Redeeming-Love-By-Francine-Rivers

R E D E E M I N G L O V E
His gentle voice and touch made her relax a little. She brushed his hand
away. “I can’t remember,” she lied, Duke branded into her mind. Would he
still be searching for her after all this time? She knew the answer and felt
cold. She could still see his face. It was as if she had run from him yesterday
and not a year ago. He would find her someday. And when he did…
She could not bear to think about it. She didn’t dare go back to sleep.
The nightmare would begin again and take the course it always did.
“Mara, tell me what you’re afraid of.”
“Nothing,” she said tightly. “Just leave me alone.”
Michael laid his hand on her chest and her muscles tensed. “If your heart
beat any harder it would come right out your chest.”
“Are you hoping to get my mind on something else?”
Michael took his hand away. “There’s more than sex between us.”
“There’s nothing at all.” She turned her back to him.
Michael stripped the quilts off her. “I’ll show you what else there is.”
“I said leave me alone!” Raw from the nightmare, raw from being with
him, she yanked the quilts back up again.
Michael ripped the bedcovers off. Bunching them, he tossed them on the
trunk in the corner. “Get up. Now. You’re going whether you like it or not.”
Angel was frightened of him as he loomed over her. She could sense him
trying to reign in his temper.
“We’re going to take a little walk,” he said.
“Now? In the middle of the night?” It was cold and dark. She gasped as
he scooped her up and set her on her feet.
Pulling on his pants, he said, “You can go dressed or naked. It’s all the
same to me.”
She didn’t like the shadows in the cabin, and she wasn’t going out that
door into the darkness. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying right here.”
She headed for the quilt, but he caught her arm and spun her around.
When she cowered and raised her arm to ward off a blow, Michael’s anger
evaporated. Was that what she expected from him, even after all this time?
“I’m never going to hurt you.” He got the quilt and swung it around her. He
found her shoes and held them out to her. She didn’t take them. “You can
wear them or walk barefoot. Your choice. But you are going with me.”
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