Take My Body (Curse Bound 2)

It was as if he’d thrown a piece of venison at a wolf. Todd shoved the table away, sending bottles to the floor, and went straight for Caspian.

“What’d you call me, bitch?”

Caspian’s fist collided with Todd’s jaw in a split second. The bastard hadn’t expected him to act so fast, because he hadn’t put up his guard and spun like a rag doll, hit his head on Bud’s knee, and slid to the floor.

Caspian went still, staring at the carnage in front of him, and then at his fist, which didn’t even hurt. His mind had been hesitant about getting into a fight, but Gunner’s body knew exactly what to do in order to keep itself safe. Muscle memory had taken over just like it had when he’d unlocked Gunner’s phone without knowing the PIN number.

Todd got to his knees with blood dripping from his nose and fire in his eyes. “I’m gonna fucking kill you!” he screamed, but when he attempted to reach Caspian, Bud, who’d also lost his girl, pulled him back.

“Come on man, cool off!”

Caspian’s fists itched for more action, but despite the unexpected rush coursing through his veins, his mind grasped the reins again. It made way more sense to pull back now.

“Some celebration, Todd!” he said, spreading his arms.

“What’s going on?” Ralph asked, coming over, even though his favorite girl was still on stage, rubbing her behind against the pole.

Caspian was so done with this bullshit when he had a perfectly horny twink waiting for him at home—his old home, but still—and he wasn’t about to waste any more time in this shithole. The last time he’d seen Gunner, he’d been stressed out about the swap, about the new life and body, and instead of talking to him about it, Caspian was stuck at a shady strip club.

Bud shook his head. “Nothing, I think I’ll take Gunner home. He’s had one too many.”

Gunner hadn’t had any booze at all, but he wasn’t about to point that out. “Thanks, man,” he said while Ralph offered Todd a crumpled handkerchief in order to stop the blood drizzling from his nose. The tissue was used, which made Caspian hope the bastard ended up with gangrene and lost his nose altogether.

Or better yet, died in a ditch. Gunner might have done terrible things to Caspian, but he was at least remorseful. Maybe Todd would swap bodies with the stripper and get a taste of his own medicine. Caspian just didn’t wish it on the poor girl.

The Brown brothers didn’t bother to bid him goodbye, but Caspian didn’t care and followed Bud to the van, somewhat surprised the vulgar bastard cared about his friends enough to stop their fight.

“Sorry about that. Don’t know why he’s on my case,” Caspian tried as they both sat in the vehicle, because the silence was already making him uncomfortable. As rotten as Bud was, he remained on Caspian’s side, and until this was over, Caspian needed all the support he could get, because he had no doubt Ralph would follow his brother’s lead.

“Just be fucking normal,” Bud grunted and hit the steering wheel with both hands. “Have a beer, get your dick sucked, and don’t pick fights with Todd. It’s not that hard. You don’t want to be his enemy.”

Caspian used to think that a tall, strong body capable of easy violence would keep vermin like Todd out of his sight, but it seemed that staying afloat in the murky world of crime and degeneracy involved way more than that. He’d judged Gunner over not wanting to come out to his brother, but Noah was still a kid and might accidentally spill the beans to someone who shouldn’t know.

Caspian didn’t even want to imagine what would have happened if those gorillas found out the truth, and in Gunner’s world being alone meant becoming prey.

He might have had the body of a bull and its strength to match, but there was only one of him and hundreds of Todds, for whom a gay man like Gunner, one of their own, posed a threat. Caspian didn’t quite understand the mindset behind it, but the possibility of Gunner not being into chicks was very clearly a stab at the twisted system of values those people lived by. And unless he removed himself from their company altogether, he too would be forever bound by those same rules.

Caspian spent the drive dwelling on the difficult choices Gunner had been forced to make all his life, but they arrived at the trailer park before 11pm, and despite fatigue weighing down his muscles, he got into his truck the moment Bud disappeared from sight.

He needed to talk to Gunner and point out all the things he should have warned Caspian about. But the anger he’d felt at some point had evaporated, replaced by the dull need to see him and relax in the company of the one person who understood what Caspian was going through.