Striker (Book 1 in the 'Striker' Trilogy)

by Michelle Betham

  ‘I was at the bar,’ he went on, his hands in his pockets, a smile on his handsome face. She couldn’t help noticing how sexy that beard of his really was. He suited it. It made her think of a young George Best in his hey day, and then she couldn’t help hoping that he didn’t resemble him in other ways, too. Because she’d heard the stories, listened to the rumours. ‘Do you want a drink before we get settled at our table?’

  ‘Please,’ Amber smiled, positive she was breaking out in some kind of hot flush. She was only eleven years older than him but she felt like some kind of Mrs. Robinson figure. She felt as if all eyes were on her, which they probably weren’t. But they could quite possibly all be on Ryan. ‘And make it a large one.’

  Ryan laughed a deep, almost rough-edged laugh that made Amber’s skin break out in a zillion goose bumps. Was there anything this man did that wasn’t sexy? ‘That kind of day, huh?’

  She looked at him as they walked over to the dimly-lit but cosy bar area, the low lighting making him look younger than his twenty-six years. She could only hope it was as kind to her. ‘Not really. I’m just nervous. There, I’ve said it. I’ll have a white wine, please.’

  ‘Okay. Coming up,’ he said, smiling slightly as he turned to order their drinks. ‘So,’ he went on, turning back to face her, ‘… want to know something? I’m nervous, too.’

  ‘Really?’ Amber asked, unable to hide the slightly cynical tone in her voice. She did, however, hope that he meant it and he wasn’t just saying it to make her feel better. Although, even that would be a really kind thing for him to do. Hang on, had she just described Ryan Fisher as “kind” there?

  ‘Yeah, really,’ Ryan replied, handing her a large glass of white wine. ‘Even arrogant, self-centred bastards can get nervous sometimes.’

  She took a sip of wine, keeping her eyes on his on all the time. ‘I still find that so hard to believe. Come on, Ryan, you can’t blame me. There’s hardly a week goes by when you’re not in some gossip magazine or showbiz section of some newspaper or other with something that falls into the category of Z-List celebrity hanging off your arm. There was a time when footballers only used to feature on the back pages of newspapers.’

  ‘You’re not in the least bit cynical, then?’ he asked, although it was purely a rhetorical question. Boy, it was going to be a long haul to get this one on side. She was going to be hard work, but something was telling Ryan she’d be worth it. He hadn’t realised how exciting a bit of a challenge would be until he’d met Amber Sullivan. And maybe she was just what he needed right now – someone to take his mind off everything else.

  ‘Cynical? Me?’ Amber smiled, taking another sip of wine. ‘As if.’

  Ryan smiled, too, holding out his hand. ‘Shall we sit down?’

  Amber nodded, slipping her hand into his, her stomach turning a tiny somersault as his fingers curled around hers. It had been a long time since she’d experienced those somersaults, those little stomach flips that told you something exciting might be about to happen. But, as Amber was the eternal pessimist, she never let herself get carried away with those feelings. And she had to remember who she was dealing with here.

  ‘So, the lure of the post-home-win-celebrations with some of the lads wasn’t grabbing you, huh?’ Amber asked, resting her chin in her hand as she looked at him across the candle-lit table.

  Ryan shrugged, giving her that famous smile of his again. ‘I fancied a change.’

  ‘Oh, so that’s what I am, then? A change. I see…’

  ‘I didn’t mean it like that…’

  ‘I know you didn’t,’ Amber smiled. ‘I just wanted to see how genuine you are.’

  ‘Are you gonna constantly test me like this?’

  Amber shrugged. ‘Probably. It takes a lot for me to trust somebody, Ryan. I’ve been around sportsmen too long, believe me. I know what a lot of you are like.’

  He leaned forward, keeping his eyes on hers, not willing to break the stare. ‘Do you, though? Do you really? You said yourself you’ve kept away from relationships with footballers in particular, so, if that’s the case, then you only know what you see on the surface – what you read about, what you hear them talking about, and believe me, Amber, there are a few of them out there who like to furnish the truth quite a bit. So, you see, you only think you know what we’re like. You don’t actually know anything.’

  ‘Don’t I?’

  He shook his head. ‘No. You don’t.’

  ‘How do you know that, huh? You don’t really know anything about me, so, how do you know that?’

  ‘Because, bar your relationship with Ronnie White, you’ve never let yourself get close enough. At least, that’s what you’re leading me to assume. So, what you think you know only scratches the surface in reality, doesn’t it?’

  ‘You really are arrogance personified, aren’t you?’

  ‘Look, Amber, all I’m saying is that if you, maybe, stopped being so cynical, tore down those barriers you seem to have built around yourself and just let someone in, you might actually find something there that could change your mind. If you’re willing to give them a chance.’

  She wanted to give him a chance. She’d told Ronnie as much, and there was no doubt that she was attracted to him. But she’d spent so long backing away from relationships and concentrating on her career that she didn’t really know what to do next. Or how to handle it all. How the hell did you handle a relationship with somebody like Ryan Fisher? And is that what they were talking about here – a relationship? Is that what was happening? Is that what she wanted? What he wanted?

  ‘I can pull ‘em down, if you like,’ Ryan said, giving her that grin of his.

  She couldn’t help smiling back. ‘Pull what down, exactly?’

  He sat back, adopting a more-than-casual stance. Cocky, even. But that was just the way he was. The way he chose to showcase himself. And she figured she was just going to have to learn to deal with it if she really wanted to get closer to him.

  ‘Those barriers of yours,’ he smirked, causing Amber to laugh out loud, against her better judgement. ‘There you go. You’re not such an ice-queen after all, are you?’

  ‘Jesus, is that how I really come across?’ Amber asked, smiling her thanks at the wine waiter as he topped up her half-empty glass.

  ‘Sometimes. But, hey, you just need warming up a bit.’

  ‘Reel it in, will you, Ryan. I get it, okay?’

  He looked at her through slightly narrowed eyes. It was all a front as far as he was concerned, this ice-queen image. She was using it as some kind of shield to hide behind, and he should know. ‘I just want to get to know you, Amber. Is that such a bad thing?’

  She shook her head, finally allowing herself to feel comfortable with him, although the drink could be helping on that score. But a little bit of help never hurt, did it?

  ‘No. It’s not a bad thing at all.’

  ‘Okay. Then, let’s start again, shall we? My name’s Ryan, and I’m pleased to meet you.’

  She couldn’t help smiling at him as she felt herself relax. ‘Pleased to meet you, too, Ryan. I’m Amber.’

  ‘Well hello, Amber.’ He leaned forward, clasping his hands together on the table in front of him. ‘I think you and I are gonna get along just fine, don’t you?’

  She leaned forward, too, copying his stance, looking into those deep, almost navy-blue eyes of his. And she had absolutely no reason to argue with that.

  Chapter Seven

  ‘You’re my secret weapon,’ Ryan whispered, his lips close to her ear as he pushed her over onto her back, parting her legs with his knee. ‘My very own lucky charm.’

  Amber laughed out loud, throwing her head back as she wrapped her legs around him, the prospect of a few more minutes in bed so much more appealing than another day at the Sports Desk over at News North East. But she was going to have to make a move some time soon, whether she liked it or not. ‘Hmm…’ she groaned, stretching languidly as his mouth covered one of her breasts, his tongu
e flicking across her naked skin, his rough beard tickling her slightly, which only heightened the shivers that were shooting right through her. ‘I think you might be right. I’m certainly feeling lucky right now.’

  He looked at her, those deep-blue eyes of his showing no signs of the little sleep they’d had the night before, whereas Amber was almost dreading looking in the mirror when she finally managed to summon up the enthusiasm to get out of bed.

  ‘Since I met you, Ms. Sullivan, I’ve scored in every single match I’ve played in, won ‘Man of the Match’ three times, and am currently being lauded as a saint here on Tyneside. They are loving me, baby. Loving me. And you’ve done that.’ He quickly kissed her unsuspecting mouth, an action which Amber was growing to love more and more as each day around Ryan Fisher unfolded. He had the sexiest mouth, and one that could deliver everything from the lightest of touches to the deepest, most erotic kiss she’d ever experienced.

  She smiled up at him as he pulled away slightly, that familiar, almost boyish smirk on his handsome face. ‘Oh, come on, Ryan. I’m not sure I can take all the credit for your winning streak.’

  ‘Well, I can’t deny my incredible talent doesn’t have something to do with it.’

  Amber grabbed a pillow and hit him with it, squealing loudly as he grappled the pillow from her hands, pulling her up into his arms.

  ‘Hey, you don’t want to be injuring this sporting legend now, do you?’ he smirked, his arms falling around her waist as she sat astride him.

  ‘If I really wanted to injure you, you egotistical pig, I could think of far more interesting ways of doing it.’

  ‘Oh yeah?’ he asked, arching an eyebrow.

  ‘Yeah,’ she smiled, closing her eyes and groaning quietly as his mouth once again covered one of her breasts, his tongue sending a million tiny electric shocks coursing through her all at once. ‘Jesus, Ryan, come on. I’m going to be late for work.’

  He pushed her back onto the bed again, his hands holding onto her wrists as he pulled her arms up above her head, pinning her down, pushing his way inside her before she had any more chances to protest.

  ‘Ryan!’ Amber moaned, half of her angry at him for giving her no choice here, and the other half excited that the early morning sex wasn’t quite over yet. She was sure she could smooth things over with Kevin if she did happen to be a little late into the office. ‘You’re such a bastard!’

  ‘But an incredibly sexy one, huh?’ he grinned, holding tightly onto her wrists as he pushed in deeper, feeling her respond with a thrust of her hips and another long moan.

  ‘Yeah, alright, I give in. I really am sleeping with God’s gift to the football pitch, aren’t I?’

  He gave a low, deep laugh and Amber couldn’t help but laugh, too. She’d tried so hard to fight this relationship with Ryan over the past few weeks, but it was a fight she’d lost in spectacular fashion. He’d reeled her in, and now she was hooked. And making no attempt to wriggle free. He was a breath of fresh air in her usually routine life. He was everything she needed, everything she’d wanted but had been too afraid to go out and get. He was a necessity, and he was becoming a fixture she didn’t really want to let go of just yet.

  ‘You are such an arrogant prick,’ Amber groaned, closing her eyes and falling back against the pillows as those final few post-sex shivers tingled their way up her body, leaving her slightly breathless but totally satisfied, and more than ready to go and face whatever it was that Kevin had in store for her today.

  ‘Yeah,’ Ryan sighed, rolling off her and sliding out of bed. As much as he loved being with Amber, he still wasn’t big on the post-sex cuddles. But it seemed she wasn’t all that bothered about them, either. She was fast turning into his perfect woman with that red-hot hair and a figure that was real, in the true sense of the word. Not one thing about Amber Sullivan was false, and she was just one of the many factors that contributed to the fact he was having the time of his life right now. His football was flawless, he was having the best sex he’d had in years, and all he had to do was make sure he kept those demons in check. And he was trying. He was. He was trying really hard. ‘But don’t tell me you don’t find that one hell of a turn-on.’

  Amber laughed again, throwing her head back as he ripped the covers away from her naked body before retreating into the en-suite, leaving her to stretch out on his ridiculously huge bed, taking in the view of the River Tyne from the floor-to-ceiling windows that lined one entire wall of Ryan’s bedroom.

  Smiling to herself she sat up and hugged her knees to her chest, still staring out at the early morning rush hour traffic streaming across the Tyne Bridge as the sun began to rise. The dark skies were slowly turning lighter and she knew she’d have to make a move soon. As much as she’d love to hang around in Ryan Fisher’s bed all day, she had work to do. More’s the pity.

  She was just fastening her watch onto her wrist when he walked up behind her, sliding his arms around her waist, his bearded chin resting on her shoulder. ‘You running away from me?’

  ‘I’ve got a proper job to go to,’ Amber half-smiled, turning her head slightly to kiss him quickly. ‘Unlike you, you part-timer.’

  ‘Ooh, fighting talk,’ Ryan laughed, squeezing her waist, making her giggle like some star-struck teenager. ‘Maybe you need to spend more time watching me train, huh? See exactly just what it is I do all day.’

  She turned round, slipping her arms around his neck as he pulled her against him. ‘I know what you do all day, Ryan. I was brought up around footballers, remember? Although, my dad swears blind you all get away with murder these days. He says in his day you wouldn’t have had it so easy.’

  ‘Oh, I see where you get that fighting talk from now, kiddo. Inherited from daddy, huh?’

  She just smiled, kissing him slowly, loving the feel of his half-naked body against her clothed one. She would be the envy of so many women if they knew just how close she’d become to this famous footballer, but for now their relationship was pretty much a secret. Not deliberately so, but they weren’t going out of their way to advertise the fact, either.

  ‘Don’t work too hard, okay?’ she winked, reluctantly pulling away from him and grabbing her bag from the chair by the door.

  ‘Am I gonna see you later?’ he asked, a question he wasn’t really used to asking. Usually he called the shots in whatever relationships he was involved in, but this was so different to anything he’d ever been involved in before. And he suddenly felt a little vulnerable. Another unusual feeling in Ryan Fisher’s world.

  ‘Yeah. If you want to,’ Amber replied, stopping briefly by the door.

  ‘I want to,’ he smirked, pulling the towel he was wearing from around his waist, giving Amber one last look at something else Ryan Fisher was famous for.

  ‘Then later it is,’ she winked, closing the bedroom door behind her.

  Ryan couldn’t help laughing, running a hand over the back of his neck as he looked down at the floor. She was good for him, Ms. Amber Sullivan. There was no doubt about that. Over the past few weeks he’d managed to break down some of those barriers she’d built up around herself and got to know the woman behind that ice-queen façade. Because that’s all it was. A façade. She was hiding from something, protecting herself from something and he didn’t know what, he wasn’t even sure he cared. He just knew that she was somebody he wanted to spend time with.

  Pulling on his jeans and a t-shirt, he bent down to pick up his kit bag, accidentally knocking a jacket off the back of the chair in the process. He turned round quickly as something fell out of the pocket, clattering to the floor, rolling underneath the sideboard. He crouched down, stretching his arm out to pick up the object that had rolled under there, sliding it out across the dark-wood floor. Standing up he leaned back against the sideboard, turning the rogue casino chip over and over in his fingers. It must’ve slipped into his pocket somehow the other night. Opening a drawer and quickly throwing it inside he slammed the drawer shut and leaned back against the wall, clos
ing his eyes for a second. He hadn’t wanted to go, he really hadn’t. And he shouldn’t have gone. Max would go spare if he found out, but he was still the new guy at the club and he didn’t want to isolate himself by turning down nights out with the other lads. He wanted to fit in, and as much as Ryan didn’t want to think about it he knew, deep down inside, that it was his desperate need to fit in that had caused all the shit in the past. But as far as Ryan was concerned, it wasn’t a step backwards. He’d been in control, he hadn’t done anything stupid. It wasn’t going to be like it had been before so there was no need to panic, no need for anyone’s concern. This time he was completely in control. This time it would be different.

  *

  ‘How’s it all going, then?’ Ronnie asked, folding his arms as he perched himself on the edge of Amber’s desk.

  She looked at him briefly before continuing to tap away on her keyboard. ‘How’s what all going?’

  ‘You and Ryan Fisher.’

  She swung her chair round to face him, crossing her legs and clasping her hands together in her lap. ‘Keep it down, will you? It isn’t public knowledge yet.’

  ‘Oh, I see. It’s a secret relationship then, is it?’

  ‘It’s not like that, Ronnie. We just don’t see the point in broadcasting it, that’s all.’

  Ronnie sniffed. ‘That’s unusual, for Ryan. Usually he’s first in the queue to be papped when he’s got a new piece of arm candy to show off.’

  Amber couldn’t help laughing. ‘Arm candy? Hardly, Ronnie.’

  ‘You’re not the usual type Ryan Fisher goes for, I have to say.’

  Amber looked at her best friend. ‘Do you want carry on? Give yourself a few more minutes and you might just get a touch more insulting.’