Black Girls and Bad Boys: Stealing Loretta (10 page)

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J
ordan answered his phone. “Loretta, where
are you?”

“I’m on my way home. How did it go?”

Was it bad that he was happy to hear
concern in her voice? “It all went smoothly. We can talk about it when you get
back – I’m waiting on your doorstep.”

“Okay, I’ll be about fifteen minutes.”

It was one of the longest fifteen minutes
of his life. At least the weather was fine. The huge white moon threw plenty of
light over Loretta’s roses.

He hoped what was in the deposit boxes was
worth as much as he’d planned for. Then he’d only have to do one more big job.
But what? He was still trying to think of the best place to hit when Loretta’s
taxi pulled up.

She paid the driver and stepped out onto
the pavement.

Jordan’s lungs stopped working. He’d seen
her dressed up on the night of their date, but this was a whole new level of
glamour. The blue dress set her mid-brown skin off perfectly, and the silver
heels made her walk in a completely different way. Regal. That was the word he
was reaching for.

“You look amazing.”

She looked down at herself as if she’d
forgotten what she was wearing. “Oh. Thanks.” She stepped out of her shoes and
gathered them up in one hand. “Are you okay?” As she went to open the front
door, he noticed she was keeping her distance.

“Yeah, fine. I thought it was best if I
didn’t hang around for the cops.”

“Yeah.” She walked inside.

He went in after her. “Where did you put
the stuff?”

“Hmm?”

“From the boxes. Where did you put it?”
They walked into the sitting room and she all but collapsed into an armchair.

“Sit down.” The way she said it made him
nervous.

He took a seat at the end of the sofa
nearest to her. “What is it?”

“The safety deposit boxes are still at the
bank. I just moved them to another room.”

“You did what?” He made himself say it
quietly so that he didn’t shout.

“I couldn’t let you take those people’s
things. Obviously you don’t give a damn, but I want to make manager one day.
Your bullshit could ruin me.”

“Jesus Christ!” He jumped back onto his
feet. “He’s going to kill me and you’re talking about getting promoted.” He
started to pace. Was she really this crazy? “He’s going to torture me until I
wished I was dead, and then he’s going to kill me.”

“Stop it!” She thumped the arm of her
chair. “There’s another way. There’s a poker game. Tomorrow night. I asked him.
I can use the money I won.”

His heart pounded so hard he could feel it
in his throat. “That’s insane. You got lucky at the junior table and now you
want to take on the big boys. Forget it.” He’d have to leave. Once Ursino found
out what had happened, it would be too late.

“You don’t get to tell me what to do.” Her
lips trembled.

He couldn’t take it. “Loretta.” Rushing
over, he kneeled down in front of her and took both her hands. “You can’t walk
into one of those poker games. They’ll eat you alive.”

She set her jaw. “I’ve got to try.”

“Please, don’t.”

“I can’t let you get killed. I couldn’t
live with myself.” Their eyes met and he saw just how much she cared. A lot
more than he wanted her to.

“And what about me? How would I bear it if
something happened to you?” He stroked her cheek. So soft. So beautiful. It was
physically painful to know that she wanted him so much when there was no future
for them. He didn’t want her to suffer because of him.

She leaned in and kissed him. All of her
concern, all of her fear for him poured into that kiss and shook him to his
core. “I didn’t know,” he whispered. He’d never believed a woman like her could
have cared about him.

She kissed him again and he stood up,
pulling her with him, wrapping his arms around her. He needed the comfort. He
needed her. He kissed her harder, drawing her body close to his. They would
have one perfect night before everything went to hell.

He lifted her off her feet and carried her
out to the stairs.

“Loretta—”

“Shh. Not now.” She kissed him quiet and he
laid her down on the bed. “Make love to me.”

He leaned over her, looking deep into her
eyes. She’d chosen the words carefully – he had to know what this meant to her.
She’d tried so hard to keep him out of her heart, but he’d crept in anyway.
Spending the night together now was a promise between them. An agreement that
they would do their best for each other.

He nodded that he understood, then kissed her
down onto the bed. His hand slid over the bodice of her dress and up to the
bare skin of her throat. She felt the raw power of him, wondered if he’d hurt
people with those hands. Taking him by the wrist, she raised his fingers to her
lips.

Anything that had gone before was nothing
to do with her. He wanted out of that life. Together, they’d find a way to make
it happen.

He rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip and
slipped it into her mouth, cupping her crotch through the dress with his other
hand. She sucked on him, closing her eyes and clamping her thighs around him.

As he moved his hand over her mound, she
pushed back against him. Her breathing deepened, filling her nose with his
masculine scent. This was how it was supposed to be between a man and a woman.

He took his thumb from her mouth, writing a
wet trail down her chest to her cleavage as he lay on top of her. He kissed her
over and over again, leaving her dizzy and wanting. Her hands went to his belt.
He gathered up her skirt and pulled down her panties.

She was trying to open his buckle when his
cold fingers delved into the wet warmth of her sex. She let go, struck
senseless by his intimate touch.

“Come for me,” he told her, stroking her
clit with his thumb.

She writhed underneath him. There was nothing
that she wanted to do more.

He worked his fingers inside her, making
her gasp. “That’s it. I want to hear you.” He squeezed her breast through her
clothes and she cried out.

No one had ever spoken to her like that. He
was setting her on fire.

He pumped his hand in and out of her,
making sure to rub against her clit. She arched her back up off the mattress,
grabbing up handfuls of the bedclothes. Pushing deeper inside her, he wiggled
his fingers and her hand flew up to grasp him by the shoulder.

“Come for me.”

She opened her eyes and looked into his.
They were overflowing with passion. He wanted her so much it made her wetter
than ever. Her sex fluttered around him, her orgasm already approaching.

“Wait,” she whispered. “I want you inside
me.” He was taking her close to the edge, but she wanted to feel his whole
body.

He pulled out of her with an audible slurp.
She missed his fingers immediately. Without breaking eye contact, he kneeled up
on the bed and pulled off his t-shirt.

She reached for his flat stomach, tracing
the line of hair that rose up out of his jeans towards his navel. He was
beautiful. His chest was a portrait of well-defined muscle that stayed just the
right side of toned. The depth of attraction she felt for him was frightening.

But then, most of what he’d brought into
her life was scary on at least one level. She’d come to view him as a challenge
to her whole way of existence. Whether that was a good or a bad thing was a
decision she hadn’t made yet.

Jordan took her hand and bent to kiss her
fingertips, then undid his belt and unbuttoned his jeans. His hardened manhood
sprang up in his underwear. She wanted to touch it, but what would he think of
her if she did?

“Have you got a condom?”

He reached into his back pocket and pulled
out a little blue square. “Put it on me.”

She hesitated. Yet another thing she’d
never done before. She took the condom from him and tore open the packet. As
she fumbled with it, making sure she didn’t have it inside out, he took off the
rest of his clothes. He got back on the bed, kneeling with a leg either side of
her.

Holding the condom by the tip, she propped
herself up on her elbows. His erection burned hot in her palm. Growing in
confidence, she twisted her hand over him and brought the condom to the end of
his cock.

She eased the sheath down over his shaft
and looked up to meet his eye. Had she done a good job? He put his hand on
hers, stroking over his length. Pleasure shuddered across his face. She
squeezed him briefly and his eyes flickered shut.

There was such power in holding him like
that. Jordan Bernardino the dangerous bank robber was literally in her hands.
It felt good.

With a sigh, he got down on top of her and
guided his member between her legs. She was more than wet enough to take him
inside – he slipped in with hardly any resistance.

He paused for a moment, filling her up
while he freed her breast from the dress. Then he took her nipple in his mouth
and started to thrust.

She closed her eyes again, clutching at his
buttocks, urging him deeper with every stroke.

“Come for me, Loretta.” His voice was
barely loud enough to hear.

That along with the tension in his body
told her he was well on his way. The slow build at her centre jumped up a notch
and she raised her hips to meet his movement. He was hitting her in just the
right spot.

Everything slowed down as she fought for
each breath.

“That’s it. Come for me.” He brought his
mouth back down to her breast.

When his teeth bit into her flesh and his
cock hit her deep one more time, she sank her nails into him and cried her
release. He thrust his way through her climax. Sweat sprang up all over her in
an instant. She clung to him, her sex spasming as if it wanted to keep hold of
his manhood forever.

Then he gave a grunt that turned into a
long moan and stopped moving. He collapsed on top of her, pressing kisses
against her throat. Still, her orgasm ran on. Her body made little jerks that
jostled him. He shifted his weight over to the side, but she held him in place.
She didn’t want it to end.

After a long few minutes gazing at the
ceiling and listening to him breathe, Loretta fell asleep.

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A
fter Loretta fell asleep, the knot of
guilt in Jordan’s gut gradually grew bigger and tighter. He shouldn’t have
taken her to bed. Not when he had to leave.

They’d made love, but they’d both been
speaking different languages – she’d been showing her hand, he’d been saying
goodbye. And god, how it was going to hurt to go. If she’d been a different
kind of woman, he would have asked her to come with him.

If she’d been a different kind of woman
they wouldn’t have been in this situation in the first place.

He picked his clothes up off the floor and
crept downstairs to get dressed. Time to go. He’d never been much for goodbyes.
Leaving a note crossed his mind, but what would he write?

One thing was for sure – he needed a drink.
He could manage a final visit to The Ark. Showing up there might actually work
in his favour. Making himself visible would go some way to reassuring Ursino he
wasn’t about to skip town.

He grabbed his bag. The weight of it
reminded him of the gun inside. He should have stashed it already. Thinking
about Loretta was fogging his brain. He couldn’t afford to get sloppy like
that. For a moment or two, he considered taking it out and denying Ursino the
satisfaction of making him beg for death. Not in Loretta’s house of course –
he’d go somewhere else for that.

Slinging the bag onto his shoulder, he
walked out of the front door. That sort of shit was for cowards. As long as he
was alive there was still hope. He’d go and get wasted, crawl home and sleep it
off. Then tomorrow he’d sling his bag across his chest and disappear. He just
hoped he’d be able to think of a place Ursino’s tentacles couldn’t reach.

***

W
hatever hour of the day or night you got
there, The Ark would open its doors to you. As long as you knew the right
people. It wasn’t a dive in the conventional sense of the word – the decor
wasn’t too old, the lighting wasn’t too low and it wasn’t even in a rough part
of town – but no one ever wandered in there by accident. If you drank in The
Ark you were at least on the fringes of the Ursino web.

Jordan turned up a little after midnight,
exchanged nods with the men on the door and walked straight in. It didn’t look
like there were any booths free. He went to the bar and ordered a double
whiskey. The barman looked familiar. They’d shared a few conversations when
he’d come in to watch the football in the past.

“Been busy in here tonight?”

He wiped down the bar and threw the cloth
on the side. “Busy enough. Don’t think I’ve seen you in here this late before.”

He sighed and took another drink. “I’m not
having the best day.”

“I think I heard something about that.” He
left it there, like the professional he was.

Jordan knocked back the whiskey, grimaced and
ordered another.

“You look like something else is bothering
you.” He got himself a lemonade.

“One guess.”

He laughed. “That sounds like a woman.”

“You got it.” Another gulp of whiskey
loosened his tongue even though he knew he shouldn’t let it. “You know about
the big poker game tomorrow?”

He nodded.

“Well she thinks she can win big.”

“And you don’t agree?”

“Not a chance.” He took a slug. “But of
course she won’t listen.”

“So why don’t you play? Show her how it’s
done.”

“Just one problem with that – I wouldn’t
win either.” He was a passable player, but nowhere good enough to make money at
it. Cards weren’t his thing.

But stealing... Now that was something he was
born to do.

He got up from his seat. Why hadn’t he
thought of that before? “Thank you. You’ve given me the perfect idea.”

The barman raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know
what you’re talking about, but you’re welcome.”

He rushed out of the bar. His brain was
buzzing. Not much came close to the feeling you got when you were hatching a
damn good plan. He decided to walk home. It would give him time to let the
major pieces fall into place.

***

L
oretta hadn’t been too surprised to wake
up in an empty bed. They may have made love like she’d never experienced, but
they hadn’t actually come to an agreement about anything.

It didn’t matter now. Once she won a load
of cash at the poker game his life would stop being on the line and they’d have
time to work out where they stood.

She was halfway through a breakfast of
porridge and toast when her phone rang. “Jordan.” At least he’d bothered to
call. It had crossed her mind he might have left town already.

“Loretta, hey. Look, I’m sorry I ran out on
you last night. I needed time to think.”

“It’s okay. Before you say anything, I’m
still playing poker tonight.”

“I want you to.”

She took the phone away from her ear for a
moment and looked at it. “You want me to?”

“Yeah. Play tonight. If you win, then
great. If you don’t, I’ve got a plan B.”

Excitement quivered in her chest. “What?”

“You don’t need to know.”

She was about to push him for a straight
answer when she realised she didn’t really care. He was happy for her to try to
save him. And he was still around. “Last night...”

“I know. You don’t have to say anything.”

“Have I gone mad?” It certainly felt like
it. She was taking a big risk, walking into god-knew-what for a man she’d only
met a few days ago. And she was absolutely powerless to stop herself.

“If you have, then I must have too.”

She pictured him on his phone, the dark
waves of his hair all mussed from being in bed, the neck of his t-shirt just
low enough to show the sculpted lines of his chest, a cheeky smile on his face.
God, she had it bad. And he was telling her that he did too. “When will I see
you again?”

“After the game, okay?”

“Okay.” If she was given the choice, he’d
be in her bed right now, doing all sorts of things she’d only ever dreamed
about. “I’ll see you later.”

“I’d better go, there’s someone at the
door.”

“Bye.” She put the phone down and spooned
porridge into her mouth. Her appetite had deserted her, but if things went as
planned, she’d be needing all the energy she could get.