Thanks for the reviews. They really do help to keep me motivated. I hope that you all like this chapter. I know that I do. Enjoy!

Where to now?

Much later they were lying in bed together still entwined with one another. Ryan knew that any possibility of them going out for dinner had evaporated as soon as she had joined him in the shower. There was no way that he could resist her. And she knew it. He'd like to think that the reason she had joined him was because she had not been able to resist him but he thought it more likely that she'd just decided to work her magic on him to stop them from having to go out. And she had pulled him in just like the spider to the fly.

But it was now the fly's turn. He needed to get them out of bed and on to neutral territory so that he could talk to her. She held all the power between the sheets. He knew that any talk he started in the bed would probably end up unfinished as they became more interested in the physical effects they had on one another. He ran his fingers gently through her hair and said. "You may have stopped us from going out but we still need to eat. Otherwise I won't be able to keep up with you next time you want your way with me."

"Well we can't have you not 'keeping up'" Marissa replied. She turned to him and smiled. "How about we go and see what we can find in the kitchen? I could always make some of my famous mac and cheese." She suggested.

"Right now, that sounds pretty good." He responded sliding out of bed and pulling on some boxers. As he went to grab a t-shirt Marissa stopped him.

"You're not cold are you?" she asked.

"No. You've definitely had me in quite a sweat. Why?" he replied.

"I rather like the idea of a topless you at dinner." She replied.

Ryan smiled. "And what do I get in return?" he asked.

Marissa thought for a moment and then got out of bed and picked up his business shirt from the floor where he had dropped it on the way into the shower. She put it on and just did up one button in the middle. "How about a pantie less me." she suggested as she walked out the door.

Ryan smiled. The spider was trying to wrest back control. And try as he might he knew he was in trouble as he followed her out the door to the kitchen. But the thought of a nearly naked Marissa making him dinner as she moved around his kitchen was more than he could resist.

They'd talk after dinner.

---

Ryan insisted that they ate their mac and cheese at the dining room table. Even going to the trouble of lighting some candles for them to eat by. Marissa had been keen to eat in front of the TV, hoping to keep things casual. She told Ryan that there was something on TV that she didn't want to miss but he just offered to record it for her so she could watch it later. He knew that if she was in front of the TV then getting her to talk would be that much harder.

As soon as they'd finished eating Marissa stood up and went to clear the table but as she reached for Ryan's plate he took her hand and stopped her. "There's no hurry. Why don't you sit back down?" he suggested as he looked for a way to bring up what was on his mind.

Marissa was scared. She knew that look in Ryan's eye and she didn't like it. He wanted to 'talk' and not just about the weather and that was something that she wasn't ready for. She had no answers for him. Hell, she had no answers for herself. She quickly painted a smile on her face. "I'll sit back down …. but only if I can sit on you." she said sexily and quickly undid the single button that was holding Ryan's shirt together so that it fell open. She sat on his lap and instantly started to grind in to him. She smiled as she watched his eyes move from her face down to her breasts and she felt his body start to respond to her movements. She was sure that she could get him to forget about whatever was on his mind and steer him to more pleasant activities. But for once she was wrong.

Ryan took a long hard look at her beautiful breasts and then moved his hands towards them as Marissa held her breathe, waiting to feel his touch upon her when Ryan pulled the shirt closed and did up a few buttons.

Marissa hesitated for a moment and then continued to grind in to him. She knew that a certain part of his body was definitely interested in something other than talking and she knew just how to …

But Ryan's hands moved to her hips and held them firmly to stop her movement.

Marissa looked at him; her expression resembled that of a rabbit caught in the cross hairs.

"We've got a few things to talk about and there's no time like the present to do it. We need to sort this all out and it's not going to happen on its own." Ryan said trying to make it clear that he wasn't going to be distracted again.

Marissa looked at him trying desperately to find a way to delay the discussion. "What do we need to talk about?"

"You know what." Ryan stated simply.

Marissa shook her head.

"What are you doing?" Ryan asked.

"I was going to clean up and do the dishes but you stopped me." Marissa replied

"I don't mean that. I mean with your life?" Ryan asked.

Marissa didn't know how to respond so she bit back. "What are you suggesting? That I don't know what to do with it or that you don't approve of what I am doing with it?"

Ryan shook his head. How had this gone so wrong so quickly? He took her by the hand and walked into the lounge to sit on the sofa with her. If she was going to get upset then he wanted to be able to hold her and stop her from pulling away from him. Whenever she was scared or unsure of things, she would lash out and then get all defensive … he didn't want that to happen. Surely she understood that things couldn't go on as they had been. He tried to think of a way of raising the problem with her that she wouldn't take offence at. Once they were settled he linked his fingers with hers and said simply "What are you doing tomorrow?"

Marissa was surprised by his question. This wasn't the conversation she was expecting. "Nothing. Why?" She figured that maybe he had something planned.

"And the next day?" Ryan asked.

Marissa looked at him she knew the answer was the same so she chose not to answer at all.

Ryan took her silence for the answer that it was. "And the next day?" Ryan added. He waited until his words had sunk in. "Ris … it's no way to live your life … sitting here everyday."

"What do you want me to do? Go out and find a job? Are you sick of looking after me? Or do you just want me to go back to Europe to the jobs I do have. Then you can be rid of me all together." she said as she could feel the tears well in her eyes threatening to fall.

Ryan put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her in to him. "That's the last thing I want." He replied simply. "You know I wouldn't care if you never worked again. But I do want you to be happy. And your not."

---

Ryan knew that she was upset with him and he braced himself for what would come next.

Marissa was now angry and defensive. "So you want me to be happy do you? Well you can't imagine that I'll be happy away from you?" she stated tersely. "Wanting to be with you is the only thing that I am sure of."

Ryan was shocked. That wasn't at all what he had been expecting from her. As her words hit him and he ran them through his mind once again, checking that he hadn't misunderstood, a small smile crept across his face. "That's probably the nicest thing you have ever said to me."

Marissa was taken aback. She hadn't really thought about it. She was angry with him for forcing this 'talk' upon her and the words had just come out. But it was true. Of all the things that had been going through her mind ever since Emily had left, that was the one thing that she was sure of. As it sunk in, she couldn't help but return his smile. "Yeah well don't let it go to your head."

"What about the opposite end of my torso?" he teased.

"Hey I already tried that but I got knocked back." She said.

"Not knocked back. Just delayed … postponed. You can have your way with me as soon as we go back to bed."

"Maybe I didn't want to do it in bed?" Marissa teased.

Ryan looked at her his eyebrows raised as he tried to imagine just what she had in mind. "You know I'm always up for something new."

"Promises, promises." She retorted. The tension between them had dissolved magically.

"Yeah they are." He kissed her lightly. "But now that we've sorted that much out, what next?"

Marissa shrugged. She knew that their light hearted banter was over and it was back to the serious issues at hand. "That's just it, I don't know." She shook her head. "I don't know what I should be doing." She looked at Ryan and continued. "Or what I want to be doing … I barely know what I am doing. Actually let me correct that … I don't know what I'm doing." She said.

Ryan nodded. "I think you need to split this up. Don't try to figure it all out at once."

"What do you mean?" Marissa asked.

"Well, I guess, in light of your earlier declaration that you do want to be with me …" Ryan couldn't help but smile.

"Don't push it buddy, I could always change my mind." Marissa added, a smile on her face, knowing full well that there was no way that she could or would change her mind. She hoped to feel the same way forever.

Ryan smiled and pulled her closer. "and the fact that I want to be with you … "

"You do?" Marissa asked feigning surprise.

"Uh huh. So it means …" Ryan started.

"That I need to pack up and move." Marissa finished for him.

Ryan looked at her, unsure if he was asking too much. "Do you mind? If you really don't want to, then I could try to scale things down here and maybe I could commute back and forth for a couple of weeks every month and …"

Marissa put a finger on his mouth stopping him. "I didn't like it when you were commuting from LA to Newport, I don't think that LA to Paris would work at all. And anyhow, I can model anywhere." She shrugged. "Sure the biggest and best designers are over there. But it's not as if LA is a complete backwater." She smiled. "And anyhow I'm not even sure if I want to keep modelling. I guess I will in the short term but maybe I could try something else."

"I think that's a great idea…. But that's what I was trying to say about don't try to figure it all out at once. Let's get the move over and done with first and then when you are settled you can have a look around at what you might want to do. I think you have just been trying to sort everything out all at once and it was just too difficult." He suggested.

"Okay oh wise one. So what's next?" she asked realising that she did feel better about things knowing that she could take it one step at a time. Everything started to fall into place and before he could reply she added. "I guess that I should go back to Europe and finish up my work over there and then look into either selling my apartment or leasing it. But it means that I will be away for a while and I really don't want to leave you."

"How long do you think you will need to get everything finished off over there?" Ryan asked.

"If I give the photographers some notice so that I can have the jobs all lined up one after another then I should be able to get all the shoots done in a couple of weeks and then maybe another week to sort out my apartment. So about 3 weeks. Do you think I should sell it or lease it?" she asked.

"I think that we'll decide that when we get there." Ryan said.

Marissa did a double take. "Did you say WE?"

Ryan smiled. "As long as you can wait a couple of weeks, then yes … WE. I have a conference in Las Vegas the weekend after next that I am the keynote speaker for, so I have to be here for that. But if I spend my time up to then, working my butt off then somehow or other after that, I will come with you for 3 whole weeks." he said, a grin plastered on his face as he looked at the delighted expression on her face.

Marissa felt like her heart would explode she was so happy. She started to kiss him as he tried to keep talking.

"I mean … I have a laptop … and a phone." He said between kisses, each one getting longer and more passionate, her tongue darting in and out of his mouth as her hands moved over his body. "I can … telecommute. … How hard …can it be?" he got out between kisses.

Marissa moved her hand to his boxers. "It seems very hard to me." She replied as she moved to sit astride him.