Redeeming-Love-By-Francine-Rivers

F R A N C I N E R I V E R S
layer of dirt over them, then pine bows and canvas before the blankets. Angel
sank into the bed gratefully, her body aching from the bouncing wagon.
A coyote howled and she edged closer to Michael. He put his arm
around her and she pressed against him, fitting him like a puzzle piece. He
turned to her and kissed her, his fingers digging into her hair, but after a
moment he withdrew and lay back staring up at the stars.
Angel moved away. “You don’t want me anymore, do you?”
He didn’t look at her as he spoke. “I want you too much. I just can’t stop
thinking of what it must have been like for you as a child.”
“I should never have told you anything.”
He turned his head to her. “Why not? So I could keep on taking my
pleasure and never understand the cost to you?”
“It doesn’t cost me anything, Michael. Not anymore.”
“Then why did I have to force you to say my name?”
She couldn’t answer that.
Michael turned toward her and tenderly caressed her face. “I want your
love, Amanda. I want you to feel the pleasure I feel when I touch you. I want
to please you as much as you’ve pleased me.”
“You always want too much.”
“I don’t think so. I think it’s just going to take time. It’s going to take us
getting to know one another better. It’s going to take trust.”
Angel stared up at the star-studded sky. “I knew soiled doves who fell in
love. It never worked.”
“Why not?”
“Because they became obsessive just like Mama and they were just as
miserable.” Angel counted herself lucky she lacked the ability to love. She
thought she did once, but it was only an illusion. Even Johnny had turned
out to be only a means of escape.
“You’re not a prostitute anymore, Amanda. You’re my wife.” Michael
smiled ruefully and toyed with a tendril of blonde hair. “You can love me as
much as you want and feel safe.”
Falling in love meant you lost control of your emotions and your will
and your life. It meant you lost yourself. And Angel couldn’t risk that, even
with this man.
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