Page 123 of Dragon Her Heels

The Devil shrugged, gathered the cards and phone, and got to his feet. “Just remember what I told you earlier, Hagnar.”

“Of course. I suppose if your people will be taking care of the garden, then there’s no reason I can’t see this new node for myself.”

“Yours will be fine, and having hers carry the weight for a while will give yours a chance to settle. You’ll feel more like yourself in a few weeks, and nobody will mind at all if you nap for a while,” Lucifer assured him. “You will find Crystal the kindest hostess until pizza comes into her domain and she is expected to share with my wife. Then it becomes a brawl, and it’s a delight to watch. How does pizza for dinner tonight sound?”

I grinned. “That sounds like a good time to me. I could use some exercise before I drag Yuless to bed and use him as a furnace.”

“You should use him for other things, not just a furnace.”

I laughed at Lucifer’s comment, marveling over his insistence I should turn Yuless into a stud. “After all that work and a brawl? He’s going to be putting me to bed, and I won’t be conscious by the time I get there. He’ll probably forgive you eventually. Anyway, in his view, I’m weak and clearly dying right now.”

“Your breakfast did an excellent job of revitalizing you. By tonight, you’re going to be the healthiest person in the entirety of Florida. But I will accept using his body to keep you warm, especially if you decide to do so naked.”

It amazed me someone hadn’t managed to kill Lucifer yet over his boldness. Then again, if Darlene couldn’t kill him, could anyone actually pull off the task?

On second thought, I’d miss the irritating bastard if someone did manage to eradicate him.

“Lucifer, unless you’re lucky, I’m going to end up napping with your wife rather than my new live-in groom. That he’s easing his way into accepting his new home is my bedroom is a good start. I can worry about taking him out of his clothes once he’s comfortable being in my space with his clothes.” I snickered, and Hagnar regarded me with raised brows. “Sorry. Yuless is shy, and while I’m a virgin and not ashamed of my lack of experience, I’m concerned he might croak if I show him my bra. He’s more tentative than I am, and that’s saying something.”

“He’s polite,” Lucifer stated, and he heaved a sigh. “He’s worried about scaring you off, as he understands he lacks finesse with women.”

“He lacks finesse?” I tilted my head to the side in an effort to make sense of the Devil’s comment. I considered my tall, dark, and handsome before shrugging. “I don’t think he’s lacking finesse. I do think he is hiding things and isn’t comfortable sharing those things with me quite yet, which is fine. I haven’t exactly told him the extent of my hedge witch abilities at this point.”

Lucifer groaned and rubbed his temple. “This is even worse than I thought. It’s fairly obvious you’re a hedge witch of ridiculous strength. You gleefully punt the Destroyer of Georgia to his castle, and your entire lake full of guardian alligators toys with him because you think it’s funny. Your ancient alligator, who would happily eat everyone on your street, settles for cuddles and provided chicken instead. You roped a tornado.”

“Well, it’s my fault the tornado spawned in the first place, so I dealt with it. And that dumb castle could handle the tornado. It was just a little damage. Watching that tiny dragon pitch a big fit on top of it was hilarious, though. I will just accept defeat, as it seems you were correct. There is, apparently, one man on this planet stupid enough to want to enter into a relationship with me.”

At the rate Lucifer kept sighing, he’d break something in his head. “Yuless is not stupid.”

“I suppose you’re right. He’s foolishly courageous? I mean, I have a hobby of punting the Destroyer of Georgia across the lake. That should at least slightly concern him.”

“Crystal, you punt the Destroyer of Georgia across your lake. Most men with two brain cells to rub together are going to get turned on by that. Only weak men fear capable women. He does not fear you in the slightest. Right now, you’re driving him a little wild with your independence, but he’ll get over it. Wise men do—or they run the risk of their wives beating manners back into them.”

I stared at the Devil, rather unimpressed with his comment. “And how many times has Darlene had to beat your manners back into you?”

“More than a few. I’m needy like that.”

“Just make with the teleportation magic already, Lucy. Oh, and once we’re back at my place, you can tell me what happened to those idiots that tried to make a mess of my day a while back. I’m curious.”

“Nothing good, that much I promise. My wife dealt with them after peeling answers out of them. Literally. She treated them like potatoes she was about to mash. It didn’t end well for them. You probably don’t want the details. Just keep doing as you are, and everything will work out just fine.”

For some reason, that worried me. Rather than vocalize my doubts, I sighed and replied, “All right. Just try not to goad Yuless too much. I’m racing soon, and I need all of us to be sharp and ready. I’m starting this show with pizza and a brawl with your wife, though. That sounds like a good way to end the day.”