Take My Body (Curse Bound 2)

“Oh, no, I know you’re perfect together,” Caspian said, betraying that he watched Roach and Zane’s content. “This is about a thing Mad Madge told us about.”

Enough was enough.

“The magic thing?” Gunner tried, kicking the butt of a cigarette across the asphalt.

“What ‘magic thing’?” Roach asked.

“The one where one of you gets cut, and the other bleeds in the same place,” Caspian said, and Zane stared at him, his brows rising ever higher.

“You two need to stop smoking whatever it is you’re smoking,” he said with a shake of his head.

Gunner took a deep breath and stepped up to Zane with a frown. It was in moments like this that he really wished to be a bit taller, because he needed to rest the back of his head on his nape in order to meet his gaze. “Hey, man. This is serious. Might sound messed up, but we need to know if there’s something you know about this shit.”

Roach choked on smoke when chuckles came from deep in his throat. “Chill, boy, I don’t know what—”

Gunner pulled out his switchblade and swung it at Zane’s arm. He’d either prove those two bastards were lying, or find out it was a fluke, but it was high time to find out.

Roach stepped in front of Zane, his eyes wide, but before he could have dashed forward, Caspian captured Gunner from behind and lifted him off the ground.

“There, there. No reason for all this anger!”

Gunner’s chance to test out Madge’s theory was gone the moment his feet flew into the air.

“The fuck’s wrong with you!” Roach yelled, keeping Zane back when he tried to step forward. “Keep that chihuahua on a leash, for fuck’s sake!”

Caspian exhaled, holding Gunner high up, so he couldn’t attack anyone. “Yeah, yeah, sorry. He’s just a bit on edge. Because of magic—”

“There is no such thing. Grow up,” Zane growled, once again restrained by Roach’s gesture. His mane floated in the breeze like that of a lion about to launch an attack on its rival.

Roach scowled and showed them the middle finger but didn’t attempt to use force in order to chase them off and nudged his boyfriend toward the bar. “Come on, it’s your time to play.”

Zane hesitated but then met Roach’s gaze and didn’t protest.

Gunner sighed deeply as they watched them walk away, but Caspian let him down once the two men disappeared inside the bar.

“Why did you stop me? We would have known if it’s true!” Gunner whined, but kinda realized he’d taken it too far. Sometimes, he only understood what position he put himself in once the burning wheel of destruction he’d pushed off the hill could no longer be stopped.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Caspian asked, spinning him around with a deep frown. “You could have hurt somebody with this!”

Gunner stilled and let Caspian pluck the knife out of his hand as if he were a parent pulling a child’s hand away from the electric outlet. “I… That was the point.”

“You stab a guy like that, and he’ll break your neck. What the hell, Gun?” Caspian roared, his face flushed a deep red.

Gunner spread his arms in frustration, but his stomach was sinking ever deeper. “I don’t know! It made sense at the time!”

Caspian shook his head, folded the knife, and instead of giving it back to Gunner, he shoved it down his own pocket. “I’ll get you some pepper spray.”

Gunner lowered his head in shame. “Sorry, I got carried away. So that was useless. We should have known not to listen to Mad Madge.”

Caspian frowned but glanced at the entrance to the bar when a girl walked outside with a stepladder and a rainbow flag, which she swiftly hung high by the door.

“Didn’t know Grit has gay club nights,” Caspian said when disco suddenly blasted from inside, replacing the earlier rock music. His lips crooked. “Maybe they’ll still let us in, if you behave.”

“What?” Gunner couldn’t be more confused. “I mean… they host events. Why would we go? Those guys won’t tell us shit.”

“What do you mean why? We could have some fun,” Caspian said and swayed his hips in a way Gunner never would have in this hulking body.

Gunner sucked in beer-scented air. “I told you I’m not out, and you want me to go to a gay party? Seriously? No.”

Caspian’s arms dropped. “It’s not a big deal. It’s not like your friends are gonna be here. I won’t have this body for long. I just want to go to a club and for once be the one people check out, not the other way around.”

Gunner looked Caspian up and down. He was so damn hot even in simple jeans and T-shirt combination.

Would they? Would they check him out?

“You didn’t go to clubs? Didn’t you say you were out at University?”