Craving Beauty Read online

  Craving Beauty

  A Salem Experiment Novella

  KL Fast

  Flirty Filth Publishing

  Craving Beauty (A Salem Experiment Novella, Book 2)

  By KL Fast

  © KL Fast 2019 Flirty Filth Publishing.

  All Rights Reserved

  By the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for brief quotations used in a book review.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  The use of actors, artists, movies, TV shows and song titles/lyrics throughout this book are done so for storytelling purposes and should in no way be seen as an advertisement. Trademark names are used editorially with no intention of infringement of the respective owner’s trademark.

  This book is intended for adults only. Contains sexual content and language that may offend some. The suggested reading audience is 18 years or older. I consider this book as Erotic Adult Romance.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Epilogue

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Other Books By KL Fast

  Dedicated to those who love Halloween as much as I do. I hope you have a sexy, spooky one!

  Prologue

  Maximillian Dunn

  October 31st, 2009

  Waking up on this fine Saturday morning, I groan as the sun hits my face. I am still a little bit drunk from last night, to be honest, and more sleep is what I need right now, but of course, I have to work today. My shift at the tree nursery starts in twenty minutes. So instead of rolling back over, I drag myself out of bed and into a hot shower. It doesn’t do much, but at least I no longer smell like a brewery. A life-affirming cup of coffee later, I am in my truck and on my way Salem’s Tree Lot, a little play on words from a Stephen King book. When I get there, I am only a few minutes late. My boss, Ruthie, is the nicest old lady I’ve ever met. She used to run the place with her husband, however he passed away a few weeks ago. She’s a tough old bird, but I catch her crying all the time. I’ve been trying to help her out as much as I can, but there is only so much I can do. Her two grown children live in Florida with their families. They came for his funeral then they left the next day, leaving their mother to deal with all of his end of life dealing. It’s fucking crazy if you ask me. I’d never let either of my parents deal with that on their own.

  “Rough night, Max?” she asks as soon as I clock in. She’s going over yesterday’s receipts and special purchase orders for today.

  “You know it, Ruthie. You know it,” I respond before getting down to work. She wants the trees rotated so that the less fresh trees are in the back. The ones that don’t sell eventually gets made into mulch, which does sell.

  This is just a temporary job. I applied to the US Forestry Service two days ago and I’ve yet to hear back. I want that Forest Ranger's job so bad. I am still living on a college guy’s schedule of partying all night and barely making it by during the day. It’s a vicious cycle that I’ve been stuck in since I graduated two years ago. My roommates have their shit together. Aaron gets up and lives his dream of creating video games. He’s yet to create one that will sell, but it’s on the horizon, I can feel it. And Frankie is almost finished with his second year of med school. He’s always doing these horrendously smelling experiments in the back corner of the main level of the house. We live in a huge Victorian house right on Salem Street. When we met in kindergarten, I protected those guys from the older kids. Frankie was picked on for being too smart, while Aaron was picked on for having hippy parents that dressed him in clothes from the seventies. Halfway through the school year, I beat the shit out of two fourth graders who had knocked them down on the playground. I wasn’t having that shit. We’ve been best friends ever since, and it was rare that anyone fucked with them after that.

  After work, the three of us get drunk, yet again while we pass out candy. By ten, we are three sheets to the wind, and I am bored.

  “Let’s play football,” I say out of nowhere.

  “Football? It’s thirty degrees out and ya know, night time,” Aaron says going back to Die Hard on the TV.

  “Indoor football?” I suggest.

  “Yeah, I can get behind that,” Aaron says standing.

  “You in, Frankie?” I ask, grabbing the Nerf football from the basket by the front door.

  “Hell yeah,” he says tossing his empty beer bottle into the trash can before grabbing another from the fridge.

  The open plan of the ground floor of the house includes the kitchen, the living room, and the dining room. The dining room is where the makeshift science lab is. It’s not appetizing to cook or eat in here, but we give it our best shots. I toss the ball to Frankie, who is open. Aaron has gone long to the dining room.

  I watch in slow motion as he jumps up and catches the ball. On his downfall, he hip-checks the edge of the table. The boiling contents of the glass jar spews all over the table, causing the flame of the hot plate to flare out. It catches papers and goes up in a fireball. The other glass jars explode, and their contents fly all over the room, hitting each of us. I look down at my arms, covered in burning sludge. I watch in rapt horror as my skin absorbs the stuff, leaving no trace that my arms were just on fire. We are each frozen in place until I realize that the living room is completely engulfed in flames around us.

  “Guys, move. Let’s fucking go,” I shout, snapping them out of their dazes. Aaron reaches down and grabs the cat. The cat has a mouse clinging to its tail. Frankie all but leaps into the fire and comes out with a thick file folder clutched in his hands. I want to laugh, but nothing is coming out.

  Outside, I call 911 and seconds later, the fire department screeches to a halt in the circular drive. They begin to put the blaze out, but they aren’t successful. Eventually, it dies out on its own, but the house is completely destroyed.

  When all the emergency activity died down, the five of us, Frankie, Aaron, the cat, the mouse, and I stand staring at the rubble of the amazing house we lived in.

  “I can’t believe it. It’s all gone. Most of my research. Two years’ worth,” Frankie says.

  “I can’t believe it went up like that. Poof. Gone,” Aaron says shaking his head.

  “Hey, at least we didn’t die in a house fire,” I say trying to lighten the mood. It works for about a second, then reality sets in. We’re homeless and everything feels different now. I just didn’t know how different it was yet.

  Chapter One

  One

  Harper Brown

  What have I gotten myself into? Oh yes, that’s right. The goddamn storm of a lifetime all by myself. Some might say I am brave for what I do, others say I'm a crazy adrenaline junky. I like to think I am a little of both. As a priestess of the Tempestatibus Order, I am drawn to storms. Therefore, being a storm chaser is the perfect profession. I get to travel all over the country looking for the next big storm and film it. I have had a few of my pieces sell to The Weather Channel as they use them for specials that air.

  I don't do it for the money though, I do
it for me. There is just something so beautifully destructive about a good storm that causes a sense of calm to wash over me. So, when I heard that there is supposed to be a huge superstorm showing up in Salem on Halloween, I was all for it. I got here early yesterday morning and looked around for a good place to go watch the storm. It is a good twenty minutes from the city, but I found the perfect spot.

  After I found where I wanted to go, I put it in my GPS for tomorrow, so I don't get lost. I went back into town and went to an occult shop on the main street. I bought myself a new Ouija board then I went and did all the touristy shit you can think of. This town has a lot of history that I am definitely interested in.

  The surprising thing was how I just fell in love with the town after just a day of sightseeing and hiking. That has never happened to me in the three years I have been doing this. I feel like something here is calling to me. I crashed at my hotel and didn't wake up until my third alarm went off. Yes, that's right. The third one. I am a very heavy sleeper. I sleep like the dead and normally only the smell of coffee and bacon can get me up.

  Before I got on the road, I went to the store and stocked up on jerky, water, and trail mix. I also grabbed some bear spray, just in case. I have spent most of my life doing outdoor things, so I am comfortable in the wilderness. I know how to take care of myself if something happens.

  “This is Heather Xander reporting live from Downtown Salem with a weather update. Well folks, it is really starting to come down out there. We are seeing severe thunder and lightning on the radar. Some reports are saying we could see up to twenty inches of rain in some areas. They are saying that this is the biggest storm Salem has seen since 1986 back when the bridge went out and the town was shut down for days.” The radio in my car crackles then goes out as I go over a huge bridge. I quickly turn on my CB scanner and find another radio station.

  “It’s looking pretty nasty out there folks, the National Weather Service has sent out a statement the people should stay inside and out of the harsh winds that are likely to pick up and be from anywhere between 65 and 73 miles an hour. We are told that this is the biggest storm Salem has seen.”

  I tune out as he starts repeating what the other lady was saying. It’s starting to pour the farther I drive. I am trying to get to a hiking trail where there is an opening. I am hoping to be high enough and far enough away from the storm that I don't get struck by lightning but still be able to get some good shots of the show. When I get off the bridge, I drive up a dirt road and see that it breaks off into three forks. I look at my GPS and it shows that it has no idea where the fuck I am. Shit well, I’m already up here. I might as well find a place I can take pictures then worry about getting back after.

  I turn to the right and I'm not on the road for more than three minutes when my Jeep gets stuck. “Fuck.” I throw it into four-wheel drive and book it up the mountain. After fifteen minutes, I reach a spot where I can’t drive any further. I don’t know why but I swear to God the minute I came into these woods, I felt the kind of peace and serenity I feel after every storm.

  I just know that this right here is where I am supposed to be. I grab my windbreaker as well as my water-resistant camera and hop out of the Jeep. I start to make my way to the open clearing. Once I break the clearing, I gasp at the sight in front of me. It's beautiful. I can see the entire town and it is like I am almost eye level with the clouds. I've never seen anything like it before. I pull out my camera and snap a picture. When I look at it, I sigh. I really need my video camera for this one. The color of the clouds when the lightning goes through them is simply too amazing to miss. I run back to my Jeep, grabbing it. I turn it on before I make my way back to the clearing. I lose myself in my work until the rain starts to get a little harder and much faster. I know that it's time to go. I put my video camera away and run back to the Jeep. When get to it my heart drops. Damn, I have a fucking flat tire. It is raining too hard to fix it right now. I get in really fast and see if I have any signal, but I don't. I think I might be a little farther up the mountain than I thought. I should be pissed but the lightning is perfect here and it looks amazing coming towards me. “Well Harper, you have been bitching about finding a perfect storm, maybe this one will be it.” I walk back over to where I was and pull out my camera.

  I start clicking away. Soon it is just me and the storm. I lose all track of time and sense as I completely forget that I am stuck outside in a huge storm.

  Chapter Two

  Two

  Max

  Ten years ago, my whole world changed. Some would say for the better, but I am not one of those people. It was an experiment that went wrong, but I am not mad about that part. Aaron and Frankie have come to terms with their abilities. They have been able to reenter society. I, on the other hand, have not been able too. I have gone mad. Crazy. Insane. Deranged. I became a forest ranger just for the solitude. My bear and I need space. Fuck, we need space from each other, but that is impossible. At first, I thought it was pretty cool, but have you ever had a bear pacing inside of you, unable to appease him? I highly doubt that. Frankie, Aaron and I have been looking for other shifters or paranormal types since the second day this happened. Haven’t found one yet. There is talk of shifters existing, but they are really well hidden. Rightly so. Can you imagine the stigma attached to that? It would be terrible for all involved, myself included.

  I have been racing around the Salem National Forest for the better part of five hours now bracing for the incoming storm. The weather report is saying that this is going to be the Storm of the Century and my bear agrees. He’s on edge, even more than usual. The storm front is thunder, lightning, and at least ten inches of rain. The back band will consist of blistering cold, and many, many inches of snow. While on my rounds, I check on Aaron, who is also a wolf, lives out in the woods as well, just much closer to Salem than I do. I’ve lived in Salem my whole life. I’ve got a wicked accent, and tattoos aplenty. I am as big as a house, though not nearly as big as poor Frankie. He’s a fucking giant. When I get there, I am surprised to find a woman there. I leave just as quickly as I came. On my way out, I notice that the Old Mason Bridge is almost completely submerged by water, so I let him know that as well. He and his girl are pretty much stuck now.

  I make it back over the bridge just in time. Before heading home, I make a special stop in town to pick up some food and gear to get me through the worst of the storm. Some steaks, potatoes, and Jack Daniels are all I need. My bear should be fleetingly satisfied with that stuff too. In the store, I pick up a scent that sends my bear into a frenzy but it’s fading fast. Shaking my head, I get my shit into my truck and drive the twenty plus miles into the woods where my cabin is situated. I built it with my bare hands, no pun intended.

  It’s completely modernized and fully energy efficient. Since I’ve gotten in touch with my shifter nature, I am very adamant about being green. By the time I get home, the weather has taken a turn for the worse. The storm is right on top of this area. The thunder is louder than I’ve ever heard. The ground is actually shaking, almost like an earthquake. The lightning comes rapidly and strikes every few seconds. It really is going to be epic. I park in my garage and as soon as I step out of it, bags in hand, it hits me. A scent so amazing, I growl low in my throat and it’s almost as loud as the thunder. It’s the same scent from the store, only now it’s overwhelming and very nearby. It’s spicy, sweet, and there is just a hint of fear mixed in there. I drop the bags on my covered porch and take off in the direction of the scent. My nose is leading me. The closer I get the harder my cock gets and that confuses me. In a clearing, I see a huddled mass next to a tree. Why doesn’t she know that trees are unsafe during a lightning storm like this?

  When I get closer, I see that she is soaked through, shivering, but taking Pictures? My MATE is taking pictures in a motherfucking storm.

  “What are you doing?” I shout, louder than I mean to.

  “Huh?” she asks looking up at me. Her eyes widen, which I am used to,
but hers linger.

  “What the hell are you doing out here?” I repeat.

  “Chasing the storm,” she replies like I have any idea what that fucking means.

  “The road is washed out. Come inside with me,” I demand, holding my hand out to her. She hesitates for a second, then places her smaller, soft as cashmere hand in mine. Effortlessly, I help her up. She crashes into my chest.

  “Shit, sorry.” I tell her as I put her at arm's length again. I forget my own strength sometimes.

  “Um. I’m Harper. Harper Brown. You are?” she says tucking her long, wet hair behind her ear.

  “Max Dunn, Forest Ranger. At your service,” I say tipping my uniform hat to her. She giggles as another flash of lightning streaks across the sky. The rain is getting colder by the second, so in a rash decision, I lift her in my arms like a bride, and streak across the clearing, back to my cabin.

  “Max,” she breathes when I set her down on the porch. I think she feels this pull too. She has too. For the first time in ten years, my bear is quiet. He is sitting pretty in my subconscious, while paying attention to every breath she, Harper, takes.

  Too bad I can’t act on this. I know without a shadow of a doubt that I’d hurt her if I give in to the craving. I am too mad, too strong. She can’t handle me, and I know I’d die before I let anything happen to her.

  Now that my bear is quiet, I don’t know what to do. For years, I’ve tried to appease him. Who would have thought that a tiny, fragile woman would be everything we’ve been looking for?

  Not me, that’s for sure. For being as strong as I am, I don’t think I am quite strong enough to survive the storm that is Harper Brown.