Arkadia (Halfway House Series Book 1)

by Dzintra Sullivan

  “Dragon and I have waited … for you.” He lightly kissed her lips again. “There will only ever be you, from now until we take our last breath.”

  If Arkadia wasn’t already in love with him, hearing Bohdan say those words, she might as well have launched herself off a cliff into the never-ending love abyss. Arkadia jumped up into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his shoulders. She softly giggled as Bohdan gave her butt a playful slap before wrapping his hands around her hips, holding her tightly, securely, lovingly against him. His dragon was almost purring with pleasure at having Arkadia’s scent so close. He desperately wanted to strip all the intrusive fibers off her body and relish in her nakedness while he devoured every inch of her … slowly and repeatedly; only then would the dragon be satisfied he had marked her as his own. Arkadia looked down into his eyes and let the words tumble out.

  “Bohdan, never have I felt this way; not in my wildest dreams would I ever have thought I would be so lucky as to find you, my soul mate. From now until the last breath leaves my body, I am completely and devotedly yours. My soul loves your soul, my heart loves your heart, and my body loves your body.” She took a deep nervous breath. “I, Arkadia Castner, am eternally joined with you, Bohdan Drak and dragon. If you both will have me.” Bohdan’s head lifted and he growled so loud she heard animals scattering away for safety. He started to walk, no, Arkadia chuckled to herself, it was more of a strut Bohdan had going on, like he was the king of his own dragon domain. In a way, she guessed he was. Did that now make her a queen? Arkadia knew instinctively he was taking her to the cave. She knew he was going to make soft, passionate love to her; tonight, they would be each other’s first and only. Arkadia was nervous, who wouldn’t be, and her heart was galloping a minute mile. She trusted Bohdan with her life; he had just saved it, after all.

  Walking behind the waterfall and into the small cave, he lowered her to her feet and went to find the candles. Arkadia was surprised at how comfortable it looked. There were a few pictures of who she guessed were family members and an old wooden pool lounge. Obviously, Bohdan spent a lot of time here, and there was a big bear rug on the floor with some pillows tossed on it. There was a small side table with books piled all around it. He must like to read. Bohdan finished lighting some candles around the cave.

  “It’s not much,” he said, “but when I need some privacy, this is pure heaven.” He reached out for her hand, entwining his fingers with hers, and softly asked, “Are you sure you want to stay?” Arkadia loved the fact that if she had said no, he would have been okay with it, and just taken her home, no pressure. It was a moment sent straight from above, to feel that deeply valued. To know that above anything he wanted or felt, he would always put her wants and needs first.

  Arkadia walked him to the rug, sat down, and tugged at his arm to follow her, which of course, he did. Her emerald green eyes locked on him, she lay back on the pillows, undid a couple of buttons of her shirt, and watched Bohdan’s eyes travel to the blue lace of her bra.

  Arkadia whispered, “I trust you Bohdan.”

  Chapter Twenty

  The morning light woke Arkadia as it traveled down the cave wall. Sitting bolt upright taking a few minutes to orientate herself, she looked around the cave, the candles having burnt out hours ago. She put her shirt back on and looked over at a still sleeping Bohdan. He was so incredibly hot lying there on the rug. While he lay on his stomach, she took a few moments to let her eyes caress his smooth muscular back, so wide and powerful. Traveling a little further down, and wow, Bohdan had the single best ass she had ever seen, perfectly tight and round. A single dark curl having found its way across his face, rested on his forehead. Arkadia smiled contently as she remembered how amazing it felt to be held by those strong arms. How Bohdan had lifted her so easily, and gently like she was a breakable Fabergé egg. Arkadia would never forget the look of love in his eyes as they watched each other reach unbelievable peaks of ecstasy wrapped in each other’s tight embrace.

  “Do you like what you see?” Bohdan, who apparently wasn’t really sleeping, raised his head to look at Arkadia, a playful grin dancing across his face.

  “No,” said Arkadia, her voice deadpan as she got up and finished getting dressed. She did up the final button, glanced down at a pouting dragon man, and burst into a fit of giggles as she jumped down on him and straddled his hips. She lowered her lips to his and kissed him slowly, her tongue running across his lips. She moaned softly as he grabbed her hips and pulled her against him, deepening the kiss. Stopping with barely a hairsbreadth between their lips, she whispered, “I don’t just LIKE what I see, Bohdan, I LOVE it.” Kissing his nose, she sat back onto his hips, his hands still holding her thighs. “But as much as I love it, if I don’t get home soon, Eloise will pop a stress ball with worry; last time I spoke to her, I was on my home from the library. That was hours ago. She will be beside herself with worry. I am beginning to like Eloise, and I don’t want to damage the connection we have. She is not my mom, but I almost wish she was.”

  Speaking the words made them real for Arkadia. She did really like Eloise, and she wanted to make her proud to be her den mother. She knew she had to get this Diane business sorted, pass the PSEs, and graduate from her final year at school. Finally, Arkadia was looking forward to a future she wanted, and WOW, did it feel good.

  “In that case, my queen, you might want to hop off the sleeping dragon before he wants to keep you captive for at least another twenty-four hours of pleasure.”

  Arkadia relished in his new name for her, “his queen,” a title she was more than happy to wear for the rest of eternity, if it meant being with him. And having listened to his queen, it was barely thirty minutes later and he was dropping her off at his uncle’s house. Due to the nature of his form during flight, they didn’t think it was smart to land in the main street; massive black dragons will always attract unwanted attention. Within a few minutes, Bohdan was dressed and driving her home in his truck.

  “Have you ever noticed the similarity between your dragon and your truck?” Arkadia questioned as they reached her driveway.

  “Dragon is glad you noticed, but I think you have bigger concerns right now.” Arkadia followed Bohdan’s finger as he pointed to an extremely pissed-off Eloise standing on the porch, her arms crossed and a scowl on her normally calm face that made Arkadia panic.

  “If I survive … call me?” Arkadia jumped out of the safety of the truck and into the flames of an angry den mother.

  “I’m so sorry Eloi … oomph.” Arkadia didn’t finish before Eloise had bundled her up in the tightest embrace she had ever experienced.

  “I am so angry with you, Arkadia, but I am so relieved you are safe. Go make me a coffee. I haven’t slept yet, and I’ll be in shortly,” Eloise said as she headed down to the truck where Bohdan was waiting. Arkadia’s eyes flitted between Bohdan and Eloise, worried what might be said, but not wanting to rock the boat any more than she had already in the last twenty-four hours, she did as she was told.

  Eloise walked up to the driver’s side of Bohdan’s truck as he wound down the window, resting his arm on the door frame. Eloise looked deep into Bohdan’s eyes letting him see the full depth of her emotions. Keeping her voice calm but deadly, she said, “Mr. Drak, next time you keep that girl out past her curfew without my express permission, I will have your balls bronzed and mounted on my wall. I love that girl in there …” Eloise’s voice quavered as she pointed to the house, “she means the world to me, and I’ll be damned if I’ll have any Tom, Dick, or Dragon come into my house and jeopardize her future.” Eloise squared her finger back onto a now shocked Bohdan as she continued her verbal assault. “Are you hearing me, Mr. Drak? And don’t look so shocked about me knowing you’re a dragon; I am a den mother of paras. It’s my job to be able to identify people’s true natures. That, and I phoned your uncle looking for Arkadia and he was worried sick as well.”

  Bohdan’s eyes dropped, and his voice that was
normally all-powerful rough, was quiet and subdued. “Please, Ms. Mayflower, accept my most humble apologies. I will let Arkadia fill you in on the danger she was in last night when I happened upon her, but it is not an excuse for not letting you know where she was. It won’t happen again.” Eloise’s eyes flared with anger.

  “I KNOW there was danger, Mr. Drak, I am an empath; I could FEEL she was terrified. Unfortunately, with the level of fear Arkadia had going on, she was blocking all my attempts to communicate. I thought she might di …” Eloise choked on the last word, too upset to even contemplate losing Arkadia. Taking a calming breath, she spoke again. This time her voice was far softer. “If you want to continue to be a part of Arkadia’s life, you WILL obey my rules. Are we crystal clear, Mr. Drak?” Bohdan nodded.

  “Perfectly, and for the record, Ms. Mayflower, I love Arkadia.” As Eloise turned to walk away, she spoke loud enough for him to hear.

  “Be that as it may, Mr. Drak, I know a bronzer who will do ‘mates rates’.” Bohdan flinched at the thought of having parts of his dragonhood bronzed and mounted on the wall. He turned the truck around and headed for home.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Eloise froze as she walked into the kitchen. Her eyes immediately traveled to the spoon that was stirring the cup of coffee by itself. Arkadia raised her hand to stop Eloise from distracting her, a smile creeping across her face as she continued to move her finger in the air in time with the stirring spoon. She pointed her finger slightly up into the air signaling the spoon to follow her directions. Eloise’s hand went over her mouth, her eyes wide with excitement and pride, as she watched Arkadia make the small finger movements and control the spoon; she lifted it and tapped it on the edge of the cup before resting the spoon on the side of the sink.

  “Arkadia!!!!” Eloise exclaimed, “You were doing it, really doing it, and the cup is still in one piece!!”

  Arkadia laughed. “I thought I would give it ago. I feel different Eloise; something happened last night.” Eloise’s eyebrow rose knowing exactly what went on last night. “Not that.” Arkadia blushed. “I mean something cosmic. It may have had something to do with the events of last night. I felt a shift within me; I can’t explain it, but I just feel different. So I thought I would try a simple control spell, and look at that, it worked!” Arkadia shrugged with a smile.

  Eloise walked over and wrapped Arkadia in a tight hug. “I am so proud of you, but you need to tell me what happened last night, so let’s go sit in the living room and you can fill me in.” Eloise grabbed the perfectly stirred cup of coffee and walked into the living room expecting Arkadia to follow, which of course she did.

  Over the next couple of hours, Arkadia told Eloise about everything, from Butch and his wolf pack to how scared she was when this massive black dragon dropped from the sky. She laughed as she recalled being wary that even though she knew who the dragon was, the dragon might not know who she was. Arkadia smiled brightly as she spoke about how wonderful it was to fly, with her arms wrapped around a dragon, and the power she felt from his broad, strong beating wings. Arkadia didn’t need to go into the nitty-gritty details of what passed between Bohdan and herself, only that it was amazingly mind-blowing and life-altering. She explained to Eloise that she and Bohdan had found true love at a soul level, that there was no one, and never would-be, anyone other than the two of them. The commitment was firm and eternal.

  Eloise was smiling as she spoke softly, “Arkadia, my darling girl, look at you.” Eloise’s voice was like a warm honey coating her, and she looked down at her legs curled under her on the chair. Arkadia gasped. She was glowing, and a soft golden light was radiating from her skin, not like a lighthouse that you could see for miles, but more like a soft children’s nightlight, soft and calming.

  “Oh my, Eloise.” Arkadia stretched her legs out to further check if it was all of her. “Why am I glowing? Please don’t tell me this is permanent; I have enough to deal with at school without trying to explain this as well.” Eloise chuckled.

  “No, my sweet child, this is not permanent. That is your goddess showing you that she is here for you; you have found her. She has been waiting for you to open up to her and let her in, and that is why your spell worked.” Arkadia jumped up with an excited sparkle in her eyes.

  “Will it all work? Can I sit the exam? Can I get a mark? Are you sure? What if you’re wrong?” Arkadia was firing questions so fast Eloise had to put her hand up to silence her before she could continue.

  When Arkadia had stopped and sat back, exhaling deeply, Eloise continued, “Nothing is that quick. It will take time, but you are most certainly on the right path now. For now, we have something far more dangerous to worry about.” Arkadia frowned.

  “Dangerous?” she asked.

  Eloise took a deep breath. She hated having to knock the wind out of Arkadia’s sails, but she needed to know what had happened overnight. “The police were here again last night looking for you; they have new evidence,” Eloise said trying to remain calm.

  “New evidence? About Diane’s murder?” Arkadia asked. Eloise nodded.

  “Yes, they have a witness.”

  Arkadia smiled brightly. “That’s awesome news, Eloise. Now they will know it wasn’t me, and I won’t have to get Bohdan in trouble.”

  Eloise held up her hand, her eyes misting over with dread. “The witness has named you at the scene.”

  “WHAT??? They can’t … I wasn’t … they are lying!!” Arkadia screamed, jumping to her feet, “Who is this lying bitch!!!”

  Eloise sighed as she whispered, “The witness is Violet.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Arkadia slumped back into the chair, a look of disbelief on her face, a million thoughts running through her head. “Violet? My Violet? VI??” She must have heard Eloise wrong, it simply couldn’t be true. Arkadia looked up to say something to Eloise, but froze when she looked into her eyes; she was sharing the same look of disbelief. Eloise believed Arkadia was completely innocent, so having Vi come forward as a witness showed a level of betrayal that was rarely seen and never recovered from.

  “I don’t understand Eloise. Why would Violet lie? What would she have to gain from seeing me arrested, or worse yet banished …” Arkadia gulped. “Or killed?” she whispered the last word. It was as if all the energy that she was enjoying not minutes ago, the bright future she had seen, and the love she had found with Bohdan, had been instantly and completely ripped away from her, leaving only a gaping hole where she used to exist.

  “I don’t know her motives, Arkadia, but trust me, by the end of the day I will. Your safety is entrusted to me, and if you’re going to be under threat, it will be from me to keep your room clean. This is a pure witch hunt, pardon the pun.” Eloise winked with a short smile before the steely grit of determination returned to her eyes. “There will be no BBQ steak in your future.” Eloise let out a little chuckle at her own joke, looking over to Arkadia who had a confused look upon her face.

  “I’m going vegetarian?” Arkadia asked.

  “Oh good Lord, no, child. The younger generation has been lost to text talk and the web.” Eloise hated to explain a joke, it kind of lost its humor, but she wouldn’t let Arkadia miss out on a lesson in old people humor. “I mean steak as in burned on one …and BBQ as in fire … oh, never mind.” Eloise laughed as she took the cups back to the kitchen, satisfied at having lightened the mood with her apparently non-funny joke.

  “What do I do now, Eloise?” Arkadia felt lost. The more she found, the more she lost, or at least that’s what it felt like. Eloise turned around to look at Arkadia.

  “You need to get Bohdan onboard. You’re going to need him to be your alibi, and without him, you’re a witch without a broomstick’s chance of surviving this.” Arkadia rubbed her eyes in frustration.

  “There’s no other way?”

  “Not that I can see. Before this Vi business, I would have said wait and see, but with a false witness in the picture, you’re going to need every
little bit of help you can get.” Eloise took Arkadia gently by the shoulders. “He said he loves you, right?” Arkadia nodded and her eyes misted up. “He said it was an eternal and forever love, right?” Arkadia nodded again. “Well, my sweet one, time for him to prove it.” Eloise shooed Arkadia out of the kitchen. She needed some thinking time. Getting out the laptop, Eloise decided to let Google do some talking—it was time to formulate a plan.

  Later that day, Arkadia was still over at Bohdan’s house. When Eloise had shooed her out of the kitchen, Arkadia had grabbed her bag and ran, ran as fast as she could, to Bohdan’s. He must have had his dragon senses going because he knew she was coming and met her on the porch with his arms wide open. She launched into them and sobbed uncontrollably. Bohdan just let her cry. He wrapped his strong arms around her and held her, until she said enough. He hated seeing her so upset, and he had no idea what was going on. The last time he had seen her was when he dropped her off at home, and granted Eloise had threatened to bronze his balls, but surely she hadn’t caused this kind of reaction in Arkadia. There must be something else going on, and until she calmed down, he wasn’t going to find out.

  Bohdan slowly scooped Arkadia up into his loving arms and carried her to the swing chair where he sat down, Arkadia now sitting on his lap, releasing her emotions freely in the warm and secure embrace of his arms.

  Bohdan waited, just holding her, and listened to her sobs as they slowed down to small hiccups. Bohdan was trying so hard to remain calm; dragon didn’t take very kindly to his mate in pain. Dragon’s first instinct was to find the one hurting her and rip their head off; however, this was counterproductive in most circumstances. Bohdan had spent the last few minutes trying to get dragon to calm down. He knew once dragon reached a certain level of agitation, dragon would come out whether he liked it or not.