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AT MY GENERAL’S COMMAND

You know what they say about wine, right? It gets better with age.

Christian:Assistant to the General of Fort Dale isn’t the easiest job, but I love it. Making General Winter’s life easier is worth every bit of hassle. He’s a good man, and I respect him…a lot. Of course, I’m toeing the line because, God, he’s hot too. Sure, he’s a lot older than me, but I know how to behave and our relationship is strictly professional…until I stumble across an email, with a video! Then suddenly, everything is different.

David:I’ve seen everything in my time running Fort Dale. It comes with the territory, being the big man on top. After almost ten years I honestly believe the hardest thing in my life is being tempted by my extremely capable, good looking and very young assistant. No, not going there, that’s a really bad idea! Things get worse when a ghost from my past shows up with blackmail on his mind, and suddenly…Christian is by my side. That’s when everything changes.

DAVID

Throbbing pulsed through his forehead as David stared at the screen. Grunting in annoyance, he pulled his attention away from the computer and began rooting through the drawers. They were far more cluttered than the top of the desk, and he cursed himself for not organizing them. Whenever he had a free moment, he was inevitably pulled into something.

Despite digging through the drawers, he found nothing to alleviate the pain. He would have to send his receptionist to find something, but he’d prefer not to. The moment he alerted Christian that something was wrong, the younger man would switch to nanny mode, and David wouldn’t get any peace until he’d dealt with the problem.

To everyone else at Fort Dale, David was General Winter. As the man in charge of everything on the base, General David Winter did not expect much resistance from anyone. Yet his receptionist gave him shit like nobody’s business and had a strange way of making David feel compelled to obey him.

It was irritating.

Flashing on his computer screen brought his head up, squinting at the display. His sister’s face popped up with a shaking phone symbol. For a moment, he considered letting it goto voicemail. But Sara wouldn’t stop calling if he didn’t at least show some measure of attention. His older sister was laid back, but when she wanted to talk to him, nothing would deter her, not even him.

Sighing, he tapped the screen, answering the call with a faint‘boop’from the speakers. He frowned as another window opened, displaying his sister’s face and the kitchen behind her. David had only a moment to see something cooking on the stove in the background before she adjusted the camera so her face filled the whole screen.

She arched a thin brow. “Wow, you answered on the first call? I’m shocked.”

David curled his lip. “What choice did I have? It was either answer now or have you pester me until I did.”

“I see you’re learning,” Sara chuckled.

“I’ve been bullied, harassed, and beaten down. I’ve learned my lesson.”

“Harassed. That’s putting it a little dramatically, don’t you think?”

“I notice you didn’t object to bullied or beaten down, however.”

“Well, no, I can’t argue with the truth.”

David snorted. “What can I do for you, Sara?”

Her brow stitched together. “Really? You’re going to ask that? It’s been over a month since we last spoke, David.”

Squinting faintly, he ran the numbers through his head and winced as he realized his sister had been generous. It had been closer to two months, and even then, Sara had reached out to him.

“Ah, hell, I’m sorry. Things have been a little chaotic lately, and it seems a few things slipped the net,” David explained.

“Your sister included. Also, you look like shit.”

David scowled. “Thank you so much.”

Her comment, however, drew his attention to the little square in the upper corner of the call window. The head of once thick onyx-black hair was almost fifty-fifty salt and pepper. There were a few lines around the dark circles beneath his pale green eyes and a few more around his lips than there had been ten years ago. Still, he didn’t think he looked that bad for a man on his way to forty-six.

“And I look just fine,” David finally said.

Sara laughed. “You do, but I made you look.”

“What are you, five?”

“No, just not a stick in the mud.”

Despite being the oldest, his sister was young at heart. Sara was the first to laugh and quick with a joke to make someone else smile. Their mother had always insisted she take things more seriously and then begrudgingly said Sara would learn one day...maybe. By the time their mother passed, she had long since given up hope that Sara would ever ‘grow up.’