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Troy’s skilled hands. When Steve found himself dwelling on the contrast between Troy’s black sweater, dark hair and pale skin, he had to resist the urge to shake himself.
    Since when did he moon over a man he’d known little more than a week?
    Yes, the chemistry between them was explosive and he longed to brush the long, scruffy strands of his lover’s hair from his eyes, but he’d never been one to get all dopey eyed over anyone. He couldn’t lie to himself though… Troy Price was carving a niche for himself into Steve’s heart.
    There was a lot they still needed to discover about each other, but one thing was for sure, with such volatile passion came equally fiery arguments.
    Steve had the feeling the next few days would show one way or the other how compatible they’d be. Now the lingering threat of being tainted with unprofessionalism at work no longer hovered over him. He couldn’t wait to spend some proper time with the handsome man.
    He was eager to find whether the sparks between them would prove too combustible, or be something they could forge into a far deeper and more intense relationship than he’d experienced before. Steven was resolved to finding this out and doing his best to see if they could make this new thing growing between them work.
    “Have you found it hard?” Steven asked, eager to learn more about Troy. “Doing investigative work, dabbling in the espionage industry and being gay?”
    “I wouldn’t think it easy really for anyone,” Troy answered. He cast a quick glance at Steve but readily returned his attention to the road. “Don’t you find you get looks, the odd distasteful joke, or men will stop their locker room banter if you walk into the room and supposedly interrupt them?”
    “Not as much as you’d think,” he replied with a shrug. “When it first went around the hospital that I was gay, there were the usual fairy, fag, homo whispers and glances from the orderlies. But generally the hospital environment is completely different from your area. Most of the nurses are female. Doctors usually view themselves as above recognizing the nurses—and the surgeons are even more elitist. So there’s not as many men as you’d expect who are put off by my private choices. That’s partly why I’m curious. I’d think your work environment is far more macho, all that testosterone running rampant.”
    Troy appeared thoughtful. He slowed the car and Steven could see him running his mind over the points he’d just made. After a moment, Troy nodded.
    “I wouldn’t have classified it as an issue as such, but now you’ve mentioned it, yes. Maybe that’s why I mostly work for myself. It’s difficult to work in a team sometimes—say with the police or even doing other investigations—when others don’t fully trust you. That would be quite challenging. But things like personality compatibility also come into play. I’m not always the easiest person to be with when I’ve got a task in my sights. I can be quite single-minded.”
    They pulled up to a red light. Troy left his hands at the bottom of the steering wheel and turned to face him.
    “When I had to work on group projects in the past, there were always various reasons given, but it all boiled down to when my partner didn’t feel he could trust me, be relaxed and open around me, everything else went to shit. I know I can be difficult to work with, arrogant and even temperamental. I don’t like being wrong and I don’t suffer fools lightly. Add on I’m not a fan of explaining myself, either, so it’s not like I’m some saintly person who’s easy to work with.”
    “Sounds like you’ve worked with some jerks,” Steve said. He wrinkled his mouth in distaste. “I can’t stand those obnoxious prats. Just because I’m a man and I prefer other men sexually, doesn’t make me less of a friend to those I know. I enjoy drinking beer, I love nothing more than going to a good fight and making a bet on the outcome. I’ve