Extra Time. Michelle Betham

he’d set eyes on Amber, just over twelve months ago. She worked in the PR department at Tynebridge and she’d been the one who’d taken him to his first ever interview as a Newcastle Red Star player inside the ground that day – the day that had started the whole crazy journey this past year had taken him on. She’d known exactly what he was like back then, and even after his almost catastrophic breakdown, she was still there. Still willing to give him another chance, despite his sketchy past. Didn’t she deserve something from him to let her know he was grateful? That he was glad she was around? Because he was. Deep down inside, he was grateful she was there – beautiful, tolerant, and red hot in bed. His perfect woman. Almost. But the thought of taking that one step further towards a second stab at commitment still scared him. Especially with what might lie ahead.

      ‘So, what are you up to today?’ Ryan asked, quickly moving the subject away from his slightly sombre mood. He had a lot on his mind, but nothing he needed to share with her just yet.

      ‘Well, I thought I’d nip into town, meet the girls, do a little bit of shopping, then…’ She smiled, letting her hand move down until her fingers were touching him, wrapping themselves around him, ‘… then I thought I’d come back here and see if you wanted to play out tonight. Or stay in. It’s up to you.’

      He couldn’t help smiling, too. She had her hand wrapped around his dick, what else was he supposed to do? He wasn’t going to piss her off, that was for sure. Despite the fact he was more than enjoying her company right now, he had plans for tonight, and they didn’t involve her. But she didn’t have to know that. Not yet, anyway. He could let her down gently later, and not face-to-face. That was the beauty of text messaging.

      ‘Maybe you’d like to show me what you have in mind.’ He grinned, stroking her blonde hair away from her face. ‘You up for that?’ Because he certainly was. Literally.

      ‘Oh, absolutely,’ she whispered, her mouth almost touching his. ‘I’m up for anything.’

      And all that was left for Ryan to do was close his eyes and let her take him some place where his problems didn’t exist.

      ‘You look worried,’ Amber said, sitting down opposite Jim at the kitchen table. She’d only been home half an hour after an early, and thankfully quick, flight back up north from London. ‘Has something happened I don’t know about?’

      Jim looked up sharply. Did she know already? How could she? As far as he was aware there’d been nothing leaked publicly yet about his son’s debut for Wearside Spartans that afternoon. But he knew he couldn’t keep it a secret any longer. Time was up. He’d been embarrassingly naive over all of this, burying his head in the sand over something that was never going to go away or disappear, so he deserved everything that Amber could quite possibly throw at him. And he felt sick at the thought.

      ‘Amber, I… I really need to talk to you.’

      She took a sip of her tea, looking at him over the rim of her favourite pink mug. For a girl who’d grown up very much a tomboy she really did have the most contradictory taste as far as some things were concerned. ‘Oh yeah? What about?’

      He swallowed hard, turning away for a second. He couldn’t do this right now. He just couldn’t. He needed a little more time, just a half hour more. He needed time to get his head together. ‘I missed you last night.’ His eyes met hers again and she smiled at him.

      ‘Are you all right? Only, you seem a bit weird. A bit distracted.’

      ‘Did you miss me?’

      ‘Of course I missed you. But I only saw you on Friday. Jim, what’s going on?’

      ‘Come here,’ he whispered.

      She frowned, putting her mug down and walking over to him. He held out his hand, pulling her down so she was sitting astride him.

      ‘You know how much I love you, don’t you?’

      ‘Of course I do. Jim…’

      He stopped her from talking by kissing her slowly, his hands resting in the small of her back, his fingers snaking up under her shirt, touching naked skin. She flinched slightly, but she didn’t pull away. All it took was one kiss and she was under his spell once more, but she wasn’t complaining. She loved this – kissing him, feeling his fingers on her skin as those wonderfully familiar tiny tingles shot through her. And who was she kidding anyway? She’d dreamt about this happening from the second she’d woken up that morning; dreamt about him welcoming her home with his deep and dirty kisses, and a whole lot more. They had time, before they headed out to watch Wearside Spartans’ first game of the season. They had plenty of time.

      ‘I love you, too.’ She smiled at him, her thumb gently stroking his cheek. ‘So, have you got me over here for anything in particular, or was that it? Just a kiss?’

      ‘What do you think?’

      ‘I think you’re not the kind of man to do anything half-heartedly. So I probably need to get naked, am I right?’ She hoped she was right.

      He felt his heart start to race faster, and he tried to push the feelings of guilt to the back of his mind so that he could enjoy this delaying tactic – because that’s all it was. A delaying tactic. Once they’d made love he still had to tell her. Did he think that by having sex first she’d be less likely to be shocked or angry? Less likely to hate him for lying to her again? He didn’t really know what to think, he just knew that he wanted to be with her for one more uncomplicated fuck before the shit hit the fan.

      ‘You are so right.’ He smiled at her. ‘But let me do it, okay? Let me help you get naked.’

      She felt her stomach dip and her skin break out in those all-familiar goose bumps as she climbed off him, backing up against the breakfast bar as he stood up and moved closer, running his fingers gently along her collarbone, round to the back of her neck, pulling her forward for another, harder kiss. He began slowly unbuttoning her shirt, his mouth still on hers as he pushed it back off her shoulders, his lips moving down to lightly kiss the base of her throat, and she kept her eyes closed, enjoying every single touch, every second of him being this close. She was still making up for all those lost years, and she wasn’t done catching up yet. She wasn’t sure she ever would be.

      Biting down on her lip to stifle a groan, she felt him unhook her bra and toss it aside, his mouth moving ever lower. It was now touching her breasts, covering them in kisses until she thought she was going to explode, but he wasn’t even close to being done yet. As he moved even lower, she buried her fingers in his hair as he crouched down, sliding her jeans down over her long legs. She stepped out of them, kicking them aside, throwing her head back and letting that groan finally escape as he hooked his fingers into her panties, pulling them down so slowly she thought she was going to orgasm right there and then.

      She was so ready now. Ready to take him, hard and fast, the only way she wanted him this morning. Even the shortest of time away from him made her want him like crazy, so much so that sometimes she felt like a teenager who’d just discovered sex for the very first time and now couldn’t get enough of it. Jim Allen had turned her from a woman who’d once been quite indifferent to sex into someone who was now bordering on obsessed. And she was going to enjoy it while it lasted because she wasn’t naive enough to think these feelings would last forever. Things would settle, they’d calm down. But she wasn’t ready to let that happen just yet.

      In one swift movement he’d lifted her up onto the breakfast bar, quickly freeing himself before spreading her legs wide, pushing inside her as though he hadn’t been there in ages. She could almost feel the desperation flooding out of him and into her as he thrust hard, rocking her whole body. And with every thrust she remembered how it had all started, this almost lifelong need she had for Jim Allen. How from the second he’d first touched her she’d known he was the only man she’d ever want, and even when he’d hurt her, when he’d taken everything from her and thrown it all back in her face, still she couldn’t let him go. So now she finally had him, now he was finally hers, she was going to enjoy him. Now she could remember those early days, the way he’d used to