Free Redemption: (Dark Desires Book 3) by Kourtney King Page B

hit the sand. He ran at
full speed until his heart was pumping at maximum capacity. If it gave out, he
didn't care. Nothing mattered anymore. It was too late. He was too late - as
usual. Valerie may claim to love him, but she loved Keyaan’s legacy even more.
His breathing was laboured, the muscles in his thighs and calves burned, and
his chest tightened from the exertion.
    Why had he thought that he
could keep her? She was right to say no. He would only bring her more pain and
suffering. As much as he tried to justify it, the rejection from Valerie ate at
him like a live animal tearing him to shreds from the inside out.
    His body could no longer endure
the stress he put it under. His quads contracted painfully, and he dropped to
his knees in the sand panting heavily. His eyes watered at the thought of her
leaving him. He couldn’t contain the tortured emotions that raged within him.
He screamed in anguish, pouring the loss of his soulmate to the raging winds
that blew around him.
    The beach was deserted, and no
one heard him. He was alone, he would always be alone. For a brief moment in
time, he thought that had changed, but he was wrong. He wished he could cut his
heart out, the heart that seemed to yearn for Valerie even when he wished it
wouldn’t. This was his punishment for all the blood he'd shed without remorse.
Women like her were not meant for men like him. He had fought valiantly to
change the hands of fate and lost. He had to admit defeat and move on before he
lost his mind.
    *****
    After Vlad’s departure, Valerie
had gone back to bed. Her mind was torn between his proposal and her children.
She should have never put the ring on because right now, she was having a hard
time taking it off. Would she ever be able to find another man that would rival
his adoration and devotion to her? He may not accept her children, but he said
he would never harm them. That should count for something, right? Just thinking
about living without him when they had both worked so hard to stay together
over the past two months sent her into a tailspin.
    She twisted the ring around her
finger as she thought about the decision she had made. The least she could do
was try to salvage their relationship. She pictured herself as his wife, and
they fit. In a strange, dysfunctional way, they complemented each other.
Valerie wanted this; she wanted to be with Vladimir as his wife.
    The man her thoughts had been
on trudged back into the bedroom. He didn't take note of her lying on the bed. The
thin shirt was covered with sweat spots on his wide back and front. She
surmised that he had gone out for a run.
    “Vlad,” she called out. He
didn’t reply and went into the bathroom to take a shower. She got out of bed and followed
him in. Placing her small hand on his bicep to get his attention after he'd
taken his shirt off she said, “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
    Vladimir was not ready to see
Valerie. He should have known that she was in their bedroom and used one of the
showers downstairs. It didn't matter. He was already here, and he was not about
to cower away from the mere sight of her. She said she'd marry him, but he
didn't take note of it. She had initially said no, and he'd stormed out. Val
was probably backpedalling on her decision because he was upset and she wanted
to smooth things over. She didn't mean it. 
    He looked at her in the
bathroom mirror, and that's when he saw it. Her hand bore his ring. She had
agreed to be his wife.
    He turned around and took her
hand in his. "This is the only opportunity I'm going to give you to walk
away. If you marry me, you're not going anywhere - no matter what."
    "Yes, I'll marry
you," she repeated.
     He kissing her newly
adorned hand and closed his eyes. He needed a moment to let it sink in. This
was really happening. They were going to get married. She would be his wife.
     She would be his forever.
    "If you'll still have us,
I want to be your wife Vlad," she said.
    Of course, he would still