Black Girls and Bad Boys: Stealing Loretta Read Free Page A

didn’t
want to threaten her with the gun again. There was still a bad taste in his
mouth from the last time. “Just open a damn box!”
    She looked at the gun pointing harmlessly
down at the floor. He’d left himself with nowhere to go.
    “Look, there’s a lot of money upstairs. You
got here before lunchtime so there’s plenty in the tills. Take it. The police
will be here soon. Just take it and go.”
    Damn her. Why couldn’t she have been a
typical grey middle-aged man who didn’t give a shit? “Maybe I will.” He moved
closer and picked up the faint floral scent of her perfume.
    If she wouldn’t let him into the safety
deposit boxes, he’d just have to take something else.
    “What are you doing?” She took a step
backwards.
    “You want me to take the cash and nothing
else?”
    “Yes. There’s more than—”
    “Make it worth my while.” He stepped closer
and she backed away.
    “What?”
    “One little kiss and I’ll go back out
there, take the bags and leave.”
    She stared into his eyes. Now that he
looked closer, there were flecks of darker brown in the hazel of her irises. It
was a shame they hadn’t met under different circumstances. If he’d run across
her in a bar he’d have bought her a drink and given her his best line in chat.
    But he had a feeling she was enjoying the
rush of an armed robbery.
    “No!”
    He stepped up to her again. This time, she
didn’t move away.
    “One kiss.” His gaze fell to her full lips.
Gina was usually drenched in lip-gloss, but the bank manager’s lips were
tantalisingly bare.
    “One kiss and you’ll go?” Her voice dropped
to a low murmur that made the breath catch in his throat.
    He nodded, getting closer still. She was
even prettier at a second glance. Her lips parted ever so slightly. She was
thinking about it. Why did he get the impression she was one of those quiet
ones you were supposed to watch?
    “Okay.”
    So she was a naughty girl after all. He
swooped in before she decided to change her mind. At the last moment, he went
in softly, pressing his lips gently to hers.
    She was so tender, it was like nothing he’d
imagined. A tiny sigh escaped her and it went straight to his crotch. She was
driving him crazy.
    He kissed her harder, pushing his tongue
between her lips. She welcomed him in and a multitude of questions sprang up in
his mind.
    This was not the way bank managers were
supposed to kiss.
    Their bodies weren’t even touching, but he
was reeling. If just a kiss from her could have such an effect, what would it
be like to take her to bed?
    The alarm on his phone went off, bringing
him back down to earth.
    When he moved away from her, the room
lurched. She still had her eyes closed.
    “Time to go, I’m afraid. No rest for the
wicked.” He turned on his heel and went back out to find Danny.
    ***
    T he robber was almost through the door
before Loretta’s brain caught up with the rest of her. She could still smell
his aftershave on her top lip. What was she supposed to do now? She followed
after him at a safe distance and watched him take a bulging bag from his
accomplice.
    When they left without a second glance she
should have been relieved, but she found herself wondering how he could have
kissed her like that and then walked away as if nothing had happened.
    What was she thinking? The kiss should
never have happened in the first place. She’d only gone along with it to stop
him taking anything from the safety deposit.
    But was that the whole truth?
    Tom came over and put a hand on her arm,
making her jump. “I pressed the alarm while they were filling their bags.”
    “Oh. Good.”
    “And I think someone’s called the police.”
    She nodded, still trying to process what
had taken place. “Can you go and wait on the door? Stop people coming and
going.” Now it was over, her legs felt boneless. She managed to make it to the
customer service desk and into a chair before she crumpled in a heap.
    Someone placed a cup of tea in front