The Downfall Series Box Set

by Edie Baylis

  Reaching out, he grasped one of Maggie’s breasts and twisted it painfully in his hand. Hearing her yelp only turned him on further. It was no good. He needed to put his cock somewhere.

  Lurching forward, he pressed the swollen head hard into Maggie’s spread flesh, only to find her completely unyielding. What the fuck was her problem?

  Ben pushed harder, his cock jerking. Fuck. He was going to come any second. He couldn’t have a half-baked orgasm. He needed to get it in somewhere, or carry on having a wank.

  “Ben, you’re hurting me!” Maggie cried from under him.

  Grunting in annoyance, Ben quickly pushed back on his haunches and knelt astride her, his hand back round his cock pumping hard inches from her mouth. Oh he could feel it now – almost there. “Come on!” he screamed, red faced.

  Maggie closed her eyes in desperation as Ben shot his load in her face, up her nose and into her hair. As he groaned with release she opened her eyes in total shock and it only got worse when he promptly crashed out heavily on top of her and began snoring.

  FIVE

  “WHERE ARE YOU GOING, Jim?” the brunette asked breathlessly, hastily straightening her clothes as the man zipped up his flies.

  Reaching for the door handle he glanced disinterestedly at the woman he’d just taken against the wall. She’d got what she wanted hadn’t she?

  “Don’t know where you’re going, but I’m getting another drink.” Popping a small orange pill into his mouth, he smiled coldly. “See you around.”

  “What? But....” The brunette didn’t have time to finish her sentence before the door closed in her face.

  Sitting down at the table he picked up his fresh pint. Leaning back into the tapestry-covered bench seat he sighed and ignored the glares the brunette, now ensconced the other side of the bar with her coven of mates was giving him.

  Sparking up a cigarette, he tried to relax. Not that there was much point. He’d never get used to how his life was these days. He’d also never get used to being called Jim and would certainly never get used to being without Jane.

  Seth gritted his teeth. If that stupid cow Sally even thought about muttering how worried she was living in the city when he got home he wasn’t sure he’d be able to keep his temper. Not that he usually managed to anyway.

  He’d been hoping she’d stay where she was when he moved up here, but true to form, she’d followed him. The last thing he should have done was to get involved with someone. It had seemed like an easy option for a place to crash at the time, but had turned out to be anything but.

  Seth scowled. He knew he was harsh on Sally and that she didn’t deserve how he treated her, but it wasn’t like he’d promised her anything. He’d made it very clear he didn’t want a relationship with her or anyone.

  Why did people keep pushing for things he could no longer give? Asking him bloody questions all the time. Why the fuck did she want to know about him anyway? What difference did it make? None.

  How was he supposed to allow himself to get involved with anyone? The one woman he’d loved had left him for dead - not only breaking his body, but also his heart. That was not something he would repeat. Not that he could.

  At the end of the day it was no skin off his nose where he lived or who he lived with. If these people expected anything else from him, other than being in the same room, they’d be sorely disappointed. They all irritated the fuck out of him. Especially Sally.

  Seth knew he could have picked any woman to willingly give him a roof over his head in return for his physical attentions, but that weak-willed little mouse was a total nightmare. She made his skin crawl bleating on about this and that. In fact he wouldn’t give her what she wanted even if he could. And he couldn’t.

  Feeling his hackles rising, Seth sighed in frustration. Even though he’d never been a fan of big cities he’d stayed in the last place far too long and knew cities offered the best prospects of remaining invisible.

  He completely understood Phil and Digger’s reasoning for wanting him out of town all that time ago, but there was a big part that had desperately wanted to return to his flat, even though it would have meant torturing himself with Jane’s memory.

  The prospect of going to jail hadn’t fazed him. He knew the cops were on his tail, but he’d have gladly taken a fifteen-stretch for murder just to return for a day and bury his nose in Jane’s clothes. To drink in her scent one last time.

  Even when he’d lost it completely after Phil had broken the news about Jane topping herself, Phil and Digger had still somehow managed to hold him together. He’d owed it to them to do what they’d asked.

  Admittedly he’d known it was the best thing to do, but it had also meant leaving Jane. Or at least the memories of her.

  He’d had little choice in the end because Phil and Digger had put their foot down and shipped him straight out. They’d realised he’d have ballsed everything up otherwise and Seth hadn’t fought them. They’d already put their necks on the line for him by making sure he was kept out of nick. They were the only two who knew the score, they were trustworthy and he’d wanted it to remain that way.

  Seth shook his head in the hope of dislodging the thoughts on repeat in his mind. It didn’t matter where he went or who with, Jane would never be removed from his head and neither did he want her to be.

  When Dan suddenly entered through the door from the street outside, Seth finished his pint and pushed himself to his feet. About bloody time.

  SALLY WRUNG HER HANDS together and tried to concentrate on Coronation Street. In reality she was staring blankly at the television, not hearing or seeing anything that was going on.

  It had been three weeks since they’d moved and her life was now even worse than before. Inhaling deeply, she got up from the sofa and walked into the kitchen. Reaching into the back of the cupboard behind the sink, she pulled out the concealed bottle of wine. How she’d managed not to drink it until now was a mystery.

  Feeling the tears welling in her eyes she quickly unscrewed the bottle and poured it into a tumbler with shaking hands. It wasn’t chilled, but who cared. She’d finished the glass before even returning to the sofa and hastily refilled it before sitting down. She didn’t know why she was rushing. It wasn’t like Jim would be back any time soon.

  Sally dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. He’d be out most of the night getting drunk and shagging whoever he felt like. Doing God knows what with people he spoke to in the pub. Whoever they were? It wasn’t like she was ever allowed to accompany him.

  Finishing the second glass, she tipped the remains of the bottle into the large tumbler, scowling when it filled only half the glass. She glared around the flat. Why had they moved here? She had a perfectly nice house and now they were living in a crummy flat in a crap area miles away.

  The worst thing was Jim would have quite happily left without her. Her lip trembled. She’d had to beg to come with him. Why was she doing this to herself?

  Bolstered by the wine which had begun to take effect, Sally stood up and grabbed her bag. She was going down the shop to get more wine. Jim would have a go at her anyway, so she might as well get drunk. Really drunk.

  JANE WALKED INTO THE toilets of the wine bar and after ascertaining the other cubicles were empty, moved into one and locked the door. Fishing out the wrap of cocaine from her leather handbag, she cut a line on the top of the cistern and quickly snorted it using a rolled-up twenty pound note.

  She wasn’t quite sure why she’d agreed to come out for drinks with the people she worked with, as she’d rather drink bleach than spend time with those conceited bastards. However her lack of socialising appeared to be drawing more attention to her which was the exact opposite of what she wanted, so she’d had to make an effort.

  Even though they’d long since given up asking her to join them, when she’d overheard them discussing their plans to hit the town that evening, she’d bitten the bullet and asked if she could join them.

  She knew they didn’t like her, espe
cially with the office ‘hunk’ trailing her around. Never mind - it would give them something to talk about behind her back.

  Jane sniffed hard, trying to dislodge the bit of coke still wedged at the top of her left nostril. She didn’t think Ben was all that. Ok, he was handsome - in a clean-cut way, but a bit skinny for her liking. Probably dull as ditch water too.

  She chuckled. Maybe she should try him? It wasn’t like her type had done her any favours. Just ruined her life.

  Don’t even think about that, she scolded herself. It had taken a very long time to train herself and it would be too easy to unleash it all again. She couldn’t afford that.

  All she needed to do was maintain the charade of being normal and keep her nose clean. If she did that there was no reason whatsoever why she’d have to revisit her past.

  Hearing the outer toilet door open, Jane flushed the chain and opened the cubicle door. Time to get out there and play the game.

  SIX

  MAGGIE NERVOUSLY FIDGETED in front of the Traveller’s Arms door. She’d purposefully left it to nearly the end of the night before going out because it was more than likely Ben would be there by then. Plus it had taken her a while to get drunk enough to face it.

  After finally getting out from underneath him the other night she’d eventually fallen asleep and when she’d woken in the morning he’d acted like the previous night had been normal.

  She’d managed to convince herself he must have been behaving out of character because he’d been so drunk and stoned. He probably hadn’t even realised he’d made her feel like a piece of meat. He clearly liked her otherwise surely he wouldn’t have said he’d see her soon when he’d left for work would he? However, she’d been to the pub every night since, but had seen no trace of him.

  Pushing at the heavy wooden door, Maggie walked in. She tried to stop her eyes from darting left to right and scanned the bar for Ben like she did every night. Ignoring the stares and giggles coming from a group of girls sitting in the corner, she moved towards the bar.

  “If you’re after Ben then you’ve just missed him,” the bar man muttered, eyeing Maggie.

  Maggie froze. Was she that obvious? “No, no I’m not. I’ll just have a half, please.”

  “He was here just a minute ago,” a voice said from behind.

  Turning, Maggie stared at the girls sitting around a corner table. Unsure of what to say or do she fidgeted nervously.

  When one of the women beckoned her over, Maggie picked her drink up from the bar and self-consciously staggered over, knowing she was too drunk to maintain a normal façade.

  Shelley looked Maggie up and down, scrutinising her tie-dyed leggings and fringed top in contempt. “I take it you know Ben?” she asked quizzically. “Hey, you’re not his girlfriend are you?”

  Maggie swallowed. Was she Ben’s girlfriend? Had he said that? A warm sense of satisfaction flooded through her and she smiled. “Well yes, sort of I guess.”

  When all the other women burst out laughing, Maggie suddenly felt very stupid. The idea of Ben being with her was obviously ridiculous...

  Shelley managed to compose herself enough to continue speaking and plastered a false look of shock on her face. “Oh dear. This is very awkward... You’d better come and sit down,” she said, kicking the other women under the table to stop their giggling.

  “I don’t know how to tell you this,” Shelley continued, hoping the expression on her face conveyed one of sympathy.

  She’d had a shite night after being completely humiliated by that gorgeous bloke in the toilets and was eager to take her frustration out on someone. The way the man had dismissed her like a piece of dirt had really hurt. She called the shots with men, not the other way around. Then to top it off, Ben had given her no attention because he’d been more interested in that snotty bitch, Marie.

  Shelley scowled, When Marie had said she was leaving, Ben had offered to walk her to the taxi rank. Still, he’d be back soon and it would be funny to see how he acted around the dippy cow sitting here. This would be fun.

  “We work with Ben,” Shelley said sweetly as Maggie sat down next to her. “How long have you two been together?”

  Maggie anxiously fumbled in her bag looking for her cigarettes. “Oh erm, several months now,” she gibbered, desperately trying to remember when she’d first seen him. She’d count their relationship from then.

  Ignoring the snigger from a woman attempting to disguise it as a cough, she fixed her eyes on Shelley. “So, where is he then? In the loo?”

  “Erm, no. He left with a woman we work with.” Shelley put her hand over her mouth for maximum effect. “I’m afraid Ben was drunk and well, Marie pressured him into walking her home.” Looking at the reaction on Maggie’s face, Shelley smiled inwardly. This would get Ben back for ignoring her all night and furthermore piss that stuck up bitch off too.

  “Yes, the girl was all over him,” Shelley lied, enjoying the hurt on Maggie’s face immensely. “Almost pulling at his clothes she was. I tell you, we won’t be inviting her out with us again. It was downright embarrassing. We wouldn’t want people thinking we’re easy too would we girls?” She looked around the group whilst they nodded in agreement and concealed their smirks.

  Feeling her bottom lip beginning to quiver, Maggie quickly stood up, slightly overbalancing and knocked the table enough to spill some wine out of one of the women’s glasses. “Sorry, sorry,” she cried as the women glared at her. She needed to get away from here.

  Shelley tugged Maggie’s arm, barely able to conceal her amusement. “Oh don’t go. Us girls should stick together. Bloody men! They’re all the same! Take anything that’s offered to them, they will. You shouldn’t take it to heart.”

  Without replying, Maggie blindly stumbled from the pub into the night with tears streaming down her face.

  JANE HAD JUST ABOUT had enough and was getting more and more irritated by this jumped-up prick. All night she’d put up with ill-concealed digs, barbs and bad looks from the other women whilst Ben gave her the eye. She’d wanted to smash their faces into the table, but somehow she’d kept herself under control.

  Now they were on their own and waiting for a taxi, Ben, who presumed he was God’s gift, was attempting to slobber all over her. Thought he could play her as well did he?

  Jane smiled. Maybe, just maybe it was time she allowed a little bit of herself back out?

  “Are you sure I can’t tempt you into having one last drink back at mine, Marie?” Ben wheedled, his arm resting on the wall behind her.

  Jane glanced up at him. Flipping her sullen expression over like a light, she smiled. “Ok. Why not. I guess as we’re working together I should get to know you all better. It’s been such a fun night.” Yeah right. Game on. Let’s see what you’re made of you twat.

  When the taxi arrived Ben could barely contain himself as he held open the door for Marie. He’d give her the ride of her life tonight and loosen her up a bit.

  SETH WAS NICELY DRUNK by the time he’d got in the car and driven the mile home. He’d almost calmed down, thanks to the copious amounts of beer and pills he’d put away while listening to Dan.

  He’d met Dan several months ago and although he didn’t know him that well, they’d got on great. It seemed Dan had his fingers in a number of pies - some of which, from what he’d said, sounded quite lucrative. Definitely more up his street than window fitting...

  Seth wasn’t sure whether he’d take up any of the offers to get involved in the dealings Dan had got on. He needed to be careful and keep off the radar. He couldn’t afford to get busted because that would immediately unravel his identity and thereby guarantee him a hefty jail sentence.

  He was pushing his luck as much as he felt able to already by doing small coke and pills deals, but he’d been very careful not to get involved in anything more. However it was tempting and would be nice to dabble back into not only what he was used to but what he was extremely good at.

  Pulling up outside the flat Seth s
cowled seeing the lounge light on. That meant Sally was still up. Maybe there would be a miracle and she’d be happy to get fucked without wanting a conversation? He’d do his duty and bring her off, but he didn’t want any questions.

  Feeling his blood pressure rising with the impending possibility of the usual inquisition, Seth took a deep breath and turned the engine off. All he wanted was a couple more beers and time to mull over what Dan had said.

  SALLY HAD BEEN ALMOST asleep when she heard the key in the lock. She quickly rearranged herself on the sofa and fluffed her hair out. She’d give Jim the best surprise tonight and he’d finally kiss her. In fact she’d insist on it.

  During the course of the evening whilst she’d been waiting for his return she’d got steadily drunker - thanks to two further bottles of wine and now she felt invincible. She’d also come to the conclusion if she behaved more assertively Jim would treat her better. He was probably one of those people who secretly liked women to take control. She didn’t know why she hadn’t thought of it before. It was obvious.

  Well, she was finally throwing caution to the wind and going for it.

  Sally traced her nails around her nipples to make them nice and hard for when Jim walked in. Seeing her lying naked and ready for him on the sofa would show him she meant business and he’d finally give himself to her. Properly.

  Spreading her thighs, she slipped her hand between her legs and began lightly touching herself. She was already aroused at the prospect of Jim’s face when he set eyes on her, but she wanted to make sure she was more than ready when he took her with savage abandonment.

  Furthermore, having never forgotten the remark he’d made that first night about vodka, she’d gone all out and bought a small bottle. Even though the horrible burn of the raw spirit pained her, she’d continued sipping at it, knowing it would please him.