Page 50 of Dragon Her Heels

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Returning to secretarial work helped soothe my frayed nerves, and to my relief, everything the dragon needed done fell within my comfort zones. According to the documents, the dragon was to be addressed as Mr. Durant. A note from Lucifer indicated the family name had been selected for him.

Back when Mr. Durant had been young, dragons had tended to create convoluted family names based on the parentage or inclinations of all individuals involved in the mating union, no matter the species. Some dragons kept it simple. Some preferred family units of four to nine.

Much to my interest, there was a notation there were no records of a dragon mating solely with another dragon, and that when family units formed, it always involved at least one female of a different species and one or more male dragons.

Lucifer’s assurances Mr. Durant was one of the more simplistic dragons with an interest in a singular female partner irritated me.

I recognized unsubtle hints when I saw them, and judging from the commentary, the Devil wanted me to vigorously exercise the dragon at my leisure.

In retrospect, only a fool would assume sense from the Devil, and sin was Lucifer’s domain. When I framed it in such a way, I could ignore his commentary. Now, had the Devil suggested some energetic extracurricular activities with Yuless, I might have stopped to consider the situation for a while. Common sense would have been restored after a few minutes, especially when behind the shield of requiring pie baked by a suitor to consider a courtship.

I needed to reward myself for such a condition.

Men seemed like trouble, but one that could bake might be worth the hassle of keeping him around.

Maybe.

Rather than knock like a sensible person, the Devil popped into existence perched on the edge of my desk. In the time since destroying my barn, he’d changed into a different suit. “It’s not often Malcolm is actually concerned someone might find a way to kill me.”

I snorted, reading over one of the many emails from the Devil’s son-in-law regarding possible business opportunities Mr. Durant might want to pursue. I’d taken the liberty of eliminating three of them from personal experience at my previous employer.

The last thing I needed was that level of headache for a lackluster business.

To spare myself the whining and the complaining, I’d bothered to send detailed explanations on why agreements with the companies were unwise. However, to soothe the sting, I did indicate one of the three might be worth buying out if the money was on the table.

Shit management could be fixed, and the core of the company remained sound—at least for the moment.

As Lucifer would stay until I responded, I regarded him with a frown. “I’m accepting structural woes with the barn. It’s not quite yet hurricane season, but we get some nasty blows through here, and if some wind could bring the barn down, then my animals might be hurt or killed. However, I do need to house and feed all the animals I already have, and their supper happened to be in the barn.”

“I already took care of that. I gave Yuless a call, imposed on him, gave him a card with money on it, and sent him off to the feed store. I even paid penance and bought him a new truck, as he is quite taken with yours. I also got you a trailer that does not have luxury accommodations within it but can haul an obscene number of horses. It’s your horse evacuation trailer, and you’ll just cram everyone in. It even comes with dividers, so you can segregate your livestock if needed. So, the trailer is part of your compensation for making a mess of your barn, but the truck is his because I’m cruelly abusing him. I heard about the pie requirements, and I admire your cunning. I regret I had not considered such a condition first. Then again, my darling would have just beaten better manners into me and sent me to a bakery to buy her pie. She does not trust me with cooking anything other than baked potatoes. My baked potatoes are perfection, this is true. However, I question her stance, as I am perfection.”

“No, she is perfection, you’re just a lucky laze who benefits from her perfection.”

Lucifer gasped, clutched at his chest, and fell off my desk.

I ignored his antics and returned to reading the obscene number of emails cluttering my new email box. “A replacement barn, Lucifer. My cows and my horses need posh accommodations, and they currently have rubble.”

“You do realize that your horses and cattle are perfectly capable of spending a few nights outdoors, right?”

“Fix my barn, you brain-dead hussy!” I bellowed, snapping my fingers and pointing in the direction of my door. “Do not make me send the Four Horses after you again.”

“That was delightfully ruthless, and you deserve to be rewarded for that. They actually made it hurt when they caught up to me.”

“Go ask your perfect wife to kiss and make it all better for you. I have work to do, and you’re getting in the way of me getting it done.”

“I usually have to coach the minions before they get mouthy with me,” the Devil complained.

“If you wanted me docile, you wouldn’t have destroyed my barn.”

The Devil whined from his place on my floor. “But the barn would have hurt your horses.”

“That is why I’m not actively trying to kill or curse you right this moment. I just gave the horses some exercise along with a reminder they like me more than they like you. For good reason. They’re going to get groomed, given treats, and set out to the pasture with the other horses, and everyone will be a happy family.”

“The Four Horses are stallions,” Lucifer warned me.

That caught my attention. “But can I register their foals as thoroughbreds?”