Taming The Elements

The Apprentice1

The world was gray and I simply sat and watched. The dark clouds overhead brought a promise of rain, and already the first droplets of it were beginning to filter down from the heavens. The dark, stormy weather matched my mood perfectly. I scowled at the raindrops that began to spatter against my skin, but still I did not move. I crossed my left ankle over my right knee and sat firmly still, daring the clouds to open up and soak me with their burden. Let me catch pneumonia. I didn’t care. I’d perched myself on the edge of the concrete fountain that the town forefathers had placed in the middle of the town square. The fountain was dry this time of year. Its water would not run again until spring had officially arrived. The cold wind blew in from the north and I wondered, briefly, if the rain would freeze or turn to snow. If it did it would kill the tiny blades of grass that had just begun to poke their little green noses out of the mud. I stared down at them and wished I had made as much progress.2

What had Ian seen in me? I hadn’t even been lined up on apprentice day; I’d been in the crowd of onlookers, my mom holding my hand tight, even though I was nine years old and far too grown up to be holding my mother’s hand (In my opinion, at least). Ian, along with a few of the other wizards in town had paraded out, dressed in ceremonial robes, and began looking over the eager faces of the would-be apprentices. These kids had shown some kind of magical talent early on, and so made perfect candidates for apprentices. The wizards chose quickly, able to sense which ones would make good apprentices, and far more importantly, which would become great wizards as well. Three girls and two boys were picked, and when they were, their families would cheer and laugh hysterically. Some mothers teared up. Then there was only Ian left, perusing over the line of acolytes with a frown on his face. He walked back and forth, and then seemed to be leaving without making a selection. The crowd began to boo. He was taking too long.3

I don’t know what caught his attention in the crowd. Perhaps I sneezed or made some other noise that made him turn around slowly. His gaze locked on mine, and as he strode toward me purposefully, I made as if to get out of his way. He leaned down, took my other hand, and led me out of the crowd. I wasn’t sure what was going on until he announced, as loudly as he could, that he had found his apprentice. The silence of the crowd was so thick it was palpable. Then, the silence of the crowd was matched only by the ensuing volume as people began vocalizing their confusion. Ian ignored them all, offering no explanations. He leaned down to me and handed me a slip of paper, which I quickly stuffed into my jeans pocket.4

“That’s my address,” he said. “Meet me there tomorrow morning at nine O’clock sharp if you want to be my apprentice.”5

“Y-yes S-sir,” I stammered, still not believing what had happened. Then, Ian left, walking away from us as the initiation ceremony began. I never had felt so out of place, and yet never had I felt so excited. The greatest wizard in the world had chosen me! I was to be a great wizard! I was, in reality, about to be vastly disappointed, for it seemed that Ian did not really want an apprentice, but rather an errand-boy. Now, ten years later, I was still just an errand-boy, and still knew no magic. The youngest apprentices could work more magic than I, or at least do a card trick or two. The rain began to fall steadily now.6

A car drove by, bringing my thoughts to the present. The occupants – a couple and two children – stared out the windows at me. They probably thought I was crazy, sitting out here in the rain wearing only a light jacket. Maybe I was.7

“Kieran!” the voice scared me so that I jumped, nearly falling backwards into the empty basin of the fountain. Regaining my balance, but not my dignity, I saw that the one who had scared me so was Emilie, whom I had unfortunately found myself desperately in love with. In her mind, we were nothing more than friends. I fantasized at least once daily about revealing my feelings to her, but chickened out every time. She had been one of the three girls picked on Apprentice Day. Two years younger than me, she had only been seven at the time. She stood by me, an amused expression on her lovely face, holding an umbrella to ward off the coming rain. 8

“Emilie,” I said by way of greeting.9

“What are you doing sitting here in the rain? You’ll catch your death and you know it.”10

I kicked at the ground, letting my feet swing. “I’m out here feeling sorry for myself. Perhaps I should catch my death. At least then Ian would have to find another errand-boy.”11

Emilie sat by me, her hand coming to rest on my knee. It was as if she were on fire. Her touch seared through my damp, cold clothing and instantly heated me. “He still hasn’t taught you any magic.” It was a statement, not a question. Emilie was the only apprentice I had confided in, and she had faithfully kept that secret. My parents were the only other people who knew that I didn’t know magic, and they kept the secret as well, although they railed against Ian in private. If he only knew the things they had said about him.12

“You should confront him,” she said, matter-of-factly. She nodded her head to emphasize her point.13

“You’re right, I should, but . . .” I hedged. Her lips pursed prettily.14

“How is he supposed to know you’re unhappy if you never tell him - if you keep running his errands like a good little boy?”15

Her words made me angry, and I knew she was right. I stood up aggressively and turned to face her. “I’m going to confront him right now.”16

“Hold on before you go charging off,” she said, and I almost lost my nerve. She stood and placed her hands on my chest. I wondered if she was going to kiss me, but I was not that lucky. She’d balanced the handle of her umbrella under her arm so she wouldn’t drop it, and I steadied it for her so the increasing raindrops would not pelt her. She smiled at me in appreciation. “Here,” she said, “it’s not high magic, but it will keep you warm until you get to Ian’s.” She muttered some words under her breath and suddenly I was incredibly warm, as if I were standing outside on a hot summer day. The rain did not cool me at all.17

“Don’t stay out longer than necessary,” she warned. “The warmth is an illusion. You could still catch your death. It will only last for about a half hour, anyway.18

“I won’t catch my death,” I promised. “You’d kill me.”19

She laughed a little at my joke, then pushed me on my way. “Go,” she said. “Don’t hold back. Tell him how you feel.”20

I mock saluted her. “Yes ma’am.” She rolled her eyes and I turned and began to jog towards Ian’s house. I hoped I’d still feel this brave once I arrived there.21

Ian’s house was on the very outskirts of town. Thankfully, our town was small, so it only took about forty-five minutes to walk there. By the time his house came into view, the sun had set and the rain had increased from a drizzle to a full shower. Thankfully it had yet to progress to an onslaught. Nevertheless, by the time I arrived at his house, Emilie’s spell had fully left off and I was freezing. 22

Ian’s house was dark, and I would have assumed he was not at home if not for the thick cloud of smoke issuing from the chimney. I walked slowly to the door, wondering if this was as good of an idea as Emilie had made it seem. I knocked on the door, and waited. I heard no movement inside, so I tiptoed over to a window and peered in. I could barely see through the gap in the curtains, but I saw Ian sitting cross legged in a circle of candles. He was completely nude. I immediately knew that I was interrupting something and knew I should leave, but I could not pull my eyes away. He was taller and thicker built than I, and I could not help but admire his body, all the while wishing it were my own. Perhaps if my body looked like Ian’s Emilie would find me more than a friend. 23

His dark head was bowed, and his tousled chestnut hair fell over his face. He was slender, but not whip thin, like me. His well-toned arms tapered into strong hands that rested on his knees in classic meditation pose. I tried to keep my eyes from wandering too much, but I found I could not. Whatever he was meditating on, it clearly had him aroused. So fixated on that intimate part of him and wondering how many women he had known, that when I finally lifted my eyes back to his face, I saw that his eyes were clearly meeting my own. Shit. I jumped back, startled and turned to run. In what seemed the next second Ian was at his door. His hand fisted in the back of my hair and I felt myself hauled backward. I tripped up the front steps to his door and my first thought, ridiculously, was to reflect upon how warm the inside of his house was compared to the raging elements out of doors. With his free hand, Ian slammed the door. He let go of me then and positioned himself between the door and me. 24

“What are you doing here?” he demanded. He was scowling, and I knew he was really angry. I tried to speak, but my lips and body were shaking from the cold and I couldn’t form a coherent sentence. Ian stalked over to me, grabbed my by my shirtfront and pulled me over to the stove. 25

“Take off your clothes,” demanded. What? I blinked at him, not comprehending. His scowl deepened.26

“I said, take off your clothes. You’re freezing, and you need to dry off.” Oh. I shrugged out of my jacket easily enough. However my fingers, stiff from the cold, struggled to undo the buttons of my shirt. Ian just stared at me. It unnerved me. There was an intenseness to it – an almost predatory glow in his eyes. Not to mention his nudity. He hadn’t bothered to cover up and his erection, while not nearly as prominent as it had been when I’d first noticed it, was still very, very distracting. Ian leaned over me, his fingers undoing my buttons with ease. “You’re going to freeze to death,” He said, and his voice was almost a whisper. There was an urgency to his voice. It made me nervous. Ian was usually so composed. In what seemed to be a moment, my shirt was unbuttoned and off, laying in a wet pile on the floor. I was still shivering, despite the heat emanating from the stove, and I wondered if it was cold or nerves that made my body quake so. Ian disappeared and then reappeared a moment later carrying a towel. Instead of handing it to me, as I thought he would, he began to dry me off, starting at my neck and shoulders, then rubbed down my arms. He scrubbed me quickly, and I was a little embarrassed to have Ian, naked, drying off in such a sensual manner. The towel was the only barrier between his skin and mine. He rubbed my torso almost gently, his hand lingering over the muscles of my abdomen. I found myself wondering what it would be like if the towel didn’t divide us. 27

He let the towel drop. Next thing I knew, his hands were at the button of my jeans, undoing them. A telltale zipping sound let me know he was serious about me taking off all my clothes. I didn’t object. My upper body was now gloriously warm, but the jeans were wet, cold and heavy. I was more than happy when Ian pulled them down over my hips. They were reluctant to leave my body, the way jeans usually behave when wet, and I found it annoying. I hooked my thumbs under the waistband and helped Ian lower them as much as I could. He actually laughed a little. Embarrassed, my cheeks flaming, I tried to reverse the process, tried to tug my pants back up, but Ian was firmly pulling them down. He left the pants pooled around my ankles and began unlacing my sneakers.28

“Should have done this first,” he muttered. He gave up trying to unlace them, then just pulled my shoes and socks off my feet. They were completely soaked as well. I lifted each foot in turn, and allowed Ian to pull my jeans off completely. Now I was only in my boxers. Ian took the towel back up and dried off my legs. I looked down at him, my mentor, and all anger was gone. With this one action, I could no longer confront him. Not now. He really did care, on some level. I just needed to know why he hadn’t taught me yet. 29

“Are you really my student?” the question caught me off guard. “Or are you really the wind playing a trick on me – taking the form of my student.”30

“Of course I’m Kieran,” I said. What was he talking about? The wind? Was he sane? I felt something soft, yet firm on the flesh above my bellybutton, and when I looked down, I saw that Ian had pressed his mouth to my stomach. The skin under the touch of his mouth heated instantly. Was this a spell to warm me, similar to what Emily had done? I felt my cock respond, and I knew it was no spell. I was surprised by my reaction. Never before I thought of Ian in a sexual manner – I liked girls. I liked Emily. Still, I found myself wishing Ian would let his lips travel down a little further, find the erection that was beginning and take it in his mouth. I gasped a little as Ian pinched a small amount of skin between his teeth.31

“Are you lying to me?” he asked as his fingertips curved over the waistband of my boxers and began to tug them down. I allowed it. He still had the towel in his hands, and he dried the rest of me off – my buttocks, my thighs. He only gently brushed the material over my swiftly rising cock. Then he stood, and with one hand, roughly pushed me backwards into the circle where he had been meditating when I first had spied him. 32

“I’m not lying,” I gasped, unsure of what was happening. How could Ian possibly think I was someone else? I scrambled backwards, but Ian launched himself at me. He landed on top of me, I was distinctly aware of his arousal pressing into my thigh. It was nearly close enough to touch my own. At this thought, my hips involuntarily bucked upwards, as if offering my own arousal for his pleasure. What the fuck was happening here?33

“We shall see,” my mentor growled. “We shall see.” Then he pressed his lips to mine, savagely, and I cried out as he ground his body against mine. It was strange, being kissed forcefully by a man who had known me since I was a child. Hell, it would have been strange being kissed by any man, but it wasn’t so different than kissing a girl, really. His lips were soft, and more insistent than any awkward kiss I’d shared with a female. I was definitely inexperienced in this kind of thing. Still, the kiss was passionate, and I closed my eyes. My own cock pressed into Ian and I was sure he could feel it. Sure enough, his hand snaked in between our two bodies and he grabbed it –albeit gently- in his hand. My body jerked at the touch and I began to kiss him back. Such a feeling! I felt almost drunk on the adrenaline rush. I didn’t care if this was the strangest thing that had ever happened to me. I didn’t care if some people would think this wrong. It was pleasurable, and I didn’t want it to stop. I pressed my lips against his, just as hard as he was pressing against mine, and I was breathing heavily. His hand stroked up and down my penis, and I couldn’t keep from responding.34

“Ian,” I breathed. He lowered his hand between my legs and let his fingertips dance lightly over my balls, behind them. I cried out against his mouth when he touched the sensitive spot just behind them. His fingers moved back further still, circling his fingers lightly around the entrance there. The rational part of my mind was terrified, but it felt so good that I moaned a little in frustration when he drew his hand away.35

“My little wind boy, trying to deceive me,” he breathed into my mouth. I had no idea what he was talking about, and I was really afraid he had lost his mind. I knew that Ian was straight. After all, I’d heard the rumors about town from women who didn’t know I’d been listening about what a wonderful lover he was. I never thought I’d experience that first hand. Ian placed his hands on the floor on either side of my body, lifting himself up. He dropped kisses down my chest, little hot sparks of fire blazing from his touch. I groaned and twisted beneath him. Wanting more. Wanting anything. Oh, Ian, fuck me. I shocked myself with my own thoughts. I felt my cheeks grow hot again, and I wondered if Ian noticed I was blushing.36

His lips trailed down my abdomen, leaving me wondering if he meant to do what I thought he was about to do. He was. The next moment, poised above my cock, he darted his tongue from his mouth and touched the tip of my manhood with the tip of his tongue. I was electrocuted. My hips arched upward, trying to force my length past his lips and into that hot, wet mouth I knew was waiting.37

Ian chuckled again, then lowered his head. He drew me into his mouth, letting his tongue swirl around me erection. The pleasure was so intense that it was almost unbearable. I felt my balls draw up tight against my body – this was going to be over quick. He worked my cock for a few minutes, sliding his mouth up and down. His hair fell forward, obscuring his face, and it was the most erotic sight I’d ever seen in my life. Maybe if I was good, I thought, he’d do this again. And again. And again.38

I felt my breath catch in my throat and my hips began to thrust of their own accord, without any real rhythm. My cock jerked and I came, wave after wave shooting into Ian’s receptive mouth. My god. I just came in my mentor’s mouth. I felt that I should be ashamed, but I couldn’t force the emotion to surface. I felt satisfied. Sleepy, even.39

Ian wasn’t done yet. He lifted his head and spat my leavings into his hand. I was beyond comprehension as he took his free hand, wedged it under my back, and flipped me onto my stomach. I felt something warm and wet rubbed in the crevice of my ass, and only then realized what Ian meant to do. A blow job was one thing, but this . . .40

“Ian, no,” I murmured, only half-convincingly. He paused for a moment and then I felt his erection slip between the cheeks of my ass, pressing up against the entrance he had ghosted his fingertips across earlier. It was a pleasant pressure, but I wasn’t sure what would happen next. Wouldn’t this hurt? 41

It did, but Ian was gentle. He took his time. He pressed harder and harder, until the head of his cock was inside me. My breath came in short gasps mixed with pleasure and pain. I was being stretched and it did hurt, but at the same time, it was far from tortuous. He stopped moving and let my body adjust, and then, with a groan, he pushed the rest of the way inside me. I cried out – my fingertips trying to dig into the hardwood floor. I felt full to bursting with Ian’s erection. He stopped once he was buried in me completely. His own breath sounded strained to me. We stayed locked like that for what seemed an eternity, and then Ian began to move. Slowly, he thrust in and out of me. Never in my life could I have imagined how good this would feel. I felt hands on my hips pulling me upward, so that while my chest was still flat against the floor, I was on my knees with my ass in the air. What a picture we must have made! Me, the student being fucked from behind by his own teacher! Had this ever happened before in the history of mentoring? My gut told me no, that this would not be allowed. My thoughts snapped back to the present as Ian began to thrust again. His hand reached around to grasp my limp penis, but the moment he touched me it began to stir to life again. He thrust faster now, and every time he pushed into me and pulled out again he brushed against a spot inside me that made me tremble. With every thrust I gasped a little, moaned a bit. Ian began to moan as well, and when his thighs slapped against my buttocks I could feel him trembling. 42

I was fully erect now, and Ian slid in and out of me faster and faster. My cock jumped and twitched every time he hit that spot, and he worked me with his hand as well, In no time at all I was coming again, spilling my seed over his fingers and onto the floor. I felt Ian stiffen, his thrusting became frantic and finally, he cried out and stilled. I could feel his cock spurting into me, warm waves flowing into my body from his. Finally his orgasm stopped, and he slid out of my body. 43

I felt boneless. I collapsed on the floor. My breathing was erratic, and I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I felt Ian next to me, laying on the floor. Our hips touched, but other than that we simply lay parallel, not touching. My breathing deepened, and in the next moment I was asleep44