Page 31 of Operation Heartbeat

She’d thrown on a dress. It was simplistic in design and hit her in all the right places, which to her meant skimming over her hips. Since her divorce, she’d put on a few pounds, and every ounce seemed to show up on her hips. She kept telling herself that if she felt too uncomfortable in her own skin, she’d hit the gym, but so far that day hadn’t come.

“I ordered food.”

She nodded. “Thank you.”

“And made you coffee.” He twitched his angular jaw toward the table where a steaming mug sat.

“I appreciate it.”

As she skirted around the big SEAL who seemed to take up the entire room, the fabric of her dress swished around her calves. When she sank to the chair she’d abandoned, she took a sip of the coffee, which was surprisingly brewed to perfection.

With a little buzz of caffeine in her veins—not to mention one she got after being under Con’s deep, dark gaze—she picked up the phone again and continued where she left off.

As usual when Sophie got involved in a project, she jumped in feet first. At one point, she was aware of Con setting food in front of her.

“Sophie.”

“Hmm?”

“You have to eat.”

“What?”

“You need to eat.”

She waved a hand to shoo him away. She was so close to uncovering something—she couldfeelit.

Con’s face flashed in front her eyes right before he took the phone away from her and replaced it with a fork.

She stared at the utensil, trying to understand what just happened. “You’re pretty bossy, you know that?”

He let out a low growl. “You don’t know how much restraint I’ve been exercising, Sophie. You didn’t sleep all night long. I should force you to bed.”

Her stomach fluttered with the memory of what little hours of sleep she’d had—plastered against Con’s hard body.

“You haven’t drunk or eaten anything since you’ve been here. I’ve seen what happens when people ignore their needs.”

His low, rough voice skittered over her senses.

Needs.

She ran her gaze over him. Now that she knew how those hard lips felt against hers, she saw them differently. Her fingers curled into her palms on the sensation of how his broad shoulders had moved under her touch.

She cleared her throat.

He straightened. “Your brain will work better with sleep and food.”

Seeing there was no point in arguing further, and knowing he was right about taking care of herself, she drew the plate offood toward her. The spiced lamb smelled delicious, as did the dish made of chickpeas and the flatbread. She took a nibble of the bread and found her appetite again.

She dug in with relish. Con took a seat adjacent to her and did the same. He polished off his food in no time and took over with the phone.

“The CIA found a new photo in the cloud.”

She bobbed her head in answer as she swallowed her bite. “I saw it.”

“What importance would a photo of Henry VIII have to our suspect?”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out. I mean, it could be part of the cipher.”

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