All Chapters of Awakened For Sin: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Monday 5pmI should have known the quiet was just too quiet. That stillness before something bad always carries its own stench, one your body can’t help but recognize even if your brain refuses to admit it. You know the feeling… the one like how animals go quiet just before they scurry away as a disaster hits. How their survival instinct kicks in to save the furry little buggers.I’m feeling that right now, but instead of it sending me into a dark corner to hide until the feeling goes away, I settle back in the bath I’d run, letting the hot water lap around me, seeping into my pores and temporarily washing away my worries. And trust me, I have a few.This was my one true vice. I loved a hot bath as often as possible. I’d added lavender oil to help with the headache that had been threatening all day. But nothing helped the sense of dread that had been creeping up my spine since arriving home.My husband, Richard, had been unusually polite this afternoon; he was never polite anymore. And

Fawn’s POVAir ripped into my lungs like I’d swallowed knives.I jerked upright, hands flying to my chest, half-expecting water to gush out of my mouth as I gulped in air. For one panicked, blinding second, I was back in the bath, drowning. No, not drowning… being murdered as I fought to stay alive. But I hadn’t fought them off; they had been stronger. I could still smell lavender oil for a second before it was gone. Like a thought bubble bursting.Now everything smelled like bleach and plastic and something harsh that stung my nose. I wiggled my nose to stop myself from sneezing as I focused my eyes, or tried to.The light above me was too bright. Everything around me was white, sterile, and clean. Not my bathroom. Not home. Not even anywhere I recognized. There was a plastic rail at my side. A beeping that was fast and frantic. It was damn annoying.I became aware my throat hurt, and I needed a drink of water, and I was dizzy.“Easy—easy!” Someone’s hand hovered near my shoulder, not

Fawn’s POVI waited until the room cleared, until the last nurse checked my vitals and promised to be right back, before carefully swinging my legs over the side of the bed. My muscles responded with surprising strength. Yeah, I was a little shaky, but nothing like what six months of bed rest should have done to them. I knew it was going to take time to build my strength up.The IV tugged uncomfortably against my skin as I moved. I hesitated only a moment before carefully peeling back the tape and sliding the needle out with a slight wince. A tiny bead of blood formed at the puncture site, which I dabbed away with my fingertip. The bleeding stopped soon enough.My balance wavered, then steadied. I took one step, then another, my bare feet silent on the cold floor. The hospital gown gaped open at the back, but I didn’t care. I needed to see.The bathroom was small, institutional, with harsh fluorescent lighting and a mirror above a basic sink. I didn’t expect more, this was a hospital,

Fawn’s POVOf course it was psych time. We’d done the poking and prodding, the tapping, the lights-in-the-eyes; now they needed to make sure I wasn’t going to flip a table or start speaking in tongues. Fair, I guess. But who could blame me for being a little freaked out? I was a body snatcher.“As long as you’re not here to take more blood,” I said. “I’m pretty sure I’ve donated enough for three vampires and a large family of blood-sucking leeches. With a name like Dr Butcher, I’m not sure I would want you anywhere near me. You know, you really should consider changing that. It gives a bad first impression.”“I hear that a lot, but I think my husband would be upset if I didn’t keep his name.” Her mouth twitched. “But I promise no blood. Just some questions.”She then glanced toward Blake. “Would you prefer to speak alone, or is it all right if Mr Huntington stays?”I thought about that for a second. Alone meant they’d press harder. With Blake here, I’d have an audience, but at least th

Fawn's POVOne corner of his mouth twitched. “I’m starting to notice.”We let that sit there for a second, thickening the space between us. The air felt heavy with everything neither of us was saying. I shifted, suddenly aware again of the flimsy gown and how exposed my legs felt under the thin blanket and the backless gown.“What happens when they decide I’m not going to drop dead mid-MRI?” I asked, if only to get us off the topic of what I felt like. “Do they keep me here? Ship me off to some rehab center with group therapy and inspirational posters?”His expression shuttered. “No.”“No?”“You’ll come home,” he said. “To the penthouse. It’s secure and private, it’s where you lived before, so it makes sense.”Home. The word scraped something raw inside me. Not Fawn’s home with her cheating husband and his mistress. Cassie’s home. But I doubted wifely duties were part of the deal. Though studying Blake… maybe that wasn’t entirely fortunate.“With you,” I clarified, even though I alread