Redemption: (Dark Desires Book 3) Read Online Free

without her. No, he couldn't sleep
without her. The three days spent in Istanbul were the best sleep he'd had in a
month, and now he understood why he had spent the last few hours tossing and
turning before going to her.
    “If you don’t want me to touch
you I won’t. But I’m not letting you out of my sight Valerie.”
    He let go of her hand to open
the sheets on her side of the bed. She immediately felt the loss of the brief
contact they'd shared. The instant his fingers had grazed hers, a shiver went
down her spine. If she slept in the same bed with him, then things could
quickly get out of hand. She wasn't ready to be intimate with him again, but
the comfort he provided by being close to her was a crutch she could get used
to quickly. Too tired to put up a fight, she climbed in, and he did the same
before turning off the lights.

Chapter Three
     
    Natasha’s grey VW hatchback
stood parked outside Vlad's beach house. There was a black Merc in the driveway
today which meant that someone was home. The first time she had come here was
with her boyfriend Mandla for lunch to meet the new man in Val’s life. She had
liked him then when she saw how happy he made her best friend. That had changed
drastically. After receiving the short text from Raven that Valerie was safe
and would be home soon, she had driven to Seapoint every day as soon as her
classes were over. 
    Why had Valerie not contacted
her? They were best friends who knew each other's secrets. No matter what
happened, they could always depend on each other. If Valerie wasn't talking
now, then something was wrong, terribly wrong. Avoiding her was not an option,
a point Natasha planned to make today. She would get to the bottom of this
whole mess and find out exactly what it is that Vladimir had done, or failed to
do, that put her friend in danger.
    Kidnapping only ever happened
in the movies and occasionally, Natasha heard it reported on the news. It was a
different matter entirely digesting the thought of abduction when it happened
to someone you knew and loved. To make matters worse, Valerie's mom had called
a few times, and she had to lie that she was either not with her at that moment
or had just missed her. For weeks, Natasha had feared the day a call would come
through announcing her best friend’s death. Then what? Where would she even
begin to explain to Mrs Thusi that she knew of her daughter’s kidnapping but
had kept it a secret? Thank God that Vladimir had managed to get her back.
    Taking a deep breath, she got
out of her car, walked up to the gate and rang the bell. The gate was buzzed
open, and Tash came face to face with Vlad. She couldn't stand the sight of
him. After speaking to Val about what had happened, her next question would be
to find out why she was still living with a man who had put her life in
jeopardy. No amount of money or steamy chemistry was worth dying over.
    “Is she here?” Natasha asked
not bothering with any pleasantries.
    "Yes, she's upstairs, on
the third floor. The bedroom is at the end of the hallway," he replied.
    She followed his directions,
and when she reached the large double doors and entered the all-white, glass
bedroom, she saw her best friend lying on the bed. “Vee?”
    Valerie knew the voice of her
best friend. She rolled over and looked into Tash’s face. Her big green eyes
welled with unshed tears of joy and relief. “Hey, I’m alright. Don’t cry,"
she climbed out of bed and wrapped her arms around Natasha. "I'm here; I'm
okay."
    "Are you really? What
happened Valerie? We were so worried about you and your mom…”
    "I'm fine. I should
probably talk to her. Does she know?"
    “No,” the smile that was on
Tash’s face fell when she thought of the first and last time all the girls had
been at the house in search of their friend. One of Vladimir's cronies had
sworn them to secrecy. He looked like a decent guy until he snapped. The
harshness in his tone had scared her, all of them actually, except