Authors: Michelle Betham
She shrugged again, looking away for a second. ‘I didn’t say that. I just want you to give him a chance, stop thinking of him as the same person he was before. And I don’t think making a decision to jump straight back into another relationship is wise on the day I’ve officially become a divorcée, do you?’
‘I hadn’t really thought about it. I mean, it’s not like you and Jim have been an item for a while now, is it?’
‘Yeah, thanks for reminding me about my short-lived marriage.’
‘Hey, come on. Come here.’ He pulled her into his arms, hugging her tight. ‘Me and my mouth. I knew it was a bad idea to have a whisky before dinner.’
She looked up at him, quickly kissing his mouth. ‘I do love you, Ronnie White.’
‘Just not in that way, huh?’ He smiled, and she returned it.
‘You couldn’t handle me. We’re too similar. We’re both too stubborn for starters.’
‘You got that right,’ Freddie Sullivan said, joining them at the table.
Amber smiled at her father, letting go of Ronnie and turning to hug Freddie.
‘You okay?’ Freddie asked quietly, and Amber nodded. He squeezed her waist and hugged her again. ‘Good. I hear Jim came to see you. This afternoon.’
‘Yeah. He did.’
‘And it went all right?’
‘Can we not talk about this tonight, Dad? Please? I’m trying really hard to put that chapter of my life behind me now because, in case you hadn’t noticed, there’s a new one just beginning.’
‘How could I forget my new grandson?’ Freddie grinned.
‘Have you seen the stuff he’s already bought for him?’ Ronnie said, pulling out Amber’s chair for her at the large round table they were seated at for this charity dinner. ‘That’s gonna be one spoilt little boy, I’m telling you.’
‘Ever the gentleman.’ Amber smiled at Ronnie as she sat down, him on one side of her, her father on the other. ‘And I’ve told you, Dad, I don’t want anyone buying anything for him yet. It’s too early.’
‘She’s gone all superstitious,’ Ronnie said, pouring Amber a glass of water.
‘No, I haven’t, I’m just being wary. He’s one very special baby, and I don’t want anything to go wrong with this pregnancy, that’s all.’
‘The only thing going wrong with this pregnancy is you constantly panicking over everything.’
‘I’m not panicking, Ronnie. I’m just being careful. And is this as exciting as it gets?’
‘What?’
‘Water. Is that all I’m allowed?’
‘You just said you were being careful.’
She stuck her tongue out at him, but he just grinned at her, quickly retrieving his phone as it rang from inside his jacket pocket. ‘Sorry, kiddo, got to get this. It’s the boss. Back in a bit.’
Amber turned to her dad, looking at him with wide eyes. ‘What?’
‘Can you not see how perfect you two are together?’
‘I’m not getting into this, Dad. Me and Ronnie are friends, and that’s all we’ll ever be.’
‘He could look after you and this baby, you know that, don’t you? And God knows I’d feel a whole lot better about everything if you two were together.’
‘Since when did I need looking after?’
‘You’ve been through a lot these past few months, Amber.’
‘And people have been through far worse.’
Freddie took a sip of wine, taking his daughter’s hand in his. ‘Are you and Ryan…? Are you getting back together?’
‘I don’t know, Dad. And that’s the honest truth. I feel something for him, I can’t deny that. And no, it isn’t just because of the baby, before you ask. There’s still something there, some attraction…’ She trailed off, sitting back and looking around the room. ‘I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m doing yet. Let’s just get today out of the way and then maybe I can start to think straight again.’
‘I just want you to be happy, Amber.’
She smiled at her dad. ‘I
am
happy. I can’t say I don’t wish things had been slightly different, but this little one in here has given me everything I need to be able to push my life forward. He’s going to change everything, and that can only be a good thing.’
‘Amber?’
She swung round in her seat to see Ryan standing behind her. ‘Oh, hi. We were just talking about you.’
He looked from Amber to Freddie, a slight smirk on his face. ‘Anything good? Or just the usual?’
Freddie looked at Ryan, ignoring his rather flippant remark. ‘You settling back in okay?’
‘It’s like I’ve never been away.’
‘Well, now you’re back, Newcastle Red Star have got a real chance of retaining that Premiership title. And that’s all that matters.’
Amber frowned at her father. Getting him to accept that Ryan was back in her life – in whatever capacity that turned out to be – was quite obviously going to be one hell of an uphill struggle, she could see that now.
‘Can I have a word, Amber?’ Ryan asked, his eyes looking right into hers.
‘Erm, yeah. Have we got time before dinner?’
‘It won’t take long.’ He held out his hand and Amber took it, letting him pull her up out of her seat. ‘Somewhere more private, if that’s okay?’
‘Yeah. Okay. I won’t be long, Dad.’
Freddie Sullivan just sniffed his disapproval and turned his attention to another ex-Red Star player who was sitting next to him.
‘Family parties are gonna be fun,’ Ryan muttered, gripping Amber’s hand as they wound their way through the tables and those people still hanging around by the bar.
‘Family parties…? Ryan, where are we going?’
‘I told you, somewhere more private. I need to talk to you.’
‘You pick your moments.’
‘Yeah well, time waits for no man and all that. Come on. We’re going down to the dressing room.’
‘The dressing room? Ryan…’
He stopped, still holding onto her hand, his eyes boring deep into hers again. ‘Or we can just do it right here. If you want everyone to watch me fucking you, that is. Your choice.’
He threw her that smile again, and she felt her stomach dip, her heart suddenly starting that run of faster beats, banging away inside her like some out-of-control drum. ‘Oh, Jesus… Who told you to come back into my life and fuck it up all over again?’
‘I’ve never really done as I’m told, Amber. I thought you would’ve known that by now.’
She couldn’t help smiling, too, falling into step beside him as they quickened their pace, slipping – hopefully – unnoticed out of the function suite, almost running down the corridor and back out into the main entrance of Tynebridge.
‘You’re serious, aren’t you?’ Amber said, holding tightly onto his hand as they crossed the atrium, past the bemused security guy manning the reception desk, out into the corridor that led to the dressing rooms.
‘Of course I’m serious. One look at you tonight and I knew I wouldn’t be able to settle until I’d got you on your own.’
‘What if we get caught?’
‘I don’t care, Amber. Right now, all I care about is you.’ He pulled her into the empty home team dressing room, making sure no one else was about before closing the door behind them.
‘Don’t you even want to know how
I
feel?’ Amber asked, already feeling that familiar stirring between her thighs.
He flashed her the famous Fisher grin, pushing her back against the wall, placing a hand beside her head as he leaned in closer to her. ‘I know how you feel.’
‘Oh, you do, do you?’
‘I think you want me just as much as I want you.’
‘I see the cocky, self-assured Ryan is back. That’s nice.’
He laughed, a low, deep, sexy laugh, and Amber thought her heart was going to leap out of her chest, so hard was it beating now.
‘You said this wouldn’t take long. So what are we looking at here, Mr. Footballer? A quick in and out job? Or were you just lying to me back there?’
He moved his mouth closer to hers, his breath warm on her face, his aftershave overwhelming her. He smelt fantastic, and she knew this was a battle she wasn’t going to win. So she might as well just wave the white flag and surrender. Everything.
‘I don’t lie anymore, Amber. Those days are over. But if this takes a little longer than we first thought it might, then – well, sometimes you can’t rush these things, can you?’
She reached up and ran her fingertips lightly over his mouth, desperate to kiss it, to taste him again, but she was enjoying the build-up too much to go straight in for the kill. ‘You’ll ruin this dress.’
‘Take it off, then. Take everything off and let me look at that incredible body… just let me look at it…’ His mouth was on hers now, resting lightly against it, sending her head spinning, and she was glad of the wall behind her to keep her steady because she could feel her knees starting to give way already. ‘… Before I come inside you all over again.’
‘Jesus, Ryan…’ Amber groaned, closing her eyes as he began covering her neck in tiny, feather-light kisses, his lips brushing over her skin, sending a million tingling electric shocks shooting right through her with every touch. She didn’t want to feel this way, not today. But he wasn’t giving her much choice.
She slipped her hand up and under her dress, tugging down her own panties, desperate to feel him now. And when he took over, slipping her dress up over her thighs, crouching down to slide her panties off, she felt as though she was going to explode with the sudden rush of excitement he’d created within seconds, turning her from calm and collected into a helpless wreck with only one thing on her mind. Him.
Pulling her dress off over her head, she reached out and hung it on one of the pegs that lined the dressing room wall, all the time her eyes never leaving Ryan’s as he unclipped her bra, throwing it aside, leaving her completely naked. She was the vulnerable one now. He was the one very much in control, and that kind of excited her. So much so that she could feel that shiver between her legs, the one she always got when she knew something good was about to happen. And it was about to happen now.
He slid a hand into the small of her back, his other hand gently stroking the curve of her waist, her hip, his mouth moving closer to hers, and the heat between them was almost unbearable now. She felt breathless, her heart still beating away to that super-fast rhythm, her stomach leaping about like an inane jack-in-the-box. She wanted him to kiss her, but at the same time she was totally overwhelmed by the incredibly erotic overtones he was creating by keeping just that tiniest of spaces between them, playing with her, teasing her; silently telling her what was coming, but holding back from giving it to her too soon.
She was aching for him now, physically aching. It was a pain so beautiful she could take it, but she didn’t want it to go on forever, she wanted it to end at some point, to feel him where she wanted him to be, so much she couldn’t explain. And maybe tomorrow she wouldn’t feel that ache quite so much, when reality rolled back into her life, but right now – right now she needed him. She wanted him. And she was going to have him.
Pushing his shirt back off his shoulders, he shrugged it off, letting it fall to the floor, and Amber felt her stomach leap around all over again at the sight of him – his tanned, toned chest, so smooth she just wanted to reach out and touch it, and when he finally pulled her against him, her naked breasts touching his skin, it felt like hundreds of tiny fireworks all going off at once. Every cliché she could think of was happening, right there, as he lifted her up, pushing her back against the wall, and as she wrapped her legs around his hips, she could hear those fireworks shooting off in all directions, her head spinning faster and faster as his mouth finally touched hers. At the same time, he pushed into her so gently, easing that pain and intensifying those tingles, making her entire body shiver as he held her close. It was the most beautiful, most incredible feeling; the sense of danger that still hung in the air, the fact they could be caught at any given moment, it all added to the excitement Ryan Fisher could give her. He’d given it to her before, and she’d felt just as she was feeling now – alive and free and on top of the world.
Burying her face in his hair, stifling the screams she so wanted to let loose, she clung onto him as his thrusts speeded up, going from gentle to hard, slamming into her, touching her right where she needed to be touched to make sure her own climax wasn’t far off. And although she didn’t want this to end, she also wanted to feel that burning, white hot pain he caused when he finally came, which he did within minutes, spilling out into her in a barrage of fast and furious thrusts, causing her own body to convulse in a serious of incredible spasms, both of them trying hard to stay quiet when all they wanted to do was cry out loud.
‘Jesus – fucking – Christ!’ Ryan breathed, keeping his hands underneath her bottom, holding her against him as he stayed inside her. He wasn’t ready to leave just yet. ‘You okay, babe?’
She nodded, her arms still wrapped around him, her face still buried in his hair. She wanted to stay this close to him for just a little while longer, just the two of them. She wanted a few minutes more to think about things. To think about a future she hadn’t wanted to have to think about, but circumstances had seen to it that she didn’t have any other choice.
‘Amber…’
She finally looked at him, her mouth gently touching his as he lowered her back down, keeping his hands on her hips. ‘I really don’t know what’s happening here, Ryan. And I’m scared.’
He smiled, a small smile, but one that was still capable of making her heart start up with that rhythm once again, that rhythm that sent her stomach reeling and made her breath catch in her throat. ‘Sometimes being scared is good.’
‘You think so?’ She smiled, too, running her fingers lightly over his naked chest, his skin warm and soft beneath her fingers.
‘What kind of life would it be if we didn’t take risks?’
‘A more secure one?’
He laughed, that low, deep, sexy laugh that only served to send Amber’s heart into overdrive. Shit! Talk about history repeating itself. Is this what her life had become? A constant cycle of feeling scared and falling in love, only to get hurt and then begin that whole cycle all over again?
‘I just want to be with you, Amber,’ Ryan whispered, his lips so close to hers she could feel every defence she’d been about to put right back up come crashing down around her. ‘That’s all.’