Losing Game: A Winning Ace Novel (Book 2)

by Tracie Delaney

  Cash nodded vigorously. He’d never allowed a woman to tie him up, would never have given over that sort of power. But this wasn’t any woman. This was Natalia, the love of his life, the other half of his soul. He’d let her do anything she wanted, and surprisingly, the idea turned him on.

  She climbed off the bed and disappeared into the adjoining bathroom. When she returned, she was threading the belt from a dressing gown through her fingers.

  “Remember Paris?” she said with a shy smile.

  Paris. The time she’d let him tie her up when they’d barely known each other. Cash still found the trust she’d shown in him that night humbling every time he thought about it.

  “Baby, how could I forget?”

  She straddled him, wrapped the belt around his wrists, and fixed it to the bedstead.

  “The minute you say it’s over, then it’s over,” she whispered, repeating the words he’d said to her that same evening.

  She began the torturous journey down his body once more, licking, sucking, kissing, tracing every muscle with the tip of her tongue. When she reached her ultimate target, Cash tensed, his stomach clenching. His breath came in short pants as she swept her tongue over the head, removing the bead of moisture that had gathered on the tip. His cock twitched, and a deep growl sounded low in his throat. She looked up at him and smiled.

  “More?”

  Unable to trust himself to speak, he nodded, and he lifted his hips to stress the point. Natalia pressed the flat of her hand low on his abdomen and pushed him back down. She wrapped one hand around the base of his cock and closed her mouth over the head, beginning a steady rhythm of taking him deep then swirling her tongue over the tip before starting the whole process from scratch.

  Cash bit down hard on his lip, barely holding on, but when she glanced up and they made eye contact, he lost it. “Oh, baby,” he groaned, his hips jerking upwards through his climax. Natalia cupped his balls and gently massaged him while he poured himself into her warm, wet mouth. The whole time, she kept her eyes on his. The emotional connection drew out his orgasm until it almost became painful.

  He didn’t feel her removing the restraints, but suddenly, his arms were free.

  She crawled up his body and rested her head on his chest. Peering up at him through half-closed lids, she smiled. “I love doing that to you.”

  “And that’s why I only last thirty seconds every time you do. I can just about hang on, but when I look into your eyes, I’m a goner.”

  She twisted around to glance at the clock.

  “How long have we got?” Cash said.

  “Twenty minutes.”

  Cash smiled down at her. “Time to return the favour.”

  30

  They arrived at the restaurant a little late, mainly due to Cash taking longer than the twenty minutes they’d had to spare. He’d certainly been thorough, and the memory made Tally shiver.

  “Cold?” he asked innocently.

  Tally stood on tiptoes. “You’re an arrogant arse,” she whispered in his ear.

  He stifled a grin. “You were wonderful,” he murmured. “And as stunning as you look in that dress, I can’t wait to peel it off you later.”

  “Shhh.” She wriggled out of his arms and flashed a look at Rachael who, fortunately, didn’t seem to have heard.

  Cash gave her an unconcerned grin and clutched her hand. “Right, let’s get this over with.”

  “Cash,” Rachael scolded. “Don’t be so ungrateful. Kinga wanted to do this for you.”

  The restaurant Kinga had chosen had two Michelin stars. The inside was decorated in gold and crimson hues. The tables were widely spaced, each one surrounded with deeply cushioned chairs and fancy crystal centrepieces.

  Tally glanced up at Cash. “I prefer GBK,” she murmured.

  Cash grinned. “Don’t worry, sweetness. I’ll be right there to wipe food off your chin before anyone notices.”

  They were shown to the back of the restaurant, where their table took up most of the far wall. Tally waved as she spotted Em, who waved back then pointed to the end of the table, where Rupe was busy chatting up the waitress.

  Tally yanked her hand from Cash’s and almost ran across the restaurant.

  “I thought you couldn’t come,” she said, hugging Rupe so tightly he made a faux-choking sound.

  “If I’d known you were going to try to kill me, I may have had second thoughts.” Rupe extricated himself from her arms and rose from his chair. He clapped Cash on the back. “How you doing, loser? Sorry I missed the match.”

  “Thanks for the support,” Cash drawled.

  “Are you going to start losing on a regular basis? Because if you are, I might have to find another best mate. All this negative energy is bad for my chi.”

  “You’re all heart,” Cash said. “And what’s with the fucking chi? If you turn any further into a girl, it’ll be me dumping you.”

  Rupe made a theatrical wave of his hand then kissed Rachael on the cheek and made sure she sat right beside him. “Honestly, Mrs G, he hasn’t always been this rubbish. It’s a shame you missed the best bits of his career.”

  Rachael burst out laughing. “Only you, Rupert, could make light of the situation and get away with it. You always were shameless. Even as a little boy.”

  “Tal, over here,” Em said, pointing to the empty chair between her and Kinga, a glaring sign of Em’s dislike of Kinga that Tally couldn’t fail to notice. For some reason, her friend had been spoiling for a fight with Kinga all day, making odd snippy comments that Kinga had so far ignored. If Em carried on, it would be a very long night.

  Cash sat opposite Brad, and in seconds, the two of them had their heads together, minutely examining every detail of the final and where it had all gone wrong.

  “Boring,” Em said in a singsong voice, ignoring the glower Cash sent her way. “When are you two off on your travels?”

  “Day after tomorrow,” Tally said.

  “Has he told you where you’re going yet?”

  “Nope.”

  Em leaned against Tally’s shoulder. “I’ve barely seen you, and now you’re off again,” she said with a pronounced pout.

  Tally chuckled as relief swept through her. Em’s mood seemed to be improving. “You’ve seen me every day for a month.”

  “Yeah, well, it doesn’t seem like enough.”

  When the food arrived, Cash and Brad finally stopped talking tennis and joined in the conversation with everyone else. Contented, Tally sat back and watched. These people were her family. Each and every one. She loved the way they all talked over one another, the banter relentless. Hearing Rupe and Cash tear chunks out of one another with Brad and Jamie trying to play referee, and watching Rachael roll her eyes exactly the same way as Cash did, happiness surged through her.

  “You okay, babes?” Em said. “You’re awfully quiet.”

  Her eyes filled with tears. “I’m much more than okay.”

  “Oh no you don’t.” Em waggled her finger in front of Tally’s face. “If you make me cry and I end up with black streaks down my face, I’m going to be seriously pissed.”

  Tally laughed. “I love you.” She briefly touched her head against Em’s.

  “Love you more,” Em said.

  “For goodness’ sake, it’s getting awfully maudlin down this end of the table,” Kinga said.

  Em stiffened and leaned in front of Tally. “I’m allowed to miss my best friend. You see more of her than I do.”

  Kinga raised her hands in the air. “Of course you are. It was a joke. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

  “Yet you seem to manage it with ease.”

  “Em, let’s not get into an argument,” Tally said, trying to keep the peace.

  “It’s okay, Tally,” Kinga said with a sigh. “Emmalee, I know you don’t like me, and that’s fine. You’re entitled to your opinion. But Tally has forgiven me. Maybe you should think about that before continuing to be so hostile. ”

  Em bristled as
she glared at Kinga. “I may have a lot of faults, but at least I’m not a bitch who tries to split people up by stalking them until the right photo opportunity pops up.”

  Cash cut Rupe off midjoke as Kinga gasped, her hand flying to her chest. He leaned across the table. “What did you just say?” he said, his gaze fixed on Emmalee.

  Natalia dug Emmalee with her elbow. “Shut up, Em,” she hissed under her breath.

  A dark flush spread from Emmalee’s neck until it had covered her cheeks. “Nothing,” she mumbled.

  He turned his gaze on Kinga, whose eyes were wide, her forehead peppered with beads of sweat. Then he looked back in Emmalee’s direction.

  “I asked you a question,” he said, his voice low and controlled even though his insides felt as though they were going through the spin cycle on a washing machine.

  Natalia half-rose from her chair. “Cash, it’s nothing.”

  He held his hand in the air, palm facing her. “I don’t want to hear from you right now.” When she recoiled, a twinge of guilt pinched at his insides, but he pushed it away as white spots of anger danced across his vision. “Tell me, Emmalee.”

  “What’s going on?” his mother said, her brow furrowed in confusion.

  He ignored her and refocused his attention on Emmalee, who mouthed an apology to Natalia before meeting Cash’s furious stare. “Kinga took the photos of you and Gracie.”

  A hush descended across the table. Natalia had paled, her eyes wide and fearful while Kinga was holding her stomach as if in pain and rocking in her chair.

  Cash clenched his fists as his whole body trembled. “And how do you know that?” he said, his voice dripping ice.

  Emmalee grimaced. “Tally told me. I’m sorry, babes,” she said to Natalia before staring at the floor.

  Natalia slowly blinked. “Too late now,” she muttered.

  “And you,” he bit out, turning his focus on Natalia. “How the fuck do you know.”

  “Cash, please…” Her voice quivered. “Not here.”

  “I told her.” Kinga got to her feet, her shaking hands resting on William’s shoulders.

  “But it was my decision not to tell you,” Natalia said. “I just thought—”

  “I’m not fucking interested in what you thought.” He surprised himself with how calm he sounded, especially as he was boiling inside. He pointed at Kinga. “You’re gone.”

  “Wait.” Natalia scrambled to her feet and came towards him. As she reached out, he stepped back. Her hand fell to her side, and her bottom lip wobbled.

  “Let’s talk about this, please, Cash,” Kinga said. “This isn’t Tally’s fault.”

  Cash clenched his jaw because if he didn’t, he wasn’t sure what would spill out. He glanced down at Rupe fidgeting in his chair. “Can you sort out the bill?”

  Rupe nodded. “Leave it with me. Stay cool,” he added under his breath.

  Cash turned to his mother. “We’re leaving.” He held her arm as she got to her feet. Around the table, faces were showing varying degrees of confusion, horror, and distress, but none were as awful as the deep feeling of betrayal that had settled in his gut. He didn’t know how long Natalia had kept this from him, but even one day was too fucking long.

  He caught her elbow as he passed with his mother and propelled her through the door. Isaac had the car waiting outside, and he jumped out to open the back door. Cash stood back as his mother climbed in. As Natalia went to do the same, she paused. “We need to talk.”

  “Oh, we will,” Cash said, his tone full of bitterness and hurt. “When I’m ready.”

  Her eyes glistened with unshed tears as she got in the car without saying another word.

  “Will someone please tell me what on earth is going on?” his mother asked again as the car sped away.

  Cash remained tight-lipped.

  Natalia murmured under her breath, “Not now, Rachael.”

  He stared out of the window as the blood boiling in his veins turned to ice. The minute they pulled up at the house, Cash launched himself out of the car and, without waiting for anyone, stormed inside. He took off upstairs and slammed the door to their bedroom as he tried to figure out what he should do next.

  31

  Tally made Rachael a glass of warm milk and settled her into bed. She patted the space beside her, and Tally sat on the edge.

  “Do you want to tell me what’s going on?”

  Tally rubbed her face as exhaustion swamped her. “I screwed up, Rachael.”

  Rachael tilted her head to one side. “It can’t be that bad.”

  She blew out a breath. “When Cash and I first got together, I was always worried he’d see through me and break it off.”

  Rachael made a tutting noise, which caused a smile to tug at Tally’s lips. “Even though he assured me that he wanted me and only me, I never truly believed it, which is why when I received some photos of Cash kissing a woman who I now know to be Gracie—well, it was very easy to jump to conclusions.”

  “My Gracie?” Rachael said, a hint of incredulity to her tone.

  Tally nodded. “It was all completely innocent, but I didn’t know about you then, and so when I confronted Cash, he couldn’t offer a suitable explanation. We split up for a while until he plucked up the courage to tell me about you and his father.”

  “And Kinga took the photographs,” Rachael said, putting two and two together and making the maths stick.

  “Yeah. She confessed to me a few months ago, but Cash had so much going on, and I wanted him to be able to concentrate on rebuilding his career.” She shrugged. “So I didn’t tell him.”

  Rachael let out a soft sigh. “Probably not your best decision.”

  Tally gave a wry smile. “I had planned to tell him while we were away. I thought he’d be more relaxed and might not—”

  “Fly off the handle,” Rachael said with a grin.

  “Something like that.”

  Rachael squeezed her arm. “Go and talk to him. The longer you leave it, the harder it becomes.”

  Tally nodded and rose from the bed. “Can I get you anything? Do you want me to fetch the iPad?”

  “No. I still haven’t quite got to grips with all this technology yet. A lot has changed in the last few years.” She pulled a face. “The other day in the supermarket, they asked me if I wanted to pay contactless. I just stared at the assistant. She might as well have been speaking a foreign language.”

  Tally laughed. “You’ll get there, and we’re here to help.” She leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “Lights on or off?”

  “On. I’ve got a magazine article I’d like to finish,” she said, digging a copy of Vogue from the drawer beside her bed.

  Tally closed the door with a quiet click and let out a long breath. She began to trudge down the hallway then stopped halfway. A quick nip of something for Dutch courage wouldn’t go amiss. She jogged downstairs and poured a small glass of wine. As she took a sip, her phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen. A text from Em:

  I’m so sorry, babes. Are you okay?

  Tally dialled Em’s number, and she answered immediately. “God, babes. I’m so glad you called. I feel fucking awful.”

  “You have a bloody big mouth, Fallon,” Tally said in a teasing tone.

  “I know. How did Cash take it?”

  “Badly,” Tally said. “He stormed off to bed as soon as we got home, and I’m downstairs having a glass of wine before facing his wrath.”

  “Shit, babes. I can’t apologise enough. You trust me with something, and I can’t keep my trap shut. That woman winds me up like no other, but that wasn’t an excuse to break your confidence.”

  “Forget it. I was going to tell him anyway… but you got there first,” she added with a laugh.

  Em groaned. “Don’t be nice to me. I don’t deserve it.”

  Tally chuckled. “I’d better go. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  She hung up and downed the rest of the wine before heading back upstairs. Outside her bedro
om door, she paused and steeled herself for what was to come.

  Cash had already undressed and was sitting up in bed reading. He studiously ignored her as she stepped inside, and Tally repressed a sigh. She unzipped her dress and let it fall in a heap on the floor. Cash’s gaze briefly flickered in her direction before returning to his book.

  She removed a satin nightgown from the drawer next to her bed and slipped it over her head. As she climbed beneath the covers, she looked at Cash.

  “Are we going to talk about this now or later?”

  Cash let the book fall into his lap, but when he met her gaze, Tally found it difficult to swallow because instead of fiery anger, he looked at her with cool appraisal.

  “How long have you known?” he said, his voice unnaturally quiet.

  Tally gnawed at her cheek. “Since we got back from Monte Carlo.”

  His eyebrows shot up. “You’ve kept this from me for three months.”

  A wave of regret washed over her at the hurt in his eyes. “Kinga confessed to me when we got back to Ireland.”

  Cash pinched his nose between his thumb and forefinger. “I have never hidden my loathing of being lied to, and yet you chose to keep something from me that was a terrible time for both of us.”

  “Cash—”

  His hand shot in the air. “For one second, one second, Natalia, think about this from my perspective. You, Kinga, and Emmalee all sharing a dirty little secret.”

  “It wasn’t like that. I was going to tell you.”

  He gave her a scathing look. “When?”

  “On holiday.”

  Cash let out a sarcastic laugh. “Happy bloody holidays.”

  She reached for his hand, but he pulled away. Tally winced. “When she told me, you had all the stress of your mum’s recovery, our reconciliation, your tennis career just getting back on track. I knew if I told you it was Kinga behind the photos, it’d knock you off kilter again. I did it to protect you.”

  He clutched a hand to his chest. “Well, aren’t I the lucky one.”

  She shook her head. “If all you’re going to be is sarcastic, there’s no point talking to you.”