Losing Game: A Winning Ace Novel (Book 2)

by Tracie Delaney

  “You’ve got that right.” He threw back the covers and climbed out of bed.

  “Where are you going?” she said, panic leaking into her tone as he headed for the door.

  “I need space to think. I can’t be with you right now.”

  As the door slammed, Tally covered her face with her hands and began to cry.

  Without Cash beside her, Tally tossed and turned all night, and when light filtered through the curtains, she climbed out of bed and went downstairs. She put the kettle on and was in the middle of making a coffee when Cash appeared.

  “Do you want one?” she said in what she hoped was a conciliatory tone.

  He nodded and sat at the breakfast bar. Paying her no attention, he began tapping into his phone. She pushed a cup of coffee towards him and rested her hip against the kitchen counter.

  “Where did you sleep?”

  He lifted his head, his gaze cool as it fell on hers. “One of the spare rooms,” he said before bowing his head once more.

  Tally’s chest tingled, and a sudden chill made her shiver. “Cash, I’m sorry. I made a mistake.”

  “Yes, you did,” he said in an icy tone.

  He took two or three sips of coffee before jumping down from the stool.

  “Where are you going?” she said, hating the plaintive sound of her voice. He ignored her, so she followed him into the hallway. He lifted a jacket off a coat peg and picked up a set of keys. “Cash…”

  He turned around. “I’ve heard your side of it. Now I’m going to hear Kinga’s. She’s meeting me at Rupe’s in an hour.”

  She began to stuff her feet into a pair of trainers. “I’ll come with you.”

  “No.” He held his hand up. “This is my closure.”

  Without another word, he stepped outside and slammed the door behind him.

  32

  Kinga’s eyes were wide and fearful as Cash waved for her to sit. Dark circles framed her eyes. Evidently, she hadn’t slept much. She seemed unable to focus properly, her gaze flitting from one object to another, looking anywhere except at him. She kept smoothing her hair, the bangles on her wrist making an annoying tinkling sound every time she lifted her hand.

  As Cash glared at her, she dropped her hands into her lap. Silence hung heavy in the air, like that moment before a glass shatters on the ground. Cash kept it going—a little cruel, maybe, but he had no intention of making this remotely comfortable for her.

  “I’m glad you called,” she finally said, breaking the silence between them.

  He turned a cold, impassive stare on her. “I want to know two things. First, when did you tell Natalia it was you?”

  She wrung her hands. “After you got knocked out of Monte Carlo. I met her in Belfast for a coffee.”

  At least she didn’t lie about the timeframe.

  “And whose idea was it to keep it from me?”

  She slowly blinked. “Tally was worried you had enough on your plate. She thought if you found out, it would affect your tennis just as you were getting your career back on track.”

  And she didn’t lie about her reasoning for keeping it from me.

  “That’s all I wanted to know. You can go now.” He turned away.

  “Cash, please. Let’s talk this through.”

  “No.” He spoke over his shoulder. “You’re gone, Kinga. Out of my life. For good.”

  She clambered to her feet. “Please, give me another chance. Everything’s different.”

  Cash expelled a curt breath. “I seem to remember the same argument when I reluctantly agreed to one more chance after you hit Natalia.”

  “But Tally and I have grown so close these last few months. And you––”

  Cash spun around and swiped his hand through the air. “I will never be able to forgive the fact you purposely set out to split up Natalia and me—and kept lying about it. We’re finished.”

  Kinga’s chin lowered to her chest, and hands that hadn’t been able to keep still earlier now lay limp in her lap. Eventually, her eyes sought his, and she offered a faint smile.

  “I expected the worst but hoped for the best,” she said, rising unsteadily to her feet. Cash said nothing. She was almost past him when she stopped. “Working for you these past years has been the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I’m sorrier than you’ll ever know. Please give Tally my love, and pass on my heartfelt apologies to her too.”

  She laid a hand on his arm. Cash stepped to the side, the movement making her hand fall away. She winced, but he was beyond caring about her feelings.

  He opened the drawing room door. “You can see yourself out. My lawyer will be in touch.”

  Kinga began to make one final plea then closed her mouth, turned around, and stepped into the hallway.

  Cash kicked the door shut and heaved a sigh. First problem sorted. Now he just had to decide what to do about the second.

  When he arrived back at the house, his mother met him at the front door, arms folded, eyes narrowed, pissed-off attitude coming off her in waves.

  He raised his eyebrows. “Something wrong?”

  “Seriously?” She shook her head in disbelief. “Follow me.” She set off down the hallway.

  A bolt of fear shot into his bloodstream. “Is Natalia okay?”

  She ignored him, which ratcheted up his worry. He might be furious with Natalia at that moment, but the thought of something happening to her…

  When they entered the living room, his mum pointed to a chair. “Sit.”

  Cash did as he was told. “Where’s Natalia?”

  His mother stiffened her jaw. “She is upstairs. I asked her to stay out of the way because I think certain things between a mother and a son should be said in private.”

  “O-kay,” Cash said as a sudden sense of unease made him stiffen.

  “I realise you grew up without a mother, Cash, and that is something I will spend the rest of my life feeling guilty for—no, don’t interrupt me,” she said as he opened his mouth to disagree. “But I’m here now, and I plan to make up for lost time, which also means calling you out when you are being a complete and unreasonable idiot.”

  Cash’s head jerked back. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “That girl,” she said, flicking her head towards the ceiling, “is extremely upset. She made a decision, and yes, you could argue she should have done it differently, but everything she did was with you in mind.” Rachael pointed at him. “You. She knew she was taking a risk, but she took it anyway because she loves you and wants you to be happy. And this is how you repay her? Cold shoulder, flat stares, sleeping in separate rooms? I expected better from you.”

  He winced and stared at the floor. Wow, his mother certainly knew how to deliver a bollocking with impact.

  “I understand you feel hurt and betrayed,” she said in a softer tone. “And Tally understands too, but behaving like a child and refusing to discuss things is going to get you precisely nowhere.”

  He scrubbed his face with his hands before wearily getting to his feet. “I’ll go and talk to her.”

  “Good. Oh, and Cash,” she said as he reached the door. “Make sure you think before you open your mouth.”

  His lips twitched, and he was still smiling as he reached the top of the stairs. He’d always thought of himself as a guy who understood women. His mother and Natalia taught him that he didn’t have a clue.

  When he entered their room, Natalia was sitting on the side of the bed, her legs dangling over the edge. She looked up, and his heart twisted. Her eyes were red-rimmed with dark smudges underneath, and she looked so forlorn that he couldn’t stop himself from sitting beside her and tugging her onto his lap. He cradled her in his arms as tremors wracked her body.

  “I’m sorry, sweetness.” He buried his nose in her hair, the scent of her strawberry shampoo tickling his nostrils.

  She sniffed. “I am too. I should have told you, but I thought I was doing the right thing.”

  He lifted her head, cradling
her face between his palms. “I know.” He brushed his lips over hers. “I hated being apart from you last night.”

  When she sniffed again, he reached over to the bedside table and plucked a tissue from a box of Kleenex. After she blew her nose, he kissed her again, a little deeper this time.

  “How’s Kinga?” Natalia asked.

  Cash shook his head. “We’re done.”

  She nodded. “I guessed that’s what you’d do. She did want to tell you, but I persuaded her my way was better.”

  “It wouldn’t have made a difference either way. I don’t care whether she maintains she was ill or not. The fact is she did a cruel and hurtful thing, and I can’t forgive that.”

  “I still feel bad.”

  Cash clipped her under the chin. “No more Kinga talk. I don’t want her ruining our holiday.”

  Natalia tilted her head to the side. “I thought you might have changed your mind about us going away.”

  Cash laughed. “No chance. We had a row, that’s all. And you know what the best thing about rows is?”

  “What?”

  Cash eased her onto her back and gave her a wicked grin. “Make-up sex.”

  33

  Tally jogged up the steps onto the plane. When she got inside, she glanced over her shoulder at Cash. “You’re not taking me somewhere in Europe, then?”

  He tilted his head. “What makes you say that?”

  “Because this is your other plane. When you whisked me off to Paris, you told me you have a plane for short-haul trips and another, larger one for longer journeys.”

  “Bloody journalists,” Cash said. “Never forget a thing.”

  Tally tossed her handbag onto a nearby chair and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I also remember you telling me this plane had a bedroom.” She shimmied against him, and he laughed.

  “You’re correct. It does. Which is just as well. I’m sure you’ll get tired during the flight.”

  A giggle erupted from her mouth. “Sleep is for wimps.”

  Cash smiled down at her. “Buckle up,” he said, nodding at the chair where she’d thrown her bag. “We’ll be taking off soon.”

  Tally did as he asked, and minutes later, they were airborne. Cash released his murderous grip on her hand as soon as the plane levelled out.

  “Still no better, ace?” she asked as he flexed his fingers.

  “Doubt it ever will be, but having you here with me makes it a whole lot more bearable.”

  “How long is the flight?”

  Cash raised an eyebrow. “Is that the best you’ve got?”

  Tally scowled. He was making fun of her. “I hardly think asking for the time is giving anything away. It’s not like I’m insisting on longitude and latitude.”

  “It’s thirteen hours. Does that temper your curiosity?”

  “No,” she said with a pronounced pout, which made Cash even more amused. “That’s a long way.”

  “Here,” he said, tossing her Kindle across the table. “Perhaps that will keep you occupied.”

  “The bedroom will keep me occupied,” she muttered, drawing a huff of laughter from Cash.

  He unfastened his seatbelt and wandered to the back of the plane. When he returned, he was holding a bottle of champagne and two glasses in one hand. He took her Kindle from her.

  “What are you doing?” she said, not that she’d been reading anyway.

  “Hopefully, providing better entertainment,” he said, helping her to her feet. He knitted their fingers together and led her into the bedroom.

  The room was decked out in soft cream accents with oak cabinets sitting at either side of a proper double bed. Tally ran her hand over the satin quilt cover and glanced around at Cash as he closed the door behind them.

  “Impressive,” she said with a smile.

  He set the champagne and glasses down beside the bed and slipped his hands around her waist. He tugged her forwards, his head bending to nuzzle her neck. After a few moments, he stepped backwards and folded his arms across his chest. “Take off your clothes. Slowly.”

  Tally’s stomach clenched, and her pulse jolted. Cash had that look, the one that made her knees tremble and her brain forget her own name. She unbuttoned her jeans and slid them down her legs, kicking them to one side. Lifting her T-shirt over her head, she stood in front of him in only her pale-pink underwear, a set she’d purchased a few weeks earlier. The set was delicate and racy, and she felt sexy wearing it, particularly when Cash studied her the way he was right at that moment.

  She reached around her back to unhook her bra.

  “Stop.” He crooked his finger, indicating for her to move closer. She obeyed, taking two steps towards him. Cash traced the top of the lace bra with his finger before slipping his hands inside it. He cupped her breasts. The material bunched underneath, making her boobs sit proud, the way she’d love them to without a bra. She was too large for that to happen naturally. Gravity won out every time.

  She exhaled on a shudder as Cash brushed a thumb over the tip of her erect nipple. Tally threw her head back, her mouth falling open as her stomach contracted. Cash stood back to examine his handiwork.

  “Beautiful,” he whispered, his gaze burning hot as he stared at her breasts. He saw her as no one else ever had. “Lie down on the bed.”

  She did as he commanded. Her heartbeat shot into overdrive as Cash hovered over her. He was still fully dressed, although Tally could make out his erection straining against his jeans. She reached out, her fingers urgent as she unfastened the buttons. Cash moved her hands, yanked open the remaining buttons, and kicked his jeans off.

  “Desperate much, ace?” she said, a broad grin finding its way across her face.

  He shrugged off his T-shirt and threw it on top of his jeans. “You have no idea.”

  Caging her with his body, he bent his head and sucked a hard nipple into his mouth. Tally arched her back, a soft whimper escaping her lips. He cupped the back of her knees and tugged her until her backside was on the edge of the bed.

  “What are you going to do?” she asked as she began to pant with excitement.

  Cash leaned in close, his warm breath tickling her face. “Fuck you senseless,” he whispered, his expression intense as he gazed down at her.

  He slipped his hands underneath the lace of her knickers and tugged them off her legs, and they joined his pile of clothes. There was something so sexy about the sight of her knickers on top of his stuff.

  He pressed his hands to the inside of her knees, easing them apart. His eyes widened, and a soft groan fell from his lips. “God, you’re wet,” he murmured as he knelt at the foot of the bed.

  He moved between her legs and pressed the tip of his tongue against her clit. Her hands clenched at the satin covers.

  “Jesus,” she muttered as a tremor ran through her. She raised her hips, and he cupped her backside, using the extra leverage to press closer, harder. The feelings he drew from her were too much, too intense, her pending climax arriving too quickly for her to control it.

  Her orgasm hit fast, pulses of pleasure coursing through her as her toes curled and her back arched off the bed. She squeezed her eyes closed as Cash continued to lap at her and suck hard at the tight nub of nerves at the apex of her thighs, his attention such that her clit throbbed.

  “Too much,” she muttered, barely aware he was crawling up her body until he pushed himself inside, a low groan sounding in his throat as he eased all the way in.

  Her muscles involuntarily clenched around him. He placed her legs on top of his shoulders, and with his hands gripping the flesh of her bottom, he thrust hard. He’d said he would fuck her senseless, and he kept his promise.

  He called out her name as an orgasm tore through him, and as he tilted his pelvis, she climaxed again.

  “Jesus Christ.” Tally squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the aftershocks to subside. She wiped sweat from her brow and opened her eyes to find Cash gazing down at her. She giggled. “Never thought I’d be sayin
g I’m a fully paid-up member of the mile-high club.”

  The plane banked to the right, and the colour drained from Cash’s face.

  “It’s okay,” Tally said, wrapping her hand around his clenched fist. She brushed her thumb over his knuckles in what she hoped was reassurance. Five minutes later, the plane landed, and as the door opened, bright sunshine poured inside. Cash unclipped his seat belt. Whereas normally he’d relax the minute they were on the ground, today his shoulders remained tense, his back stiff and taut.

  “Ready?” He held out his hand.

  “I was ready hours ago,” Tally said, giving him a questioning look.

  Cash ignored her. At the bottom of the steps, a man in a smart suit and a turban greeted them. He shook Cash’s hand and smiled warmly at Tally.

  “Mr Gallagher, right on time. Welcome to the Maldives, sir.”

  Maldives? Her excitement ratcheted up. She’d never been this far afield in her life.

  Cash dealt with the formalities while Tally fanned herself with a folded-up piece of paper she’d found in her handbag. The oppressive humidity already made sweat drip between her shoulder blades.

  “I need your help through the next part,” Cash said to her.

  Tally frowned. “Why?”

  He pointed, and Tally glanced in the direction he’d indicated. About a hundred feet away stood a helicopter, its blades slowly rotating and catching the light from the sun.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Her eyebrows shot up. “You’re going to get in that?”

  “It’s the only way to get to where we’re going.” Cash swallowed hard, and his forehead beaded with sweat. His damp brow probably had more to do with mild panic setting in than with the oppressive heat. Now she understood why he hadn’t relaxed as the plane came in to land.

  “You can sometimes take a boat,” he continued. “But the conditions aren’t right today. Believe me, if there was another option, I’d grab it.”

  The next twenty minutes were amongst the longest of Tally’s life. Cash began muttering to himself the minute the helicopter left the ground. He held onto her hand so tightly she wouldn’t have been surprised to learn he’d broken a bone. But she did manage to glance out of the window as the helicopter began its descent. The island they were heading for was almost perfectly round, covered in dark-green trees and vegetation, and she spotted several golden sandy beaches with blue-green waves lapping at the shore. When the helicopter finally set down, Cash’s whole body sagged with relief.