The Family: Men in the Shadows, #1

By Rain Carrington

Blaine had an angelic face and a sheltered life. All he longed for was a love that could chase the loneliness and make him feel wanted. What he got was a beautiful man with a quick fist and lots of secrets.

Troy was beautiful and deadly. From the first he showed that he had violent tendencies, but the trusting Blaine thought he could overcome them and help Troy become a better man. When he realized there was no changing him, Blaine sought help.

Help came. Dante Carrillo was the brother of a mob boss, but under that was a man who had lost enough in his past to appreciate the angelic beauty. He swept in to save Blaine from the abusive Troy, but his family ties put Blaine in even more danger than Troy had been.

Can love save Blaine or will it make him the latest victim of The Family?

Warning: Contains scenes of BDSM, sexual situations between two consenting adult males, implied noncom tho none written, and physical abuse.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rain Carrington
• Release date: Feb 23, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393589716

Rain Carrington

I love writing, it's been my dream for many years, and in October of 2013, when my first book went live on Amazon, that dream came true. Writing love stories that are centered on flawed but lovable characters is my passion. Finding love between people isn't easy, nor should it be. Even in a book, there have to be obstacles for the story to feel real. I am a mother of three amazing people, and three adorable fur babies. I live in Colorado but love many other places besides my home. One state in particular is New Mexico, the state where I was born has always held a place in my heart. People and places make my stories what they are. Each character I've written is a part of me in some way. Each place I write is as well. Adventures come in many ways, and each of my stories has taken me on an adventure that I treasure. Come with me on my adventures and fall in love with my characters, as I have. I promise, you will love the ride. www.raincarrington.com https://twitter.com/RainCarrington https://www.facebook.com/rain.carrington https://www.facebook.com/Rain-Carringtons-Bear-Lake-Chronicles-104627634658342 https://www.instagram.com/raincarrington/ https://www.bookbub.com/authors/rain-carrington https://www.queeromanceink.com/mbm-book-author/rain-carrington/ https://mewe.com/i/raincarrington https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7082503.Rain_Carrington https://www.raincarrington.com/newsletter

Book preview

Men in the Shadows

The Family

Rain Carrington

This series has characters that live in the shadows of the men they love, men that live on a very blurred line of right and wrong, where laws and morals are different than others may consider them.

In no way are these shadowed men silent. Their powerful lovers may take the light, but in that shadow lies their love and strength. Maybe they are stronger for the shadows. Having to compete for the light that shone so easily on their bad men.

Bad boys, good lovers, and broken hearts abound, but love comes through to light even the darkest corner.

These are the Men in the Shadows....

Book 1- The Family, formerly Cabin Fever, Blaine falls in love with an abusive man, using the guise of BDSM to hurt the man he supposedly loves. When Blaine meets Dante, the brother of a mob boss, the danger doesn’t scare him half as much as his feelings do....

Book 2- The Biker, formerly Biker Trash, Malcolm loses his mother to drugs and is sold to another biker by his stepfather. The biker is gruff, stern and devastatingly handsome. Malcolm comes to learn that the bad ass biker has a heart and he finds himself falling in love. When Kirk goes to prison after being set up, Malcolm must survive without him and survive the wrath of his angry stepfather.

Book 3- Dungeon Master, formerly Better Than Boot Camp, in The Family, we met Devin and learned about his horrible past. Now he is the Master of the dungeon and has a problem. The new slave, Sergio, is stubborn, defiant and the most beautiful man he’d ever seen. Sergio haunts his dreams and drives him to break all of his own rules as he falls hopelessly in love with him, but the dungeon is in financial trouble and the only thing that might save his job, and his life, is for Sergio to be sold...

Book 4- Porn Star, formerly In and Out of Hiding, in Biker Trash we met Sammy and Neil, two men who had fallen in love but were torn apart by lies and feelings of betrayal. Sammy figures out that his kink is to be watched, so when Neil wins him back, Sammy talks him into taping their lovemaking and putting it up on the internet. Not enough to satisfy him, Sammy becomes involved with a porn producer and becomes the man’s favorite model. Can he get out of this life before he loses himself and the man he loves?

Book 5- Black Ops, formerly In and Out of Hiding, Tom has a secret. He’s working as a bodyguard to a rich and over privileged man, a man he finds himself wanting to control and make to submit. Andrew is spoiled and willful, cruel to those he feels are beneath him, but the huge man hired by his father, the pharmaceutical king brings in him feelings of wanting to bow and kneel. When the man takes him into his bed and teaches him how good it could be to give up his will, he starts to fall in love, but when he finds Tom’s real reason for being there, will he be heartbroken, or join in Tom’s quest?

Table of Contents

Forward

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Other Books by Rain Carrington

Forward

from Rain Carrington

A few years back I began to write for fan fiction sites, two mainly, and finally started to scratch an itch I’d had for twenty odd years, to put words down and weave them into something that someone, somewhere may enjoy reading.

There I made some great friends and they encouraged me to continued and strive for more. Then I got up the courage to talk to a famous M/M writer and she read my story, Biker Trash. She liked it, and I was floored. I nearly puked just talking to the woman, but when she liked my story, I was over the moon. She encouraged me to self-publish, and though I was scared to DEATH, Honky Tonk was born.

I now have several books out there, but I never forgot my first stories, the ones that started it all. I’ve tried so many times to rewrite them, make them over brand new and it never seemed to work. They lost something in the rewrites that people who loved them would hate. I know I did. So, instead of rewriting, I moved some words around, fixed some commas and typos and brought them back, much in their original forms.

I’ve come far in my writing, and these may not have the pizazz of my later works, but they have endearing characters that I love every bit as much as the ones in my later stories. I’ve missed them, Dante, Blaine, Malcolm, Kirk, Devin, Sergio and so here they are, as promised. I hope you enjoy them!

Chapter 1

It was one of the smaller lakes in the area, but it used to be very popular with vacationers. Tall Pines Motel and Guest Cabins was built in the height of its popularity. Now with the bigger lake down the road with the new fancy docks and fifteen million dollar resort that was built there, Lake Terawanda got all of the traffic and the lake where Blaine Matthews worked, Monument Lake, got mostly locals and honeymooners in search of privacy.

Privacy they got. Half the lake was owned by the Tall Pines with its forty rooms and twenty guest cabins. The other half was spattered with privately owned cabins mostly used for families on vacation or hunters in the fall. Only three were lived in year round, one recently so.

Blaine was grateful to Gary Fenton, the owner of the motel and a former boyfriend of his late mother, for giving him the job. It was perfect for Blaine, who would rather putter around the grounds mowing and weeding than to have to be around people. It wasn’t like he hated people; he mostly liked everyone he met, but he was more than a bit shy.

Hey Blondie, a female voice from behind him said and he jumped, spilling the bag of sunflower seeds from his lap to the damp ground in front of the bench where he sat.

He already knew the voice and turned, complaining, Can you give a guy some warning?

Only half meaning to sound annoyed, he bent to pick up the bag and scoop up whatever seeds hadn’t hit the ground. He had a major sunflower addiction, if indeed you could get addicted to those things, and always had a bag of the salsa flavor nearby.

Tara Shultz sat next to him and smirked. Sorry. She looked out over the water. The bench was maybe twenty feet from the shore, just up on a grassy rise that held the glorious view of the rolling mountains that were mirrored perfectly on the glasslike surface of the water.

Blaine wished she hadn’t sat down. He really liked Tara and all, but soon he would be jogging by and Blaine had been sitting on that same bench for weeks watching him. His skin glistened with sweat, making his dark blond hair stick to his temples. He had broad shoulders and firm, thick thighs. He had just moved into one of the private cabins about a quarter way around the lake and jogged by every day at exactly 6:20 PM, every day that was except Saturday. He wasn’t a pretty boy, he was definitely all man, but his face was handsome for sure. Strong square jaw, the slightest dimple in his chin. His body was built well and muscled. Just...perfect. At least in Blaine’s eyes.

So are you going to Gary’s party tomorrow? Tara asked, and Blaine shrugged.

Probably not. Too many people.

Her laugh was throaty and Blaine was glad he was gay or he would be totally in love with her like every other man in the area was. She was beautiful, long auburn hair and startling blue eyes, but she was very married and had four kids which seemed absurd being that she didn’t look any older than Blaine and he was only twenty two.

You’re so funny, Blaine! If you weren’t so shy you could have a really great guy by now and be happy.

Around here? Rainbow central?

Tara shook her head and stuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear. I get this is good ol boy country, but some of those good ol boys are just closeted. I’ve seen plenty of eligible hotties looking at you. Not that you’d notice, though. Always with your nose stuck in a bag of seeds or clipping some overgrown bush!

Looking at his watch and seeing it was 6:17 he swallowed hard. Soon his dream lover would be rounding the curve of the shore and he would come into sight. This was a conversation he didn’t want over heard by him so he quickly changed the subject.

How are your kids?

Tara rolled her eyes and exhaled loudly, Terrors! I thought raising them in the country was a good idea, you know, don’t worry about sickos like in the city and all, but all it’s done is to turn them in to wild Indians!

6:18

But you don’t worry about them, right?

"I worry about me more. They could turn Lord of the Flies on me and decide I’m in the way!"

I grew up in the city and my mom barely let me out of her sight before she got sick, so I guess you’re lucky you can let them go outside to play at least.

I guess so. It is nice seeing them climb trees and play in the mud instead of stuck in front of video games like all the other kids these days. If they would do their homework it would be nice, though. Their teachers hate me.

Blaine chuckled and looked out over the water before he said, I doubt that.

6:19

The woods suddenly got quiet, at least to Blaine. He kept his eyes on the curve of the shore, forgetting the seed he had just stuck in his mouth, ignoring Tara, who was talking about something. The fresh, cool breeze coming off the water had no effect on him as he watched and then...

6:20

There he was. The soft sound of his sneakers hitting the wet, sandy shore, the bounce of his thick arms, the look of peaceful thought on his tanned face. Blaine’s big doe-like blue eyes took in every inch of the man as he jogged by and turned his head a bit, lifting his hand to give the little wave he always did. He tilted his head and gave a half smile, then he was past and Blaine continued to watch, his small rounded ass in the smooth jogging shorts, one side flexed then the other and on and on until he was out of sight around the next curve and blocked by the hanging oak tree.

The entire time he had been watching, Tara had been watching him. The world around him came back into focus and he remembered that she was sitting with him. He turned to her and saw the knowing smile on her wide, thin lips.

Someone is in love!

Blaine could feel his face turn hot and knew it was useless to try to deny his attraction but he did it anyway. He tried to diffuse her suspicion. What are you talking about?

Tara rose off of the bench. Whatever, Blaine, you want Troy Castor’s body!

Blaine’s eyes got wide and he blinked at her once before letting her words sink in. Troy Castor? That’s his name?

Tara slung her purse over her shoulder. Yeah, that’s his name. He’ll be at Gary’s party tomorrow, so you might want to rethink not going. I’ll see you later, honey.

Bye Tara.

Troy...his name was Troy. It was a great name. The best name he’d ever heard. Troy. Blaine got up from the bench and rolled up his bag of seeds, stuck them in his pocket and started for home.

Home for Blaine was one of the guest cabins. Gary let him and the maintenance man, Dave, each have one as part of their pay. They had small kitchenettes and were perfect for what Blaine needed. He didn’t have a lot of stuff. He’d had to sell most all of his and his mother’s possessions to pay off the rest of her medical bills that Medicaid didn’t cover.

Inside it was cozy and not too warm or cold even in the changing of seasons. He rarely made a fire in the small fireplace in the winter.

Once he was inside, he did as always, jumped into his tiny shower to get clean, fixed himself a TV dinner and sat on his bed to eat while he watched whatever happened to be on. To the outsider Blaine’s life may seem boring, and they would not be alone. Blaine found it boring too, but he thought he liked boring. Less complicated at any rate. After years of being a nurse to his dying mother, having to learn the medical profession the hard way, he liked being able to amble around and take care of the landscape as he wished.

When she died, as much as he loved her, it was a blessing. For so long she’d suffered, the most desperate kind of pain, so Blaine cried for that, but did not cry for her leaving. He was happy for her, that she was finally out of pain. He paid the old bills with the sale of the house and furniture, and took Gary up on the offer of a job and place to live he’d made at the funeral.

Gary and his mother had been together when Blaine was twelve. The relationship hadn’t worked out, but they stayed in touch and he’d been one of the few that watched her lowered into the ground with Blaine. Now Gary was his boss and he was the easiest going boss Blaine could hope for.

Gary was having a party. It was an annual party he had to celebrate the day he had bought Tall Pines Motel. The employees were all guests for this one day because Gary hired outside help. Whatever rooms and cabins were empty were open to them for the night so no one had to drive home down the long winding roads. Blaine was employed there the previous years, but hadn’t attended. Not exactly a party boy, he never drank, and people tended to intimidate him.

This year, however, he had found a reason to consider attending. A tall reason with dark green eyes and a smile that dripped with sex. Blaine set his empty tray down on his nightstand and fell back on the bed, closing his eyes so he could better pull from his memory the beautiful man. As he thought about Troy, he fell asleep.

In the morning he woke late. It was Saturday, and he was off work but got up and dressed quickly. Helen, the weekend cook in the small Motel café, always kept breakfast for him when she worked. She was like a grandmother to him now, his best friend in the place and he hurried out of his cabin and over to the back entrance. He ate in the kitchen with her while watching her cook. She was 67 but still moved like someone half her age. She didn’t need the money, she told him, she worked because it gave her a break from her knitting and pretending to listen to her husband of forty years.

Hey boy, sit down, I had almost given up on you.

She always told him this, and he smiled wide with his deep red lips, telling her, Helen you are the best cook in the world. How dumb would I be to miss your Spanish omelet?

She smiled sweetly and gave him a wink before setting his plate down at the small table and turning back to the grill. Blaine watched her and ate while he tried to think of a way to talk to her about Troy.

Um, Helen, when you and Cal first met...well who...I mean how did you-

Tara already told me you have a crush on the new guy in the old Farrow cabin.

The fork dropped to the plate with a clatter and Blaine stared at Helen’s tiny back. You have got to be kidding me!

Helen giggled, Nah, but don’t worry, Blaine, she only told me. She scooped a bunch of hash browns onto a plate and set it under the heat lamps, then turned to him and set her wrinkled hands on the table. You have to come out of your shell a little is all. Just grow some balls and talk to the man. All he can do is tell you that he’s not gay, or that he’s not interested if he is. It won’t kill you as much as you’re afraid of rejection, I promise. You get shot down, you smart for a minute, and then you try again with the next one. Eventually you will hit your mark and get a yes. With your handsome face I figure you will get more yeses than no’s anyway.

It’s not that easy, Helen. He’s so...and I’ve never...

I know, you sweet thing, you never had a chance at doing the teen love thing and grow into this, but that just means all that good karma you have built up should work for you now.

Blaine smiled and humored her, Yeah, karma, sure Helen.

The rest of the day Blaine wandered the grounds fighting with his own wet noodle of a back bone to decide if he would go to the party at all, let alone try to talk to Troy. Finally as evening approached, he found himself in his cabin, hair dripping from the shower he had just taken, trying to decide what to wear that would make him look less skinny and show some of the muscle he had gained working at the lake.

He finally settled on a dark gray dress shirt and his best jeans. He had no nice shoes, but he had a pair of sneakers that he hadn’t ruined with grass stains from mowing yet and once he got his hair combed and cursed himself for not getting a trim, he started for the door and froze. Was he really doing this? Really?

Yes, Blaine, grow some balls. It was his personal pep talk to himself using Helen’s words. He’d never had a boyfriend or even a real date. The closest had been a few months before when a man stayed at the motel for a week and had seemed interested in him, always seeking him out to talk, asking Blaine about himself and flirting with him. His name had been Brian, and Blaine was just starting to think they had something between them when Brian had checked out in the middle of the night and left without a word. Blaine had been hurt but he told himself he had no reason to be. They hadn’t had a date or a kiss or anything, but it hurt nonetheless.

He walked through the doors to the lobby of the motel. The place was a huge wood cabin inside. That’s the only way Blaine could think of describing it. Pine floors shone brightly with the recent polishing, log walls, high wood beamed ceilings and the furniture all made locally of drift wood and small logs, the chairs and couches upholstered in forest greens and sky blues. The room was already full of party goers and Blaine sought out a quiet corner to hide in, but was too late. Tara and her giant husband Pete, a gorgeous African American man, went over to him and Tara gave him a quick hug.

Hey! Never thought I’d see you here.

Hey Tara, Pete, I just thought I’d come to eat maybe and then leave.

Tara looked at Pete then back at Blaine, the side of her mouth twitching with a held back smile. You know you came looking for the jogging hunk. He’s over at the bar right now. Go and get your man!

Blaine felt his face turn red, but his eyes flitted to the bar across the room. Troy was perched on a barstool talking to Gary. He was dressed in a suit and if it were possible he looked even better in the suit as he did in his jogging clothes. It was black and he wore a light green shirt under it with no tie. He was laughing and Blaine was torn between wanting to run over and grab him into a hot kiss or run back through the door and hide in his cabin for the rest of his life.

Tara pulled Pete away to dance but gave Blaine a small push towards the bar before she did. He looked at her with his eye lids lowered for a moment before walking towards the bar and made a fast plan in his mind before he got there.

Make it there before throwing up.

Act like you were going there to talk to Gary.

Congratulate Gary on ten years in the motel business.

Make eye contact with Troy.

He was quickly able to check off number one. He made it over, and as he approached, Gary noticed him and smiled. Blaine, how are you? Glad you came! I never thought I’d get you here!

Blaine felt his tongue swell so large it would soon choke the life out of him but he nodded and took the offered hand of Gary, shaking it a bit too fast. Hi Gary. Nice party. Hi Gary, nice party?? Smooth!

Gary laughed as he looked around, nodding. Yeah, good turn out. He looked at Troy then back at Blaine. Troy, do you know our Blaine?

Blaine was forced to turn his eyes to Troy, who he was purposely avoiding looking at. Troy was smiling and Blaine saw that his eyes were lined with thick lashes.

I’ve seen him almost every day, but never had the pleasure of meeting him. Troy was speaking to Gary but never took his eyes from Blaine, then put his hand out. Blaine, I’m Troy. Very happy to finally meet you properly.

Blaine knew his face turned bright red because the heat of it was making him sweat, but he took Troy’s hand and shook it, the warmth of it and firmness of his grip making Blaine’s stomach fall right to his balls.

Nice to meet you.

You look a little young for anything harder than Coke or Sprite, but I’d love to buy you one of those if you are thirsty.

Blaine could listen to Troy talk all night. His voice was silky and low, and fit him well.

I’m 22, but I do really drink anyway, thanks.

Please, sit down.

Troy patted the stool next to him and Blaine took it, clasping his hands in front of him on the bar to keep them from shaking. Troy ordered him a Sprite and once it came, Blaine took a sip and wished stupidly he had some sunflower seeds with him.

So I see you sitting on that bench every day. Good place to take a break from work, I bet.

Yeah, I like it there.

Troy lowered his voice after taking a drink of his scotch and moved just a couple of inches closer to Blaine. It’s my favorite part of the run. Best view anyway.

That was it; Blaine was going to die right then and there on that bar stool. He went numb from the neck down and didn’t know if his heart was still beating. Was Troy really flirting with him? Was he the view Troy liked? What if that wasn’t what he meant? What should he say?

Before he could think any of it through, Troy brushed his leg against Blaine’s and let Blaine know he hadn’t gone completely numb. On the contrary, the touch, whether it was accidental or not sent tingles through him, making him shiver.

Troy moved in closer and whispered, Can we go someplace to talk? Alone?

Blaine’s head exploded. He could see it, his gray matter was hanging off of the mirror in back of the bar and one of his eyeballs had landed in the pitcher of beer Merle was pouring for the giggling women at the end.

After what was only a moment but seemed like fourteen hours, Blaine found his voice and turned his head slightly to glance sideways at Troy, just to make sure the man was still talking to him. Uh, yeah, sure.

Great. Troy got up and Blaine followed him out of the front doors as he casually strode down the sidewalk. Once they were past the building and off of the sidewalk, Troy started down the trail that led into the trees. Blaine felt so many things but the most prominent was excitement. He was alone with Troy, his dream lover, the man he had fantasized about for weeks.

Once they were surrounded by trees and the lights of the motel was a dim glow to the left of them, Troy turned fast, forcing Blaine to bump into him. The bump brought Troy’s hard chest up against his and before Blaine could pull back with a stuttering apology, Troy grabbed his shoulders and pressed his lips to Blaine’s hard. Troy kissed him once, then again and on the third time Blaine kissed back and Troy took it and ran, opening his mouth and let his tongue slide against Blaine’s. Blaine couldn’t think at all, and didn’t want to. All he wanted was