Striker (Book 1 in the 'Striker' Trilogy)

by Michelle Betham

  He wasn’t wrong. She’d felt the knot in her shoulders tightening as she’d driven the short journey to Jim’s house at the coast and, despite the many beautiful kisses she’d received from this man here in front of her since her arrival, all they’d done was ease rather than erase the tension.

  She closed her eyes and threw back her head as his fingers continued to trail along her collarbone, his lips brushing over her neck leaving tiny, soft kisses in their wake. Any thoughts of Ryan were slowly fading now. She didn’t think he’d be wasting time worrying about her, so why should she spend time worrying about him? Not when there were far better things to do.

  Jim’s fingers slowly unbuttoned her shirt, sliding underneath the thin material to touch her skin, the coolness of his hand shocking her slightly, causing her body to shiver with the sweet anticipation of just what might happen next. She really couldn’t wait to marry this man, to have him by her side in a way she’d dreamed of for so long. Too much time denying her feelings, and too long away from him had only served to make what was happening now that little bit more exciting.

  ‘Upstairs,’ Jim said quietly, his mouth close to her ear.

  She couldn’t help groaning as his hand slipped into hers, pulling her out of the living room towards the staircase that led to the first floor. Couldn’t they just have sex there? In the living room? She was more than ready; the dampness between her legs told her that. It wasn’t like him to look for the conventional place to make love.

  Jim said nothing, just continued to pull her upstairs, kicking open the bedroom door, which Amber found quite a turn-on. She could do masterful. It just made him even sexier in her eyes.

  As soon as she was through the door he kicked it shut, pushing her up against the wall, his mouth urgent yet gentle against hers, his hardness already digging into her thigh. ‘I want to taste you,’ he whispered, his fingers entwining with hers as he searched her face for permission to do what she knew was coming. And just the thought of it sent her heart racing even faster, if that was possible. She was just glad she was leaning back against the wall or she was convinced her knees would have given way.

  He found the zip of her jeans and pulled it down, deliberately slow, his mouth almost resting on hers as he did so, his fingers making her gasp as they slipped underneath the denim to touch her. A quick touch, but enough to speed up her breathing, her breasts straining to escape the confines of her pale green bra, eager to feel his mouth covering them.

  He took her hand again, pulling her towards the bed. She knew what was about to happen, and she didn’t think she could wait much longer. The anticipation was killing her now, a pain in her thighs throbbing to the point where she knew she’d have to find some relief soon. Very soon, before it all became too much.

  Shrugging her shirt back off her shoulders she unclipped her bra and threw it aside, lying down on the bed and stretching out as Jim slowly pulled her jeans down, standing up for a few agonising seconds as he freed himself of his own clothes. Amber watched every move he made as that near-perfect body of his was revealed. The tanned skin, muscles in all the right places – at forty-eight he had a body that had hardly changed since the days when they’d spent all their free time doing this. Had she changed much in that time? She closed her eyes again, pushing any other thoughts from her mind as Jim pulled her panties down, leaving her naked and exposed but it was the most beautiful feeling. She felt free, liberated, almost. She felt beautiful, wanted, needed. She felt so many things she couldn’t explain, things she only wanted to feel. And she wanted to feel him. All of him.

  She gripped the edges of the pillows as he placed both hands on her knees, pushing her legs apart before sliding another pillow underneath her, raising her hips up slightly. Once again the anticipation built until she literally felt like crying out for him, screaming at him to do what it was he was about to do because she couldn’t take the waiting any longer. It was torture.

  But within seconds the torture was over and the ride had begun. Amber couldn’t stop herself from crying out this time as his mouth finally found its destination, touching her in the most intimate of places in the most beautiful of ways. His tongue was searching, probing, looking for that special spot but seemingly in no hurry to find it.

  ‘Oh, Jesus… Jim…’ Amber groaned, bucking her hips slightly as he pulled away, teasing her, making her crazy as he took her so far then pulled back for a second or two before lowering his head again. Oh yes. Now the tension was easing. Now she could feel herself relaxing.

  Gripping the pillows tighter she bucked her hips again, crying out loud as his tongue entered her for the briefest of seconds, sending a huge shiver right up her spine, but he didn’t stay there. He knew that was enough, that the ride would continue in a different way, but he’d left her aching for more, now. He’d left her whole body crying out for him, a delicious ache spreading through her like some kind of beautiful, erotic poison. She needed him, and she didn’t have to wait long to feel him back where he belonged. Sliding back up her body, his skin warm and smooth against hers, it took just seconds before she felt him slip inside her. And the relief was immense, her whole body tingling with tiny, white-hot pins and needles as she accepted him fully, wrapping her legs around him to take him in deep.

  His fingers entwined with hers above her head, pushing her hands back into the pillows as he pushed hard into her, kissing her neck, whispering things to her that were both beautiful and filthy, turning her on more and more with every thrust, until the inevitable endgame began it’s slow and steady climb, her body exploding with a force brought on by his final, almost violent thrust, a wonderful spasm of burning hot tingles covering every inch of her skin, her stomach dipping and diving as her thighs gripped him tight, waiting until he was empty. The feeling of him there, within her, was a feeling she didn’t want to let go of. Not now. Not after everything they’d been through, all those years of only wanting this but at the same time making sure it didn’t happen. What had she been playing at?

  As his own shuddering climax came to its natural end, he lowered his head down onto her chest, their hands still joined together, as were their bodies. And she was glad. She didn’t want him to withdraw just yet, not yet. A few more minutes of feeling him this close, that’s all she wanted. A few more beautiful minutes.

  ‘Relaxed?’ he asked, smiling slightly as he slowly raised his head.

  She smiled back. ‘Yeah. I think so.’

  ‘You think so?’ he asked, arching an eyebrow. ‘Do I need to do more? Huh? You wanna wear me out before we even get to our wedding night?’

  She closed her eyes as she felt him slowly leave her body, rolling over onto his side. ‘Jim…’

  ‘Two seconds, baby,’ he said, sliding out of bed and disappearing into the en-suite bathroom.

  She lay back, drawing her legs up, staring at the white ceiling above her, her fingers fiddling with the edges of the pillows. She felt as though someone had just given her the most incredible full-body massage. She felt so relaxed, sighing contentedly as she stretched out.

  ‘Jesus, Amber, just watching you do that makes me want to go in all over again,’ Jim groaned, lying down beside her, propping himself up on one elbow.

  ‘Help yourself,’ she smiled, arching her back, her breasts full and in his face. Bending his head, Amber moaned quietly as he accepted her invitation, his mouth covering one of her breasts. She buried her fingers in his hair, pulling at it gently as his hand wandered down her body, trailing along her stomach, down over her thighs, until he found what he was looking for. And before Amber had any time to think about what he might do next, he’d slipped two fingers inside her, making her cry out loud again, arching her back even more, pushing herself up at him, which only served to make him dive deeper.

  ‘I love you so fucking much,’ he whispered, finally lifting his head to look at her. ‘You know that, don’t you?’

  She nodded, opening her legs wider as his fingers continued to probe around inside her, sendin
g incredible waves of pleasure washing over her. ‘I know… Jesus Christ, Jim… that feels so good…’

  His mouth covered hers, his thumb gently stroking her, heightening the whole experience ten-fold until she could hold on no longer. He’d done his job, easing another orgasm out of her in record-quick time with an expert hand, kissing her hard and fast as her whole body shook, still with him inside her.

  ‘That feels fucking incredible,’ he groaned, slowly sliding his fingers out, leaving her breathless. ‘You’ve got one hell of a grip on you, kiddo.’

  She turned her head to look at him, smiling. She couldn’t do anything else. She had a feeling that smile would be there for days to come. Everything she’d felt today, all those incredible, mind-blowing feelings she’d experienced, she wanted to feel them forever, feel him there in whatever way he could be. Every way he could be. She wanted to do things with this man that she had never wanted to do before, it was crazy! She wasn’t some sex-crazed teenager out to experience everything she could because it was all so new, she was a thirty-seven-year-old woman. Yet she felt like that sixteen-year-old teenager when she was with Jim. Maybe she always would, but hey, if it meant they could share evenings like this then she wasn’t going to complain. ‘We’re gonna be okay, Jim. Aren’t we?’ she asked, a sudden vulnerability taking over as the tingles and the shivers subsided, giving way to reality. Which she didn’t know if she was quite ready for yet.

  ‘We’re gonna be just fine, baby,’ he smiled, gently pushing a strand of dark red hair from her eyes. ‘I promise.’

  I promise. Two words that she needed to believe more than anything. Two words he’d said to her before with consequences that had broken her heart a million times over. Two words that she hoped he’d learnt the true meaning of now, because she couldn’t lose him again. She just couldn’t.

  *

  ‘Prostitutes?’ Gary questioned, grabbing Ryan’s arm as he passed the bar. ‘Are you serious?’

  ‘I prefer to call her an escort of the more choosy variety,’ Ryan said, shaking Gary’s hand from his elbow.

  ‘You sure about that? I mean, she’s with you tonight, isn’t she?’

  ‘You’re a fucking funny sod, Gaz.’

  Gary leaned forward on the bar, taking a long swig of beer. ‘She’s a prostitute, Ryan, and you know it. Half the lads in the league have had her when they’ve visited the North East, it’s what she does. It’s how she makes her money. And I know we’ve all done it, mate, but at least the rest of us have been a bit more discreet.’ He looked at Ryan, who was refusing to meet his eyes. ‘She put her prices up yet? What with the recession and everything…’

  Ryan finally turned to look at his team-mate. ‘Can you shut the fuck up?’

  ‘Hey, alright,’ Gary laughed, holding up his hands in mock surrender. ‘Don’t throw your toys out the frigging pram.’

  ‘Just fuck off, Gary.’

  ‘You’re being a right arsehole at the minute, has anyone told you that?’

  Ryan looked at Gary again. ‘Yeah. And I wonder why that is?’

  ‘Don’t blame me, mate. I wasn’t the one who shagged two birds in the bed I shared with my fiancée.’

  ‘You could have stopped me.’

  Gary stared at him. ‘Hang on… What? You’re seriously blaming me now?’

  ‘Yeah. Why the hell not? I mean, you knew how much I loved Amber, how much I wanted to be with her, and yet still you forced me to come out on that stupid Stag Night…’

  ‘I didn’t tie your arms behind your back and fucking force you, Ryan.’

  ‘As good as.’

  ‘No, you aren’t gonna tie this one on me, mate. No way. You’re big enough and ugly enough to make your own frigging decisions in the end and if you really hadn’t wanted to come out that night then you know as well as I do that you would’ve stayed at home, regardless of what anyone else was telling you to do.’

  Ryan turned away again. He was right, Gary was right, to some extent. He hadn’t been forced into anything, but maybe he had been worn down to the point where agreeing to whatever Gary was asking had been the easier option, just to shut him up.

  ‘You’re weak, Ryan. And all this has done is prove that.’

  Ryan looked at Gary, an anger building up out of nowhere, because he hadn’t felt it before. All he’d felt before was this urge to spend the night fucking some faceless woman in endless bouts of meaningless sex so he could forget – forget what, exactly? The fact he’d messed up big time? Yeah, Gary was right. But that didn’t mean he was blameless. ‘You shouldn’t have pushed me so hard,’ Ryan said quietly, knocking back two vodka shots in quick succession.

  ‘Jesus, Ryan, come on. Deep down you wanted to come out that night. You wanted to fuck those girls, so don’t stand there and deny it. If you’d really loved Amber as much as you say you did then you wouldn’t have gone anywhere near them, let alone take them home.’

  ‘You pushed me,’ Ryan went on, his voice quietly dark. ‘You pushed me so far…’

  ‘This is bullshit! Go and get your head sorted, Ryan, okay? Because you’re doing mine in.’ Gary took one last swig of beer before slamming his empty glass down on the bar, looking Ryan straight in the eye. ‘She’s gone. You lost her. Your fault. Now fucking deal with it.’

  Ryan watched him walk away, balling his fists, digging his fingernails so far into the palms of his hands it hurt, but he felt no pain. Not from that, anyway. All he felt was a dull, nagging ache inside every time he stopped to think for a second, every time there was an opportunity for thoughts to process and images to appear in his head.

  ‘Everything okay?’

  He looked up as the dark-haired woman re-appeared by his side, sliding a hand onto his arm as she sidled up close to him. ‘Everything’s fine,’ he lied. ‘Or it will be.’

  She looked at him, frowning slightly. He downed the last vodka shot and slipped his arm around her tiny waist, leaning in for a long kiss, sliding his hand up her dress as he pressed his mouth against hers, feeling her reciprocate, wincing as she bit his lip as the kiss grew more urgent. He could take the pain. Anything that blocked out everything else going on in his life was good, if it distracted him.

  He pulled away, but kept his hand on her thigh, feeling himself grow hard at the feel of her smooth, warm skin against his hand. One more quick release – a proper fuck this time – then he’d hit the casino. Ryan Fisher needed to escape. And nobody was going to stop him.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Amber looked out of the upstairs bedroom window, peering through the blinds as the For Sale sign was hammered into the front lawn. It was real now. She was finally selling her beautiful little home to move in with Jim, but for how long? If things worked out with Malaga Athletico then he’d be selling his Tynemouth home, too. They’d be making a new life for themselves over in Spain, away from all the prying eyes and the questions.

  Questions. They’d have plenty of those to answer tomorrow, when Amber arrived with Jim at the team’s hotel in Wigan as their manager’s new wife. Probably not the best timing in the world but love had a funny way of making people rather selfish at times. Anyway, they hadn’t quite decided when to announce the news. They were playing it all by ear, which made everything more exciting, but also more nerve-wracking.

  Letting the blinds fall back into place she turned around, looking at the simple white dress that lay on the bed. She had to smile. White. Yeah, because she was so virginal. It wasn’t anything spectacular, but it was pretty, and it clung to her curves in the most flattering of ways. Teamed with a pair of modestly expensive, white, stiletto-heeled ankle boots she’d bought on a recent shopping trip with Debbie – although she hadn’t told Debbie just why she was buying them – it was the perfect wedding outfit, as far as Amber was concerned. Just enough to say “bride” without making it look too obvious. Understated, that was the word.

  She walked over to the mirror, carefully touching her just-styled hair that fell around her shoulders in a tum
ble of tousled, newly-coloured dark red curls. It was the look she wanted – simple. And it suited her, with her full fringe and – that word again – understated make-up. Some mascara, a light dusting of bronzer around the cheek and collarbone, and a touch of nude lip-gloss, that was all she needed. She felt good. This was her wedding day, and although it was taking a little bit of getting used to, given that she was alone and about to get married in secret, she still had that excited feeling kicking around her belly. Every time she thought about Jim it felt as though there were a suitcase full of impatient butterflies trying desperately to gain freedom and fly freely around her stomach.

  Sitting down on the edge of the bed she picked up the photograph on her bedside table, a photograph of Jim receiving his ‘Manager of the Month’ Award. He was smiling the widest smile, his handsome face so relaxed and happy. She trailed her fingers lightly over the photograph, that little frisson of excitement rushing through her again as she looked at him. She was inextricably connected to this man, and she always had been. She just wished she’d had the conviction to realise that sooner.

  But, today wasn’t the day to dwell on the past; it was a day to think about the future. Whatever that may entail. All she knew was that she was finally marrying the man of her dreams, and whatever happened after that, they’d deal with it.

  The phone ringing roused her from her brief daydream. She placed the photograph back down on the bedside table and reached out to grab the phone. ‘Hello?’

  ‘Amber, it’s your Dad. You couldn’t come over to the ground this morning, could you? I know you’re not working today, and you’ve probably got plans, but I could really do with your help on something.’

  Amber felt her stomach dip, her mouth suddenly going dry. She hated lying to her father. After everything that had happened she’d promised she wouldn’t do that again, she’d promised she’d be honest with him, and yet here she was, lying to him again. ‘Dad, I… I can’t. Not today. I’ve really got to be somewhere.’