Chapter 7

As usual, Ken was joined by Ari and Jane when he started his workout. He was surprised that Jane, who would sleep until noon if given even the smallest excuse, voluntarily rose when he did to practice. He also wondered that Ari would make time to practice. She always seemed to be doing research on something. Today, another surprise walked in: Eric.

"Mornin' Eric," said Ken. "What's up?"

The big man seemed to hesitate for a second, then said, "I was wondering if I could join you guys."

On the one hand, Ken felt completely inadequate to teach anyone anything. On the other, he knew that his years of experience were coming back to him more quickly than he'd believed possible. Before he'd left the arts, he'd had a number of students that he taught. Not privately, of course, but he stood in for his Sensei a lot.

So he just smiled and nodded, and Eric joined them. In some ways, it worked out better. He'd have a male partner that he could let loose with a little when he sparred. As hard as he'd tried to overcome it, he'd been unable to really lay into Jane and Ari like he should. Not only was it sexist of him, but it was unfair, since they were very strong and quite fast. It was also outright dangerous of him to treat them differently. Goddess knew that no one on the street would. Of course, they were still learning, but the speed that they picked up this stuff meant that he might need to convince them to find another teacher sooner than he thought.

Ken was on the computer in his study when Tina walked in.

"Hi Tina," he said without turning around.

"Good morning, Master Ken."

Ken froze, then slowly turned around in his chair. Tina had changed. Tina was now a Priestess in all but name. And she didn't know it.

"You look surprised," she said, kneeling on the carpet in an almost unconscious imitation of how Jane often knelt when she talked to Ken.

"You spoke to Lea last night," he stated.

She nodded.

"And?"

"I want..." she faltered for a second. "I need... to be with you guys. Your wives have been talking to me. Tutoring me would be a better word, I guess."

They spoke for the next hour and decided that tomorrow night, which was a full moon, Tina would officially become a Priestess. She had a huge smile on her face when she left -- and an extra twitch to her hips, as well.

"That was awful fast," remarked Ken to Lea as she appeared.

"True," replied Lea. "Tina though, is like her sister. She was waiting for the right circumstances to present themselves to make several decisions in her life. She has made them."

Ken was silent for a moment, then said, "People seem to become Circle very quickly. I mean, it's only been a couple of months since this whole thing started, and we already have five official members, with more on the way. We promised to induct Genie and Annette during the next ritual, which, as I recall, is Lughnasadh."

Lea just smiled, and Ken realized two things: One, she had had a hand in how rapidly people were coming to them, and Two, she wasn't going to admit it.

"Of course, since most of the members are women, I'd better hope that Gary or Bill come to us soon or Eric and I are gonna be dead." He blinked as he thought of something, and looked at his Goddess. "Why are we getting more women than men? I mean, I'm certainly not going to complain, but I get the feeling there's a reason."

This wasn't the first time Ken had thought of that question. Especially since when he thought about all the people he presently knew of that had Circle potential, he realized that almost all of them were women. He wondered if he was the cause of that.

"Yes, but only partially," said Lea responding to his unspoken thought. "One of the reasons that I chose you was because of your particular interests and your potential. However, even taking that into consideration, most of those who worship me have always been women."

Ken was silent, hoping for an answer.

"There are many reasons, my Avatar. But here are two, both based on biology. The first is that one man can impregnate many women. The second is that women are able to produce far more sexual energy than men, and the energy is usually more pure."

Ken thought for a moment then asked, "So why did you make me, a male, your Avatar?"

"Because," she smiled, "there is already a female side to the equation."

She kissed him and he labored to concentrate on his train of thought. It was in vain, though.

"I will look forward to welcoming Tina tomorrow night," she smiled. "I'll see to it that the stage is correctly set."

With that she disappeared, without Ken asking just what had happened yesterday between her and Tina. He figured he'd ask Tina later. When he told them, both Jane and Arianwen were beyond excited that Tina was going to be joining them. Ken, knowing that he would get no more done today unless he called in Eric and Sally and laid out what was going to happen tomorrow night, did just that. Naturally, not everything was laid out step by step, especially since Ken knew that Lea would be sure to have a hand in what was going to happen and how. But Her comment about making sure the stage was set led him to believe that She was looking forward to giving Tina what she wanted.

Afterward, Ken went through his closet, looking for a specific pair of pants. They'd always been a bit too tight around the waist, but now they fit pretty good. Well, they were a bit tight around the thighs, but he could live with that. Then, he hunted down Genie and Annette and explained what was going to happen. Because they weren't Circle yet, they wouldn't be there. He asked if they'd like to change the night of their official induction to tomorrow night, but to his surprise, neither wanted to.

Sunday, he was joined by his three students for his workout. He found it ironic that he had no problem putting Jane though things anyone else would surely deem torture, but didn't want to hit her when they trained. He had no problem separating the two very distinct situations, but he didn't want to hit his wife. Jane had no problems separating the situations, either -- nor did she have a problem with hitting her husband, and she determinedly wailed away at him.

He admired her body as she fought against him. Her skin shone with sweat, and her muscles, while clearly visible, were not bulky, which gave her a sleek, dangerous look. Sexy too, he thought, just barely avoiding a nasty kick. Jane got dumped on her ass for her trouble, but grinned as she got up.

Sparring with Eric was interesting. He had a lot of power, but little of the stiffness that one usually associated with a person who was so big. He was also far faster than anyone that size had a right to be, and his coordination was excellent. Ken didn't want him to spar with Jane or Arianwen until he got a bit more experience. Ken had always found that white-belts were fairly dangerous opponents, since they had no idea what they were doing and very little control. On the other hand, perhaps he was just being protective of his wives.

After his shower, he started to wonder if one of the requirements of being Circle should be learning some type of self-defense. It bore some thinking on, especially since he didn't feel comfortable teaching anyone. He really liked Sensei, but doubted that he'd allow a bunch of people flooding his classes. There were other good schools though, so perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a sit-down with the Circle -- including Annette and Genie, and, he supposed, Gary -- to see what they thought of the idea.

That night, there was a sense of anticipation in Nemetodunum, even from the people who weren't Circle. Bill and Gary both picked up that something was going on. Bill said nothing, but Gary asked what was going on.

"Tina will be joining us tonight," replied Ken.

It took Gary a second do decipher what that meant, then he grinned broadly. "It's about time you did something with that girl."

Dinner was an almost festive affair, but nothing was said of Tina's upcoming induction. Tina didn't bring it up either, and was in just as good a mood as everyone else. It wasn't until later, toward dusk, when she was in her room on the computer, that she really started to think about what was going to happen tonight. It was going to be life-changing, she knew, and that was a little scary. But nothing in the world would keep her from becoming part of the Circle.

It was just before moonrise when Ken entered Tina's room. She knew that tonight was the night that she'd be dedicating herself to the Goddess, and as happy as that made her, she was a bit sad that she would go to her Goddess a virgin. Well, technically a virgin, since she had had oral sex, but she'd never been penetrated where it counted. Still, she would be accepted as a Priestess, and she doubted that she'd remain a virgin very long after that. Ken read all this from her as he opened her door, unannounced. It was nothing that he didn't know already, because Tina had some very strong fantasies associated with this moment. From the look on her face when he entered the room, he knew he had chosen how to induct her correctly.

As he entered the room, Tina sat up on her bed, staring at him. Ken was wearing a pair of dark leather pants, boots and nothing else. A number of leather restraints were hanging from his belt. He strode quickly over to the surprised teen and stood looking down at her, his arms folded across his chest. He was a bit embarrassed, standing there like that, because he knew that Tina, startled as she was, was mainly just looking at his chest and arms, almost drooling. He'd never thought of himself as particularly attractive, but considering all the changes in his body, he could at least admit he was in better shape. The look in Tina's eyes told him just what she thought. He didn't need to hear her thoughts for that! Still, he had a part to play. Tina deserved this, especially after how rough things had been for her in these last few weeks.

"It's time." Was all he said in a stern voice.

"Uh... okay," replied Tina.

She hadn't quite caught on to what was going on. Oh, she knew she was going to dedicate herself to the Goddess tonight, but not quite what that was going to entail.

"Stand." He commanded.

Tina blinked. Goddess, the tone in his voice was almost enough to make her cum! Her nipples stood out, swelling with blood, and she knew she was leaking from between her lower lips. She could smell her arousal, despite the long bath she'd had just a few hours ago. Ari and Jane had offered to attend her, but Tina had requested privacy. She wasn't sure why: it just seemed right.

She stood, and Ken quickly buckled a black collar around her neck. She actually started as she heard the snick of the lock. Her breathing was shallow, and her body felt like it was being pricked in a thousand places.

"Wrists." He said.

Tina held up her wrists, noting as she did that Ken had a huge bulge which was easily seen through the thin leather of his pants. She smiled slightly.

"Do you find this funny, girl?" he asked in a stern voice.

Ken was barely able to keep from smiling himself, and knew that she knew it. Quickly, she dropped her eyes and offered her wrists to him, now realizing what was happening. Her heart quickened again, and she quickly tuned out all extraneous thoughts. This, she realized, was what she wanted and how she wanted it. Tina began to lose herself in the gift of the fantasy.

"Turn."

She turned and felt leather cuffs tighten around each wrist. More clicks were heard as they were locked on. Once again, she was spun to face Ken. He attached a leash to her collar, then, grabbing the other end of it, he pulled her from the room.

The mansion was dark, and they passed no one on their way to the garden. Tina was aware of everything once they were outside. The slight dampness of the grass under her bare feet. The feel of the air as the heat of the day gave up to the cool of darkness. The scents and sounds as she, now a captive of this man, was pulled toward her destiny. She had dropped so quickly into her part, that when they entered the garden, it didn't occur to her to wonder at what she saw.

There were torches set in a large circle. Huge trees towered over them, rising into the darkness. Somehow, they did not blot out the large circle of the moon, which shone clearly through the break in the forest that the clearing provided. It was warm here, warmer than... wherever she'd just been. She had little opportunity to look around the clearing before the man who had claimed her brought her before a figure seated in what could only be described as a throne. The woman stood as Ken approached, and Tina felt her insides melt. So this was the one she would be given to. She knew the woman's name, had heard it spoken in hushed tones: Lea.

Lea was tall and had long, curling hair the color of burnished copper. She was wearing only a short strip of tanned leather around her hips which barely hid the juncture between her legs. Her upper body was naked, but mostly hidden under her hair. Her eyes, when Tina looked at her face, were of the deepest, clearest green she'd ever seen, and Tina knew that she'd never seen anyone as beautiful.

Chapter 8 »