Payback: The Complete Edition Read online

  Payback: The Complete Collection

  By Poppy Romero

  Copyright 2015 Poppy Romero

  Kindle Edition

  The following is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.

  The novella remains copyright of the author in it's entirety.

  Quotation or usage in part or in whole is by permission of the author only.

  For more from Poppy Romero, please visit:

  PoppyRomero.com

  Part 1

  I slammed the laptop screen down in tears. So this was it. Carl had cheated on me.

  Slamming the screen down didn't seem like it was enough, so I picked our wedding photo up, slammed it down again, then swept the photo off the table.

  How could he do this to me? I'd always been faithful. I'd always been demure. I'd even saved myself until marriage, despite a few very close calls. And one of the main reasons I had been so disappointed when Carl told me he'd be at the conference all weekend was that we'd been planning to have kids.

  Things hadn't been great between us for a long time, but I'd thought maybe having a kid would help keep us together. So I'd come off my birth control, and we'd talked about him working extra hard on getting the business running so we could be self-sufficient.

  We'd been looking to start trying when he got back. And I thought maybe it might be a chance to try and spice things up with him. Maybe if he thought he was doing his marital duty, he might be more willing to try harder, be a little more inventive. But that hadn't happened. And now he'd taken that away from me as well.

  When he'd headed off in the taxi he'd kissed me on the cheek, smiled that charming smile, promised he'd be back Monday and then climbed in the back seat. And like that, he was gone, leaving me alone.

  On Friday night, I'd stayed late at the office, clearing up a backlog of paperwork. I didn't know it, but while I was breaking my back earning money to pay for him to go to all these business seminars, he was in a cheap hotel with one of his 'associates,' already fucking her.

  Later, he'd called to check in from his room. I tried to sound supportive, try and let my fears rest. If I hadn't heard that giggle in the background, I probably never would have suspected a thing.

  I tried taking my mind off it, tried telling myself I was being paranoid. I ran a bath and poured myself a glass of wine to try and relax. If I relaxed I might be able to rationalise it. But I downed the whole glass in my nervous state. The more the wine went to my head, the more it bugged me. That female giggle was like an itch nagging at the back of my brain until I couldn't concentrate on anything else.

  He keeps all his passwords in a little address book in the office, so after pacing back and forth across the room trying to psych myself up to doing something, I flipped it open and logged into his emails.

  At first there was nothing. Nothing in 'Sent,' nothing in the inbox except a few business mails. I started to relax, and a little guilt crept in. I was about to log out, hang my head in shame and do something nice for him after he got back, when I clicked on his deleted emails folder.

  There were emails about work, a sale, work, penis enhancement, work, work... “Gemma x.” My heart sank as I scrolled over it. It had an attachment, and the subject line was “Can't wait.”

  Well, I opened it, and saw a short note about being excited to see him this weekend. The photo was her wearing a short dress, taken in a mirror getting ready to go out. At first I was more shocked at the fact that Carl had been receiving these emails and not telling me. A week ago, when I got a simple “Hey, how are you?” on Facebook from an ex of mine called Luke, I told Carl straight away. I've seen too many movies where people don't mention the smallest thing and it blows up in their faces later.

  But this... After the initial shock of seeing her stood posing in such provocative clothes in my husband's inbox, I was furious. I wanted to know more. I picked up the address book with his passwords in it, and flicked through it. His Facebook password was in there, and he was always flicking through it in the evening, especially over the last week or so.

  I logged in, and went straight into his private messages. There, plain as day was all the evidence I needed. They'd started flirting a week or two back, after he'd found her on some website. Things had picked up as he mentioned he'd be away from me this weekend, staying in a hotel.

  Even as he was in the taxi on the way over he was boasting about his deception. Getting away from me for the weekend, saying how much he was looking forward to seeing her, right up until he said he was at the hotel and he'd meet her inside. There was no dirty talk, but Carl had never been the adventurous type about sex. There was plenty of enthusiasm and lots of winks from this Gemma though.

  I was furious. My mind pin-balled back and forth between wanting to call him, wanting to post this all on his Facebook, log into some of his other business accounts and let everyone know what a cheating weasel they were dealing with.

  But I couldn't. We needed the money, and we lived in very judgemental circles, and I stood to lose as much as him.

  I opened the laptop, changed the Facebook account to mine, and sat staring at the status input. How do you write a cleverly worded status update that says “Everything I've planned for has just been taken away from me?”

  I took another sip of my wine. As I sat staring at the screen, a chat box popped up. A simple word. “Hello.”

  I looked at the picture next to it. It was Luke, the ex who had messaged me a few weeks ago. I stared at the new message. After showing Carl the one he'd sent the other week, he'd told me not to reply to him.

  Still bubbling with anger, I clicked the reply box.

  “Hi.”

  A simple act of defiance. How could I have known where it would lead?

  “How's things?” the reply blooped, almost straight away.

  I stared at the screen for a second, then pecked out “Not good.”

  He wrote back straight away. “Not good?”

  I sat tapping the edge of the keyboard, thinking. “Trying to make an important decision.”

  He seemed to be typing for a while, then shot back with “K.”

  'K?' Okay? What kind of reply was that? I glowered at his profile picture, as though I could shoot daggers at him over the internet.

  I had to admit though, he looked good, even in the tiny thumbnail image next to his name. I opened his profile up, and took a look at it full-size. Still the same old Luke. Gym built, tight tee-shirt showing off the guns, same cocky, arrogant grin plastered across his face.

  I was still mad from Carl, and now I felt myself getting mad at Luke as well. “K?” I shot back. “Is that all?”

  A short wait, then he replied. “What do you want me to say?”

  I jabbed a reply. “It's a bit of a coincidence you contacting me now my marriage is over.”

  I was too mad to filter it out, and had hit enter before I'd really thought about what I was typing. But there it was, plain as day, sent out over the internet and on the screen.

  No reply. Not even a notification that he was typing. I drummed my hand on the mouse. Maybe I'd finally scared him off. Without him bothering me I could call some friends, crack open another bottle of wine, console myself and try and work out what the hell I was going to do when Carl got home.

  I turned around and started to scroll through my phone, when the screen lit up. It was Luke's number calling. It took me a second to recognise it, since I'd taken it out of my phone so long ago. Way back before I met Carl, long before the marriage...

  I realised I'd been staring at the screen. I don't know why, but my anger at Carl combined with the wine made me pick up the call.

  “Hello?”
>
  “Kat?” For a moment, it took me aback – nobody calls me Kat any more. Not since... Well, since I was with Luke, I guess. It's Katherine, or Kate now.

  Hearing his voice saying my name in that way was so strange. It made me think of a simpler time, before things had gotten so complicated.

  I snapped out of it. “Luke. What do you want?”

  “Wow. OK, I was just seeing if you were about, after what you said on Facebook.”

  “Seriously?” I yelled. “I tell you my marriage is over, and the first thing you think of is hitting on me?”

  “Well... Yeah.” His bluntness took me aback for a moment. “I'm only in town for another week, and when I heard you weren't married any more I thought I'd get in touch. Is that really so bad?”

  I sighed. “That's not what I meant, Luke. It's... It's complicated, OK?”

  “So talk to me. Tell me what happened.”

  I laughed. “I'm not sure I can. There's still so much I don't know. I only know half of what's going on and I can't think straight. I think Carl cheated on me.”

  And then he asked the question that really got me into trouble. The question I half knew he was going to ask, half wanted him to ask as I stared at his profile picture, drunk and half blind with rage at Carl.

  “Do you want me to come over?”

  When I opened the door and saw him stood there, I knew it was a mistake. He looked sharper than ever, his blue eyes wrinkled at the corner in a smirk. He was wearing a shirt loose at the collar with his sleeves rolled up, and a pair of dark jeans. And yet he still looked dressed up enough to put me to shame in my ratty old t-shirt and jeans.

  He grinned and held up a bottle of red. He knew my weakness.

  “Thought you could use the company of two old friends?”

  I shrugged. “Well I like the wine, I'm not so sure about the ass-hole it showed up with.”

  He laughed, shaking his head. “I suppose I deserved that. Are you going to invite me in?”

  He came through to the office, and I showed him the stuff I found on Carl's accounts. He sat there, patiently scrolling through as I stood behind him. He started with just the Facebook messages, but paused when he got to the photo of Gemma. I was expecting him to start grinning at any moment. I could already tell he liked what he saw by... Well, lets just say he had tight pants on and I had a good memory.

  I shook my head, trying to dispel the memory of his impressive member the red wine was allowing to float dangerously through my head. Luke however was entirely oblivious to my train of thought. He sat hovering over the picture of her dressed to go out, but to my surprise he sat back in the seat, shaking his head. “Crazy.”

  “I know, right?” I felt self-conscious and a little wretched. “How am I supposed to compete with that?”

  He frowned, turning to look at me. “No, I meant he's crazy. I mean, why chase her when he's got you at home?”

  I snorted, rolling my eyes. “I'm not even in her league.”

  He looked me up and down, and shook his head. “I dunno. I've got a pretty good memory. I'd say it was the other way round.”

  I blushed. If he was going by memory, there could be a lot of ways he could be picturing me right now. I'd managed to scrape through dating him with my virginity intact, but only just. It had been one of the things that ended up coming between us, but that didn't mean we didn't take things as far as possible.

  I sighed. “Luke, don't...”

  “No, listen to me.” He got out of the chair, leaning against the desk. “Sit down.”

  I sighed patiently. He spun the chair to face him, leaning in close. I could smell the sharp tang of his shower gel, and the traces of aftershave. It felt somehow comforting, familiar.

  He raised my chin to meet his piercing gaze. “I don't know how the hell he's managed to do this to you.” He said, shaking his head. “Making you think you're not hot. What I do know is that he's an idiot. You deserve better. And he deserves payback.”

  “Payback? What do you mean.”

  He sighed, looking deep into my eyes. “I think you know what I mean. An eye for an eye. He cheated on you, Kat. I'm here. I'm available. And you know I'm up for it.”

  I looked up at him, scandalised. He was so cocky and self-assured, so arrogant. And yet just being so close to him, feeling the heat radiating off him, he was getting me a little worked up. Maybe it was the wine, or the anger at Carl, or just plain old nostalgia for better times. Whatever it was, it was having an effect of me – and judging by the growing bulge in his jeans, it was having an effect on him too.

  I looked across at the laptop, to see a picture of Gemma standing there. She looked so young and pert, and I thought of all the time I'd wasted letting chances slip by so I could save myself for disappointment at the hands of a cheat.

  The anger bubbled up inside me again, and part of me thought do it.

  I shook my head, turning away from him. “You think I look better than her?”

  He leaned in close, whispering in my ear. “I can show you.”

  He took his phone out of his pocket, and flicked through it. When he turned the screen round I gasped.

  “I thought you deleted that!” I yelled, making a grab for the phone. It was a photo he'd taken when we were together, when I'd come back from a night out with the girls. I was drunk, in a stupid mood, and there'd been a stripper at the bar for someone's stag night. When I got in, I wanted to do a striptease for him. The picture was of me, wearing nothing but a pair of hold-ups and sitting on the bed.

  He whipped it away from me, and held it up next to the screen. “Look. Just look, and then you can delete it if you want.”

  I huffed, and then looked, comparing it to Gemma. It was a flattering photo, even I had to admit. I'd almost given in to him completely that night, and probably would have if he'd tried to convince me. We ended up just making each other come with our hands, and even then it was still hotter than any memories I had with Carl.

  Just the thought of Luke still having it after all this time... Still wanting me, still feeling that aroused over me. An image popped into my head of him standing at the phone, kneading the bulge running down the inside of his jeans, and I felt suddenly aware of his physicality, the overpowering presence of him.

  Luke was leaning in to hold up the phone, his hand on the back of the chair. His huge arm lay alongside my shoulders, his skin close to mine. I could feel the heat radiating off him, smell his sweet, intoxicating scent. It brought back so many memories I'd buried trying to be a good little wife. And where had it got me, I thought.

  He leaned in again, his face dangerously close to mine. “You see?”

  I bit my lip, blushing furiously. “I can't believe you still have that!”

  He grinned at me. “I have more. They're all up here. They don't have to just be memories.”

  I looked up at him. “Luke, you can't be serious.”

  His face was inches from mine now. Those cool blue eyes. The beginnings of a grin at the edges of his mouth. Eyebrows raised suggestively. The memories were flooding back now, and I could feel myself hopelessly drawn into remembering the feel of his touch.

  His lips pressed gently into the nape of my neck, and I sighed as I let him. I was being seduced. I felt so tired and betrayed, and his skin felt incredible next to mine. It had been so long since Carl had made any kind of effort with me, and I let myself fall into it.

  “Luke...” I whispered, the last of my control disappearing. I wanted him with a growing hunger, a fierceness and a passion that had been missing from my life for so long.

  I placed my hand on his chest to push him away, but felt the swell of his biceps beneath the fabric of his shirt. I ran my hand over his chest, remembering times before when I'd pressed my hand into his chest to stop us going too far.

  I wondered why.

  His hand slid up the side of my throat, cradling my neck in his hand as he kissed the line of my neck. His breath was warm against my skin as he gently laid kisses across
my skin. I shifted in the seat, feeling a growing heat and urgency between my thighs.

  Luke's head rose from my neck, taking my hand and leading me to the sofa. We fell into it, and he wrapped those huge, strong arms around me, his hands running up and down my back. I laid my hand on his chest again, letting it slide down to his rippling abdomen. My thumb traced a line down the groove of muscle as his lips locked onto mine.

  His hand pulled at the base of my shirt, lifting it over my head. As I threw it across the room, he expertly reached up my back and unhooked my bra. His broad hands slipped the straps down over my shoulders, and I sat, breasts bared in front of my lover in my marital home.

  He gazed admiringly at them, savouring the sight like a sailor at the cliffs of his homeland. He still wanted me, after all this time.

  I unhooked the buttons on the front of his shirt, and as I threw it open, I gave in to how much I still wanted him.

  Soon we were naked. I slipped his underwear off with his jeans, seeing his thick, meaty cock spring out to greet me. I felt a spasm of pleasure between my legs, my body hungering for it inside me, hungering for it to satisfy the lust that had gone unchecked for so long.

  I couldn't help myself. I sank my head down on it, sucking hard on the tip as it pressed into the roof of my mouth. I wanted nothing but to satisfy him, to draw him to full hardness. I was surrounded by his musky scent, and it was only making me more desperate to have him inside me.

  I let it pop out of my mouth and stared up at him. He nodded down at himself, a cocky grin across his face. “Bigger?”

  I blushed, and nodded. He was much, much bigger than Carl. I felt a glow of satisfaction at the thought of it being a competition. Let the best cock win I thought, as I massaged him to stiffness.

  I bit my lip and looked up at him. “Do you... did you bring anything?”

  He grinned back at me, holding up a condom. “Of course.”

  I felt relief inwardly. Luke didn't know I wasn't on birth control, and I didn't want to give him any excuses to back out now. Not this time.