“I heard all about the raid. I wish I could have seen it.”
Jordan didn’t rise to the bait. Bill was just looking for an excuse to swing a punch.
“Change of plans my friend. We’re moving things up. I hope you’ve got some good news for me.”
“Not yet, man.” Not ever if he had any say in the matter.
“Wasn’t that her outside the police station?”
“Yeah, but—”
“I don’t want to hear it. Just get me something I can use by tomorrow.”
Jordan’s jaw tensed up.
He walked back into the road. “Tomorrow, Jordan. I’ll be over at twelve.”
Jordan kept walking. There was a taxi rank nearby. First job was to pick up Danny’s car from the police pound.
***
Loretta stood outside the police station in complete and utter shock.
No rest for the wicked.
The phrase reverberated through her brain until she couldn’t ignore where she’d heard it before. But it wasn’t just what he’d said. There was the kiss too. The strangely familiar feel of his lips against hers.
Jordan was the bank robber. Jordan had held a gun to her and forced her to empty the tills.
It all began to fall into place. The air went out of her lungs and she had to sit down on the pavement.
The way they’d met. He must have done it on purpose. But why?
So he’d be able to steal even more, of course. He’d wanted the safety deposit boxes, hadn’t he? Or maybe he was getting ready to hit the cashiers all over again.
He’d probably thought he could sweet-talk her into giving something away. She never would have told him anything. Even if they’d been sleeping together.
But she mulled it over a little longer.
He might not have been after anything top secret. Who knew what tiny piece of information she could have let slip? Even if she’d been on her guard, she could have told him something useful.
So now what should she do?
Go to the police? She turned to look at the station behind her. It was the sensible thing to do. But all she knew about Jordan was his name and what he looked like. She didn’t even know for sure that he was called Jordan Bernardino. She could remember part of the Subaru’s registration, but he’d said it wasn’t his car.
And then there was the illegal poker game she’d taken part in. They didn’t have any proof she’d actually been playing, but just being there made her look bad.
If her line manager had been anyone but Sean Thomas, she might have turned to him. But Sean was still smarting over her non-existent tape recording. If she went to him, there was a good chance he’d risk the harassment charges just to see her crash and burn.
Actually, whoever she told, Sean was bound to jump in and denounce her as part of the plot. As soon as it came out that she’d been on a date with the man who’d robbed the bank, everyone would assume she’d been in on it.
But it wasn’t right to let him get away without facing any consequences.
The cold, sick feeling in the pit of her stomach churned into something hotter. She remembered the way he’d touched her. His smug smiles. The way he’d turned up at the bank with that grille – more incriminating evidence against her.
Her worry gave way to anger. How dare he mess with her life like that? And she’d been about to sleep with him too.
Loretta got to her feet. There was one thing she knew she had to do. First, she went home, jumped in the shower and got changed.
Geography had always been one of her strengths. She was pretty sure she’d be able to locate that farm again. As long as the farmer didn’t come out and ask her what she was doing in his field, she was just as likely to find the money as Jordan was.
Within half an hour she was in her Mini, driving along the dirt track and up to the red barn. She parked up and got out of the car. There was no point hanging around. She walked up past the barn and into the field.
Getting over to the fence took longer than she remembered, but then she’d been running the night before. It looked like the right spot. There wasn’t anywhere obvious for him to have stashed the money. She climbed over the fence. It was easier in jeans.
Walking the length of the fence, she combed the ground.
“Looking for something?” Jordan came striding over to the fence, shaking his head. “I said I’d bring you the money.”
Her heartbeat cranked itself up to a deafening volume. It wasn’t that she hadn’t considered the possibility of running into him. She just hadn’t been able to come up with a plan of action. Swallowing the impulse to run up and slap him, she forced herself to say something. “Thought I’d save you the trouble.” She kept looking for the money – focusing on anything that wasn’t him – but there was no sign of it.
He came over and leaned on top of the fence. “It’s not over there.”
She shouldn’t have bothered with the shower. Then she would have got there earlier and found it before he arrived. “Okay. Where is it?”
He clambered over the fence, walked a good twenty yards over to the right and picked up a tissue-wrapped bundle.
Waiting for him to come back with it was awful. Watching him get closer and knowing that in a few moments he’d climb over that fence, walk to his car and drive away made her skin turn to ice.
It would have been better if he’d never bumped into her. Was it only two days ago? It felt like a lifetime.
“Thanks.” She couldn’t look him in the eye. Doing that would have pushed her over the edge into hysteria. It was all so confusing. She should have hated him – and she did – but there was another part of her that desperately wanted him to pull the ultimate explanation out of the bag and make everything alright between them.
“I’ll see you around.”
Why do people even say that? It always means the exact opposite.
He walked away. The roll of money was like a dead weight in her hand. Her chest tightened. She had to do something, but what?
“Jordan.”
He stopped and time slowed down as she waited for him to turn around.
“What?”
“Do you want to see what Edna looks like with her new grille?”
He shook his head. “Not a good idea.”
It was so obvious that wasn’t what he wanted to say at all. “Fine. Follow me over to mine and you can take the damn thing back.” She was sick of him pretending to be so virtuous.
“Loretta, I’m sorry.”
She climbed over the fence. Time to make the most dignified exit possible. She walked towards him, keeping her head high.
He turned away and started walking to his car. She could see it off by the barn, just next to hers. Her brain was full to bursting. So much to think her way through. How could she get out of this mess?
Her feet went faster and she started to close on him. He’d put her in this position. Robbed her bank, made her want him then pushed her away. It didn’t make any sense. That was what tore her up the most – she couldn’t figure out what he was trying to do.
Anger rose up inside her and she threw the banknotes at his back.
“What the...?”
“‘No rest for the wicked.’ It was you. In the safety deposit room. It was you.”
It took less than a second before he got his mask back up, but it was too late. She’d seen the panic in his eyes. She was right. She’d known it before, but now she really felt it. “Give me a reason not to go to the police.”
He took a step towards her and her self-preservation kicked in. They were out in the middle of nowhere. He was an armed robber. It wasn’t very sensible for her to be making threats.
She backed away.
“Loretta.”
“Why did you come after me? You got the money, why didn’t you just leave me alone?” The tears came, running steadily down her face. She was so tired of it all. If he wanted to get rid of her it would be a relief.
He reached her, then stopped almo
st as if he were afraid to touch her.
“It was the kiss.”
She looked into his eyes. Could she trust what she saw there?
“I couldn’t stop thinking about you after that. No-one’s ever kissed me like that.”
She couldn’t feel her heart beating any more. “Like what?” It was all she could do to get the words out in a whisper.
“Like kissing me was the only thing that mattered.”
She held his gaze, searching for some sign that he was trying to trick her. She couldn’t find one. “Tell me you weren’t working another angle. Tell me I wasn’t just a way to get into the bank.”
He reached up and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. “You know what I did.”
His skin was cool against her burning face. “Tell me it wasn’t all a con.”
With his finger under her chin, he tilted her face up to his. She held her breath, anticipating the moment when their lips would touch. When it finally came, he was painfully gentle. He kissed her with tender affection that wormed its way into her heart no matter how much she knew she shouldn’t believe it.
Time stretched out. She closed her eyes, living in the moment of that kiss. And then it was over. Struggling to breathe, she looked up into his eyes. “Take me home.”
He took her hand, picked up the money she’d thrown at him and set off across the field.
They didn’t make it back to Loretta’s place. As soon as they reached her car, they were kissing again and neither of them could bear to wait that long.
Jordan pinned her to the side of the Mini, kissing her loudly and hungrily. Her hands moved to his face, in his hair, down his body. She needed to feel him, to know that he wanted this as much as she did.
They kissed and kissed, groaning and pressing their bodies together. Being so close to him made it impossible to think. She gave herself up to sensation, savouring every touch of his fingers.
He pulled her t-shirt away from her shoulder and pressed his lips to her flesh, making her moan. She melted against the car, his warm mouth kissing and nipping at her. Her eyes fell closed and she held on to him. Her legs were too weak for her to trust them. If only there’d been a bed right there.
When he fumbled at the waist of her jeans, her heart forgot to beat. This was it. If she wanted to stop, she had to do it now.
He popped open the top button and pulled down her zip. She was so wet he must have been able to feel it through her panties when he put his hand between her legs. He held her firmly, then moved to slip his fingers inside her underwear.
Her whole body tensed up. As his icy fingers slid through the moisture that coated her pussy lips, she let out a shuddery breath and grasped him by the shoulders.
He kissed her again. Quick, demanding kisses that arrived when she least expected them. His fingers danced over her clit, treating her roughly, then easing off to tease her with a light pinch. She couldn’t do anything to him but hold on tight.
Her head fell back against the roof of the car and he kissed her throat. His fingers explored her wet heat and she felt herself sliding to the ground. She was close to her limits. He held her in place, stopping her from falling. The first tingles of orgasm radiated out from her core. Her skin rose in frantic goose bumps. Her lungs held only the smallest amount of air, leaving her gasping underneath him.
But he didn’t let up. Jordan sent his fingers probing between her pussy lips and nipped at her throat with his teeth. And then he was inside her, spreading her open and moving his hand back and forth. She cried out, still unable to form any words.
With his free hand, he pulled up her t-shirt and kissed his way across the swell of her breasts. Teetering on the edge of orgasm, she held on to his arm and urged him deeper inside.
He got down on his knees, easing her clothes down over her hips as he went. She grabbed at his hair, making him stop for a moment. Then he spread her pussy lips and sucked her clit into his mouth. He licked at her, wriggling his tongue over her as he moved his fingers inside her.
It was more than she could take. Bright light exploded behind her eyelids as one last flick of his fingers pushed her over the precipice. She came with a long, drawn-out cry that left her exhausted and sagging in his arms. Her pussy clutched at his fingers. He moved against her, dragging the climax out for longer than she’d imagined possible.
When he finally took his hand away, he looked her right in the eye and licked his fingers clean. Her insides turned to liquid. She needed more of this man. At that moment she couldn’t have denied him anything.
“Come with me.” He took her hand and dragged her off to the barn. She followed, pulling up her panties and jeans as she went.
It seemed a lot bigger inside without all those people. The music and lighting equipment were gone, but there were still bottles, cans and all sorts of rubbish strewn across the straw-covered floor. Jordan pulled her over to a bale of hay in the corner and sat down, drawing her onto his lap.
Her lips returned to his. The kisses they’d shared so far had only strengthened her hunger. From the way that he held her so tightly, it seemed they’d done the same to him.
His tongue slipped between her lips and she let him in eagerly. She wanted to taste every part of him. This was madness. It couldn’t go anywhere, but while she had him in her arms, she was going to enjoy every moment to the full.
Slipping his cold hands under her t-shirt, he cupped her breasts through her bra and she groaned into his mouth.
“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 bounc
ing 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.
CHAPTER 11
“Are 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.
Black Girls and Bad Boys: Stealing Loretta Page 7