made out like teenagers. He wasn't used to so much attention and I could tell he was loving every minute of it. He seemed to be trying to take it all in, probably thinking that it would end soon and I would simply become bored and fuck him.

"Will you let me read what you have written, or is it too personal," I asked him. He sat back on my hips and I noticed a small amount of grinding. I was teasing him too much.

"If you like, I don't mind if you don't want to," he chewed at his lip.

"I do want to, Tim. But if you would prefer I didn't then it's your decision."

He smiled at me. He looked so captivating when he did and I wanted to look at him forever. I held his hand in mine and stroked my fingers over the promise ring he wore.

"Okay," he laughed. "You can read it."

"Good," I smiled. "But now, we have to get back to the very serious matter at hand."

"Oh," he smiled. "Which is?"

"Where do you want to go to celebrate?"

I'd caught him off guard.

"I don't know," he replied, blinking at me. "It hasn't been published yet," he reminded me as if that changed my mind.

"Mmmm, it'll have to be a surprise then won't it," I told him.

"Sure," he grinned as he leaned down to kiss me again.

I knew exactly where to take him.