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Whether or not the cute twink riding the desk knew that, Aidan wasn’t sure. It would help to know if the man, whose desk plaque read ‘Christian,’ had been working for the Generalfor long. Well-trained and seasoned receptionists, particularly those in the military, were difficult to read, which Aidan found amusing. Hiding behind an air of friendly professionalism, there were no easy tells as to what lay behind those guileless baby blue eyes and that bright, white smile.

Aidan shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. I know the General is a busy man.”

Christian cocked his head, his smile flickering slightly. “He is, and I’m sure he’ll be happy to know you’ve been so patient.”

Not that Aidan had much choice. If the General wanted him to wait, Aidan would have to sit back and wait. General Winter, after all, had requested he come out to Fort Dale for a recently opened position. Aidan had never been assigned to a proper team before, having been passed around like a cheap whore between groups and teams in need.

While the idea of a consistent team that he could come to know inside and out had its appeal, it also filled him with apprehension. Considering the very nature of his position and the danger of the work, getting too close to people could spell trouble. One of the reasons he’d always enjoyed intel jobs was the tantalizing promise of independent work in a government organization infamous for teamwork. Aidan had enjoyed working on his own, hopping between teams with a sense of individuality he could cling to, and he didn’t want to lose it.

But that had all changed…because ofhim.

Taking a quiet breath, Aidan shoved the thought away quickly before images of a black-haired man with dark green eyes intruded on his mind. The last thing he needed was for one of his two greatest regrets to come back and haunt him, unnerving him before his mysterious meeting with General Winter.

Christian stirred, leaning forward to look at his computer screen and nod. “General Winter will see you now. Thank you for your patience.”

Aidan would have loved to know what was going through the receptionist’s head and couldn’t help but wonder who went through basic training and somehow ended up working as the personal assistant to a general. Aidan also hadn’t missed the flicker of emotion that came over the man’s face when Aidan had mentioned how busy Winter was. He wasn’t sure if that was a brief moment of displeasure on Christian’s part or something else. It was good to know what sort of situation he was walking into, and Aidan didn’t want to go in totally blind.

Pushing himself up from the seat, he nodded at the receptionist, crossed the office, and walked through the door Christian had indicated. It opened into a spacious room, the walls lined with bookcases and a few shelves. From the back of the office, Aidan couldn’t see what was on the shelves, though he could make out awards, small figures of tanks and helicopters, and what looked like a gold-plated grenade. At a glance, as he passed the bookcases, he spotted books on philosophy, war tactics, historical non-fiction, and a few biographies.

If the room gave off a generic feel, then the man behind the desk fit the expected stereotype almost completely. The only thing that marked General Winter out from other generals Aidan had met was his age. General Winter was easily in his mid-forties, if not a little younger. Aidan wasn’t typically into older men, but he would have been lying if he claimed he didn’t see General Winter as a handsome man. The salt in his pepper hair, the few lines around the corners of his eyes and across his forehead, and the somber wisdom radiating from his pale eyes only enhanced his looks.

“Sergeant Rider,” General Winter began, not looking up from his screen as Aidan approached.

Aidan snapped a salute, holding it. “General Winter.”

General Winter let him hold the salute momentarily before waving at him. “At ease. Make yourself comfortable.”

Interestingly, the two seats available both looked reasonably comfortable. Of the handful of Generals whose offices he’d seen, all but one had stiff and uncomfortable chairs for those who came to meet them. One, General Knox, chose to have one comfortable and one uncomfortable chair. Aidan knew the mind game for what it was, but he didn’t know precisely what General Knox had been trying to decide when someone sat in whichever chair they chose. He still hadn’t known, even after deciding he might as well be comfortable, and as far as he knew, General Knox had never thought of him again after sending him off.

General Winter leaned back in his seat, his shoulders stiff. “How was your flight?”

Aidan shrugged, taking a casual air the General wouldn’t. “Getting shipped across the country after being back in the States only a couple of days isn’t something I’d recommend, but I’ll live.”

In truth, he had jet lag from hell. The time difference from the Middle East to the West Coast had been brutal, and he still hadn’t adjusted by the time his new orders came in. Aidan had barely heaved himself up from the barracks to make his flight to the East Coast on time, though the naps he’d managed on his flights had helped. Something about the security of the plane’s cabin had helped him sleep while he was still on alert after weeks in the desert.

General Winter glanced at his screen. “I had the chance to review your record while you were still overseas. You’re exactly the sort of person I was looking for to help me with a situation I have on my hands. I put in a request while you were still away to have you considered to join a team I have stationed here at the moment.”

Aidan nodded, keeping his face politely interested while privately seething inside. That was twice in one statement Winter had felt the need to mention that the consideration and the request had both been made before he returned from the Middle East. Aidan wasn’t so dense or naive as to think it had nothing to do with a tall, dark, and handsome commander at his last station. The very same person who was the reason Aidan had been sent back to the States unceremoniously and who would probably haunt Aidan’s military career for life.

Damn him.

Aidan smiled. “Well, I appreciate the consideration. I’ve worked with various teams that specialize differently. I hope my experience and skills are sufficient and what you’re looking for, as it is quite varied.”

General Winter cocked his head, pale eyes scanning Aidan’s face. “After being thrown from team to team, outpost to outpost, doing a bit of this and a bit of that, you think you can handle working full-time as part of a team?”

Aidan held his smile. “I wouldn’t say thrown, General Winter. I enjoyed what I did and liked the variety and experience it gave me. I always knew there would come a day when I might be assigned permanently to a team.”

“I was made to understand that you requested to be placed into a long-term position rather than the short-term one you did before.”

Oh, yes, ‘requested.’

Aidan sighed. “I’ll be honest with you, General. If you’ve read my file, you know some of the circumstances that led to my return to the States. The request was made on my behalf, and a not-so-subtle hint was thrown my way that if I wanted to salvage what remained of my career, I should take the generous offer.”

“So, you don’t think this is generous, considering,” Winter said, motioning to the screen that no doubt held Aidan’s record.

Aidan brought his smile back. “I wasn’t trying to say it wasn’t generous. I was simply repeating what I was told, including the exact words.”

The older man continued to watch him, eyes shifting over Aidan’s features patiently. It wasn’t the first time Aidan had felt himself under scrutiny, but there was something strange about the way General Winter looked him over. Rather than being left with the impression that he was being sized up and judged on his worthiness, Aidan felt the other man was trying to gauge his character. It was an odd thought and one Aidan thought of as too noble and generous for someone in Winter’s position. In Aidan’s assessment, a general did not become one simply by being a good leader. It was almost always the people you knew that got you a high position.