Losing Game: A Winning Ace Novel (Book 2)

by Tracie Delaney

  Cash took over the talking. Tally sat back and listened as he filled his mum in about his plans for getting back on the tennis circuit. After an hour or so, Rachael’s eyelids began to droop, and as if she had a sixth sense, Gracie swept into the room.

  “Time for her nap now, Cash. You can come back tomorrow.”

  “Okay.” He leaned down and kissed Rachael on the cheek. “See you in the morning, Mum.”

  Rachael’s eyes briefly flickered open before closing again. “See you tomorrow,” she murmured, a half-smile gracing her lips as she fell asleep.

  Cash was quiet as they drove back to his house, and Tally left him alone with his thoughts. She’d learned that when he became introspective, it was better to give him space until he was ready to talk.

  When he pulled up in front of the house, he cut the engine but made no move to get out of the car, his gaze firmly fixed on a faraway point in the distance. Tally patiently waited, and after a second or two, he unclipped his seat belt and twisted his body around to face her.

  “I know what I said about respecting your wishes to take it slow, but visiting Mum today reaffirms how fragile life is.”

  His hands reached around the back of her neck, and he eased her close until their foreheads were touching. “I can’t bear the thought of being separated from you even for one day. Move in with me. I’m begging you.”

  Tally exhaled on a shudder. “Yes,” she said, vocalising the decision she’d already made. “I’ll move in.”

  11

  As Rupe’s yacht moored in Monte Carlo harbour, Emmalee’s excited squeal made Cash wince. He covered his ears and scowled at her.

  “Oh wow, this is awesome,” Emmalee said, leaning over the side of the boat, completely oblivious to Cash’s black stare. “What a view.”

  Cash glanced over at Natalia standing beside Emmalee. No better view than that. The curves she’d lost when they’d split were finally coming back. His forehead smoothed as he swept a gaze over her bottom—tucked into a pair of faded denim shorts—then up and over her flared hips and firm breasts. Memories of that morning invaded his thoughts. His girl sure knew what to do with her body to drive him crazy.

  She caught his eye, and he beckoned her over.

  “Thanks for suggesting I bring Em this week,” she said, her soft lips brushing his cheek with a kiss.

  Cash curved an arm around her waist. “It’ll be good for you to have company while I’m on the practice court. I’m going to have to put in some serious hours to avoid disgracing myself next week.”

  Her face fell, and Cash sighed as he clipped a finger under her chin. “How many times, Natalia? This is my fault. Not yours. My decision not to play the US. Besides, at least it will give the others a slight chance.”

  She grinned, the moment of angst over. “You know, ace, I’m thinking of getting you a How to Build Your Self-Esteem and Confidence course for your birthday.”

  He laughed. Natalia often teased him about his supreme self-esteem, and she was right. He rarely lacked confidence, although he did have concerns about this week. He hadn’t played competitively in almost two months. The time off court was bound to have an impact, but he couldn’t exactly voice his concerns to Natalia.

  “Okay, lovebirds. Let’s hit the town.” Rupe disembarked, quickly followed by Emmalee.

  Cash only had that day to enjoy Monte Carlo, and he needed to make the most of it, because starting the next day, Brad and Jamie were going to kick his arse from there to Ireland. His body was already softer, lacking muscular depth, and he knew from experience his sharpness was off. Monte Carlo was a fiercely fought tournament, attended by the best of the best, and if he didn’t work his bollocks off in practice, he’d be humiliated on court.

  For the first time ever, he’d allowed his personal life to eclipse his professional one. Natalia and their breakup, his mum coming out of the coma, the stress of winning Natalia back again—all of it had affected his tennis. Tomorrow, he had to start to focus again. He’d worked too hard to let another fucker be number one.

  He was number one.

  “Oy, Cash,” Rupe shouted. “You coming or what?”

  All three had already disembarked and were waiting on the quayside, Rupe with his arms folded and a look of exasperation on his face.

  “Fuck’s sake, Witters. Keep your hair on,” Cash muttered as he took his time disembarking, much to Rupe’s further annoyance.

  Like most places in the world, Monte Carlo wasn’t new to Cash, but as he watched Natalia bounce along, her hand tucked in Emmalee’s arm, her face flushed with excitement, he was transported back to their first date in Paris. She’d given him the best gift imaginable—new eyes to see the world through.

  Later, as the four of them walked back to the boat after a long day of sightseeing, Rupe said, “What should we do tonight? Casino?”

  Cash glanced down at Natalia and raised an eyebrow. When she eagerly nodded, he looked over at Rupe. “Casino.”

  Cash’s stomach clenched when Natalia walked out of the bedroom into the living quarters of their stateroom. He spun his finger in the air. “Turn around.”

  She did a quick twirl, a soft giggle bubbling from between her lips. “I’ve never been to a casino. Will I do?”

  The fitted navy cocktail dress clung to every inch of her curvaceous body. She’d left her hair down, which she knew he loved, and her face glowed from spending the day in the sun. He inwardly cursed Rupe’s idea of going to the casino. He’d rather take her to bed, spend time peeling that dress off her before kissing every inch of her sun-kissed skin, then make love to her over and over again.

  “Cash?” she said, bringing him back from daydreaming.

  “Fuck the casino.” He wrapped his arms around her, a low groan easing from his throat when her body melted into his. He bent his head and took her mouth. He never got tired of kissing her—they fit together perfectly in every way. His tongue tangled with hers, and he sucked hard, spurred on when she moaned softly.

  “How much time have we got?” he murmured, kissing the dip where her neck met her shoulder.

  “Not enough for what you’ve got in mind.”

  “And how do you know what I’ve got in mind?”

  She giggled. “Because I can feel your mind pressing into my stomach.”

  He gyrated his hips. “You mean this?”

  She giggled again. “That’s the one.”

  “You sure we don’t have time? I’ll be quick.”

  She waggled a finger in front of his face. “Later. You’ll ruin my hair.”

  “Spoilsport.”

  His lips traced a leisurely path from her neck to her collarbone, and she tilted her head to the side.

  “You’re not playing fair.”

  “I never promised to, sweetness.”

  “Rupe and Emmalee will be waiting.”

  “Let ’em,” he said, bending his head lower until his mouth was level with the top of her breasts. “God, I love your body. I could spend hours exploring every single inch.”

  “Is that all you want me for—my body?”

  He lifted his head. “Of course. Did you think otherwise?”

  She lightly punched his arm and twisted out of his embrace. “Well then, I’ll make you work for it, ace.”

  She headed for the door, but he managed to catch up with her before she opened it. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against him, her back to his front.

  “The harder the better,” he said, grinding his erection against her backside.

  She chuckled. “Come on, we’d better go.”

  “Wait.” He eased her around, a smile spreading across his face when he spotted the earrings he’d bought for her last Christmas dangling from her earlobes. The first of many things I want to give this woman. He wanted to gift-wrap the world and hand it to her on a plate. “I have something for you.”

  “What?” she said, the soft skin between her eyebrows furrowing into a shallow frown.

  He wander
ed over to the dressing table and picked up a long, thin box. He held it flat on his open palm.

  Her hand trembled as she reached for it. “What’s this?”

  “Open it, and you’ll find out.”

  She flipped the lid, and her eyes widened. “Cash, I can’t. This is too much.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Yes, you can.” He lifted out the platinum necklace. At its base was a single teardrop sapphire, the colour of the ocean, and a perfect match for her deep velvet blue eyes. “Turn around.”

  She did as he asked, lifting her hair out of the way as he fastened the clasp. She dropped her hair back into place.

  “I love it,” she whispered, her fingers tentatively touching the gemstone.

  “And I love you, baby. I’ll never stop loving you.”

  12

  Tally glanced up at Cash as he steered her through the casino to the VIP area. Multiple stares bit into the back of her head. Cash’s fame was something she’d always have to deal with, along with the envy it brought. It was hard, though, to ignore the hunger in the eyes of a few women whose greedy gazes followed him wherever he went. And because he looked particularly handsome that night, those stares seemed even more intrusive.

  But after what he’d said before they’d left Rupe’s yacht, she felt secure in his love. She touched the sapphire stone nestling perfectly in her cleavage. It was just like Cash to buy an exorbitant gift, and although his extravagance sometimes made her a little uncomfortable, she knew it was his way of showing the depth of his feelings.

  “This is fucking mint. How the other half live,” Emmalee whispered in her ear. And then she nudged her. “Correction, how you live now. Don’t think the rock around your neck has escaped my notice.”

  Tally grinned and slipped her arm through Em’s. It was great having her there. She’d miss Cash when he started training the next day, and having Em and Rupe around for company would take the edge off her loneliness.

  The concierge led them into a private room with a few gaming tables in the centre. A dozen or so patrons were already playing, chips stacked in piles in front of them, frowns of concentration drawing their brows low. Tally didn’t have a clue how to play cards, and she glanced around, hoping to spot a couple of slot machines, or at least a roulette wheel. Even she could manage that. But this was clearly where the serious gambling happened. No slots here.

  “What’s the matter?” Cash said.

  “I don’t know how to play,” she said, pointing her chin at the tables. “I was hoping for roulette.”

  Cash curved an arm around her waist and kissed her temple. “Rupe wants to play a few hands of poker. Let me humour him, and then we can go through to the main casino.”

  “Oh, no. It’s fine, honestly. Don’t do anything special for me.”

  “But you are special, sweetness.”

  “Jesus Christ,” Emmalee said. “If he blows any more smoke up your arse, we’re going to have to get the door widened to get your bloody head through.”

  Tally stuck out her tongue as a waitress appeared with a tray of champagne, and even though it sometimes gave her a raging headache, she gambled that one glass wouldn’t hurt.

  Cash and Rupe wandered over to one of the spare tables, and a croupier dealt the cards. As they casually tossed chips into the middle of the table, Tally’s eyes bugged at how much they were betting on each hand.

  “High rollers or what?” Emmalee whispered. “That’s more than I make in a year.”

  Tally nodded. This was wealth on a whole different scale. Even though she knew Cash had money, seeing the price of each of those chips—and how cavalier he was about spending them—brought into focus exactly how much money he had. An uncomfortable feeling stirred in her chest.

  “Hitting home, is it, babes?” Emmalee said with a squeeze of her arm.

  Tally’s answering smile was brief. “You know me so well.”

  “I knew it would eventually. For you, that is. Me? I was born to be rich.”

  “You don’t get much richer than him.” Tally nodded her head in Rupe’s direction. He had won a hand and was attempting to high-five the dealer, whose annoyance at his exuberance was barely hidden beneath her polite smile.

  “I know.” Em sighed. “I wish I was attracted to him, but I’m not. He’s great company, funny, good-looking, but there’s no spark. It’s so frustrating.”

  Tally laughed. “I can imagine.”

  “Whatever you do, don’t mention him to Mum. She’d have me married off in five minutes flat, and sod the chemistry. But me, I need the feeling,” she said, emphasising her point with air quotes. “Like you’ve got with Cash, even though watching the two of you together is sickening.”

  As though he knew they were talking about him, Cash glanced over his shoulder and cocked his head, signalling for Tally to join him.

  She wandered over and rested her hands on his shoulders. “How’s it going?”

  “Awful,” he said, briefly putting one hand over the top of hers. “I need my lucky charm. You.”

  She watched him play, trying desperately to follow what was going on. His muscles were tense, the stress he was under having nothing to do with losing money. For Cash, it was all about winning the game, and at the moment, Rupe had the upper hand. She dug her thumbs into the base of his neck and massaged gently.

  As the game went on, she began to figure out the rules. On the fifth hand, Cash’s luck seemed to turn. From that moment on, Cash’s whole body language changed. The average person wouldn’t have noticed the difference in him, but Tally did. His shoulders dropped, and he lounged in his chair, his legs splayed wide—a sure sign of confidence.

  After half an hour, Cash had won back all the money he’d lost, and he gained a fair bit besides. But his success was to the detriment of Rupe, who lost every round and ended up significantly down. Rupe simply shrugged it off, swigged back the remainder of his third glass of champagne, and hit her and Emmalee with a winning smile.

  “Okay, ladies. Who’s for the slots?”

  “Ooh, yeah,” Em said, linking her arm through Rupe’s. They headed out onto the main casino floor, but as Tally began to follow them, Cash gripped her elbow, stopping her.

  “You okay, ace?” she said.

  “I am now. I like to win.”

  “You don’t say.”

  He tilted his head. “Are you mocking me, sweetness?”

  Tally held her thumb and forefinger in the air, about half an inch apart. “Maybe just a tad.”

  He laughed and slipped an arm around her waist. “Right. Let’s go and play roulette.” Cash pocketed his chips and led her to the nearest roulette table. The croupier swapped his chips for different-coloured ones.

  “Why did she do that?” Tally asked, nodding at the stack of chips Cash put in front of her.

  “You mean swap? Because everyone needs a different colour. Otherwise, how would they track which ones belonged to which player? See, yours are red. Mine are blue.”

  “Oh, yeah. I hadn’t thought of that.” She picked one up and turned it over in her hand. “How much is each chip worth?”

  Cash pressed his lips together in a slight grimace. “Two hundred and fifty euros.”

  Her eyes widened as she did a quick count of the chips. “Cash, this is far too much money,” she whispered, pushing the majority of the stack over to him. He moved it back.

  “It’s peanuts.”

  “Peanuts?” she choked. “For you, maybe. Not for me.”

  He leaned down, his mouth close to her ear. “Yes, for you. You’ve moved in. What’s mine is yours now. Get used to it.”

  She shook her head. No point arguing with him—at least not here—but sometime in the not-too-distant future, they were going to have to discuss the thorny issue of money. Although she’d let Cash pay for everything since they’d got back together, the main reason was that she wasn’t earning at the moment. But she planned to put that right soon. Pete had already asked her to write an article for an upcoming feat
ure in the paper, and she only had to say the word for him to put the feelers out for more work. As soon as she had money coming in again, she would want to contribute, even if it was only paying for the odd meal out. Yet she knew, without even having the discussion, Cash wasn’t going to be happy. Well, too bad. He’d hooked up with an independent woman—he’d have to learn to deal with it.

  She started as low as she could, placing a single chip on red. The odds were two to one. Cash, on the other hand, stuck a wedge on three different numbers. The croupier spun the wheel, and once it had reached a certain speed, she tossed in the ball. Tally watched it go round and round, and eventually, the ball dropped onto the track. It bounced a few times before settling on red twelve.

  “I won,” she exclaimed, shaking Cash’s arm.

  “You did. Well done, baby,” he said as the croupier cleared away the losing bets, including all three of Cash’s, and passed her two chips. Easy as that, she’d doubled her money. She’d never been a gambler, but she could see the allure and how simple it would be to get drawn in.

  She played a few more rounds, her excitement as well as her risk-taking increasing with each spin of the wheel. But when she noticed the stack of chips reducing in size, she decided to cut her losses.

  “Sure you don’t want to play a little more?” Cash asked. When she declined, he swapped their chips, and they went off in search of Em and Rupe. After a few minutes walking around the casino, Tally spotted the two of them at the craps table. A huge crowd had amassed, and from Tally’s limited vantage point, Em was doing pretty well and had certainly enchanted the onlookers.

  Tally watched as Em blew on the dice and held them up in front of Rupe. He blew on them too, then Em threw the dice down the table. They bounced at the end before coming to rest. There was a slight pause before a huge cheer went up.

  “Guess she’s won,” Tally said to Cash over the noise. He nodded and eased his way through the crowd, towing her behind him. When Em spotted them, she waved madly.

  “There you are. Come on, Tally, give it a try.”