Nights Burn With Regret — by Nathan Perez 162
Chapter 162
Chapter 162
Violet
This was really strange. So strange that I found myself wondering if the man sitting beside me was truly Hades Smelair, or some very convincing impostor wearing his face.
I kept stealing glances at him, trying to figure out if I was imagining things.
Anyone else might have said I was overthinking it. But if they knew Hades the way I did, if they had ever been this close to him, they would understand why every nerve in my body was on edge right now.
Hades never sat still. If I leaned too close, he would find an excuse to touch me. If my knee brushed his, his hand would follow. If I so much as breathed in his direction, he would turn it into something sinful and intimate.
That was who he was. And yet, ever since we started eating, he hadn’t touched me once. Not a hand on my thigh, not fingers at my waist, not even that lazy, possessive lean he always used when he wanted to make a point. He was simply sitting there. eating like nothing was out of the ordinary.
He was so calm that I stopped paying attention to my food entirely.
I took a bite of my steak and chewed slowly, my eyes lifting on instinct to study him. Hades was still eating like a perfectly well-behaved guest, his posture relaxed, his movements unhurried. But as I continued to stare, his lips curved slightly as he chewed, that faint, knowing smile appearing as if he could feel my suspicion crawling all over him. Like he knew exactly what I was thinking and found it endlessly amusing.
I scoffed under my breath.
Setting my fork and knife down, I crossed my arms and leaned forward slightly, narrowing my eyes at him. “What are you planning, Hades?”
He raised an eyebrow and deliberately licked a bit of sauce from his lower lip. My gaze followed the movement before I could stop myself, a shiver running down my spine in betrayal.
He noticed, of course. He always noticed. Looking up at me innocently, he said, “What do you mean? I’m eating.”
I rolled my eyes. “I can see that. But don’t play dumb. I’m your wife. I know you.” I leaned in a little more, lowering my voice. “You don’t just sit obediently like this unless you’re planning something.”
He tilted his head. “Why can’t I sit obediently?”
“Because you’re incapable of it,” I replied without hesitation.
His lips twitched. “You’re confusing me, Princess. Aren’t you the one who told me not to touch you and to behave?”
“I did,” I admitted.
“Then what’s the problem?”
The problem is you, I almost said. The problem was the way he was looking at me now, like he was waiting for me to unravel on my own. But he was right. He hadn’t done anything wrong. He was behaving exactly the way I had asked him to,
With a sigh, I shook my head and picked my fork back up, forcing myself to focus on my plate. He was enjoying this far too
much.
After a moment, his voice softened. “How was today?” he asked. “Did everything go well?”
I looked up again. He had turned fully toward me now, his elbow on the table, his chin resting against his knuckles as if he
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Chapter 162
had all the time in the world to study me. The intensity of his gaze made me feel exposed, like he was looking straight through every wall I had built.
I already knew he was aware of how my day had gone. Hades always knew. But he was giving me the choice to tell him myself.
I nodded slowly. “It was fine,” I said, then, meeting his eyes, I added quietly, “I’m your wife after all.”
Something like pride and satisfaction flickered in his eyes at that.
He nodded slowly, his gaze steady on mine, before asking, “Did anything else happen?”
I paused for a moment. Roman’s words echoed in my head again, but I forced them back down. I didn’t want to tell him. Today was Hades’s birthday, and I wasn’t about to sit here and ruin it by saying, Yes, actually, your brother told me you killed your mother.
No matter how tangled things were between them, no matter how many questions it stirred in my mind, this wasn’t the time.
So I shook my head and forced a small smile. “Nothing, I was tired. I stayed home all day.”
Hades looked at me for a long moment. It was obvious he didn’t believe me, but he didn’t call me out on it either. He never did when he sensed I wasn’t ready. That, somehow, made my chest tighten more than if he had questioned me.
Before the silence could stretch any further, I changed the subject. “How was your day?” I asked, squeezing his hand lightly. “You met your father today, right? Did it go well?”
His expression changed, a bored look settling on his face. “I did,” he said flatly. “He said some interesting things.”
I raised an eyebrow, curiosity tugging at me, but one look at his face told me not to push. Whatever his father had said wasn’t something he wanted to unpack tonight. So I let it go, choosing something safer.
Instead, I slipped my fingers properly through his, lacing them together. The movement made him pause, his gaze dropping to our joined hands before lifting back to my face.
“Hades, I want to introduce you to some people I care about tomorrow. Can you make time?”
He tilted his head, studying me for a moment, then nodded. “Of course, Princess. If you care about them, then they matter.”
A smile spread across my face, warmth spreading through me. I set my fork down and leaned back slightly. “Are you done eating?”
He looked at me, “I am.”
“Good.”
I rose from my chair and pushed his plate aside, keeping my eyes locked on his. Every step toward him was slow, letting the tension build between us. When I reached the edge of the table, I perched on it, the fabric of my dress sliding up my thighs. brushing against my skin. I shifted slightly, then spread my legs wide, fully revealing the black lace beneath. The cool air kissed the exposed skin, and I leaned back just enough to accentuate the curve of my body.
His gaze followed every motion, darkening in a way that made my pulse flutter.
I could feel his attention on me and it sent a shiver through me. Slowly, I lifted a finger to my lips and licked it, tasting myself, watching the way his jaw tightened. Then I dragged that finger down, tracing the line of my collarbone, over the swell of my chest, before continuing down my stomach.
My skin felt too sensitive, every touch magnified by his stare.
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Chapter 162
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Het my finger press into that spot that made my spine arch and my thoughts scatter, heat pooling between my thighs, a soft sound slipping from me before I could stop it. I looked at him through my lashes, flushed and smiling.
“It’s time for your dessert, daddy.”
The air shifted. Hades’ eyes went dark, the amusement completely gone now, replaced by something raw and hungry, a low growl vibrating from his chest as he looked at me like he intended to devour every inch.
“Fuck,” he muttered.
田
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