Black Girls and Bad Boys: Stealing Loretta (7 page)

“You like that?”

“Mmm.” It was too hard to talk when he
touched her. She kissed him harder. He squeezed her, reducing her to a molten
pool of need.

Loretta got up off his lap and pulled off
her t-shirt. Then she reached around to unfasten her bra.

“Wait.”

She stopped, breathing hard. The lust he’d
woken in her made her dizzy.

“Take off your jeans.”

She bent to pull off her trainers, then
straightened up and unbuttoned her jeans. His eyes latched onto hers and she
slowed down, sensing that he wanted her to take her time. She could use the
chance to recover herself. Pulling down the zip, she hitched her jeans down
over her hips and glanced at his crotch.

It was difficult to tell in the gloom of
the barn, but she was sure he was at least half-hard. Just thinking about it
sent a pulse of heat through her sex. She was wetter than she’d ever been.

Inch by inch, she drew her jeans down over
her legs and stepped out of them.

“Come here.”

She went to him, her clit throbbing with
excitement. Standing between his open legs, she looked down at him. Desire was
written in every twitch of his lips and every bead of sweat that sprang up on
his brow. She lowered her face to his, their lips meeting all over again. It
wasn’t like kissing anyone else. He responded to her so perceptively it was
almost as if he were reading her mind.

Whenever he came close to overwhelming her,
he would soften his approach, bringing that tenderness back to the surface and
bowling her over in a totally different way.

He took off her bra, running his hands over
her breasts, raising her nipples up into hard lumps. He stopped kissing her
long enough to bring her breast to his mouth. As she steadied herself by
holding his shoulders, he sucked at her and tugged down her panties. She
stepped out of them, finding it difficult to co-ordinate her movements. With
his teeth playing over her delicate skin, it was difficult to do anything.

She heard the rustle of a condom wrapper
before she remembered to ask about protection. And then he was holding her by
the waist and easing her down onto his cock. She slammed down into his lap, his
erection hitting her deep inside. She rolled her hips instinctively, moving him
around inside her. He groaned and pulled her up to drop her back down.

Resting her forehead on his, she ground
into him and they fell into a rhythm. He rammed all the way into her, hitting
her in places that had never been touched, until she was shouting with each
thrust.

They built up speed, her breasts bouncing
as he threw her up and down. Friction grew between them, setting a fire inside
her. His cries were soon as loud as hers, then louder still. They shouted
together, their bodies working hard to give them the pleasure they both craved.

Jordan came first, a shout bursting from
his lips as he filled the condom. Then it was Loretta’s turn. She stiffened on
top of him, the release flooding through every part of her. It was magnificent.

Coming so soon after her first orgasm, this
second more potent one hit her hard. She gulped down huge breaths and shook all
over.

He put a hand on her back and she jumped at
his cool touch. Sweat ran down her temple, down her spine, between her breasts.
Her skin prickled with energy. Leaning against his shoulder, she waited for the
shakes to pass.

As she quivered on his lap, he stroked her
damp skin and laid kisses wherever he could reach.

They rested together, his cock slowly
softening inside her.

The voice of doubt nagged at her, telling
her this had been a horrible mistake. But she didn’t listen.

Jordan couldn’t make love to her like that
if he meant her harm. It wasn’t a rational thought to have, but she believed it
all the same.

––––––––

“A
re you okay?”

Loretta was quiet as she found her clothes
and put them back on. She flashed him a smile and nodded before coming over to
kiss his lips.

They shouldn’t have just done that. It made
everything about a million times more complicated. And now he was having a
serious case of guilt.

He stood up and fastened his jeans. “Can we
go somewhere and talk? I can follow you back into town.”

That wary look came back into her eyes. He
couldn’t blame her for it. “What’s the matter?”

“I need to tell you what I’ve been doing.”
She was a smart woman, maybe she’d see a way out of this shitstorm.

“Okay.” She forced her feet into her
still-tied trainers. “But please, tell me the truth.”

“I will.” There wasn’t anything else he
could do under the circumstances.

He’d had enough sex in his life to know
that what they’d just done was more than scratching an itch. She’d tried to
make out that’s all she wanted, but women like her weren’t made that way. Fool
that he was, he’d taken her anyway.

He’d had businesswomen before – bored wives
away on conferences looking for a little fun, or young ones on the prowl in
bars after a hard day at the office. But they were different to Loretta. They
really were able to keep their feelings out of it.

The road back into town was pretty clear,
but the drive still felt like it took forever. She was a confident, competent
driver. It was easy to imagine her behind the wheel of that classic car she
owned. There was no doubt she’d get it back in mint condition. He didn’t know
her very well, but he could tell she’d give him a run for his money when it
came to being stubborn – a good quality to have if you’re doing up an old
wreck.

She drove through the centre of town and he
realised she must be leading him back to her house. He wasn’t sure what to make
of that. It gave him hope that she trusted him, but she might have been taking
him there because she didn’t want anyone to overhear what he had to say.

He was still cursing himself for
second-guessing her when she turned onto a drive and he nearly drove straight
past. There was enough room for him to pull in behind her.

“Nice place.” It was cute, with a pink
flowering bush climbing around the door and a magnolia in the front garden.

“Thanks.”

Things between them had cooled to that
awkward stage where they were both thinking about the hot sex but they couldn’t
decide if it had been a good idea. He knew it had been an extremely bad idea.
Things would have worked out a lot easier if she looked like most bank managers
he’d met.

She opened the door and he followed her in.
The interior fit her persona better than the garden – lots of white walls and
plain, dark carpets.

They walked through to the back of the
house. “Do you want a coffee?”

“Yes please. Milk, two sugars.”

She put on the kettle and got everything
ready. He pulled out a chair and sat at the big dark wood table.

“What we did back there at the farm,” she
said, her back to him as she made the drinks. “It doesn’t change anything. If I
don’t like your story, I’m going to the police.”

He didn’t think she was bluffing. “Fair
enough.”

She brought the mugs over and sat down
opposite him. “So start at the beginning.”

He held the hot mug of coffee in both his
hands. It was a pretty nice day, but his hands and feet were always cold –
whatever the weather. “You probably won’t be surprised if I tell you I did some
stupid things when I was a kid.”

She raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

“Well, I got in with some seriously nasty
people and ended up on a job with some people who got caught.”

“A robbery?”

“Yeah. They didn’t rat me out, but that
meant I owed them. Big time.”

“Go on.” She watched him closely, her drink
forgotten.

“It was okay for a while. They looked after
me. Better than my shitty parents. But once you’re in, you’re in and that’s
it.”

“So you wanted to stop?”

He nodded. It had been fun to start off
with – danger, women, more money than he knew what to do with, but then he
began to imagine himself at fifty, sixty. The only people in the business who’d
escaped a violent death or a lengthy stretch in prison and reached that sort of
age were the very big fish. He was never going to be one of those guys. “I was
lucky. The boss likes me.” He didn’t think it was a good idea to mention Gina
was the boss’s daughter. “He said he’d let me buy my way out. If I paid him
off, kept my mouth shut and stayed out of everybody’s way they’d let me live my
life in peace.”

“How much?”

“Hmm?”

“How much did he want?”

“A shitload of money. It doesn’t matter how
much. But my cut from the bank was the first instalment.”

He could see her mind working, calculating
the probability that he was still trying to put one over on her.

“How many more robberies are you supposed
to do?”

“That’s not important either—”

“You can’t say that.” She sighed and rested
her head on her hand. “You’ve as good as told me that you’re planning another
bank job. Probably more than one.”

“But you’re not involved—”

“Bullshit! The minute you kissed me in the
back of the bank, you involved me in this.” She fought to take hold of herself,
breathing deep and slow.

“I’m just telling you the truth.”

“But what am I supposed to do with it? If
you get caught this could all blow up in my face.”

“I’d never—”

“Never what?” She stared him in the eye and
everything he’d been about to say vanished from his mind. “Never get me
arrested? Never put my career at risk?” But they knew he’d already done both of
those things.

For the first time in a long time, real
acid guilt curdled in his belly. “I still haven’t told you everything.” He
looked down at the table, afraid that he wouldn’t be able to say the words if
he was looking at her. “They want me to hit your bank again.”

“I knew it.” She pushed away from the table
and got up to pace the floor.

“That wasn’t why I came after you. You’ve
got to believe me.” He risked looking her way.

She shook her head. “I don’t know what to
believe. You’re a professional thief. It doesn’t exactly give you credibility.”
She stopped pacing and leaned on the edge of the sink, looking out over her
garden.

How could he convince her? He had to tell
her the whole truth. “Loretta, these people aren’t big on free will. They’ve
told me to empty the safety deposit boxes and I don’t get to say no.”

“So what? I’m supposed to fall madly in
love with you and let you in there because I don’t want them to hurt you?
Forget it.”

“I’m not asking you to do anything. Except
help me think my way through this. I’m trying not to fuck up your life any more
than I have already.” If that was true, he wouldn’t have touched her, no matter
how much he’d wanted to. He was selfish. She deserved better.

And he still hadn’t told her everything.
“You know Gina?”

She gave a bitter laugh. “Yeah, I remember
Gina. Don’t tell me – she’s your wife.”

“No. I was seeing her. It was never
serious. She’s... She’s Gina Ursino.”

She stared at him, her eyes wide. “Of
the
Ursinos?”

He nodded.

She held herself very still, then turned to
face him. “Even I know how psycho the Ursino family is.” Walking slowly, she
made her way to the chair furthest away from his and sat down. “You’ve got a
real death-wish, haven’t you? And I just threw myself smack in the middle of
all this. How stupid can I get?” She blew out a breath and went back to looking
out of the window. “I can’t let you rob the bank. Not again. I’ll go to the
police—”

“You don’t need to do that—”

“Shut up, Jordan. I should have gone to
them as soon as I worked it out.”

“So why didn’t you?” It was the only
question that mattered. Something had stopped her. It was the last glimmer of
hope he had left. If it came down to it, he’d rather get locked up or go on the
run than cause any more trouble for her. But there had to be another way.

“Because I’m an idiot.” She faced him,
tears brimming in her eyes. “Because I like you. I really wanted you to be on
the level.”

And he’d just told her that he most
definitely wasn’t. “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah.” She looked away. “So am I.”

He put his full coffee mug down and got up
from the table. She was still looking out of the window when he left.

***

J
ordan was packing the last of his clothes
when the doorbell rang. He considered his options, but in the end it came down
to pretending he wasn’t there or opening the door. Stashing his bag in the back
of the wardrobe, he went for the second one.

With his hand on the door handle, he took a
deep breath. He was just having a quiet evening in. Nothing suspicious going on
at all.

He opened the door. It was Gina.

She pushed past him and walked to the
middle of the sitting room. “You alone?”

“Come on in, why don’t you?”

She took a step towards the bedroom and for
a moment he thought she was going to open the door and look for herself. “No
bank manager?”

“No.”

“Good.” She launched herself at him and he
stumbled backwards as he caught her.

With her legs wrapped around his waist and
her arms around his neck, there wasn’t much he could do when she laid a
sizzling kiss on his lips. Well, he would have considered it sizzling a couple
of days before. Now it was nothing more than inconvenient.

He kissed her back, mindful of the damage a
phone call to Daddy would do.

“You okay?” She climbed down off him. She
didn’t look happy. There was only so much he could do about that.

“I don’t feel so good.” It was the truth.
After he left Loretta’s place he’d felt like he was going to throw up. He’d
spent hours trying to think up some ingenious plan to get him away from the
Ursinos and safely back in Loretta’s arms. It couldn’t be done. He’d come at it
from every angle and there just wasn’t a way. Which was why he’d been packing.

Gina put her hand to his forehead. “You
don’t look good either.”

He put on his best sad, ill face. Better to
have her thinking he was at death’s door than realise he was avoiding getting
close to her.

“Want me to get you anything? Heat you some
soup or something?”

Jordan tried to picture her playing nurse
maid, sitting next to his bed feeding him soup. It made him smirk and he had to
stop. “I’ll be fine. I’m going to have an early night.”

“I could join you.” That familiar gleam
came into her eye.

Would it be so bad to give in and go back
to her? She knew exactly who he was and she still wanted him. The plan for
Loretta’s bank was shot to pieces, but Ursino wouldn’t want to kneecap his
daughter’s boyfriend. There’d be other jobs.

It wasn’t as if Loretta had ever been a
real option. Maybe he should just take what was on offer. He held Gina close,
felt her curves mould to his body. She was sexy, beautiful, good in bed. He
kissed her long and deep, breathing her in, stroking the curve of her ass.

The kiss came to its natural conclusion. He
looked down at her full lips. She was flushed. Ready for the taking.

But there was something missing. Something
that had gone all the way down to the soles of his feet when he’d kissed
Loretta. “Sorry, Gina. I’m not up to it tonight.”

She stepped back, irritation and sympathy
warring on her face. “You’re not contagious, are you?”

“I don’t know.”

“You should go to the doctors'. Haven’t you
got another job this week?”

“I’ll be better by then.”

“I hope so.” She put her hand on his chest.
It was only a small gesture, but the intimacy lodged another sliver of guilt
inside him. He was going to end up with an ulcer.

She came closer and kissed him on the
cheek. “Get yourself to bed. I’ll see you soon.”

As soon as she closed the door, the
beginning of an idea came to him. It would only work if Loretta trusted him
completely. He wasn’t positive he could pull that off, but he had to try.

He rushed out of the apartment. If he’d
taken a moment to think about it, he’d have waited to make sure Gina wouldn’t
catch him going out. But if he’d waited, he wouldn’t have seen her get into
Bill’s car and give him the kind of welcome Jordan was usually on the receiving
end of.

He stood on the doorstep, rooted to the
spot in shock. And she’d made such a scene at the restaurant. How long had she
been cheating? Before Loretta or after? The first rush of anger wore off and he
was able to think clearly again. He slipped back inside before she noticed him.

It was hard to blame her for looking
elsewhere – he hadn’t shown her much interest lately. If he didn’t lay it on
too thick, he could even use the affair as a way to get rid of her.

But where would that leave him with Ursino?

His head buzzed with this new piece of
information. He’d have to alter the plan, but then he hadn’t got it all figured
out yet anyway. One thing hadn’t changed – he still needed to talk to Loretta.

After waiting a few more minutes, he
stepped outside again. Danny’s Subaru was parked round the corner. He
considered phoning first, but decided to drive straight over to Loretta’s.

“Mr Bernardino.”

Jordan knew that voice all too well. He
turned around.

Vittorio Ursino was standing in the street,
tapping the head of his cane against his open palm. “I think we need to have a
talk.”