Striker

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 tongue 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 kitbag, 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, closing 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 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 to carry on? Give yourself a few more minutes and you might just get a touch more insulting.’

‘You know what I mean, Amber.’

‘I’m not sure I do, actually. Look, I really think he’s changed, Ronnie.’

‘Jesus, come on, Amber. What do you think you are? Some kind of miracle cure? You’re better than that. The likes of Ryan Fisher don’t change, it isn’t in him.’

‘Well, maybe people like you should try and give him a chance. Stop being so judgemental.’

Ronnie narrowed his eyes, looking at her as though he couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. ‘Okay. You’re scaring me now. What’s caused this sudden turn-around in your opinion of one of football’s most arrogant pricks? A couple of dinner-dates and suddenly you think he’s a saint?’

‘Maybe I’ve just learnt not to judge a book by its cover.’

‘Yeah, but it’s not just the cover, though, is it, Amber? It’s backed up by everything that’s inside, too.’

Amber swung back around on her chair and started shutting down her laptop. She was tired and she needed to get home quickly tonight, shower, change, and then get herself over to the Tynebridge Stadium where she was covering a charity dinner for News North East that Newcastle Red Star were throwing. And it may be a night of working that lay ahead, but she still had to look good.

‘Look, Ronnie, it’s just a bit of fun, alright? And, if you remember, it was you who told me I should be having more of that.’

‘Yeah, but I don’t remember telling you to have it with Ryan Fisher.’

Amber smiled at Ronnie as she closed the lid of her laptop and stood up, slipping her coat on and grabbing her bag up off the floor. ‘You jealous?’

‘As if,’ Ronnie smirked, following her as she walked towards the lift that took them down to the underground car park. ‘You’re in a bit of a hurry, aren’t you?’

‘That’s because I’m in a rush. I’ve got to get home, shower, find something glamorous to wear and get my arse down to Tynebridge for seven-thirty. Kevin’s got me covering this charity dinner the club are throwing tonight.’

‘Oh, right. I’m off there, too. Quite a few ex-Red Star players are going to be there, so I gather. Your dad’s going, isn’t he?’

‘Yeah, he is,’ Amber replied, stepping into the lift, closely followed by Ronnie. ‘I wondered why you were back up north again.’

‘Well, somebody’s got to keep an eye on you, obviously,’ Ronnie winked, sticking his hands in his pockets as he leaned back against the wall. ‘So what’s your dad think about you getting involved with Ryan Fisher?’

‘He doesn’t know, yet,’ Amber said, standing by the lift doors as they opened slowly, stepping out into the underground car park, her heels click-clacking across the concrete floor as she walked quickly towards her car.

‘Christ, what have you and Fisher been doing all this time? Non-stop sex and no dates anywhere public?’

‘Pretty much, yeah,’ Amber smirked, flinging her bag into the passenger seat of her little Fiat 500.

‘Are you kidding me? Jesus, I go away for a couple of weeks and you turn into some sex-crazed cougar.’

‘Cheeky sod!’ she laughed, playfully punching his arm. ‘Look, we just didn’t see the point in advertising the fact we’re together, okay? Especially when we don’t really know what’s happening yet.’

‘So, it’s nothing serious, then?’

Amber leaned back against her car, folding her arms. ‘No, Ronnie. It’s definitely nothing serious.’

He stood beside her, copying her stance. ‘Good.’

Amber looked at him. ‘Why do you say that?’

‘Because this is Ryan Fisher we’re talking about here. Remember? And I care about you. I don’t want to see you get hurt.’

‘He won’t hurt me.’

‘Won’t he?’

She fixed Ronnie with a determined stare. ‘No. He won’t.’

Ronnie looked out across the cold and unfeeling car park, his arms still folded across his chest. ‘What about tonight?’

‘What about it?’ Amber asked, looking at her watch. She really was going to have to make a move in a minute or she’d never be ready in time.

‘Are you and Ryan going to spend the entire night avoiding each other so as not to let the cat out of the bag, so to speak?’

Amber shrugged, stepping away from the car and opening the driver-side door. ‘I guess we’ll just have to play that one by ear, won’t we?’

‘Whoa! Freddie Sullivan’s little girl really has grown-up, hasn’t she?’

Amber swung round, finding herself face-to-face with Newcastle Red Star’s new boss, Jim Allen. She’d successfully managed to avoid him for a few weeks now, but it looked like that had been nothing but a minor stay of execution. Although, if she thought she could get away with it, she’d turn and run straight to the Cooper Suite – where the dinner was being held – and forget this had ever happened.

The way his eyes looked her slowly up and down in the knee-length black sheath dress and matching stiletto-heeled ankle boots she was wearing made her feel more than a little uncomfortable, but, short of turning her back on him and walking in a completely different direction to where she needed to be, she had no choice but to speak to him. Even though it was the last thing she really wanted to do.

‘I’m thirty-seven, Jim. I grew up a long time ago. I had to. And you more than anyone should know that.’

There. It was done. She’d seen him, she’d spoken to him, that was enough. But as she turned to go he gently grabbed her arm, swinging her round to face him. ‘You look beautiful, Amber.’

Amber could feel her cheeks flush, her heart picking up the pace as far as beats were concerned. This wasn’t how she’d wanted the night to start. She had work to do, she didn’t need this.

‘I’m working, Jim.’

He reached out and touched her face, the palm of his hand resting lightly on her warm cheek as his green eyes looked right into hers. ‘It really is so good to see you…’

‘I don’t need this…’ She tried to walk away from him but he somehow managed to grab her hand, giving her no other option but to stop and face him again.

‘I’ve signed a four-year contract, honey, and considering your line of work, it’s gonna be pretty damn hard for you to avoid me forever.’

She stared into his eyes, wishing this wasn’t happening but knowing it had only been a matter of time. The second she’d heard Newcastle Red Star had appointed him as their new manager she’d known this day would come. She’d known she was going to have to face him again, after years of trying to forget he even existed. ‘And this… this relationship we have… We need to do something about that, don’t we?’

‘We don’t have a “relationship”, Jim.’

He smiled at her, that full-on, all-American smile that had made him one of the most lusted-after football managers by bored housewives and female football fans alike. To describe him as a good-looking son-of-a-bitch wouldn’t be too far from the truth, but Amber had messed with Jim Allen one time too many. And been hurt badly in the process. ‘Now, y’see, I don’t agree with you there, Amber. I think we have what people might call a “special” relationship, don’t you? Jesus, sweetheart, you are taking my breath away in that dress. I guess my baby girl really did grow up into a beautiful young woman.’

Amber felt her stomach turn, a sick feeling taking over. ‘I’m not your “baby girl”, Jim. Not anymore. And you don’t get to do this to me again, okay? You don’t…’

A door opening at the far end of the corridor made them jump apart, and Amber took that as her cue to walk away from him, her heart still thumping so hard inside her chest it hurt. She felt breathless, the need to compose herself before she entered the Cooper Suite a necessity now. So, taking a few long, deep breaths as she approached the huge double doors that led into the suite, she shook out her dark red hair, closed her eyes for a second just to make sure she was focused, and then made her way into the room.

It was crowded, and she craned her neck to see if she could find Ronnie, or her dad, or even Ryan, but she couldn’t see any of them. Not yet, anyway. So, moving away from the doors, she made her way to the bar, ordering herself a small glass of red wine. She was working, so it was minimum alcohol tonight. Unfortunately. Because that encounter with Jim Allen had shaken her slightly. Now that he was back up north she could feel that panic she’d tried to suppress for all those years well up inside her again; panic that people would find out just what had gone on, that her father would one day discover the truth. And she really didn’t want that to happen. He didn’t need to know, nobody did. It was enough that she had to live with the constant memories every time she saw him; she didn’t want her father to have to cope with that, too. Jim was a friend, a good friend of her dad’s. He had been for a long, long time. Although, if Freddie Sullivan knew exactly what had happened between Jim Allen and his daughter, he may not think he was such a good friend after all.

‘You look as though you need that.’

Amber swung round, a smile instantly lighting up her face when she saw him standing there, handsome and sexy in a dark grey suit and white shirt. The memories of the lunchtime sex they’d had at his flat just a few hours ago – the last time she’d seen him – made her stomach flip over and dance those ridiculous somersaults it seemed to dance every time he was around now, but that was good. She could cope with Jim Allen tonight knowing Ryan was around. Knowing she could go back to his place after all this was over and forget what had just happened.

‘Yeah. It’s a pity I’m here to work, though.’

‘Not all night, surely?’ Ryan asked, leaning back against the bar, his hands in his pockets.

‘Well, I think I’m allowed to have a little bit of fun,’ Amber smiled, sipping her wine. ‘Look, I know you don’t want anyone to know about us…’

‘I never said that, Amber. Did I?’ Ryan looked her straight in the eye and she felt a little shiver run right up her spine.