Harem Startup : The Demon Billionaire is on Vacation

After that, he took a shower.

Nothing long. Just a quick rinse to get the sweat off, soothe the post-workout tension, and let the steam wash away the minor existential spiral of "am I now owned?"

The water was hot. Sharp. Smelled like his signature scent—black amber, citrus, and the faint, spicy undertone of infernal basil. He ran his fingers through his hair, let the droplets trace the lines of his back, then stepped out and towel-dried in mechanical efficiency.

Simple pants. White shirt. No tie. No blazer.

Spritz of cologne. Just one spray—luxury, subtle, made from something no mortal nose could place.

Not a date. Just breakfast.

He walked down the stairs barefoot, toes silent against the cool marble. The house was still mostly asleep. Shadows long. Air still. Servants only beginning their quiet rotations.

In the living room, he poured himself tea.

No coffee this time. Not because he didn't need it, but because the moment felt more like tea.

Warm. Light. Sane.

He sat down, lounging like some bored noble from a Gilded Age painting, one leg crossed over the other, shirt casually open at the throat. He opened his system screen with a lazy flick of his fingers—hell finance infernal department—already halfway through summoning Corvus to pull updated forecasts.

And then—

Movement.

He caught it out of the corner of his eye.

A shadow.

Small. Light-footed.

Feminine.

He paused, sipped, then blinked when he saw—

Rava.

Barefoot. In a sheer mint-green silk robe that clung to her like seafoam made sinful. Her hair was down, wet. One of her smaller tentacles curled around her waist, the others fluttering lightly behind like sleepy jellyfish.

And she was tiptoeing.

Right toward his bedroom door.

'What the hell—'

She didn't even knock.

Just—

Slipped inside.

Lux narrowed his eyes.

She was in there for maybe… thirty seconds.

Then came out.

Frowning.

Mouth twisted into the cutest little pout he'd seen since Naomi realized chocolate macarons weren't sugar-free.

She turned—caught him watching from the couch—and froze.

Dead.

Her eyes widened.

Lux arched a brow.

"Rava," he called calmly, voice dry as his tea. "What are you doing?"

Rava jumped—literally flinched—like a teenager caught trying to sneak into a restricted area of the mansion. She clutched her robe tighter.

"You surprised me!" she squeaked.

He sipped again, nonchalant. "Yeah. I can see that."

She shuffled over, feet barely making a sound, cheeks flushed with heat that wasn't from embarrassment alone.

"I thought you were still asleep," she mumbled.

"I woke up early this morning," he said, setting the tea down and closing his system with a flick. "Workout. Shower. Dragon ambush. You missed most of the fun."

"Ughh…" Rava groaned. "I was sure you'd be knocked out after yesterday. You didn't… I mean, you didn't sleep with anyone last night, right?"

"Nope."

She bit her lip.

Then sat beside him.

Close.

Very close.

Lux tilted his head. "You okay?"

Rava didn't answer immediately. Her tentacles curled tighter around her waist.

He reached out, gently touched her knee.

Warm skin. Silky fabric.

"What's the matter?" he asked, voice softer now. "Why do you look disappointed?"

She went quiet again.

Then said—very fast—"I had a wet dream."

Lux blinked.

Rava stared straight ahead. Mortified.

"…About you," she added quickly.

He raised a brow. "Ah."

"I mean it wasn't, like, graphic-graphic but… okay, it was graphic," she rushed on, cheeks now flushed red, "and I woke up super turned on, and then I remembered you slept alone last night, and I thought, well, maybe you'd be—y'know…"

"Hard?"

"Yes." She buried her face in her hands. "And I thought maybe you'd have morning wood and I could help, and I'd just slip in and be helpful and sexy and—ugh!"

He laughed. Couldn't help it.

She peeked through her fingers. "Stop laughing!"

"I'm not laughing at you."

"Yes, you are!"

He gently pried her hands from her face. "I'm laughing because it's adorable."

"I'm a kraken," she said flatly. "I'm not supposed to be adorable."

"You're failing spectacularly then."

Rava pouted harder. Her tentacles slid up and looped lightly around his arm. Her body curled toward him with instinctive need, heat radiating off her skin. Lux leaned closer, breath warm against her cheek.

"Next time," he said, brushing his thumb along her thigh, "just knock."

"You wouldn't have minded?"

"No."

"Even if I tried to—y'know—climb you?"

"I'd prefer it."

Rava blinked.

"Lux," she whispered.

"Yeah?"

"I'm still kind of… turned on."

Lux's gaze was steady. Knowing. Too knowing. The kind of look that peeled layers you didn't realize you were wearing.

He didn't smirk. Didn't tease.

He just said, "Then say no more."

His voice wasn't loud. It didn't have to be. It wrapped around Rava like velvet heat, slipping into her bloodstream faster than she could think.

Then he stood.

And took her hand as he did—gentle, but purposeful. Like she was something he'd already chosen.

She gasped, slightly off balance, and her other hand instinctively reached up, gripping the back of his neck to steady herself.

That contact—skin to skin—set her heart on fire.

"Wait—" she whispered, "are we going to… do it?"

He looked down at her, the corner of his mouth twitching into something devastatingly calm.

"Yeah," he said. "Do it like in your dream."

Rava's breath caught in her throat.

And that was all it took.

His bedroom door opened with a soft click.

He pulled her inside.

Then closed the door.

And turned to face her with the kind of intent that made time itself slow.

Rava opened her mouth—to joke, to breathe, to panic—but she froze.

Because Lux was already unbuttoning his shirt.

Slow. Precise. No theatrics. Just one button, then the next, until the fabric slid from his shoulders like it knew it didn't deserve to stay.

And underneath?

That body.

Not just sculpted—but engineered. Every muscle lean, sharp, soaked in infernal grace. Old power hummed beneath his skin, like the air just before a storm.

And his eyes?

Still on her.