"That�s a pretty hefty confession," Sean said, as his tongue traced Carmen�s jawline.
"One of my better accomplishments," she replied, through short, ragged breaths. She hadn�t felt this
way about a man since her secret lover, many years ago. She and Ben had shared a nice passion, but this
man, Sean Scanton, lit fires inside her that she didn�t know existed.
"And just how did you accomplish that?" Sean ask, sneakily sliding his hand from her waist down across
her hips. Mobster or not, this was one sexy lady, and for this one night, he was determined to forget about
who she was, and have his way with her.
A low moan escaped Carmen�s lips, and though she heard it, she had no idea from what place inside her it had
originated. Her body was hot, and yearned for the union that she could almost taste with this man. She
would tell him whatever she had to, if it would convince him to make love to her.
"I was returning a favor," she said, as she pressed her body hard against him. "Edmund assisted me with
this very profitable baby venture, and in return, I helped get rid of the only thing standing in the way
of him taking Richard�s throne." Her heart was racing, and for the first time in her life, she
surrendered control to a man.
Sean knew that Carmen was a lady who was used to being in control, in the board room, and in the bedroom.
But this time, she was going to submit, and he would take her places that no man ever had.
She began to slide her hands over his chest, feeling the sturdiness of his muscles beneath the thin tee
shirt. As Sean began to give in to the feeling of Carmen�s hands on him, he remembered the recording
device in his jacket pocket.
"Dammit," Dietz grumbled to himself. "I knew that woman�s hormones would get us into hot water."
Dietz was watching Carmen and Sean from a far corner of the restaurant. Finally, as what was about to
happen between the two of them became obvious, Dietz could stand it no longer, and began walking toward
them. He was appalled both because of his feelings for Carmen, and because of her lack of judgment in
this very serious matter. Sure, he�d given Danny the go ahead to sneak through the Santos house during
their absence, but that was for Danny�s own peace of mind, not to hurt Carmen. And he would be damned if
he was going to let some pretty island boy ruin what he and Carmen had built over the years.
"I think we�d better retire for the evening," Dietz said, as he reached the would-be lovers.
Carmen was visibly shaken, and though Sean�s libido was stopped cold in its tracks, he silently breathed a
sigh of relief that Carmen had not discovered the listening device in his jacket.
"Dietz," Carmen said, trying to collect herself, "Mr. Scanton and I were enjoying each other�s company."
Dietz just smirked. He knew that Carmen knew he was right. An indiscretion like this one could have very
long lasting effects.
"It�s alright, Carmen," Sean said, taking her hand in his. "I�ll meet you here for breakfast in the
morning."
And, in a second, he was gone. Carmen�s expression did little to hide her disappointment from Dietz, but
she could not argue with him. She�d learned a long time ago that it wasn�t a good idea to mix business
with pleasure.
Quietly, she and Dietz made their way back to their hotel rooms, and Carmen nursed her wounds in a hot
shower, all the while fantasizing about what could have been.
As Sean steered his jeep through the island, he listened to the recording. It was perfect, and
Richard and Reva would be pleased. Now they had the evidence they needed to prove that Carmen had
conspired with Edmund to get rid of Jonathan.
He was baffled however, by the paradox of who Carmen Santos really was. Knowing that she had headed a baby
black market in San Cristobel and the states, caused him to think that she was a nasty, deceitful human
being, and in one way he believed that to be true. But Carmen had another side to her, a sad side, one
that he doubted many people ever saw. What happened to this woman to make her so incredibly cold and
unfeeling? And though he would�ve like to have helped her learn to feel again, he couldn�t help but be
thankful that Dietz had shown up when he did.