Take My Body (Curse Bound 2)

But they weren’t a good fit anymore, no matter how much he wanted to throw Gunner over the shoulder and show him that he could still be the same guy.

“Hey,” Gunner said in that low rumble of a voice, and scratched his chin, no longer intimidating, despite his size or the ink.

Caspian exhaled and took in Gunner’s simple look of blue jeans worn with a white T-shirt. It had the faint rectangular creases that betrayed he’d just taken the top out of its packaging.

A lump got stuck in Caspian’s throat, so he stepped aside, trying to gather his courage. “Welcome. It’s been a while.”

Gunner walked past him, and the banana & raspberry shampoo scent he carried with him triggered so many filthy memories Caspian held his breath in stunned silence.

“Yeah, I kinda thought you gave up on me. That this whole thing was just too weird.”

Something inside Caspian balked at the accusation, but he calmed down by the time the door was once again locked. The air smelled of the meat roasting in the oven, but its familiar, homey aroma wasn’t enough to soothe the storm raging inside him. “I mean… you said you wanted to give me boxing lessons, but you just lost your home, so I didn’t want to bother you.”

Gunner smiled and ruffled his hair as if they were buds not ex-lovers. “Just teasing. I was about to message you when you called.”

Caspian’s lips twitched, and while he didn’t appreciate other people infantilizing him, he enjoyed the brief touch. “Someone had to make the first move. It’s not like anyone else can understand what I’ve been through.”

“No. No one would.” Was that a faint flush on Gunner’s tan skin, or was Caspian imagining things? “I got this for your parents…” Gunner held up a bottle of wine.

A part of Caspian was impressed Gunner was thoughtful enough to bring a small gift for his hosts, but another cringed over him feeling obliged to spend the little money he had on the present.

“They will really appreciate this.” Such insignificant small talk, but the things Caspian truly wanted to say should be left unspoken.

Caspian no longer considered his body a hindrance when it came to dating, but it was painfully clear that he wasn’t Gunner’s type, and he needed to live with that, no matter how much he yearned for the messy guy who’d taught him so many things during their brief relationship.

“Are you sure they wanna meet me?” Gunner whispered, and it was time to admit why Caspian had invited Gunner instead of meeting him someplace else.

While Caspian had been craving to see him for reasons he wouldn’t speak of, they were still friends, and he was set on pulling Gunner out of the tight spot he was in. Because Gunner deserved a helping hand.

Caspian cleared his throat and stepped closer, amazed that the hulking guy who was so much taller and broader than him smelled of the same shampoo the twinky Gunner had.

“They know you helped me when I ate peanuts, and they want to thank you, since you saved my life.”

Gunner chuckled and bit his lip. “Only that I didn’t. It was all you.”

Caspian shrugged and winked at Gunner. “Tomato, potato, what’s the difference, right?”

“Everything got kinda mixed up… But at least I came out of the whole experience knowing some Latin. Did you plant a dead rat in the car when Alex took it?”

Caspian chuckled and squeezed Gunner’s shoulder, stealing a touch like some lecher. “It’s not worth it. I’m actually happy I got rid of it. It was a beautiful car, but the truth is I don’t need to have it right now, and the money went to something much more urgent and important,” he said and met Gunner’s gaze, wondering if he’d already found out that Caspian had paid off his debt, or if he’d have to tell him.

A month ago, he would have called his own actions crazy. He’d arguably been forced to sell the Southfield for a fraction of its value in order to appease Alexander. But the fact that he’d spent most of the money he’d gotten for it on the man who caused the whole mess made him a clown. He was at peace with that.

His time in Gunner’s body had been short, but it had made the helplessness of the man’s situation abundantly clear. A good person at his core, Gunner had fought a losing battle against the system and people around him since childhood. If Caspian could take some of that burden off his shoulders, he was determined to do so.

The truth was that he didn’t need the money. Sure, had he kept it, he could have gotten a nicer car as a replacement, but he wouldn’t have become homeless or hungry even if Alexander had taken the Southfield without paying anything. Gunner, on the other hand, might have fallen right back into crime, were he not offered help.