Redeeming-Love-By-Francine-Rivers

R E D E E M I N G L O V E
Michael looked into her eyes and saw no hardness. Neither did he see
understanding. He wasn’t sure which part of himself to listen to anymore.
He was hard pressed by his physical nature. She was so beautiful to him.
“Let me help you,” she said and took his hand.
Michael sat in the willow chair, his heart in his throat as she knelt before
him and pulled off his boots. He was losing control fast. Standing, he moved
away from her. He unbuttoned his shirt and shrugged it off. As he
undressed, Michael kept thinking about Adam in the Garden of Eden. How
had he felt the first time Eve came to him? Scared half to death, yet surging
with life?
When Michael turned, his wife stood naked before the fire, waiting for
him. She was breathtaking, just as Eve must have been. Michael came to her
in wonder.
Oh, Lord, she is so perfect, like no other creation in the world. My mate. He
swung her up into his arms and kissed her.
As he stretched out beside her on their marriage bed, he marveled at
how she fit him, flesh to flesh, molded for him. “Oh, Jesus,” he whispered,
awestruck by the gift.
Angel felt him shaking violently and knew it was due to his long, selfimposed
celibacy. Strangely, she was not repulsed. Instead, she felt an alien
sense of sympathy. She pushed the feelings away, blocking him out of her
mind—and was surprised when he drew back from her and searched her
eyes, his own filled with so much she turned her face away.
Think of your money in Pair-a-Dice, Angel. Think of going back and
getting it from the Duchess. Think of having something for yourself.
Think of being free. Don’t think about this man. It had worked for her in
the past. Why not now? Come on, Angel. Remember how you used to
close your mind? You’ve done it before. Do it again. Don’t think. Don’t
feel. Just play the part. He’ll never know.
But Michael wasn’t like other men, and he did know. He didn’t have to
die to realize she had brought him to the edge of heaven and slammed the
gates in his face.
“Beloved,” he said, turning her face back to him. “Why won’t you let me
get close to you?”
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