The Way to a Man's Heart

by Ann Marie James

  “There’s still time, General. You are, after all, the youngest general in Corazón history. You’re only forty.”

  “And if I had kids today, I would be sixty when they graduate. No thank you.”

  Sean snickered. “I love my kids, but again, they are only two and four. I haven’t hit the dreaded teen years yet.”

  The general winced. “Yeah. Good luck with that. All right, gentlemen. Sean and Christian, why don’t you head to the hospital and find out what you can get from Doctor Guttschein? Verify that he didn’t have to come back to the hospital for some reason. See if you can get him to tell you where he keeps his badge when he isn’t using it. I’ll actually take a trip out to see His Royal Highness King Hart. I haven’t had a chance to speak with him in a while. I’ll ask him for authorization to check email accounts while I am there and maybe Juan and Niles will have figured out the budget discrepancy.”

  “Yes, sir,” Christian and Sean said in unison.

  “Sven, keep working on the social media accounts.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “You bringing the dog, Sean?”

  “I don’t know. Hospitals are a little hard on him with all the noise and sirens. I mean, he’ll do it, but it’s not his favorite.”

  “You can leave him with me,” Sven interjected.

  “Yeah?”

  “Sure. I’m not planning on going anywhere, and Blackie’s a good boy.”

  Blackie’s ears perked up when he heard his name, and Christian swore he understood everything everyone was saying, raising pleading eyes to his master.

  “All right. All right. Blackie, stay with Sven.” Blackie stood and went to lie on the dog bed Sven had set up in the corner, settling in with a doggie sigh.

  Christian smiled at the dog’s antics but waited to speak until they were in the hallway heading toward the parking lot. “I’m not even sure why you pretend you’re not going to let Blackie stay with Sven. You know he spoils him when you aren’t around.”

  “I have to do it for form’s sake, and it’s funny to watch a grown-ass man pout like my two-year old.”

  “This is true—a pouting, giant man-child.”

  They looked at each other and burst into laughter, still chuckling when they climbed into Christian’s pick-up and headed out to the hospital. The trip wasn’t long, less than fifteen minutes. They spent the time discussing Sean’s family and reenlistment plans.

  “I’m due to reenlist, but the wife is pushing hard for me not to re-sign and take a job where I can be home with the family more.” Sean looked at Christian before turning his attention back to the front. “I haven’t told anyone, but Meg’s pregnant again. She’s due in October. This pregnancy has been a little harder on her.”

  “Plus, it will mean you have three kids under the age of five. That’s a lot for one person to handle. I mean, I know people do it all the time, but….”

  “Yeah. That’s what she says too.”

  “Do you know what you’re having yet?”

  Sean shot him a grin. “It’s a boy this time.”

  “That’s awesome.”

  “We’re both really excited.”

  “Would you consider working for the castle?”

  “That would be great if I could—maintain my government seniority and all that.”

  “I’ll talk to my father and see what we can come up with for you. I don’t think it would be a bad idea to have a trained K-9 team assigned to the castle. You would be able to take Blackie with you, wouldn’t you?”

  “Yeah. The general said I could. My girls would kill me if I came home without him. I think they miss him more than me when we’re gone.”

  After pulling into a parking spot, Christian shut off the engine and turned to more fully look at his friend. “I don’t think I’m going to reenlist. I’m tired and ready to try something new.”

  “Any idea what?”

  “Nope. Not a clue.”

  “Alrighty then. I can understand it, though. You and that chef are starting something.”

  “I want to give us a fair shot. It would be really hard if I was gone all the time.”

  Sean reached over and grabbed Christian’s shoulder and squeezed. “Let’s see if we can figure out what’s going on and make it safe for your chef and the royal family.”

  Climbing out of the truck, Christian grabbed his satchel. They made their way inside and up to where Doctor Guttschein’s office was located and knocked on the door.

  “Come in.”

  Opening the door, they found Doctor Guttschein sitting at his desk, obviously busy doing paperwork. He peered at them over the top of his glasses. “Lieutenant Diaz, Sargeant Lopez… What brings you here today?”

  “We needed to ask you a few questions, Doctor Guttschein. Do you have a few minutes?”

  “I can give you fifteen before I’m due to start rounds. Please have a seat.”

  Christian and Sean sat in the two visitor chairs in front of the desk. Christian pulled his notepad and pen out of his satchel before sitting back in the chair with the notepad on his knee. Sean indicated for Christian to handle the questioning.

  “What did you need to ask me about?”

  “You went on vacation in March, correct?”

  “Yes. I promised my wife a trip away from the hospital.”

  “And did you honor that?”

  “Yep. It was very relaxing I answered a few phone calls but didn’t even take my laptop with me.”

  “And you stayed in Spain the entire time?”

  “Yes. My wife would have killed me if I hadn’t.”

  “Did you take your badge with you?”

  “On vacation? No. I left it in my desk drawer at home. Why do you ask?”

  “Are you aware that a vial of ipecac powder went missing while you were gone?”

  “Yes, I was informed when I returned. They have never figured out what happened to it, as far as I know.”

  “Actually, they have. Traces of the ipecac were found in a bottle of brandy at the palace.”

  “The brandy I gave to the king?” Doctor Guttschein raised his eyebrows in obvious disbelief.

  Christian nodded.

  “But that’s impossible. I had the brandy delivered directly to the castle from the distillery.”

  “A bottle went missing after it was received then reappeared a few days later. The seal seemed off, so a castle employee had the bottle analyzed. It was traced to the missing ipecac.”

  Doctor Guttschein slumped in his chair. “But the king is the only one who… Oh my God, someone wanted to poison the king?”

  “That’s what we’re trying to figure out.”

  “But what does that have to do with my badge?” The doctor paled. “Someone used my badge to access the storage, didn’t they?”

  “What makes you think that?”

  “When I got home, the drawer to my desk was unlocked. I swore I’d locked it before I left but thought maybe I had been in a rush and just gotten confused about what I believed I’d done. I didn’t think any more of it. Your questions make me think I should have paid more attention.”

  “Do you have security cameras in your home, by any chance?” Sean asked, joining the conversation for the first time.

  “I do.” The doctor nodded slowly. “I will have to check to see if the video from that time is still available. The doctor closed his eyes and shook his head. “We had a server glitch and are missing a couple of days of footage. I don’t remember what days they were, off the top of my head, but I know it was while I was on vacation.”

  “Okay,” Christian said, sharing a glance with Sean. “If you could check on that, it would be a great help.”

  “I’ll call as soon as I’m done with rounds. Did you have any other questions for me?”

  “No questions, but we do ask that you not discuss this with anyone else. It’s an ongoing investigation, and we don’t want anyone getting wind of the fact that we have any leads.”

  “I understand.
I won’t tell anyone.”

  “I know it’s hard, but please no one, not even your wife, Doctor Guttschein.”

  “Got it.” The doctor rubbed the nape of his neck. “I can’t believe someone tried to poison the king. It could have killed him.”

  “It’s a scary thought, isn’t it?”

  An alarm chimed from Doctor Guttschein’s computer. “That’s my signal to start my rounds. I get focused on paperwork and emails and I lose track of time. I really need to get started. As soon as I’m done, I’ll get you the information.”

  “Great.” Christian reached into the side pouch of his bag and grabbed one of his cards with his contact information on it. “Either call or email me the information when you get it.”

  “I will. Please let me know if there’s anything else I can do.”

  Sean stood first and offered the doctor his hand to shake. “We will.”

  It was Christian’s turn to shake hands next, then they were out of the door and returned to Christian’s truck. Sean waited to speak until they were on their way to base.

  “This is going to suck if it’s Doctor Guttschein’s son. The doctor’s such a nice guy.”

  “It really will, and if it’s Princess Zia and Stefan together, he’s going to be even more devastated. He not only delivered them, but he has been the personal doctor for the prince and princesses since they were born.”

  Sean scrubbed both hands over his face. “This is going to be so hard. I really hope we’re wrong.”

  “Yeah. Me too.” Christian left it at that, but in his heart, he didn’t think that particular wish was going to come true.

  Chapter Eight

  Max turned toward the apartment door when he heard a key in the lock. He rose from the couch and went to meet Christian. He stopped when he got a good look at the man. He was visibly exhausted. Max rushed to help when Christian almost stumbled as he was taking off his boots.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. It’s been a really long day. Sorry I didn’t make it in time to eat with you tonight. Before you ask, we did take a break and eat in the dining hall at seven.”

  “Good.” Max pulled Christian into his arms and just held him for a few moments. “Come on. It’s almost midnight. Let’s get you to bed so you can get some sleep.”

  “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’m up for anything but sleep. If you want me to go…”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. Sex or no sex, I want you with me.”

  Christian sagged against him. “Okay. Good. I really want to be here. Today has been a really long and shitty day. I need to hold you for a while.”

  “I’m sorry. Hopefully, things will look better in the morning. Come on. Let’s get our snuggle on.”

  Christian honest-to-God giggled and gave Max a little more of his weight. “The only thing that’s kept me going today was the thought of seeing you tonight.”

  Max shuffled them down the hallway and into his bedroom, where he plopped an unresisting Christian onto the bed. Max bent down and removed Christian’s socks, before reaching for his belt buckle and undoing his pants. Looking up, he found Christian staring at him through half-closed lids.

  “You are so beautiful.” Christian’s tone was reverent. “How did I get so lucky to have you notice me?”

  Max tapped Christian’s hip, indicating that he wanted him to lift, and he pulled his pants down and off when he complied. “I’m the lucky one.”

  “How about we’re both lucky?”

  Max was completely besotted. “I can’t wait to remind you of this conversation when you’re not completely exhausted. You are so cute like this.”

  Christian tried to glare at Max, but the effect was ruined by a huge yawn. Christian sat up and scooted to the pillows, stripping off his T-shirt as he went. “I’ll have you know I am one of the toughest soldiers in the whole army. People fear me.”

  “Oh yeah? Well, you don’t scare me, tough guy.” Max helped Christian under the covers then leaned down to give him a chaste kiss. Christian’s mouth chased his for a moment before he sagged into the covers and was asleep before Max could even straighten. Shaking his head, Max went out to the living room to turn off the lights and make sure the door was locked and his alarm was set.

  Stepping into the bathroom, he completed his nighttime ritual before climbing in next to Christian. Shutting off the light and lying down, Max suddenly had an armful of cuddly soldier boy. Christian snuggled onto Max’s chest and relaxed with a contented sigh. Max tried to contain his mirth at the man’s antics. He so couldn’t wait to tease him about it the next day.

  * * * *

  Max woke up with a groan, to the wonderful sensation of Christian’s mouth on his cock. Max lifted the covers to look, captivated by the sight of Christian’s eyes twinkling at him with amusement and his mouth stretched obscenely around his shaft.

  Christian pulled off with a slurp. “I was wondering how long it was going to take for you to wake up. I was beginning to think you were going to sleep through coming.”

  “Well, I was having an amazing dream, so it was entirely possible.”

  “Hmm. Tell me more.” Christian prowled up Max’s body as he spoke, dropping on top of Max once their cocks were aligned just right. He ground his hips, sliding their bodies together. Max reached down to grab Christian’s hips to help with the movement.

  “That feels perfect. Yeah, baby. More.” Max leaned up for a desperate kiss as he ground up harder, morning breath be damned. Christian’s movements became frantic for a moment before he spilled between them. The heat and the added glide sent Max following a few thrusts later. Their movements slowed and their kisses became gentle. Max let go of Christian’s hips and started running his hands up and down his back instead. He placed a gentle kiss on Christian’s temple then wrapped his arms around him and just held him for a minute.

  “I should get up. I’m probably crushing you.”

  “No. Stay. I like the feel of you on me.”

  Christian settled again without a protest. “If you insist.”

  Max raised one hand to cup the back of Christian’s head, holding him in position, and placed another gentle kiss on his temple. “I love being able to hold you. I love the connection we have, even when we aren’t having sex. I love simply talking to you more than I like sex with most people.”

  “That’s a lot of ‘I loves’,” Christian whispered, raising his face from where it was buried in the crook of Max’s neck and looking Max in the eye.

  Max swallowed hard. “How about one more, then? I love you, Christian, body and soul. I know it’s fast, but it’s how I feel.”

  “I loved you as a young man, with a young man’s heart. I pined for you as an adult with an adult’s mind. Now let me love you as an adult. I love you, body and soul.”

  They shared another gentle kiss before Christian’s alarm started sounding. With a moan, Christian rolled off Max and onto his back, grabbing his phone from the end table and silencing the alarm. Christian rolled his head to the left to look at Max. “Good morning, love.”

  Max reached out and twined their hands together. “The first of many, I hope.”

  “I like waking up with my boyfriend.”

  “Me too.”

  Christian rolled onto his side and stared at Max for a moment.

  “What?”

  “Boyfriends until I can call you fiancé then husband.”

  “Yeah?”

  “One day.”

  “It’s a plan…one day.”

  Christian leaned in and took another gentle kiss. “I really do need to get going. Lots going on right now. What about you? You’re still off until tomorrow, right?”

  “I’ve been called into a meeting with Princess Zia and Stefan today. They needed to change the date, for some reason. They have requested a meeting with me and the king and queen. I think they even pulled in Prince Sebastian and Princess Katarina to try to get them to make an appearance at the dinner.” Max stopped talking when Christia
n froze, and what Max called his ‘soldier mask’ came crashing down. It was disconcerting to watch Christian going from relaxed lover to emotionless soldier in the blink of an eye.

  “Why? What reason did they give for rescheduling the meeting?”

  “They said they need to make changes to the plans for the dinner and want to cut out the middleman, since they don’t have a lot of time before the event. Why?”

  “What time is the meeting?”

  “One o’clock. “

  “Where is the meeting being held?”

  “The king’s office.”

  “Do you know if my father was invited as well?”

  “I think so, but I’m not one hundred percent sure.”

  Christian’s phone buzzed in his hand, and Max watched as Christian stared at the number for a moment before pressing the button to answer. “Princess Zia, what a surprise.”

  Max couldn’t hear what the princess was saying, but guessed she was inviting him to the meeting also.

  “One o’clock in the king’s office? Sure, I can be there. Castle Commander Diaz and I wanted to discuss how the background checks were coming with you and Stefan anyway. Yep. See you then.” Hanging up the phone, Christian stared hard at Max for a moment, before shaking his head.

  “What’s going on, Christian?”

  “I can’t tell you much, but promise me something?”

  “What?” Max didn’t like how intense Christian was at the moment. He was vibrating with some strong emotion.

  “If I tell you to do something in the meeting, I need you to do it without question.”

  “That’s not cryptic at all, but I can do that.”

  “Okay. Well, I need to go. There are things I have to get done prior to the meeting.” Christian hurried into the bathroom and took a quick shower. He was done before Max could even begin to figure out what had just happened. Christian returned to the room and pulled on a clean set of clothes from his bag. Christian stepped close to the bed and leaned down, taking one more kiss. Max decided to ignore that the kiss seemed a little desperate and focused on giving Christian what he needed. Christian pulled away and rested their foreheads together. “Please stay safe today.”