Black Girls and Bad Boys: Stealing Loretta (5 page)

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A
ll thoughts of an afternoon stroll in the
sunshine went out of Loretta’s head as soon as she got that front grille in her
hands. After agreeing to see Jordan that evening, she headed straight home, got
changed and fit the new part on Edna. No matter how many times she told herself
not to get too excited, a grin kept stealing across her face anyway. The car
was nowhere near finished, but seeing another piece of the jigsaw slot into
place made her feel a few steps closer to driving her out on the road.

It was like a miracle. Jordan couldn’t be
too bad if he’d gone to all that trouble. She still wasn’t sure about the
situation with that Gina woman, but she’d be sure to ask him about that on
their date.

Her stomach squirmed around in circles. A
date. How long was it since she’d done that? An embarrassing length of time.
She cleaned herself up and heated a bowl of soup. What was she even going to
wear?

There were so many questions she should
have asked him. Were they eating out, or should she have something beforehand?
Should she dress smart or casual? If she hadn’t been so blown away by his gift,
she might have thought to ask for his number again. Now she’d just have to pick
an outfit and hope for the best.

She could always go home and change if she
was wearing something hopelessly unsuitable.

In the end, she ate a light dinner and wore
a dark grey pencil dress that straddled the line between dressy and relaxed.
She got to the bank for ten to eight. Jordan arrived five minutes later in a
red Subaru.

“Nice car.”

“Thanks.” He leaned over to open the
passenger door and she climbed in.

The scent of his aftershave was heavy
inside the car. It was vaguely familiar. Just her luck if he used the same one
as Sean.

“You look good.”

She’d left her hair down for once and
nerves meant she kept tucking it behind her ear. “Thanks. You too.” He looked
more than good. The top buttons of his shirt were undone and her eyes kept
going back to the well-defined muscle she could see peeking out. He must spend
a serious amount of time at the gym.

Jordan pulled away from the kerb and she
racked her brains for something to say. “How’s the import-export business
going?” She cringed at herself. What a lame question.

“Demanding. But I’ve got a deal in the
wings that might make up for it.”

He gave her such a warm smile she felt like
less of an idiot.

The drive out of town didn’t even take
twenty minutes. They headed out where the scenery held more trees and fewer
houses.

“What’s out here?”

“A party.”

“Whose party?”

“Not exactly that kind of party.” He turned
into a dark, narrow track. “Nearly there.” The way opened up little by little
and the moon shone down on an empty field with a huge farmhouse on the other
side of it.

As they went further along the road, a
heavy beat vibrated through the car and music floated out to them. Jordan took
them right up to the source – a bright red barn with party-goers spilling out
of it.

A young couple sat kissing on a stack of
hay bales just outside the door. Inside, the darkness was punctuated by
flashing lights in red, yellow, blue, orange, purple.

They parked up behind a sporty open-top and
got out of the car.

Loretta’s kitten heels sank into the soft
earth. She walked on the balls of her feet until they got inside where it was a
bit firmer and there was straw spread on the ground. As soon as they stepped
over the threshold, a wall of heat rocked her backwards.

He leaned in to speak, but she couldn’t
hear him over the music. She shook her head and he took her by the hand,
leading her further inside.

The whole barn had been made over into
something closely resembling a nightclub. There was even a mirror-ball hanging
from the ceiling.

“What is this place?” she shouted, but
Jordan couldn’t hear her either. He led her through the crowd and out through a
side door. They came out into a cooler, smaller room that had cans and bottles
of alcohol stacked against the walls. The music was muted from blaring to just
loud.

“Lager or alcopop?” he asked, helping
himself to a can.

“Bottle of lager, please.”

He opened one for her and passed it over.
When she took a sip, it was nice and cold.

“How come you knew about this place?”

“Friend of a friend.” He brought his can up
and tapped it against her bottle.

She was completely at a loss. A nightclub
on a farm. She wouldn’t have guessed that was where they were going if she’d
had all year to think about it. What else did he have up his sleeve? “Is this
an illegal rave, or something?” He had said naughty, after all.

“If it is, does that mean you want to
leave?”

“Are we likely to get arrested?”

He laughed and took a swig of his drink.
“Hasn’t happened so far.”

“How many of these have you been to?”

“A few.”

She sucked on her bottom lip. If she got
arrested, she’d probably lose her job. Next door, the music segued from one
song to another. She looked back over the way they’d come.

“Want to dance?”

She nodded. Jordan opened the door for her
and they walked into the humid heat of the disco.

This was shaping up to be an interesting
night. She’d had him worried for a while back out by the drinks, but he’d been
right about her other side. And all women liked to be corrupted at least a tiny
bit.

He took her hand and led her out into the
middle of the dancers. The music was too loud for them to talk, but that wasn’t
what he had in mind. When they were right in the thick of things, he turned to
her and moved to the beat. She didn’t join in straight away, but he knew she
was just easing into it.

She knocked back the last three-quarters of
her beer and tossed the bottle aside. He moved towards her, a grin spreading
across his face. Slowly, she started to dance, swaying her hips to the rhythm
of the music. Looking into her eyes, he danced closer. He finished his drink
and threw the can on the floor.

Now she’d got going, it was clear she
really knew how to move. She looked at him alone, dancing just for him. He
couldn’t tear his eyes away. Did she have any idea what she was doing to him?

Loretta swayed from side to side, raising
her arms to beckon him closer. He walked over to her, placing his hands on her
hips. He could feel the straps of her g-string standing out against her dress.
Who was this woman? And why weren’t there more bankers like her?

Her hands went to his sides, teasing him
through his t-shirt. Moving together, he felt her body brush against his and
the temperature in the room rose by a few more degrees.

He moved away, conscious of the effect she
was having on him. Having his... excitement come between them wasn’t the way he
intended to start the evening off. He danced around her, keeping enough
distance to let himself cool down.

But she wasn’t going to let him off that
easy. She backed into him. His hands went to her waist and she ground her ass
into his crotch. There went any chance he had of playing it cool. She must have
been able to feel what was going on in his pants.

Hell, it was too late now. He pulled her in
close and rubbed up against her. She was sending his libido through the roof.

The song changed again. Enough was enough.
Still holding her in front of him as camouflage, he walked her across the
dance-floor, out through another door and into the night.

Maybe the lager had gone to her head, but
feeling Jordan get hard behind her was making Loretta seriously horny. She was
glad when he walked her outside. The heat in the barn was getting too much. She
could only imagine what state her hair was in.

As soon as they stepped out into the cool
air, he leaned her against the wall and kissed her the way she’d been
fantasising about all evening.

His hands pinned her shoulders back as his
lips moved over hers. He kissed her hungrily and she opened her mouth to him.
It had been too long since a good-looking man had tasted her.

The bank robber didn’t count. She didn’t
even know what he looked like.

She sighed and sank her fingers into his
thick hair. His hard body pressed into her. This was a man who knew how to take
control and she gladly relinquished it. He felt so good it was almost familiar
– like kissing a long lost love. She groaned into his mouth and arched her back
up off the wall. Closing her eyes, she gave herself over to the sensations he
was waking inside her.

His hands slid over her dress, moving from
her thighs to her waist to the swell of her breasts. His woody aftershave
seeped into her awareness like a mind-altering drug. She broke off the kiss. It
was too soon. She couldn’t.

Breathing heavily, she shook her head.
“Will you get me another drink?” More alcohol was the last thing she wanted,
but she couldn’t think of anything else to say.

He looked down at her, his face flushed
with need, his eyes unfocused. “I won’t be long.” He disappeared back through
the door.

Loretta slumped against the wall and let
out a long sigh. What was she doing? She separated her hair out with her
fingers, wishing she’d brought the handbag with the mirror in it.

It wouldn’t take him long to fetch a couple
of bottles. She needed to clear her head before he got back. What she really
wanted was an ice-cold lemonade, but she doubted they had any soft drinks at a
party like this.

The door opened long enough for some of the
noise to escape. She backed away a couple of steps, but it wasn’t him. Three
girls looked her up and down, then walked off round the back of the barn. She
looked down at her dress. It wasn’t that unfashionable. Was it?

The door opened again and this time it was
Jordan. “Here.”

She’d never been so pleased to see a bottle
of water before. It was delightfully cold in her hand. She tore off the lid and
gulped half of it down.

“You okay?”

“Yeah.”

He took a kiss from her, but didn’t push it
any further. “I got you a beer too, when you’re ready.”

“Thanks.”

He had some of his drink and held out his
hand.

She accepted the offer and walked with him
into the tall grass that grew alongside the barn.

“Let me know if you want to go back
inside.”

“It’s too hot in there.”

“You were pretty hot out here too.” His
hand tightened around hers and a tingle ran down her spine.

He was stirring up all kinds of dangerous
feelings. She promised herself she wouldn’t go any further than those delicious
kisses. Not on a first date. “So is it just the disco here?”

“No. I was going to show you the other
part. Still up for being naughty?”

She wasn’t so sure, but she went with him
as he led her in the same direction those girls had gone.

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J
ordan finished his second can and brought
a bottle out of his back pocket. He needed to go easy on the drink, but having
Loretta with him was making him nervous. Another one to keep the edge off
wouldn’t hurt.

He rounded the corner and took her up to
the door. This place had more nooks and crannies than you could keep straight
in your head. Pretty handy in the event of a raid.

“After you.”

He followed her inside, admiring the view.
That was the difference between women and girls. Women knew how to show off
their assets. You wouldn’t catch a twenty year-old in a knee-length dress, but
Loretta’s outfit clung to all the right body-parts and she looked hotter than
ninety-nine per cent of the girls out there that night.

“Cards?”

He slipped in behind her, putting his hands
round her waist. “Poker.” There were three tables laid out with games going on
at all of them.

“I take it this isn’t legal,” she
whispered.

“Not exactly.”

She shook her head and he felt her laugh.

“Do you mind if I play?”

“You don’t need my permission.”

He wasn’t entirely sure if that meant she
was okay with it or not. He’d soon find out.

“What rules are they playing?”

“Five card draw.”

“I’m more used to Texas Hold’em.”

“You play?”

“Not as much as I used to.”

She was full of surprises. Not a bad
quality in a woman. “I can stake you if you want to play.”

He felt the tension in her body. When she
looked round at him, she was wearing the same expression she’d had when he
asked her on the date.

“I’ll just watch.”

The games were in full swing with the table
nearest the door set aside for the real high stakes. They settled in to watch
the play.

Loretta moved round to stand next to him.
She tugged on his arm for him to lean down so she could whisper in his ear.
“See the guy with the crazy shirt?”

“Uh-huh.” He must have been wearing the
paisley to put the other players off. Nobody would put that on as a fashion
statement.

“He’s got a really obvious tell.”

Jordan watched him for a few hands. She was
right. Sometimes he would look from player to player before he threw into the
pot. When he did that, he turned out to be bluffing enough times for it to be
more than likely he was bluffing every time.

“Jesus. This is supposed to be the good
table.”

“Having big stakes to play with doesn’t
make you a good player.” Reaching up under his jacket, she drew a line down the
back of his shirt with a fingernail and he shivered.

He’d been hoping to win some money to
impress her, but now he wasn’t so sure. She knew her stuff. He might embarrass
himself. “You should play.” From the look in her eye, she was obviously
tempted.

“You want to throw your money away?”

He put an arm around her waist and got
close enough to whisper. Was that sweet smell her shampoo or her perfume? It
didn’t matter. He licked his lips and weighed up his chances of getting her
into bed that night. “Wait here.”

The cashier was in the far corner of the
room. Jordan put down five hundred and gathered up his chips.

When he walked back across the room, he
brought Loretta’s hands together and emptied their stake into them.

She looked up at him. “What if I lose it
all?”

“Just enjoy it.”

The smile that spread across her face lit
her up like the sun. “I’m not playing at this table, though.”

“Those aren’t enough chips for this table.”
The game at the far end was winding up, so they headed over there.

There was a changeover of players and
Loretta took a seat with four guys of varying levels of toughness. It wasn’t
too surprising when they looked her up and down. They were either taking the
chance to get an eyeful or trying to psyche her out.

He had a moment of worry that they might
get to her, but then he caught her pulling down her dress for maximum cleavage
and messing with her hair.

He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to
concentrate playing against all that femininity. Good on her for using all the
weapons she had.

The dealer laid out the rules, then dished
out the cards. Everyone picked up their hand. Jordan had chosen a spot where he
could see her face rather than what she was holding. Now the curiosity was
starting to get to him.

Chips went into the pot. The bets went
around the circle, with Loretta going last. Everyone stayed nice and
conservative – no raises – and no-one folded. Like most of them, Loretta didn’t
trade any cards. The betting went round again with a couple of raises this
time. The guy with the rimless glasses and a fat cigar threw in his hand. And
then the real game began.

Loretta was on the dealer’s right, so she’d
be last to show what she had. The guy with the ponytail smirked and put down
four tens and a king. Next was an older gentleman with the biggest grey
eyebrows Jordan had ever seen. He put down a flush without any hint of emotion.
The guy in the baseball cap showed four nines and looked like he was going to
cry.

Which just left Loretta.

It was too much to hope she’d win her first
hand, but Jordan’s fingernails were digging little crescents in his palms.
Another beer would have gone down a treat, but then he wouldn’t be able to
drive them home.

She laid out a full house with a smile.
Ponytail gathered up the chips and the whole thing started over again.

Jordan exhaled. He could handle
negotiations with wiseguys and walking into a bank with a gun, but watching
Loretta play poker was shredding his nerves. It was a while before he figured
out why – he had no clue how she’d take it if she lost.

The next hand got dealt and Loretta folded.
She seemed to be enjoying herself, but she might have just been a good actress.
He didn’t know her well enough to be sure. Backing her for this game didn’t
seem like such a great idea any more. If she lost it all and got in a bad mood,
he’d never get anywhere with her.

Round three. Ponytail folded, but a few
raises made for a nice big pot. Eyebrows put down a straight flush – six to ten
of hearts. Baseball cap had four sevens. He managed to look less heartsick this
time. Cigar should have folded, his two pairs was never going to win that hand.
Loretta placed the eight to queen of spades on the table and scooped up her
winnings.

The hands went on and people started
playing like their maiden aunt who was afraid to lose the gas money. Baseball
cap dropped out. It was a relief to see him go before he had a nervous
breakdown.

Ponytail was winning, but Loretta and
Eyebrows were creeping up on him.

The dealer handed out some more cards. The
pot grew.

And that’s when Jordan clocked Loretta’s
tell. She glanced up at him and looked down at her cards. The last time she’d
done that had been just before her four of a kind took a hand.

If he’d noticed, he wouldn’t have been the
only one.

Now he really started to sweat. She might
be okay for this round, but it would catch up with her.

Eyebrows took the pot and they dealt again.

Another hand to Ponytail and Cigar called
it a night.

Raises came back into fashion. The next pot
was the biggest that game had seen. He tried to catch Loretta’s eye, hoping to
tell her to bow out after this one. She didn’t look at him. So, he couldn’t
tell her cut her losses and she probably had a bad hand. Maybe it was for the
best – it would be dangerous to get accused of cheating if someone saw him
trying to communicate with her.

The raises kept coming and the pot got even
bigger.

She still didn’t look at him. Still no
tell. He tried to think of something consoling to say when she lost. But that
was a lot of money on the table.

All the raising finally came to an end and
it was time for the players to drop their pants.

Jordan held his breath. Ponytail put down
another straight flush. Seven to Jack. That was it – game over.

Eyebrows threw down his full house and sat
back in his chair.

Loretta rearranged the cards she was holding.
Everyone was looking at her. Why didn’t she just finish it?

With her face blank of emotion, she turned
to the dealer. “Aces high, right?”

He gave her a look that said he’d never sat
next to a dumber woman than her. He’d gone through all that before they started
playing. “Yeah. Aces high.”

“Good.” She put down the eight of diamonds,
the nine of diamonds, the ten – every diamond up to the ace. “I’m out.” She
reached across the table with both hands and pulled all the chips in front of
her.

It took Jordan a while to recover enough to
help her with all those chips. “Oh my god. You’re a poker hustler.”

“Hardly. That was the baby table.”

They went to cash in and Jordan handed her
a wad of notes. She put up her hands. “It was your money.”

“That you won with.”

She grinned at him. “I don’t have any
pockets and that isn’t going to fit in my handbag.” When she held it up, he
wondered what she did manage to fit in there.

“Okay. I’ll look after it for you.” But he
couldn’t let her give it to him. She’d won it fair and square. “Where’d you
learn to play like that?” He handed her the bottle of lager they’d both
forgotten about.

“The guys on my degree course had a weekly
poker night. I was the only woman who ever went.”

He could picture it. A room full of geeks
and the hot finance student. She must have won every week. “How many games did
you throw?”

She laughed. “You’re good.” She took a
drink.

He watched her delicate throat move as she
swallowed. She was giving him a thirst that alcohol wouldn’t quench.

“Enough to make sure they wanted me to come
back.”

That was it. He was gone. He took her by
the waist and pulled her into his body. Somehow, he’d stumbled into the perfect
woman. He bent down and pressed his lips to hers. It was like plucking a ripe
fruit. He wanted to devour her.

Fuck the bank and Ursino and
Bill-fucking-Marcolini. Fuck Gina. He wanted Loretta and he was going to find a
way to have her for more than one night.

“Come on, we’re leaving.”

Hand in hand, they walked outside to his
car.

She thought about stopping him. She even
put the words together in her head. The problem came when she tried to say
them. Her lips made the right shape, but nothing came out. It would have been
easy to blame the drink or the rush of winning all that money, but that wasn’t
it at all.

It was him.

It was the way he made her feel every time
their lips touched and she tasted his raw, masculine energy. He wanted her so
much it burned into her skin. She’d never felt that before. It was a huge
turn-on.

Walking out to the front of the barn with
him was an out-of-body experience. Her head was full of what would happen when
they got where they were going. What he would do to her. She was already having
the night of her life but she was sure it was about to get even better.

Pulling him to a stop, she pushed him
against the wall and looked up into his eyes. It was too dark to see them
properly, but she could remember the exact shade of blue. She tilted her face
upwards and he took the hint, kissing her breathless.

Out of nowhere, an ear-splitting siren
started up. She opened her eyes to flashing blue lights.

“Shit!” Jordan shouted and dragged her back
the way they’d come.

Her heart went into spasms. The police. She
was at an illegal rave-cum-poker game and the police had arrived.

The music cut out and the gap it left was
soon filled with shouts and screams. They had to get out of there. If she got
arrested...

Her heels kept getting stuck in the mud, so
she kicked them off and left them behind. “Your car. They’ll find your car.”
She couldn’t think straight. Had she left anything in it?

“Shh.” He dragged her out past the back of
the barn and into the field. They rustled through the grass, but it wasn’t tall
enough to offer them any cover.

He seemed to know where he was going, so
she stayed silent and followed his lead. They moved in a crouching run.
Whenever Loretta looked back, she couldn’t see anyone coming their way. Things
at the barn had quietened down. The blue lights were still going, and she
spotted people being led away in handcuffs.

Jesus. What had she let herself get dragged
into?

Jordan brought them up to a fence and
boosted her over it. Not the easiest manoeuvre in a tight dress. It got caught
as she tried to climb down, but she was damned if she was going to let it get
torn. She found the offending piece of wood and tugged herself free.

He dropped to his feet on the other side of
the fence and helped her down. “You okay?”

She nodded, brushing herself off. Now they
were out of the way, her fright subsided and she started to get angry. She
wanted to blame him for taking her there, but she couldn’t. She turned the
anger on herself. He’d told her it was illegal and she’d stayed anyway.

Stupid. She should never have let what Sean
said get under her skin. She was nice and that was that. Making assistant
manager by twenty-seven and buying her own house might not be much by his
standards, but it was more than a lot of people managed.

And now she might lose all of it.

“I can’t believe this is happening.”

“Get down.” He reached for her hand, but
she snatched it away.

Grudgingly, she crouched down and peered
through the fence.

“We’ll have to wait here for a while.”

“Great,” she muttered. Then what would they
do? Even if the police didn’t tow his car, they’d probably clamp it and they’d
definitely run the registration number. “Have you got a criminal record?”