Arkadia (Halfway House Series Book 1) (10 page)

Bohdan, still in his glorious dragon form, whimpered and nudged her shoulder gently. Arkadia didn’t need words to understand he was concerned about her injury. “It’s healing, Bohdan, I did my witchy thang.” She smiled at him, her hand rubbing the scales down his long black neck. Arkadia was surprised at how soft his scales were, having expected them to be hard and ridged like a pineapple skin, and was intoxicated with the softness as she let her fingers run lightly across his neck. Bohdan leaned into her touch, a low soft rumble emanating from his belly. Arkadia laughed. “You’re like a big old cat, give you a nice pat and you’re anyone’s.” With a snort and a nudge, Bohdan pushed Arkadia toward his back. “What is it, Lassie? Timmy stuck down a well?” As Arkadia chuckled, Bohdan raised his dragon eyebrow and snorted, playfully raising his head as if not talking to her anymore.

“Oh, I am sorry, you big, dangerous, ferocious beast. Better?” Arkadia teased, running her fingers across the tip of his wing. Bohdan shivered with the pleasure of her touch, but still his head remained raised. Arkadia stepped closer. Her body now leaned against his shoulder, her arms rubbing his chest. She looked up and fluttered her eyelashes at him, and spoke with a soft and sultry tone to her voice, low and sexy, “Would you rather I call you My Sexy Beast?”

Quick as a heartbeat, Bohdan lowered his head under Arkadia’s butt and lifted her to his back. A squeal of excitement was all he heard as he extended his wings and took off. Arkadia held on for dear life, trying to get her head around the fact that she was on a dragon’s back. She was riding a dragon; she was riding BOHDAN!!!! Feeling the wind whip around her hair, she tried not to choke him as she had her arms tightly wrapped around his strong neck. Arkadia had no idea where he was headed, but if truth was told, she didn’t care as long as she was with him.

Despite it being late at night, Arkadia could see she was being taken into Algonquin Park; it seemed to be only seconds as the dragon flies, and they landed in a small clearing. Catching her breath, she slid off Bohdan’s back. Playfully smacking his butt, Arkadia said, “Little warning next time, please. It’s not like I am an experienced dragon rider.” As she looked around, she noticed Bohdan had brought her to the base of a waterfall. The soft sound of cascading water was beautiful and calming, and the small lake at its base was peaceful and inviting. The magical mist the waterfall tossed up fell like snow to the waiting moss-covered rocks and ferns. Crickets and frogs sang in search of their mates. Arkadia raised her head swiftly as a large brown owl hooted loudly, locking his large, piercing yellow eyes on her.

“Oh, Bohdan, this is beautiful,” she sighed and turned to look at him. “OH …You’re back … I mean the dragon is gone … You’re dressed … well, jeans at least … oh crap …” Feeling a deep blush rise up her cheeks, she took a deep breath to relax, and she smiled and tried again. “Hi, Bohdan.” He chuckled low and rumbly.

“This is my special place.” He swept his hand outward to encompass the cleared area. “I cleared it out, and I come here when I need some space, or I need to think. There is a cave behind the waterfall. I keep some spare clothes in there just in case, but no one has ever been here, ever, until now.” He walked toward her, his dark eyes taking on a hooded look of seduction.

“I felt your fear, Arkadia, that’s yet another sign of you being mine. I FELT your fear. I had to find you. I was so afraid of what I might have …” he trailed off, lowering his eyes as he swallowed hard. Arkadia wrapped her arms around him, laying her head on his rock-hard chest. She could hear his heart pounding like a steam train, wondering if that was a dragon thing.

“I am okay, Bohdan, a bit shaken, but I am okay, thanks to you,” she whispered into his chest.

“I am sorry if my dragon scared you. He will never hurt you; he feels the same about you as I do.” Bohdan rested his chin on the top of her head, his arms engulfing her small frame, every instinct of his screaming MINE! MINE! MINE!

“I wasn’t scared, surprised sure, a little concerned that your dragon wouldn’t recognize me, but not scared,” she replied.

“I am glad, Arkadia, because I am as much the dragon as I am the man,” Bohdan said.

Pulling slightly back so she could look into his eyes, a cheeky wry grin crept across her face. “Bohdan? Can I ask you a question?”

He warily nodded. “Anything.”

Arkadia nervously swallowed before she asked, “How is it EXACTLY you and the dragon feel about me?”

Bohdan smiled. “That’s easy, Arkadia; we both are wholeheartedly in love with you.”

With those words still dancing around Arkadia’s head, Bohdan raised his hand to cup her cheek, his thumb lightly rubbing her cheek, and his fingertips winding back into her soft silky mane. Bohdan tilted her head up as he lowered his lips to hers, first a soft brush across them. A moment of pure energy sparked between their connected lips, making Arkadia tingle and squirm with pleasure. Bohdan pulled back slightly to make sure this is what Arkadia wanted. She smiled and slipped her hand into his dark curls, pulling him back down for a deeper kiss. Pressing her body hard against his, her nipples pebbling as they rubbed on his chest, it was easy to feel she had woken up more than his dragon.

Arkadia couldn’t get close enough to Bohdan. When he reached around to cup her buttocks, their tongues dancing together, he let out a low growl deep from his chest that resonated through her very soul. It was at this precise moment she knew she was lost to him. The low belly rumble woke her up inside, a light came on in the deepest, darkest corners of her mind, and a sudden feeling of completeness enveloped her. It was an alien feeling, something she never knew existed, but now having found it with Bohdan, she knew without it she would surely die.

Placing her hands on his bare chest, his nipples were hard against her palms. Arkadia pulled back from the kiss. Her breath was raspy as she slowly ran her hands across his abs. His skin was so smooth and soft, yet only slightly beneath the surface it felt like rock. The tip of her finger ran the defined line from his hip bone down to where it disappeared into his jeans, a soft murmur escaping her lips at where it ended. His chest was inhaling large amounts of air at a time.

“Your touch sets me on fire, Arkadia,” he growled as he pulled her hard against him. “Be careful how much gasoline you throw on it as a raging forest fire is hard to control once lit.” Arkadia looked up at him, his eyes filled with intensity.

“Have you ever had someone make you lose control yet?” She knew she was snooping, but if she was going to fall in love with him, she had to know how many there were before her. Bohdan growled again, and again, it made Arkadia squirm with small electric shocks.

“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.”

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.