Page 54 of Operation Heartbeat

She dropped her hands and whirled to face him.

“You’re not ready.”

“I don’t have enough black.” She shot a look at her open suitcase on the bed. Clothes in neutral shades of brown, white and gray spilled out. “But I did download this.”

She hit play on a music track on her phone. The theme song to a James Bond moviefilled the room.

“Sophie.” His lips twitched. Then he strode to his own bag and pulled out a black garment. When he returned to her and held it out, she clasped the cloth, swearing to herself it was warm from his body even though he hadn’t even worn it.

“I’ll be just a minute.” She hurried into the bathroom and changed out of the Princeton shirt and into Con’s very large black T-shirt. The long sleeves hung off the tips of her fingers and the hem almost reached to her knees.

She tucked it into her trousers, but it only created a lumpy spare tire around her middle, so she knotted it in the back the way she’d seen her students do instead and rolled the sleeves.

When she stepped out of the bathroom, she met Con’s stare. “I’m ready.”

He gave her a once-over.

Feeling self-conscious, she smoothed her hands down her middle, and his gaze tracked the movement.

The way his eyes hooded had her insidesgripping. The last time he looked at her like that, she had two fingers buried in her pussy, showing him how she pleasured herself.

“The guys are waiting.”

She eyed him. “You’re sure I can go with you?”

“Yes,” he said with a brusque edge as he led the way to the hotel room door.

Following close behind, she battled with her nerves at being asked to join him and the team for this special visit to the shipping agent. She asked Con twice why he was asking her to go along rather than just leaving her in the room, but he only gave her a few indiscernible noises.

Once they were alone in the corridor, she finally let the smile she’d been holding back take over her face.

“What’s that for?”

“I’m enjoying this. It’s stimulating. The life of a professor isn’t so exciting.”

Con studied her for a beat too long. “It doesn’t surprise me that you enjoy this sort of thing.”

“How do you know?”

“Because the way to you is through your mind.”

The breath shoved from her lungs. Surprise floated through every inch of her body. Not even her ex had figured that out. If Benjamin wasn’t the smartest person in the room, he took offense. In those early years together, Sophie had actually dumbed herself down to let him have the spotlight. Then she realized that was stupid—if Benjamin couldn’t be an adult and let her share the spotlight sometimes, that was his problem.

The next few minutes were pretty exciting by the standards of a woman who went to bed early with a book. The city at night was stunning. Con’s team was full of jokes when they could be and serious when they had to be.

Even so, by the time they stopped on a dock and Con ushered her into a boat, Sophie’s stomach fizzled with a mix of nerves and excitement. The water was a ripple of small waves created by other crafts. She gripped the side and watched the lights twinkle and streak on the surface depending on how rough the water was.

At her side, Con stood like a strong sentinel. His mere presence gave her a measure of calm. With him, she felt safe. With him, she knew nothing would happen to her.

The boat engine slowed. Black shapes came into view, and she realized they were approaching a dock.

Beyond it was the dark outline of a very impressive villa. The expansive home had a few lights on outside—their only greeting. Or so she thought. Once Con assisted her off the vessel, she spotted two men standing on the dock.

One introduced himself as Mr. Deniz’s servant. The other was his personal bodyguard.

Sophie’s stomach fluttered with a fresh hatching of butterflies.

While the members of Con’s team stood on the dock with them, the servant addressed Con. “This way, sir.”

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