Page 130 of Dragon Her Heels

“Yep.”

I laughed. “Take pictures when the ambulance gets here and they realize they have to transport someone covered in water and whipped cream. You may as well add some sprinkles and call me Sundae.”

“You’re going to end up nicknamed Sundae,” Alex warned.

“As long as it is done with admiration and possibly horror over the lengths I will go to win a race, I’m game. Please just stop me from falling off Elegance. Really, I just wanted to shame that bastard so much he never races a horse he owns again.”

“If that’s your goal, you probably managed,” Alex admitted. “That’s the second time you’ve skunked him.”

Making sure to keep from using my right arm, I patted my colt’s neck and praised him. “After fracturing this poor boy’s leg, he deserved to be skunked. May he learn to take better care of his animals and view them as more than just prize purses in the making. I honestly didn’t think he’d rehab in time to get here, but I’m good at coercing angels into handling the medical care for my animals.”

Maxwell’s gaze slid over my horse from nose to tail. “You’ve done a great job with him. He wasn’t precisely a strong prospect, and I’ll admit, I questioned why he was put into the Iroquois Stakes at all. But then again, your filly is the same way, and she’s been tearing up the track.”

“If I were a better jockey, she’d have more wins, too,” I complained.

Both Alex and Maxwell had a chuckle over my commentary.

“You’re doing just fine. You learn from your mistakes, and that’s going to take you to the Triple Crown,” Alex predicted. “You’re already a strong contender on Alligator Bait, and you might even squeak in with your current points even if you don’t take a qualifier. Are you going to try Elegance in Moonlight in a qualifying race?”

I shook my head. “At most, I’ll take him to the Breeder’s Cup series next year as a three year old. I wanted this one race specifically to give him a cushy job as a stud. I’m going to use his stud fees to maintain my pastures.”

“Smart move. How much are you going to charge for a cover? One of my new mares might be a good match for him,” Alex said, joining Maxwell in visually devouring my colt. “I might even hire you to ride my races should I take the dive.”

For Alex, I’d carve out the time. “Groom of my choice is required,” I countered.

“You want that guy you use, I presume?”

I nodded, and because he’d stopped keeping it a secret, I pointed in the direction of the tiny black dragon pitching a fit where Lucifer waited with his family and the rest of my crew. “If the Destroyer of Georgia can’t keep your horse safe during the races I’m riding, nobody can. I even have him trained to triple check everything for safety.”

The entire lot of jockeys stared at the black dragon, and while everyone else spluttered, Alex blurted, “You got the Destroyer of Georgia to work as your groom?”

“You know, when you say it like that, it really is absurd, isn’t it? To be fair, I didn’t know he was a dragon until recently. If you think that’s weird, when he has four legs and wings, he’s technically my boss for my actual job.”

Alex sucked in a breath. “You’re a dragon’s sacrifice?”

I laughed. “The only thing sacrificed in our relationship is his pride when he pisses me off and I punt his tiny ass into my lake. I do secretarial work and manage modern affairs. Unfortunately, he has learned he has a taste for corporate destruction, which is better than cities or my livestock. He’s learned to love horses as pets, so the important work has been done. He’s also willing to share space with my chicken.”

Alex snickered, and his gaze shifted to the approaching race staff. “And here comes trouble.”

“Wish me luck, boys. I’m going in.”

* * *

In what had to be a first, I transformed the photoshoot in the winner’s circle into a circus, and with the permission of the other owners, we got pictures of the entire field together. Then, to add to the mayhem, I roped in all the dragons, sized sufficiently to perch on saddles and shoulders, to join the festivities. The horses that had already been stripped of their tack wore ribbons with their colors and number. Rather than make a showing as a dragon, Yuless made his appearance wearing a suit, and he had no problems with informing the reporters he was, in actuality, the Destroyer of Georgia.

One of the last shots of the shoot involved each horse carrying a dragon mount, positioned so Elegance in Moonlight, the only colt without a scaled rider, stood in the center with his wreath of roses, which he attempted to sample whenever anyone took their eyes off him for even a second. I stood, posing and smiling for the cameras, careful to keep from turning my back to hide the hole in my silks and the wound, which had been closed sufficiently to keep my blood in my body where it belonged.

Then Yuless, with one of his smug smirks, got down on a knee and presented a tiny black box, which he flipped open with practiced ease. “Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife, Crystal?”

I blinked, stared at him, and then stared at the ring, which featured black glittering stones surrounded by tiny white diamonds in an eternity motif. Unlike a lot of engagement bands, which featured large solitaires, I would be able to wear my ring no matter what I did or where I went.

What a sneaky, evil dragon. Then I laughed as he’d gone and turned our wager on its ear, stealing my chance to be the one to hunt a ring and propose to him. “I thought I was supposed to be the one getting on my knee. I won the race!”

“You snooze, you lose. And it happened I’ve had this ring for a while, where I am certain you have not yet gone shopping.”

Still laughing over the whole thing, I held out my left hand for him, and I smiled. “I see. You were testing the waters. That was sneaky, and I have to respect that. I will, but only if you keep handling your duties as my groom when I race.”

“I’ll admit, I was becoming a little annoyed I was only your groom at your races, and I decided to handle that problem in an efficient fashion.” Yuless captured my left hand, kissed my knuckles, and then slid the ring on my finger. “I could not resist the opportunity to take advantage of the presence of so many cameras and people willing to immortalize this moment.”