Hades' Cursed Luna

Chapter 142 Dancing On Knives

Eve

The wine had really hit its mark, later rather than sooner. Yet, my skin still itched with anxiety, every nerve on edge as Hades closed the door behind us. He had not said a word to me since he escorted me back to the car, but I would have been dense not to notice the wary glances he cast my way.

He shrugged out of his shirt as he sauntered towards me, where I unhooked my earrings—or at least tried to. I was trembling, my hands shaking.

His eyes

"You're lying," I whispered, though even I didn't believe it. "You are all of those things, but you draw a line at infidelity."

Hades tilted his head, watching me the way a predator watches prey before the strike. His hand lifted, brushing the hair away from my face with a gentleness that felt out of place.

"Why would I lie about something like that?" he asked softly, his breath warm against my skin.

I swallowed hard, but the knot in my throat refused to dissolve. "Because it would make things easier. For you. For the alliance. For whatever this is."

I should have been anxious to find out what was on the memory card, but here I was again, entangled with him.

His gaze flickered, something dangerous surfacing just beneath the calm exterior.

"You think I'm keeping another woman because of convenience?" He laughed again, but this time there was no humor—only simmering tension.

"I don't do convenient, Red."

"You are throwing words now."

"You are so clueless, Red. I brought you here with the full intention to break you, to mould your fragments into a tool," he slurred a bit.

My throat closed up, the alcohol-induced haze relenting.

"The blessed twin in my grasp, and you think I need another woman?" Hades' voice dropped lower, the dangerous edge returning with brutal clarity.

I stiffened, feeling the shift in the air. The haze of wine was fading fast, sobering me in the worst possible way.

Hades' hand lingered at his side, clenching and releasing as if fighting some internal battle he couldn't win. His eyes burned into mine, molten silver darkened by something more dangerous than anger—something raw and unfiltered.

"I didn't plan for this," he said, his voice hoarse, almost as if admitting it pained him. "I wanted to break you, Red. Mould you into something I could control. But you—"

His gaze dropped to my mouth, lingering there before flicking back to my eyes.

"You're shattering me."

I swallowed, the weight of his confession pressing against my ribs, making it harder to breathe.

Hades took a step forward, closing the distance until the heat of his body seeped into mine, smothering any space that might have existed between us.

"You were supposed to be a pawn," he murmured, tilting his head just enough that his lips brushed against my temple, featherlight but deliberate. "A tool for the war. A means to an end."

War?!

His hand came up slowly, fingers threading through my hair as he cupped the back of my head.

"But now," Hades whispered, his breath hot against my skin, "you are both my salvation and my damnation."

The words sank deep, curling around my chest like a vice.

His hold on me was possessive, but there was a tremor in his grip—barely perceptible, but enough to make me realize the weight of his words wasn't just poetic. It was real.

"You think I hate you?" Hades continued, pulling back just enough for our eyes to meet. His thumb traced the line of my jaw, a touch that contradicted the storm building behind his gaze. "I don't. I hate what you do to me."

I forced myself to stay still, even as my heart slammed against my ribs.

"You undo me," he rasped, his voice dropping lower, almost dangerous. "Piece by piece."

I felt the tension crackling between us, thick and suffocating, yet I couldn't look away. His intensity pulled me in like gravity—dark and inescapable.

"You make me reckless," Hades confessed, brushing his lips against my ear in a whisper that sent shivers down my spine. "And I despise it."

My breath hitched as his hands tightened around my waist, fingers digging into the fabric of my dress.

"But I can't stop," he added, almost as if the admission was dragged out of him. "No matter how much I try."

The weight of his obsession wrapped around me like a chain, unbreakable and suffocating, but somehow, I didn't pull away.

His grip tightened further, and for a moment, I saw it—the flicker of something feral behind his eyes. The realization that I had looked at someone else, even if it wasn't James, with the kind of recognition that mirrored longing, had ignited something violent inside him.

When it was Kael, he had been jealous and sober, but now he was both jealous and intoxicated.

The thought of me believing, even for a second, that another man I once loved could still hold the pieces of my heart made him unhinged.

"I wanted to kill him," Hades whispered, his voice shaking with restrained fury. "Even if it was just a ghost in your mind."

I swallowed thickly, my pulse quickening beneath his hand.

"You should let me go," I whispered, knowing full well he wouldn't.

His lips curved into something faint, something that wasn't quite a smile. It was bitter anger—it didn't reach his eyes.

"I have to confess," Hades replied, his thumb brushing the curve of my lower lip. "Only your blood can intoxicate me."

I swallowed, heat curling low in my stomach as his eyes dipped down to follow the movement.

"You don't belong to the alliance," he said, the softness in his tone twisted by the possessiveness lurking beneath. "You belong to me."