It was the name of the game. To get what she wanted, Maria knew she was going to have to play the role of temptress. She would have to be Michael's siren. His enchantress. She was going to have to make him an offer he could not refuse.

*****

For the most part, the car ride had been quiet; usually a foreign concept when these two were in the same room. Both Michael and Maria had discovered that they were in no mood to argue with each other so they thought quietly to themselves.

Michael spent his time trying to push aside the growing ball of anxiety in his stomach. He hadn't really thought that this trip with her would affect his control. He had been doing really well lately, lying to even himself about his feelings for Maria, but six hours in a car with her, and that control was rapidly diminishing. Just listening to the sound of her breathing was pure torture at this point. But it wasn't the loss of control that had him so worried as much as what lay ahead. His worries concerned being alone with her in a hotel room all night long. He tried to tell himself that it would be no different than when they had gone to Marathon, but he knew he was kidding himself. So many things had changed between them since then. They had at one time developed a certain familiarity with each other . *Double beds are going to be a necessity,* he thought to himself.

Maria had spent a good deal of the remainder of the car ride mapping out a seemingly flawless plan. She knew it was going to take major guts on her part, that she was going to have to be bold, but she was fully prepared to sacrifice her dignity, her pride even, to lure him back into her arms.

*****

They had arrived in Flagstaff, a city just forty miles north of Sedona, at a little past 9 a.m. The clerk at the last gas station had suggested that they find lodging in Flagstaff, and drive down to Sedona when they were ready. He gave them directions to a back road which he stated had much better scenery than the interstate, and swore they would absolutely love driving down it.

They checked into a hotel on the west side of town, adjacent to Northern Arizona University. While registering at the front desk, they learned that Flagstaff was mainly a college town, as well as a tourist city because Route 66 ran directly through the majority of the city, and because it was just a few miles away from Snowbowl where there was great skiing and snowboarding on the San Francisco Peaks

Because of the snow on the mountains, Flagstaff hotels were mostly full. The only room they could get had a single bed. Maria was secretly delighted with this new development - it would make going through with her plan a little less difficult. Michael on the other hand, found himself silently groaning. *This is not good,* he thought. *There is soo not good.*

After check in, they dragged Maria's bags up the stairs that led to their second story room. The room itself was nice. Much nicer than the nookie motel on 285 south. The bed was a large California King, and was covered with a comforter that was southwestern in design. There was a full- sized couch in one corner, similar in design to the comforter. The bathroom was extremely large, and it had an large Jacuzzi-style tub.

"I need to get some sleep," Michael said, yawning. "I don't think I could stay awake for another minute."

"Yeah, sleep. Sleep sounds really good..great in fact. We should do that," Maria said rambling, trying to fill the impregnable silence in the room.

"Did you want me to take the couch?" he asked looking unsure.

Maria felt the corner of her lips turn up and she said, "No, we can share the bed. It's definitely big enough for the both of us."

"Uh, okay. Thanks." Michael took off his shoes and removed his shirt, then pulled the covers back from the head board and climbed in the bed. He laid on his side, facing away from her. "Maria?"

"Yeah?" she answered, as she rifled through her bag in search of something suitable to sleep in.

"Sleep tight."

Maria smiled. "You too, Michael." She pulled a pair of white, ribbed, cotton boxers with a matching v- neck t-shirt out of her bag and made her way to the bathroom to change.

Once dressed, she stopped to take a good look at herself in the mirror. She looked like hell. Her eyes were slightly unfocused and red from lack of sleep, and her hair was matted and in total disarray. But that was okay. She would take care of that after she woke up. It was all part of her plan.