Page 60 of Bait and Switch
Considering just how long it had been since he’d been remotely intrigued by someone, that someone being Charming Fucker was a head-shaker in and of itself. It wasn’t being gay in a fucked-up lumberjack-man’s world—although that did play a small part—it was merely the way Casey was built. It was easier and less difficult to be alone. Trust did not come easily to him, and attraction was complicated.
Gabriel Karne it was not the one to make it easier.
Another thought intruded; Greta could never know this happened. If she did, he would never be able to convince her that there was nothing going on between them.
Did he want nothing?
Casey threw out, “Elton’s right, it’s no big deal,” and decided not to examine why too closely he went with that.
“Fine,” Gabriel said, throwing his hands up. “Fine, we’ll share. It will be fine, everything will be fine.”
If nothing else, agreeing to share the guest bed was worth Charming’s dramatic response. Casey suppressed a smirk. He wasn’t clueless, he knew that Gabriel Karne was attracted to him.
But was it possible that Charming was also flustered by the push-pull between them?
Huh.
TWENTY
Gabriel
Sometime after midnight, not too far into Thursday
Gabriel blinkedup at the bedroom ceiling, uncomfortably aware of absolutely everything. His breathing. Casey’s breathing. The coarse sheets brushing against his skin. The fucking ticking of a clock somewhere in the house. Where the fuck was the damn thing? Bowie’s breathing. The patter of rainfall and the creak of siding. Keith making herself comfortable under the bed.
Everythingwas not fine. Half of his body was on fire, and the other half was freezing. Casey Lundin was a blanket hog. Casey Lundin was hot. He shifted for the twentieth time and reconsidered the recliner but dismissed it—again—because, as he’d pointed out, it was Elton-shaped. Gabe was a natural-born cuddler, which, considering who was next to him in the bed, was also an issue. He felt like every single cell in his body was literally reaching for Ranger Man.
When they’d first retreated to the spare room, he’d managed to drift off fairly quickly after the day they’d all experienced. But eventually, the insanity of the past few days had interrupted his slumber, repeating an endless loop of Casey’s still form on the ground, and soon enough he’d fully woken. Now he was on his back and wide fucking awake. Intensely and uncomfortably aware of Casey’s massive slumbering form mere inches from him.
His sexy, complicated, slumbering form.
Now Gabe’s brain was demanding a cuddle. It would be so easy for him to roll over and tuck up against Casey’s strong back. Then the replay loop would end, Gabe was certain.
There was a spark between them, Gabe was pretty much almost one hundred percent certain of it. It was that tinyalmostpart which kept him from doing anything massively stupid. Carefully, he repositioned himself again, putting a few more inches between their bodies, and reminded himself that he hadn’t fled to Heartstone just to fall into bed with the first available human. Or unavailable one.
Especially not one who’d chased him out of the park his first night and cited him for trespassing—which, fine, was a ticket he’d earned and still needed to pay. And accused him of being a con man—which, okay, was the truth, even if that was his past. And didn’t trust Gabe on general principle—Gabe was always drawn to smart men. Casey Lundin was smarter than most.
The mattress shifted and a grumbly voice came out of the dark, “Jesus Christ, what do I need to do to get some sleep over here? Injured, remember? What the hell has you all wound up?”
Shit. Gabe scrambled to come up with something before his mouth opened and he word-vomited.
“It’s just?—”
“You are gay, right? Or at least bi? A man occupying the same bed as you isn’t out of the ordinary?”
“Ah—no?”
A chuckle escaped Casey. His laugh? Also, sexy.Dammit.
“You mean you don’t know?”
Casey flipped over so he was on his side and facing Gabe’s profile, and Gabe abruptly was even more aware of him than he had been seconds earlier.
“I mean,yes. Fuck you, yes, I am a happily bisexual man. And therefore,no, a man in my bed is not unusual. As you well know, considering my ex was the last body we found. But I never imagined a scenario where the man would be you. Not that I don’t find you attractive. I do.” Oh, fuck, his mouth had gotten away from him after all. “I just, never mind, this conversation is ridiculous—I’m going to sleep now.”
He moved to flop over onto his side and face away from Casey, even though he knew that sleep would now prove to be impossible. Fine. He could sleep when he was dead.
The mattress jiggled, and Gabe twisted to look over his shoulder.
