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

Leaving Cape May, I follow a short distance behind Joey. Every now and then I see him turn a bit, like he’s checking the rearview mirror to make sure I’m still behind him. I’m scoping out the side of the road as we drive, looking for somewhere promising, seeing nothing but family restaurants and the occasional titty bar, when I remember Whalin’s just before the Rio Grande bridge. For the next couple miles, I struggle with the decision to go have a good time or just go on home. I’m leaning towards going home, I really am, and I’m halfway across the bridge when the candy-stripped warning bar starts to descend—the drawbridge is going up. Joey gets across fine but I have to stop.


Chapter 31