Harem Startup : The Demon Billionaire is on Vacation
Chapter 55: Metaphors

Chapter 55: Metaphors

Chapter 55 – Metaphors

It wasn’t the cocky smirk he always wore like armor. This one was softer. Calmer. Like the first real sunrise after too many nights of smoke and sirens.

Rava leaned back into the plush seat, crossing one leg over the other, hiding how that single smile made her chest tighten just a little. She wasn’t the type to get flustered. Not by anyone. Not even by men who bled in alleys and buttoned their shirts like they were being filmed by a slow-motion camera crew. But Lux?

Yeah, Lux made logic feel optional.

He adjusted the cuff of his sleeve and said, almost casually, "Unless you have something else to do. Something on your schedule. I just thought I might need your suggestions. About the cars. Models. Style. You seem like the expert."

Rava raised a brow. "You’ve never bought a car before?"

"I have," Lux said slowly. "But... in my place, cars are a bit... different."

She tilted her head. "Different how?"

He shrugged. "Some run on sin. Some run on deals. Most of them explode if you’re not high-ranked enough."

Rava blinked.

He looked completely serious.

She blinked again.

"...So you want my advice?" she clarified.

"Yeah."

She smiled faintly, one corner of her lips tugging upward. "I can help."

Then, before he could thank her, she leaned in just a little. Close enough that the faint perfume on her neck hit him—ocean wind and something deeper, darker, velvet-slick.

"But..." she murmured, eyes glinting. "My help isn’t free."

Lux didn’t flinch. Didn’t blink.

Just smiled lazily, eyes locking with hers.

"Tell me what you want."

She leaned closer. Her voice dipped, sweet and smooth.

"Tell me about yourself."

Lux arched a brow.

"Your family," she continued, "your business, and especially..." She tilted her head. "Your bloodline."

There it was. The catch. The question that wrapped around his ribs and tugged.

He didn’t look away.

"Fine," he said, voice low. "My family... is in the Underworld."

She paused.

Frowned.

Caught the phrasing.

Oh.

Oh. He mean metaphorically. She thought his family died.

He continued.

"My business... like I said before—CFO of Hell. Finance Department. I manage sectors. Handle investments. Debt markets. Contracts. That kind of thing."

Rava blinked slowly. She assumed as funeral services, financial departement.

He exhaled, amused.

"I rarely went out," he said, voice turning quieter. "Spent my entire life working. Lobbying. Drafting clauses. Outmaneuvering some ’creatures’ in legal chess. It’s the same thing, really. Endless strategy and pressure. A lot of audits."

She stared harder.

"I came here," he continued, "on vacation. To remind myself I’m still alive. That my life isn’t only for work."

And that?

That landed.

Rava looked at him.

Really looked.

Not like a man flirting through bruised ribs. Not like a devil-mouthed enigma in her passenger seat.

Just... a guy. Who forgot what living meant.

He looked away then, stared out the window like it helped him hide.

"My bloodline?" he said. "I was born with a royal-tier one. One of the stronger kinds. It lets me regenerate. As long as I’m not completely ripped apart, like lose my head or something. I can come back from most wounds as long it’s not fatal."

"Sounds made up," she whispered.

He turned his eyes back to her.

"I know."

Rava exhaled. Her thoughts tangled.

And maybe it was the silence. Or the speed of the car. Or just... him. But she said it before thinking too hard about it.

"You talk weird."

Lux grinned. "Thanks."

She rolled her eyes, but her lips twitched up.

Then, after a beat, she tilted her head slightly and asked—softly, but seriously, "You also have this... weird attraction."

Lux raised a brow. "Weird?"

"Magnetic. Unnatural." She bit her lip. "Almost... too much."

He chuckled. "That’s also part of my bloodline."

She blinked. "Wait—seriously?"

"Passive ability," he said. "Auto-activates around certain people. Causes... mild obsession. Flirting. Maybe a few illegal thoughts."

She stared at him.

Then narrowed her eyes. "So... you’re some kind of walking aphrodisiac."

"Technically," he said, lips curling. "But only to a select demographic."

"Great," she muttered.

Lux leaned a little closer.

She didn’t move.

"Why?" he asked. "Worried you’re being influenced?"

Rava looked him dead in the eye. "I think I was. Yesterday."

"Hmm?"

She crossed her arms. "So you’re a rich, mysterious playboy with seduction magic built into your DNA. Do you just sleep around with every girl who makes eye contact?"

Lux’s expression didn’t shift.

But his tone did.

"No."

He looked at her—really looked at her.

And something behind his gaze flickered. Not smug. Not teasing.

Just... honest.

"Naomi," he said quietly. "Was my first."

Rava’s throat tightened.

"I flirt," Lux continued. "A lot. It’s part of how I was trained. It helps with politics. With deals. Charm is armor. But I’ve never taken anyone to bed."

He let the words sit for a beat.

"Not until Naomi."

Rava was silent.

Somehow... that answer rattled her more than she thought it would.

Not because she didn’t believe him.

But because she did.

And because—deep down—that meant she wasn’t imagining things. That look in his eyes. That tension under his voice.

That intensity wasn’t just smoke.

It was real.

He was dangerous.

But he was also... untouched.

And then—

Lux leaned closer.

Slow.

Purposeful.

His voice dropped into something molten, just above a whisper.

"But now..."

His eyes never left hers.

"...I will."

Rava’s breath hitched.

His presence was a wall. Warm. Inevitable. The car might’ve been moving, but everything else froze. Her lips parted, just barely.

But he didn’t kiss her.

Didn’t touch her.

He just stayed there—close enough to feel the heat off his breath—and smiled.

That devilish, beautiful, lethal smile.

Rava looked away.

Fast.

Too fast.

Her heart was hammering so loud she swore the driver could hear it.

She tried to say something smart.

Anything.

But all that came out was a shaky exhale.

And Lux?

He leaned back in his seat again.

Content.

Like he already won.

The bastard.