Harem Startup : The Demon Billionaire is on Vacation

Chapter 129 – I’m Too Expensive

Lux didn’t even flinch.

Instead, his eyes flicked—up, down, once—and he took her in with the cold efficiency of a devil who’d studied everything from cursed currency to couture assassins.

Nine fox tails.

Wrapped tight around her hips and trailing behind like a silk storm.

Red lipstick like a challenge.

Black designer dress—one of her own creations, he was sure of it—fitted so well it could’ve been painted on. It shimmered with silver threads that caught every light like they were designed to seduce camera lenses and men alike.

Fiera Ninevyn.

Nine-tailed fox demi-human.

Luxury fashion designer.

Socialite.

Influencer.

And loaded.

[System Notification: Rich Girl is in Range!]

[Compatibility: 87%]

[Status: Flirt Mode Activated.]

[Incubus Pheromones – Passive Aura: Triggered]

[Warning: Tails may twitch.]

Lux’s mouth curved slowly. Controlled. Dangerous.

”Miss Ninevyn,” he greeted, voice smooth as his aftershave. ”I never thought I’d meet you here.”

He didn’t yank his hand away. He didn’t pull back.

But the look in his eyes said ’I’m letting this happen.’

Fiera smiled sweetly, but her ears twitched.

”Well...” she said, releasing his wrist with a slow slide of her fingers. ”The runway is mine tonight. I’m showing off my new summer collection. What do you expect?”

”Ah, I see,” Lux said, tone casual as if he hadn’t just walked into a trap lined in perfume and reputation. ”That would explain the shimmer.”

”I’m surprised you didn’t know.” She tilted her head, fangs barely showing under her smile. ”Did Naomi not tell you?”

Lux raised a brow. ”She’s still busy.”

Fiera chuckled. ”Mm. I won’t blame her then. I guess that’s why you’re here alone.”

”No,” Lux corrected, and now it was his turn to smile, slow and deadly. ”I got the invitation from Rava. Not Naomi.” ℯℯ𝑙.

Fiera’s expression faltered for half a breath.

”Rava?” she echoed.

He nodded once. Stepped closer—not enough to cross a line, but enough to lean in like he was about to whisper a secret to her tails.

”Yeah,” he said. ”Now, I’m also dating her.”

Fiera went silent.

Her eyes narrowed, ears twitching again.

He could see it—the shift. The flicker of calculation behind her charm. And Lux didn’t push it. He just left the tease hanging in the air like cologne too expensive to name. He knew exactly what his pheromones did. He knew the effect.

So he turned.

Walked two steps.

And—

She caught his hand again.

”I haven’t finished yet,” Fiera said, voice lower now. Smokier. ”You still haven’t told me your price.”

Lux turned back, raising an eyebrow, amused.

”I’m too expensive for you, Miss Ninevyn,” he said. ”You can’t buy me.”

Fiera licked her bottom lip, tails swaying behind her like a curtain of silk. ”I don’t want to buy you,” she purred. ”I want to rent you.”

”...Rent?” he repeated, tone dry but curious.

She stepped closer—too close. Her hand drifted to his wrist again, nails grazing his skin with the kind of touch designed to make people forget what day it was.

”I need a model to escort me during the final runway exit,” she said, circling him like a predator in heels. ”That’s all. Just walk me out. Stand there. Look good.”

Lux let out a soft scoff. ”You want me to model?”

”Not model,” she corrected. ”Escort.”

Her fingers brushed over the front of his coat. Down his lapel. Light. Teasing. Still public.

And yeah... staff were definitely watching.

Half the guests too.

No one stopped her. No one even breathed.

”I’ll even dress you properly,” Fiera added, voice lower now, her breath near his jaw. ”You came dressed like you were attending a stockholder’s funeral. What is this? Structured blazer? Basic black? You look like you’re here for power mergers, not luxury scandals.”

Lux smirked. He didn’t stop her touch. But his gaze sharpened just slightly.

”If you really want me,” he murmured, ”you’ll have to ask Rava.”

Fiera blinked. ”What?”

He tilted his head, that amused expression never leaving. ”You heard me. Wait for her. Ask her.”

A flicker of something dark crossed Fiera’s face. Not anger. Something closer to disbelief.

”You’re afraid of her now?” she said, voice teasing but sharp-edged. ”She’s your master?”

Lux smiled wider. ”She invited me here. I call it basic etiquette. I don’t ditch my date.”

She leaned in closer, but Lux didn’t move.

The space between them buzzed with tension—thick and pulsing like a live wire beneath velvet. Her perfume lingered in the air between them, rich and complex, something warm and floral with a smoky undercurrent that made it feel more like a dare than a scent. It curled around him like a spell.

Her fingers were still tracing idle lines over his chest—light pressure through his shirt, moving lower, slower. Not random. Measured. Teasing. She let her nails graze just enough to leave a memory but not a mark.

One of her nine tails flicked up behind her and brushed against the back of his hand. Soft. Feathered. Intimate.

She looked up at him through thick lashes, her voice barely above a whisper, low and warm and sultry enough to make the chandelier crystals sweat.

”I see... Still, I want you,” she said, stepping in just a little more, their bodies inches apart. ”You’re the statement piece. The kind of man that makes headlines the next morning. ”

Lux arched an eyebrow. ”Sounds like a fun evening.”

Fiera’s smile deepened. ”Could be. If you behave.”

Her hand slid up, resting lightly on his shoulder now, thumb brushing over his collarbone like she was memorizing him by texture.

”You know,” she continued, tone dipped in honey, ”I could get anyone. But not you. That makes this more interesting.”

”Flattery,” Lux said dryly, ”is only effective when you mean it.”

”I do,” she purred. ”I mean all of it.”

She leaned in closer—so close her lips almost touched his jaw. Close enough to let her breath ghost against his skin.

”You smell like secrets I want to wear,” she whispered. ”Like trouble worth chasing.”

Lux didn’t flinch. Didn’t move.

But his pupils dilated slightly.

Her voice curled into his ear again. ”You could make anyone look like royalty. But with me? We’d look like gods.”

One of her tails snuck up behind him and coiled gently around his wrist.

Not tight. Not forceful.

Just there.

Her touch was coaxing now—more seductive than demanding. Her body angled toward his like a puzzle piece that didn’t need asking to fit.

”I want you, just for the walk,” she said. ”Not the night. Not the contract. Just the walk.”

She pulled back slightly, lips barely parting. Her eyes glittered like rubies under the auction hall lights.

The devil in him liked her game. The incubus in him appreciated her finesse. But the man?

The man had already decided not to break first.

”Tempting offer,” he said, voice just low enough for only her to hear, ”but I’m not the kind of man you use as an accessory.”