Free EVO Shift: EVO Nation Series: Book Two by K.J Chapman Page B

my mind.
    “I need to brush my teeth. I have garlic breath.”
    He rolls his eyes. “I don’t care about garlic breath.”
    “Well, I do. It isn’t sexy and I want you to think I’m irresistible.” Wagging my eyebrows at him, I jump from the bed.
    He makes a playful grab for my butt. “You know exactly what I think of you.”
    I skirt around him, shut myself in the bathroom, and brush the hell out of my teeth.
    With fresh breath, I tuck my hair behind my ears and pinch my cheeks to get a bit of colour into my washed out face. Undoing the shirt buttons to help him out a little, I take a deep breath and make an overly sultry entrance, draping myself from the door frame.
    He’s asleep. Fabulous.
    I stroke his cheek and pull the sheets over his muscular frame. They cling to him perfectly. I watch his facial expressions change from frowns to smiles. I could tune in and witness his dreams, but I won’t. Dreams are private, and I’m promising myself to not read minds unless I have permission or it’s an absolute necessity. Grayson will be filed under necessity. I can’t control when I inflict my thoughts on Adam, but I can control whether I intrude on his privacy.
    There’s a quiet knock on the door and Emiko pops her head in. “I’ve got your clothes,” she whispers. I graciously take them. She leans against the door frame. “Mine’s the same,” she says, nodding to Adam. “No matter how big and macho they are, they always look so vulnerable when they sleep, don’t you think?”
    I smile at the sight of my big man sleeping so peacefully. “Yeah. I could watch him all night. Sometimes, when I go to sleep, I worry that I’m going to wake up and he’d have just been a dream. But then, I wake up and he’s still here, smiling at me.”
    “Adam loves you very much, Teddie. We all do.”
    Wrapping my arms around her neck, I hold on for dear life. “Thank you, Emi. I mean it- really- thank you.”
    She plays with a piece of my hair, admiring her handy work. “You have nothing to thank me for.” Giving my hand one final squeeze, she disappears back into the hallway.
    It’s only 11pm, yet the house is silent. Although Adam sleeps soundly, I’m wide awake. There’s no point trying to get to sleep. I’m thirsty and restless. I slip into my clean clothes, head out the room, and leave him to his dreams.
    There’s a rustling coming from inside the kitchen area. The glow from the refrigerator casts a shadow on the far wall- a shadow with a long ponytail. Jude jumps as I enter, cursing me under his breath. I half expected him to be drunk, but I dare say he’s sober.
    He hands me a bottle of water and takes one for himself. “You can keep me company,” he says, leaning against the breakfast bar. “Your Mum and I both suffer from Insomnia... or should I say suffered in her case—”
    “I’ll only keep you company if we talk about something else- anything else,” I interrupt.
    He takes a gulp of water and raises his eyebrow over the top of the bottle. “You know your mother had nothing to do with your being taken to Facility One or Rob’s death.”
    “And that fixes everything? That woman drugged me. She let me think I was a freak,” I scoff into my drink. “I was five years old the first time I realised that she had a drink problem. Dad had been trying to shelter me from it, but Shana took me into town and threw up in the supermarket. The police called Dad to come and collect her and when he arrived she called the cashier a slut and accused her of having an affair with my Dad. That was just one of the many ways Shana Leason ruined my childhood. It only got worse from there. I feel like my whole life has been one big, fat lie. Did you know she lied to Isaac about being EVO?”
    Jude sighs. “Yeah, I did. I have no idea how she thought she could pull it off. I know Shana wasn’t perfect, but you have to understand why she was the way she was. She was brought up knowing about EVO, but never fully being