Paradise Syndrome Read online

  Kian rolled them over so Cate was on her back; he could feel the soft swell of her bump pressing against his skin. Cate tugged impatiently at his t-shirt until he pulled back and removed it, giving her unrestricted access to his bare chest.

  “What’s that?” She felt a bumpy patch of skin on his pectoral.

  Kian grinned, “I got a new tattoo.”

  Cate led him across to the window so she could see it properly. It was an intricate design made up of a series of numbers. “Do you like it?”

  He already had the Chinese symbol for courage tattooed on his side. He’d had that done a few years ago when they were separated.

  Cate traced her fingers over the numbers, “what does it mean?”

  They were interrupted by the bedroom door opening. “Mama!”

  “Ugh,” Lola rolled her eyes as she followed her brother into the room. “I told you they’d be making kissy faces.”

  Cate was about to pick Mateo up when Kian intervened, “I’ll do it.”

  “Mum, can I e-mail Noah now?”

  Cate rolled her eyes. “OK.”

  Kian put Mateo back down on the carpet and he happily toddled over to the windows. “Boat.”

  Kian reached for Cate’s hand and he slowly traced her finger over several of the numbers. “Your birthday.”

  “Is that so you’ll never forget it?” Cate teased.

  “Christmas Eve,” Kian traced another set of numbers. “Our first kiss.”

  Cate recognised the next set of numbers, “our wedding date?”

  As she studied it more closely, she realised that all of the numbers which made up his new tattoo corresponded to important dates in their relationship.

  “Lola’s birthday.”

  “What about it?” Lola came back into the room. “Dad, why don’t you ever wear a shirt?”

  CHAPTER 3

  “Dad, where are we going?” Lola grumbled later that evening as they walked along the promenade. “I’m starving.”

  Kian chuckled, “we’re almost there, Lo.”

  There was a distinguished older gentleman sat on one of the wooden benches dotted along the promenade; a black and white puppy was running excitedly around his ankles. Lola stopped and looked longingly at the pup. “I miss Jimmy.” She swiped at a tear which trickled down her cheek. Cate’s brother, Ben and his wife, Erin were looking after their French bulldog, Jimmy.

  “I know, sweetheart,” Cate cuddled her daughter.

  “Boat,” Mateo yelped excitedly from his pushchair. He was still gripping on to the toy ferry boat Kian had bought for him.

  “Here we are,” Kian stopped outside the Taco Shack. The sound of laughter and lilting Hawaiian music spilled out from the large wooden deck, which was lit up with red and green fairy lights.

  “Hi Kian,” one of the waitresses greeted him with a smile. “Give me a couple of minutes, hun.”

  “Do you come here a lot?” Cate asked, trying not to be suspicious. “They know your name?”

  Kian helped her dismantle the pushchair and settle Mateo in his highchair. “Yeah, they do the best fish tacos.”

  “OK,” Heidi came back and gave them menus. “Let me see, you must be Lola and this handsome little fella must be Mateo, am I right?”

  “That’s right,” Kian laughed. “You’ve got a good memory.”

  Heidi giggled, “your daddy talks about you all the time.”

  Mateo waved his menu in the air, “Dada!”

  They were seated on the front deck and there was a warm breeze coming off the Sound. Cate sat back and let the conversation wash over her.

  A guy in a green polo shirt came over to the table and high-fived Kian. “Hey man.”

  “Hey,” Kian introduced them; Trent was one of his team-mates at Seattle F.C.

  It was strange, Cate thought. Kian was already settled here in Seattle. He had friends and he knew where to get the best fish tacos.

  “Lola!” Cate yelped as her daughter nearly stumbled off the kerb. They’d finished their tacos and were walking back home again. Lola had been holding on to one of the handles of Mateo’s pushchair but her eyelids kept drooping.

  “Are you tired, sweetheart?” Kian asked. Lola nodded. “Come on, I’ll give you a piggy back.” He lifted his daughter up on to his back. Soon, she rested her head against the back of his neck and fell asleep.

  “Do you want any help?” Jean asked when they got back to the house.

  “Thanks Mum,” Kian kissed Jean’s cheek, “but I think we can manage.”

  Cate settled Mateo down in his new bedroom. It was decorated in a nautical theme in different shades of blue and white. He looked so peaceful; she decided against waking him up so that she could get him changed into his pyjamas and instead just removed his shoes and socks. He was still holding the toy ferry boat so she gently prised it out of his hand and put it on his bedside table so he’d be able to see it as soon as he woke up. She softly brushed his inky-black hair off his forehead and kissed him. “Goodnight, buddy.”

  When Cate came out of the bathroom, Kian was sat on the end of the bed waiting for her. As her eyes trailed down, she realised he was naked; his thick cock stood proud and erect against his abdomen.

  “Oh,” she blushed, quickly looking down at the carpet. Had he always been that big? She felt ridiculous; she and Kian had been married for eight years and she was expecting their third child but Kian could still make her blush like an innocent virgin.

  The cotton of her nightgown felt rough against her swollen, tingling nipples. She walked over to the wardrobe and busied herself hanging up her clothes.

  “What’s wrong?” Kian asked. She felt his heat against her skin and then his hands gripped her hips; it felt like they were burning through the flimsy cotton.

  “Nothing,” Cate shook her head.

  Kian was a typical, red-blooded male who liked sex. Back home they’d rarely gone two nights without making love and yet they’d just been separated for five months. She thought about Heidi, the cute waitress at the Taco Shack.

  “Lots of cold showers,” Kian said, as if he could read her mind.

  “I didn’t…” Cate didn’t want him to think that she was accusing him of cheating on her.

  “It was a long time, angel,” Kian reached for her wrists and gently tugged her back towards the bed. “But it’s over now.”

  “I’m sorry,” Cate swallowed the huge lump at the back of her throat.

  With the backs of her legs pressed up against the mattress, Kian slid his hands around to her bottom and lifted her up against his hard, unrelenting body. She felt his erection nudge against the apex of her thighs. “Mm,” Cate dug her fingers into his shoulders.

  “You were what got me through the last five months,” Kian said thickly, stripping Cate of her nightgown. “Only you.”

  “If I remember,” he chuckled, palming her soft breast. “Your nipples are extra…” Kian brushed his calloused thumb over the rosy tip, making her shiver, “sensitive.”

  It had been too long since she’d been touched so intimately. During the five months they’d been living on different continents, they’d had phone sex at least once a week. Kian had suggested Skype sex but Cate had quickly vetoed the idea. She’d used the excuse that she wasn’t sure how secure it would be – the last thing she’d wanted was for cringe-worthy footage of her trying to be sexy to end up all over the internet. She was incredibly glad she’d said no when she’d found out that she was pregnant. Kian was so obsessed with her breasts; he would definitely have been suspicious if they’d suddenly started getting bigger. At least with non-sexy Skype, she could make sure that she was only filmed from her collarbone up.

  Kian bent down and licked around her nipple, tasting the difference between her creamy flesh and the tight, puckered skin. He sucked her taut nipple into the wet heat of his mouth. Cate felt her legs buckle; he was right, her nipples were incredibly sensitive when she was pregnant. He guided her backwards onto the mattress.

  B
egging him not to stop, she speared her fingers through his hair, holding him hostage against her quivering, aching flesh. He looked up at her, his dark eyes glittering, letting her nipple fall out of his mouth with a loud pop. “Please,” Cate yearned, arching upwards. Kian kissed down the valley between her breasts and up to her other nipple. She was so aroused, it was excruciating. Kian licked around her nipple, teasing her until tears of desperation leaked from the corners of her eyes. Her hips shifted restlessly against the fresh cotton sheets.

  “Tell me what you want,” Kian demanded.

  “You,” Cate whimpered as Kian blew on her nipple. “There. Now.”

  Kian bent his head and sucked her nipple into his mouth.

  He slid a hand down her soft, dewy skin to her hipbone and teased her a little more, tracing the lace edging of her panties. He could almost taste her feminine musk.

  As he dragged her panties slowly down her legs, his knuckles brushed against the strip of dark hair between her legs. “Please,” Cate cried, fisting the sheets beneath them.

  Kian parted her legs wide and studied her glistening, pink sex, framed by those exotic dark curls. He stroked his hands up her trembling inner thighs and then slid them underneath her bottom, lifting her up so that he could feast on the honey spilling freely between her legs. There was a trickle of arousal on her inner thigh. Kian pressed his tongue to her skin, following the glittering trail up to her hot, throbbing core. Her skin tasted so sweet. He bit her inner thigh just hard enough to leave a small mark, delighting as she cried out; her legs kicking around him.

  Kian flattened his tongue and tasted his wife for the first time in five months. She was so responsive; every flick of his tongue against her swollen, pink clit dragged another desperate, aching cry from her throat. He pushed two fingers inside her, sheathing them inside that tight, pulsing heat. He showed her no mercy; his tongue and fingers working together to drive her to an unspeakable climax.

  Cate tried to push him away, afraid of the sheer power of her impending orgasm. With his free hand, he gripped her wrists, pinning them to the mattress. As his fingers touched that spot that only he knew about, detonating her last line of defence, she exploded in the most violent climax. Kian kissed and stroked her through it, demanding every ounce of pleasure from her slender body.

  As the waves of exquisite pleasure began to recede, Cate blinked open her eyes; her inky-black hair was a tangled web covering her face. Kian brushed it away so that he could see the post-coital softness in her big, black eyes. He kissed her, gently nipping and sucking her lips until they were tingling and swollen.

  “Oh,” Cate moaned as she felt his hot, male flesh throb between her parted thighs. The tips of her fingers dug painfully into his shoulders. With her lips parted, his tongue licked into her mouth, stoking the flames of her raging desire. He slid a hand under her bottom and lifted her up, positioning her slender body just how he wanted.

  “Kian,” Cate opened her eyes, breaking the kiss as she felt the blunt head of his cock nudge against her narrow opening. He pushed through and although she was slick, she still felt a momentary sting. It had been five months. Kian felt her stiffen underneath him and quickly stopped. He stroked her flushed cheek, “am I hurting you, angel?”

  “No,” Cate shook her head. The pain had already started to recede. Her body was slowly beginning to remember him, stretching to accommodate his thick girth. She wrapped her legs tightly around his waist.

  Kian pulled back and took her again. His cock was painfully hard, his balls pulled tight against his abdomen. He’d waited five months and it was taking everything he had not to immediately blow his load. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

  Her soft, undulating curves were a seductress, beckoning him closer to the abyss. As he surged forward, her nipples which were still damp from his kisses, dragged against the hard planes of his chest. He wanted to claim every fucking inch of her. She clawed desperately at his back, wanting it harder, faster and deeper. Her breathy cries as he relentlessly pounded into her felt like they were snipping away at his self-control strand by strand. She was so fucking tight; black spots clouded his vision. Kian slanted his lips over Cate’s; taking her mouth with reckless abandon. He needed her with him right now.

  When he eventually emerged from the haze, he quickly rolled on to his back, taking Cate with him. He didn’t want to do anything to harm her or the baby.

  Cate rested her head on his sweaty chest, her soft breasts pillowing against his skin. “I’m sorry,” she panted, her lungs still working overtime to suck in oxygen. I wasn’t accusing you…”

  “I know,” Kian sighed, trailing his fingers down her spine. He knew she didn’t genuinely think that he’d been with someone else but they’d been apart for five months, which was more than long enough for niggling, little doubts to worm their way inside even the strongest marriage. He couldn’t blame her for that; he’d felt huge relief when he’d felt how tight she was, physical evidence that she hadn’t been with anybody else while they’d been apart. It was ridiculous; Cate had never given him any reason to doubt her fidelity. He was her only lover; she’d been a virgin when they got together.

  She looked across at the Sound, which glittered in the moonlight. “I keep thinking that this is all a dream and I’m going to wake up to a cold, empty bed tomorrow.”

  “Never again,” Kian reassured her, pulling the duvet up over their naked bodies.

  CHAPTER 4

  Cate was woken up several hours later by a loud clap of thunder. She looked at the clock on the bedside table; it was two am.

  She pulled on her nightgown and stumbled over to the glass doors which led from the bedroom out on to the balcony, watching as lightning blistered angrily across the black skies. Instantaneously, there was another loud bang of thunder, which made her jump. She pressed the palm of her hand against the cool glass, trying to steady her racing heartbeat. It sounded as if the storm was raging right above their heads.

  There was a timid knock on their bedroom door. Cate opened the door and Lola was stood there, clutching the England football shirt that she sometimes used as a comfort blanket. She’d always been terrified of thunder storms. “I don’t like it,” Lola’s bottom lip trembled.

  “Come here,” Cate cuddled her daughter, feeling her little body shivering. “It’s OK.”

  “What’s going on?” Kian asked, bleary-eyed.

  There was another loud bang. “Mama!” Mateo’s little voice echoed down the hallway.

  Kian threw back the covers, “I’ll go.”

  Cate settled Lola down in the middle of the bed and lay down beside her.

  “Mummy,” Lola cried, burying her face in Cate’s nightgown as a fresh blaze of lightning lit up the bedroom. “It’s just God moving the furniture, sweetheart,” Cate said softly, stroking her daughter’s hair. “He needs the light to see what he’s doing.”

  Kian returned, carrying Mateo. He put him down next to Lola and then lay on the other side. “Mummy and Daddy are here,” Cate said softly, kissing Lola’s forehead. “We’ll protect you.”

  “I want to go home,” Lola whimpered. “I don’t like it here.”

  “Home,” Mateo babbled.

  Cate gulped, “this is our home now, sweetie. You, me, Mats and Daddy.”

  “Mama,” Mateo tugged Cate awake far too early the next morning. “Cakes!”

  Cate sat up and immediately felt disorientated; she’d expected to see their bedroom at home. The early morning sunlight, which was glistening on the Sound just beyond the French windows, hurt her bleary eyes.

  “Too early,” Lola complained, burrowing deeper under the covers.

  Cate looked for Kian but his side of the bed was empty. Mateo clambered down off the bed and toddled towards the door, leaving Cate with no choice but to follow him. He was still a little unsteady on his feet and they didn’t have baby gates on the stairs here like they did at home, or where they used to live anyway.

  When they got to the top of
the stairs, Cate finally understood what Mateo meant – the delicious scent of hot, syrupy pancakes wafted up from the kitchen, causing her stomach to loudly rumble.

  “Cakes!” Mateo giggled, clapping his little hands together.

  Cate scooped him up and carried him downstairs. When she walked into the kitchen, it was Jean at the stove instead of Kian. “How are you not jet-lagged?” she asked, hiding her disappointment. “I feel like I’m wading through treacle.”

  Jean chuckled, “I’m only here for a couple of weeks. I want to make the most of it.”

  “Why don’t you sit down?” Jean gestured to the counter, “and I’ll make you both some breakfast.” She moved about the kitchen with ease, already knowing where everything was.

  A couple of minutes later, Lola joined them. “Where’s Dad?”

  “Um…”

  “He’s gone for a run,” Jean explained. “He’ll be back soon.”

  “Morning,” Kian tugged out his earbuds as he walked through the back door. They’d just finished breakfast. He was wearing a dark-grey vest, which was drenched with sweat and clung sinfully to his chiselled pectoral and abdominal muscles and a pair of black running shorts.

  “Hey angel,” Kian kissed Cate on the cheek before grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge. “What are your plans for today?”

  “Um, I don’t know?” Cate shrugged. She’d thought that they would be spending their first full day in Seattle together as a family.

  Sensing the awkwardness, Jean suggested, “we should go to Pike Place Market. Mateo will love the flying fish.”

  Cate followed Kian upstairs, “you aren’t coming with us?”

  Kian stripped off his vest. “I’ve got a couple of meetings this morning. I’ll come across on the ferry with you guys. We can all do something together later this afternoon.”