Chapter 4:

Even amidst all of the inner churning fears and shame twisting his stomach, Kurt couldn't help but gasp in reverential awe at the splendour of the library that Seth showed him to. Stretching ten feet above him from marbled floor to intricately painted domed ceiling were more books than Kurt had ever imagined possibly existed in the world. Thick panelled wooden shelves wrapped around the walls, carving sinewy lines of literature into the circular space and spiralling upwards towards the glass panel that nestled in the roof, casting beams of dust laden sunlight onto acres of leather and paper. It should have been claustrophobic and yet Kurt felt a pull on his heart that made his eyes tear for its promised haven.

Seth had left him at the door, motioning for him to continue forward before slipping away again silently. Kurt had spun slowly on the spot, feeling slightly dizzy with the sheer magnitude of the place and its power to calm him instantly. A large oriental rug lay invitingly across the cool marble, making the space seem more welcoming and a beautiful moss green sofa sat waiting in the centre of the room. Kurt's heart soared again as he noticed the deep, rich mahogany grand piano situated alongside the sofa and he couldn't help himself when he stroked his fingers respectfully across the polished wood.

Without thinking, he sat himself carefully down on the music stool and reverently raised the lid, feeling the instant calm that settled over his heart. Music was Kurt's only comfort, had always been the salvation that could sooth even the most hideous of realities in this harsh world and for the first time in twenty-four hours, Kurt allowed a temporary peace to wrap around him.

Resting his fingers steadily against the ivory and pulling in a deep breath, Kurt began to play.

Blaine had been watching the other man from his lofty position on the mezzanine level of the room, waiting patiently amongst the stacks and regarding each change that flitted across Kurt's face from nervous awe to unbridled delight. He'd been about to say something when Kurt had begun to play and the young Lord had been struck utterly silent and mesmerized by the music that flowed out of the instrument and bounced off the volumes that encased them both. Kurt's face had taken on a serene and ethereal demeanour and his eyes were closed as he allowed the soft notes of Chopin to lull him. The exposed muscles in his slender arms twitched and danced as he relaxed into the song and his head swayed slightly with the melody.

Blaine had never heard beauty in his house before.

The piano, like every other possession in the house was decorative and ostentatious but had served no other purpose until that moment. As far as Blaine could remember, it had never been played. Music, serving no money-making exploitative gain for the Andersons, was rendered obsolete and his unaccustomed ears revelled in the innocent purity of the notes that they now were exposed to.

Beauty tugged at the icy core of Blaine Anderson and something began to drip inside him.

He allowed Kurt to play the full piece before finally pulling himself back into the controlled persona of Lord Anderson and wiping away his monetary lapse in steely power. As the silence descended on the room again, Blaine cleared his throat loudly, smiling slightly as the other man below him, jumped and spun around startled.

"I'm s....sorry" Kurt stammered, terrified he'd already broken some unspoken rule in his role as Subordinate and would now face some new cruel twisted punishment. Blaine however, simply held up his hand to silence the other man and smiled at him slowly, the mouth still curled into a sneer but the eyes unable to dull their renewed spark at his playing. Kurt held his breath, his brain registering the almost imperceptible transformation of his Lord's features.

"Actually, I'm quite impressed." He drawled smoothly, moving gracefully along the walkway to pause at the top of the spiralled wrought iron staircase that led to the ground level. "Subordinates are used as display pieces, meant to inspire envy in other Lords when compared alongside each other." Blaine began to descend the steps, Kurt watching as his fingers caressed the banister in a way that seemed highly suggestive, curling his hand around the hard wood.

"I knew you'd be admired of course; your beauty is beyond exquisite.....but I never thought you'd have other talents." He was standing over him now, leaning slightly on the piano lid and running his eyes over Kurt's blushing alabaster skin. "I do believe Mr Hummel, that you may be just what I need."

The temperature in the room seemed to have risen and Kurt felt his skin flush and burn. He was strangely intrigued to find the sensation wasn't entirely unwelcome. He shifted slightly in his seat, ashamed at the stirring in his tight, leather constricted pants at Blaine's weighted words and penetrative stare. The Lord's own face was less controlled now, his lips slightly parted in unchecked desire for the un-tasted mouth. He moved a fraction forward and Kurt flinched violently. He hadn't meant to do it, he wasn't even entirely sure he could say the heat of the other man's body was unwanted, but the reaction in Blaine was immediate. He pulled back sharply and an oddly hurt look flashed across his face before he had time to correct it.

"Are you frightened of me Kurt?"

Kurt didn't know which answer would stir Blaine the most but decided that honesty was the only way forward. "Yes" he said simply, blue clear eyes holding hazel ones. The other man chuckled slightly unnaturally, attempting to stamp out the little sinking flutter of disappointment he felt at Kurt's admission.

"You do know I am entitled to have you whenever I want, in any way I want don't you Kurt?" he breathed, sliding on to the seat and pressing his thigh against the leather clad muscles. Kurt gulped painfully but forced himself to keep his gaze, not sure whether the fiery heat that was creeping through his body was fear or something else; something much darker that Kurt hadn't known existed in himself.

Blaine was desperate to touch the pale flesh beneath him but he held back, straining to gain the control. Something was throbbing inside him and it was unfamiliar and confusing. Instead, he pulled back slightly, took Kurt's delicate, silky soft chin in his hand and tilted the face up to meet his gaze.

"Are you a virgin Kurt?" The question was simple enough but it made Kurt squirm and flush, desperate to look away. Blaine's fingers remained firm, forcing him to confront the question.

"Yes" Kurt whispered his voice breathy and high.

Feeling a dark heat spread through him at the confirmation of what he already suspected, Blaine smiled dangerously. "Have you ever been touched Kurt?" he stroked his finger down the side of the chiselled cheek and the man beneath him trembled at the sensation. He smoothed the pad of his thumb tentatively over the soft lips and watched in delight as they parted without question and a small gasp of unmistakable lust breathed out. "Have these lips ever been kissed?"

He was so close now that Kurt could see every fleck of changing amber in his eyes and he registered suddenly how beautiful they were. His gaze flicked to his Lord's lips and his tongue darted out involuntarily, catching Blaine's thumb slightly with a tiny lick of heat. Mortified by the wanton groan that spilled from his lips, Kurt wrenched his face away from Blaine's and stumbled back off the stool, shame at his own body's betrayal making his eyes pool with tears. He couldn't look at him. Couldn't see the hideous smirk of lust and power that he knew would be stretched across the cruelly beautiful face.

"I'm not going to rape you Kurt."

The voice that came out of Blaine was so soft, so utterly different from any sound that he'd made before that Kurt's head snapped up to meet him. Blaine was still sitting calmly on the music stool, regarding Kurt with a slightly quizzical, slightly pained look and it made the other man's breathe hitch. Lord Anderson was looking more human than Kurt had ever seen him and while still irritatingly composed, there was gentleness to him that the other man hadn't thought existed.

For the first time, Blaine Anderson looked exactly like the eighteen year old boy he really was.

Kurt stared at his boots, noticing the light bouncing off the buckles strapped around his ankles.

"I'm not going to rape you Kurt." Blaine said again, this time more forcefully and slowly enunciating the words. "In the role as Subordinate you are required to obey me and display yourself to the other Lords by exhibiting your talents, but" he paused. "I will not violate you Kurt"

He held his voice steady as he rose from the stool and moved to stand in front of Kurt. He stepped forward again, pressing his full length against Kurt's body and imprisoning him against the bookcase which dug into his shoulder blades. Mouth hovering millimetres away from Kurt's, Blaine breathed long, fluid whispers into the sensitive skin, eyes lust blown and darkly searching.

"Unless...." He licked his lips tantalisingly slowly. "Unless of course, you beg me to......."

Leaving Kurt panting, knees buckled beneath him, Lord Anderson swept out of the room with a low, chuckle that seemed to echo mockingly around the ancient stacks.

___________________________________________________________________________

When Kurt had finally managed to compose himself and returned shakily to his room, he discovered a typed note carefully presented on his pillow, the words ‘Daily Work Schedule' imprinted at the top and a strange sort of timetable beneath. Sighing again at the reality he was now facing, Kurt moved towards the window and the chaise longue Blaine had occupied earlier that day. It seemed so long ago now that he'd emerged from the shower and discovered the unnerving man sprawled uninvited on his furniture and Kurt shuddered at how quickly he seemed to have adjusted to the place already.

Home seemed a rather distant fairy-tale now. 

Settling comfortably into the fabric and angled so he could take in the admittedly spectacular view of the forest, Kurt glanced over the itinerary in his hand. Mornings stated that he was to breakfast with Lord Anderson at eight-thirty and be debriefed on any of the details on events they were to attend that day, if scheduled. He was then given free time to explore the mansion and the grounds, providing he stay within the perimeter of the walls. This time could be spent at his own leisure. Lunch was to be spent again with Blaine in the dining room before Mr. Anderson was to return to his work commitments and Kurt was to be left alone. Most evenings were to be spent at functions with the other Lords and their Subordinates, either in their private homes or at the Council headquarters. On nights when they were not required anywhere, Kurt was still expected to spend the night-time hours with Blaine in the library where Kurt would be requested to entertain the Lord in any way he deemed appropriate.

Looking over the timetable again, Kurt was shocked to see so much of the day could be spent alone and he questioned, not for the first time, Blaine's need of him. He smiled in delight at being afforded so much solitude and while others might have been concerned about feelings of isolation and loneliness, Kurt revelled in it. It had always been his way and Kurt felt most at ease in the familiar comfort of his own presence and calm thoughts.

He let his eyes drift closed quietly and Blaine's honeyed eyes wondered across his mind. Kurt had never been experienced; had spent most of his teenage years alone or with his father and knew nothing of the world really. His father had kept him sheltered and cosseted and while Kurt had thought it protective at the time, he now realised he was woefully unprepared for this new role.

His skin tingled again as he remembered the feeling of Blaine's breath dancing across his lips and the stroke of his thumb, teasing his flesh. He knew about sex of course. The mechanics of it had been explained by his father and the internet several years before, but that was science and biology; it hadn't spoken of gasping breaths and aching pools in the depths of your stomach. On the rare occasions Kurt had explored himself in that way, he had been quick and urgent; he'd not experienced the dark longing and heat of another body pressed into his.

Blaine Anderson had awoken something dark and powerful that day and Kurt wasn't entirely sure he knew how to make it sleep again.

A harsh knock on the door jolted him from his reverie and before Kurt could say anything a young girl entered the room purposefully and strode over to stand in front of him. She was dressed in what looked to be a maid's uniform of a stripped black and white close fitting pinafore dress with black patent heeled shoes and her blonde ponytail scrapped back with a black silk ribbon. Kurt guessed her age to be similar to his own and noted that despite her striking beauty, she carried herself in the same cold, aloof way as all of the other inhabitants of Anderson Manor.

 She stared at him appraisingly, running her eyes over his form fitting uniform. Kurt didn't speak; just raised his head in what he hoped was equally cold indifference. Seeming to challenge him with her silence and finding him an equal match, the girl finally relaxed her face into the first genuine smile Kurt had seen in the house since his arrival and he found his body responding instantly to the warmth. She held out her hand gently and motioned for him to take it.

"I'm Quinn." He looked at her quizzically, "I'm the maid." She said smiling in response to his hesitation.

Kurt reached out and took the proffered hand, shaking it smoothly before she withdrew and dug around in her apron, searching for something. She pulled out a piece of thick, gold embossed card which she brandished with a flourish in front of him. He stared at the card before looking up at her with another cocked eyebrow.

"It's your invite." She said simply before noting his still puzzled expression. "For tonight.....Wow you really are green aren't you?" She laughed a small trilling laugh that made Kurt relax a little further. "Ok. Look. God I thought Seth had told you all of this. Wow. Right well, you're supposed to be Mr Anderson's Subordinate right?" Kurt nodded, eyes falling slightly at a strangers acknowledgment of it. "Right. So you're supposed to follow him everywhere and tonight he has a function at the Buckley's residence and you're supposed to go so, here. Your invite." She held the card aloft again.

Reaching up tentatively to take it, Kurt couldn't help but smile at her genuine enthusiasm and marvelled at how someone so vibrant could work in such a dower place. "Thank you. I guess."

"You guess? Hey aren't you excited? This is huge? Mr Anderson's never had a Subordinate before...never shown any interest really and so you are like, the first new person to audition for ages." She was gabbling now as she began to pick up the towel from earlier and started to straighten out the bed linen. Kurt watched her enthralled, not wanting to interrupt the flow; thinking he might learn something from her unchecked good-nature.

"Yeah so we were all kinda excited when we heard about you and, you know, wanted to check out the new kid and all that and then, well I got assigned to you and so here I am." She paused in her monologue, turning to look at him again for a brief moment. "I must say I'm not surprised he picked you. You are exceptionally pretty and you'll look amazing together."

Embarrassed Kurt moved to the other side of the bed to help her smooth down the coverlet. "So, Um how long have you been working here?" he decided to side-step the mention of his ‘auditioning' and instead found himself intrigued by how someone like Quinn had come to work for Blaine.

"Oh well, I've been here a couple of years now. My parents needed me to go out and work and my father's been working in one of Mr Anderson's factories for like fifteen years and so he called in a favour. It was Anderson Senior that employed me but when he died, well I guess Mr. Anderson decided to keep me. I was lucky. Some of the other Lords get rid of all the previous staff and hire completely new people."

She sounded so genuinely happy to be working in the house that Kurt was momentarily thrown. How could anyone enjoy living in such a controlled and bleak environment without becoming jaded?

"What's Mr Anderson like?" his voice was hesitant but genuinely interested in the response.

Her head lifted slightly and her eyes became serious. Lowering her voice she leant closer over the bed, "Mr. Anderson is not the one you need to worry about. Watch Seth. Always watch Seth." Her eyes had clouded to a darker shade and her entire countenance took on a measure of anxiousness before she grinned again and grabbed at a pillow. "Mr Anderson is O.K  really. He seems cold and a bit stiff sometimes but he's fair, leaves us alone mostly and I think that's really important. Plus he's young and is way better than his father." She didn't elaborate on the deliberate emphasis she placed when comparing the two Lords but her face clouded again as some darker memory flashed there. She shook herself imperceptibly before carrying on again hurriedly. "Anyway, you know all that right? Otherwise you wouldn't have auditioned to be his in the first place."

She moved off then towards the bathroom, turning on the taps and allowing a thick steam to permeate the room. Kurt stood motionless, thrown by the hurried warning he'd just received and a little dazed by the rapidity of the transformation in the woman who'd delivered it. It took him several moments to register where she was going before he joined her, leaning against the doorframe.

"What are you doing?" he asked, watching her move a little dizzyingly around the marbled room.

She laughed again and reached for his vest, tugging it over his head before he had time to even protest. "I'm getting you ready idiot." She smiled good-naturedly and lightly smacked his bare forearm, crossed defensively over his now very naked chest.

"Come on, prude. It's nothing I haven't seen before and it's not like I'm going to tap that gorgeous arse of yours is it? You need to be looking the best you've ever looked in your life and it's my job to get you there!" she grinned and winked wickedly before grabbing at his belt.