Paradise Syndrome Read online

  “You’re forgiven,” Liv grinned. “You know I’m absolutely useless at holding grudges.”

  “You look so different,” Cate marvelled when she took a step back and looked at Liv properly. Her long brown hair was streaked with blonde and her golden tan brought out her sparkling, blue eyes. She looked happier than Cate had ever seen her before. “L.A. suits you.”

  “I don’t know what it is,” Liv shrugged, “I’m just really freaking happy.”

  She reached for Cate’s hand and tugged her towards the car, “let’s go.”

  “Nice car,” Cate settled into the passenger seat, the leather already warm against her thighs.

  “It’s a rental,” Liv said. “I thought we could travel in style today.”

  Liv took her on a whistle stop tour of the city and Cate said “wow” more times than she could count. Unlike the awkwardness she’d felt in Seattle, Cate could truly relax in her sister’s company. Liv knew her better than almost anybody else.

  She’d arranged for them to go on the Warner Bros’ Studio Tour and they both gasped as the trolley stopped by the gazebo in what they knew as Bluebell from one of their favourite TV shows, Hart of Dixie. They snapped lots of photos on their phones. “We should definitely send these to Erin and Lauren,” Cate nudged Liv. Their friend, Lauren and sister-in-law, Erin were both fellow Dixie-ites.

  “Where are we going next?” Cate asked eagerly as Liv drove past the UCLA campus.

  Liv stopped the car in front of a small cemetery. “I thought you’d want to see this.” Cate followed Liv through the quiet, well-kept grounds until they stopped in front of a small plaque. Cate looked down at the ground and was struck silent. Ever since she was a little girl, Natalie Wood had been her favourite actress.

  She could still remember the first time she’d seen West Side Story; it was a rainy afternoon and since they couldn’t play outside, Jean had suggested that Cate and Sinead watch a movie instead. Cate had been instantly mesmerised by Natalie as “Maria.” Jean had the CD soundtrack and afterwards they’d spent hours in Sinead’s bedroom singing and dancing to their favourite songs. Sinead’s favourite was “America,” she loved swishing her skirt and pretending to be Rita Moreno’s character, the sassy “Anita”.

  Cate dropped to her knees and reverently ran her finger over the cool plaque. It felt unreal that she was standing here, looking down at the grave of her favourite actress. Natalie had tragically drowned years before Cate was even born. She could see all of her movies playing on a show reel in the still air of the cemetery; Gypsy, Splendour in the Grass, Sex and the Single Girl, Miracle on 34th Street. On screen, Natalie had always been so vibrant and alive. Cate reached into her pocket, found some coins and placed them next to the others on the plaque.

  As they continued their walk through the sun-dappled cemetery, Liv pointed out several other famous graves but Cate was still thinking about that small plaque. It wasn’t just that she’d seen where her favourite actress was buried; it was that Liv had known to bring her here. This whole day had proved just how much her sister knew about Cate.

  “You’re quiet,” Liv said as they made one final stop at the Grove. Eschewing the fancy restaurants, they wandered through the Farmer’s Market, passed the veterans of Hollywood past sharing stories and playing chess at the small metal tables. The delicious scent of pizza wafted from one of the nearby stands. They each bought a slice and sat at one of the tables, the grease staining the paper plates. It was one of the best slices of pizza Cate had ever tasted.

  She wished that she could bring Lola and Mateo here. It was strange how wherever she was, she always wanted to be somewhere else. She loved her sister fiercely and today had been amazing but she missed her children. It had been so much simpler when she’d carried them around inside her womb, wherever she was, they were always there.

  “How’s Seattle?” Liv asked. They’d avoided talking about it during their tour of L.A. “Is it true that it rains all the time?”

  “Not all the time,” Cate smiled. “You should come and visit sometime.”

  Liv frowned, “I wish I could but X13 are going on their European tour in the next couple of weeks.”

  “You’re going with them?”

  “Yeah,” Liv couldn’t hide her excitement. “They start in Paris on the 29th. Before I met Jax, I’d only been outside the U.K. once to go with he who shall not be named to Berlin for his birthday. Now I’m going to be able to do all the things I used to dream about… like stand at the very top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, hire a bicycle and buy tulips in Amsterdam, climb the Juliet balcony in fair Verona, eat churros and thick, syrupy chocolate in Madrid and see where the Beatles used to hang out in Hamburg. I’m going to have all these amazing adventures and I’m going to do it with Jax, the guy I love. I mean, how freaking cool is that?”

  “Really freaking cool,” Cate nodded. She wondered if she could somehow steal some of her sister’s optimism. When she was little, she’d dreamed about America and now she was living here, with the man she loved and their children. Seattle would never be her home but maybe it could be an amazing adventure. Maybe it didn’t have to be a competition between Manchester and Seattle?

  Kian was already there when Liv dropped Cate back at the hotel. “Hey,” he wrapped Cate up in his arms. “I missed you.”

  “I missed you too.”

  The sun was just starting to set but Cate wasn’t ready to go upstairs just yet. “Let’s go for a walk.”

  They crossed the street in front of the hotel and dipped under the gently swaying palm trees. As they stepped on to the cool sand, Cate slipped off her sandals and wiggled her toes. In front of them, the waves crashed noisily on the shore. She filled her lungs with the fresh, salty air.

  They sat for a few minutes on the sand, watching as the sun dipped low in the sky.

  Kian gently stroked the soft curve of her belly. “How do you feel about the baby?” Cate asked. They hadn’t talked about it much but she knew that it must have been a shock for him to find out that she was pregnant again. “Are you happy?”

  “I’m very happy,” Kian reassured her. He thought about Lola and Mateo. “We make beautiful babies, Cate.”

  As the sky darkened, they got up and walked towards the pier.

  “I love you,” Kian said, stopping them just before the bright lights of the pier.

  “I love you too,” Cate laughed. She felt his lips brush against hers and it felt like home. Maybe, home wasn’t a geographical location. She parted her lips, allowing Kian to capture her mouth in a deep, sensuous kiss. The kisses felt like they were touching right down to her soul. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

  When they broke apart, all Cate wanted to do was go straight back to the hotel and get naked with her husband. Kian had other ideas though; he tugged her in the opposite direction. He led her across to the Ferris wheel and bought two tickets. They settled into one of the carriages, the door was locked shut and it began to move up and out over the glittering Pacific Ocean. As they got higher, Cate felt the chill and snuggled up against her husband.

  “We should take Lola and Mats on the big wheel back home,” Kian mused, kissing the top of Cate’s head.

  “Mm,” she locked her fingers with his, “they’d love it.”

  On the walk back to the hotel, they swapped stories about their days. Kian had been filming an advert for a soft drinks company.

  Back at the hotel, Cate flicked through the channels while Kian had a shower. As if by magic, West Side Story was playing. Cate watched as they sang “America.” It was like the battle in her heart, except with beautifully choreographed dancing and social commentary.

  “What are you watching?” Kian asked, coming out of the bathroom with just a towel wrapped around his narrow hips.

  Cate told him about seeing Natalie Wood’s grave. “I’d forgotten how much I missed Liv.”

  “You should invite her to come up to Seattle,” Kian suggested.

  “I did but she’s going
on tour with Jax in a couple of weeks.”

  Kian switched the TV off and dropped the towel on the floor, utterly comfortable with his naked body. “You’re insatiable,” Cate giggled as he pulled back the covers.

  “You are wearing far too many clothes,” Kian frowned, looking at her silk pyjamas.

  “I’m pregnant,” Cate yelped as Kian stripped off her pyjamas. She covered her bump with her hands.

  “You are so fucking sexy,” Kian took her wrists and pinned them to the mattress above her head.

  So as not to hurt Cate or the baby, Kian rolled on to his side, taking Cate with him. He pulled the sheet up over their naked bodies. Cate stroked the stubble of his jawline; he hadn’t shaved that morning.

  She felt his hand trail down her spine until he reached the cleft of her buttocks. His big, strong hand palmed her bottom before delving lower. Kian hitched her leg up over his thigh. Cate closed her eyes, sensation ricocheting through her body as he slowly slid two fingers between her legs. Her taut nipples brushed against his chest and she clenched around his fingers, sucking him deeper. He kissed just below her ear, “feeling greedy, angel?”

  Her hips worked feverishly against his hand; her tender breasts rubbing wantonly against his hard muscles. “So fucking sexy,” Kian urged, sucking on her bottom lip as she panted.

  “Kian,” Cate tensed, her thighs clamped tightly around his wrist. Her fingernails dug deep into his shoulders. He watched proudly as he brought his wife to orgasm. She threw her head back, her inky-black hair stark against the crisp white sheets, her lips parted as if she was drowning in ecstasy. As she shuddered uncontrollably, her pussy gripped his fingers so fucking tightly. Her juices dripped down his wrist.

  “I…” Cate sank back on the pillow, her breathing harsh in the quiet room.

  Kian stroked her damp hair away from her face. There were dark crescents under her beautiful, black eyes. She hadn’t slept properly since she’d arrived in Seattle. He felt guilty – the truth was that he hadn’t let her sleep much – he’d been denied his wife’s body for five long months. Almost every night since she’d arrived in Seattle, they’d made love until sunrise, collapsing sweaty with exhaustion, a tangle of limbs, before greedily reaching for each other again.

  Her eyelids flickered closed, her long, black eyelashes fanning out across her flushed cheeks.

  Kian pulled the covers back up, wincing as the sheet brushed against his jutting erection. He was still painfully aroused.

  CHAPTER 8

  When they got back from L.A., Cate decided that she owed it to Kian, Lola and Mateo to stop moping and give Seattle a proper chance. It didn’t have to be home. It could be like Liv said - an amazing adventure for them all.

  The adventure truly felt as though it had begun several days later, as they drove back home from the airport, having said their tearful goodbyes to Jean. For the first time in over five months, it was just the four of them. It was equal parts exciting and terrifying; like riding a bike for the first time after the training wheels had been taken off.

  After hearing endless tales about her sister, Remy’s volatile relationship with her mother-in-law, Sophia, Cate knew that she was incredibly lucky to have such a good relationship with Jean. She’d been an absolute godsend as they’d struggled to adjust not only to being in a different country but also to being a family again after so many months apart. But Cate was now ready to see if she could handle this on her own.

  The next morning, she woke up early. She checked the clock, it was five am; Lola and Mateo wouldn’t be awake for another hour at least. As she turned over, she could see Kian’s early-morning erection tenting the covers beside her and she had a wicked idea.

  She stripped off her cotton vest and scooted down the bed until she was kneeling by his thighs. Cate pushed the covers down to the end of the bed and cupped Kian’s erection through his shorts.

  She slid the tips of her fingers slowly underneath the waistband, brushing against the tip of his cock. “Cate?” he mumbled sleepily.

  “Hush,” Cate tugged his shorts down his muscular thighs, exposing his thick, jutting cock.

  Kian put his hands behind his head, watching her from under heavy lids.

  She straddled his thigh, feeling his coarse hair tickle her bare legs and bent down, letting her silky, black hair trail seductively over his groin. The musky scent of his hot, male flesh just inches from her face and the press of his hard thigh in just the right spot between her legs made her pause for a second. She shivered, her skin breaking out in goose bumps.

  “Angel?” Kian reached down and gently cupped the soft flesh of her breast, brushing his calloused thumb over her nipple.

  “Hey,” Cate scowled. “Hands behind your head.” She tried really hard to ignore how just that fleeting touch of her breast had ricocheted so powerfully down to her greedy, aching sex. It was taking every ounce of her willpower not to grind shamelessly against his bare thigh.

  She wrapped her hand around the base of his steely length and traced her tongue slowly over the thick, pulsing vein underneath his shaft.

  “Angel,” Kian grunted loudly.

  Cate looked up at him through those long black eyelashes. “You’re going to wake up the children!” They hadn’t locked the door and so the room wasn’t soundproofed.

  The tip of his cock was already glossy with pre-come but Cate worked the slit with her tongue, encouraging more to spill out. As his hips shifted restlessly underneath her, she slowly guided him into the wet heat of her mouth.

  Kian stared up at the ceiling; he knew if he looked at what Cate was doing to him, he would blow his load in two seconds flat. He could feel her licking and sucking, feasting hungrily on his manhood.

  Cate let his cock fall from her lips and Kian quickly looked down. “I want you to watch,” she whispered, lightly scratching his inner thighs with her fingernails.

  His hands fisted the pillow underneath his head as he watched her take him deeper, his blunt head kissing the back of her throat.

  Cate felt his fingers tangle up in her hair and he thrust upwards. “Fuck.”

  “Angel,” he croaked. “I’m going to…”

  Cate didn’t pull back. She appreciated the gentlemanly warning but she could already feel how close he was to orgasm; his manhood was so hard and swollen, he barely fitted between her parted lips. She shifted impatiently on the mattress. She couldn’t wait for him to flood her mouth with his hot, salty essence again. She danced her fingers down the V-cut; every muscle in his stomach and thighs was rock-hard and gleamed with sweat. She reached down and cupped his heavy balls.

  He stiffened underneath her and jerked violently, filling her mouth with his molten release. Cate proudly swallowed every drop and then licked her swollen lips. It was even better than she’d remembered.

  Kian looked dazed. Cate giggled; delighted that even after eight years she could still do that to him. She tugged on her vest top and climbed out of bed.

  “Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” Kian grunted.

  Cate smiled sweetly, “I’m going to brush my teeth and then I’m going to go downstairs and make pancakes.”

  Kian pulled on a pair of black running shorts and followed his wife downstairs. He stood at the bottom of the stairs for a second, watching her. She looked different this morning, happier. As she collected the ingredients she needed to make pancakes from the kitchen cupboards, she shimmied along with the music coming from the iPod dock. It was “Shake it Off” by Taylor Swift.

  Cate sung along, her slender hips swaying in time to the music. The pink shorts hugged the curve of her bottom. She looked so fucking sexy, Kian had to resist the urge to say screw the pancakes and just drag her back upstairs to bed.

  “Come here,” he wrapped his arms around her waist, “you didn’t let me take care of you.”

  “You don’t have to,” Cate blushed, “just because I… you know.”

  These little glimpses of shyness were just one of the infinite numbers
of things he loved about Cate.

  Kian kissed her, pleased that even though she’d brushed her teeth, he could still taste himself on her gently bruised lips.

  “Do you think we’ll always be…?” Cate had thought that the need to rip each other’s clothes off would wane once they’d been married for a while.

  “Insatiable?” Kian chuckled. He looked down at the indecent curves of her body and felt his masculine reaction pushing against the front of his shorts. “Yeah, I think so.”

  “I think you’d better sit over there,” Cate gestured with the spatula to the other side of the marble counter. “We need the counter between us to keep us decent.”

  “Whatever you say,” Kian said in a low voice, making Cate shiver. He sat down on one of the stools, “just know that if Lola and Mats weren’t upstairs right now, nothing would be keeping me decent.”

  After breakfast, Kian left for training and Cate decided to take Lola and Mateo to Ballard Locks. Mateo was fascinated watching the long line of boats passing through the two locks. They walked across the swinging metal walkway and over to the fish ladder. It was unseasonably hot so Cate knelt down and applied sunscreen to both her children before unbuckling Mateo from his pushchair. She lifted him up a little so he could see the water gushing down the weirs.

  “There’s one,” Lola yelped, as one of the fish tried to launch itself onto the next stage of the ladder. “Did you see it, Mum?”

  “I did,” Cate smiled. They walked down the slope to the underwater viewing area to see one of the last weirs before the spawning fish headed out into fresh water. There were several fish milling about in the greenish water. Mateo stood with his hands pressed to the glass, avidly watching the fish swimming back and forth in front of him. He loved anything to do with the water.

  When they came back, Lola went upstairs to e-mail Emily and Noah and Cate took Mateo out to the back garden.

  A football came bouncing across the grass and a young woman with a long, flaxen braid swinging down her back came across to fetch it. “I’m so sorry,” she said quickly.