Redemption: (Dark Desires Book 3) (18 page)

Got
carried away catching up
.
Was Vladimir being serious? She had been alone in that office worried sick over
his safety, and he was "catching up". She shot him a thunderous glare
and turned her attention to Taras. “Pleased to meet you. Unfortunately, I’ve
heard absolutely nothing about you,” she said in a saccharine voice. A poor
attempt at hiding the anger brewing within.

Once the initial shock of
meeting Vladimir’s pregnant wife abated, Taras spoke. “I’m not surprised. Vladimir
has little to no people skills. Congratulations are in order – twice over. When
are you due?”

"Next month," replied
Vlad in Val’s stead. “I’m sure you now understand why I cannot afford to be a
globetrotter these days and for the foreseeable future.” As much as the idea of
the diabolical, money making, endeavour Taras had planned appealed to him, the
sight of Valerie and the family they were getting ready to usher into the world
kept him on the straight and narrow.

 "Regardless, the
offer is still on the table should you change your mind. My door is always
open." Taras stood up and walked over to the couple. He extended his hand
to Valerie in parting. “You are far more ravishing than I could have ever
imagined.” His thumb stroked the back of her hand a few times before letting it
go.

"Thank you," replied
Valerie. Had Taras just flirted with her in front of her husband? They must
have had a strange sort of friendship if Vlad wasn't in a huff about it.

Vladimir stood up with the
pistol he had taken off Valerie’s hands. Taras' slick moves on Valerie had not
escaped him regardless of how subtle they were. The accommodating mood he was
once in had evaporated with his so called friend’s intimate display. "I'll
walk you out."

Once they were out of earshot
Vlad released the safety of the gun and pressed it against Taras back. "
Friends
don’t flirt with their
friend’s
wife while said
friend
is right
there."

Taras grinned at Vladimir and
kept walking. He disabled the alarm to his rental and opened the door of the
sport’s car. “I was doing you a favour. Your wife needs to know she’s still a
desirable woman even if she is pregnant.” Disregarding the threat, he climbed
in, shut the door and rolled down the window. "Give my offer a thorough
consideration. Your family, of course, will fall under my protection." He
started the engine and drove off without waiting for a reply. Vladimir would
soon tire of playing house, and when that day came, his plan would unfold
meticulously with The Impaler at his side.

Vladimir
came back in lugging the two bags of groceries he'd left in the car. Before
turning into the kitchen, he encountered an annoyed Valerie, hands on hips,
waiting for an explanation. Vlad chose to drop off the bags first before
getting into what was bound to be a tongue lashing. As a peace offering, he dug
out the box of Oreos and retrieved a packet.

He
can’t be pulling these stunts so close to the delivery date!
What if she had been in danger
and the twins were sleeping upstairs, then what? No, he had to put all his
hidden cards on the table. When Kamal and Gaby had shown up at their doorstep a
month ago, he was ready to kill. But Mr Suave got a drink and conversation
while she paced downstairs worried out of her mind. As much as Valerie wanted
to have faith in him, believe that he would never put their family in danger,
she had to use her head instead of her heart. And her head was telling her that
Taras had come for more than a casual visit.

Vladimir
returned with a silver packet of her favourite cookies. She wasn’t about to
look a gift horse in the mouth. Valerie snapped those babies up, reclined on
the nearest sofa and after savouring a bite of the crunchy, sugar filled
goodness she spoke. “What did your
friend
have to say? No
bullshit."

Jeez,
an annoyed, pregnant Val was a hot Val. Vladimir sat down next to her and
placed her legs across his lap. “Nothing important
ingerul meu
.”
My
angel.
He began kneading the muscles of her calves to relax her.

“So
it wasn’t important enough for me to be locked away downstairs, worried about
your inconsiderate ass as my blood pressure went through the roof thinking…"
she swallowed the sob and continued, "thinking about how I was going to
raise these children without you?” For crying out loud, could the due date get
here already? These hormones were turning her into a blubbering emotional mess,
on top of making her fat, and she needed Vlad to take her seriously.

“I
tried to rush this meeting as much as I could. Taras, however, was determined
to wear me and my patience out. I didn’t want him anywhere near you. He’s a
part of my past, and I'm not going back. I’m sorry I worried you, but he’s
harmless - a former business partner and a friend.” He looked at her misty eyes
and it pained him to see how shaken up she was.

“I
promise you, no one will ever put their hands on you again. I’ll still drive
you up the walls when we’re old and grey. You can even get those kitted out
electric wheelchairs to keep up.” Humour worked. Most didn't find him funny,
but he could manage to coax a laugh of two from Val.

"I'll
be walking just fine," Valerie sniffed trying to keep her smile under
wraps. She wanted to be mad at him, not laugh at his stupid jokes.

“Of
course you will
sotia mea
. Now let me
run you a bath while we’re still young.”

Valerie
stood up and settled the now empty packet of Oreos on the table. Those cookies
had disappeared rather quickly. At this rate, she would only lose the baby
weight over the course of a few years. She was still mildly irritated with him
and needed to cool off. “It’s fine. I’m going to take a shower and have a nap.”

Vladimir
was a little disappointed that Valerie had turned down his offer. He enjoyed
pampering her. It made him feel like he was actively involved in the pregnancy.
However, he understood why she was upset. Were he in her position he would have
stormed off to the gym only to re-emerge once he’d fatigue his body to near
collapse.  He kissed her forehead and let her climb the stairs to their
bedroom alone.

*****

Staring
at her naked reflection in the bathroom mirror, Valerie looked at herself
taking in the changes that her body had gone through. If she thought her breasts
were obnoxiously large this time last year, then the past Val would be in tears
over the additional cup size she now bought her bras. Her cheeks were fuller as
well, and she noticed the extra padding on her arms, ass and thighs. Nope,
definitely not the same girl that walked into the bar in a tight red dress and
killer heels to match.

Running
her index finger down the dark line that began at her extended navel and
disappeared under her belly, she silently mused on the day she would give
birth. She was doing it the natural way. It would no longer be her and Vlad in
their home anymore. There would be two dependent, little people that needed
their love and undivided attention. Grateful for the peace in their home for
the time being, she stepped into the shower. 

Was
I overreacting? How should I feel considering everything that has happened? The
least he could have done is given me a call and said “Hey honey, I’m fine. Just
sorting out a few things. Could you stay put, though? I don’t want you to meet
my shady business friend.” I would have understood that instead of worrying
myself into a panic.

Val
turned off the shower, grabbed a towel and patted herself dry. When she was
done, she put on the grey, satin robe she’d left on the bed and went in search
of Vlad. She didn’t have to look far when she spotted him in the nursery of
what was once the upper floor lounge. The walls had been painted a soft yellow,
with two identical white dressers and two white cribs that mirrored each other
on opposite sides. There was a rocking chair in the centre, a changing table
against the window and a pile of stuffed toys in the corner. Vlad had done a
great job with the place in the last few weeks.

“I
thought you would be sleeping by now,” Vlad said as he sat the giant white teddy,
which doubled up as a nanny cam, on the floor.

“Yeah
well…” Valerie stared at the carpeted floor searching for nothing in
particular. “I’m feeling a bit restless.”

“Come
with me for a walk. I want to show you something.”

Val
looked up and met Vlad’s gaze. His usually soft blue eyes held an intense,
determined gaze. “Okay, give me a minute to change.”

Twenty
minutes later, they were outside walking in comfortable silence across the
beach. Thankfully, the sun was setting and with it, the sweltering heat of the
day had died down. They found a spot along the sandy shore and Vlad helped her
ease down between his legs where they stared out at the ocean.

The
sound of crashing waves faded into the background when Vlad spoke. “The day I
proposed to you, and you said no, I came out here for a run. It was much colder
back then, but I didn’t feel it. All I felt was sorrow and despair. I thought
that I had lost you to him and the twins. I always thought you'd say yes to me.
However, the more I thought about it, the more your answer made sense. What
woman in her right mind who had gone through what you did because of me would
want to be married to the man responsible for all of it?"

“Vlad
– ” Valerie turned to face him.

“Let
me finish. I know that I didn’t give you the most romantic proposal or the
wedding that you wanted. Those details don’t matter to me. Maybe the pregnancy
did expedite the process. But, I have no doubts we would eventually have ended
up where we are today – you as my wife carrying my children." He pulled
out a red box and opened it in front of her to reveal a solid platinum band.

"I
gave you an engagement ring, and this is the wedding band we should have
exchanged when we got married. I'm still not the kind of man to whisper sweet
words, but I'm going to tell you what's in my soul.

I
promise not to worry you unnecessarily, I promise always to put you, Valeria
and Mihai first. I promise to tell you I love you every day when you wake up
beside me. I love you Valerie Branza. These are the only promises I can make
because I don’t ever want to break my vows to you.” Vlad watched the tears fall
from her eyes and hoped that they were from tears of joy. Maybe he wasn't doing
this right. He should probably have written down a more eloquent speech and
memorized it.

“You
don’t have to wear it now. We can redo the wedding and make everything official
then.”

Valerie
snatched the box out of his hand. “No! I want to wear it now. And the other
one! It’s going back on as soon as we get home. It just sucks that I probably
won’t be able to top off what you’ve just said. The ring is beautiful; your
vows are beautiful. God, you're beautiful."

"Handsome…
that's been the general consensus. You're the beautiful one," he teased.

“I
love you Vladimir Branza. I promise never to leave you, no matter how much you
piss me off or how thinly you grate my nerves.”

Vlad
wrapped his arms around her and kissed her gently, sucking on her bottom lip
before breaking away. “Good, because I would never let you go anywhere. That’s
one promise you don’t have to worry about me break.”

One Month Later

The sound of Valerie's soft
moans as she rubbed her ass against his bare and growing erection roused Vlad
from his sleep. She was due any day now; it was only a matter of time. The
thought of it was more nerve-wracking than he'd imagined it would be, and she'd
insisted on a natural birth. There wasn’t much he could do to convince her
otherwise so he’d sceptically agreed. When she had also refused to consider the
epidural, Vladimir knew that he was about to hear the most agonising screams in
his life– and he had heard many.

“Are you awake?” asked Val.

“I am now.”

“Make love to me.”

He wasn’t sure whether it was a
demand or a request, but it most certainly was not a question. What if he hurt
her? They were so close to the delivery date that he didn’t want to risk it,
regardless of what his morning wood had to say about it. He kissed her on the
cheek and stroked her extended belly. “After they’re here.”

“Are you out of your mind? That
will be six weeks of going cold turkey. I’m horny now,” she whined as she
continued to tease his cock with her bottom.

“Zhena…” he was about to argue
his point when she reached behind her and began stroking his cock.

"Yes, your wife wants it,
and you want it. We can do it nice and slow to be on the safe side.” Valerie
continued to move her hand up and down his shaft, squeezing his cock a little
tighter when she got to the tip. The bead of cum leaked through onto his palm
indicating that she was close to getting what she wanted. Using the pad of her
thumb, Val spread the lubricant across his bulbous head eliciting deeper, more
rugged breaths from Vlad’s. "If you need extra motivation…" she began
to move down the bed to give him a head-start, but he placed a hand on her arm
to stop her.

“No, I’m motivated enough,”
said Vlad, who coaxed her back into the position they were once in.

His hands moved down her side
and lifted her thigh. Vlad gently pushed the tip of his dick into her wet core.
A soft gasp escaped her lips that soon turned into a deep moan as he drove further
into her, inch by inch. She had become so unbelievably tight in the last month
of her pregnancy which made it that much harder not to bust a nut before he was
ready to.

“Are you okay?” he asked once
he was completely sheathed.

"Better than okay… It
would be great if you moved, though," she said loving the tight fit that
came with her pregnancy.

Vladimir pulled out slowly and
pushed back in. He didn’t want to hurt her in any way. The longer he continued
stroking into her wet channel, the harder it became to maintain the gentle
rhythm. Valerie, on the other hand, threw caution to the wind. This was the
ultimate wake-up call. Morning sex was the best sex, if only he would give it
to her, really give it to her. She knew his tastes and rhythms when they made
love. Vlad was holding back on her, and she wasn't having it.

“Fuck my pussy!” She cried in
frustration, hand gripping the pillow as she pushed her ass back against him
faster and faster. “Fuck me harder baby!” she shouted in encouragement, chasing
the euphoria that lay a little closer with each of his thrusts.

Those filthy words from her
sweet mouth were his undoing. What had happened to the “nice and slow”
instruction she’d given him? He lifted her leg higher and hooked the bend of
her knee between his bicep and forearm. Sliding further down the mattress to
get a better angle, Vlad began thrusting into her in quick, succession.

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” She didn’t
want him to stop. She was so close just a little… he bit into her back and
groaned. The sharp pain mixed in with the pleasure he wielded with his cock
caused her to clamp around his dick. For a split second, she forgot how to
breathe and when she remembered, the raspy gasps of air she took echoed around
the room. Vlad continued to move inside her chasing his release and extending
her climax. The slower, jerky thrusts and the hot pool of his cum at her core were
the finish line in his quick race.

He placed her leg back down and
kissed her back sliding behind her again.

“Was that you were expecting
iubita
meu
?”
my beloved
, he asked.

“Hmmmm.”

Vlad chuckled at his wife's
blissful response. He made a mental note always to give her what she wanted –
within reason of course. If he derived as much pleasure as he just did by
acquiescing, then he was happy to continue obliging her requests.

“Okay, let me know when you
want to take a shower. I don’t want you going into labour on an already wet
surface.”

“Vlad…”

“No arguments.”

“Okay, a half an hour nap then
a shower.”

His erection had died down, and
he was glad she was already satisfied. These days he was having a hard time
keeping up with her in bed. He kissed the back of her head and let her fall
back to sleep.

*****

Rearranging the babies’ clothes
for the millionth time in the nursery, Val realised that her actions were
bordering on obsessive compulsive. Her hormones were all over the place, and
she needed these babies out of her ASAP. Her mom had sent over a matching pair
of christening gowns from Dubai, and the girls had thrown her a baby shower a
few weeks back. The twins had more than enough of everything. Between her
friends, Raven and Andrei’s gifts, they were bound to be spoiled rotten.

Andrei was the worst. He had
sent her a Louis Vuitton baby bag and a whole host of designer baby outfits. The
man was being impractical. Did he not know that they would be barfed on? In a
few months, the twins would outgrow them and would never get the chance to
appreciate the beauty of the items. She shook her head in amusement and decided
to head downstairs to call the brother she'd never had. He was always a hoot to
have around as long as Macy wasn't there.

Before she could get to the
phone, that was set up in the lounge her water broke. She looked down at the
small puddle between her legs.
Okay, deep breaths… I’ve had more than enough
practise on what to do.
The cramping in her lower abdomen kicked her into
gear.
Contractions. Right.
She gingerly made her way to the phone and
instead of calling Andrei, she dialled Vlad, who was currently downstairs in
his office.

“
Soţul meu, my husband
you were right this morning,” she took a deep breath as the next set of
contractions interrupted her speech.

“I’m right about many things.
You’ll have to be more specific.”

She could see the smug smirk
that he probably wore. “Okay well… The little Branzas are coming.” The phone
line went dead, and a few beats later, she could hear Vlad's heavy footsteps
coming up the stairs.

Shit! How long had she been in
labour? Had he induced it by having rough sex with her that morning? Vladimir's
legs felt like they were moving through mud. When he saw Val waiting in the
kitchen, he froze.

“Don’t panic. Just call the
hospital first and then help me get into the car. The bag I packed is at the
door.”

The blank look on his face was
a mask for the sea of panic that swirled beneath the surface. He was glad that
she’d prompted him on what to do. Everything passed by in a blur; he didn’t
remember the call to Valerie’s OB/GYN, or getting her into the car or arriving
at the hospital. Everything he did was on autopilot. Once they were in the
delivery room and her legs were put into stirrups, his focus returned full
blast. His wife was about to give birth without epidural anaesthesia – she
would feel everything.

The activity around the room
faded into the background as he stood next to her and held her hand. He had
only managed to watch one birthing video. Throughout the delivery, he kept
picturing Valerie in that same position, and it had put him off of that branch
of his research. She’d only been in labour for about an hour, but she was
dilated enough to start pushing. Impatient - the twins were already showing
signs of being just like their father.

When the nurse told her to
push, Valerie bore down and gave it her best effort. After a few more the first
one was out. The nurse broke Vlad's focus on his sweating, tired wife.

“Do you want to cut the
umbilical cord dad?” asked the OB/GYN.

"Go, I'll be fine,"
Val grunted out. She didn't want him to miss this on her account.

Again, time seemed to slow down
and then speed up as he cut the first and then the second umbilical cord. The
crying babies were taken away for a check-up while Valerie was patched up.

"Your wife will be in her
room in a few minutes. We've taken your twins to the nursery," said a
different nurse.

“No.” For the first time since
getting the call from Valerie, Vlad felt centred. “Bring them to her room. My
wife will want to have them breastfed.”

His tone brooked no arguments,
and the nurse was on her way to do as he'd asked.

A few minutes later they were
brought in, and he was guided into a chair. Valeria was placed into his arms,
with a pink blanket wrapped around. He couldn’t believe he was looking at his
daughter. Vlad had tried to imagine what it would be like to see her for the
first time or even hold her. The moment exceeded his wildest expectations. She
was absolutely beautiful with her caramel skin, rosy lips, jet-black hair and
brown eyes – a complete replica of her mother.

The bonding moment was
interrupted when Valerie was wheeled in. He looked at his worn out wife and
smiled at her with pride.

“How are my babies doing?”

“They’re awake and hungry.” The
nurse walked over to Valerie and placed her son on her stomach.

“I think I see a little bit of
him in you,” Valerie stated after getting Mihai to latch on. He was so pale he
looked white with blondish-brown locks and hazel eyes.

Vladimir stood up and walked
over to the bed with Valeria in his arms. Looking at mother and son bonding, he
couldn't even think of the times he’d asked his wife to get rid of them. He
loved them more than he could adequately put into words. “They’re perfect. Just
like their mama.”

Val smiled up at him. She was
tired, but she couldn't stop smiling, and she didn't want to miss out on her
babies' first few hours into the world. Once Mihai was done, she handed him
back to the nurse and reached out for her daughter. Vlad gently laid the baby
on her chest and took his son from the nurse’s arms. He was already such a
hands-on father and Valerie loved him more for it.

“You know, I did have the
‘damnit I should have gotten the epidural’ moment. However, these little guys
refused to wait, and I knew you would probably think ‘I told you so' even if
you never said it.”

“Either way you did a great job
mama.”

“I’ve also been thinking about
the DNA test, more so now that we’re in the hospital. I wouldn’t hold it
against you if you wanted to confirm their paternity.”

“Fuck the test. They are my
children. I don’t need a piece of paper to tell me that. You don't have to
worry about my feelings on the matter. I love them equally as much as you
do." After a moment of silence, Vlad added, "I expected a lot more
screaming and shouting from you. You're tougher than more men I've met."

"They just popped out of
me; there was no time for theatrics. Next time, schedule me for a C- section. I
think the cookie is going to need more than six weeks to recover.”

Vlad was stuck on “the next
time”. He wanted more of Valerie’s little miracles, as many as she was willing
to give him. “You want more children?”

“Pssshh! Based on the way
you’re looking at me right now, if it were possible I would already be
pregnant.” Valerie teased. “I’m not too keen on the delivery end but yeah… I
see a few more
copii
coming out of me.”

Vlad’s eyes misted over. He was
not going to cry. The last time he did that was when Valerie had asked him for
a divorce. The emotions running through him felt nothing close to how he did
back then. Everything had changed for the better. He took a deep breath and
stared at the ceiling as he pulled himself together. "Okay, girls this
time. I want three more girls," he said looking into his wife's loving
eyes.”