Free The Lost by Caridad Piñeiro

himself, drawing on what little energy remained at his core to provide support against the weakness in his body.
    The sound of the water shutting off in the shower propelled him to find the strength he needed to retreat. Careful not to make a noise, he opened the door and rushed out into the hallway. Resting against the wall, he took another few deep breaths until he had stabilized. Then he hurried out, needing to deal with so many things.
    He had never morphed for as long a time as he had tonight, and it had left him feeling weak. He was normally quite robust, since he was careful about maintaining hisenergy levels. He would have to recharge the energy he had spent on the shapeshifting, energy that had already been taxed by the blasts from his attackers. Plus, he had to process all that he had learned from his short online peek into Bobbie’s life and even shorter visit to her home.
    Despite the brevity of those contacts, Bobbie continued to intrigue him, but tonight’s episode had proven one thing to him: Allowing emotion to interfere was a dangerous thing. The jealousy that he had experienced due to the photo had nearly undone him at a very sensitive moment.
    He suspected it wouldn’t be the last time that emotions related to Bobbie would challenge him. She called to him emotionally and her aura drew him on another level. If he couldn’t handle the feelings both of those roused, he might put her at risk.
    That was the last thing on Earth he wanted to do.
    Bobbie had clearly been through enough on her own without him adding to her misery.

CHAPTER
8
     
    A dam stood on the second-floor balcony off his bedroom, staring at the waves churning up against the shore. The moon was full, bathing everything beneath it with shades of almost white to silvery gray. A storm was brewing tonight. Besides the smell of the rain that was on its way, he sensed the growing energy gathering in the clouds above him.
    Closing his eyes, he lifted his face to the skies and inhaled deeply, as if by doing so he might suck in all that turbulent power. Maybe some long-ago ancestor, the one from whom he had inherited his abilities, had been able to gather such storm forces. So far Adam had not been able to harness powers in that fashion, but maybe tonight with the experiment he planned to run he would find a way to tap the intense energy of the tempest, much as he was able to do with the creatures around him and the smaller bits of free-floating energies in the cosmos.
    As a child Adam had shied away from gathering suchforces, aware that he lacked the ability to control what he did with them. But he had learned some restraint as a teenager, and he had begun to experiment. He discovered that each living thing he touched possessed its own unique energy signature. Trial and error had helped him to improve the process by which he could round up that energy and use it for a number of purposes.
    Anything electrical was within his control with just a thought. With a simple touch he could take on a new shape, which oftentimes gave him a fresh perspective, he thought, recalling that night’s adventures in his animal form. Every bit of energy he absorbed brought a new awareness to him.
    Like the sensation of Bobbie’s skin beneath his fingers, pulsing with life.
    Adam sucked in a breath as he imagined how the rest of her might feel pressed against him. So warm and feminine.
    What would it feel like to be one with her physically? Or to share that energy and spirit and create a unique synergy of their respective powers?
    Tamping down the desire that was becoming almost painful, he opened his eyes and stared up at the skies.
    If there was a God up there, why hadn’t He allowed Adam to understand what his purpose on this Earth was supposed to be? It still frustrated Adam that he hadn’t been able to put some of his powers to any real useful purpose. And now he had a new one to consider—his ability to skip across distances in the blink of an eye.
    He shoved