Take My Body (Curse Bound 2)

“Are you sure you can drive?” Noah inquired, getting a step ahead and having the audacity to stare at Gunner’s eyes in the light of the streetlamps, as if he were checking for signs of drug use.

“Yeah, I’ll take you home, and tell you everything on the way.”

It felt strange to be smaller than his seventeen-year-old brother. Noah had really grown up in the past two years despite spending months in the hospital after his accident. And yet Gunner was responsible for him, and had vowed to give Noah the support he’d never had growing up.

The way he’d stood up to his own brother to protect a perfect stranger spoke volumes about the kind of person he was growing to be. Maybe his life would be less burdened with sadness and failure than Gunner’s had been.

“Uh… okay. This is weird though. Why isn’t Gunner with us? I get it that he’s embarrassed, but he’s still my brother, and I don’t know you,” Noah said but opened the passenger door of Caspian’s fancy car, suddenly stilling. His gaze slid over the pristine leather upholstery and cream and cherry red, over the wooden steering wheel, the shiny dashboard… and he didn’t get in, as if he were afraid to do some damage to the expensive car and end up liable for repair costs.

Because he couldn’t be afraid of Gunner, could he?

“I’m not a serial killer, okay?”

Noah’s lips pressed together. “That’s exactly what a serial killer would say.”

Gunner groaned. “Fine. There’s no sane way to say it. I’m Gunner. Your brother Gunner. I know it’s hard—”

“What? You’re making less and less sense.”

“No! It’s true.” Gunner looked around and slid into the seat, forcing Noah to bend down in order to keep seeing his face. “It’s one of those body swap things.”

Noah crooked his head like a befuddled cartoon character. “Say what?”

“I’m Gunner.”

Noah wrapped his arms on his chest and lifted his chin, exposing the long scar running up the side of his throat. “Oh really? Then prove it. Tell me something only my brother Gunner, would know.”

Gunner growled to himself and leaned against the steering wheel, racking his brain. He bit back a smile when he found the right memory. “Remember after your accident, when you first woke up—”

Noah dismissed him with a gesture. “My accident’s no secret.”

Gunner grinned. “No, no, stay with me here. When you first woke up, you were so drugged up you couldn’t feel your body well, and you couldn’t move much either, so you asked me if I could check if your dick was okay. And I did. ‘Cause that’s the kind of big brother I am.”

Noah slid into the seat, shut the door, and turned his head to stare at Gunner, his face tense. “What the fuck?”

Gunner had to take a deep breath before starting the car, because the tension in his muscles was making him overheat. “I know. It happened today. I woke up like this. It’s been… a weird day. Do you think it will wear off overnight?” Being able to discuss this with someone other than Caspian was such a relief he melted into the seat, breathing deeply for the first time since Noah had walked in on them in the gym.

“I—I don’t know. This is some sci-fi shit,” Noah said and closed his seatbelt, never looking away from Gunner. His bright eyes shone in the dusky interior, peeling the protective layers Gunner tried to establish. “And… your secret...”

“It’s not what you think!” Gunner said as they drove off, and he was annoyed that it was now dark, and he couldn’t excuse putting on shades. “I was just… confused at the mall. Because of this body. The other guy, Caspian, he’s gay, and his body is—it has these urges.” He was ashamed of throwing Caspian under the bus like that, but what was he to say to Noah after all that he’d seen today? It wasn’t like he’d care about the sexual habits of a stranger.

“Yes, but you don’t have to sleep with people you don’t like. Anyway, it’s okay. I don’t mi—”

“Well, you should mind! ‘Cause I’m not gay.” Gunner snarled, keeping his eyes on the road as the deliciously filthy things he’d done with Caspian sizzled in his memory. He hadn’t simply allowed Caspian drill him, but he’d been a willing participant. Thrice. Just today.

Noah looked out of the window and rubbed his hands together. His left ring finger was slightly crooked, but it was amazing how well the surgeons had managed to mend his broken body following the accident. “But it doesn’t matter. Clearly, you want to explore this now.”

Gunner went silent. Could this be a loophole he could exploit? His way to have his cake and eat it? Then again, what if Caspian was pissed off at him and wouldn’t want to fuck anymore? After today, Gunner couldn’t imagine having sex with anyone else but the beast of a man now living in his old body. They might not know each other well but they’d understood things about each other no one else could.