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 slide behind the wheel and adjust the rear-view mirror so I can see the boardwalk in it. As Joey slams the door shut, I wave and start the car. I don’t mention a summer vacation, not yet—my mother would die of rapture right here in the street. We’ll see what the next few days bring, what Christmas brings, but if not Timothy, then someone. I want to be in love here, I decide. I want to share this place with someone not in my family, someone who’s never seen it before. Someone who will believe I created this magical place just to share it with him, who thinks the stars above shine only for us.


Maybe it’ll be Timothy. Maybe not. We’ll see.


Chapter 51