The grape rested in his mouth, its sweetness mixing with the warmth of her lips.
Hades froze, his mind fracturing between duty, instinct, and something he refused to name.
His hands, which usually never faltered when holding the balance of the dead, trembled slightly at his sides.
Foolish woman… why do she force this on him? Doesn't she know that he was not good at this kind of thing? Romance or whatever, he knew nothing about them!
Although he himself have laid with women, but those were not out of love.
With Gaia, it was his own desperation to ascend, and with Nyx, it was a momentary lust brought about by their domains.
Love? Don't make him laugh.
He closed his eyes, his jaw tightening. Centuries of discipline screamed at him to end this now, to swallow the grape, to let her go.
That was the safest path. The cleanest. She would remain free, unbound to this realm, and he could retreat into his fortress of solitude, convinced once more that he had done the right thing.
