The Portrait 1-2, by L.M. Somerton MM

The Portrait

1. The Portrait: Can shy, submissive Tristan become dominant enough to rid himself of a malevolent ghostly rival and find his happily ever after?

When Tristan Lindsay takes a job cataloguing the library at Faversham Park, home of rock star Marcus Balen, he also accepts a role as companion to Balen’s artist son, Garrick.

Garrick is beautiful and talented. He’s also demanding and infuriating. He uses Tristan as an unwilling model, shamelessly manipulating the shy boy’s emotions to draw out his submissive tendencies.

Drawn into the enigmatic artist’s world, Tristan discovers a side of himself that he didn’t realise existed. Although afraid of his own feelings, he learns to trust Garrick and falls deeply in love.

But Garrick has a secret that could tear them apart. A ghostly rival objects to Tristan’s presence in Garrick’s life. As the spectre’s malevolence increases, the young lovers must search for clues to the haunting and find a way to exorcise the jealous ghost. What they find leads them down a path that challenges the dynamics of their relationship. Will their love be strong enough to overcome its supernatural opposition, or will there be no happily ever after?

2. Black Dog: Can a ghostly hound tell the difference between love and fear? Will man’s best friend save the day?

Garrick and Tristan thought they were done with hauntings when they rid themselves of the evil ghost of Gabriel Blackthorne. But it seems that their connection to the supernatural runs deeper when howls in the night and glimpses of glowing red eyes gradually manifest into sightings of a mysterious black dog.

The ghostly hound seems to be protecting Tristan—but from what?

A group of friends visiting for the weekend provide a welcome distraction, but one of them would like to be more than friends with Garrick. Frankie sees Tristan as nothing more than a temporary inconvenience and does everything in his power to tempt Garrick away.

Rejected by Garrick, Frankie goes to extreme lengths to get his attention, using Tristan as his pawn in a very disturbing game.

How do you demonstrate the difference between love and fear when bondage and submission are parts of the equation? Will the Black Dog fulfil its role as protector, or will Tristan pay the ultimate price for love?