Page 132 of Dragon Her Heels

THIRTY-ONE

“You want to fight with Darlene again?”

The realization someone had attempted to kill me or my horse sank in around the same time the surgeon paid me a visit to inform me I would require either an operation or angelic intervention to restore full mobility to my shoulder, which had taken the brunt of the bullet.

Having the bullet removed promptly had spared me from permanent impairment.

While I spluttered, Yuless asked questions, and when he didn’t understand the answers, he called Lucifer and demanded a translation, resulting in a feud over the phone. The surgeon regarded my partner with a raised brow. “He’s lively.”

I forced myself to recover enough to reply, “He’s an idiot dragon, and he just wants me to punt him in the direction of his castle a few times. Don’t mind him. He probably doesn’t understand the risk factor of the operation. He was born yesterday.”

“Ah, I see. The risk factor is quite low. We need to install a few pins and put you in a brace until you fully recover unless you opt for angelic intervention.”

I got up from where I sat on the examination table, and mindful of my injury, I took the phone with my left hand, put it to my ear, and said, “Please come fix this disaster. I don’t want pins in my shoulder, Lucy.”

The Devil laughed. “He’s just trying to prove he will be a good husband for you.”

“That is the default, so try to convince him I understand this. Had I not felt this way, I would have attempted to punt him in his human form. As I did not, he’s fine. But I really don’t want to be cut open and have new bits installed right now. If you can’t do it, send one of your brothers. I bet the surgeon would be willing to do the follow up imagery right now and spare us additional drama later.”

“Give me twenty minutes. The wife will want to come and babysit you, I’m sure.”

“Bring pizza?”

“I will not bring pizza, but I will take you to where pizza can be acquired so you can work out your nerves,” he promised before hanging up on me.

I returned the phone to Yuless. “You can take me out on a weird date to buy a proper phone. Mine could use an upgrade. Lucifer will be here in about twenty minutes, and we’re going out for pizza after the imagery portion of the day is concluded.”

Yuless heaved a pained sigh. “You want to fight with Darlene again?”

“I really do. I’m hoping I can get one of her primaries. I want a new quill to celebrate today’s victory. Also, you can’t eat whoever shot me.”

My lover scowled. “Why not?”

“I want satisfaction, and there is nothing satisfying about a quick and relatively painless devouring.”

He considered my request, and he nodded. “Very well. When you are finished exacting your satisfaction, I will devour the culprit, wait for them to end up in the dungeon, and get my satisfaction there.”

“We should make that a date.”

“I would enjoy that date very much.”

“Then we’re agreed.” I returned to my place on the examination table, swinging my legs back and forth. “I’m either getting the Devil or some archangels to be my angelic intervention, so can you tell me what to expect from the recovery period?”

The surgeon took his time thinking about it. “The bone will be sore for a week or two but fully usable. Often, angels resolve the core issues and leave remnant injuries, like bone bruising, to heal on their own. Ideally, you will have someone else do the lifting for you for the next two to three days. I would opt against riding any horses for that period of time.”

I sighed. “Are you game to see if Alligator Bait will attempt murder again, Yuless? I can’t afford to skip her training days.”

“I can probably cope with functioning as a sack of grain for a few days while you heal. My weight will be a problem, however. I’m far over the weight allowances for jockeying.”

“It’s a strength building exercise. She just won’t run as fast with your big muscles holding her back.”

Yuless snickered. “If it makes you feel any better, I’ll ride her without my shirt while you watch.”

Was anything better than watching a sexy man ride a gorgeous horse? “Actually, yes. That will make me feel a lot better.”

Yuless considered the surgeon with interest. “I don’t suppose you can give me a list of things she shouldn’t do? She will push the limits because that is her nature, so I’m going to need to be on my toes containing her.”

“Sacrifice your body,” I suggested. “If you’re busy sacrificing your body for my happiness, I can’t do chores.”