CHAPTER 268: DUDE’S INNOCENT

Chapter 268 – Dude’s Innocent

He was... him.

Tall. Sculpted. Easy smile. God-level charm without even trying. Shirtless and dripping, and, most of all—new blood.

They weren’t just watching him.

They were circling.

And that realization made Ely suddenly, violently possessive.

Not that she had any right to be. She wasn’t dating him. She wasn’t sleeping with him. She wasn’t even sure if he saw her as more than "Naomi and Rava’s annoyingly high-functioning friend."

But still. Watching those women watch him like that?

Her nails bit into her clipboard.

And then—

He returned.

Lux surfaced with one last lazy stroke and swam toward her, his body all shimmering muscle and heat and that careless grace that said he was built to be a problem.

"Hey," he said softly, like he hadn’t just triggered a city-wide thirst wave. "You okay? Your face looks a bit red."

She turned her head. Fast. Like she was suddenly fascinated by a potted monstera across the pool.

"I’m fine."

He gave a little knowing hum that vibrated down her spine. "If you say so."

And then he did the thing.

The thing.

He got out of the pool.

Slowly.

Lux rose from the water like a sin given form, droplets clinging to every sharp line of muscle. His trunks were slicked to him like second skin—black, branded, criminally tight—and outlined ’everything’.

And everything was... his cock.

Ely felt her brain short-circuit. Her thoughts turned into disconnected finance metaphors.

Leverage.

Assets.

Liquidity overload.

Unrealized gains.

It wasn’t even hard. But the bulge was still... there. Defined. Prominent. Promising.

She opened her mouth. Closed it.

Then glared at the sky like it had betrayed her.

Lux stretched lightly, running a hand through his wet hair. "Anyway... you know a place here that has a good drink? Something cold."

Ely’s mouth moved before her brain caught up. "Yeah... you know what? What happened before?" She gestured vaguely to the drama, the giggling, the accidental groping attempts.

"That was a hundred percent your fault."

Lux blinked and looked down at himself. At it. Then back up. "Hey. I just tamed ’him’ like five minutes ago. Dude’s innocent."

She crossed her arms. "You flirt like breathing."

"You blaming me for being approachable?"

"I’m blaming you," she said flatly, "for walking into a pool looking like a fallen demigod with commitment issues and no idea how swimwear works."

Lux held up both hands. "I bought the only trunks they sold."

"They didn’t sell you shame-resistant ones?"

"Evidently not."

She narrowed her eyes at him, even though her brain was still trying to reboot from the outline.

"Follow me," she muttered, standing. "I’ll get you a drink. And maybe—maybe—give you a free pair of swim trunks that make it less obvious you came here with an economic weapon of mass distraction."

Lux’s grin widened as he grabbed a towel from her and followed. "So generous. What do I owe you?"

"You already owe Mira," she snapped. "I’m not adding myself to your emotional debt."

They walked side by side, Ely trying very hard not to notice how the towel didn’t cover anything important, and Lux just calmly drying his hair like he wasn’t disrupting the natural order of things.

The rooftop café was quiet—mostly because all the oxygen had been stolen by the pool. She led him to a shaded private nook with a cushioned bench and a panoramic view of the capital’s skyline. The air smelled like hibiscus and citrus, soft and calming. A server appeared instantly.

"Anything. Not too sweet, a bit sour," Ely told the server. "Make it cold."

The man blinked. "Yes, ma’am."

Lux chuckled and collapsed into the seat like he owned it, towel open just enough to remind her that the outline hadn’t gone anywhere. "You know, I don’t mind a little sexy in my drinks."

She sat across from him, crossing her legs tightly. "You’ve had enough for today."

He tilted his head, watching her in that dangerous way—like he was reading more than her words. "So what’s my punishment?"

She glared. "You mean other than making me police a pool full of horny socialites with generational wealth and no concept of boundaries?"

"Hey," he said, holding up a finger, "I was the victim."

"You were the catalyst."

"I was just swimming."

"You were swimming with a d*ck that looked like it filed its own tax bracket."

Lux laughed—loud and full, that rich tone that made even the server do a double take.

"You’re in a mood today," he said, smiling. "I like it."

She looked away. "Don’t flirt with me."

"I’m not."

"You are."

"Ely," he said softly, "I flirt with everyone. You? I talk to."

That caught her.

She met his eyes—and damn him, there was no smirk there now. Just a strange, calm kind of clarity.

Their drinks arrived. Cold, citrusy, spiked with cucumber and some mineral-rich infusion. She sipped. It helped.

Lux leaned back, glancing out at the skyline. "I think I’ll like it here."

"Even with the chaos?"

"I am the chaos," he said.

Ely didn’t argue.

But deep down?

She already knew that.

And as she watched him sip his drink, towel low on his hips, eyes half-lidded with sunlight cutting across his face, she knew one more thing—

If she wasn’t careful, she was going to fall too.

The thought made her stomach twist in the most unprofessional way.

And then, as if summoned by the gods, the staff returned—carrying a few pairs of pool-appropriate swim trunks like sacred offerings to the temple of thirst.

"Here," the attendant said, carefully setting the options down on a tray like they were fine wine. "We’ve brought... uh, a few options. Looser, more appropriate, ah... for public wear."

One of the trunks was white with a drawstring. Simple. Innocent-looking. Non-threatening. Probably designed by someone who thought erections were a myth and sex appeal was a sin.

Elyndra immediately pointed. "That one. This one. It’s not tight. Should be better."

Lux raised a brow and picked up the trunks with two fingers, holding them like they might bite. He stared. Sipped his drink again. Then frowned.

"No," he said simply. "That’s worse."