Chapter 12: I’m Hell’s Chief Financial Overlord
Chapter 12 – I’m Hell’s Chief Financial Overlord
Naomi stared. Her brain wasn’t just short-circuiting now—it was halfway through formatting itself into a new religion.
He was standing there.
Horns.
Wings.
Tail.
Still gloriously naked.
And utterly unfazed.
"I slept with—" she began, then cut herself off, pressing her palms to her face. "I moisturized the CFO of Hell."
Lux chuckled darkly. "My skin’s never felt better, by the way."
She peeked through her fingers. "Are you joking?"
Lux shrugged. "I could pull up my demonic resume. But honestly, it’s long and full of numbers and screaming interns. Not sexy."
Naomi stared again. "You’re not human?"
He tilted his head. "Nope. Greed demon, Incubus side’s more dominant, though. Sorry. The lust aura’s kinda baked into the DNA."
Naomi exhaled shakily and finally let her hands fall.
"...You have wings."
"Would you prefer feathers?"
"Are they real?!"
Lux stretched one lazily. It cast a shadow that swept over her like a blanket. "Very. Wanna touch?"
She stared at it. Then, against all good judgment, reached forward and brushed her fingers along the underside.
Warm. Silky. Alive.
She shivered.
"Okay," she breathed. "This is insane."
"Not insane," Lux corrected with a cocky grin. "Just infernal."
Naomi looked at him again—really looked.
The horns. The wings. The tail now curling idly near her foot. The glowing red eyes, no longer hiding behind any human glamor.
And somehow...
Somehow...
It didn’t scare her.
It thrilled her.
"You’re not going to eat my soul, right?" she asked carefully.
Lux’s grin widened. "Not unless you beg."
Naomi threw a pillow at him.
He caught it—one-handed—and tossed it aside with a dramatic roll of his eyes.
"You’re still you," she murmured, more to herself than him. "Even with all this. You’re still... Lux."
"And you’re still Naomi," he said, stepping closer. "Brave enough to walk into the lion’s den and give the lion a skincare routine."
She laughed—half hysterical, half fascinated.
Lux crouched down at the foot of the bed, eye-level with her. His wings folded behind him like a cloak—elegant and devilish. The marble under his bare feet shimmered faintly, and somewhere behind him, the massive windows let in the warm, amber glow of the setting sun.
"Since you’re my first partner in this mortal world," he said, voice low and teasing, "I think it’s only fair I give you a little something. A gift. A welcome bonus for joining Hell’s most exclusive loyalty program."
Naomi arched a brow. "Loyalty program?"
He grinned. "With benefits."
Her cheeks flushed again, but before she could snap back with some dignity-saving retort, Lux reached out and trailed a finger down her thigh, slow and casual.
"Tell me what you want," he said, voice silk-wrapped danger. "Money? Gold? Diamonds? Bitcoin? Yachts? Mansion? Private jet?"
Naomi opened her mouth—but he wasn’t done.
"A penthouse suite? A shopping empire? A fleet of luxury sports cars?"
She blinked. "Lux—"
"Or maybe something better," he murmured, voice gleaming with mischief. "A bank? An island? A country?"
Naomi stared at him. "Wait, wait, wait?! A country?!"
Lux leaned in just enough for his hair to tickle her collarbone. "Mm-hm. Might take me a few weeks to secure it, though. Need to destabilize the local market, slide into a few politician’s dreams, pressure their treasury with a currency crisis, and... voila. We buy a flag."
She gawked. "You can’t just buy a country!"
"Naomi," he said, now standing at full height, stretching with lazy grace, wings flexing like he had nothing better to do than start geopolitical collapses on a Tuesday. "Sweetheart. I’m the demon responsible for keeping inflation from bursting the soul economy in the ninth circle. If I can manage infernal interest rates, do you really think the mortal stock exchange is a challenge?"
She swallowed. "So... Carson..."
"Oh yeah," Lux said, smirking as he turned slightly, tail curling smugly behind him. "That idiot spilled my coffee."
The grin that followed was pure chaos.
"Ruined my shirt. Ruined my mood. Ruined my quiet."
"You—"
"Yep." He popped the ’p’ like it was candy. "I drained his account. Shuffled his assets into a few fake companies and set off an audit request. That should keep him busy."
Naomi stared. "You’re insane."
He chuckled darkly. "No. I’m efficient. And besides—he reeks of greed. The moment I touched him, I could feel it slithering under his skin. Besides... If he dies while his soul’s still bathed in that kind of selfishness, he’ll end up in one of my dad’s Greed vaults. Maybe get turned into living coin stock. Or thrown in the torture chamber for wealth hoarders. Kind of depends on his portfolio."
She gaped, halfway horrified—halfway... turned on?
The power behind those words. The ease. The sheer audacity.
And yet... she believed him.
God help her, but she really believed him.
The part that scared her most wasn’t that he was a demon.
It was that she didn’t want to run.
Naomi’s heart pounded like a war drum. She was staring at a naked demon prince with literal wings, horns, and probably the most dangerous investment portfolio this side of the apocalypse—and all she could think was ’How the hell is he hotter now?’
"You look afraid," Lux said, stepping closer. His voice was soft now. Smooth. "Do you want to be pampered?"
She couldn’t even speak.
His fingers brushed along her cheek. Down to her jaw.
"I could spoil you in ways that rewrite economies," he whispered, leaning in again. "Make your name echo in Forbbes and Infernal Ledgers."
The System chimed lazily in the background, like a butler offering champagne in a disaster zone.
[System Notification: Naomi Delacour has triggered Passive Skill — Greedbond Lvl. 1]
[Effect: Emotional Synchronization – 17%]
[Warning: Further bonding may result in permanent soul-linking. Proceed with pleasure.]
Naomi felt her stomach twist. Not from fear. From heat.
Lux’s thumb brushed over her lips again. "You’re thinking too much," he murmured.
And then he leaned in closer—close enough that she could smell the faint scent of scorched spice and something deeper. Like rare coins soaked in cologne.
"I could put more... ’investment’ in your body," he whispered, lips grazing her ear. "With passion and temptation."
Her breath hitched.
Her voice was barely a whisper. "Lux..."
He smiled against her skin.
"Just say the word," he said.
"I—" Naomi blinked, "I don’t know what I want anymore."
Lux smirked.
"Perfect," he said. "Then let me show you what you need."
And with that, he swept her up again—his strength effortless, his smile dangerous. He laid her back like she was porcelain and he was planning to shatter her anyway.
And Naomi?
She didn’t resist.
Because this devil didn’t need to buy a country to claim her.
He’d already bought her heartbeat.
And hell—she was sold.
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