The Bucket List (47 page)

He looked at the boy with a cocked brow. Maybe babysitting was too easy.

"If she agrees to marry you, I would like you to take her name."

"What
?!"

"
Corey Taylor. None of that hyphen bullshit. She's my oldest child, by the time Timmy and Drew are old enough to marry, I might not be alive. So you will take her name. My name," he said easily, looking the boy in the eye.

Corey
swallowed but didn't flinch.

"Okay,"
Corey said again, this time almost gritting his teeth.

Hmmm. He did want this real bad, didn't he? Of course he did. That's why he had put himself in this position. Ha!

"I don't know, though," he continued. "Maybe you're not worth this. I mean, think of what Rae will say to me if she finds out."

"
Irving, please. Let me be with her. I'll never hurt her again, I promise."

He looked at the young man as if he was
skeptical, which immediately had him panicking again. Then the boy went down on his knees, his hands together, begging. This actually managed to shock him. He hadn't expected that at all. The Legend Killer on his knees... begging like a little bitch!

"I'll do anything, give you anything,"
Corey pleaded. "Just... I'm begging you, Irving, don't make this harder for me."

He should have had a damn camera.
No one was ever going to believe this.

"I swear I will never give you a reason to regret it. I'm on my knees,
Irving. Please."

Smirking, he casually put his hands in his pockets and walked around the boy to sit back on his 'throne'. Then he laced his fingers together and looked away from the sorry sight, mostly so he wouldn't burst into laughter and ruin all his work.

"I'll be the best husband... I'll treat her like a queen," Corey continued. "Please don't stand in my way, Irving."

He sprawled his long legs and leaned on his hand as if the whole conversation was starting to bore him.

Corey, on seeing this, got to his feet and came forward quickly.

"You wanted something that means something to me?" he said, rummaging through his pockets to pull out a set of keys. "Have my car. Everyone knows I love my H2."

Ooooh, now why hadn't he thought of that before? The H2 had been treated as part of the family from the day Corey had bought it!

"Your car means nothing to me," he said, letting out a tired sigh.

"Just take it. Take everything I own. Make me your 'bitch'. Just promise you won't stand in my way."

"I suppose, since you've asked so nicely, I can't refuse," he smiled.

Corey let out a sigh of relief, which was immediately replaced by a yelp of pain when he found himself roughly slammed against a wall.

"If you make one wrong move, say one wrong word; if you hurt my daughter in any way... I will kill you."

Now that wasn't an idle threat. The game was over. He had to make the punk understand that he wouldn't idly sit by the next time he decided to act like an idiot with his daughter.

"Do you understand me?"

Corey swallowed and nodded his head.

"Good. Now lets go."

He stood aside to let Corey out first and by a stroke of luck, the first person they saw was Rae. He couldn't help smiling in amusement as he wondered if Corey would let him keep his car.

"Let's just say, my future son-in-law convinced me very, very thoroughly that he's going to take care of my daughter," he laughed, in answer to
Nate's question. "Now, why don't you go over there and sit with people more your age?"

"If you want me to leave you alone, just say so,"
Nate chuckled.

"
All right then. Fuck off," he growled before taking a sip of his beer.

Rae's heart was beating so loud, hard and fast as she led Corey by the hand up the stairs to her bedroom. What she had thought had turned into the worst day of her life had suddenly turned into the best.

Corey
loved her? And more than that, he actually wanted to spend the rest of his life with her? What a big mess they'd made of everything! If only they'd just talked to start off with, then none of this shit would have happened.

"Baby... I don't know what to say,"
Corey started when she'd closed the door behind her.

"Then don't say anything."

"What?" he asked; clearly puzzled.

There was no need to explain anything, at least not right then. She was still trying to get her head around the fact that he loved her
...

"Do you really love me?" she asked, craving to hear those words from his lips again.

"Of course," Corey answered without hesitation. "I'm sorry I did all those stupid things to make you doubt me, but I couldn't live without you, Rae. I love you more than words can explain."

"And I love you," she whispered, walking forwards until she stood right in front of him. "I never stopped. I never cheated on you, or lied. I'm sorry. It was my fault, too, for just making assumptions. This has been just one big, very fucked up misunderstanding."

Her hand came up to the side of his face and he leaned into it. Was this shit really over? This shit that they had brought totally on themselves? She was almost afraid to believe she could be happy again, that he would be in his life again. She'd been foolish and almost ruined it by not talking to him in the first place, like John and Nate had begged her to do.

"It was all my fault,"
Corey said, looking away before he swore under his breath and started pacing the way he had done outside.

She'd known him long enough to know he did this when he was extremely anxious.

"No, baby. It was mine. John told me what was happening, I should have believed him and come kicking your parents' door down," she said softly as she put her hand on his arm to stop him.

"But today... that shit out there... I was way out of line; I've probably scared you off now."

She chuckled a bit at that.

"Sweetie, you go psycho on me at least once a week. If that shit scared me, I'd never have been your friend for so long," she smiled.

He searched her eyes as if he was trying to see the truth of her words, then he let out the first smile she'd seen on his face since he'd discovered Nate in the backyard.

"We do have a lot to talk about,
Corey," she said, biting her lower lip, "but I'm not really in the mood to do a whole lot of talkin' right now."

She saw the way his eyes instantly darkened. God, she'd missed him! She'd come a long way in a short space of time, from going from bed to bed to craving just this one very sexy man. She couldn't help wondering if, had she not had the cancer scare, she would ever have realised how she felt for him.
And if she hadn't got with Nate, even if it was briefly, if she would have recognised these feelings as more than lust. And if she'd have had the guts to do anything about it if she had.

Corey
stood a little away from her, still looking at her intensely, sending shivers down her body the way only he could. She was trapped in his gaze, falling deeper in his smouldering baby blues as he slowly came to stand right in front of her, towering over her as his tortured breath mingled with her own. He didn't even touch her but she could swear she came a little right there.

"I will never hurt you again, baby. I promise," he whispered.

"And I will never hurt you again," she promised.

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her so deeply and thoroughly she felt the earth moving at her feet. This man was her life, and she would never let him go ever again. She would never give him reason to ever doubt her love.

Slowly, her fingers found the bottoms on his shirt and started undoing them. She was trembling all over, feeling safe and loved again in Corey's arms; feeling things she had never thought she would feel again as her limbs weakened from feeling his lips on hers, his tongue dueling with hers. Finally, her hand found his flesh and they both let out a gasp at the contact. It was like a million sparks going through their bodies, connecting them, molding them into one and evoking a whirlwind of emotion in every nerve in her body.

It had been way too long since she had touched him, and for once in her life, touching anyone else had been completely out of the question. Two months back, she would never have believed she would be in this position
; in love, with only one man, willing to spend her whole life with him.

As if he sensed her thoughts, he gently pushed her away.

"Wait," he said breathlessly against her mouth as he broke the kiss.

"
Corey___"

"Shh," he whispered, quickly kissing her again to silence her. "I've fucked everything else up. Let me do this right."

A bit dazed, she watched him search his pockets before he knelt down in front of her. Her hands went up to her mouth and she started tearing up when she realised what he was doing.

She had expected this, she had known it was coming from when he'd blurted it out and taken the box out during his little rant, but this moment was the most beautiful she'd ever known.
Corey, the gorgeous sexy beast, on one knee in front of her, his shirt hanging open and revealing his toned stomach as he held up a perfect looking diamond ring.

"Rachael
Taylor," he started, holding her gaze the entire time, "I can't imagine my life without you. I'm sorry it took your illness to make me admit how I really feel about you, and I regret thinking even for a second that I could let you go. I love you, Rae, and I will till the day I die. I've been yours since we met at the playground almost twenty-five years ago; will you be mine? Will you spend the rest of your life with me? Will you make me complete, and marry me?"

"Yes!" she cried without hesitation. "Yes, yes, yes."

Corey was on his feet like a shot, his eyes tearing up as well as he held out his hand for hers. The ring was a perfect fit, they both stood to admire it for a second before she was in his arms again, just holding him and relishing the feeling that he was his for always.

"You've made me so happy,
Corey. I love you so much, and I promise I'll never make you regret taking a chance on me," she whispered.

"I'm not taking a chance, Rae. I'm a complete asshole at the best of times but you've put up with me near enough your whole life. You're it for me."

She believed him. She believed he'd never look at another woman again because she would never look at another person, man or woman, again. Whatever the future brought, whatever heartaches came, Corey would always be the one she would love forever. She knew life wasn't a rainbow, it wasn't all peaches and cream, but for that moment, it was.

"I love you so much, Rachael
Taylor," he added. "So, so much."

He lifted her into his arms and walked over to the bed, carefully putting her down. His eyes never left hers for a second, even when he slowly slid his shirt off and threw it on the floor, even when he undid his belt buckle and his zip before sliding his jeans down his legs. For a moment he stood completely naked in front of her, like a
sculptured god with his rock-hard abs, huge chest and large muscular thighs. His chest was rising and falling with his labored breathing and his erection proudly twitching as her inspection of the prefect male specimen turned him on a lot more. Her mouth watered. Damn it, she still couldn't work out how he did this to her. How had she got to be the lucky one who had him for always? He was perfect. He was huge. He was hers. She was shaking, nervous like this was going to be her first time again as he slowly advanced on her. In a way, it was. They'd fucked up royally and were being given a second chance; at love, at life.

He lay on his side right next to her on the bed, his body searing hers, even though she was still fully clothed. She felt his rock hard erection prodding her thigh and moaned. She couldn't wait to feel him inside her again. Then his hand came up and he let his fingers trail her body from the side of her face, past the vein throbbing at the base of her neck, between her breasts, all the way down to the zip on her jeans. It felt like fire, irresistible fire; she couldn't help arching her body to his fingers as she helplessly moaned for more. Her body came to life, craving this touch that she'd only dreamed she would have again.

Then his lips started on the same trail, this time the contact more like larva that brought a little mewl from her lips even as it made her breathless. He was being so gentle, taking his time, kissing and licking a hot trail until he got to her jeans. Without breaking the contact, his hands went on either side of her and urged her to lift her hips up as he gently peeled the jeans and the panties she'd worn underneath them off, his lips following them as they kissed almost every inch of skin he exposed.

She was already beyond ready, but she could tell
Corey had brought his 'A' game to her. He was going to tease her until she begged. Then he would tease her some more. She didn't think she could handle that, not when it had been so damn long since he'd touched her.