A Nature of Conflict (The Redemption Saga Book 3) Read online

  “I normally do,” he said simply. “You?”

  “As well as can be expected.” She didn’t know what else to say. Quinn knew sleep was tortured for her, and they didn’t talk about it. He was accepting he couldn’t stop the nightmares; she was accepting she could try.

  He turned and looked down at her. As down as he could. Zander was much taller than her, but Quinn wasn’t. They were nearly even, her five foot eleven to his six foot two. They were on more even ground in some ways, and in others Quinn outclassed her completely. She was coming to terms with the feral, strange, and immensely powerful Magi she called a friend, even if he could kill her with barely a thought. At least they were more similar in height, right?

  “Zander?”

  “Nightmare, then Zander,” she corrected.

  “You might need to beat him up again,” Quinn suggested. She would have guessed he was joking, but his tone was so bland and matter of fact that she knew he was being completely serious.

  “I’m convinced he likes that more than arguing,” Sawyer mumbled petulantly.

  “Probably,” Quinn conceded. “Maybe that’s why he likes riling you up.”

  “It’s whatever. Let’s move on from it. How’s everything? I haven’t seen you for reading in a couple of days.”

  “Good. I…leveled up? Progressed? I’m now considered a high school reading level. Thank you. I think you are the reason for it.” Quinn gave her a very rare smile. “We should celebrate, I think?”

  “Are you asking to hang out and celebrate something with me?” Sawyer smiled at him. Now this was a serious step. They had kept everything about books and learning since Texas. He hadn’t wanted to do anything else with her and she didn’t press him for more. She wanted it. She had a soft spot growing in her chest for the feral Magi who had such secret capacity for tenderness. “I would love that. I’m really proud of you, Quinn. I knew you were going to get better - we just needed to find a reason for you to want it.”

  “Thank you,” he whispered, staring intently at her. “It’s still a long road, but you…you gave me a gift. I will always remember it.”

  Sawyer’s heart skipped an odd beat and she had to break eye contact. She’d always found him attractive, but she would never act on it. He wouldn’t want her. Their friendship was just beginning, and she didn’t think he would want to join the tangled mess of her relationships.

  The conversation ended, neither of them finding anything else to say, leaving Sawyer to absorb the dark silence of the world around her. At nearly five in the morning in October, the world was still asleep, but slowly beginning to wake up. She began to hear some birds rustle in the trees and begin their days. Vincent and Elijah walked out, followed closely by Zander and Jasper, who were quietly bickering over something.

  Since coming back from Texas, Jasper had convinced them to let him join in on the outdoor runs, to get up to speed with his new prosthetic.

  She stretched in silence, Vincent coming to do his own next to her. They exchanged a glance and he sent her a telepathic thought.

  “Good morning. How was your night?”

  She gave a heavy, over-exaggerated sigh and eyeroll to give him the gist of it. It made him chuckle softly. She should have found it weird to be asked by one of her boyfriends about another, but Vincent was always polite and just seemed to want to see how she was doing with all of it. Everyone on the team could sympathize with the exasperating nature of Zander Wade.

  “Well, if you need someone a little less pushy, you know where to find me.”

  She pursed her lips and looked at him. It was basically saying ‘are you serious?’ and she hoped he got it.

  “I’m just saying.” He shrugged minutely.

  She finished stretching, shaking her head a little with a smile. The bickering between Zander and Jasper had quieted down, leaving them all in a companionable silence.

  “Everyone ready?” Vincent called down after nearly ten minutes.

  Once everyone gave affirmatives, he led them out, letting them fall into a line behind him. It was an easy morning, even though they moved faster than normal. It was for Jasper’s benefit, as he continued to grow accustomed to running on uneven terrain with his prosthetic. They had picked up the speed regularly every day they ran, giving him a little more of a challenge. His cardio was exceptional, and he was just as tired as the rest of them at the end, but they didn’t want to cause him to fall as he got used to it. They hadn’t had the chance to work on it before Texas, so this was untried ground for him.

  Back near the plantation house, Vincent slowed and stopped them for a cooldown walk for the last five minutes.

  “We’ll do legs starting in one hour,” he announced. “I figure we can try out the new protein shakes first. Elijah?”

  “Yeah, I’ll get them made up for all of us,” Elijah confirmed.

  Sawyer looked back at him and wondered how he was doing. He hadn’t pranked on her all morning, teased her or anything else. It wasn’t that it worried her - it just didn’t happen that often. He caught her looking and grinned. She smiled back. That was uncomplicated right there. Elijah still flirted, she still denied him, and things were still good.

  Sawyer ended up following Elijah to the kitchen while the others went downstairs or to do their own thing.

  “How are you, little lady?” Elijah asked her, as he pulled down a huge tub of protein and several other powders and mixes.

  “I’m doing good,” she answered, propping herself on the counter next to where he was working. “We haven’t hung out much.”

  “You’ve been busy,” Elijah told her with a teasing tone, grinning. “I mean, how do I compete with Zander?”

  She looked him straight in his hazel eyes and made a show of looking down his massive form, the broad shoulders, the huge chest, the fit waist that was still thick. He was a man that a woman could hold on to. A tree to climb, she remembered thinking when she’d met him. A tree she was going to climb eventually because she wanted to. Then she slowly went back up to his eyes.

  “There’s no competition,” she replied innocently. There really wasn’t. Zander had that bad playboy thing going for him and a lean, gorgeous swimmer’s body. Elijah was a working man who had an easy-going nature that only wanted to see people smile. They weren’t comparable men. Not to her.

  “I’m sure there is,” he said, winking. “But you have yet to take me up on my offer. I know things that Zander could only dream about.”

  “I’m not so sure.” Sawyer chuckled. “He’s very good in bed. I’m just so satisfied.”

  “Too bad he opens his mouth,” Elijah reminded her, pointing at her with a spoon he was using to dish out the different powders. Then he went back to what he was doing.

  “He says some good things too,” Sawyer replied, feeling a little defensive of her redhead.

  “How much he loves you?” Elijah whispered, looking at her again. There was something soft on his face.

  She nodded. He did say it a lot. Not just during sex, but when they were arguing, and when they weren’t. He didn’t miss a chance to stop reminding her.

  “I mean, he does. It’s as obvious as the sun.”

  “I know,” Sawyer mumbled, looking down. She loved him too, but damn, he annoyed the hell out of her at every opportunity.

  “Want to hang out later? Get you away from the fan club? Maybe if you and Zander get some distance every so often, it won’t seem so rough.” Elijah elbowed her, and she sighed.

  “Tomorrow. Today, I’m going to the movies with Jasper,” Sawyer explained, smiling.

  He chuckled and nodded. “All right. Tomorrow. Me and you. Quinn too. We’ll head out to the swimming hole before it gets too cold. Still warm enough for it right now. Wouldn’t want to pass up the chance to get more hours in.”

  “No, we wouldn’t,” she agreed. “That sounds like a good, relaxing day away from the house. Plus, Quinn told me before the run that he wants to celebrate hitting a high school reading level. We’ll ha
ve fun.”

  “Yeah, the swimming hole isn’t Zander’s thing. Mutters about water safety, of all things, like Quinn would let us swim in a gross stagnant pond or something,” Elijah muttered, rolling his eyes. “It’ll give you some time away from him and Jasper…and Vincent.”

  “The other two aren’t argumentative monsters,” Sawyer mumbled with a groan.

  The conversation ended as Elijah turned on the blender. A minute later, a glass was pushed into her hands and commanded to drink. Strawberry flavoring helped cover up the bland powder, but the weird grainy feeling in her mouth was unavoidable. She finished it dutifully as the rest of the team started coming into the kitchen since they heard the blender.

  The leg day in the gym was as easy as the run. She partnered with Jasper, keeping a close eye on him as he proceeded through the workout on the new leg. His perseverance to make it work made her a little proud.

  “You did good today,” she said to him as she grabbed a towel. She frowned and realized it was the last one. She tossed it to Jasper, deciding he deserved it more.

  “Thank you,” he replied, looking a bit bashful. “It’s been a long time since I could do squats without my body protesting. Can you throw a second towel?”

  “There’s no more,” Sawyer said, pointing into the bin where clean towels were normally kept.

  “Shit,” Jasper hissed. “We need to call her. I thought we already did.”

  “The nice old cleaning lady you have banned from the house?”

  “Yeah,” Jasper sighed. “Vincent!”

  “What?” Vincent called back before walking over. “What’s wrong?”

  “We need Estella to come back. We’re falling behind on the household chores,” Jasper quickly told him. “It’s time. Sawyer has settled in. She’s not a danger to Estella. Elijah said she was going to start coming back.”

  “I’ll call her later today,” Vincent replied casually, shrugging. “Other things came up and I forgot to tell her it was okay for her start her weekly visits again. It’s not a problem.”

  “What’s going on?” Zander cut in.

  “You were supposed to clean towels.” Jasper threw the last one, now wet with sweat, at him.

  Zander made a disgusted face and looked at the towel that had hit the side of his face and fallen to the floor. Sawyer couldn’t hold back a snicker. “Shit. My bad,” he mumbled, leaning down to pick it up. “I’ll get them done today, or at least get them started.”

  “Thank you. I’ll ask Estella to start coming over again. Sawyer, I hope you’re ready. She’s a great little old lady.” Vincent walked away after that, leaving the gym with Elijah. Quinn, Sawyer noticed, was already long gone.

  “I’m going to get in the shower before you guys,” Sawyer announced. She left the gym before Zander or Jasper could beat her to the bathroom that she shared with them. She didn’t use Elijah and Vincent’s ever, because Elijah left it a constant mess to piss off Vincent. She’d made the mistake of going into it once and regretted it. Quinn had his own attached to his bedroom, something private, and she’d never been in his room or his bathroom. She would never go in without his permission either, unless she had a death wish.

  She smartly locked the bathroom door. If she left it unlocked, Zander would get frisky and want to play. While sometimes that was appreciated, today she wanted space from him. She needed it, or one of them was going to get hurt.

  She took her time, ignoring one of them knocking on the door. What she hadn’t expected when she got out was both of them waiting on her.

  “I’m going. You two can fight over it.” Sawyer chuckled, waving to the steamy bathroom. As long as it wasn’t her doing the fighting, she didn’t care what they did.

  “I’m going first. When I get out, we’re going to the movies,” Jasper said quickly, diving into the bathroom.

  Sawyer was unable to stop the laugh at Zander’s annoyed face. She was still laughing all the way up to her room.

  2

  Sawyer

  She met Jasper in the garage. She’d never been on a date like this, and it excited her in a weird way. A date. It was so simple and also so incredibly Jasper. He’d asked her after they got home from Texas, and things had repeatedly come up to stop them from going. From paperwork over Texas to visiting the kids at the orphanage, stuff just never stopped coming their way.

  He was wearing a pair of clean jeans and a simple button-down shirt, looking put together and a bit preppy. His sense of style was something she normally didn’t go for, but it looked good on him, the button-down just a little too small. Like every guy in this house, Jasper was a specimen of male fitness. She looked down at herself and wished she’d gone for more than the black jeans with fake distressing and a tank top that made her small chest look semi-decent. He was even wearing nicer shoes than her. She’d gone for a ‘nicer’ pair of black boots and he was wearing perfectly clean trainers.

  “I’m driving,” she declared, spinning her keys on her finger when she looked back up from her outfit. She looked to her gorgeous Audi that waited for her. She hadn’t taken anyone for a ride in it; she didn’t go anywhere anymore. That one visit into town and the bad taste in her mouth from Texas left her wanting to stick close to home.

  “Are we going to get pulled over?” Jasper asked nonchalantly. “Well, are you going to get pulled over again?”

  “Let’s hope not!” Sawyer laughed and unlocked the car. She slid in and waited for him. She watched him look over the car slowly before getting in, then taking in all the interior detailing and electronics once he did slide in.

  “I’ve been staring at this car with Zander, wondering if we would ever get to ride in it,” he admitted softly, a pink blush over his cheeks. “It’s a stunning car.”

  “I’m quite taken with it myself,” Sawyer teased.

  “You didn’t let me finish,” Jasper whispered. “It matches its stunning owner.”

  “Oh, Jasper, um, you don’t need to…” she mumbled and gave up trying to find words. Oddly, her face heated up. Compliments like that weren’t ones she was familiar with. She didn’t have a plan to handle it, a way of shrugging it off.

  “Did I render you speechless?” Jasper was teasing her now. Jasper, of all people, was teasing her. “It’s okay. I’m probably very bad at this. I never really…” He trailed off, covering his face and she could relate.

  “Me neither?” Sawyer replied, turning her car on. She hit the button to open the garage door closest to her and began to pull them out. “Not like this. Dating, compliments. Never was something I did.”

  “I don’t want to be Zander,” he informed her. “I don’t want to fall into your bed and be a pain without us testing the waters, learning more about each other. Sure, we grew up together, but we’ve been apart for a long time too.”

  “Do you know how to just fall into bed with someone?” Sawyer wrinkled her brow and frowned at Jasper. He wasn’t the type.

  “No, but I think the possibility is there.” He chuckled.

  “I thought so,” Sawyer huffed. “The possibility, by the way, is not there. You’re too nice of a guy to just fuck a woman and think it makes everything okay.”

  “You screwed Zander and thought it would make everything okay,” Jasper reminded her.

  “I’m not nice,” Sawyer retorted. “I’m fairly certain I’m an idiot actually. I mean, what woman in her right mind would try to get Zander to settle down?” She was mad for thinking, for any moment, that any of this was going to work, but they told her it would, and she was going to try it out. What did she have to lose, really?

  “The one who knows he will for her,” Jasper whispered. Sawyer kept her eyes on the road. “It’s always only been you for him. He would have fucked his way into an early grave if we hadn’t stumbled onto you.”

  “That’s reassuring.” Sawyer sighed.

  It took them thirty minutes to get to the movie theatre and Jasper was extra sweet, jumping out to get her door before she even had a chance to
think. More things she wasn’t used to. “I let you drive but I’m still getting your door,” he told her.

  She laughed and patted his chest, letting him feel good about it. She wasn’t going to give him a hard time. Something about all of this had her feeling young and stupid and she loved it a little. Just a moment to pretend they were two normal people on a normal date to the movies.

  “What are we seeing?” she asked.

  “No idea. I figured we could just pick at that moment.”

  “I’ve heard about some Idris Elba movie,” Sawyer offered. “It’s a disaster-romance, survival thing. Plane crash, wilderness.”

  “We’ll do that then,” Jasper agreed, nodding as a smile spread over his face.

  She grinned at him and took his arm with hers. Together, they walked to the counter, and she let Jasper buy tickets. He took her to the concession stand, got them both drinks and some popcorn. She felt out of place, in a different reality for it all.

  Movies with a boy. She didn’t even do this as a teenager. She damn sure didn’t do this sort of thing with Axel. They had partied in expensive clothing. He’d danced her around the world, shown her things she never would have seen otherwise. He had wooed her with money, power, and adventure.

  But Jasper was normal, and she loved it. She was going to fall for her amputee childhood friend because he was going to woo her with real life.

  They settled into their seats, and he leaned over to her. “We are the only people in the theatre,” he whispered.

  She sat up and looked around. Sure enough, there wasn’t another soul in sight. “What does that mean for us?” Sawyer asked seriously.

  Jasper didn’t answer, just wrapped a hand around the back of her neck and pulled her in for a kiss. Sawyer’s eyebrows went up, but she decided to hell with it. She relaxed and deepened the kiss, letting her tongue explore his mouth, taste him. This was what Zander had interrupted earlier. She moaned into him and heard a groan in return. When it ended, she enjoyed how dark and turbulent Jasper’s stormy blue eyes were. There was a heat there she didn’t normally see in him. It was enticing and beautiful, her golden boy looking at her like she was the only thing he’d ever wanted. He nearly looked like he would take her there in the dark theatre, as the lights dimmed for the trailers to start.