Redemption: (Dark Desires Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

that
message had changed.  He was not untouchable, and neither was she – Keyaan
had proven that. He couldn’t be around her every second of every day. He was
only a man, and even he succumbed to sleep. This internal reflection humbled
him. He needed to prepare her for the worst case scenario. He needed to train
her to fight.
    Every morning he got up to
exercise. It served to keep him fit and his reflexes sharp. Lately, it was a
way to work off the aggression that slowly brewed inside him. He may not be
living on the streets anymore or have to deal with gang-related disputes, but
that did not mean he was safe. After listening to the conversation among Val's
friends, he decided that today would be the day he started self-defence
lessons. He got up, brushed his teeth and changed from his sleeping pants to a
pair of boxing shorts.
    “Valerie,” he called.
    She didn’t respond. He pulled
back the covers on the bed and lifted her off the bed.
    “Put me down!” she shouted.
    He stared at her, face set in
an angry scowl.
    "I said put. me.
down." she repeated.
    He did as requested and she
turned her back on him. Why had he thought that his plan would be as easy as
waking her up and leading her to the gym? Maybe she wasn't ready. Based on her
recent behaviour, he wasn't sure when that day would come.
    Valerie had no idea what had
gotten into Vlad this morning. They were hardly on speaking terms, and as far
as she was concerned, he was past his marching orders. How much longer he
planned to stay was irrelevant and at this point she was no longer bothered by
it.
    Every day she was caught up in
a recurring nightmare of how the events had unfolded that fateful day and what
she could have done differently to prevent it. She remembered the horror
stories of Macy, Toni and Tash. She remembered them saying that it wasn't her
fault, and she needed to stop blaming herself. However, they were just words
and in reality it was much harder to put them into practice. She just needed
one more day to herself. One more day and she would get out of bed.

 
    One day turned into three, and
she still found herself crippled, lost in the reveries and unable to function.
The food Vlad left at her side remained untouched. The only thing she was able
to stomach was tea and water. Val hadn't seen the inside of a shower in days. She
didn't have a job to go to, she didn't have classes to attend, and she didn't
have anyone to be presentable for.
    The only constructive thing
Valerie had managed to do was call her mother and lie, giving her the lame
excuse of losing her phone to explain the lack of communication. Her mother was
not sold on it, but she let it go for now. Val knew that this topic would be
rehashed on her next visit.
    Deciding not to push her into
something she wasn't ready for, Vlad had left Valerie alone. She never left the
bedroom, and she was now avoiding looking at him. He shouldn't have touched
her. Did she also look at him as an attacker? He had made love to her even
though he sensed she wasn’t okay. Why hadn't he stopped? Why had he forced that
stupid stay in Istanbul when she was clearly not okay?  The why’s of it
all drove him mad. He just wanted her back. Even when she was unkempt, she was
still the most perfect woman in his eyes. It was his fault entirely. If he had
stayed away from her, then none of this would have happened. He had broken her.
If she died, a fear that grew on a day to day basis ever since having that
nightmare, then he would die with her.

 
    The way things currently stood,
they may as well be strangers under the same roof. He lay in bed with her, the
silence between them heavy. The day Vlad had woken up with the intention of
training her, followed by her vehement refusal of his touch, was the last day
he left their bedroom for any purpose other than preparing the food Valerie
never touched. He had heard her talking to her mother and for a brief moment,
he thought she was coming out of the darkness that