The year is 1883. Eduard van De Lier is a Dutchman overseeing a spice plantation on the island of Java, in the South Pacific. His obsessive attraction to dark-skinned men is just one of his many secrets. His wife Marien knows of his indiscretions, but as she's content with their Colonial lifestyle, she stays silent. Until a former lover of Eduard's shows up in their parlor with thoughts of blackmail. Reza was a crewman on the ship that brought the van De Liers to Java. During the passage, Eduard spent many a night in the younger man's arms. Two years have passed, and the last person Eduard expects to find in his drawing room is Reza, a letter in hand that could destroy the life he and Marien lead. Seeing him again ignites Eduard's lust for his first dark lover. He hopes to retrieve the letter, either through seduction or subterfuge, and the longer Reza eludes him, the more his desire grows. But they're on shaky ground, and before things can heat up between them, their world explodes -- literally -- when the unstable island of Krakatoa erupts.

All Shook Up

With an exasperated sigh, I remind him, “Joe, I just walked in the door. I’ve been driving the last six hours—”


“I’ll drive,” he says, as if it’s that simple. “Dad’s waiting at the hospital for us.” He breaks into a sunny grin. “It’s good to have you home.”


He makes it so difficultfor me, and I find myself falling into the same pissy attitude I adopted in my teen years, designed to keep him at bay. “Yeah well, I’m not home two seconds before you’re dragging me out again. I haven’t even brought my stuff in—”


“I got it for you,” Joey tells me. “You just have the one suitcase? I put it upstairs in our room.”


Our. So we’re both sleeping there, then. Somehow I had hoped he would be happy with the sofa and leave me the room to myself. Is it too late to get a hotel? Hell, does Wildwood even haveany hotels open this time of the year? Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,I pray silently, all three of you, help me now.


Chapter 12