Model Miles McMillan, who is also an artist like the character, was my muse for Garrick in The Portrait and Black Dog.

Here's a snippet from The Portrait:

The artist was wearing buckled boots, soft black leather trousers and a loose, black shirt that was laced at the neck. Over that, he’d buttoned a thigh-length waistcoat in the deepest green that had the effect of making his pale eyes stand out even more than usual. Subtle makeup highlighted his cheekbones and soft kohl was smudged around his eyes. He looked every inch the romantic hero, and Tristan’s body rejected any thought of refusing the hand he was extending. He was so hard it hurt, and the smirk on Garrick’s face said that he knew exactly what effect he was having.

“Come with me.” Garrick took his hand with a cool, firm grip and pulled him through the house to a set of stairs that Tristan hadn’t yet explored. The spiral rose through two floors and Tristan soon realised that this must be the room with the domed roof that he had seen from the drive.

“Go ahead.” Garrick waited on the stairs as he pushed the door at the top open.

Tristan was stunned into silence. The domed roof of the room was painted as the night sky—midnight blue and the silver of the constellations of the northern hemisphere. Each star was lit with a tiny, twinkling bulb and they glittered like diamonds in the darkness. The curved walls were painted with a mural of the house and grounds at night. A stone shelf around the room was dotted with candles of all shapes and sizes, their flames dancing and casting flickering shadows across the walls. In the centre of the room was a table elaborately laid for two with antique silver cutlery, fine porcelain and crystal glasses that refracted the light into dancing rainbows.

#ThePortrait #BlackDog #LMSomerton #MilesMcMillan #MMBDSM