Redemption: (Dark Desires Book 3) (5 page)

Vlad was relieved that they had
gotten this far, but he refused to get his hopes up yet. “When?”

“When do you want to start your
lessons?”

“Today,” he replied without
hesitation.

Valerie bucked at the short
notice. For how long had she sat in a prone state?
Long enough Val
. Time had blended into one long, continuous drone
of nothingness. There was nothing like the present to kick start her life.

“Okay, I’ll find a therapist
today.”

Two Months Later

Vlad had been brutal with his
training. Even though Valerie appeared to be in shape, she was unfit according to
his standards. In the mornings, he put her through condition training which
later progressed to strength training once she'd built up endurance. In the
evenings, he showed her how to operate a firearm. He had taught her how to use
everything from handguns to assault rifles, and he was impressed with how she
handled the latter considering their weight and size. In all honesty, seeing
her in action turned him on – a lot.

She had kept her side of the
deal and started with her therapy sessions twice a week, sometimes three. Dr
Khanyi Sibiya made sure that she always had time for Valerie when she needed to
talk, Vlad had paid to ensure it. She was getting better. The same light that
had drawn him to her was back, only this time there was an edge to her. Three
weeks into therapy had led to the discussion of their relationship. Vladimir
thought that he could leave her once she was capable of protecting herself.
However, he had done a complete one-eighty. He was adamant on staying.

It had taken a long while to
convince her that he wanted to be there and not out of a sick sense of
obligation as she suspected. They still had not had sex yet. However, their
intimacy was growing on a deeper level. She now allowed his touch which was a
win in his books. When they retired for the evening, he was free to hold her in
his arms once more and kiss her whenever she initiated it. Sometimes his
passion overwhelmed her, and in those moments, she would gently ask him to dial
it down.

That was another thing that had
changed between them – communication.  If he were coming on too strong,
she would tell him so, and he immediately backed off. She had stated what her limits
were when it came to their intimacy, and he respected her boundaries. It drove
him crazy at times and he often found himself alone in his office taking care
of his raging erection. Regardless of his frustration, he couldn't think of any
other woman he would rather be with even though Vladimir was sure that he had a
severe case of blue balls at least once a week.

During this week's session of
fitness and combative drills, he noticed that her reflexes were much slower,
and her energy levels were low. He had toned down the intensity, but she was
still struggling to keep up. She should have been getting stronger as they
progressed, not weaker, and this worried him. Was he pushing her too hard?

Valerie chugged down her water
completely wiped out from today's session. She wasn't the same Valerie that had
moved in with Vlad or the person she became after being abducted by Mehmet. She
felt was a new woman and she could now kick ass.

Her mind was clear and the
daily exercise rejuvenated her. For the life of her, she couldn't understand
why it had taken two weeks of debilitating depression and Vlad's ultimatum
before she sought counselling. At first, she had sat in Khanyi's office chair
unwilling to talk, and as the weeks progressed, she found that she couldn’t
stop talking. The biggest challenge had been telling Vlad about her
insecurities and fears.

He had listened to her when she
needed an ear and provided her comfort whenever she needed reassurance or
someone to lean on.

Right now, her sole focus was
on getting stronger so that her friends would stop mothering her, the same
friends she was sure had set up a visiting roster among themselves to make sure
she was coping, and proving to Vlad that his paranoia was unfounded. He had
toned it down by about fifty percent and if she could get him to switch the
other half off, then her life would somewhat be back to normal. Her body just
needed to get with the program. A few days ago she had woken up groggy and
tired. It was winter, and the Cape could be brutal with its atrocious mix of
wind and rain added onto the freezing temperature. Valerie chalked it up as the
onset of a cold.

 "How are you
feeling?" Vlad asked coming to stand behind her and massaging her tense
shoulders.

“Tired… sore muscles. The
usual,” she replied melting into his magical hands.

"Go have a bath and I'll
rub you down when you come out."

“Mmm, I love how you kick my
ass one minute and spoil me in apology in the next," she teased.

“I could just kick your ass,”
he retorted.

“Nope. No, take backsies.”

She carried her stiff legs up
the stairs to what had become her second favourite pastime – a hot bath after a
round or three with The Impaler.

Vladimir asked himself for the
umpteenth time as he settled into the chair in the corner of the bedroom, why
he volunteered his services. It was absolute torture to touch her so intimately
knowing that he couldn't cross a certain boundary.
You don’t want anyone
else touching her that’s why.
Vlad knew her body now as if it were his own.
The weak left knee she had torn a ligament in during her high school athletics
years, the muscles that needed the most attention after he put her through the
ringer and exactly where to stop his hands from roaming to before she tensed
up.  In a way, he tested both their resilience; his body's desire for her
knowing that she wasn't ready to sleep with him again and hers with how much
she could take before she tapped out of their training.

When Valerie emerged from the
bathroom in nothing but a towel, he thought he may spontaneously combust. His
dick had gone hard instantly. He crossed his legs to hide his burgeoning
erection and waited for her to settle onto the bed before getting up. Vlad
kneeled over her and worked his hands across her back then moved onto her arms.
He moved down the bed and kneaded the muscles in her thighs and calves.

He thought of another reason
why he put himself through what he had mentally dubbed the Vlad and Val circus
show - she was his ringmaster, and she didn't need a whip to control the animal
that he was. He went willingly with her wishes. This was his second chance to
be with her, something he hadn't thought was possible a couple of months back.
When Vladimir was done, she rolled over exposing her bare breasts.

In a few sessions of therapy,
Valerie had brought up her non-existent sex life during her session with Dr
Khanyi. She and Vlad had gone at it like rabbits in heat at the height of their
relationship, and even though she did have the occasional setback, she was
ready to move forward with him. Her head doctor, as Vlad had affectionately
dubbed her, told Valerie that she would know when she was ready. That had been
the biggest non-answer she had gotten to a series of questions she was forced
to work through during therapy.

Having his rough hands ease the
aches and pains in her body had turned her on. She was ready. She wanted him -
now.

"Make love to me,"
she asked. She had never had to say anything before. He usually went to town
when he was in the mood or teased her into a frenzy when she was reluctant to
ride his dick train. Now Valerie had to tell him what she wanted directly. And
this, having him inside her, connected in the most intimate way possible, was what
she wanted to share with Vlad again.

Vlad took a deep breath and
exhaled loudly. Today was the day he had fantasised about for weeks on end.
That didn't mean that he would jump in head first. Last time he had rushed things,
and he’d almost lost her. As tempting as it was seeing his angel completely
exposed with her hard, dark nipples begging for his attention, he got off the
bed and chose to stare at the wall instead.

"You're not ready Valerie.
I don't want to rush this. I can wait." 

Valerie followed him and
wrapped her arms around his midsection, resting her head against his back.
"I spoke to Dr Sibiya, and she said I would know when the right time came.
I want to make love to you. I miss you. I miss being completely intimate with
you."

Vladimir ran his hands through
his blonde locks. His hair had grown out. He made a mental note to get it
trimmed. On second thought, he should get it done now. He couldn't even turn
around to face her. He had denied the temptation she offered once, but his body
would betray him if she kept pushing. His dick was standing at attention,
begging to go to the home it had not visited in two and a half months. Without
another word, because he didn’t trust himself enough to speak, he walked out of
the bedroom in haste to beat one out in his office. Once he'd solved his dick
problem, he would be able to focus on Valerie and make a rational decision.

The first reaction Valerie had
was to blame herself. Wasn't he attracted to her anymore? Before she could send
herself down the road of deprecating thoughts, she drew on the tools she had
learnt to use in her sessions – communication. She needed to talk to Vlad and
find out what was holding him back. Retrieving the thick robe from the
bathroom, she put it on and followed him down. She managed to catch up with
him, matching his long determined strides with her hurried, shorter ones before
he shut the door to his office.

"Hey, talk to me. What are
you thinking?"

His angel was cornering him. At
this point, he was no better than a wild animal, and if she didn't leave soon,
he would take what she was offering. He would never hurt her willingly.
However, he didn't trust himself to be gentle with her; as gentle as she would
probably like him to be. He sat behind his desk and tried to change her mind
about this terrible idea.

“The first night we spent
together in Istanbul you forced yourself to open up to me sexually even though
you weren’t comfortable with it. I don’t want you to feel pressured now. You’re
in a good place; we’re in a good place. I don’t want to ruin it.”

Valerie walked around his desk
and waited for him to look at her. For some reason, he was fascinated with the
walls in their house today. "Vlad, look at me.” He sighed and turned to
face her. “The biggest mistake I made that night was not in making love to you,
but rather, not telling you why I couldn’t. I know better now. I’m telling you
that I’m ready. Have a little faith in me.”

“I do– ”

Before he could finish his
sentence, Val was on his lap fusing her lips to his. Vlad was quick to respond
to the feeling of her soft, warm body pressed against his. Reason flew out of
the window, and his hands moved of their own accord, loosening the sash of her
robe and caressing her bare breasts. He felt her shiver and he stopped, his
eyes flying open in worry. Looking into her dark, lust-filled eyes, he was
relieved to find that she was enjoying this as much as he was. “The minute it
becomes too much, tell me to stop.”

Valerie could only nod her head
in consent; she didn’t want him to stop. Thankfully, his lips found hers again.
He stood up and lifted her onto his desk. She reached for the bulge in his
pants and was relieved to find that he was hard. The chemistry was not one
sided. Pulling down his sweatpants, her hands gravitated towards his cock and
stroked the long, thick length of his shaft.

Vlad growled in pleasure. His
left hand slowly slid away from her breast and down to her sobbing pussy.

She was wet and the
overwhelming need to taste her rose within him. He pushed her body to lie back
on the desk, took a seat in his chair and placed her legs over his shoulders,
lifting her pussy to his face. He felt like a starved man, with a meal he’d
fantasized about in this very office in front of him. Licking her slit from top
to bottom a few times, he then speared her with his tongue and sucked in the
nectar she gave him, savouring her unique flavour.

Just when Valerie thought
Vlad's tongue play couldn't get any better, his mouth sealed over her clit and pulled
on the bundle of nerves shattering her reality. The aftershocks of the orgasm
rippled through her body, and he lapped up every drop. She needed him to fuck
her. As great as he was at giving her head, she didn't feel complete.

“I need you inside me. Please,”
she pleaded.

Vladimir had hoped to satisfy
her with his mouth and fingers until he was sure she was ready to have sexual
intercourse. Even if she had asked for the one thing he was fighting his body
to give her, he refused to concede. He ignored her pleas and continued to tease
her clit. Two of his fingers drove into her channel and massaged her walls to grant
her a second orgasm.

“Please, I want to come with
you.”

Those soft words said with such
sincerity were his undoing. His primal instincts kicked in, and he pulled his
wet fingers out of her. Vlad stood up and guided his dick to her entrance. He
pushed in as slowly as he could until he was balls deep. Valerie threw her back,
her mouth hanging open in a silent moan of ecstasy and bowed her back once he had
filled her.

Vlad tried to maintain a slow
rhythm, but he lost his composure after the first few thrusts. He held on to
her waist for leverage and drove into her tight hole hard and fast. His balls
drew up, and he exploded into her wet cavern. "Valerie," he ground
out as rope after rope of cum coated her walls. He leant forward to kiss her
then lay his head on the cool desk trying to catch his breath.

Once the euphoria of making
love to her again had died down, he was wracked with guilt. He had failed to
control himself. What if he'd triggered her? What if he'd set back the progress
she'd made in the past two months?