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

I run the water in the tub as hot as I can stand it, then turn on the shower, strip off my briefs, and jump into the tub. The water pinks my skin instantly and feels like heaven raining down on my bare skin. I just stand there under the heavy spray, feeling the water pelt my back and ass, feeling it trickle down my thighs and over my arms, washing away the sweat and salt and grime that I imagine clings to me from the night before. Fuck that kid, I think with a hint of my earlier anger, but like a painting that fades in the rain, my emotions today blur beneath the shower spray and run down the drain.


Chapter 36