Chapter 15:

Silence. That was all there was. Silence and icy emptiness washing through the mansion for the ensuing days and both men remained wrapped in their private turmoil. Kurt had diligently performed his duties still, attending the dinner party at Lord Sanders' house the following evening after the opera incident and dressing in the required clothing laid out on his bed prior to the car picking them up. He'd played the requested concerto for the guests during the cocktail mingling hour before joining the table for dinner and remaining submissively respectful to the questions thrown his way. It had been a small gathering that evening and although neither man would acknowledge it, they both heaved a sigh of relief at Buckley's noticeable absence.

The Lord and the Sub. performed their roles artfully over the following days.........but everything had changed.

It had changed in the fact that Kurt's costume the night before had been more modest than any he'd previously been issued with; the black suit trousers and matching shirt glaringly respectable compared to his semi nude former attire. It had changed in the fact that Blaine no longer joined him for breakfast but preferred to dine earlier in his study where he remained for much of the day. It had changed in the fact that Blaine had treated him respectfully at the dinner party, asking little of him except what he knew he had to in order to not raise more suspicion...and each request had been done politely and with eyes not quite meeting his own.

But mostly it had changed in the fact that the Lord and his Sub no longer touched.

Blaine had left acres of distance between them in the car, staring at the ground instead of at Kurt's blank face. He'd stood beside him at the party but there was a gaping hole of empty air between them. The gulf was widening with every minute of unspoken thoughts seething beneath the surface and when their legs had accidentally brushed together at the table, both men flinched as if burnt.

It was strange for Kurt, watching his Lord diminish moment by moment. A part of him longed for the closeness of the library only days before, longed for the surge of heat under his skin when Blaine had kissed him or looked at him so hungrily, but something had broken and he didn't know how to fix it; he wasn't even sure if he should try to.

Alternatively, Blaine had shrunk into a hollow shell; no longer arrogant Lord but no longer able to reclaim the hopeful boy Kurt had seen in him. When he'd glanced up to meet Kurt's bruised lips the morning after and noticed the slash of red finger marks branding his uncovered arms, he'd felt his stomach flip in self-loathing. He found himself longing for the numb coldness of his former self, the callous insensitivity....anything to replace the gut churning feelings of shame.

*****

"The Lord's need to see you take action Blaine."

Seth was glaring at the limp figure of the young Lord with ill-disguised disgust, only managing to check his face into some semblance of masked respect when the boy looked up through dull and weary eyes. They'd been at this for several hours and still had failed to reach a decision.

"But the workers have been loyal to Lord Lyth's company for many years and have proved effective productivity." Blaine argued again, unable to twist his head around Seth's logic of firing the entire current workforce of the factory in order to assert power and authority. "If we sack them without reason, we'll have an uprising on our hands which will get us nowhere."

"So we add to your already threadbare reputation by going in softly and giving them all a big bonus is that it?"

At the mention of his vulnerable position amongst the Lord's, Blaine looked away, picking at the corner of the file on his desk. He could feel the advisor's judgment, could see in his eyes the pity and embarrassment directed towards him as he struggled to make the decision that Seth so clearly wanted him to do. Again he wondered why it was so hard for him to do it. His arguments were valid but previously he would have had no qualms about ruthlessly dismissing a factory load of workers in order to assert some form of unquestionable power. But now.....Now something didn't feel right and there was something niggling at his brain. He tried again.

"Look Seth. I've already proved my power by taking over the factory. Lyth's empire is shot now that we've taken the last remaining source of production. He's finished as any kind of business power and I'm pretty sure his retirement is the next big announcement. He'll disappear into his family name and we've got the rest. People have seen that. The Lords have seen that." He stressed, imploring the other man to listen to him.

Seth pursed his lips, looking down at Blaine's seated form. "But why are you so keen to keep the workers? We could pick anyone off the streets to fill their places for less money and you'd be showing them you're in control from the off. No-one would dare challenge your decisions after that. It's important they see your power as absolute Blaine."

Blaine laughed without humour. "Absolute power?"

"Something funny in that?"

"Only the notion that I need to fire a ton of good workers in order to simply exercise my control. What about other ways of asserting power? What about showing them I have faith in them as workers and fostering an environment where they feel loyalty towards me? Wouldn't that work? Wouldn't that encourage better productivity?"

"You're being naïve Blaine!" Seth slammed his fist on the table in frustration sending Blaine's glass of whiskey slopping over the side with the force. "You think those people give a fuck about loyalty? They don't care Blaine. They hate us. You. They hate you Blaine and all the Lords. The only way to control them is through fear! Your father knew that. Why can't you?"

At the mention of his father, Blaine looked up, anger bubbling close to the surface and threatening to spill over, "My father only knew fear." He shouted, fists clenched against the tabletop and his frustration finally overpowering him. "He didn't know loyalty. He didn't care about anything except money and how to find the most corrupt and underhand way of getting it."

"Oh yes and you were so above taking the fruits of those endeavours weren't you Blainey?" The advisor spat back, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Blaine's eyes lowered at the accusation and the reality of the words as he took in his plush surroundings. His fingers gripped the desk tighter as he struggled to form into words the disgust and hatred rolling off him for everything he and the man in front of him stood for. His white knuckles flashed up an image of Kurt standing in the same room, his own face blanched white in fear. He took a steadying breath and released his grip, sitting back slowly in the chair and settling his eyes on his advisor's with steely determination.

"The workers will remain. I don't want a revolution on my hands and any rash actions on my part would galvanise an already dissident group of people. I run this company Seth and you would do well to remember that. Your role is to advise, which you have done. The rest is my decision." 

He watched the colour rise in Seth's face, his mouth twitching to reply and the enormous restraint it took to hold his tongue. The advisor breathed heavily for several minutes, attempting to collect himself before smiling tightly and standing up to leave. "Whatever you say, Sir." He said pointedly before sweeping out of the study. Blaine stared after his retreating back and set his mouth in a grim line. He couldn't help feeling he'd just made a very foolish error in challenging the older man.

He also allowed himself to wonder briefly if Kurt would be just a little bit proud of him again.

******

Kurt had been ensconced in the library again, trying to lose himself in the difficulty of Liszt's etudes for distraction, when Seth had stormed in. The advisor glared at him, face red and distorted as he loomed over the instrument attempting to intimidate the younger sub.

"I don't know what your game is, but you've certainly got your mincing little claws in to Anderson."

 He blustered, pushing at the lid of the piano and slamming it on Kurt's fingers as he yanked them away just in time. Kurt stared at him, confused as to the sudden outburst but mildly glad to see the usually so slimy and controlled Advisor flustered. He looked up calmly, determined not to give him the satisfaction of thinking he'd frightened him and stared at him blankly.

"I don't know what you're talking about but whatever Lord Anderson has done, it has very little to do with me. As you've pointed out so many times, I am ‘nothing' therefore you can have no reason to suspect I have any influence whatsoever."

Seth propelled himself forward, his fingers twitching with rage as he came within inches of the other man's face. "You're ruining him, you realise. He's a joke and it's all because of you. And now he's making weak decisions and weak choices and the only thing I can think of when he acts so out of character is that it has something to do with you!"

"I am a Sub. I have no power over anything the Lord does or says" Kurt spat back aggressively, matching the venom of the other man and refusing to be intimidated, "but...." he continued, "....if he's finally making his own decisions and" he looked at him pointedly "those decisions are ones you dislike this much, then I think perhaps he is significantly less ‘weak' than you say he is."

Ignoring the now almost purple hue of the man in front of him, Kurt lifted the lid of the piano again and without so much as a glance, started to play immediately from the point in which Seth had so aggressively interrupted him. He smiled to himself as the door to the library slammed behind him, wondering just what it was that Blaine had done.

*****

Blaine was startled when he opened the door to his bedroom to be greeted by his sub, dressed for bed in a silk navy dressing gown and matching pyjamas. He'd been pacing in front of the window, wearing the red pile down into the floorboards, when he'd heard the tentative knock and thinking it was the housemaid making her last nightly check, had been momentarily thrown by the sight of Kurt's pale and nervous face. The sub coughed awkwardly, thinking again that perhaps he shouldn't have come; it was Blaine's move to make really, after everything he'd done, but Kurt also knew that the Lord had been giving him his space in an attempt to show his respect for the other man. He knew that Blaine wouldn't cross that barrier because he didn't want to make Kurt feel pressurised again. 

They stared at each other for a while, neither quite sure how the situation worked, before Kurt took the initiative and spoke, his face neutral. "So Seth came by the library this afternoon...."

Blaine's eyes met his, open and clear. "Yeah?.....We had a bit of a disagreement......" Blaine smiled slightly, looking a little sheepish and scuffing his toes against the doorframe. It was a move that was so bashful and unsure, that Kurt couldn't help but smile back slightly,

"It was a good decision."

Blaine looked up, properly smiling now, "You don't even know what it was.."

"I don't need to. If it makes Seth look like he did when he stormed into the library this afternoon, I know it was a good decision."

They stood grinning at each other for a moment, forgetting everything that had gone on previously, before Blaine caught a glimpse of the blueish, purple bruise on his neck and his face fell.

"Will you come in?" he asked quietly, standing back and gesturing for Kurt to enter. Taking a deep breath, the sub nodded slightly and stepped into the room.

They were awkward again, the silence stretching out around them as neither knew quite where to stand or what to do. Kurt played with the engraving on the post of the bed, before he remembered their first night together and memories of the curled flowers pressing into his naked back made him jump away slightly, embarrassed. Blaine stood by the window again, head bowed and waiting for Kurt to speak. The clock ticked loudly and they both flinched.

"Kurt...."

"Blaine..."

They both spoke at the same time, then laughed at their jittery nerves. Kurt motioned for the Lord to continue and Blaine cleared his throat. "Kurt....I know I've said this already and I know it doesn't change anything or fix it or, whatever, but....well....I need you to know just how desperately sorry I am." He raised his eyes slightly and Kurt noted they were glassy with tears again. He swallowed but said nothing, allowing Blaine to say what he needed to.

"I, well, I know it's no excuse, but I'm not used to this." He flicked his wrist awkwardly between them, "I'm not really sure how to even do, this....but I know I want to. I know that I've...well, that you've changed me and I'm not sure I can....no, I know I don't want to change back." He paused and Kurt watched him intently. He cleared his throat again and smiled ruefully, "I think that was made clear this afternoon when I saw Seth's face. When he was so...so...disappointed with me."

"You were glad he was disappointed with you?" Kurt asked then, his voice startling Blaine a little in the darkening room. He smiled softly and fully met Kurt's eyes this time.

"It assured me my decision was right. If Seth was disappointed it meant it was a decision my father would never have made and that made me.......I don't know really. Happy I guess."

"You're not your father Blaine." Kurt whispered quietly and noting the flash of pain that flitted across his Lord's face.

"My father was a bully Kurt....."

"But you're not. Blaine, you're not a bully." He carried on, ignoring Blaine's incredulous look, "You're not Blaine." He insisted. "You were angry and you've got a temper and you've got demons to face but you know what....? We all have. We all have Blaine."

"I hurt you." Blaine reached out his fingers, motioning to the bruise smattering the other boy's skin.

"But you won't again." The Sub insisted.

"How do you know? I'm a monster Kurt. I've been brought up to feel nothing. How do you know I won't hurt you again and maybe next time I won't stop?" He turned away, looking out at the dark forest beyond the walls of the mansion. Kurt stepped forward slightly, moving close behind the Lord and softening his voice.

"I know you won't."

Wrapping his arms around the Lord from behind, Kurt held him close, feeling the tightness in his shoulders stiffen before the shorter man relaxed back against him in surrender. "What did Seth want you to do?"

"He wanted me to sack all of the current employees of the new factory we've just taken over as a method of control. He thought it would show them and the other Lords that I'm unquestionably powerful." Blaine murmured, allowing the silky soft skin of Kurt's body to warm him and lull him. They swayed gently.

"But you said no...?"

"They're good workers....."

"So are most of the people desperate on the streets. Why these workers Blaine?" Kurt stroked his fingers rhythmically up and down the other man's arms as he felt his Lord's weight sag against him.

"It was you." Blaine whispered gently, eyes closed as he swayed. "I kept thinking of your face and what you'd say. I knew what you'd do Kurt."

The arms tightened around him as Kurt pressed a gentle kiss to the other man's neck at his words. "It was a good decision" he repeated from earlier.

Turning slowly in his arms, Blaine smiled up at him gently, wallowing in the shine of forgiveness he saw there but still reticent. Appreciating the hesitance, Kurt determined to close the distance between them, ducking his head down carefully and pressing his lips lightly to his Lords. The pressure was soft as their mouths ghosted together, skin sliding against sensitive flesh and making nerve-endings quiver and spark. Blaine pulled back, his eyes falling to the faintly swollen skin at the corner of Kurt's lips where he'd bitten him in the study and he felt the horror rise in him again. Swallowing heavily, he lifted his thumb up to brush lightly over the damaged area, holding it there almost reverently as he drew his eyes up to join Kurt's again. Without thinking, the sub darted his tongue out and licked at the calloused pad, tasting the slightly salty skin and closing his eyes. The movement drew a shaky gasp from the Lord and in an instant his mouth replaced his thumb and he was kissing him with a desperation he'd tried so hard to contain.

He tried to be cautious, to take it slow and give Kurt the time to adjust but the sub had responded with equal fervour, knocking the breath out of him and sliding his own tongue possessively into the other man's mouth. They swallowed each other's moans as their bodies slammed together, each man holding tighter as if trying to claw their way into each other's skin and sew back together the bonds that has become so broken in since that night.

"Kurt...mmmmm..." Blaine tried to speak but the sub silenced him once again by claiming his mouth, biting soft and tender kisses enticingly along his jaw and pressing more forcefully against his chest as he manoeuvred them both onto the bed; A collective ‘umph' burst from the two men as they collapsed heavily against the silk sheets, Kurt's full weight stretched out on top of his Lord and their lips still hungrily devouring their panting breathes.

"Kurt, you...you..don't have to do this." Blaine struggled to get out, concern clouding his face as he broke contact momentarily with the searing heat of his sub's administrations. "I don't expect anything..."

"Shut up!" The other man growled out, the sound low and husky in his lust-filled haze. His teeth scraped along the Lord's neck with just enough pressure to elicit a broken sob of pleasure from the man beneath him, before he latched his lips around the throbbing tendon just behind his ear and sucked hard.

"F..Fuck Kurt." Blaine's backed arched off the bed with a force that sent both men bucking against each other, their already painfully hard erections slamming together violently. Shuddering at the promise of Blaine's cock and how long it had been since he'd felt the possession, Kurt sucked harder before pulling back and admiring the swollen red welt that had flowered so prettily against the tanned exposed flesh. He looked down through lidded eyes at the figure already wrecked beneath him and licked a trail of fire along his earlobe before dipping his tongue inside and swirling it around.

"I want this Blaine." He said, voice gravelly and low. "I want to feel you like this. Inside me." He thrust his lower body against the other man's length again, stressing his point before straddling Blaine's hips and pinning him down fully, rocking against him rhythmically as he spoke.  "I want you just like this, beneath....urg...... me..... b...but possessing me at the same time."

He watched as the Lord's eyes rolled back in his head at the continued pressure grinding against him and grinned as the movements dragged a ragged moan from the parted lips. "Shit Kurt, I want to fuck you. I...god, I really want that." His hands gripped the sub's waist as he rode him more forcefully, attempting to still his hips and ease the mounting wave of heat that was building in his stomach. "Want you to...shit...urg...to ride me Kurt."

Bending down to recapture the lord's mouth, Kurt changed the angle and moved his hips back slightly, knowing that neither wanted this to be over too soon. They'd not been together like this since the first night and the sub's skin tingled with anticipation of the stretch and fullness that he longed for again. His fingers moved to the buttons of Blaine's pyjama top and he looked up at him from underneath his thick black eyelashes as he flicked each one open, before sliding his fingers along his torso and pulling the silken material aside. He felt the other man stiffen beneath him as his hands traced patterns across his ribcage and tweaked first one then the other nipple between his thumb and forefinger. Blaine moaned out his name as he writhed under the subs touch, his breath coming in stuttered gasps and his lower body thrusting involuntarily up into Kurt's groin.

"I want to see you Kurt....please...please, let me see you."

The Lord's voice was broken and rasping as Kurt's lips sucked at his nipple, pulling the bud lightly between his teeth to draw more and more animalistic whimpers from Blaine. Hands clawed at his back, sliding against the silk of his robe and tugging impatiently at the material in frustration.

"Kurt..take...off." Having lost the ability to even form coherent sentences, Kurt took pity on the man below him and levered himself up, undoing the robe in one go and sliding it seductively off his shoulders to reveal his naked chest underneath. Blaine gasped as he let his eyes wonder over the translucence of his sub's porcelain skin, taking in, again, his fill of the defined muscles and narrow waist. "Fuck Kurt" he breathed, "I'll never get tired of looking at you...you're...you're so fucking perfect." His hands had moved to caress the sub's slender arms, pulling at them slightly to allow Kurt to fall back over him, covering him with his whole body.

They shifted position then, as their mouths met again, this time in a slower, deeper kiss that made both men moan into the others lips. Kurt thought about how much Blaine had the power to destroy him with just the touch of his tongue, sliding into the wet and open heat of his own mouth; when his Lord's lips were on his, Kurt didn't think he even knew what morality was.

Pyjamas were removed slowly, amongst soft touches and hot breaths until both men were lying naked, Kurt once again stretched out fully against his Lord and their cocks slotted together between their slick bodies. There was no hesitancy now, no nerves, just the quiet rhythm of skin against skin and mouths exploring each other. Blaine locked eyes with Kurt as his hand trailed a path downwards, sliding suggestively over his taught buttocks before slipping between them. He raised a questioning eyebrow slightly as his fingers traced circles around the puckered rim, just applying the tiniest bit of pressure to watch Kurt fall apart little by little. "Are you sure Kurt?" he whispered, knowing the answer already but needing to ask one last time, the bruises still evident on his sub's forearms forcing the question from his lips.

"More than anything....God...please Blaine...just...please."

At the desperation in his voice, Blaine needed no further reassurance. Reaching for the bedside cabinet and scrabbling around inside he produced a small bottle and gently squirted some on his fingers, warming it up slightly before pressing back against Kurt's waiting hole. He continued to trace circles, enjoying the way Kurt's cock would thrust up again at each press of the digit and the wanton groans that were leaking from his mouth. Kurt's head thumped down hard against his collarbone when he finally slipped his finger past the tight ring, feeling the delicious stretch all around him of Kurt's relatively untouched body.

The sub continued to whimper against his neck, hair stuck to his forehead as the Lord gently fucked him with his finger, adding a second and third as he felt Kurt open up to accommodate him more. "Shit...Kurt you feel so fucking good." Blaine whispered brokenly against his ear as the sub continued to babble a string of incoherent sounds and murmurs. Only one sentence managed to break through the litany of nonsense, making Blaine grit his teeth to stop himself from coming and ruining everything far too quickly.

"Fuck me Blaine. Just.....fuck me."

With one final insistent slide against his prostate, Blaine removed his fingers, leaving Kurt clenching the air at the raw emptiness and crying out in desperation. "No please put them back...put them back." Blaine giggled a little, stroking the damp hair from the sub's forehead and bringing his lips down to be reclaimed again. "Patience Kurt. I have to get a condom baby." The use of the endearment that spilled from Blaine's mouth was so out of character that both men paused for a moment, eyes meeting with open, slightly watery acknowledgment before they crashed mouths again and swallowed all the words from each other.

It was Kurt this time who took charge, Blaine watching with lust-blown eyes as he gave his now leaking cock a few hard jerks before sliding the condom down over his length and slicking it up with more lube. The Lord marvelled again at the confidence of the previously so inexperienced sub and how transformed he was from the trembling innocent of the first night. He was still trembling now but it was with need and desire coursing through his skin and the decisive way he positioned himself on his knees, raised above Blaine, took his breath away. It was only when Kurt hovered there for a second that Blaine realised that there was still a glimmer of fear beneath the darkly blown eyes. His hands steadied on the sub's hips, stroking gently at the sensitive skin and holding him in place above him.

 "Go very slowly baby." He said softly. "I don't want to hurt you."

At the reassuring sound of his Lord's voice, Kurt nodded slightly before bending once more to kiss the other man again. Blaine held his hips steady as he felt Kurt gradually sink his body lower, his hole opening up to stretch achingly tightly around him and forcing him once again to steel himself against his rising orgasm. Kurt whimpered a little above him, his eyes squeezed together in a heady mixture of pleasure and pain. He'd forgotten the stretch, the utter fullness and the position only allowed him to feel even more owned.

 As he sunk fully down on Blaine's cock, bottoming out completely, he paused and let his eyes drift open to lock with the other man's. Their faces were wrecked, mouths hanging open as silent waves of pleasure washed through them and their eyes devoured each other. Kurt felt consumed; felt his Lord inside and all around him and everywhere in between. He looked down darkly as he felt Blaine's cock twitch a little inside him, urging him to move and felt dizzy.

"You possess me."

The words rippled through Blaine like an electrical current and Kurt watched his eyes close in complete surrender. It stirred him, compelled him onwards and he lifted his hips up slowly, dragging off his Lord's full length before sliding back down smoothly. "Kurt...." Blaine seemed beyond words now as Kurt started to set up a relentless rhythm, sliding almost fully off his aching cock before slamming back down harshly. He breathed his sub's name over and over again as each thrust sent him nearer and nearer toward the abyss. "Kurt...ugh...I can't...I....soon...too soon." words tumbled from his lips as he felt the mounting pressure inside him and he grabbed on to the other man's waist to slow him down. "Please, Kurt...not yet." He moaned.

At the completely abandoned sound of his Lord's voice, Kurt stilled his hips slightly, shifting backwards before taking hold of Blaine's arms and hauling him up to a sitting position with a surprising display of strength.

"You can't come yet." Kurt teased, mimicking the Lord's words from the first night and watched Blaine's rueful smirk of acknowledgement. That had been a night when he'd been so much more in control, when he'd held all the power.

Now though, everything seemed different. The change in position made it all so much more intimate; Blaine's arms wrapped around Kurt, pressing him down on his cock and cradling him in his lap, legs knotted together. Their eyes held firm as they started to rock more slowly, the new angle sending Kurt into shudders of pleasure with each brush against his prostate and building a gradual pressure. Blaine's hands slid into Kurt's hair, tugging slightly as he pulled out, before rocking back in with a slightly more forceful thrust. "You're so beautiful like this." He whispered against his mouth, "So fucking beautiful Kurt."

"I'm yours....." Kurt moaned in reply, fingers clawing at the taught muscles stretched across his Lord's back. "I'm always yours."

For a while nothing could be heard in the room, except panted breaths and swallowed moans as they held each other, locked together as if one entity, not sure where Lord finished and Sub began. They rode each other like a wave, ebbing and flowing as the tide began to crash in around them. Their orgasms built up slowly, flooding them from their toes like water builds behind a damn before it all becomes too much and something has to break.

 It was Blaine who came first, taken by surprise by the sudden overflow as he felt every nerve ending inside him tingle and sparked before short circuiting around him. He came inside Kurt with a force neither man had expected and the suddenness of it made the him drive up violently into the sub, pushing unrelentingly against the hub or nerves deep inside the desperately tight heat and causing a fire to rage inside the other man. As the Lord clung on, riding out his orgasm as wave after wave broke over his head, Kurt too felt himself lose control. He ground down harder against his Lord's now throbbing cock, over sensitive but still desperately thrusting forward to push Kurt over the edge.

They rocked together one last time before Kurt exploded between them, come shooting white streaks up both their stomachs as they clung to each other desperately, their names streamed out between them as one voice, one person, as they shuddered back to consciousness; back to reality.

They stayed wrapped together in the silence, their panted breaths becoming steadier; heads buried against each others necks. Kurt licked a line of sweat from his Lord's shoulder blade, before biting down slightly to stabilise himself. Blaine just held on, feeling displaced and scattered in the island of sticky silken sheets. Pulling his head back slowly, he drew in a shaking breath and swallowed tightly. His finger traced the sub's eyebrow, mapping out contours and soft patterns down across his cheek. Kurt watched him silently.

"Thank you." Blaine whispered finally, his eyes more wide and honest than Kurt had ever seen them.

"What for." He smiled breathily, dropping a kiss lightly to the other man's forehead and brushing away a damp curl.

The Lord closed his eyes at the tender touch, feeling so much like he wanted to say more but struggling to find any of the words that seemed to make sense. It was all chaos and jumbled and nothing flowed; his head ducked down as he struggled to squash the words that seemed to be bubbling energetically on the tip of his tongue but seemed so utterly terrifying that he had to swallow them away. Instead he raised his head again and felt Kurt's eyes calm him; he breathed deeply, glanced once more at the tiny cut still just visible on his sub's lip and said simply,

"You forgave me."