Gage, Ronna - The Search is Over (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Ronna Gage

  The three laughed. “Come on, we better go before drama comes calling.” The three walked to the car. Rafe loaded the three boxes in his trunk, opened the door for Candi, and then walked around to the driver’s side. “Honey, we need to hurry,” he gently prodded the second hug between Minerva and Candi.

  “You take care of yourself. I’m here if you need me,” Minerva whispered in her ear.

  “Good luck with your new happiness. I’m a phone call away.” Candi sat in the car. Minerva shut the door and stood quiet. Candi reached into her purse, pulled out an envelope and handed it to Minerva. “Will you give this to Chandler?” Minerva took the envelope. “It’s this month’s rent that he and I negotiated.”

  “I’ll see that he gets it.”

  Rafe pulled out of the driveway, Minerva waved them good-bye. Outside the gate, Candi sighed. “On to our new life,” she said. Rafe smiled.

  Rafe and Candi took the three boxes to the shop to store in the empty bay he’d chosen earlier in the week to keep everything in one place. “Just one more night,” he stated. He pulled up to the bay, got out of the car, raised the door, and stepped back. “Candi, come here.”

  Candi stepped out of the car, walked to where he stood staring at the door, and smiled at a brand new sofa wrapped in plastic with a big red bow, sitting in the center of the bay.

  “It’s beautiful!” Candi said with choked emotions in her throat. She sat on the sofa. “It’s so soft.”

  Rafe sat with her. Sylvia walked up with a smile from one ear to the other on her face. “Mom, where did this come from?”

  “This is for your new life together,” Sylvia explained. She and Ralph hugged the two of them.

  “This is wonderful. I offered my sectional to Chandler,” Candi said.

  “What for?” Rafe asked with curiosity in his voice.

  “As payment for the last two weeks of rent.”

  “Oh yeah? Great idea,” Rafe agreed. “Do you think he’ll take it?”

  “He told me the other day he would take it off my hands. He wants to use it to furnish a trailer on the place. He even threw in that it would be payment for the last two weeks of my rent month.”

  “Well, I guess you will be moving in the morning, huh?” Ralph asked.

  “Yeah, but Candi has to work until six,” Rafe informed him. “Jack and I will move some of the heavy stuff.”

  “Well, if you need help, we can help you tomorrow,” Sylvia offered.

  “We can?” Ralph’s sense of humor took over.

  The group laughed.

  “Thanks. That would be great,” Candi said to the offer. Her heart soared with the happiness in Rafe’s eyes. This is going to be great!

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  The crowd trickled in an hour before Candi’s shift ended. The evening shot specials always drew in the early birds.

  “Hey, Candi, why are you still here?” one customer asked.

  Not a longtime regular, but Candi did see him come in more frequently. “I have to work till six, remember?”

  “Well, here’s to you,” Felipe toasted, “and to a great moving day.”

  “Here, Here!”

  Setting up another round, she looked up and spotted Sylvia walking into the bar. Her blonde hair pulled back, peach shorts and top rumpled, and a hint of exhaustion in her eyes. Candi almost envied Sylvia for spending the day moving her stuff.

  “Hey, Sylvia! How are you?” Candi greeted as Sylvia rounded the bar to sit down.

  “Tired.”

  “I can imagine. Moving is hard work.”

  “No, I’m bored stiff. They wouldn’t let me do anything.”

  Candi laughed. “Where’s Rafe?”

  “He’s at the apartment. He and Ralph are setting up the big stuff, so I volunteered to come pick you up. I thought we could get some carry-out on the way back.”

  “That sounds good! I’ll be ready in ten minutes. Charlie arrived about fifteen minutes ago. He’s getting his register now.” Candi signed off her register, turned to Sylvia. “What did you think of the apartment?”

  “It’s small! My first trailer wasn’t that small.”

  Candi filled a blender with ice, tequila, and lime juice. “Yeah, but we like to think of it as cozy.” She winked and then pushed the button on the blender of margaritas.

  “Yeah, it’s cozy.” Sylvia smiled.

  Candi set down a frozen margarita in front of her. “Here’s to small places.”

  Thirty minutes later, Sylvia and Candi were in the truck driving toward the apartment. “I can’t wait to get home, to mine and Rafe’s new apartment.”

  Sylvia laughed. “Yes, I know, but if we come back empty-handed, Ralph will flip his lid.”

  “What do you think they will want?” Candi asked, not really caring about food at the moment.

  “How about some burgers?”

  “Good idea, there’s a burger joint around the corner of the apartment.”

  Driving down the street, both sides of the highway were lined with food places to choose from, anything from fast food chains to cafés, burgers to chicken, Cajun to Italian. “Well, at least you won’t go hungry on this street.”

  Candi laughed. “I hadn’t thought of that. I guess you’re right.”

  They got out of the truck and heard music. “Someone’s playing music really loud.” As they got closer to the apartment, it got louder. “Is it at my apartment?” Candi looked above the doorframe at the apartment number. “Yeah, it’s mine.” She fumbled with the key and bag of food. Before she could get the key into the knob, Rafe opened the door.

  “Hi!” he said over the music. “I missed you.”

  Rafe looked sexy dressed in a pair of blue-and-white shorts that hit just at his hips. His muscles glistened with sweat from the exertion of moving. And since he wore no shirt, Candi thought the sweat made him sexier. I love a man that works hard.

  “I think you should turn that down,” Sylvia advised as she set the bag she carried on the table.

  Rafe reset the volume on the stereo. “That’s better.” Sylvia vigorously rubbed her ear. “Dinner’s on.”

  From the moment the women arrived, Ralph snapped pictures of everything—a snapshot of Rafe pouting at Candi’s refusal to look at the camera, the three of them sitting around a bag of burgers, and then one of them eating.

  “Your first dinner, in your new apartment,” he called out.

  Candi looked around at the mess left behind by the move. “I have so much to do.”

  “Candi, how was work?” Ralph asked around a bite of his hamburger.

  “Slow, until about five thirty.”

  Rafe said little at dinner, but the teasing desire in his eyes maintained eye contact between them. She wished she could be distracted as easily from Rafe’s playfulness. He wouldn’t stop. Even with his parents in the house, he kept teasing her with his sexual gazes.

  “I think you two will like it here. It’s small, but the two of you are so busy, it’ll be the perfect place to lay your head at night and run in the morning,” Ralph surmised.

  Ralph looked at the new couple. “I think it’s time we go, Sylvia,” He and Sylvia stood up and threw their trash into the can. “These two have lots of work to do.”

  “Don’t work too hard, you guys,” Sylvia warned, following Ralph to the door. “Candi, I made the bed for you. That was the only thing I’ve done in the bedroom. I set up the bathroom and kitchen for you.”

  “Thanks, Sylvia. I really appreciate the help.”

  “I got bored and needed something to do,” she said with a slight shrug of her shoulders. “Change whatever you need to.”

  “Thanks, Mom.” Rafe kissed her cheek. “Thanks, Dad.” Rafe shook his hand. “I’ll be in Monday morning.”

  “Yes, you will. See you then, son.” Ralph turned to Candi. “Have a good night, sweetie.”

  Rafe closed the door, locked it, and then looked back at her with the hunger of a man starved. “I think it’s time we go to bed.”
He led her to the bedroom.

  “It’s only seven thirty.”

  “Early to bed, early to rise.”

  His eyes roamed the room. He turned to face her. Candi could see disappointment.

  “This really isn’t what I wanted for our first night together.”

  “What did you have in mind?” Candi’s curiosity was piqued. She felt like a nervous virgin bride, and he had other ideas? She wouldn’t regret this not being her wedding night. “This is just the way things are right now.”

  “I don’t know, maybe romantic. Not sitting in the middle of chaos.” Rafe ran his fingers through his hair, scanning the room again.

  “What chaos?” Candi looked around the room. Boxes were neatly stacked in the corner. The queen-size bed took up most of the room but was neatly made. Clothes hung in the closet and were stacked on the dressers.

  “We have unpacked boxes in here and in the living room. I didn’t think I would care about any of that stuff but….”

  His confession touched her. Candi wasn’t going to complain. “Rafe, none of that matters to me.” Her hand touched his shoulder softly. “I just want to be with you. I don’t want to look back and have regrets that the room wasn’t set. Let’s forget that part.”

  Rafe cupped her cheek. “Candi, I reserve the right to give you the best first night in our very own house.”

  “Deal!”

  The tension in Rafe’s eyes subsided, replaced with excitement and mischief. “I did bring something nice for tonight.”

  “Besides yourself?”

  “I thought of something that will make our first night in our apartment better. You get ready. I’ll bring it in with me.”

  “I don’t know if I like the ideas of something to bring in with you,” she teased.

  “It’s not like a toy or anything.” Candi snickered. “I could get one if you like.” Rafe suggested.

  “That’s all right. I don’t want you to get lazy.”

  Rafe turned toward the living room. “Hurry, I will be back in five minutes,” he called over his shoulder two seconds before he closed it.

  Candi went to work on the bedroom. She stuffed clothes in the dressers and restacked the boxes to construct a bedside table for the night. She folded back the covers, and then lit candles to give it a romantic glow. She turned the boom box to a soft rock station. Changing into one of Rafe’s old dress shirts, the length of it hit below the hips. This thing almost swallows me. She jumped to the dresser and met Rafe at the door just as he came in with a bottle of champagne and two glasses. “What do you think?” she asked as she posed for him by the dresser. Nervous, she waited for his approval of the quick work she had done in the room.

  Rafe gazed over her. “I’ve never seen you look sexier. I like that faded purple dress shirt on you. I love how this collar stands up around your neck.” He played with the exposed skin from her throat to where the two unfastened revealed her small cleavage.

  * * * *

  “I want to eat you up.” He set the glasses and bottle on the cleared-off dresser. Looking around, he noticed what she’d done in the room. “I love how you made the small cramped room seem like paradise.” Rafe turned back to the dresser, filled the two glasses with a shot of the bubbly champagne. Handing one to her he said, “It just needed a woman’s touch.”

  She took the glass he offered her.

  “Here’s to us.”

  A loud sharp clink of the glasses echoed in the partially filled room.

  “I’ll drink to that.” Candi took a sip of her champagne. Her nose tickled. She smiled and set the glass on the dresser. “Rafe.” He lowered the glass. “No regrets, okay?”

  “Never. There’ll be none.” Rafe kissed her gently at first but turned possessive as he deepened his kiss. He unbuttoned the shirt, revealing her slim flat waist. Her pink lace panties did little to hide her downy thatch of hair. The gentle mask of fabric enticed him. His hands cupped her shoulders while he used his fingers to push the shirt aside and watched it fall away from her body. Picking her up, he carried her to the bed. His palms ease the strings of her panties down her legs. The flimsy material balled up at her knees. The dewiness collected at the lips of her pussy. He sniffed and then gazed at her. His thumb separated her folds. He kissed her there and then used his tongue to taste her. She reacted with a jolt. Her hips arched to have more of his hot kisses. He pushed her panties down to the floor, and bent her knees, opening her wider. His middle finger stroked her, testing her sensitivity level. She sucked in a breath. The finger entered her. When he retrieved it, it was slick with her honeyed cream. He guided her fingers to her pussy. With two fingers, he opened the folds. “Hold it open.”

  She did as he asked.

  Rafe used his finger to penetrate her as he used his tongue to stimulate the clit. She bucked up to his tongue, panting through her orgasm. He stood up from her, stripped out of his clothes, and gazed at her nakedness with appreciation. “I have wanted to make love to you in our home all day.”

  Candi felt like a bride on her wedding night. Rafe eased himself down on top of her. His cock rested at the entrance to her pussy. He hesitated a second. “I love you, Rafe.”

  “I love you, too.”

  His hips thrust forward and his solid cock filled her. He made love to her, rocking himself deeper into her, and she eagerly fondled his taunt buttocks. Her fingers kneaded into his flesh with each thrust inward. His hand reached under her arms and brought her hands above her head, holding them into his own he bucked into her faster, harder, more solid with the power of his hips. She grasped hold in a desperate measure to hold back the orgasm, but it was too strong and she let it go. In the quietness that lay around them Candi realized without a single doubt, This is the man of my dreams.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Candi entered the apartment after school. Stressed, tired, and her day not quite ended, she looked around at tidy piles of mess and groaned.

  “This place looks like hell,” Rafe griped from the hallway.

  “I’ll clean it tomorrow on my day off.”

  The passing months grew hectic. Going to school during the day, working nights at the bar, and of course, living with a man that turned out to be a total neat freak, Candi felt like she chased her tail in circles on most days—never quite catching it. Rafe liked to have things done a certain way and with his own long days and stresses, it seemed easier for both of them to argue than to clean up.

  “Hell, Candi, on the off chance you have a night off, you are too busy studying to clean up this place,” Rafe shot back. He moved about the small living room picking up random piles.

  “Don’t touch my stuff. I know exactly where things are. You move it and I will spend hours looking for it.” Candi walked into the bedroom with barely enough time to change clothes. Stripping out of her scrub top, she threw it toward the other dirty clothes in the corner. She grabbed her bartender’s outfit and quickly dressed.

  “What are you doing?” he asked, coming into the room.

  Dumbfounded by the question, she almost didn’t answer him. “What does it look like? I’m getting ready for work.”

  He huffed. “This can’t keep going on like this.”

  She stopped, looked at him with narrowed eyes. “What can’t go on like this?”

  “I don’t like walking into a mess.”

  At the highest level of her stress, her heart hardened at that comment, but the expression on his eyes worried her. He didn’t seem happy anymore. His gaze lost the luster of a new relationship. “You clean your messes, and I will clean up mine…on my day off.” She blew past him to the kitchen. “I’m late for work. I will see you later tonight, and we can talk then.”

  “Don’t count on it,” Rafe retorted.

  At the door she paused. This isn’t happening, is it? Calm before the storm sensation filled her. She turned toward him. “What does that mean?”

  “Nothing, go, you’re late already.” He walked to her and then placed a small kiss on
her lips. “I’ll see you tonight.”

  Candi left the apartment. In her heart she prayed she could outrun the panic building up inside her. “Hang on for one more night. You can make things right tomorrow.”

  * * * *

  Rafe awoke before Candi, slid out of bed, and then left the room. Quietly, he closed the door behind him. She snuggled closer to his pillow drifting back to sleep almost instantly.

  “Hey, sweetie, good morning,” he softly whispered in her ear. He placed a loving kiss on her cheek. Moaning, she moved slightly. “I made coffee.”

  She opened her eyes and blinked back the sleep. Dazed, she looked at him sitting on her side of the bed with the sweetest smile. “You showered already?”

  “Yes. And, I even dressed before I woke you,” he teased with playfulness.

  “What is this about?” she asked. “What’s with the sweet, attentive change from last night?”

  “I am apologizing for the way I griped at you yesterday, and last night’s silent treatment.”

  Candi’s eyes’ misted. “You never give apologies.”

  “You’re right. It’s not my normal routine. I usually go with the ‘dont talk about it, admit fault, or accept blame, and the situation will go away.’”

  “On some things I can see your point. Especially like housecleaning and laundry. Why talk or better yet argue when it is easily fixed?”

  Rafe smiled. “You got it. Now, go take your shower, while I make a lunch.”

  “Okay, I’ll be quick.” Candi quickly got out of bed and rushed to the bedroom door. “Rafe?” she turned to him. “Sometimes we do have to talk about problems, admit fault, or accept blame. Problems don’t just go away on their own.”

  He smiled. He looked at his watch. “I still have a little time, but if you hurry, we can have coffee together.”

  * * * *

  Almost thirty minutes later, dressed in her robe, with a towel around her wet head, Candi joined him in the kitchen for coffee.

  “I feel like we don’t have a lot of time together,” she said softly.